Exposition of Jude 2, Biblical exegesis · Verse 13 · Observations 1
OBSERVATIONS.
1.Obſ. 1. There is no peace to the wicked when they are at the higheſt.
The higheſt waves are yet unquiet; notwithſtanding a ſinners outward ſwelling and greatneſſe, he (like a limb of the body pained, though ſwelled) hath a conſcience inwardly vexations. He is like a man who hath broken bones under a beautifull ſute of apparell; diſjoynted fingers under a golden glove; like a book of direfull Tragedies, bound up with a gilded fair cover; or (as ſome body once ſaid) like Newgate, having a comely outſide ſtructure, but within nothing but howling▪ chains, dungeons, and blackneſſe. Ther's no peace to the proudeſt, richeſt, honourableſt ſinnner. Till the inward diſtemper of the heart be removed, and that trouble-heart (ſin) expel'd, outward advancement can no more help him, than ſcratching can cure a man of the itch, his bloud being corrupt an dinfected, and no inward means uſed to cleanſe it. Beſides, True peace comes from the injoying communion with God, and from the apprehenſion of the removall of true woes and wretchedneſſe; what true peace can appearing comforts bring to that man, Fallacia bona, vera mala.who remains under real wretchedneſs? Outward highneſs is but ſeeming and fictitious, ſpiritual miſeries are truly and really ſuch. He who cannot ſee that he is delivered from wrath to come, cannot be pacified with any enjoyments that are preſent: He is all his life long ſubject to bondage; Heb. 2.and but like a rich or noble priſoner, who, though he be plentifully fed, reſpectively attended, and civily uſed by his Keeper, is yet in an hourly expectation of condemnation. A child of God is more quiet upon the wrack, than a ſinner is upon a bed of down. His motto may well be, mediis traquillus in undis. Though he be in troubles, yet troubles are not in him. So long as the winde gets not into the bowels of the earth, there is no earthquake, though the wind bluſter never ſo boyſterouſly about and without the earth. If the terrours of Gods wrath and the guilt of ſin be kept out of the conſcience; outward afflictions upon the body, cannot cauſe any true trouble. We call it a fair day, if there be a clear ſunſhine, and a fair sky over head, though it be dirty under foot; and if all be well upward, if God ſhine upon us with the light of his Countenance, our condition is comfortable, though it be afflicted and uncomfortable in earthly reſpects. A Saint hath muſick in the houſe, when there are ſtorms without it, and when it rains upon the tiles. In a word, the godly have quiet reſt in their motion; but the wicked have unquiet motion in their reſt; how litle are wicked men to be envied in their triumphs! how much better is it to have peace with God in trials, then to be his enemies in triumph! Of this ſee pag. 116 part 1. And alſo before and after, under the head of Peace, very largely.
2.Obſ. 2. The erroneous are oft as diſquieting and troubleſome where they live, as the waves of the ſea; Like the raging waves of the ſea.
I have before largely ſpoken of their raging in point of bloudineſſe and cruelty, Verſ. 11.but they which are not gone ſo far as open perſecution, are yet commonly men very turbulent and unquiet. They trouble and diſquiet peoples conſciences, toſſing them with the windes of their doctrines, not ſuffering them to hold any truth certainly, but with heſitancy and doubting, caſting in many ſcruples into their minds, with their doubtfull diſputations, wracking both the Scriptures, and their hearers, by diſtracting their thoughts and apprehenſions with what may be ſaid for and againſt the truth, never ſtudying to ground and ſtabliſh them in the knowledge thereof; leaving their Diſciples hereby, like a cloud toſſed with contrary winds, and a ball bandy'd between two rackets. Their onelyonly work indeed is to unſettle, and firſt to make people believe nothing, and to unbelieve or at leaſt to waver in their belief of what is true, that ſo they may be brought to believe that which is falſe; they who are drunken with errour, will have the ſpirituall ſtaggers; they are as pendulous and uncertain as a meteor, they have no Center for their unſettled apprehenſions: Schiſms rend the coat, hereſie diſquiets and cuts the heart. Nor do ſeducers onelyonly diſquiet and trouble others, by unſetling them from the truth, but alſo by hurrying and driving people from one errour to another. Sectaries reſt not in one, but oft travel through all opinions. One errour is a bridg to another. Errours are like Circles in a pond, one begets another, a leſſer makes way for a greater; a lower is but a ſtep or ſtair to help to an higher, like a whirl-pool, which firſt ſucks in one part, and then the other, and never deſiſts until it draws in the whole body. Heb. 13.9. Vide Danaei annotationes in Lib. Anguſtini de haer…ſ.Seducers grow worſe and worſe, and ſtill increaſe to more ungodlineſſe. Hereſie is a flood ever ſwelling, and a gangrene ever ſpreading. The Galathians were ſoon removed to another Goſpel. Nor are the erronious leſs troubleſome to the outward temporal peace of perſons, witneſs the diviſions and factions which they have made in families, between neareſt relations, in Congregations, Cities, Civil States. Hereticks are commonly ſeditious and tumultuary. Novatus was (as Cyprian calls him) a fire-brand to kindle ſedition: an Enemy to peace, turning the world upſide down. What raging outragious waves wear the Donatiſts, Fax et ignis ad conflanda ſeditionis inc…ndia, hoſtis quietis, tranquillitatis adverſarius, pacis ini micus. Cypr. 49. ad Cornel. Auguſt. epiſt. 