Exposition of the Moral Law, Book 2 · Commandment 9 · Exercitation 5
EXERCITAT. V. Againſt boaſting of our ſelves. Commandement IX.
Prov. 27.6. Let another man praiſe thee, and not thine owne mouth.
THis Commandement condemneth boaſting of any thing in our ſelves, this is called foreign.foreign, Suiipſius laudatio.
The ground of this boaſting is ſelfe-love, and the conceit of our ſelves, hence cometh ſwellings, 2. Cor. 12.20. and then bragging.
Firſt then, a man muſt not bragge of his knowledge,What things a man muſt not bragge of. They ſaid they ſaw well enough when they were blinde, Revelat. 3.17.
So a man muſt not bragge of his holineſſe, as the Phariſee did, Luc. 18.11. I thanke thee O God, that I am not as other men are, and ſuch as ſaid, Stand by thy ſelfe, come not neare to mee; for I am holyer then thou, Eſay. 65.5.
Thirdly, he muſt not bragge of his workes, Rom. 3.27. So neither of his perſeverance, this was Peters bragge; Matt. 26.33. Though all men be offended becauſe of thee, yet will I never be offended. It is a good thing when Moſes face ſhineth, and hee knoweth not.
As a man may not bragge of his ſpirituall eſtate,A man ſhould neither bragge of his ſtrength nor riches. ſo neither may hee bragge of his bodily ſtrength, as Goliah did, nor of his riches, Ier. 9.23. Let not the mighty man glory in his might; Let not the rich man glory in his riches. So Hoſ. 12.8. Ephraim ſaid, I am become rich, I have found mee out ſubſtance. hee braggeth of his ſubſtance, but telleth not of whom hee had them; ſuch was the proud bragge of Benhadad. 1. King. 20.10. God do ſo, and more to me alſo, if the duſt of Samaria ſhall be handfuls, for all the people that ſhall follow. So Eſay 14. Nebuchadnezzars bragge, I have ſet my throne above the ſtarres, and I have gathered all the earth, as one gathereth egges.
A man muſt not boaſt of his ſecurity.Neither muſt they bragge of their worldly ſecurity, ſuch was the bragge of Babylon, I ſit as a queene, and am no widdow, and ſhall ſee no ſorrow▪ Revelat. 18.7. Eſay. 47.8. Salomon ſaith, It is not good to eat much honey, ſo he that ſearcheth his owne glory ſhall periſh, Prov. 25.27. as hony taken moderately is wholeſome, but to eate too much of it, maketh a way to ſurfet: ſo it is not good for a man to ſearch his owne praiſe, or to bragge too much of himſelfe. And whereas hee goeth about thus to get friends by bragging, he loſeth his friends.
Laſtly, let not a man bragge of the victory before it be gotten, Let him not bragge who girdeth on the harneſſe, but hee who layeth it aſide. 1. King. 20.11.
The aſſuming of glorious titles is a great bragging.Kings and great men muſt not arrogate too great and high titles to themſelves, for this is a proud boaſting. Alexander the great, commanded to call himſelfe the ſonne of Iupiter Hammon. So Sapor king of Perſia in his letters to Conſtantine, began with theſe titles: King of kings, Sapor prince of the ſtarres, the brother of the Sunne, and the moone, wiſheth all health to Conſtantine. So to call themſelves, The great king, a title which is onelyonly proper to God. Matt. 5.25. Thou ſhalt not ſweare by Ieruſalem, for it is the city of the great king, foreign Majeſtas, ſuperbia.ſuch is the proud title of the Othmans, gnottoma, ſignifieth pride and majeſty, hence cometh the proud name Othman, which wee call Ottaman. foreign Rex ſuperb…s.So the titles which the Pope taketh to himſelfe; calling himſelfe, Chriſts Vicar upon earth, and thoſe titles which his flatterers give unto him.
