Sycophancy is a Sin, Treatise
CHAP. I. The INFORMERS Pedigree.
THe Informer, in Scripture, firnamed Sycophant, alias Tale-bearer (for his proper name you ſhall never know,Luke 3. Lev. 19. if he can hide it, howſoever diſhoneſtly bold he make with yours, not unlike ſome Nations, more jealous then chaſt, who love to be too free with other mens wives, yet their own muſt not paſs in the ſtreets but under a veyle) He is for his pedigree of a very ancient extraction, indubitably deſcended from that original Incendiary, exiled from Heaven for factiouſneſs there, and the firſt that ſet up the Trade of traducing on earth; opening his pack to that ſex that he thought moſt inclined to the pedler, ſecretly ſuggeſting to credulous Eve, that goodneſs it ſelf was not ſo well affected as were to be wiſhed to mans Commonwealth. Gen. 3.5.The ſerpentine Sycophant having wound into the woman, ſhe hyes her to her husband with a tale as fair, but as fatal as the fruit that ſhe gave him. Both are too ſoon recieved by Adam, who too late finds Eve decieved in both,Ver. 6. that the ſly Informer was both a Lyer and a Murtherer, and his information deſigned for the deformation of till that time happy,V. 7. but thenceforth miſerable mankind. So then (pardon my zeal againſt that trade that coſt us ſo dear before we were born, and at its firſt ſetting up) the firſt Informer that ever was, was the Devil, the firſt informed againſt was God, the firſt cuſtomer that the crooked Informer got was a Woman, made of a crooked bone, yet made upright and innocent, till being decieved, ſhe fell into the tranſgreſſion by recieving a Report againſt the innocent. Even our ſpeech puts as li…tle difference betwixt a Tale-bearer and Talehearer, as the proverb doth betwixt the Thief and the Reciever.
When evil and unjuſt ſurmiſes and jealouſies are fomented againſt thoſe that are good, men do but follow Satan who began with God: But Oh that there were the ears of none but weak womankind (who are too many, by ſo many) to drink in ſuch venime as is ſpit by the ſeed of the ſerpent.
Adam now Bank-rupt takes up the ſame Trade as bad as it is, which could never have had riſe amongſt us but for his Fall: had not our Father been broken we ſhould have ſcorned without doubt to have gone pedling about with a Tale-bearers pack. But he not knowing what ſhift to make for a poor living, and being yet too loath to cover himſelf with his own ſhame and confuſion, Jer. 3.25.which would beſt have become him, (but ſelf cenſuring is too good a commodity for ſuch had Merchants to deal much in) He turns Informer againſt his own dear wife, alas, too dear to him from the time that ſhe grew tale-teller; but now he pays her in her own coyn, and not contented to deal in ſuch ſmall wares, he adventures higher, and in informing againſt her, he ſuggeſts againſt God, and caſts a ſubtil imputation upon innocence it ſelf (as Informers will be muttering where they dare not ſpeak out) The woman thou gavest me, &c.Gen. 3.12.
The woman again ſhe informs againſt the ſerpent,Ver. 13. and (as ſtrongly as ſhe can) vomits up her Gall in the firſt Informers face, who goes ſneaking and creeping away (as falſe Informers are wont to do, when detected) but not without Gods curſe upon himſelf,V. 14. on thy belly ſhalt thou go; and entayled on his poſterity. The Pſalmiſt complaining (as ſome read) of ſlander and calumny (Cherpah, Ainſw. A radic. foreign & foreignand Calimmah, whence carping and calumn, ſeem derived) inſpired of God thus imprecates,Pſa. 69.23. make their loyns continually to ſhake, Rom. 11.10which text the Apoſtle quoting thus varies, bow down their back alway; a curſe as near a kin to the ſerpents, as the traducer is to the Devil.
When each of theſe Informers had thus acted their parts, the earth it ſelf was the worſe for it (as it is a plague to a Countrey to be peſtered with ſuch pedlers.Gen. 3.18.) Thorns and thiſtles muſt it now bring forth: And that in a moral ſenſe too, whereof the Prophet ſadly complains,Mich. 7.4, 5. The beſt of them is as a bryer, and the moſt upright is ſharper then a thorn hedge &c. Truſt ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide, keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lyeth in thy boſom. Having thus traced this Informer from his head ſpring, we find him to be too near a kin to a Cain, (who was of that wicked one) fallen Adam is his Father,foreign: 1 Joh. 3.12. a fallen Angel his Grandfather. having therefore a Prince to his progenitor, we cannot fairly deny him, a Coat of Arms ſuitable to his origination, and as Arms are wont oft to be hung upon Sign-posts, you can hardly look off of the Informers when ever you ſee a Sign of Adam and Eve, for he beareth a ſerpent proper with an apple (or) on his tongue, and a ſting (ſable) in his tayl: morally thus blazoned, he ſalutes you with fair pretences, but never leaves you till he have poyſoned and inflamed you with prejudices againſt the innocent; like that Wine that gives a fine colour in the glaſs, Prov. 23.31, 32. Ecc. 10.11.but at length it biteth like a ſerpent. Surely the ſerpent (ſaith the Preacher) will bite without inchantment, and a Babler is no better. Pſa. 146.3.They have ſharpned their tongues like a ſerpent (ſaith David,) Adders poyſon is under their lips. You ſee I have the Authority of a King at Arms for this Heraldry.
Beſides as the Sirname of the Parent is derived to poſterity,foreign, trajicere, traducere John 6.70. if Devil be called Accuſer, which is the ſenſe of that name, ſo vice verſâ the Accuſer is called Devil, as Iſcariot was that informed againſt Chriſt.
The Apoſtle who would not have women to be Slanderers (as we read,) ſaith,1 Tim. 3.11. foreign. 1 Tim. 3.3. foreign. they muſt not be Devils, ſo the Greek. And where he foretells that Seducers would be Traducers, we read, falſe accuſers, or make-baits, but the word is Devils.
If yet there be any doubt of the Informers Line, his friends will help us to ſome proof, with whom it is a maxime that Malice is a good Informer.
But if they will needs have that true, methinks the Apoſtle ſhould be true too, who ſaith,1 Joh. 3.10. In this are the children of God manifeſt, and the children of the Devil, whoſoever doth not rightouſneſs is not of God, neither he that loveth not his Brother.
You ſee who is his Father, if you ask for his Brethren, there is Doeg the Edomite, and Zibah the paraſite, and Judas the pſeud-Apoſtle, cum multis aliis, all too foul a fraternity for any honeſt heart to claim kindred of; eſpecially conſidering what a ſtock they are come of, let the upright ſay, O my ſoul come thou not onto their ſecret, and unto their aſſembly mine honor be thou not united.
To cloſe this head, it is not to be forgotten, that as the evil ſpirit is called a Pleader or Informer againſt others, foreignſo the good ſpirit of God hath an appellation Antarctickly oppoſite viz. an advocate or a pleader for others: foreign. Gal. 5.16.ſo that to walk in the spirit, (as Paul ſpeaks), and to walk with ſlanderers (as the Prophet ſpeaks,Jer. 9.4.) muſt needs be as contrary as Heaven and hell.
CHAP. II. The INFORMERS Trade.
YOu have ſeen the Informers Pedigree, come we now to his Trade, and pardon me that I put it before his Religion, for ſo doth he;1 Tim. 6.4, 5. for gain is his godlineſs: a thing charged upon Railers and evil ſurmiſers. You know his father, & may thence gueſs at his trade, for probably ſuch a parent will be wanting in no endeavors to educate his own children in his own occupation. When God asked Satan, whence comeſt thou?Job 1.6, 7. his anſwer was, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And ſuch muſt the Informers be to the ſame enquiry, unleſs he have learn'd to out-ly his father: however the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks for him,Pſal. 37.9. That his tongue walketh through the earth.