50. ad Bonif. Ep. 68. ad Januar.Circumcelliones! Auguſtine in his Epiſtles tells us frequently of their rapines, robberies; how near ſundry States (in theſe later times) have been to ſubverſion by the Anabaptiſts, they who write their hiſtories, have related at large: nor will this unquietneſs of the erroneous ſeem ſtrange, if we conſider by whoſe blowing theſe waves are raiſed. It is the breath of that Aeolus of hell which ſtirs them up: he will toſs and trouble, though he cannot ſwallow up the ſhip of the Church. All hereticks are Satans Emiſſaries. He is the father of lyes, and lyars, and a lying ſpirit in the mouth of every falſe Prophet, and needs muſt they rage and run, whom he ſtirs up. Nor is any thing ſo impatient of reſtraint as error. No hereticks could ever patiently endure to be oppos'd: whenſoever ether the windes of Civil or eccleſiaſticall power, of ſword or word, have blown againſt the tide of hereſies, preſently they grow rugged and boyſterous. Theſe ſeducers ſpake evil of dignities. Covetouſneſs and pride, which oftneſt put men upon error, are (both) impetuous luſts, and impatient of reſiſtance. The thirſt after gold and glory hath troubled all the world. Seducers run greedily after their own gain, and compaſſe ſea and Land to make proſelytes. The Papiſts had never raged againſt Luther, if he had not ſtruck at the Popes Crown, and the Monks bellyes. And laſtly, the truth is, when the heretical rage, its much out of cowardiſe; for though they look highly, and ſcornfully, yet they are ſo conſcious of the crazmeſs of their cauſe, that they cannot but be angry with every adverſary. A ſickly man cannot indure the ſharp ayre, nor a ſickly opinion the ſharpneſs of oppoſition. They who are orthodox, and contend for truth, ſhould hence be cautious: Let them take heed of learning frowardnes of the froward. God wants not our paſſions to promote his truth. Let the fury of the blinde promote pitie in thoſe who have eyes; and let us break the rage of the waves only by being rocks of conſtancy, reſolution, and zealous oppoſition. In ſhort, let all thoſe Magiſtrates who will be favourers of the erroneous, conſider whom they nouriſh, and withall whether it be not the greateſt imprudence to cheriſh their deſtroyers, and to deſtroy their preſervers; and whether they never heard of ſome who in oppoſition to Church-Government, have helpt up thoſe that in oppoſition to Civil Government, have puld down them.
3. It is the lot of the Church to be amongſt raging waves; Obſ. 3.to be troubled and diſquieted in the world. The faithful on this ſide heaven are annoyed with the unquiet carriage of the wicked. Pſal. 69.15. Pſal. 32.6. Iſ. 59.19. Pſal. 32.6.The water-floods (oft) are ready to overflow them: they are in the floods of great waters. The floods of ungodly men (ſaith David, Pſ. 84.4.) made mee afraid. The people of God are oft accounted the troublers, but they are indeed the troubled of Iſrael. Ther's no reſting place for the feet of theſe doves, in this deluge of ſin and ſorrow here below. they are toſſed up and down in their names, eſtates, bodies, ſoules, by their Enemies, as by raging waves. There is no more likelihood that they ſhould be at reſt upon earth, than there is that a man ſhould be quiet upon the ſea; nor is it (indeed) fit that it ſhould be otherwiſe. The windes of trouble and unquietneſs blow them profit, and working waves work them much benefit. Hereby they are made to long for their haven, for that reſt which remaines for the people of God. If the world were a place of reſt, they would be too ready, here, to ſet up their reſt, and the thoughts of heaven would be troubleſome, and they would be ready to ſay and hope that they ſhould never be removed, and its good being here: The world is too ſweet to them, now 'its ſo bitter; they ſuck at its breſts heartily, even when the Lord rubs them over with wormwood. Peregrinationes aerumnas non ſentimus.Oh what would they do, were the world altogether ſweet! If they love ſo much to ſmell to it, when it is full of thorns, what would they do were it altogether roſes? The more Noahs flood increaſ'd, the higher was the ark raiſed; and the troubles of the world raiſe the thoughts and deſires of the faithfull, the neerer to heaven. The fruitfull over-flowings of Nilus would hinder them from looking up to heaven for rain and refreſhment. toſſings in the world, make the people of God to be in the world rather patiently, then delightfully. Againe, by the toſſings of the world, they are put upon that holy exerciſe of prayer. He that would learn to pray (ſaith the Proverb) muſt goe to ſea. Raging waves make the people of God call and cry for help. The Diſciples call'd to Chriſt when they were toſſed; even the heathen Mariners in a ſtorme cald every man upon his god. Jonah 1. foreign à foreign.The word ſtorme in the Greek is derived from two words, which ſignifie much ſacrificing; how earneſtly did David and Hezekiah pray, when they were upon the waves! Muſick (we ſay) ſounds beſt upon the waters, and ſo do the prayers of the Saints, upon the waters of worldly troubles. When he ſlew them, then they ſought him. Pſal. 73.34. In their affliction (ſaith God) they will ſeek me early. God oftentimes defers to deliver his people from