Within a little space I am in all euill in the midst of the congregation and assemblie Reproofe of them that vndertake the defence of subtill sinne that offer themselues to be compurgatours for her if she say that she is honest and vpright they will sweare they thinke it true What euill is there of Idolatrie superstition swearing Sabbath-breaking crueltie wantonnes yea abominable whoredome pride and riot but it shall haue proctors to pleade for it and giue countenance to it And most commonly they are the men that of all others euery way for soule and bodie for substance and credit haue been most plagued by her Her craftines hath so inchanted them that by her vsage she hath gotten their harts for euer Their wits their tongues their pennes their practise of life and all shall be altogether for her against God and his word against all godly men against all ciuill men against their owne estimation and state comfort and saluation Doct. 2 God is a sure paimaster to all that labour faithfully in his seruice Though their strength bee not great nor their worke very much yet if their desires be sound and their endeuours vpright their recompence will also bee certaine The Prophet Azariah knew that he spake aswell to posteritie as to those of his owne age and as truly to Gods people as to King Asa and his people Be strong and let not your hands be faint for your worke shall haue a 2. Chro. 15. 17. reward Reasons 1 First the couenant is plaine and without all doubtfulnes there is no equiuocation in it there is no mentall reseruation to peruert the meaning of it Secondly the couenant maker is absolutely perfect and euery way all sufficient His wisedome foreseeth what things are fit to promise his truth doth binde him to doe all that is promised his mercie doth moue him to doe more than he promiseth and his power doth serue him to performe whatsoeuer his wisedome seeth meete his truth hath vndertaken or his mercie willeth vnto his seruants Vse 1 Instigation to shew all diligence in doing good and let no time slip away without some fruitfull exercise Of men some hire their workfolks by the yeere some by the half yeere some by the moneth some by the week and some by the day but God giueth vs wages for euery minutes worke for euery moments worke for euery gracious speech for euery holy thought for imployment in our beds for patience in our sicknes for good vsage of recreations there is no season no state nor place wherein a good man may not be well occupied for the increase of his wages The same reason doth S. Paul vse to incite the Corinthians and all other godly Christians to bee very laborious and painfull in all good seruices continually seeing there will be a resurrection and a retribution to euery man according to their waies Therefore my beloued brethren saith he be ye stedfast vnmoueable abundant alway 1. Cor. 15. 58. in the worke of the Lord forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vaine in the Lord. Incouragement to patience though we seeme not to haue present pay for our obedience Our wages is in a sure hand and will not faile to be yeelded vnto vs when our neede requireth it or any vse may bee made of it for our best aduantage Our wages is better than ordinarie the whole crop that we sow is giuen vs for our labour and therefore let vs not be too hastie to reape it before it bee readie Good Farmers indeede pay the ploughmen sooner than the corne is ripe but cheaper thā the corne is worth whereas God bestoweth freely vpon his labourers all that they haue sowen it is their owne and therefore let them tarrie till haruest and they shall finde their hire will farre surmount their trauels This is the ground of the Apostles perswasion to the Galathians Let vs not be wearie of well doing for in due season we shall reape if we faint not Gal. 6. 9. Verse 19. So righteousnesse leadeth to life and he that followeth euill seeketh his owne death THis verse is inferred vpon the former by way of explication to shew what he meant by the deceiueable worke of the wicked and the sure wages of the righteous And first he beginneth with the latter according to the manner of the Hebrewes declaring that life vnderstanding thereby immortalitie and all the blessednes annexed vnto it is that sure reward which all godly men may vndoubtedly expect and destruction both of soule and bodie eternally is the ende whereunto the deceitfull worke will bring wicked men which do so much deceiue themselues by a greedie desire of satisfying their sinfull lusts Doct. 1 The Lord hath not onely appointed a certaine reward but a precious for his seruants Nothing can be better then such a happie life and such a happie life as he deemeth nothing to good for them to enioy Hereof the Apostle speaketh to the Romans The wages of sinne is death but the gift of God is euerlasting life through Iesus Christ. Rom. 6. 