His Trade is a Myſtery (as ſome men call theirs) but of iniquity, of hidden things of dishoneſty. Particularly,
The Informer by trade is a Pedler, (for ſo the phraſe is) and a dealer too in prohibited commodities. A radice foreignRokel is a Pedler, thence Rakil an Informer, the word uſed Lev. 19.16. Thou ſhalt not go up and down as a Talebearer among thy people. Thou ſhalt not walk a Talebearer, Ainſ. Slanderer, Backbiter, Quarrel-picker. Marg. Rakil is one that makes merchandize of words, Ainſw. in Lev. 19.16.uttering them as wares, going from place to place to ſpread abroad criminations of other men. Now walking in Scripture imports a ſet Trade, as walking in Chriſt, the Trade of Chriſtianity; walking diſorderly, a diſorderly converſation, ſo walking a Talebearer, the trade of Talebearing. A good man may poſſibly fall into it as his temptation, but none but a wicked will take it up as his Trade. He that walketh a Talebearer revealeth ſecrets. Pro. 11.13. Marg. Heb.He will tell you 'tis a ſecret, yet he muſt needs tell it; He ſits, and speaks againſt his brother, Pſa. 50.20.and ſlandereth his own mothers ſon. Keep clear, Sirs, off this Pedler, though a Brother: Paul was in peril among falſe Bretheren as much as by the Heathen.1 Cor. 11.26.
You ſee I have not nick named the Trade, nor ſlandered the Slanderer in calling him Pedler, or in ſaying that he deals in forbidden Wares. Moſes forbids Talebearers, and Paul Tatlers, and calls them Buſie bodies, 1 Tim. 5.13. foreign ebullio. Pſal. 45.1. Hebr.speaking things that they ought not. The word comes from the boyling of a pot, for as the heart of the godly is boyling up with a good matter: ſo the heart of the wicked, which is little worth, is vainly bubbling up with other mens matters, and caſting up ſuch things as it ought not.
We think perhaps becauſe the tongue is but a little member, that tongue-ſins are but little matters: Jam. 3.6, 8.but James ſaith the tongue is a world of iniquity, an unruly evil, full of deadly poiſon: and Jude,Jude 9. That Michael the Archangel durſt not bring a railing accuſation, no not againſt the Devil, but ſaid, The Lord rebuke thee.
The ſin of Sycophancy, rendered falſe-accuſing, forbidden by John Baptiſt, Luke 3.14. Chap. 19.8. foreign. Planud. in vitâ Aeſopiand repented of by Zachaeus, comes from ſhewing of figs; which ſome refer to the ſtory of Aeſop, who being traduced by his guilty fellow ſervants for eating up his Maſters figs, and unable through an impediment in his ſpeech to vindicate himſelf by drinking warm water in his Maſters ſight, did clear not onelyonly his ſtomach, but his innocence; the colloguing Informers being made to pledg him in the ſame liquor, diſcharge both their ſtomach of the figs, and Aeſop of the crime; whence the flattering falſe accuſer was firſt call'd Sycophant. foreign. Plutarch.Others refer it to the Athenian Informers ſet on work for diſcovery of ſuch as exported that kind of fruit, contrary to Law, who for lucre oft times would accuſe the innocent. But what ever was its riſe, it's certain, its uſe both in Scripture and other Authors, is for a flattering Informer, defamer, Tale-bearer, falſe accuſer.
Now the Trade of this Rakil is not much unlike his, whom in Cambridg we call Rake-hell, who goes hunting about in every hole. Pedlers are wanderers, and ſo are Tale-tellers, which the Apoſtle well obſerves,1 Tim. 5.13. when he joyns wandering about from houſe to houſe, to tatlers, &c. Yet himſelf when at Epheſus, Acts 20.20.went from houſe to houſe, but on a contrary errant, he did …hat to preach truth, which theſe do to spread lies. Thus as Pedlers go round about the town, ſo theſe barkers and belchers go round about the city.Pſal. 59.6, 7.
Pedlers will ſay that their packs are their own, when perhaps they are yet to pay for them: ſo will theſe, with our tongue will we prevail, Pſal. 12.4.our lips are our own, who is Lord ever us? yet is there a God to call theſe men to an account, as Enoch hath propheſied, Iude 15.even for hard speeches. For how light ſoever men make of words, and call them but wind; yet Chriſt the judg ſaith,Matth. 12.3. By thy words thou ſhalt be justified, and by thy words thou ſhalt be condemned: Therefore think whilſt thou art a trading of an after-reckoning.
Pedlers will not want Cuſtomers of poſſibly they may be had, no more will Talebearers: They will even thruſt their Wares upon you: yet theſe Pedlers, (whiſperers, backbiters, Paul joyns them,Rom. 1.29, 30. and you ſhall ſeldom ſee them ſevered) love the darkeſt rooms beſt, as beſt befriending their falſe wares.Pſal. 64.5. They commune of laying ſnares privily: in ſecret places do they murther the innocent. They will enjoyn you to keep their names in ſecrecie, whilſt themſelves lay others open: like thoſe Phariſees that bind burthens on other mens ſhoulders, which themſelves will not touch with one of their fingers.
Pedlers when they open their packs, have many gay things for you, to get ſomething out of you, Tinſel-riboning with almoſt an endleſs &c. and ſo have theſe ſycophants, whom therefore Solomon calls potſheards covered with ſilver droſs. Pro. 26.23.And God himſelf ſaith of ſuch as walk with ſlanders, Jer. 26.28, 30.Reprobate ſilver, or refuſe of ſilver ſhall men call them, for God hath rejected them.
Thus as the Pedler ſhews forth this painted wares, ſo the falſe witneſs, ſaith Solomon,Pro. 12.17. ſhews forth deceipt. Yet how poor ſoever their packs are, and dear ſoever you pay for what you have, both would make you believe that they greatly befriend you: you have ſuch a pennyworth as your neighbors muſt by no means know how you had it. Pray tell no body how I ſold it you, ſaith the Pedler; nor who told it you, ſaith the Informer.
Pedlers will crouch and cringe for a good cuſtomer: ſo theſe Informers, as Zibah to David, 2 Sam. 16.4I humbly beſeech thee that I may find grace in thy ſight, my Lord, O King. Maſter, ſaith the Pedler, I have ſuch a thing to ſell you. My Lord, ſaith the Informer, I have ſuch a thing to tell you.Pſalm 10.7, 10. His mouth is full of deceipt and fraud, under his tongue is miſchief and vanity, be croucheth and humbleth himſelf that the poor may fall by his ſtrong ones.
Pedlers will vend for you if you have any thing for their turn, as well as ſell to you; and perhaps if you do not offer it, they will ask it: your old broken ſilver, &c. which when once they have gotten, let them alone to make the moſt of it. Thus Informers will export as well as import; and let them get out of you but a hint, though a broken one too, and I warrant you they will ſoon make more of it than you did. They will put into you ſome of their water to pump you the more eaſily.Pro. 29.19. Jer. 20 10. Therefore the Tale bearer is called an enticer with his lips. They waited for my halting, peradventure ſay they he will be enticed, and we ſhall prevail againſt him. And if yet they can get nothing out of you that they came for, it is not unlike that what themſelves would have ſold you, they will ſay they had it of you. Chriſt was charged with blaspemy by them that were themſelves the blaſphemers. And Nero ſet Rome on fire, and then ſaid it was the Chriſtians, They can create, make ſomething out of nothing, what wonder then if they make more than is of what they ſee and hear?
Pedlers they bend their back for the pack, Jer. 9.3.and the Informer his tongue for lies: Both are too commonly artificial liers, counting lying their grace in putting off their ſlight wares ſo they do it cunningly. The babler in the Hebrew is called Maſter of the tongue. Ecc. 10.11.He thinks its a great matter to tell a lie with a grace. Do not doubt, ſaith the Pedler, of what I ſell you, for I bought it of ſuch a one; or of what I tell you, ſaith the Informer, for I had it of ſuch a one.Neh. 6.6. It is reported, ſaith he, & Gamſ…u ſaith it.