trouble, though they pray, that ſo the praying which he ſo much loves may ſtil be continued. As we uſe to deal with ſome Muſicians, whom we wil not preſently reward for their muſick, becauſe we deſire more of it. Again, were it not for theſe raging waves, the Saints depending upon, and ſubmiſſiveneſs to God could not be ſo manifeſted. Every one will truſt him in a calm; its only true faith that can reſt upon him in a reſtleſs condition, and ſee a haven through all the waves. Nor doth God uſe to teach his people patience, but by being paſſive; tribulation (ſaith Paul) worketh patience Rom. 5.3. Trouble is eſca patientiae, food, without which patience would ſtarve. Some ſay, the Saints never can learn their leſſon of patience but in the ſchool of trouble. And further, the raging of the waves makes the people of God to magnifie their Pilot and preſerver, for his power, wiſdome, love: His power which keeps the Church (like another Meſopotamia) in the midſt of the ſea, and preſerves it from being overturned; though not from being toſſed; and which bounds thoſe proud waves, ſo that they ſhall not overflow the Church, even wh…n the Sea of the wicked world is ſo much in power and policy about it. His power likewiſe is ſeen, in that in the floods of great waters, they ſhall not come neere to the godly; not to his ſoule, to deſtroy its grace, and (oft) not to diſturb its peace: it hereby appearing, that even when the floods lift up their voice, yet the Lord on high is mightier than the noiſe of many waters. Pſal. 93.3, 4. To conclude, How plainly doe the wiſdome and love of God diſcover themſelves toward the faithfull, when they are toſſed by the waves! his wiſdome, in making the very rage of theſe waves to praiſe him, and in ſtead of breaking his Church, onelyonly to cleanſe it; and in ſtead of drowning it, to carry it to its haven, where it ſhal never be toſſed more, and ſo skilfully to make it ſaile with every winde! His love, in that he will not refuſe to bear his people company when they go through the waters, and to be their companion, yea Pilot in a ſtorm, and then to give them a great calm within: and in a word, to aſſure them, that they ſhall never be caſt away with the wicked, though they may be caſt among them: Let us not cenſure the faithful in their moſt toſſed eſtate. There's not a drop of wrath in a ſea of a Saints ſufferings. Could you ſee how free his inſide is, and his end ſhall be from ſtorms and toſſings, you would rather envy then cenſure him; the waves which Satan raiſeth, ſhew that he hath a treaſure, which that enemie would fain have caſt away; but yet ſhould he ſo far prevail, tis a treaſure which wil ſwim to ſhore with him. To conclude, let the faithful (of all people) moſt prepare for ſtorms, and waves; as it is beſt for them to be among raging waves, ſo its too much for them, both to have a haven in their paſſage, and in the end of their paſſage too: As long as the people of God are ſayling to that port, the divel wil toſſe them; and this he wil do though, nay, becauſe he cannot deſtroy them. Let them be ſure, that by faith they get Chriſt into the ſhip, or rather into their ſouls; that by obedience they undertake their voyage for him, that their cauſe be good, and that by repentance they caſt out every Jonah, and then let them fear no waves.
4 The Church hath moſt trouble from thoſe within her. Obſer. 4.She hath ſometime (ſaith Bernard) had peace from Heathens, Pax à Pagauis, nunquam à filiis.never (or but very rarely) from her own children. No adverſaries were ſuch raging waves, as theſe, who were domeſtical. Of your ſelves (ſaith Paul Acts 20.30.) ſhall men ariſe, ſpeaking perverſe things, to draw away diſciples after them. Grievous wolves ſhall enter in among you, not ſparing the flock. Theſe Seducers were not Heathens without, but Profeſſours who had crept into the Church. No evils are ſo great as thoſe which come to the Church from within. The inward inteſtine diviſions, ruptures, hereſies, ſchiſms, have coſt the Church more lamentations, then ever did her perſecution from without. The heathen Emperors never were ſo vexatious to her as Arians, Donatiſts, Anabaptiſts, Papiſts. Outward enemies ſcratch the face, they within, ſtab the heart of the Church: From the former ſhe ſuffered; by the latter ſhe both ſinned and ſuffered: by the former ſhe was under Perſecution from men, by the latter under Provocation againſt God; by the former ſhe was but ſollicited to tell where her great ſtrength lay, by the latter ſhe cut off her locks, threw away her own weapons, and betrayed her ſtrength; by her ſuffering from without, the enemies laboured to beat her off from continuing Chriſtian; by her ſcandal within, ſhe beats them off from becoming Chriſtians. Wonder not then that the Divel hath alwayes uſed this home-bred engine of evil againſt the Church; namely, the ungodly carriage of thoſe within her, and the ſtirring up troubles in her own bowels; He knows, that there is no ſword to this; and that they will never adventure their lives for God and one another in war, who will neither love God nor one another in peace. Oh, how ſhould Chriſtians labour to diſappoint and countermine this the Divels moſt deſtructive policie! Chriſtians, if we muſt die, let us die like men, by an unanimous holy contention againſt the common Enemie; not like fools, by giving him our ſword, and deſtroying one another by hereſies, ſchiſms, prophaneneſs in our own bowels.
