Sarah and Hagar, Sermon 6
THE SIXTH SERMON.
GEN. 16.5.
And Sarah ſaid to Abraham, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid, &c.
THe next Conſequent of Abrahams marriage with Hagar is, Sarahs expoſtulation with her husband; wherein ſhe challengeth him with doing her wrong, and maketh him the cauſe that ſhe was deſpiſed by Hagar.
2. She challengeth him with ingratitude: ſhe had given her maid into his boſom, and ſhe is contemned by her: wherein ſhe taketh it for granted, that he did ſoment it.
3. She breaketh out into a kinde of imprecation; The Lord judge between me and thee; that is, The Lord reward thee according to that I unjuſtly ſuffer from thee.
But before we come to theſe particulars, we will premiſe ſome things:
Obſerv. 1. When God is not conſulted, all projects are invalid. Muſculus in locum.Firſt, obſerve we, with Muſculus, Quomodo cedant humana conſilia, citra Verbum Dei praeſumpta: How plots and projects ſucceed, wherein God is not conſulted.
You know the plot that Sarah had, and how ſhe did accompliſh it; and ſhe expected no little comfort from it: and behold, in ſtead of comfort, ſhe meeteth with contempt and ſcorn. And again, it proveth an occaſion of a difference between her and her husband, who had hitherto lived ſo ſweetly together, that there had not been the leaſt touch or tang of diſcontentment between them. Our own contrivements, when God is not called to counſel, no wonder though, like an ill-charged Peece, they recoil upon our ſelves: Juſt like that ſtaff of reed, Iſai. 36.6.Iſai. 36. which doth not onelyonly fail a man, but runneth into his hand, and doth him hurt. The builders of Babel joyn heads and hands for the erecting of that tower; and their aim was, 1. To get them a name: 2. To prevent their ſcattering upon the face of the earth. The failed in both: for they reaped reproach from this attempt; and they were the ſooner ſcattered abroad one from another. There was nothing of God in that plot of Joſephs brethren againſt him; and therefore it ſucceeded accordingly, on their part: for they haſten that promotion of his, which they would have prevented; and they treaſure up for themſelves matter of ſorrow and repentance: For we know what perplexity they are in in Egypt, when they reflect upon this unnatural fact of theirs; and how jealous of their brother, when he hath diſcovered himſelf, leſt he ſhould pay the old ſcore. What a plot had Pharaoh upon the people of Iſrael! Come, (ſaith he) let us work wiſely: He oppreſſed them with hard labor, thereby to exhauſt their ſtrength, that they might be diſabled from generation, and ſo he might prevent their multiplication: and behold, the more they were oppreſſed, the more they were increaſed, even as the fiſhes of the ſea: he was diſappointed in that which he aimed at, and, no doubt, vexed to ſee himſelf ſo diſappointed. Saul did not ask counſel of God, when he laid that plot againſt David, that he ſhould marry his daughter, and give an hundred foreskins of the Philiſtims, for a dowry: his aim was, that he might be cut off, but ſee, he reapeth nothing from his plot, but that which grieveth his heart, the improvement of his honour whom he hated. Jeroboam had a plot for the ſtrengthening himſelf in his uſurpation, That he would erect two calves in Dan and Bethel, and ſo keep the people from going to Jeruſalem to worſhip; and This the very means of the deſtruction of him and his poſterity. The world ringeth of the plot that Haman had againſt the Jews: and you know the iſſue of it; the Jews are preſerved, and himſelf is executed. Jonah had a plot to ſubterfuge his employment to Nineveh; he will flee to Tarſhiſh; and applaudeth himſelf in that quietneſs he ſhall enjoy at ſuch a diſtance: But ſee the iſſue; God diſpatcheth a meſſage after him, in the mouth of a whirlwinde, and he is thrown into the ſea. The plot of the high-Prieſts and the Rulers, was, to take away Chriſts authority. And thoſe husbandmen to whom the vineyard was let out, Matth. 21.Matth. 21 and when Chriſt came among them, they ſaid, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, and the inheritance ſhall be ours. Occidiſtis eum, & tamen haereditas non eſt veſtra, (ſaith Saint Auguſtine:) You have killed him,S. Auguſtine. and yet the inheritance is none of yours: Nay, that which they were ſo ſtudious to prevent, they haſtened by this means: for, the Romans came, and took away their kingdom; they were ſcattered abroad, and under that miſerable diſperſion they yet lie; and the blood of our Lord is upon them, and their children, unto this day.
