Exposition of the Moral Law, Book 2 · Commandment 5 · Exercitation 11
EXERCITAT. XI. Of the maſters duties to their ſervants. Commandement. V.
Epheſ. 6.9. And yee maſters doe the ſame things to them.
THe maſters duties to ſervants are, firſt, to command them; ſecondly, to inſtruct them; thirdly, to feed them; fourthly, to correct them; and laſtly to reward them.
Firſt, to command them; their commandements muſt be pia, poſsibilia, and proportionalia, they ſhould be holy,Pracepta Pia. Poſsibilia. Proportionalia. things poſſible, and things that are proportionable to their ſtrength: they ſhould be pia; when Saul commanded Doeg to run upon the Prieſts and kill them. 1. Sam. 22.18. this was a wicked commandement.
Secondly, they ſhould be poſsibilia; Gen. 24.8. And if the woman will not follow thee, then thou ſhalt be cleare of this mine oath.
Thirdly, they ſhould be proportionalia, Levit. 25.43. Thou ſhalt not rule over him with rigour. So Epheſ. 6, 9. Firſt, the Egyptians cauſed the Iſraelites to gather the ſtraw; Secondly, to make the bricke; and thirdly, they cauſed them to make the pots.foreign in duritie. Pſal. 81.5. Fecerunt manus tranſire per ollas, and yet they ſaid, perficite opera in die ſuo, foreign manus ejus tranſierunt per ollas.that is, they would have the whole dayes taske of them. So Exod. 1.15. Fecerunt Iſrael ſervire in duritie, they made Iſrael to ſerve with rigour; they have a proverbe in the Talmud, juxta robur cameli dant ſuper ipſum onera, that is, they ſhould lay no more upon him then he is able to beare: this foreign eſt violenta ſervitus. Mat. 5.41. and this hard ſervice is called an iron fornace. Deut. 4.20.
Maſters ought to inſtruct their ſervants. foreign a foreign Catechiſmus.The ſecond duty of the maſter to the ſervants is to inſtruct them; Abraham brought forth [Hhanichau] his catechized ſervants. So Ioſh. 24. I and my houſe ſhall ſerve the Lord, and ſo Ezekias inſtructed his ſervants to write out a part of Salomons Proverbs. Prov. 25.1. Servants ſhould adorne the doctrine of Ieſus Chriſt. Tit. 2.19. which they cannot doe unleſſe they be taught.
The maſters duty to his ſervants to feed him.The third duty of the maſter to the ſervants is to feed them, Thou ſhalt not muzzle the mouth of the oxe that treadeth out the corne. 1. Cor. 8.9. The oxe when hee was treading out the corne might eate as much as he pleaſed;Alluſion. and the Prophet alludeth Hoſ. 10.11. Ephraim delighted in threſhing, but not in plowing, that is, in the commoditie of religion, but not in the paines to reape up his heart; and the Hebrewes have a proverbe, Bos debet edere ex tritura ſua; the heathen put an Engine about their ſervants neck,The Heathen uſed their ſervants hardly. which they called foreign, and it reached downe to their hands, that they might not ſo much as lick of the meale when they were ſifting it; here the ſervants amongſt the heathen, were in a worſe caſe then the oxen amongſt the Iewes. Iob. 29.11. They made their ſervants to die for thirſt when they were treading out the vinepreſſes: the vertuous woman riſeth while it is night, and giveth meat to her husband, and a portion to her handmaids. Prov. 31.15. See Salomons example, 2. Chron. 2.10. and 1. King. 5. There are many niggard maſters now, that will allow no more to their ſervants then Ahab did to Micajah when hee was his priſoner. 1. King. 2.2.foreign Aqua preſſurae, id eſt exigua. foreign Panis dimenſio. foreign Dimenſum, id eſt quaternt modij frumenti quos ſervi accipiebant in menſem. Cibato eum exiguo pane & aqua preſſurae, that is, with a little water which uſed to be given to priſoners; and in effect, they fed them with teares, Pſal. 80.5. That portion which the maſters in old times gave to their ſervants was called Lehhem hhuk, panis dimenſi, and foreign the meaſure which was meaſured out to ſervants in corne, this the heathen called foreign.
As maſters ſhould not pinch their ſervants,Pythagoras ſaid, Noli inſidere chaeniei, that is, have not a care what ye ſhall eate the morrow. ſo they muſt not daintily bring them up, He that daintily bringeth up his ſervant from a child, ſhall have him [ijhjeh manon] become his ſonne at the laſt, and the Hebrewes give an example of this in Ieroboam, foreign Filiuswho being ſo much made of, affected the kingdome afterward.
The fourth duty is to correct them, and to cover their leſſe offences; nagnar and foreign,foreign Puer. foreign Colaphum incutere. is both a child and a ſervant: why are ſervants called children in the Scripture? but to teach maſters to correct them gently.