Pedlers will ſeem loath to part with what they long to be rid of, with too many proteſts, that if it were not to you, or for need, they would not part with it ſo: ſo the ſycophant hath ſomething to ſay, which he is very loath to ſpeak of, (as if informing forſooth went much againſt his grain) but neceſſity puts him upon it,Vox faucibu…beret. and then he humms and hahs: at length out comes what he is with child, till delivered of: but yet were it not for the due reſpect he hath to you, he ſhould not have ſpoke of it.Pſal. 50.9. Thus both ſorts of ſellers give their mouth to evil, and their tongue frameth deceipt. Thus have they taught their tongues to speak lyes: as if corrupted nature were not School Miſtreſs enough who teacheth that from the womb, Jerem. 9 5.They will be ſure to have this baſe Art to help Nature; Pſal. 58.3.though ſome of them perhaps are none of the greateſt friends to more liberal Learning. Pro. 16.30Solomon ſaith of the Sychophant, that he firſt ſhutteth his eys to deviſe froward things, and then moveth his lips to bring the evil to paſs. And thus when the cunning Pedler hath impoſed on his credulous Cuſtomer, he laughs in his ſleeve. And the Tale-teller when he hath caſt arrows, and Fire-brands, and Death, yet becauſe he hath deceived his neighbor, he ſaith am I not in sport? And then as Pedlers probably ſleep not ſo contentedly if their Markets have not ſucceeded proſperouſly,Prov. 4.16 ſo theſe ſleep not except they have done Miſchief, and their ſleep is taken away except they cauſe ſome to fall.
One thing I had almoſt forgot, which the Pedler will for the moſt part be ſure to remember, being perhaps laſt in his mouth, yet not leaſt in his mind: And that is to ask you a piece of ſomthing before he hath done with you: and if his modeſty do not ſerve to beg flatly for himſelf, yet he hath a partner ſome or other, that would thank you for a piece of your bread, &c. Thus the bread of deceipt lying or falſhood, Pro. 20.17(that is, bread ſo gotten) is ſweet to the Sychophant. Thus Zibah by his Taletelling, and by his I humbly beſeech thee, to David, ſhares ſtakes with Mephiboſheth, nay had almoſt turned him quite out of all, before he was once heard to anſwer for himſelf. In this ſence through Covetouſneſs they make Merchandize with fained words. It is foretold of the laſt days, firſt that men ſhall be lovers of their own ſelves, then falſe Accuſers. And ſupplanting is yoaked with ſlandering,2 Tim. 3.1 2, 3. Take ye heed every one of his Neighbor, and trust ye not in any Brother, for every Brother will utterly ſupplant, and every Neighbor will walk with ſlanders. The Cuckow picks a hole in another birds Eggs, that ſhe may lay her own in the ſame neſt. Jerem. 9.4.It was Nabaths good vineyard that made him a bad man, and that which made him unfit to live, was that which he had to live upon. It is not always mens walking ill in their place, as the goodneſs of the place that they walk in, that makes them Criminal. The Carry on Crow can come cleer off,Dat venia… corvis vexat cenſura … lumbas. without being perhaps ſo much as aimed at, though a foul bird and a fair mark, when ſome other bird is knockt down, not becauſe it is more miſchievous but becauſe it hath better fleſh. The Eagle-eyed Informer will not truſt a fly. You ſhall have happily here or there a ten or twenty pound Vicar that hangs ſtill like an old Cobweb in the ſame thatch where he was Twenty years ago, yet was never touched with the beeſom of Sequestration: not becauſe he was a leſs ſinner than others upon whom Sequeſtration fell; or the ſouls of poor people leſs pretious there; but the Living leſs worth, and the Informer beſides his Charges to Weſtminſter, and the indifferent ſupply of the place would not have wherewithal ſufficiently to recruit the expence of his zeal in procuring an Order of Sequeſtration of it into his own hands till further Order. I ſpeak not thus for opprobry, but with grief. But if any be ſo peſtilent and profligate, as ſlanderouſly to accuſe meerly to miſchieve others, I need not ſpend paper to tell you whoſe trade they are of, However make the beſt of the proditors bad Markets: If a Judas ſeem gainer by the ſale of the Innocent, he will one day be more haſty to get rid of, then ever he was to get his pay,Mat. 27.3 and will cry, take it again when he burns his fingers.
Pedlers are not over much at home in their own houſes: no more I fear are Informers in their own hearts. If they were, they would find leſs time, and perhaps leſs reaſon to be ſo buſie abroad; but this is too natural.1 Sam. 18.9 A Saul can eye a David, a good man, whilſt himſelf is poſſeſſed with an evil spirit. It is eaſie to look about us, to ſee how other men go, but a kind of pain (for it will coſt ſome ſtooping which we love not) to ſee how we our ſelves go. While we view the blemiſhes of other faces, we ſee not our own: but did we look on our own natural face in Gods glaſs more, we ſhould have leſs leaſure to gaze at other mens. Could you follow the Rake-hell home, that is ſuch a gadder abroad, I doubt you would find things in none of the beſt order. There is one Informer would be incouraged, for he hath Gods licence, and that is Conſcience. Would we but often enough read over this Monitors bill, and be but enough Criticks upon our own hearts, which are neareſt us, and as willing to take informations againſt our ſelves, as ſome are to get them againſt others, foreign. 1 Pet. 4.1…. 1 Kings 20.49.we ſhould not be as the Apoſtles word is, ſuch buſie Biſhops in other mens matters. But whilſt I was buſie here and there, ſaith he, he whom I had in charge was gone. What is become of family-Religion, catechizing children, inſtructing ſervants, ſecret duty, cloſet work, heart examination, &c. ſince thou haſt taken up this trade, and been buſie picking a talo here, and a thank there?Can. 1.6. Have they made thee a keeper of others vineyards, and thine own vineyard haſt thou not kept? Think man if ſo, that thy every Information againſt another is a double Indictment againſt thy ſelf. Let thy charity then begin at home (for ſo is ſelf-cenſuring) and then thou wilt be leſs uncharitable when thou comeſt abroad. In my ſmall obſervation, beſt men are leaſt cenſorious of others, and moſt critical as to themſelves. However he that loves to be exhaling dunghills (as the Informer loves to do) if he would do it with credit, had need be clear himſelf, as the ſun is.John 8.7. Let him that is without ſin caſt the firſt stone.
Pedlers ſometimes will have ſome weapon in their hands, which the Informer carries in his head, whoſe tongue, ſaith David, Pſal. 59.4.is a ſharp ſword. And where they ſuſpect any difficulty or danger in their march, they love company, ſuch as their own: and ſo do theſe Talebearers to have ſeconds and vonchers. Jer. 20.10.Report, ſay they, and we will report it. Thus are theſe foxes tied tale to tale, as Sampſons were turned tail to tail, whilſt they carry fire betwixt them from place to place. You ſee why the hatred hiding-lyer is ſaid by Solomon to utter a ſlander, Jud. 15.50a phraſe proper to a Pedler who utters his Wares. But let me tell you it is ſo bad a Trade that no man can live well upon it, no not in this world: for he that will love life, and ſee good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile, let him eſchew evil and do good, let him ſeek peace & enſue it. Reader, whoſoever thou art, let me warn thee though thou love not thy Neighbor, yet as thou lov'ſt thy life, to take heed of this Traffique, warn thine Eve for her Grandmothers ſake that ſhe pry not into the Pack. Let not this Pedler, if thou canſt help it, ever put his ſtaff within thy door; and be ſure to trayn up thy children to a better Trade. I have been too long upon the Informers Trade, and ſo hath hee; Let us now both bid adiew to it. I ſhall be ſhorter in his Religion, for that is it wherein he is ſhort, elſe would he not have been ſo long in his Trade: That's the ſhort and the long of it.
CHAP. III. The INFORMERS Religion.
THe moral Pedler for the moſt part carrieth what he hath in a painted box. His hatred is covered by deceipt. Prov. 26.26He hath rough hands, yet Jacobs voice. When he speaks fair, believe him not, Verſe 25.(ſaith Solomon) or when he maketh his voice gracious. 'Tis not ſo, yet he makes it ſo.Marg. after the Hebrew It would ſpoil his informing if he were not in the form. The Pedler had as good be out of the world as faſhion; he muſt have to fit that, or give over. Is godlineſs in credit? the Informer will have a form of it: for leſs than that would hinder him in his Trade; but no more, for that would quite overthrow it. The falſe Accuſers, 2 Tim. 3.3.5whom Paul calls Devils, are yet ſaid to have a form of Godlyneſs. They put on the Saint, as Judas and Jeſabel, to play the Devil. That Devils ſhould co…et to be under a form of Godlyneſs ſeems ſomewhat ſtrange; but then he ads, they deny the power, and that takes oft the wonder: for had they not the form, they could not carry in a falſe ſence ſuch a Grace in Traducing: But had they the power, they would have more Grace (in a true ſence) then to Traduce. So then, hear ſuch a one speak and you may take him for a Jacob, but if ever you come to feel him, you will be perhaps of another mind.