23. Reasons 1 This is to set forth the bountie and superabundant munificence of God the father that the riches of his loue and goodnes may be magnified aboue all creatures Hee putteth into the hearts and power of sinfull men to giue gold and siluer to giue iewels and treasure to giue lands and liuings to giue titles and dignities to giue crownes and kingdoms but neither men nor Angels could euer giue life to any or keepe their owne by their owne power the liuing Lord and eternall God is he that maketh all his Saints as well in heauen as in earth to liue eternally Secondly the Lord Iesus our Sauiour hath by his dying killed death and bought life and by his resurrection triumphed ouer death and won life for euery one of his members yea he himselfe is the life of his people which beleeue in him who maketh them partakers by an euerlasting communion with him of his owne life He layd it downe for them and tooke it vp againe for them and imparts it vnto them it is as possible for him to perish as them and the whole Deitie as him Thirdly the seed of grace whereby the sonnes of God are regenerate is an immortall seede as S. Peter calleth it and of the nature of the father that begetteth them and therefore they must 1. Pet. 23. needes receiue life and retaine life and neuer after bee depriued of it Fourthly without this life the children of God were in no better case then other creatures For either they should bee subiect to eternall death which is the condition of the wicked reprobats or else be extinct and abolished with a finall dissolution which is the state of vnreasonable beasts Vse 1 Instruction to labour for righteousnesse and preciously to account of it since it procureth so precious a reward to vs and that from the fauour and kindnesse of our gracious God Hee that
persecutors God is our defence and therefore they cannot ouerthrow vs God is our glorie and accounteth vs for glorious and therefore they cannot shame vs. In Isaiah this is often pressed Feare thou not I am with thee be not afraid for I am thy God I will strengthen thee and helpe thee and will sustaine thee with the right hand of my iustice Behold all they that prouoke thee shall bee ashamed and confounded and they that striue with thee shall perish Feare not thou worme Iacob and yee men of Israel I will helpe thee saith the Lord and thy redeemer the holy one of Israel Thou wast precious in my sight and thou wast honourable and I loued thee c. Isa 41. 10. 11. 14. and 43. 4. 1. For men that are trulie gracious and yet timerous and full of dread lest Sathan should take aduantage by their imbecillity and want of courage and learning to draw them to apostasie and back-sliding Consider that hee can keepe backe none from obtaining honour whosoeuer either man or woman doth soundly endeuour to be godly doth take a sure and infallible way to bee well thought of none euer failed or was disappointed of that successe Remember also that when God hath once giuen it the diuell can neuer take it away from any but it remaineth to their liues end and to the worlds end and world without end then be well assured that is vnable to depriue vs of grace and constant faithfulnes for that is the spring from whence the other floweth that is the bodie of the light and the other but the beames which proceede from the brightnesse of it Verse 17. He that is a mercifull man rewardeth his owne soule but he that is cruell troubleth his owne flesh BY a mercifull man is ment such a one as with a tender and pitifull heart doth good both to the bodies and soules of men according to their neede and his owne abilitie And freely also remitteth wrongs and passeth by offences without reuengement Where it is said that he rewardeth his owne soule the sense is that he procureth to himselfe both soule and bodie a reward from God and that as certaine as large and continuall as if the fulnesse of power were in his owne hand to bestow vppon himselfe as much happinesse for as long time as his heart could possiblie desire But he that is cruell Which either in violence or rigour vseth to offer men hard measure or shutteth vp his compassion from them that are in affliction that he will no way releeue or seeke to comfort troubleth his owne flesh that is hurteth his owne bodie and in like manner his soule also Doct. 1 Euery mans dealing with others shall rebound to himselfe whether it be in cruelty or kindnes Mercifull men shall receiue mercy from Gods owne hand and from their brethren whom he will stirre vp to shew loue and fauour vnto them and those which are fierce and boisterous to others shall not faile to be recompenced in time the Lord will be as seuere as they are cruell and as strict in iustice to them as they are rigorous in extremitie to others And this shall not alwaies be reserued to the last day or to their death or to the torments in the world to come but spoilers be many times spoiled in this life oppressors bee oppressed and tyrants be ouerthrowne by tyrannie And therefore our Sauiour giueth an admonition that they which would not bee iudged should not iudge they which would not bee condemned should not condemne they which would be forgiuen should be readie to forgiue they which would haue giuen vnto them should giue vnto others For with what measure yee mete saith hee shall men measure to you againe Luk. 6. 