Simon Magus aſcribed a little to himſelfe, calling himſelfe ſome great one. Act. 8.9. and the people called him, the great power of God. So the proud ſtile which the Church of Rome taketh to her, calling herſelfe the mother Church. Whereas the Iewiſh Church called the Church of the Gentiles, her ſiſter. Cant. 8.8. So the proud titles which the Phariſees and Doctors of the Iewes tooke to themſelves,foreign they were called Pekachim aperti, becauſe they onelyonly ſaw; and leaders of the blinde. Rom. 2.19. and they would not be content to be called foreign, lovers of wiſedome; but foreign, wiſe men; therefore they ſaid, foreign, the wiſe men will teach traditions the day, and they were called Merobhetz hatorah, foreignbecauſe they made the law to reſt amongſt them; and they ſayd of the common people, populus terrae ſcabellum pedum Phariſaeorum. One of them was called Or hagnolum, the light of the world; and the title of Rabbi Iuda was Rabboni hakkodeſh, holy maſter. foreignZaddias was called Hagaon, illuſtris; and Aben Ezra was called Lapis auxilij, the ſtone. Laſtly, the proud titles which the Schoole men take to themſelves, as Doctor irrefragabilis, Doctor ſeraphicus, Doctor fundatiſſimus, Doctor illuminatus, Doctor ſolemnis, Doctor ſubtilis, Doctor angelicus, and Comeſtor, quod edit ſcripturam; and Iacobus de Voragine, quod devoraverat ſcripturam.
Of the Phariſees bragge. Luc. 18.
FIrſt, the Phariſee faileth in reckoning up his vertues,The negative part of the Phariſees bragge. but maketh no mention of his vices; for he ſaith not, I am proud or a contemner of God, or a contemner of others. Secondly, he ſaith not through the grace of God I am that I am, as Paul ſaid; but he gloried as though he had beene made of better ſtuffe then other men. Thirdly, hee ſaith, I am not an oppreſſor or an adulterer; but hee was one, for the greateſt ſort of robbery is to robbe God of his honour; therefore the Apoſtle ſaith, That Chriſt thought it not robbery to bee equall with God. Phil. 2.6. hee ſaith, he is not an adulterer; he abſtaineth perhaps from the fact, but the Phariſees underſtood not; That to lust after a woman was a ſinne. Mat. 5. Paul himſelfe before his converſion knew not this. Rom. 7. and then hee addeth, I am not like this Publican. What ſeeſt thou O Phariſee in this Publican? Who art thou that judgeſt another mans ſervant? Seeſt thou not this poore Publican knocking on his breaſt, and caſting downe his eyes? Are there not twelve houres in the day? and doth not the Lord call ſome, at the eleventh houre, and ſome at the ſunne ſetting? And the Hebrewes ſay, Noli quemquam contemnere, nemo enim eſt cui non eſt ſua hora: Deſpiſe no man, for every man hath his time of calling.
The affirmative part of the Phariſees bragge.But marke the affirmative part of this bragge, I faſt twiſe in the weeke, and I give my tithes; what abſtinence is this to abſtaine from meat, and not from ſinne? the devils never eate, and yet their abſtinence pleaſeth not God. Secondly, he ſaith, I give tithes; he maketh a gift of that which he was bound to pay.Boaſting whereto compared. Baſil hath a good ſaying, Inanis gloria est tinea virtutum, vaine-glory is as a moath which eateth and conſumeth the vertue; and Gregorie in his morals hath a good compariſon againſt againſt this pride; hee ſaith, as Eleazer fighting with the Elephant, killed the Elephant, and was killed by the Elephant himſelfe when the Elephant fell upon him; So when a man hath killed many vices, and becomes proud of that, they fall under pride, and ſo are killed by it. Is enim ſub hoſte quem proſternit moritur, qui de culpa quam ſuperat elevatur.
Queſt. Whether may a man reckon upon his good deedes before God or not? ſeeing it was the fault of the Phariſee?