5 Sin is a perſons greateſt ſhame: Obſerv. 5That which ſhould moſt make him aſhamed and confounded in himſelf, and that which ſhall make him a ſpectacle of ſhame, diſgrace and infamie to others. O my God (ſaid Ezra, chap. 9.6.) I am aſhamed, and bluſh to lift up my ſace to thee, for our iniquities are increaſed, &c. There is the ſhame that ſin ſhould make in us: Thou hast conſulted ſhame to thine own houſe, Hab. 2.10.by cutting off many people, and haſt ſinned againſt thine own ſoul, Pſal. 40.14. Let them be brought to ſhame. So Nah. 3.5. I will ſhew, &c. the Kingdoms thy ſhame: there is the ſhame that ſin brings upon us. In the former reſpect ſin ſhould be ſhame; in the latter it ſhall be ſhame. Its ſin only which deprives a man of true glorie and excellencie, and is the degradation of his nature. Men account that their ſhame, which to do or ſuffer, is much below their port and rank. Oh how much goes that man below himſelf, who was created Gods favourite and ſon, having his love fixt and image ſtampt upon him, the Viceroy of the creation, a conſort with Angels, whoſe nature is taken into the union of the perſon of the ſon of God; whoſe purchaſe was no leſs then the blood of God, whoſe ſoul is a little heaven for the great God to dwell in, whoſe bodie is the Temple of the holy Ghoſt; whoſe habitation ſhall be the Empyrean heaven, a Citie, a Kingdome purer, more glorious then a thouſand Suns, nay in compariſon whereof a thouſand Suns are but ſack-cloth: How much (I ſay) goes this excellent creature below himſelf, in being a! thorow-fare, threſhold, foot-ſtool, vaſſal to unclean ſpirits! yea, in having his heaven-born ſoul a very ſink or common receptacle for that which is infinitely baſer then all the dung, off-ſcouring, filth, excrements upon earth, or then any thing which hath a being! How much lower is this deſcending, then for a King to imbrace dung-hils, or for Nebuchadnezzar to be a companion for beaſts! Rom. 6.21.Well might the Apoſtle ſay, that of this condition the Romans were now aſhamed. Indeed, there is nothing but ſin which truly diſgraceth a man: Nothing but ſin which diſgraceth a man in Gods eye, whoſe eſtimate is the true Standard of Honour: nothing but ſin makes us unfit for that habitation of glory: nothing ſhameful unleſs ſinning, but befell the Lord of glory: Nothing but ſin which will make us unglorious at the laſt day, when Chriſt ſhall appear with ten thouſands of glorious Saints and Angels.
Oh how much are they miſtaken who account ſinne their glory, who are aſham'd of their glory (holineſs;) Pudor eſt medi. cina pudoris.and glory in their ſhame, their ſin! Are there not many who cannot bluſh in the doing of that, Eph. 5.12. Jer. 8.12.at the hearing whereof tis our duty to bluſh? They were not aſhamed, neither could they bluſh; they have ſin'd away ſhame, in ſtead of being aſhamed of ſin, and will not (now) ſuffer nature to draw her vail of bluſhing before their abominations. When the Colours and Enſigns of a battle are loſt, we then give the battle for loſt; ſome have aptly called bluſhing the colour of vertue diſplaid by nature in the countenance: When Satan hath taken away our colours, and cuſtome of ſin hath baniſhed even ſenſe of ſin, and ſhame for ſin, our caſe ſeems to be deſperate. Other evils which ſin bringeth, are curable, the anguiſh of conſcience, the wrath of God, the breach of charity; but the ſhame of ſin can (nay muſt) never be got out: the more holy we are now, the more ſhould we be aſhamed of our former ſin. Oh that we could contemplate the ſhame of ſin more in its departure, and leſs its beauty in its coming, and labour to look upon our old waies with new eyes, opened and enlightned by the ſpirit of ſanctification, and then it wil be our greateſt wonder that we ſhould heretofore openly do that which we are now aſhamed to think of.
To conclude this, how bleſſed are they whoſe ſins are covered, whoſe tranſgreſſions are forgiven, Pſal. 32.1.who have bought and put on that white raiment, whereby the ſhame of their nakedneſſe cannot appear! If ever the ſins of the godly be manifeſted (as I conceive they ſhall be) at the day of judgment, they ſhall be ſo far from bringing ſhame and confuſion to them, that they ſhall be glorious trophies of Gods mercy, Chriſts merit, the ſtrength of faith and the truth of repentance.