They uſed ſundry ſorts of corrections, firſt foreign,foreign Crepida, to beat with a ſhooe or pantofle et non a foreign, virga to beat with a rod. foreign Depilantibus, a foreign Depilavit. to buffet; then foreign, to beat with a ſhoe or pantofle; then foreign, barbae vellicatio, the pulling of the beard, Eſay 50.6. I gave my back to the ſmiters, and my cheekes [lemoritim] to them that plucked off the haire. For great offences the maſter might whip his ſervant ad tumorem, ad livorem, ad ſanguinem: The bleweneſſe of the wound chaſeth away evill, Prov. 20.30. but hee ſhould whip him ſo thar he leave not a ſcarre or marke behinde him, the Greekes called theſe foreign, that is, ſervi ſtigmatici, whoſe backes were marked like the moore hen;Maſters ſhould not correct their ſervants rigorouſly, and they were ſo called ab atagine, this belongeth onelyonly to the magiſtrate to marke and ſtigmatize them.
Although the Lord grant great liberty to maſters over their ſervants in correcting them, yet they have no power over the life of their ſervants, and therefore the maſter is not excuſed, Exod. 21.20. If hee had ſtrucke his ſervant with a weapon purpoſing to kill him, and hee kill him. Hee is excuſed onelyonly if hee beate him with a rod,Maſters have no power over the life of their ſervants. having an intention onelyonly to chaſtiſe him, and in the meane time hee dye: it is not to be preſumed that hee did this of purpoſe to kill his ſervant; but if hee had beaten him with ſuch violence that hee had preſently dyed under his hand, then hee was holden as the murtherer of him; and whereas it is ſaid Exod. 21.21. He is his money, this freeth him neither in the court of conſcience nor before men, as if hee had power to kill his ſeruant: neither was hee freed, but in ſo farre as it was preſumed that hee would not have killed him when he bought him, but onelyonly to chaſtiſe him.
Maſters ſhould reward their ſervants.The laſt dutie of maſters to the ſervants, is to reward them, Exod. 21.13. At hee came in with his body, ſo hee ſhall goe out with his body. Hee ſhall goe out with his bodie, that is, he ſhall goe out alone; and it is oppoſite to that, he ſhall goe out with his wife, that is, if hee had beene married before they ſhall both goe out free.
And Deut. 15.13. Thou ſhalt not ſend him away empty, but thou ſhalt reward him liberally. In the originall it is [bagnanek tagnanik lo] thou ſhalt honourably ſend him away,foreign H…rando honorarium et …is ve… torquem au…e…m collo ejus impone… imp… foreign ter…. or thou ſhalt put a chaine about his neck when thou ſendeſt him away. When maſters reward their ſervants, and ſervants doe their duty faithfully, this is called foreign, Matt. 20.2. hee agreed with them for a pennie, foreign; when the ſervant ſerveth faithfully, and the maſter rewardeth him not liberally, this maketh a jarre in muſicke. Eſay 16.14. But now the Lord hath ſpoken ſaying, within three yeares, as the yeares of a hireling, and the glory of Moab ſhall be contemned, with all that great multitude, and the remnant ſhall be very ſmall and feeble. Here is an alluſion to the manner how the Iewes payed the wages of their mercenary ſervants, annus mercenarij, Annus …ercenarij quid,was th… yeare when hee had compleat his full time,Alluſion. and ſerved neither more nor leſſe, then he got his full wages and nothing was diminiſhed, nor the payment was delayed; ſo Moabs cup is full, and therefore the Lord will not deferre his puniſhment, but puniſh him preſently.
Now, that maſters may performe this duty the better to their ſervants, let them remember that of Iob. 13.14. Hee who created me created him in the wombe. Motives to move maſters to performe dutie to their ſervants.When Iohn fell downe before the angell to worſhip him, the angell ſaid, Doe it not, for I am thy fellow ſervant; Revel. 19.10. much more may maſters ſay to their ſervants, I am thy fellow ſervant: by nature and birth they are equall with them, Homines contubernales, humiles amici, & conſervi, & habent cutem communem, licet non veſtem: They live under one roofe, they are friends of a lower condition, they are covered with the ſame skinne, and they differ only in apparell; and as they differ not in creation, ſo neither in redemption, Galat. 3.28. There is neither Iew nor Greeke, bond nor free, neither male nor female, for they are all one in Chriſt: the ſervant paid the halfe ſicle as well as the maſter. And let them remember that they ſhall be equall with them in death, Iob 3.19. The ſmall and the great are there, and the ſervant is free from his maſter.
The concluſion of this is,Concluſion. if maſters looke up to their great maſter the Lord,Supra Se, In Se, Iuxta Se, Infra Se, they will doe their dutie to their ſervants under them; a man hath a fourefold obligation; firſt to God, ſupra ſe; then to himſelfe, in ſe; then to his equals, …xta ſe; and then to his inferiours, infra ſe; if they looke up to him that is above them, it will teach them their duty to thoſe who are under them.