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With fear; either a reverential respect to their husbands, or the fear of God. Be not presumptuous, as some, because you are chaste, but so temper your conversation with a religious fear of God, that you dare not take liberty to offend him in any other thing, and, according to his institution, with a reverential fear of your husbands, shunning to offend them. But possibly this fear doth particularly relate to the other duty with which it is joined, Chaste conversation with fear; fearing the least stain of chastity, or the very least appearance of any thing not suiting with it. It is a delicate timorous grace, afraid of the least air, or shadow of any thing that hath but a resemblance of wronging it, in carriage, or speech, or apparel, as follows in the succeeding verses.

Ver. 3. Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;

4. But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

THAT nothing may be wanting to the qualifying of a Christian wife, she is taught how to dress herself; supposing a general desire, but especially in that sex, of ornament and comeliness; the sex which began first our engagement to the necessity of clothing, having still a peculiar propensity to be curious in that, and to improve the necessity to an advantage.

Our perverse crooked hearts turn all we use into disorder. Those two necessities of our life, food and raiment, how few know the right measure and bounds of them! Unless poverty be our carver and cut us short, who scarcely is there, that is not bent to something excessive? Far more are beholden to the lowliness of their estate, than to the lowliness of their mind, for sobriety in these things, and yet some will not be so bounded neither, but will profusely lavish out upon trifles to the sensible prejudice of their estate.

It is not my purpose, nor do I think it very needful, to debate many particulars of apparel and ornament of the body, their lawfulness or unlawfulness: only, first, it is out of doubt that though clothing was first drawn on by necessity, yet all regard of comeliness and ornament in apparel is not unlawful; nor doth the apostle's expression here, rightly considered, fasten that upon the adorning he speaks of. He doth no more universally condemn the use of gold for ornament, than he doth any other comely raiment, which here he means by that general expression of putting on of apparel; for his Not is comparative-not this adorning, but the ornament of a meek spirit; that rather, and as being much more comely and precious; as that known expression, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.

Secondly; according to the different place and quality of persons, there may be a difference in apparel. Thus, the robes of judges and princes are not only for personal ornament, but because there is in them, especially to vulgar eyes which seldom look deeper than the outside of things, a representation of authority or majesty which befits their place. And other persons also, who are not in public place, may have in this some mark of their rank; and in persons otherwise little distant, some allowance may be made for the habits and breeding of some beyond others, or the quality of their society, and those with whom they converse.

Thirdly; it is not impossible but that there may be in some an affected pride in the meanness of apparel, and in others, under either neat or rich attire, a very humble unaffected mind; using it upon some of the aforementioned engagements or such like, and yet the heart not at

all upon it. "Great is he," says Seneca, "who enjoys

his earthenware as if it were plate, and not less great is the man to whom all his plate is no more than earthenware."

Fourthly; it is as sure as any of these, that real excess and vanity in apparel will creep in, and will always willingly cover itself under the cloak of some of these honest and lawful considerations. This is a prime piece of our heart's deceit, not only to hold out fair pretences to others, but to put the trick upon ourselves, to make

ourselves believe we are right and single-minded in those things wherein we are directly serving our lusts and feeding our own vanity.

To a sincere and humble Christian, very little dispute or discourse concerning this will be needful. A tender conscience and a heart purified from vanity and weaned from the world, will be sure to regulate this, and all other things of this nature, after the safest manner; and will be wary of lightness and fantastic garb in apparel, which is the very bush or sign hanging out, that tells a vain mind lodges within ;-and of excessive costliness, which both argues and feeds the pride of the heart, and defrauds, if not others of their dues, yet the poor of thy charity, which, in God's sight, is a due debt too. Far more comfort shall I have on my death-bed, to remember that such a time, instead of putting lace on my own clothes, I helped a naked back to clothing, I abated somewhat of my former superfluities, to supply the poor's necessities. Far sweeter will this be, than to remember, that I could needlessly cast away many pounds to serve my pride, rather than give a penny to relieve the poor.

As conscientious Christians will not exceed in the thing itself, so in as far as they use lawful ornament and comeliness, they will do it without bestowing much either of diligence or delight on the business.