And are not we able to ſeal to this in our own experience? How the luſtful, covetous, revengeful plots of men, have not onelyonly failed, but brought much grief and danger to the contrivers: that as the bird is limed with that which groweth out of its own excretion; ſo they have reaped the ſorry fruit of their own way; and their own projects have been their puniſhments.
And who can expect it ſhould be otherwiſe? For, can any thing proſper without God? Nay, doth he not denounce a wo againſt Thoſe that ask counſel, but not of him? Iſai. 30.Iſai. 30.1. And 8.9.
Secondly, doth he not ſay to the Prophet, (Chap. 8.) Take counſel together, And 19.3.and it ſhall be brought to nought? Doth he not ſay, Chap. 19. that the ſpirit of Egypt ſhall fail in the midst of it, and he will deſtroy the counſel thereof? Doth he not ſay, that Iſrael ſhall be aſhamed of his own counſel? Hoſ. 10.6.
For the Uſe of this:
ApplicationLet us, in all our intendments and purpoſes, adviſe with God, and project nothing but what we have warrant for from him. If it be of God, (as Gamaliel ſometime ſaid) it will ſtand: but if it be onelyonly of mans own brain, it will come to nought, and not onelyonly fail us, but foil us; prove a detriment and grief unto us; and the more vexatious, becauſe we owe it to our ſelves, as the authors of it.
Object. I, (but will ſome ſay) We have known men that have laid their plots, and they have proſpered; and they have found that contentment in it which they promiſed themſelves. As for inſtance: a man that hath had his plots for the hooking in of great means, by untoward ways; his lines have held; he hath lived jovially, and left this eſtate to his heirs, and ſetled it as ſure as Law could make it.
Sol. S. Auguſtine.And do you call this Proſperity? Lucrum in arca, & damnum in conſcientia, (ſaith that Father:) Gain in the coffer, and loſs in the conſcience. What? a man to go to hell, to make his ſon rich? Is there any compariſon between winning of the whole world, and the loſs of the ſoul? foreign: ſure, nothing is of equal value with that. Beſides, hath he not treaſured up a curſe for poſterity? For, how have we known ſuch eſtates moulder away to nothing, in a generation or two!
Object. I, but (it will be ſaid again) even the beſt projects, and thoſe which be according to Gods will, yet always ſucceed not; nay, ſometimes men are damnified by them.
Sol.It may be ſo in the outward man, which God, in his wiſdom, may ſuffer; as we ſee in the children of Iſrael, that were twice diſcomfited by the Benjamites, and overthrown with a great ſlaughter, (though, both times, God commanded them to go out) for the exerciſe of their patience, and puniſhment of their ſins, to move them to ſervent humiliation and invocation. I ſay, It may be thus in the outward man; but never in the inward man, as not damnified there, becauſe he hath his conſcience to witneſs unto him, that he hath done things uprightly and lawfully: and this teſtimony is a good harbour, in the miſcarrying of any buſineſs.
I renew then my Exhortation: Let us not look for comfort in any buſineſs, wherein we do not ask Gods counſel, be our helps and means as probable and likely as may be. Let us look, non confirmari, ſed infirmari, (as one ſaith:) not to be ſtrengthened unto the end, but weakned therewith: expect God to croſs us, to give us mourning, in ſtead of all the mirth we looked for; penury, in ſtead of plenty; ignominy, in ſtead of dignity; contempt, in ſtead of comfort: as we ſee here in Sarah, whoſe plot is paid home, with the inſolencie and pride of her ſervant, that ſhe had preferred to her huſband. Which are two things further that we are to conſider of, as thoſe which did edge her expoſtulation with her husband.