6.Obſ. 6. The ſhame of ſeducers is at length laid open and diſcover'd. The great endeavour of theſe, was to be magnified, or rather omnified, to have all others debaſed and nullified; to have themſelves accounted the only men for knowledg, piety, priviledges; and their waies the only waies of peace and liberty; but at length they loſt and diſgrac'd themſelves, foamed out, and diſcovered their own ſhame. 1. Sometime their ſhame is laid open, and foamed forth by the diſcovery of the emptineſſe and meer frothy foame of their opinions, which are manifeſted to have had nothing of truth or ſolidity in them. At length they fal upon the ſhore, or daſh upon the rock of the ſcripture, and then in ſtead of drowing the ſhore or breaking the rock, they end in a little froth and emptineſſe and in the breaking of themſelves alone. Hereſies are not permanent; the word of the Lord only endures for ever, it being a laſting fountain never to be dryed up: but that which is againſt the Lord and his truth, is but a landflood: though for the preſent it may ſwel and grow, yet it ſhal fall and ſink, and in time vaniſh quite away. Hereſies which have for a time born all before them, (as that of Arianiſm, which Auguſtine in grief and admiration tels us, had invaded all the world) come by the advantages of time and ſcripture diſcovery, to be contemned and neglected: Error, like the painted beauty of ſome harlot, ſeems amiable when it walkes in the dim twilight, where the orthodox preaching of the word ſhines not; but bring it to ſcripture light (which it mainly ſhuns) and the more we look upon it, the more we ſhall ſuſpect, and at length abhor it: the ſun of ſcripture ſcatters the fogs and miſts of error; ye erre ſaith Chriſt, not knowing the Scripture. How glorious have thoſe adulterate beauties of the whore of Babylon, of image-worſhip tranſubſtantiation, merit &c. appeared in this nation of old, when the candle of Scripture was hid under a buſhel! but afterward it being ſet upon a candleſtick, and giving light to all the houſe; how clearly did they all appear to be fictitious and adulterate! and the hatred wherewith they are hated (I truſt) of ſome, is (as it was ſaid of Ammons to Thamar) greater then that love wherewith they were loved. 2. Sometime the ſhame of ſeducers is laid open and foamed forth by their looſneſſe and profaneneſſe of life; Errors in doctrine producing commonly looſneſſe in converſation. Thus the Apoſtle ſpeaks of ſome who ſhould proceed no further, for their folly ſhould be made manifeſt to all men, who ſhould increaſe to more ungodlineſſe, and grow worſe and worſe; hereby our Lord bids us diſcover them, (by their fruits (ſaith he) ye ſhall know them). The vine of truth never produced the thiſtles and thorns of prophaneneſſe and looſneſſe: A man of error, is of… left to be a man of ſin. Thus theſe ſeducers diſgraced themſelves by foaming out their uncleanneſſe, cruelty, rebellion. Who wil ever look upon theſe deformed iſſues to have truth, beautiful truth for their mother? Wel may he be ſuſpected, who every ſtep ſtumbles into prophaneneſſe, to have either no eyes or bad ones: Thus Papiſts, Anabaptiſts, Seekers, have been diſcovered by their taking pleaſure in unrighteouſneſs, never to have believed the truth. 3. Laſtly, the Lord oft diſcovers their ſhame by their own deſtruction and diſgraceful end, and by the judgments which he brings upon them. Arius his bowels guſhed out; Neſtorius his tongue was conſumed with worms, Cerinthus was killed by the fall of an houſe. Montanus hanged himſelf. Manes had his skin torn from his fleſh, &c.and rotted out of his head; examples of this kind might fil a volume. How many ſeducers hath God made pillars of ſalt by their deaths, who were unſavory ſalt during their lifetime! how many of theſe ſtakes hath God ſet up in the Church, as in a pond to keep men from adventuring into gulfs and whirlpools of error! Sometime the hand of juſtice hath found them out; witneſſe the deaths of many Jeſuits and Baals prieſts, of Anabaptiſts, and other blaſphemous hereticks. And how oft have they been infamous for their ſtrange deaths, who laboured to live caede ſcripturarum, by the death and downfall of the ſcripture! Oh (then) how much are they miſtaken, who expect to get honour by being patrons of erroneous opinions! While the pure lights of the Church have burnt ſweetly, and ſhined bright to after ages, living when they were dead; the other have rotted in their names, faded in their honour, withered in their graces, and (in a word) even died while they lived: and what is there left of all theſe falſe pretended lights, to poſterity, but the ſmoake of a ſtinking and unſavory ſnuffe?
7.Obſ. 7 The enemies of God cauſe their own ſhame and confuſion; foaming out (ſaith our Apoſtle) their own ſhame. Hab. 2.10. they are ſaid to conſult ſhame to their own houſe, i.e. their wiſeſt conſultations ſhal be turned into ſhame againſt them, or they ſhall be as ſurely aſhamed, as if they had conſulted or taken counſel to bring ſhame upon themſelves. Though ſhame be not the end of the worker, yet ſhal it be the end of every work of ungodlineſſe: wicked men twiſt their own halter, and by ſin, curiouſly weave their own confuſion; ſhame is the natural production of every mans own ſin: Baſil… de Ira. foreign. Pag. mihi 440.The wicked ſhall be ſnared in the work of his own hands, Pſal. 9.16. and held with the cords of his own ſins; Pſ. 5.22. Be thy own friend, and none can be thy foe; diſgrace not thy ſelf, and then all the world cannot do it. Tis not any thing caſt upon us from without, which is truely a ſhame, but ſomething which growes out of a mans ſelf; tis not poverty, reproach, pains &c. that diſhonour us, but impatience, revenge, unreformedneſs under all theſe. Every wicked mans diſhonour is ſelf-created. A ſinner reaps no crop, but that of which he himſelf was the ſower; (its common equity that he who ſowes ſhould reap) God wil render to every one according to his own works. As grace is glory in the bud, and glory nothing but grace blown out, ſo ſin is ſeminally and radically, eternal ſhame and ignominy, and that ſhame is nothing but ſin extended and diſplaied. So good is God, that he would not ſuffer ſin, unleſſe thereby he were able to make it appear ſhameful; ſo much is God in love with his own glory, that he would never endure any to oppoſe his, unleſſe thereby he intended to overthrow theirs; God never gave any of his enemies line, but to ſtrangle themſelves: we read of no enemies of God, but they ſhamed themſelves; Infirmitas animoſitatis. Facites animos mens generoſa capit. Tu licet extre mos latè dominare per Indos &c. ſi prava cupis ſi duceris irâ, ſervitii patiere jugum, tolerabis iniquas interius— Claudian in paneg. Theodoſ. Non fortior judicandus eſt quileonem, quam qui violentam in ſcipſo incluſam feram ſuperat iracundiam aut qui rapaciſſi mas volucres dejicit quam qui cupiditates avidiſſimas coercet aut qui Amazonem bellatricem, quam qui libidi…cm vincit pudoris ac famae debellatricem. Cicer pro Marcel.Pharaoh, Achitophel, Haman, Siſerah, Senacherib, Julian, &c. How ſhould this comfort his people in the midſt of all the height and glory of his enemies! Though they cannot pull them down, yet they ſhall lay their own glory in the duſt: and how can God want weapons to beat his enemies, who can beat them with their own?