Birds of Prey (how curiouſly coloured ſoever,) are pronounced unclean, as Eagles, Deut. 14.12.13. &c.Vultures, Cormorants &c. And ſo is the tongue that loves like Doegs, all devouring words. Iſaiah 52.4. 1 Sam. 21.7And yet 'tis ſaid of that very Doeg, that he was detained before the Lord. He was not it ſeems void of a Form of Religion, who yet bloodily betrays and butchers in the next,Chap. 22. thoſe very Miniſters with whom he had joyn'd in waiting upon God in the Chapter before.James 1.26. foreign Deu. 14.19 Some few excepted, Lev. 11. Wherefore if any man ſeem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue, that mans religion is vain. He hath a Religion, but it is but ſeeming, therefore vain.
I find alſo that every creeping thing that flieth was unclean, which ſeems moſt to fit the Informer, who creeps up and down to pick up tales, and then hath wings like a bird to carry the matter. 2 Tim. 3.6.Theſe creepers into houſes (as the Apoſtle calls them) though never ſo heady, Ver. 4.(or high-flown) yet becauſe they are falſe accuſers, are therefore to be turned away from, Ver. 3.(as being unclean in a Goſpel ſenſe) notwithſtanding their gay feathers,Ver. 5. though having a form of godlineſs.
There is yet further cauſe why the Informer ſhould be in love with a form; for as it credits him in putting off, ſo in taking up of his wares. As he could not ſo hope to be paſſant without aiming at the Shibboleth: Jud. 12.5, 6. Hail Maſter John 18.…ſo he reckons that by pretending to kiſs Chriſt, he may beſt play the Judas; for none kept more fawning or complementing than the Traitor, and ſo was ſo much in credit, that he was a Secretis to our Savior. He that betrayd knew the place: for Jeſus ofttimes reſerted thither with his Diſciples.
A Sepulchre is ſuch a thing as none would covet to come near it, were it not covered and painted. Rom. 3.13.Such mens throat is an open ſepulchre, which every one would fear to fall into, had it not the Epiglottis the ſmooth covering of a deceitfull tongue. The Apoſtle ſpeaks of ſome that became brethren, though falſe ones, to ſpie out the liberty of thoſe that are true.Gal. 2.4. Luk. 20.20. Thus feignedly juſt men were appointed for ſpies upon him, that was truly ſo. The wolf in his own skin would affright the ſheep,Acts 9 13. Ver. 26. (as Ananias and the Diſciples were afraid of Saul who appeared an open perſecutor) he muſt therefore put on ſheeps cloathing, Mat. 7.15.that he may raven the more among the ſheep.
Nay poſſibly men blinded in their judgment, by Gods, may conceit that their ſeeming holineſs may make ſome amends for their real unrightouſneſs. Elſe how ſhould they ſay,Iſaiah 66.5. Let the Lord be glorified when they hate their bretheren, and caſt them forth for his names ſake, whom he hath juſtified.
How nice were thoſe envious Accuſers of the Bleſſed Jeſus,John 8.28. that would not themſelves go into the judgment-hall, leſt they ſhould be defiled, but that they might eat the Paſſover. Ver. 29.Therefore Pilate went out to them, and ſaid, What accuſation bring you againſt this man? Nay it ſeems they look'd on themſelves as ſuch pure Merchants, that they ſeem to take it ill at his hands that he takes not off all their pack by whole-ſale,Dolus in univerſalibus. (as Informers will take ſnuff if you take not all upon their truſt) They anſwered and ſaid unto him, Ver. 30.If he had not been a malefactor, we would not have delivered him unto thee. Simulata ſanctitas duplex iniquitas.What do you ſuſpect us that have ſuch ſcrupulous conſciences, that we would have been Accuſers if he had not been guilty? I reflect not here on holineſs, but rip up hypocriſie. Jam 1.26. foreign.Therefore James betwixt ſeeming to be religious and not bridling the tongue, puts in ſelf-deceipt. 'Tis the leſs then to be wondered at, that under ſemblance of Religion, ſuch can deceive others, who have firſt deceived their own heart. A fair item to all others not to overtruſt him that deceives himſelf.
You have had a view of the Informer, How religious he is, and Why; yet but overly of that which is but ſuperficial. Perhaps if you follow cloſe at his heels for a particuler ſurvey of his Saint ſhip in his houſe or cloſet, you might too frequently find his tongue ſo tired with travailing abroad, that by the time it gets home, it hath too little either liſt or leiſure to praiſe or to Pray. However we ſhall take notice of thoſe particular Devotions that himſelf not unwillingly expoſeth to publick view; His ſet Fasting and publick Hearing.
The Informer will keep a Fast himſelf. when he intends by it perhaps the taking of the bread out of your mouth. And will hang down his head, Iſa. 58 4.5.when he minds to have at yours. There is a Faſting for ſtrife and debate, which though God doth not chuſe, yet he doth. They whom Jezabel ſuborned againſt innocent Naboth, muſt by no means forſwear themſelves till they have firſt kept a Faſt, either, as if real perjury were to be previouſly expiated, by this counterfit piety, or elſe as if it were diſorderly to falſify againſt man, without lying to God in the firſt place, as if the needle of a double tongue did diſdain to draw after it ſuch a ſlender threed as a ſingle ſin. Proclaime a Faſt, 1 K 21.9.10and ſet Naboth on high, and ſet two men ſons of Belial before him, to bear witneſs againſt him &c. So commanded that Jezabel, 2. Kin. 9.30whoſe Religion like her Beauty was but paint-deep, and ſo did her Knights of the Poſt, thoſe ſons of Belial.
For the other point of his Religion, to wit, his publick Hearing; He will often be an auditor where he leaſt loves the Preacher, which you will not think ſtrange when you conſider his errand, which is not to get any thing by the Miniſter, (for he takes himſelf already to be wiſer then his teacher, or however to be now too old to be a Learner who is turned to be Informer,) but to get ſomething againſt the Miniſter: and perhaps the beſt Preacher ſhall be moſt haunted with ſuch Hearers; as our Saviour himſelf, you may well think 'twas not for love of him that the Phariſees found him Hearers,Mat. 22.15 but to entangle him in his ſpeech. Yet theſe Auditors will ſeem applauders,Mat. 12.13 Maſter we know that thou art true, and teacheſt the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man &c. This they did,Luk. 20 20. Mark ſaith to catch him in his words, and Luke ſaith, that they might take hold of his words, and ſo of him too, not by Faith, but by fraud and fury. Thus they conſult him in a caſe of Conſcience, not to be informed, but to Inform, that they might accuſe him. And if it were thus done to the Maſter,,Mat. 12.10 the ſervant is not above his Lord.
Jer. 37.13. Capt. Irijah.Thus Jeremiah that was the beſt affected man amongſt them, is charged by a Captain amongſt the Iſraelites to be a faller off to the Caldeans, and all becauſe of his honeſt and plain dealing.
Aut inveniam, aut faciam.You ſee then what the Informer comes for, which he will either find or make before he go away. He deals with what he hears, as Procruſtes with his gueſts, cuts off what's too long, and ſtretcheth out what's too ſhort for his turn. He wreſts what he hears to the Preachers destruction, 2 Pet. 3.16 Pſal. 56.5as ſome do the Scriptures to their own. Davids words were wreſted daily to his hurt, and Paul was ſlandrouſly reported, Rom. 3.8.and ſome affirmed that he ſaid what he ſaid not.
He hath a ſingular faculty both of Judgment and Memory, which he exerciſeth upon what he hears. He hath ſo piercing a Judgment, that he underſtands that by the Sermon that no body elſe can, and that the Miniſter never meant; and ſo ſtrange a memory that he can remember that which was never ſpoken.