Firſt, the ingratitude of her maide I told you of the laſt day,Obſerv. 2. The ill offices of a friend, still wound the deepeſt. how ill it was in Hagar: now let me tell you, how deep it cut her miſtreſs: that ſhe, whom ſhe had loved and dignified, ſhould be thus malepert againſt her; and certainly, ingratitude after good and great deſervings, will affect much: Joſeph thought with himſelf, how ill his maſter muſt take it from him; that he, whom he had ſo reſpected and advanced, ſhould wrong his bed: we know what David had done for Keilah; he had ſaved it from the Philiſtims; thoſe ingrateful ones, for all that, had a purpoſe to deliver him into Sauls hand; it much troubleth him, inſomuch that he asketh God, once, and the ſecond time; will the men of Keilah deliver me? Can they be ſo unthankful for a benefit ſo freſh in their remembrance? 1 Sam. 23. David knew well what he had done for Nabal, 1 Sam. 23how he had ſaved his flocks; and therefore, when he forgetteth his kindneſs, and ſendeth him ſuch a churliſh anſwer to ſo modeſt a motion; he is put into a paſſion, is much troubled, and reſolveth upon a ſpeedy and ſharp revenge, 1 Sam. 25.1 Sam. 25. You ſhall ſee how the ſame David bemoaneth himſelf; Pſal. 41.9. that his familiar friend in whom he truſted, and who did eat of his bread, whom he put in his boſome, He lift up his heel againſt him: (and as he ſaith elſe where,) had it been a ſtranger, or an adverſary, he could have born it; but from ſuch an one as he had loved, and done good unto this grieved him: there is much Emphaſis in that one word of Chriſt to Judas, betrayeſt thou the ſon of man with a kiſs? Thou, my Domeſtick! thou that haſt been ſo neer unto me, yea whom I truſted to be my purſebearer! Thou betray me! and when Caeſar was ſlain in the Senate, all the wounds he received from the reſt of the conſpiratours, were not ſo grievous unto him, as that of Brutus, foreign; what, thou my ſon! a cold winde from the South is moſt unnatural; and unkindneſs from thoſe that we have moſt favoured, is intolerable.
Now for the Uſe of it:
Becauſe we may be exerciſed with this trial among others,Application and that we may finde people ungrateful unto us; and thoſe moſt, of whom we have deſerved beſt; and becauſe, it is a thing apt to work upon us, and diſturb us; let us fortifie our ſelves againſt it, by theſe things.
Firſt, let us conſider the vitiouſneſs and depravedneſs of mans nature; as there is in man a foreign, a ſeed-plot and ſeminary of all ſin; and among the reſt, he is apt to be guilty of ingratitude; we ſhould therefore wonder no more at this then at other ſins; for the fire will burn, and the fountain will bubble up, and corrupt Nature will ſhew it ſelf; every thing will doe according to its kinde.
Secondly, to pacifie us, let us know we are not alone in this; in all times men have had experience of others unthankfulneſs. Moſes from the people, to whom he did ſo many good offices; the Egyptians ſoon forgot Joſeph, who, when time was, was only, under God, the preſerver of their Country: Iſrael ſhewed not kindeneſs to Gideon according to all the goodneſs that he had ſhewed to Iſrael; Judg. 8.10.Judg. 8. our Lord ſuffered in this kinde from the Jews, yea from Judas his own Diſciple; and who are we, that we ſhould be exempted from this tryal?