8. Men by rage and fury, lay open and diſcover their ſhame; when theſe ſeducers came to be raging waves, fierce and impetuous in their way, they ſoon diſgraced themſelves, and foamed out their own ſhame; a weak ſpirit is by nothing ſo much manifeſted as by wrath and paſſion: commonly men think that anger is an effect of magnanimity, whereas indeed it proceeds from weakneſſe; an underling to paſſion, hath a baſe low built diſpoſition, to which children, and women (therefore called the weaker ſex) are more ſubject then men. The Latines expreſs all paſſion (anger eſpecially) by the word impotentia, impotency and weakneſſe; and hence Solomon, Prov. 25.28. He that hath no rule over his own ſpirit, is like a City that is broken down ad without walls; what ſo weak, and beggarly, and ſo much at the cruel courteſie of every invader, as a City without all defence? Such a one is he whoſe raging paſſions ſway him without controle; he who ſcorns to be a ſervant to man, is a ſlave to luſt, a baſe ſenſual bruitiſh luſt: The ſtrong man (according to ſcripture cenſure) is he who is ſlow to anger, nay (ſaith Solomon) Prov. 16.32. He is better then the mighty, and he that ruleth his ſpirit, then he that taketh a City: had a man conquered the world without him, and not his luſt within him, he were but in a ſplendid gliſtering ſervitude: wel might he with Alexander ſit down and weep, but not becauſe their is no other world to conquer, but becauſe their is ſtil another, or rather, becauſe there are ſo many, and every one ſo much ſtronger than a world; I mean, unmortified paſſions: David in ſparing of Saul, and overcoming of himſelf, was ſtronger then David when he overcame Goliah; for killing of Goliah, he was but promiſed to be Sauls ſon in law; but by ſubduing his own paſſion, Saul deſervedly conjectures that David ſhould be his ſucceſſor; and now I know wel (ſaith Saul) that thou ſhalt ſurely be King &c. Saul ſeeing in David a power to govern his own affections, foreſaw that David was fit to rule a whole kingdome; but how unfit was Saul to be King of Iſrael, who was not a King over, but a ſlave to his own paſſion! A ſwine in an Emperors robe is moſt uncomly, and ſo is he who is a ruler over men without him, and a vaſſal to beaſts within him. Men account it the greateſt diſgrace to be looked upon and called fools; but the ſpirit of God makes wrath and paſſion, the fools coat or badge; frequently do we read of a fools wrath, Prov. 12.16. a fools wrath is preſently known: ſo Pro. 27.3. a fools wrath is mentioned for its heavineſs: & He that is haſty of ſpirit exalteth folly. And anger reſteth in the boſome of fools (ſaith Solomon) Eccleſ. 7.9. its loved, cheriſhed, delighted in, as a thing laid in a mans boſome, and it reſteth there, it departeth not; a wiſe man uſeth anger as phyſick in its proper time, but a fool uſeth it as his conſtant dyet: Its an inmate to a fool, tis but a paſſenger through the heart of a wiſe man, it doth not lodg in it all night, Epheſ. 4.26. Its a mans prudence to defer his anger, and his glory to paſſe over a tranſgreſſion, Prov. 19.11. and James calls it the meekneſſe of wiſdome, cap. 3.13. A governour of his paſſion is by ſome called angelus in carne, yea deus terreſtris: no lamb was ever ſo meek, as was he who was wiſdome itſelf: He that is ſlow to anger, is of great underſtanding, Prov. 14.29. Nor doth the ſhame of theſe ſlaves to paſſion only appear in their name, and eſtimate for folly, but in the ſhameful effects of this rage, where it maſtereth any; A ſtone is heavy (ſaith Solomon) and the ſand is weighty, but a fools wrath is heavier than them both. Prov. 27.3. A fool having no wiſdom to moderate his paſſion, or to keep it (as a wiſe man doth) from falling with its full weight. Let a bear robbed of her whelps, meet a man (ſaith he) rather then a fool in his folly. This cruelleſt of beaſts ſhews not ſo much rage, as a man in his fury; how oft hath rage whetted tongue, teeth, ſwords, prepared ſnares, poiſons, fires, &c. for deſtruction! How little doth it diſtinguiſh twixt friends and foes, ſweeping away parents, children, brethren, with its torrent! it regards neither venerable old age, nor the tenderneſſe of age or ſex, nor favours received, nor vertue and piety. Its a ſhort madneſſe, and an inter-regnum and eclipſe of reaſon, forgetting even the ruin and deſtruction of the very party in whom it ſwayeth, it making him neither to feel nor fear mutilations, wounds, deaths; foreign. Incomparabiliter ſalubriuseſt, etiam irae juſtae pulſanti non aperire penetrale cordis, quam admittere non facile receſſuram et perventuram. De ſurculo ad …bem &c. Aug. …p. 149.it makes a man to put off himſelf, changing him into a monſter, and as if he were to put on a vizar upon a ſtage (as Baſil expreſſeth it) it repreſents him another from himſelf, with eyes flaming, mouth foaming, teeth grinding, colour diſtempered &c. Chriſtians, as you love true honour, beware of being inſlav'd to paſſion, eſpecially this of wrath and troubleſomeneſſe to others; ſtop its entrance, take heed (as Auguſtine excellently) when juſt anger knocks at the door, that