To have the mind taken and pleased with such things is so foolish and childish a thing, that if most men might not find it in themselves, they would wonder at it in many others of years and common sense. And yet it is a disease that few escape. It is strange upon how poor things men and women will be vain, and think themselves somebody; not only upon some comeliness in their face or feature, which, though poor, is yet a part of themselves, but upon things merely without them; that they are well lodged, or well mounted, or well apparelled, either richly or well in fashion. Light empty minds are, like bladders, blown up with any thing, And they who perceive not this in themselves are the most drowned in it; but such as have found it out and abhor their own follies, are still hunting and following these in themselves, to beat them out of their hearts, and to shame their hearts from such fopperies.

The soul fallen from God hath lost its true worth and beauty; and therefore it basely descends to these mean things, to serve and dress the body, and take share with it of its unworthy borrowed ornaments, while it hath lost and forgotten God and seeks not after him, knows not that he alone is the beauty and ornament of the soul; his Spirit and the graces of it, its rich attire.

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The apostle doth indeed expressly check and forbid vanity and excess in apparel, but his prime end is to recommend this other ornament of the soul, The hidden man of the heart.

It is the thing the best philosophy aimed at, as some of their wisest men express it, to reduce men, as much as may be, from their body to their soul; but this is the thing that true religion alone doth effectually and thoroughly, calling them off from the pampering and feeding of a morsel for the worms, to the nourishing of the immortal being infused into it, and directing them to the proper nourishment of souls, the bread that came down from heaven.

Thus here, the apostle pulls off from Christian women their vain outside ornaments; but is not this a wrong to spoil all their dressing and fineness? No; he doth this only to send them to a better wardrobe: there is much profit in the change.

The grace the apostle here recommends is particularly suitable to his subject in hand, the conjugal duty of wives; nothing so much adorning their whole carriage, as this meekness and quietness of spirit. But it is withal the comeliness of every Christian in every estate. It is not a woman's garment or ornament, improper for men. There is somewhat, as I may say, of a particular cut or fashion of it for wives towards their husbands, and in their domestic affairs; but men, all men ought to wear of the same stuff, yea, if I may so speak, of the same piece, for it is in all one and the same spirit, and fits the stoutest and greatest commanders. Moses was a great general, and yet not less great in this virtue; he was the meekest mau on earth.

Nothing is more uncomely in a wife than an uncomposed, turbulent spirit, that is put out of frame with every Div. No. VI.

2 C

trifle and inventive of false causes of disquietness and fretting to itself. And so in a husband and in all, an unquiet, passionate mind lays itself naked, and discovers its own deformity to all. The greatest part of things that vex us, do so, not from their own nature or weight, but from the unsettledness of our minds. Many things offend us which do not hurt us. How comely is it to see a composed, firm mind and carriage, that is not lightly moved!

I urge not a stoical stupidity, but that in things which deserve sharp reproof, the mind keep in its own station and seat still, not shaken out of itself; that the tongue utter not unseemly, rash words, nor the hand act any thing which discovers that the mind hath lost its command. But truly most men know so ill how to use just anger upon just cause, that it is easier and the safer extreme, not to be angry, but still calm and serene, as the upper region; not as the place of continual tempest and storms, as most men are. Let it pass for a kind of sheepishuess to be meek; it is a likeness to him who was as a sheep before the shearers, not opening his mouth; it is a portion of his spirit.

The apostle commends his exchange of ornaments, by two things. 1. This is incorruptible, and therefore fits an incorruptible soul. Your varieties of jewels and rich apparel are perishing things; you shall one day see a heap made of all, and that all on a flame. And in reference to yourselves, they perish sooner. When death strips you of your nearest garment, your flesh, all the others, which were but loose upper garments above it, must off too: it gets indeed a covering to the grave, but the soul is left naked, if no other clothing be provided for it, for the body was but borrowed; then it is made bare of all. But spiritual ornaments, and this of humility and meekness amongst them, remain and are incorruptible; they neither wear out, nor go out of fashion, but are still the better for the wearing, and shall last eternity, and shine there in full lustre.

2. Because the opinion of others is much regarded in matter of apparel, and it is mostly in respect to this that we use ornament in it, he tells us of the account in which this is held: men think it poor and mean, nothing

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