Thirdly, let us think often of our carriage towards God, how he hath heaped up bleſſings upon us; yea, tyled one favour upon another: and that foreign, that is, day by day, every morning, his mercies are renewed; he doth not only prevent us with them, and follow us with them; but even compaſſeth us with them: we are as a Center, wherein the lines of his bleſſings from every part of the Circumference, do meet: and yet how unthankful are we! every day provoking him, every moment ſinning againſt him; as if we would out-vie his mercies, with our ſins: as if like the Sycamour tree, we were the more barren for the oftner watering; it ſhould leſs trouble us therefore, when men are unthankful unto us, when we conſider the meaſure we offer to God; nay, we ſhould take it as a juſt puniſhment of our ingratitude towards him.
Fourthly, we ſhould not do good turns to others for thanks, or to oblieg them unto us; but we ſhould do, what we do, ingenuouſly, out of a conſcience of Gods commandment; that tyeth us to do good offices to them, out of a ſence of our brothers neceſſities; or out of a feeling of what true friendſhip and charity requireth of us: For when we aym at thanks, in the collation of favours, and think to binde men unto us, it more affecteth us when they prove unthankful.
Laſtly, the beſt way is to leave ſuch perſons to God, who is a ſure pay-maſter to thoſe that are guilty of this moral defect, this breach of good manners; in experience, he hath ſeldom ſuffered ingratitude, even in men towards men, to go unpuniſhed; now if God will revenge it, why ſhould we afflict our ſelves with it? Idoneus Sequeſter, Tertullian.Is (ſaith Tertullian in this caſe:) He wil remember it, when we have forgotten it.
A ſecond thing that edgeth Sarah, is, contempt and diſdain, that ſhe findeth of her ſelf,Obſerv. 3. Contempt is the heavieſt burden to ingenious ſpirits, with the remedies againſt it. in her ſervant; ſhe was deſpiſed in her eyes: and it cannot be denyed but that was a ſhrewd temptation; it was not ſo much by far, to be unthankful, as to add ſcorn unto it: the generous nature of man doth doubtfully conflict with this; and it can brook any thing rather then contempt: above hell there is not a greater puniſhment, then to become a Sannio, a ſubject of ſcorn: Samſon more patiently endureth the boring out of his eyes, then the Iudibrious ſcoffs of the Philiſtims: the inſultation of her colleague, was that which vexed the ſoul of Hannah; David bemoaneth himſelf to God, Pſal. 69. Thou haſt known my reproaah, and my ſhame, Pſal. 69.19, 20. &c.and my diſhonour: and verſe 20. that you may ſee how it affected him, (he ſaith) reproach hath broken mine heart; and Pſal. 119.39. he prayeth God to turn away the reproach which he ſo feared; and Pſal. 123.10. he ſaith, our ſoul is filled with the ſcorning of thoſe that are at eaſe: Alexander did profeſs that neither the proſcription of his goods, nor his baniſhment nor the wounds received in his body; were ſo grievious unto him, as one ſcornful word of his enemy Cteſiphon: and when the height of Gods anger is ſet down againſt the wicked, He is ſaid, to laugh them to ſcorn; Pſal. 2. and amongſt his ſoreſt puniſhments, he threatneth to make wicked men a ſcorn, and hiſſing, and a ſhame and reproach to others.