the unjuſt croud not in with it; from a twig, 'twil grow to a beam: his advice is (rather then it ſhould do ſo) to ſhut the door upon that anger which is juſt: In the midſt of all thy injuries, labour for a meek and a quiet ſpirit. In ſinful contentions, he who is the conqueror, is the ſlave; let not thy adverſary be thy teacher, nor be thou his looking glaſſe, to ſhew him his ſhape in thy ſelf; let him behold in thee a mind above, and deaf to, and impenetrable by reproaches; let not judgment be troden under foot. If thine adverſary deſerve pitty, why doſt thou rage againſt him? if puniſhment, why doſt thou imitate him? To conclude this, (as Baſil in that excellent diſcourſe of his concerning anger) Never think thy ſelf worthy of eſtimation from others, foreign. Et infra, foreign. Baſil. de Ira.or others unworthy of eſtimation from thee; ſtudie the due ordering of thy iraſcible part, let it be at the command of grace, and then it wil be helpful to thee againſt ſin. Oh how happy were we if all our anger and indignation were ſet upon ſin! we can never hate ſin enough, unleſſe we mix indignation with our hatred; uſe thine anger like the dog, to ſpare thoſe of the family, or the flock; I mean men, and ſet it upon the thief, the wolf, thine own luſts: Let not that which was given thee to be helpful to thee, be by thee made hurtful to thee; let the ſword of anger ſpare Iſaak, and ſacrifice the ram; be angry but ſin not; Anger ſhould not be deſtroyed, but ſanctified. Be angry with the tempter the divel, who ſtirs up thy brother to wrong thee: and be not like the furious dog, who bites the ſtone thrown, and meddles not with the hand that threw it. The man is to be pittied, Satan threw this ſtone at thee, he inſtigated thy brothers paſſion. In ſhort, as the Unicorns horn, upon the forehead of that fierce creature, is moſt hurtful and deſtructive, but in the Apothecaries ſhop moſt uſeful and ſalubrious; ſo paſſion which men by nature abuſe, to the hurt of themſelves and others, ſhould by grace be made helpful and beneficial to both.
9.Obſ. 9 Its the inward corruption of the heart, which ſends forth the foame of ſhameful actions, Theſe ſeducers (like the ſea) had that foame and filth firſt within them, which afterward they foamed out and ſent forth. There could never be an unclean foame ſent forth, unleſſe there were firſt filthineſſe in the ſea. All the unholineſſe and irregularity of practice comes from the hearts depravedneſſe: Evil things are brought forth from the evil treaſure of the heart; out of the heart (ſaith Chriſt) come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries; the heart is the womb of all ſinful and impure iſſues; an unholy root ſends forth bitter and ſinful fruits. All the prodigious abominations which are made viſible in the converſation, proceed from an unſanctified diſpoſition; Who ſees not, then, at what door to lay all the deformed iſſues of mens practices? how fooliſhly are men diſpleaſed with themſelves for their outward tranſgreſſions in their lives, while they tamely and quietly endure an unchanged and unrenewed heart! why ſhould any be diſpleaſed with that tree for bearing of fruit, whoſe roots they wil continue to dung and water? how vaine and prepoſterous, are thoſe endeavours of reformation, which are without inward renovation! If the tree continue bitter and corrupt, all the influences of heaven cannot make the fruit good. If we would have an holy life, we muſt labour for a changed heart: A Chriſtians reformation begins at the wrong end, when it begins at his fingers ends; as the heart firſt lives naturally, ſo ſpiritually; the foundation of moſt mens mortification is too ſhallow, tis not hearty and inward enough; and hence tis, that their religion (in theſe daies) is like our buildings, more ſlight, and leſſe durable than of old: Its fond to think of drying up the ſtreams, when we nouriſh the fountain. David began at the right end, Pſal. 51.when he deſired the Lord to create in him a clean heart; til the heart be healed, we only skin the ſore, we root not out the core of the corrupt matter, and hence the cure comes to be only cloaked. Chriſtians, Curar palliativa.would you heal the unwholſome water of your lives? you muſt firſt caſt ſalt into the ſpring; get thy ſea firſt made pure within at the bottome, and then thy foame, thy mire and dirt wil not be caſt up; purge thy ſtomack, if thou wouldſt not have an unſavory breath; remove the inward dunghil, and then thou wilt be rid of outward ſteams; lay thy mine under the foundation, cleanſe your hands ye ſinners (ſaith James;) James 4.8.but then the way preſcribed is, purifie your hearts ye double-minded. New profeſſions, expreſſions ſewed to an old diſpoſition, wil but make the rent the greater. And remember that,