A man ſhould be very ſparing in doing of this, Anſw. When a man reckoneth up his good deedes, hee muſt firſt give the glory to God.for oftentimes it proceedeth of the pride of his heart, and robbeth the Lord of his glory; God is moſt liberall to man, and will trade with him & let him have the gaine, but God himſelfe will have the praiſe; and he reſerveth this as the fat of the ſacrifice for himſelfe. Eſay. 42. My glory I will not give to another. There is in the Sun light and brightneſſe, the Sunne communicateth the beames of his light to the creatures, but reſerveth the light for himſelfe; ſo the Lord reſerveth his glory for himſelfe, but he communicateth the beames thereof to Angels and to men. If a rich man ſhould beſtow upon a poore man a ſumme of money to build ſome Church with it, this poore man after the worke is ended, putteth on his owne name and armes upon the worke; hath not the rich man juſt cauſe to finde fault with the poore man for this. So it is when man taketh the honour to himſelfe which is due to God, but when a man reckoneth up his good deedes, not truſting or glorying in them, but giving all the glory to God, then it is not a ſinne; and when he ſaith, Dum coronat Deus opera mea, What time chiefly men ſhould glory of their good deedes.non coronat niſi dona ſua. And the children of God have uſed this rather at their death and in the point of their diſſolution, then in their life time; Hezekiah ſaid when he was to die; Remember me O Lord I beſeech, how I have walked before thee in truth, and in a perfect heart; and have done that which was good in thy ſight. Eſay. 38.3. And Paul ſaid when he was to be offered up, and the time of his departure was at hand; I have fought a good fight, I have finiſhed my courſe, I have kept the faith, and henceforth is laid up for me a crowne of righteouſneſſe. 2. Tim. 4.7. So Hilarion ſaid when he was at the point of death. O my ſoule goe thy way, why art thou affraid? for thou hast ſerved Chriſt thy Lord ſeventy yeres, why then ſhouldſt thou bee affraid to goe to him? and it is more ſafe for a man to remember theſe good deedes at the houre of his death than in his life time; for as Hezekiah in a boaſting manner did ſhew his treaſures to the King of Babel, he was ſpoiled and robbed of them. 2. King. 20.17. So many in their life time bragging of thoſe things which they have done, are oftentimes ſpoiled by Satan of the comfort and fruit of them.
The ſaints are very ſparing to bragge of themſelves.And yee ſhall ſee that the Saints of God have beene very loath to ſpeake that which ſounded to their owne praiſe, as Paul ſaith, Ye compelled me to bragge. 1. Cor. 12. and when the children of God ſpeake any thing which tendeth to their owne praiſe, either they ſpeake it in the perſon of another, or they extenuate it very much; wee have an example of this in Paul. 1.They ſpeake for the moſt part in the perſon of another. Cor. 12.2. I knew a man in Chriſt foureteene yeares agoe, caught up to the third heaven, of ſuch a man I will glory, but of my ſelfe I will not glory. Firſt, marke when he commeth to ſpeake of himſelfe, he ſpeaketh in the perſon of another. Secondly, he concealed it for fourteene yeares. Hence wee ſee it to bee true which Salomon ſaith. Prov. 29.11. A foole uttereth all his minde, but a wiſe man will keepe it till afterward. Iohn will not ſay that hee himſelfe leaned in the boſome of Chriſt, but for modeſty he ſaith, There was leaning on Ieſus boſome one of his Diſciples whom he loved. Ioh. 13.23. So they extenuate that which ſeemeth to make for their owne praiſe. When Abraham had invited the Angels, although he had killed a calfe and prepared great fare for them, yet he ſaith, I will fetch a morſell of bread. Gen. 18.5. So when Luke ſpeaketh of the feaſt which Mathew, called alſo Levi, made in his houſe to Chriſt, hee ſaith, that Levi made a great feaſt to Chriſt. Luc. 5.27.28. but when himſelfe ſpeaketh of it. Mat. 9.10. he ſaith onelyonly, that he came home and eate bread in Levies houſe; to teach us, that another mans mouth ſhould praiſe us, and not our owne. Prov. 27.2.
But Moſes writeth of himſelfe, Ob. that he was very meeke above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. Num. 12.3.
This verſe ſeemeth to have beene added by Ioſhua, Anſw. Many places of anticipation in the Scripture.or by Eſaras, rather than ſet downe by Moſes himſelfe; for there are many things inſert by the men of God in Moſes writings, which were not inſert by Moſes himſelfe. As Lachis which is called Dan. Gen. 14.14. although it got not this name untill Ioſhua divided the land amongſt the tribes. Ioſh. 19.27. So Num. 21.14, 15.27. theſe three verſes which fell out in the dayes of Ioſhua are ſet downe in Moſes hiſtory, albeit not by Moſes himſelfe.
So when Salomon gave to Hiram ſo many cities, Hiram called them in the Phaenician tongue the land of Chabbul. 1. King. 9.13. this was the firſt impoſition of the name, and yet it is ſo called in the dayes of Ioſhua. Cap. 19.27. this Eſdras did, or ſome other holy man; long after Ioſhua was dead. So this verſe might bee inſerted after Moſes death: So the whole laſt chapter of Deuteronomie was added after Moſes death.
The concluſion of this is:Concluſion. What haſt thou that thou haſt not received? and if thou haſt received, why boaſteſt thou as if thou hadeſt not received them. 1 Cor. 4.7.