To ſhut up his Religion, I muſt further adde, that all the practical improvement that he ever makes of what he hears, is onelyonly An Uſe of INFORMATION. Witneſs that Michajah the ſon of Gemariah in the Reign of Jehoiakim. Jeremi. 36 11.16.What is further in his Religion, you may gueſs by the man himſelf; that is, when Sermon is done he intends a Repetition, ſuch as you may expect by what hath been told you,Am 7.10.11 even ſuch as Amaziah the Priest of Bethel made to Jeroboam King of Iſrael, ſaying, Amos hath conspired againſt thee in the midſt of the Houſe of Iſrael, the Land is not able to bear his words, for thus Amos ſaith, &c. And when he thus Repeats, he will be angry if you will not believe him, more then himſelf did the Miniſter that Preached the Sermon.
CHAP. III. The INFORMERS Arraignment.
I Now come to the Informant againſt the Informer, and juſtly to deal with this Adonibozek, Judg. 1.7.as he hath injuriouſly dealt with others, Nec Lex eſt juſtier ulla, &c.
There is no Law more juſt than that by which
Th' unjuſt's thrown in, that digs the juſt a ditch.
OnelyOnly being much a ſtranger to the formalityes of our Law, as he whom I implead is altogether to the tenour of Gods. I endorſe on his Indictment a true Bill, yet am I contented, where need is, that this Bill be mended in form but not altered in ſubſtance.
The firſt thing therefore that I charge on the Informer is Defamation: Eccle. 7.1.A good Name is as a pretious Ointment, but then the Informer is as a Fly in the box; I heard, Jer. 20.10.ſaith Jeremy, the Defaming of many. Now as Defamation bears an Action amongſt Men, ſo eſpecially in Heaven, where God hath ſet up a Court of Honor for the Innocent, where he both pleads their Cauſe and executes Judgment for them, till he bring forth their Righteouſneſs as the light, and their Judgment as the noon day. Therefore what Jeremiah calls defaming,Rom. 3.8. foreign. 1 Cor. 4.13. foreign Paul calls Blaſpheming, for complaining that himſelf, and the reſt of the Apoſtles were ſlandorouſly Reported and Defamed, as we read, the word in both places is Blasphemed Cr.
The Scripture makes God the Guardian of the Innocent; now as no man can commence a ſuit to the prejudice of the Orphan without taking in the Guardian, ſo the reproaches of them that reproach the Innocent fall upon God;Mat. 15.19. and hence to falſe witneſſes are added Blasphemyes. As is he that by lying would make himſelf better, (I know the blaſphemy of thoſe that ſay they are Jews and are not) ſo is he that falſly repreſents another as worſe then he is.Revel. 2.9. Pro. 17.15.He that juſtifieth the wicked and condemneth the juſt, even they both are abomination to the Lord.
Next I preſent the Informer by the name of Sycophant alias Tale-bearer, as a Common Barretour, an Inciter of litigations and vexations quarrelings among Men. Solomon yokes a falſe witneſs that ſpeaks Lyes, Prov. 6.19.and him that ſoweth diſcord among brethren, for a froward man ſoweth ſtrife, Chap. 16.28.and a whiſperer ſeparateth chief friends. You ſe… his Huſbandry:Mat. 13.25. His Seeds time is like that of the Envious man, that ſoweth Tares, and then his harveſt is, when he ſees not corn, Pro. 17.9.but men together by the Ears. He that covers a Tranſgreſſion ſeeketh love, but he that repeateth a matter ſeparateth very friends. Oh how perilous as to ſubſtance are our Breaches for Circumſtances ſince the wound hath taken wind by falſe fame and continually been kept a chafing by evil Interpreters, and worſe Interpraters among diſſenting Brethren. If the phraſe be not allowable, no more let the thing be. This Informer is a pernicious Ambidexter at the handling, I mean, of his double tongue. … Reynolds Gods reveng againſt Murther.Strange inſtances hereof do occur in reading, too prolix to be here inſerted. He oft kils two birds with one ſtone. Perſuades if it may be, the Huſband to doubt the Wifes Loyalty, and the Wife to diſpute the Husbands Love; rejoycing ſecretly to abate that in both, the want whereof, he ſubtily laments in either. Such pranks he can play between Magistrate and Miniſter, one and another; and who, if you will believe him, ſuch a friend in the Interim, to them both, as he that makes them Enemyes to each other, who had had no quarrel had they heard of none? And thus, as the ready way to make ſome bluſh, is to tell them that they do ſo; ſo by telling them that they are Enemyes,Pro. 26.21. and 20. he makes them ſo. As coals are to burning coals and wood to fire, ſo is a contentious man to kindle ſtrife. Where no wood is, the fire goes out, ſo where there is no Tale-bearer or Whiſperer the ſtrife ceaſes, or is ſilent.Marg. after the Hebrew So then, as we deſire to ſilence the noiſe of the ſtrife, let us ſtop our Ears to the News of the Whisperer.
Alſo I preſent the ſaid Informer for Bloudſhed and Battery, for that he with force of arms, that is to ſay, with ſwords, ſtaves, clubs, or other Offenſive weapons did aſſault, wound, or otherwiſe evil intreat, Hebr. 7.2contrary to the peace of our ſoverain Lord the King Jeſus Chriſt, who is King of Salem, that is, Peace, ſundry of his Majeſties peaceable and good Subjects.
They ſpeak not peace, Pſa. 35.30.but they deviſe deceitful matters againſt them that are quiet in the land. Prov. 25.18Now he that bears falſe witneſs againſt his Neighbor, is a maul and a ſword, and a ſharp arrow. A maul, there is Battery; a ſword, there is Blood-ſhed; and a ſharp Arrow, that's worſe than the other.Jer. 93. v. 20 He hath a ſubtil way of wounding at a diſtance, which neither club nor ſword can do He bends his tongue like a bow for lies, his Tongue is an Arrow ſhot out. He ſpeaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, Prov. 26.23but in heart he lays his wait. And thus the words of the Tale-bearer are as wounds.
The Informer aſſaults as the Arabian fights. He loves not a cloſe combat with his enemie face to face, but lurks in ſome hole, whence he ſhoots his Arrow, that the wounded may not ſee the hand that hits him.Pſ. 64.3.4.5 They bend their bows to ſhoot their arrows, even bitter words, that they may ſhoot in ſecret at the perfect; ſuddenly do they ſhoot at him and fear not. They ſay, who ſhall ſee them? This Fox deſigns what Faux did in another caſe, to blow you up in your credit and intereſt, and yet ſo as you may not know who hurts you.Plutarch in vitâ Julii Caeſar. He deals as cowardly Caſca did with Iulius Caeſar, that durſt not adventure to give him a wound, till he had ſneakingly got behind his back. There is a Biting of one another, Gal. 5.13.cenſured by the Apoſtle,Rom. 1.30 and a Backbiting too. There is a Back-biting with the tongue, Pſal. 15.3. Prov 25.23.yea, a Backbiting tongue. It is a ſtrange phraſe. you had need, Sirs, carry Eys in your head, for the Monſter I ſpeak of carryes Teeth in his Tongue. Nay, if you knew how, your very Occiput had need be ocular, and you like Ianus, double faced, to obviate the aſſaults of the double tongued. The Informer is like Dan, A Serpent by the way, Gen. 49.17an Adder in the paths, that bites the horſe heels, ſo that his Rider ſhall fall backwards.
When Antipater a great Commander,Plutarc. in vitâ Alex. being then very far off, was accuſed to Alexander; Caſsander the ſon of the accuſed being then in the Court, ſaith Alexander, Thy father is certainly guilty, elſe theſe men would never have put themſelves to the trouble to have come ſo far to accuſe him: Nay rather, O King, (replies the Son) it is manifest my father is not guilty, for had he been, theſe enemies of his would rather have accuſed him before his face. I leave this ſtory to them whom it moſt concerns, being called upon to a further proſecution of the Informer at the Bar. I ſhall onelyonly add, That honeſt Mephiboſheth might ſoon have made traiterous Ziba ſtumble in his ſtory had not himſelf (good man) been lame of his feet, and ſo under an invincible neceſſity of being abſent, when accuſed. Therefore methinks ſince,Qui juſtum ſtatuit, alterâ inauditâ parte, ipſe injuſtus est. moſt honeſt men have two ears, whereas the Informer hath but one Tongue, (though that perhaps be a double one) they ſhould make conſcience of reſerving one ear for the accuſed, (as Plutarch ſays Alexander was wont to do) when they have lent the Offendor the other afore-hand.