10. The unrenewed heart, if ſtir'd and moved, ſoon diſcovers its foame and ſilthineſſe. Iſa. 47.20.Theſe ſeducers (like the ſea) put forth their unclean mire and dirt when diſquieted and enraged. The waters which are dirtyeſt at the bottom, appear fair and clear in a calm and ſerene day; but when the ſtorms and winds ariſe, they then ſhew what is in them; til the heart be cleanſed, any occaſion or tentation wil draw forth its filthineſs. If our luſts be not dead, but only ſleeping, every jog wil ſoon ſtir them up: London-ſtreets (inclinable of themſelves to be dirty) are (we ſay) by a ſmal ſhowr made foule. A wicked man is but a chained Lion, or a tamed divel at the beſt. If he appear holy at any time, tis not becauſe he is a ſea without mire, but without ſtorms; when his tide of nature is oppoſed by the winds, either of reprehenſion or chaſtiſement, he wil ſhew himſelf but dirty water: Acts 19 28.we read not that the Epheſians foamed out their ſhame, til they apprehended their Diana-worſhip ſtruck at; nor that the Jews foamed out theirs, til Steven had touched them for their hypocriſy; Acts 7.54.nor that they railed and called Chriſt Samaritan, and one that had a divel, John 8.28.till he convinced them of their ſin, and his own innocency; nor did the Sodomites diſcover their ſhameful uncleanneſſe ſo much, til Lot reproved them: (oh with how gentle a gale was their ſea of ſin troubled!) Hoſ. 11.2.Never did the ſecret ſickneſſe or wickedneſſe of Ephraim ſo much ſhew it ſelf, nor were the evil humours ſo much provoked and ſtirred, until God went about to heal them; nor did the rage of Pharaohs heart againſt God, ſwel ſo prodigiouſly, til Gods judgment lay upon him. We ſee then how beſt to try the truth and ſtrength of grace: O Chriſtian, what art thou when ſtirred? doſt thou not foame out dirt in a ſtorme? art thou good when thou art pleaſed, calm when the tide of thy nature, and the wind of word or providence go together? truly this is no great matter; but obſerve thy ſelf, when occaſions of ſin meet thee, when winds croſſe thee, when reproofs and corrections would ſtop thee, and blow in thy very teeth: will thy heart neither like the dunghil, ſtink when thou meeteſt with the ſun-ſhine of an allurement; nor with the ſea, foame when thou meeteſt with the wind of oppoſition? canſt thou then be calm with David, and ſay, Let the righteous ſmite me? and with Job, bleſſe the Lord? and with the Church, ſay, I wil bear the indignation of the Lord, for I have ſinned againſt him? and with that holy Martyr, Lord I wil bow, and thou ſhalt beat? John Brown.Canſt thou kiſs the rod, lay thy hand upon thy murmuring mouth, and deſire that God would rather give thee ſubmiſsion to, then deliverance from the ſtroke? canſt thou under ſmareſt ſeverities heartily beg of the Lord that he would have his wil of thee, by pulling down thy proud ſtomack, before he throws away his ſmarteſt rod? And when the blaſts of the word reſiſt thy deareſt corruption, and oppoſe thee in thy ſweeteſt wayes of ſin; when the faithful Miniſter levels his darts, and ſets the point of the drawn ſword of the ſpirit, moſt directly againſt thy boſome-luſt, canſt thou then (I ſay) in ſtead of rebelling, yeild thy ſelf an humble priſoner to Jeſus Chriſt, fall down at his feet, and ſay, Lord I ſubmit, what wilt thou have me to do? Bleſſed be thy ſtricteſt commands and threatnings againſt my ſin, and bleſſed be the mouth of thy ſervant which uttered them? This is an happy ſign that God hath begun to cleanſe thy heart from that filth, which one unrenewed, would have put forth upon theſe occaſions.
11.Obſ. 11 The turbulent and unquiet temper of a wicked man, makes him much to differ from a Saint. The godly are indued with that wiſdome from above which is peaceable; they offer no wrongs, they return no revenge; their peace from God inclines their heart to peaceableneſs toward men: a quiet conſcience never produced an unquiet converſation. The peace of God makes thoſe who have offered wrong to others, willing to make ſatisfaction; and thoſe who have ſuffered wrong from others, readyto afford remiſſion. If the great God, who is offended, ſpeaks peace to man, ſhould not poor man, when an offender, offer peace much more to man? If God be pacified toward man, upon his free grace; ſhould not man be pacified to man, it being a commanded duty? The more God quiets us, the leſſe ſhall we ſinfully diſquiet others: Its the portion of Saints, to find trouble in the world, not their property to cauſe trouble in the world. The reaſon why Gods people are accounted unpeaceable in the world, is, becauſe they diſquiet mens luſts: Their wil is for peace, but tis neceſſity which makes them contend. Col. 3.15.The peace of God rules in their hearts; and when the unquiet affections of anger, hatred, revenge, ariſe in them, (like the judg or umpire of publick wraſtlings) this peace of God doth foreign, rule by appeaſing ſt…ifes, and ending controverſies. In ſhort, the people of God are doves, ſheep, not birds and beaſts of prey: Chriſt gave the Lamb; they wil not have the Lion, or the Tiger for their cogniſance. The unpeaceableneſſe of godly men is becauſe they have no more godlineſſe: As the ſons of God have a precept, ſo have they a property to be harmleſſe. Phil. 2.15.
The laſt reſemblance whereby the Apoſtle deſcribes the ſin and miſery of theſe ſeducers, is contained in theſe words: Wandring ſtars, to whom is reſerved the blackneſſe of darkneſſe for ever.