The Drunkards Character, Section 132
§ 132.
OBjection.That the use their tongues only a friv…lous excuse. But thou hast only used thy tongue against them; whereas some have shed the blood of the Saints. Well, suppose it bee so, yet what should they suffer from thee, if they were at thy mercy? It is not so materiall what thou doest, as what thou desirest: the very purpose of treason, though the fact bee hindered, is treason: not the outward action, but the inward affection is all in all with God, who measures the work by the will, as men measure the will by the worke.
But to take only what is confest: the persecution of the tongue is a greater evill, then thou art aware of. Wee reade that Chams scoffing only, brought his Fathers curse, and God's upon that. And that their sinne, which brought a scandall upon the holy Land, and made all the people to murmure against Moses, dyed by a plague from the Lord, and was the cause that they never entered into it; they found it was no jesting matter, Numbers 14. 37. Now wee may judge of their sin, by their punishment: yet their sinne was not halfe so bad, as theirs is, who amongst us, cause the way of truth to be evill spoken of; for this is either atheisme, or frenzie, or blasphemy, or rather all these; and thou shalt one day wish, with Hecebolus, that thy tongue had been rivetted to the roof of thy mouth from thy conception, rather then thou haddest sinned so against the brethren, wounded their weake consciences, and so risen up against Christ, 1 Cor. 8. 12. yea to be a scoffer, is the depth of sinne; such an one, is upon the very threshold of hell, as being set downe in a resolute contempt of all goodnesse.
Besides, some men will better abide a stake, Some can better abide ast ake then others ascoffe.then some others can a mo…k. Zedechiah could happily have found in his heart, to have harkened to the Prophets counsell, but that this lay in his way; I am afraid of the Iemes, least they deliver me unto the Chaldeans hands, and they mocke me, Ier. 38. 19. It was death to him to be mocked. A generous nature is more wounded with the tongue, then with the hand; yea, above hell, there is not a greater punishment, then to become a Sanni…, a subject of sc…rne. Sampson bore with more patience the boring out of his eyes, then the … of the Philistims; they made a feast to their gods, no Musitian would serve, but Sampson, he must now be their sport, that was once their terror; every wit, every hand playes upon him, who is not ready to cast his bone, and his jest at such a captive… so as doubtlesse he wished himselfe no lesse dease, then blind, and that his soule might have gone out with his eyes: oppression is able to make a wife man mad, Eccl. 7. 9. and the greater the courage is, the more painefull the insultation.
Alcibiades did professe, that neither the proscription of his goods, nor his banishment, nor the wounds received in his body, were so grievous to him, as one scornefull word of his enemy Clestiphon. Yea, O Saviour, thine eare was more painefully pierced, then thy browes, or hands, or feete; it could not but goe deepe into thy soule, to heare those bitter and girding reproaches from them, Thou camest to save. And hereupon good Queene Esther, in her prayers to God for her people, doth humbly deprecate this height of infelicity, O let them not laugh at our ruines. And David acknowledg'd it for a singular token of Gods favour, that his enemies did not triumph over him, Psal. 41. 11. Thou thinkest not tongue-taunts to be persecution; but thou shalt, one day heare it so pronounc't, in thy bill of inditement. Ishmael did but flout Isaac, yet St. Paul saith, he persecuted him, Gal. 4. 29. God calls the scorning of his servants, by no better a name then persecution: and whatsoever thou conceivest of it, let this fault be as farre from my soule, as my soule from Hell.
Alasse! this is no petty sinne; for one malicious scoffe made F…lix nothing, day and night, but vomit blood, till his unhappy soule was fetcht from his wretched Carkasse. And Pherecydes did no more but give religion a nick-name (a small matter, if thou mayst be made judge) yet for that small fault, he was consumed by Wormes alive. And Lucian for barking, like a dog, against Religion, was by a just judgment of God, devoured of Dogs.
Yea, suppose the best that can come, namely, that God gives thee an heart to repent of it, beforethou goe hence, and that thy soule hath her pardon sued out in the blood of Christ, as it fared with St. Paul, that chosen vessell; yet know, that thy body and mind shall smart for this sinne above all: doe but heare the Apostles owne testimony of himselfe, 2 Corinthians, 11. 23. to 34: did he make havocke of the Church? the world made havocke of him for it; did he hale men and women to prison? himselfe was often imprisoned: did he helpe to stone Steven? himselfe was also stoned: did he afflict his owne countrimen? his owne countrimen no lesse afflicted him: did he lay stripes upon the Saints? the Iewes layd stripes upon him: was he very painefull and diligent to beate downe the Gospell? he was in wearinesse, and painefulnesse, frequent watchings, and fastings, in hunger, and thirst, cold, and nakednesse, to defend the Gospell, &c. Thus he endured when he was Paul, what he inflicted as he was Saul; and yet he did it out of ignorance, 1 Tim. 1. 13. from whence we may argue, by way of concession, thus.
If he that found mercy, felt the rod, which scourged him so smart: what shall their plagues be, in whose righteous confusion God insulteth? Pro. 1. 26. Isay, 1. 24. If he who had his booke, felt so much paine; what shall they feele, that are sentenced to eternall death? If he that did it of ignorance, and out of zeale, was lasht with so many stripes; what will become of them, that doe the same knowingly, and maliciously? If Christ will be ashamed of them, when he comes to judge, that onelyonly were ashamed to confesse him, when he came to suffer: how will he reject those with indignation, that rejected him with derision? If the wretched Gergasites, who repelled Christ for feare, are sent into the fire: what doe they deserve, who drive him away with scorne?