For the Uſe of it:
This may befal us, (who had rather ſuffer a blow then a jeer,Application a wound then a word of diſgrace;) and therefore we muſt arm our ſelves againſt it, by conſidering,
Firſt, that others, and thoſe dear Saints of God, have ſuffered the like; how was Joſeph ſcorned by his bretheren? they ſtile him, in contempt, the dreamer; and how was Moſes uſed by the people? as for this Moſes, we know not what is become of him; S. Chryſoſtomewhich Saint Chryſoſtom ſaith, was ſpoken foreign; in way of contempt, and contumely: and ſo we ſee how Job was deſpiſed when he was down the weather; yea, even by thoſe, whom, when he proſpered, he would ſcarce have ſet with the dogs of his flock: and David was fully exerciſed in this kinde, the very abjects deſpiſed him, and the drunkards made Songs of him: and Jeremy complaineth, Chapter 20.Jer. 20.7. J am in deriſion daily, and every one mocketh me: how was our bleſſed Saviour deſpiſed, and rejected of men! as it was propheſied, Iſa. 53. they vilified him in his life, and gave him baſe language; he was a ſinner (in their mouthes) a friend of publicans and ſinners; he was a Samaritan, and had a divel: and in his death, he that was Clarus imperio, was plenus opprobrio, (as the Father ſpeaks,) he that was bright in Majeſty, was ful of ignominy; he was undervalued to a wicked murtherer, he ſuffered between two theeves; and when he was upon the Croſs, one of them reviled him: and thoſe that paſſed by flouted him, and wagged their heads ſaying, Thou that deſtroyeſt the Temple, and buildeſt it up in three dayes, ſave thy ſelf; how were the Apoſtles contemned? thought to be full of new wine; and ſo Saint Paul amongſt the reſt, diſparaged as a babler by the Athenians, as a peſtilent fellow, by Tertullus, as a mad man by Feſtus.
Why then, let not contempt and ſcorn afflict us too much, ſeeing we have ſuch partners in it.
Secondly, to ſtay us, let us conſider of Gods hand in it; we ſuffer according to the will of God, 1 Pet. 4.1 Pet. 4.10. and David ſtayed himſelf with this, that God bid Shimei rail, 2 Sam. 16. God hath many rods, to ſcourge us withal; and if he pleaſe to take this of Contempt, who are we, that we ſhould murmure?
2. God doth it for good ends:
Firſt, to exerciſe our patience.
Secondly, to keep us from ſeeking the praiſes of men.
Thirdly, to aſſure us that we are in the right way that other of his ſervants have been in: for they have gone thorow good report, and bad report, 2 Cor. 6.8.2 Cor. 6.
3. A third thing that I preſcribe, for the better bearing of Contempt, is, to labour the ſubduing of that pride which is in our hearts: for, becauſe we think too well of our ſelves, and have an over-weening of our own parts, we are impatient of the leaſt ſcorn. Haman was a proud man, and therefore it brake his heart, almoſt, to finde diſreſpect but from one poor Jew. The Phariſees were proud, and highly conceited of themſelves; and therefore we ſee how they ſcorn the man that had been blinde, and think themſelves diſparaged that he ſhould teach them.
4 We ſhould be often in the meditation of our ſins: for when a man ſeriouſly conſidereth of them, and groaneth under them, he maketh nothing of mens taunts and reproaches. When Sin lieth heavie, Contempt lieth light: but where ſin lieth light, every diſgraceful paſſage is a burden.Pſal. 38. David ſaith, Pſal. 38. being exerciſed with a ſight of his ſin, when his enemies did vent their ſcorn and reproaches againſt him, he was as a man that heard not, and in whoſe mouth were no reproofs.
5. Laſtly, let us ſeek, in all things, to approve our ſelves to God, and then we ſhall be able to ſay, with Saint Paul, I paſs not to be judged of you, 2 Cor. 4.1 Cor: 4. as knowing, that he is not commended, whom man praiſeth, but whom God commendeth, 2 Cor. 10.18. While a man knoweth that he is in Gods books, what need he care for the Contempt that the world putteth upon him? A Pearl loſeth not its value, becauſe it is tumbled in the duſt: I will be baſe in my own ſight, ſaith David. It will appear, another day, of what high account God maketh his deſpiſed ſervants; and they ſhall have glory for that ſcorn they have ſuffered: and our bleſſed Lord deſpiſed the ſhame, for the glory that was ſet before him, Heb. 12.Heb. 12.