37. 38. To spare to speake of such arguments as may be gathered from the estate and name of mercifull men and the contrarie because they follow hereafter in this chapter and wee would not forestall our selues we wil hold our selues to the words as they are literally fet downe in the text and make it appeare that euery mans owne soule receiueth most good by the goodnes which hee exerciseth towards others Reasons 1 First it is a forcible meanes for grace to be increased in him and Gods ordinances to be blessed to him Hee heareth the word of God delightfully and it worketh effectually in him No people were more ready to distribute to the reliefe of their brethren then the poore Churches of Macedonia and Paul had neuer greater 1. Cor. 8. 1. 2. effect and comfort of his ministerie then in the Macedonian Churches So doe they pray with feruency and boldnes and good hearts then with mercie and fauour Dauid had incouragement Psalm 86. 2. to call vpon God for the preseruation of his soule when he could truely pleade that he was mercifull Cornelius lost not his labour in praying but found a comfortable and blessed successe when the Angell could tell him that his almes came vp together with Acts 10. 4. his praiers in remembrance before God Secondly it maketh way for comfort in feares temptations and afflictions it inuiteth godly men to repaire vnto vs it maketh them desirous to refresh our hearts it strengtheneth their hope in their supplications to God it ministreth arguments for perswasion to our selues Or if they should not come at vs or hope so well of vs or deale so well with vs yet out owne consciences with the testimony of Gods spirit would support our soules in greatest extremitie as Iob did find by happie experience Iob 31. It is a treasure that is safely layed vp in heauen for our glorie whereof much will be giuen vs when we shall be dissolued and goe to Christ but most of all when we shall be restored and Christ come to vs. At his glorious appearance shall they appeare in glorie which haue been pitifull to his members and fruitfull in mercie They shall stand at his right hand and to them shall he say Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdome which was prepared for you from the beginning of the world But all goeth Matth. 25. 34. crosse with carnall persons The Lord giueth them no grace by his word and other ordinances but challengeth them for comming into his house with bloodie hands As he hath stopped his Isa 1 eares at the crie of the poore so he shall crie himselfe and not bee heard Miserie will miserably torment him his house is not a safe Prou. 21. 13. place for Christians to resort vnto Lions dennes seldome fit for Lambes to be in when good men be present what can they say to mitigate his feares or to lessen his sorrowes If others be silent will his owne conscience speake for him Nay of all that and the lawe of God will bee most forward and forcible to accuse and condemne him And then at his death he commeth into the case of the rich man spoken of in the Gospell that was tormented with flames
be talkatiue and exceede too farre in multiplying of words What though it be true that we say and so we know and are able to proue it Doth euery trueth befit euery time Should all men alwaies bee speaking all that they know It would bee a great meanes to hinder the increase of knowledge Some be talking when they haue more neede to heare some be teaching when they haue more neede to learne and many wrong themselues and them that are present in not giuing place to others that are more sufficient and better able to speake So did not Elihu he preferred his elders though not his betters before himselfe Hee would not open his mouth before his turne came and that he saw Iob and his three friends to Iob. 34. 4. 5. c. swerue out of the way on both hands Reproofe of those that destinate all their speehes and that in the ministerie of the Gospell to the setting forth of their owne praises It may truely be said of many that they preach not Christ so much as themselues contrarie to the faithfulnesse of Paul who preached not himselfe but the Lord Iesus Christ Their chiefe labour is not to win glory to God and men to saluation but credit to themselues and men to the admiration of their gifts and learning This they principallie aime at that all may be affected with their elocution that al may see the fruit of their wits that al may discerne of their skill in the tongues that al may witnes their paines in reading that all may wonder at their depth of iudgement If those be things that their hearts doe chiefly desire wee must conclude of them that their hearts doe publish foolishnes Verse 24. The hand of the diligent shall beare rule but the deceitfull shall be vnder tribute THe hand