I do further indite the ſaid Informer for burglarie and felony, Detraction is ſo called becauſe it ſteals from a man, &c. …p Uſher.for that he feloniouſly and burglarly by force of arms a breach did make, and with a felonious intent did rob. ſteal and take away, ſo many good names, to the value of &c.
The Informer commits burglary to further his felony, he breaks through mens good-names to come at their goods, as they through Naboths to rob him of his Inheritance. Luke 19.8.Saith Zachaeus, when converted, If I have wronged any man by ſycophancie, I reſtore him fourfold, that is, by falſe Accuſation in ſuch caſe where part of the pecuniary penalty did go to the Informer. Here's a punctual reſtitution, and beſides the fift part required by the Law to be added to the principal, Lev. 6.2, 5.here's a fair ſurpluſage, foraſmuch as the parties injured did not onelyonly ſuffer in their goods but good names. And ſurely could we but ſee our Informers reform, we ſhould have much travelling in this unbeaten path of Reſtitution, the neceſſary concomitant (where it may be) of true Repentance, with a non-obſtante to that ſaying, 'Tis a ſhame to ſteal, but a greater ſhame to bring home.
The ſpoyling of ones good name is by ſo much a greater Robbery than the rapine of ones Goods, by how much A good name is rather to be choſen then great Riches, Prov. 22.2.and loving favor rather then ſilver and gold. A man had better be plundered of his Coin then Credit, and of his Goods then Good eſteem. Credit hath a magnetick virture in it to draw livelyhood and imployment after it; but let the good name be broken,Actum eſt de homine cùm actum eſt de nomine. and then good parts are like a curiouſly wrought Lock with a broken ſpring, that may have many lookers on, but few buyers. And thus as we ſay (in ſome caſes) ſome rob many in one, when the Informer whets his tongue like a ſword to ſmite the Shepheard, the poor Sheep are ſcattered,Pſal. 74.3. and thus he deſtroys the Dam with the Young.
Further,Deut. he doth not onelyonly wrong by Robbery, but robs of the means of righting the wrong. He defameth whom he injureth, that their own denyal may not be taken; and if he can, makes their friends partyes, that they may not be witneſses. Thus treacherous Zibah took away Mephiboſheths Aſſes, 2 Sam. 19.26 27.that he might not ride to clear himſelf to the King, whom he knew to be ſo lame, that he could not go on his own feet. Thus High-way-men will turn away your Horſe, as well as take away your Purſe, to diſable you to purſue the Thieves, or however to get a ſufficient ſtart of you.
The Informer hath learnt of Machia…il what Zibah found true before Machiavil was born.Calumniare audacter, aliquid adhaerebit. Calumnia… boldly and ſomething will ſtick, as Ʋenim will, when the Vipers teeth are pluckt out (ſo receptive are our evil hearts of any evil impreſſion, and ſo retentive, yea, tenacious of what is ſo recieved,) for when Mephiboſheth, as ſoon as he could, had brought the King, not onelyonly his moſt cordial and clear expreſſions to blow off, but alſo his overgrown hair, 2. Sam. 19.24.to bruſh off the falſe ſuggeſtions of a flattering Zibah, making proof good enough that himſelf had remembred David and all his trouble, yet the King ſo forgat the kindneſs of Ie…an, to ſay nothing of the juſtice of a Prince,Ver. 29. that ſtill Zibah muſt have half his Maſters Eſtate, for telling a Lie of him ſo well affected-ly.
I might add, that as the Thief in the Candle, ſo is the Tale-bearer to Time, his own and others; ſtealing that away, that is ineſtimably precious. You know what a Brand of Infamy was ſet on the Athenians, Acts 17.21.that ſpent their time in nothing elſe, but to tell or hear ſome new thing.
Laſtly, I preſent the Informer for Murther, (which here in Ireland is Treaſon) for that he contrary to the crown and dignitie of the ſoverain Lord of life, the fear of God before his eyes not having, of malice forethought did kill and murther. Thus Moſes preſents, who is the fore-man of the Grand-jury; Lev. 19.16.Thou ſhalt not go up and down as a Tale-bearer among thy people, neither ſhalt thou ſtand againſt the bloud of thy neighbor, I am the Lord; as who would ſay, the Tale-bearer is not onelyonly guilty of the bloud of his neighbor, but alſo of Treaſon and Indignity againſt the Lord. And thus Ezekiel after him, another good man and true, and with him all the reſt of the Prophets are agreed in their verdict: Ezek. 22.9.In thee are the men that carry tales to ſhed bloud. Yea, the Coroner himſelf who hath made the Inqueſt, and probed the depth of the wound, ſaith,Prov. 26.22 That the words of the Tale-bearer are as wounds, they go down to the innermoſt parts of the belly. They ſink not onelyonly into the Hearer, working an inward, if not incurable Rancor; but eſpecially into the innocent ſufferer, Solomon ſpeaks of thoſe that are afflicted by a lying Tongue, Prov. 26.28and adds, that a flatering mouth worketh ruin. Such a Tongue the Greek Verſion ſometimes renders, (as Ainſworth obſerves,) a double tongue: but the Hebrew Doctors phraſe is a threefold tongue, (which methinks the Poets ſeem to have reſpect unto, in their Fiction of Cerberus, that triple tong'd Hell-hound. Maimon, gives the Reaſons, Our wiſe men have ſaid, ſaith he, that the evil tongue killeth three, the Speaker, the Receiver, and him that is spoken againſt.
Pſal. 52.2.David compares Doegs Tongue to a ſharp Raſor working deceiptfully: a faithful Reprovers Tongue is like a ſharp Raſor too, but working honestly, it makes the patient endurer thereof, more ſmooth and trim. But the flanderers Tongue is a ſharp Raſor, a cut-throat weapon, when it works deceiptfully.
Slander, too oft takes away the Life, as Naboths, by color of Law; and a better mans then his, whoſe Judgment in his humiliation was taken away; Acts 8.33of whom the Prophet ſays, that he was not onelyonly as a Lamb, at the ſlaughtering, but as a Sheep at the Shearing, Iſaiah 53 7.They firſt rob him what they can of his Fleece of Innocence, and then Butcher him.
Otherwiſe it deſtroys Life by working Sorrow in the ſufferer, that works Death. Even Davia himſelf complains, that he was a dead man, and like a broken veſſel; Pſal. 31 12.13.For, ſaith he, I have heard the ſlander of many. As ſhe that lives in pleaſure, ſo he that lives in diſgrace, is even dead whilſt he liveth for what is the Life of our Life next under the favor of God, but the favor of thoſe that are good? and next our acceptance with the Father, but to be accepted, as was Mordecai's happy hap,Eſter 10 3. with the multitude of our Brethren.
Or at leaſt, the ſlandering tongue ſtabs that to the heart, which ſhould out live our Life, and is in that reſpect dearer then it, to wit, the Name of the righteous, which ſhould be had in everlasting remembrance. The Name of the righteous is bleſsed, Prov. 10.7.but the Memorial of the wicked ſhall rot. It is this bleſſed thing, that the putrid Paraſite lies corroding, like ſome Worms that will be eating holes in the foundeſt Timber, as if they envyed its more durable ſubſtance ſhould out-laſt their own. Mine Enemies ſaith David, speak evil of me, Pſalm 41.5when ſhall he die, and his Name periſh?