But now to come to the Expoſtulation:
Firſt, ſhe challengeth her husband of doing her wrong: and we may obſerve,
1. How bitter and vehement ſhe is in her language.
2. How unjuſt her challenge was.
She was bitter. Theſe were harſh terms for a woman, but eſpecially for a wife, and to ſuch a husband as Abraham was to her. But, as Chryſoſtom ſaith,Obſerv. 4. Of ſhrewiſhneſs, and effeminate paſsions; with the allays thereof. foreign: the words of a woman right, and of the weakneſs of that ſex; a womans words tranſported with paſſion: which is a thing that often befalleth thoſe of that corporation; they are not onelyonly acrimonious and ſharp, but bitter in their language. There was too much bitterneſs in that ſpeech of Zipporah to Moſes, Exod. 4.25. Surely a bloody husband thou art unto me: and ſhe goeth over it again: (for the clack, when it is once a going, doth not ſoon ceaſe:) a bloody husband thou art unto me. And what a bitter word was that of Michal to David, and mingled with much ſcorn! How glorious was the king of Iſrael to day, who uncovered himſelf in the eyes of the handmaids of his ſervants, as one of the vain fellows uncovereth himſelf! She maketh him not onelyonly uncivil, but no better then a fool, 2 Sam. 6.20. And was not that ſpeech as bitter, of Jezebel to Ahab, when he lay ſick upon his bed, becauſe Naboth had denied him his vineyard? 1 Kings 21.1 Kings 21.7. Doſt thou now govern the kingdom of Iſrael? As if ſhe ſhould have ſaid, I am aſhamed that thou ſhouldſt be called a King, that art of ſo poor a ſpirit, to afflict thy ſelf for the denial of that which thou mayeſt command: if thou canſt not have it by fair means, extort it by force. She doth upbraid him with puſillanimity. And as bitter a ſpeech was that of Jobs wife to her husband, Job 2.9. Doſt thou ſtill retain thine integrity? Art thou ſo vain, to ſerve that God that thus afflicteth thee? Art thou ſo in love with blowes? Much good do thee with thy Religion. She maketh him even ſenſleſs and fooliſh, that would endure ſo much, and not rid himſelf of life. And ſome ſuch wives hath the world known, (I would it did not ſtill know) that are bitter in their ſpeeches upon occaſion, that a man may judge the poiſon of aſps to be under their lips; their tongues cutting like a ſharp razor: So ſharp is their language, that many a Xantippe putteth Socrates to the practice of his beſt Philoſophy: So ſharp, that Solomon compareth them to a continual dropping, Prov. 19. Yea, he ſaith, Chap. 21.Prov. 19.13. It is better to dwell in the wilderneſs, then with a contentious and angry woman. Some men have reaſon to wiſh, either their wives quieter, or their houſes larger: (women being all Linguiſts, but ſome more nimble then others, of everlaſting motion.) Yea,S. Auguſtine. Saint Auguſtine findeth none ſo fit a reſemblance of an ill conſcience, as a ſcolding woman. God help the man that is ſo vexed; he hath his purgatory in this life: And ſome of the Hebrews had a conceit, that ſuch an one ſhould never come into Judgement, becauſe he had a ſufficient puniſhment here.
For the Uſe:
Let wives take heed of the waſpiſh ſtinging tongue:Application let them not uſe ſharp and provoking language: let them labour for that which Saint Peter maketh a chief ornament of that ſex, and to be of great price in the ſight of God; and that is, a meek and a quiet ſpirit, 1 Pet. 3.1 Pet. 3.4. Let them control their paſſions, and never ſuffer them to break out into intemperate ſpeeches, to the kindling of ſuch a fire, as God knows when it may be quenched. The Rabbins obſerve, that in the holy Tongue, foreign ſignifieth a man, and, foreign a woman: the firſt and the laſt letter make foreign, which is as much as foreign, God: but take away thoſe two letters, and then remaineth nothing but foreign, and that is fire. Where God is not, to rule the paſſions, and to control the corrupt affections; there is nothing but fire; and ſuch a fire, as will quickly burn up the family.
Secondly, obſerve, that as ſhe was vehement and bitter, ſo ſhe challengeth her husband unjuſtly: for how was he in fault? nay, ſhe knoweth not; ſhe hath not yet examined, whether Abraham gave any encouragement to Hagar to be thus malepert; ſhe onelyonly ſuppoſeth it.