of the diligent that is diligent men who vse their hands or other members of their bodies or else their minds to some honest and profitable trauell according to their calling shall beare rule and attaine to some good place of estimation But idle persons whom want and other occasions draw to deceitfull courses to shift for themselues as wee haue shewed in the fourth verse of the tenth chapter shall be made vnderlings and brought into subiection and seruilitie Doct. They which are laborious and faithfull in meane places doe take the way to rise to an higher degree True it is that diuers attaine not to such greatnesse as others doe and yet be no lesse diligent then others are but the Lord maketh their inferioritie a step towards their heauenly aduancement and they are not without estimation in that low estate and God seeth their fruite to bee better and their comfort to bee more there than if they were raised vp to higher preferment Otherwise they that serue God in what place soeuer are sure to grow greater The Scripture proposeth examples hereof and sheweth how the point hath been verified in former ages Iacob at the first set himselfe to seruice and was at the commandement of an other man but at the last being painful and true he was able to keep seruants himselfe and other men were at his commandement Ioseph when hee came into Aegypt was bought and sold as a poore bondman but being faithfull in euery place that hee came into hee was promoted in euery place that hee came into When hee was a seruant when hee was a prisoner and especiallie when he was Prince Dauid had once the charge of a flocke of sheepe and thereof was not a little heedefull but afterwards hee had the leading of an armie of men and lastlie was exalted to the throne of a glorious kingdome Reasons 1 First promotion is from the Lord and hee setteth vp and putteth downe according to his owne will And therefore when he hath fitted men to authoritie by humbling them with labour he assigneth their places wherein they shall stand and by his providence preferreth them to the same some to bee Magistrates some to be Captaines some to be Ministers some to be Maisters some to bee Stewards some to haue one office and some another Secondly the hand of the diligent maketh rich and riches cause them that are wise and honest to be put into authoritie and imployed in the townes and places wherein they dwell or at least they grow to be housekeepers and beare rule in their owne families Thirdly painefulnesse with wisedome and faithfulnesse doth cause great personages to looke after them They entertaine them into seruice they put them in trust with their affaires they giue countenance vnto them and they many times are meanes of their rising and preferment And in this sense is that saying Thou seest that a diligent man in his businesse standeth before Kings and standeth not before the base sort Prou. 22. 29. Vse Reproofe of their follie that are ashamed and disdaine to take any paines vnlesse it be in seruing of sinne and lust and thereto they make themselues slaues and drudges And what is it that meaneth them to such nicenesse that they will not voutchsafe to put their hands to any worke or set their mindes to seeke for knowledge whereby they may bee fit for some good profession The feare of contempt the doubt that they shall bee little regarded if they applied themselues to such a base kinde of life It is not according to their birth and bringing vp to spend their time in labour or studie it will bee a hinderance to their preferment that they looke for But will they thus contrarie the word of God and crosse the trueth of his holy spirit Will they say that diligence doth make men contemptible when he saith the diligent hand shall beare rule will they say that idlenes doth bring men to promotion when he saith that the idle shall be vnder tribute He will as well crosse and contrarie them in their state and desires and make them feele his words to be true Who seeth not what beggerie and want and miserie they cast themselues into Are they not driuen to sell away and depart with that inheritance and patrimonie which their parents haue left them Are they not compelled to borrow and shift and to sincke deepely into debt And it is a true prouerbe that the borrower is seruant to the man that lendeth For further vse of this Prou. 22. 7. point see the fourth verse of the tenth chapter in the application of the second doctrine Verse 25. Heauines in the heart of a man doth bring it downe but a good word reioyceth it HEauines of heart that is such sorrowes or feares as are not godly and effects of faith but proceeding from infidelity or carnall respects especially being excessiue doth bring down the heart not humbling it kindely so as pride may be taken away but either filling it with discouragement or distemper against which the Prophet wrestled with sundry conflicts Why art thou cast down my soule and art vnquiet or tumultuous within me Psal 42. 5. Now withall