Ambition we know, could much more tempt the more generous Heathen, then ſordid Avarice, who would loſe their Life to ſave their Honour. Se the Mar. Iſaia. 63 19 Zach. 10.12And how much dearer ſhould a Chriſtians good Name be to him, inaſmuch as the Name of the Lord is called upon him, and he ſaid to walk up and down in it? So that, whoſoever ſlandereth his walking, and aſſaſſinates his Credit, adds Treaſon againſt God, to his murthering of the juſt; whereof the firſt is the worſt. He that complains of the ſlander of many, Pſal. 31.13 Pſalm 85.50 51.on purpoſe deviſed to take away his life, was yet moſt deeply wounded at this, ſaith he, Remember O Lord, the reproach of thy ſervants, Ezek. 29.9. Hebr.wherewith thine Enemyes have reproached Jehovah, wherewith they have reproached the footſteps of thine anointed. So then the Men of ſlanders, are the Men of blood, and theirs are the bloody addreſſes, who addreſs themſelves to accuſe the Innocent. Now that this Treaſonable murthering is of malice forethought, the Wiſe man gives evidence where he ſaith,Prov. 26.28 A lying tongue hateth thoſe that are afflicted by it, which Text with ſome experience may in time teach you to conſtrue that paradox. That they that do the injury are moſt hard to forgive. And that it is for that they have not the fear of God before their eys, David proves ſaying of the Ziphims, Pſal. 54.3.Sauls ſneaking Informers, Strangers are riſen up againſt me, that ſeek after my ſoul, they have not ſet God before them, Selah.
I have done with the Indictment: only if you ask after all did he fly for the ſame? Let the Court hear the witneſs; the Pſalmiſt firſt ſaith,Pſ. 10.7 8 9 under his tongue is miſchief and vanity, and then that He ſits in the lurking places of the Villages, ſecretly, as a Lion in his Den. And again, They wreſt my words, Pſ 140.11. Or, evil ſhall hunt him to overthrow him.their thoughts are againſt me for evil, They hide themſelves. And therefore he imprecates, Let not an evil ſpeaker be eſtabliſhed in the Earth, but let him be hunted to his overthrow. You may ſee by the worryed Lambs and Sheep, where the Wolf or the Fox hath been, which yet without hunting cannot be found. And now having got him upon a freſh ſent, Methinks, beſides all that hath been ſpoken, the Informer ſmells ſo ſtrong of the MALIGNANT, that it were eaſy to proſecute him from Seſſions to Councils, and from Courts to Committees, and to make the charge good from that of the Apoſtle,Rom. 1.29. where he makes Malignancy the very Root of Backbiters and Whiſperers, Full of Malignity, Backbiters, Whiſperers.
And thus, (what ever fair umbrage be put on to the contrary.) having proved him a Delinquent againſt the Commonwealth, We are in the next place to bring him to condign Pumiſhment.
CHAP. V. The INFORMERS Puniſhment.
ANd now to begin with him where we left him, (viz) in a ſtate of Delinquency againſt the State: He is in the firſt place lyable to Sequeſtration (from the favor I mean, of all great and good men.) Satan the Arch-Malignant was thus ſentenced of old at a Council in Heaven The Dragon was caſt out thi…t old Serpent, Revel. 12.9called Accuſer, and enemy, (for ſo Devil and Satan ſignify,) and ſo it is explained in the following Verſe where he is called the Accuſer of our Brethren V. 10.that accuſed them night and day. And for my part, I ſee no reaſon why this Sequeſtration ſhould be taken off of his Children, till they give ſome better proof of their true Repentance, and good affection to the Commonwealth: And were but as round a courſe taken in this as in other caſes there would not be ſo many Malignants (in Scripture ſenſe left ſo able to miſchiev the Republique as there are. The North wind ſaith Solomon, Prov. 25 23drives away Rain, ſo doth an angry countenance, a back biting tongue: and ſaith David before him,Pſal. 101.5. Who ſo privily ſlandereth his Neighbour him will I out off, that is, (to take it in mitiori ſenſu) from mine audience, and favorable acceptance, for ſo he ſeems to explain himſelf; He that worketh deceipt ſhall not dwell within my houſe, Verſe 7.he that telleth lyes ſhall not tarry in my ſight. So that by both their votes, what you may ſee ſometimes written over private Tables, would be moſt neceſſarily inſcribed over Council-Boards,
Quiſquis amat dictis abſentum rodere vitam,Auguſtinianum diſtichon.
Hanc menſam vetitam noverit eſſe ſibi.
Which I thus Engliſh, Who loves the Abſent to tradues, may he Preſent as Gueſt at this Board never be.
I have touched on that part of this Delinquents Puniſhment, that may in part diſable him to miſchieve others; and 'tis like he will think this to be Puniſhment great enough.Maledico quoniammalefacere, cum velim, non poſsum. For Zoilus being asked why he ſpoke miſchievouſly of all Men? Anſwered, becauſe he could not do them miſchief when he would; ſo that pull but out his Sting, and you ſpoil his ſweet Trade.
But if any ſhall think neceſſary to inflict further penalty, yet ſo as to keep within compaſs of Law, I ſhall not here turn you over to the Cannoniſts, much leſs to Ethnick Legiſlators, (for as a Reverend Author obſerves,Bp. Hall in his caſes of conſcience. Dec. 2. caſ. 7. Delators & Informers have in all happy & well Governed States been ever held an odious & Infamous kind of cattel: A Tiberius, ſaith he, & a Domitian might giv both countenance & rewards, as being meet factors for their tyranny: but a Veſpatian & Titus, an Antoninus pius, & Macrinus, or whatever other Princes carryed a tender care to the Peace and wellfare of their Subjects, whipt them in the Amphitheater, abandoned them out of their Dominions as pernicious and intollerable.) Neither ſhall I direct you to ſteer your courſe by his Compaſs, who cauſed ſome Accuſers, (who were found out to have wilfully falſifyed.) to be hung up by the Tongue: though it were to be wiſhed, that ſuch were (if not tyed by their Tongue; yet) ſomewhat more Tongue tyed, foreignor to ſpeak with the Apoſtle,Iam. 1.26. (and then I am ſure I ſpeak ſafely,) that they would put a bridle on their own Tongue: But I ſhall lead you to Gods own Law, and that is,Deut. 19.16.18.19 20.21. If a falſe witneſs riſe up againſt any man to teſtify againſt him that which is wrong: The Iudges ſhall make diligent inquiſition, and behold, if the witneſs be a falſe witneſs, and hath testifyed falſly againſt his Brother, then ſhall ye do unto him, as he had thought to do unto his Brother, ſo ſhalt thou put the evil away from among you. And they that remain, ſhall hear and fear, and ſhall henceforth commit no more any ſuch evil amongst you: And thine eye ſhall not pity, but Life ſhall go for Life, Eye for Eye, Hand for Hand, Foot for Foot. Thine eye ſhall not pity: a ſevere Clauſe, ſay the Law be judicial as to that time and people. If yet there be any parity of Reaſon that may carry it further, if duly circumſtantiated, which I leave to their prudence and juſtice whom it moſt concerns to conſider it.
Dan. 6.24.'Twas lex talionis too, that Darius executed on Daniels Acouſers, charging him maliciouſly though not falſly of the breach of the Decree, that they had ſubtilly contrived to flatter the King and in trap him; which God himſelf as aforeſaid took care to ſee executed, opening the Lyons mouths upon the Accuſers, which were ſtopt whilſt the Accuſed was in the den. 'Tis ſaid of ſuch, That ſwords are in their lips, whereby they cut others; and the Pſalmiſt threatens ſuch,Pſal. 12.2.3. that God will cut off their lips: and as their work is to divide others by their tongues: So the Pſalmiſt imprecates that God would divide their tongues. Pſal. 55.9.And perhaps if men forbear to puniſh in ſuch caſes, they may come to be puniſhed by thoſe that they forbear. The fiery mettled ill-mouth'd horſe will not much ſpare his Rider, (let him get but his bit between his teeth) who perhaps loved too well to ſee him throw up his heels at all others whom he meets by the way.Jam. 3.7.8. And the Apoſtle ſaith, an untamed tongue is a much more …rnly evil than the wildeſt beaſt. Vipers will not ſpare, when time ſerves, the bowels that bred them.