Obſerv. 5. Raſhneſs and unju…t accuſations, with their cautions:An untoward and ſinful thing it is (though it is too common) to challenge another without true ground.
Rachel ſpeaketh paſſionately to her husband, Give me children, or elſe I die, Gen. 30.1. as if he were in the fault that ſhe had none. He preſently let her ſee her errour: Am I in Gods ſtead, (ſaith he) that hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? The wife of Potiphar ſeemeth to accuſe her husband in the preſence of her ſervants, that he had brought in an Hebrew to mock her: and ſo Zipporah challengeth her husband that he was the cauſe of that act that was ſo horrid unto her; the circumciſing of the childe. David ſaith, they layd to his charge things that he knew not; and we finde how Shimei charged him with that, that he was altogether innocent of, bloodineſs againſt the houſe of Saul: And ſo we ſee what a jealouſy the ſervants of Ammon put into his head concerning Davids Meſſengers, that they were purpoſely ſent to ſpy out the weakneſs of the land. Jeremy was challenged, to ſtand on the Chaldeans part: our bleſſed Lord was challenged for an enemy to Caeſar; and ſo were his Apoſtles, falſly accuſed: and ſo were thoſe Primitive Chriſtians, that in their antelucani Coetus; their early devotions, they did practiſe a promiſcuous uncleanneſs, that they worſhipped an Aſſes head; that they did ſacrifice their own children; all which, even Plinius Secundus himſelf doth acquit them of
For the Uſe of it:
ApplicationLet us take heed of this precipice, of accuſing others falſly; it is the devils trade: he is foreign; and he hath that name, for accuſing; and falſe accuſers, as his own children, are called foreign, Titus. 2. challengers of others falſly, without juſt ground; and that argueth;
Firſt, want of wiſdom; for a wiſe man will be aſſured of the fault, before he challenge one for it.
Secondly, want of charity, for love will rather cover a fault, when it is known, then pick an hole where there is none.
Thirdly, it is the next way to make one that is a friend, to be an enemy; for it is harſh to any ingenuous nature, to be challenged for that which he is not guilty of, as we ſee in Iſhboſheth, who challenging Abner for going in to his fathers concubin, (of which ſome think he was guiltleſs; and it was only Iſhboſheths ſuſpition,2 Sam. 3.) he made him fall off from him, to the houſe of David; 2 Sam. 3.
Again, we may learn here, that if jealouſies and ungrounded ſuſpitions, do work ſuch ill abroad; what will they do in the Family, and in the man and wife between whom there is the ſtraiteſt relation; when they only ſuſpect one another, and thereupon fall to challenging each other without ſure ground, oh, what a diſtraction it worketh, and how it doth ſour that ſweet eſtate of wedlock! maketh a diſorder amongſt the Children and Servants, and it may be, a ſiding; and the breach is hardly made up again! the purer the love is, and the leſs conſcious of any juſt occaſion, the more ſenſible: you may do that to a ſtone jugg, that you cannot do to a Venice glaſs; it muſt be uſed tenderly: I wiſh ever therefore that wiſdom and charity between man and wife; that they be not forward to ſuſpect evil of each other and never to proceed to challenging of each other without apparent ground; and even then with that mildneſs and moderation of ſpirit, as becometh thoſe that are ſo neer; as we ſee in Joſeph towards Mary, though but eſpouſed.
