The True Christians T est, Part 1 · Meditation 84
MEDITAT. LXXXIV. Of Impure Wiſdom.
THE Wiſdom which is from above is pure, ſays the Apoſtle James: From whence it follows by the oppoſition, That the worldly Wiſdom is impure.
I take Pure, to be a general deſcription of the heavenly Wiſdom, and all the ſpecies▪ following do partake of it, ſo the worldly Wiſdom is in general impure. All Sin indeed is Impurity, the propereſt deſcription of it. Therefore the Devil himſelf is in the Goſpel deſcrib'd by this eſpecially, The Ʋnclean Spirit. So that I will not make Impurity in the Abſtract a diſtinct Head of Meditation, but will a little inſiſt upon impure Wiſdom in the Concrete, without interfering with any of the Particulars that follow in the Text.
Impure Wiſdom is a Symptom of a Worldly Mind.
Now as the pure Wiſdom is, as the Apoſtle phraſeth it, to be wiſe unto that which is good, Rom. 16. 19. So the impure Wiſdom is, to be wiſe to do evil, as the Prophet phraſeth it, Jer. 4. 22. Of this there are ſeveral kinds, beſides what the Apoſtle reckons up in the following words.
They are impurely wife, who make uſe of their cunning or ſubtilty to undermine or over-reach others in Tranſactions, contrary to Plainneſs and Simplicity! That take advantage of others Ignorance or Weakneſs in matter of Conſultation, Bargain, Law, or the like, to hurt them.
That alſo is impure Wiſdom, which ſerves Oppreſſion and Violence. Thus wiſe were Pharaoh and his Egyptian Counſellors: They took a wiſe courſe, but what was it for? To oppreſs and murder, Exod. 1. 10. Come, let us deal wiſely, &c. Was it not a cunning way of killing, to make the Midwives, the Lucinae, to be the Inſtruments of uſhering the Children into the ſhades of death; to eſcape the guilt of drowning them, by only bidding them to drown one another?
That alſo is impure Wiſdom, that ſerves the Luſt of Fornication and Adultery. I have read of many witty devices for the ſatisfaction of Luſt; the Poets furniſh us with abundance of them, even amongſt their very Gods. And I think the Moral of all thoſe Transformations of himſelf that Jupiter made, is nothing elſe but to deſcribe this amarous Impurity, this impure Wiſdom. That of the golden ſhower eſpecially, is acted over every day; whereby many handſome Bodies are debauched, and pretty People corrupted. What female conſtitution ſo hard and dry, as not to be ſoftned by a ſhower of gold, eſpecially if it come from above? But the Scripture inſtance is moſt authentick, of ſubtile Jonadab who taught his Friend Amnon a way, how he might ſatisfie his Luſt upon his Siſter Tamar, 2 Sam. 13.
That alſo is impure wiſdom, that ſerves Ambition. How wonderful witty ſome men are to contrive their own advancement! How Courtly and Complimental is Abſalom! He condeſcends to kiſs the ordinary ſort of people, to gain them. Oh how humble is the proud Abſal…! Would any one have thought that his kiſſing their faces, was only in order to their kiſſing his hand? Yea, the good man is troubled to ſee all Iſrael to be as Sheep with a Shepherd; he pities them, that ail'd nothing; he aſperſes the Government, though it was the Government of his Father; and promiſes fairly, if he were made Judge in the Land▪
That alſo is impure wiſdom, that makes Laws for Snares; in what kind of Society ſoever it be, it matters not. God gives no Laws, but what are for our good, and if men make Laws, which they matter not much, whether they be broken or kept, ſo they may but have an occaſion to exact the Penalty, it is far from the Nature of God, and the Method of Him that governs the World. This is to debauch Juſtice, and make her a Bawd to Covetouſneſs or Revenge. This was the wicked wiſdom of Daniel's Enemies, and of the Hea…hens perſecuting the Chriſtians.
Near of Kin to this, is that wiſdom that lays Baits, and offers Temptations to men, to cauſe them to offend, and then puniſhes them for offending. The Egyptians firſt oppreſt the Iſraelites, and made them mad, and then puniſh'd th… … for Complaining and Mutiny. It is good to have faithful Servants; but to lay Baits for them, and tempt them to unfaithfulneſs, ſeems to be the method of impure wiſdom. Whatever may be ſaid in commendation of Jehu's zeal in deſtroying the Baa…tes, his wiſdom in inviting them to a Sacrifice, and engaging them in Idolatry firſt, looks like a Serpentine device. It is the wiſdom of the Devil, to make men to ſin, and then torment their Conſciences even to deſpair, becauſe they have ſinned. There are ſeveral other kinds of impure wiſdom, but poſſibly they may fall under ſome of the Particulars that follow in the Text, I will therefore next meditate of thoſe Particulars.