Thirdly, you have ſeen ſhe was vehement and rough in this challenge: but ſuppoſe ſhe had juſt cauſe, there had been more reaſon ſhe ſhould have charged her ſelf before her husband; for ſaith Saint Chryſoſtom, foreign; why doeſt thou oh woman,S. Chryſoſtom, in locum. accuſe him of doing the wrong? didſt not thou lay the plot, and perſwade him by arguments, to go in unto the made? didſt not thou bring her unto him; and give her to him, to be his wife? did the juſt man ever ſeek her, or any other, ſave thy ſelf, to have children by? nay, had he ever any ſuch thought? We ſee then here,Obſerv. 6. Of clamourouſneſs, and that it is rather a ſign of guilt, then innocence. that which oftentimes falleth out in the world. They that are moſt guilty are apt firſt to complain, and cry out of injury; the miſtreſs of Joſeph that was all in the fault, yet cryeth out to her ſervants, that Joſeph would have abuſed her; and as ſoon as her husband cometh home frameth a formal accuſation againſt him: when the two Hebrews did contend, Saint Stephen noteth, Act. 7.27.Act. 7.27. that he that did the wrong to his neighbour, is the moſt clamorous, and thruſteth Moſes away, and will not endure to hear of a reconciliation; Zipporah ſharpeneth her tongue againſt her husband, and calleth him bloody, becauſe of the Circumciſion, whereas ſhe was in the fault, and the cauſe that the Angel of God met Moſes in the Inn, and would have killed him: Saul complaineth againſt David, and David had more juſt cauſe of complaint againſt him: Ziba that playeth the knave with his Maſter, complaineth of his Maſter:Hiſt. Suſan. and the Elders in Daniel complain of Suſanna, when themſelves were capital offenders: who hath not heard of Fimbria the Roman, his complaint againſt Scaevola, becauſe he did not Totum telum recipere; receive the whole weapon into his body. It is Saint Ambroſe his ſaying, Feſtinat loqui, qui timet vinci; He maketh haſte to complain, that hath the worſt end of the ſtaff: and we have known it in Domeſtical quarrels, that the wife hath cryed out of injury, when her ſelf hath been in the fault.Application And ſo on the other ſide too, let not people be of that bold front to accuſe others of that wherein they are moſt culpable; for it is a fearful thing to go againſt the light of a mans own conſcience: though they may get ſomething with men by clamour, yet they offend God, and wrong their inward peace: in ſtead of quarreling, they ſhould ſay as Judah; ſhe is more righteous then I. I am to blame, and therefore I have reaſon to challenge my ſelf, rather then another.
Secondly, It ſhould teach thoſe, to whom belongeth the hearing, and judging of cauſes; not to be too haſty in determining them, upon the firſt complaint, or to give credit to the firſt information: For, as we ſay, one tale is good, till another be heard; and Solomon ſaith, Prov. 18.Prov. 18.17. He that is firſt in his own tale ſeemeth righteous, but his neighbour cometh, and ſearcheth him out. It was the infirmity of David, that upon the information of Ziba, he paſſed ſentence; …um verba mentientis audiant, Sententiam contra innocentem pronunciant, (ſaith Saint Gregory: S. Gregory.) while they hear the falſe accuſation of the guilty, they paſs ſentence againſt the innocent. On the other ſide, it was commendable in Alexander, that he profeſſed he would keep one ear for the party accuſed:Exod. 23.3. Toſtat… & Calvin. in locum the Lords command is, Exod. 23. Thou ſhalt not countenance a poor man in his cauſe: that is, ſaith Toſtatus, praeter merita cauſae: Thou ſhalt not reſpect him in judicature, beſide the ſtrict demerit of his cauſe; and Calvin ſaith very well, major quandoque eſt pauperum audacia, & temeritas. Sometimes the poor are bold, and raſh, and ready to do wrong, and ſtill complain; and to think they ſhall be heard becauſe they are poor: whereas there is more reaſon, in ſuch a caſe, they ſhould be puniſhed, then relieved: I ſay therefore again, let thoſe that are to decide controverſies, be wiſe and diligent, and tractable, and weigh things equitably; for they ſhall finde thoſe that are moſt faulty, to be moſt forward to complain: even as it was here with Sarah, that had reaſon to have plucked her ſelf by the ſleeves; and not have challenged her husband, for doing her wrong.
Preached, Iune 9. 1641.