But ſay, the Zibah be for from any puniſhment from men, that he ſeem to get by his Trade: yet Solomon hath aſſured us more than once in the ſame Chapter,Pro. 19.5.9 that the falſe witneſs ſhall not be unpuniſhed, and he that speaketh lies ſhall not eſcape. Dreadful are the imprecations that lie at the ſlanderers and backbiters door (as ſin at Cains) up and down in the Pſalms, (how conſolatory ſoever that portion of Scripture be to the rightous, though ſufferers) ſome whereof I ſhall recite, not that it is a delight but a duty to tell ſuch men of then danger:Pſal. 109.2, 6.7, 8.17, 18, 19, 20. They have spoken againſt me with dying tongue, and then it follows: let Satan ſtand at ſuch a ones right hand: when he ſhall be judged let him be condemned, and let another take his Office. As he loved curſing ſo let it come unto him: as he delighted not in bleſſing, ſo let it be far from him. Let curſing come into his bowels like water, and like oyl into his bones, &c. Let this be the reward of mine adverſaries from the Lord, Acts 1.2….and of them that speak evil againſt my ſoul. A Pſalm applied to Judas the Informer. And as dreadful the comminations,Pſalm 64.3, 4, 7. They bend their bows to ſhoot their arrows, even bitter words, &c. But God ſhall ſhoot at them with an arrow, ſuddenly ſhall they be wounded So David againſt Doeg. … 52.1.4.5Why boaſteſt thou thy ſelf in miſchief, O mighty mar? &c. Thou loveſt all devouring words: God ſhall likewiſe deſtroy thee for ever, he ſhall take thee away, &c. And elſwhere, Shall I not viſit for theſe things? ſaith the Lord, (even theſe that I have been ſpeak ng of, as is manifeſt in the Text) and ſhall not my ſoul be avenged on ſuch a nation as this? Jer. 9. from 3. to the 9. Verſe.&c. I might tranſcribe much Scripture of like import. But more may but more harden them that fear not theſe; for accompliſhment of all which, if others ſhould, themſelves will not fail to be their own executioners; for David ſaith,Pſal. 64.7. They ſhall make their own tongue fall upon themſelves: as he that diggeth a pit ſhall fall into it, and he that rolleth a ſtone, it ſhall return upon him. So we read of ſome whoſe throats are open ſepulchres for others,Pro. 26.27. and yet elſwhere, that theſe very mens lips will ſwallow up themſelves. Eccl. 10.12. compared with Prov. 10.14.Thus he that with Judas hath been an Informer againſt the Innocent, comes at laſt with him too, to be felo de ſe. The Lord of his grace give him a timely and better repentance than Judas's was, that he may never become a firebrand in Hell, as he hath been on Earth. This hath been and ſhall be my prayer to God for him, and is the end, the Lord knows, of this dealing ſo ſmartly with him. And ſo Informer, Amend and Fare-well.
A POSTSCRIPT. To the Innocent under the tongue-laſt of the Malevolent.
CHriſtian Brother, (ſo I call thee, however others miſcall thee) wonder not that thine uttermoſt endeavors both in way of Integrity to God, and Inoffenſiveneſs to man, cannot yet ſhield thee from the darts caſt by malevolent mouths. This was Pauls exercize, Acts 24.16who was nevertheleſs defamed, and made as the filth of the world. 1 Cor. 4.13. foreign.Yea the dear Diſciple, who was all as it were made up of love complains of a Diotrophes, who did prate againſt him with malitious words. 3 Ep. Joh. 10Remember who hath ſaid,Luk. 6.22. Bleſſed are ye when men ſhall hate you, and when they ſhall ſeparate you from their company, and ſhall reproach you, and ſhall caſt out your name as evil, for the ſon of mans ſake; but be ſure that it be for his ſake. Verſe 26.But wo be to you when all men ſhall speak well of you. If you are reproached for the name of Chriſt happy are you, 1 Pet. 4.14 15.16.&c. but let none of you ſuffer as an evil doer, or as a buſie-body in other mens matters; yet if any ſuffer as a Chriſtian, let him not be aſhamed, but glorifie God on this behalf. But give none occaſion to the Adverſary to ſpeak reproachfully, 1 Tim. 5.14. foreignthe word is, to him that is ſet againſt you; he that is ſet againſt you will be ſure to find occaſions, but be you ſure to give none. The Ermin of Innocencie is a Robe worth the beſt mans wearing, though it be spotted with black obloquies, and poudered with asperſions. And now, poor friend, finding thee like Job on a dunghill of diſgrace, though I come to counſel, yet I cannot but firſt ſit down and condole thee; for I queſtion whether any wounds ſave thoſe of Conſcience may reaſonably go ſo deep in an apprehenſive good man, as thoſe on his good name, in the ſufferings whereof Gods name ſuffers with him. There are three perſons that have been the ſubjects of the ſoreſt afflictions that were ever ſuſtained by men, Joſeph, Job, Jeſus: Amos 6.6.James 5.11.the afflictions of the firſt, the patience of the ſecond are grown to a Proverb,Iſaiah 53 3. and the third is ſtiled foreign, the man of ſorrows. 'Tis ſaid of the firſt, Gen. 49.23.that the Archers ſorely grieved him, ſhot at him and hated him, and the archeſt of thoſe Archers was Potiphers wife, Ge. 39.7.14who deviliſhly firſt tempts him, and then accuſeth him that he forcibly attempted, what he could not be tempted to by all the force of her flatteries and impudent importunities. The ſecond had his children, his eſtate, and his health all taken away, onelyonly his wife is left to be his Tempter, and his friends to become his Traducers to lay the hypocrite at his door and 'tis evident in his ſtory, that their hard words went nearer him than all the hardſhip before; and therefore he complains, Ye overwhelm the fatherleſs, and dig a pit for your friend. And as for the third, Job. 6.27.he complains by the Pſalmographer of the reproach of men, and that all they that ſee him ſhoot out the lip at him. Pſal. 22.6.And the Apoſtle reckons it no ſmall point of his paſſion, that he endured the contradiction of ſinners againſt himſelf. Hebr. 12.3.And therefore Chriſt reckons his reproach with his gall, and complains that it even broke his heart. Pſ. 69.20.21And therefore I cannot blame thee to lay thy ſufferings in this kind to heart. But yet look higher than the tongues of men, even to the hand of God, who can tongue-tie if he pleaſeth every dog in Egypt, Exod. 11.7.that they bark not at an Iſraelite. Let him curſe (ſaith David of Shimei) for the Lord hath ſaid, 1 Sam. 16.10Curſe David. Not that David juſtified him, but God, that juſtly ſuffered him unjuſtly ſo to puniſh Davids ſin. And if we be obſervant, we may not onelyonly ſee Gods ſeverity, but his goodneſs in the permiſſion, nay commiſſioning of evil tongues againſt us, It may be (ſaith David) the Lord will requite me good for his curſing this day. Verſe 12.And therefore conſider,
1. Whether thou thy ſelf have not ſometime ſinned againſt others in like kind wherein thou now ſuffereſt from others.Ec. 7.21.22 As the word maledico ſignifyes to curſe or to ſpeak evil of. For oftentimes alſo thine own heart knoweth that thou thy ſelf haſt likewiſe curſed or ſpoken evil of others.
2. Whether there be not ſome guilt unknown to others or unthought of by thy ſelf, that God ſignally aims at in thus puniſhing thee by others. A perſon unjuſtly condemned (as was thought) for firing an houſe, to be hanged in a field; perſiſted to deny that fact, but confeſſed of himſelf that he had deſerved to dy by the Laws both of God and man, having ſecretly committed in that very field beſtiality not fit to be named. Eſpecially if Good men ſpeak evil of thee thou haſt the more cauſe to ſuſpect that all is not well with thee. When Smicythus had accuſed Nicanor, and urged that he ſhould be puniſhed for ſpeaking evil of King Philip: Not ſo, ſaid Philip, Plut. Phil. Ma…for Nicanor is one of the honeſtest men in Macedon, and therefore it is more fit to enquire whether the fault be not in us. And thus though reproaches be like the water of the Severn thick and muddy, yet if they have, like that, but a ſcouring quality, ſo that we can but improve unjuſt accuſations as juſt cautions, we ſhall have cauſe to bleſs God for them; as the ſaid Philip would reckon himſelf beholding to the Counſellors of Athens, for that they by ſpeaking evil of him, were a cauſe to make him the more honeſt man, that by word and deed he might prove them liers; which expreſſion of an Heathen, doth bring to mind that Apoſtolical Exhortation,1 Pet. 3.16. To have a good Conſcience, that whereas they speak evil of you, as of evil doers, they may be aſhamed that falſly accuſe your good converſation in Chriſt.
3. Art thou traduced by men? give the more diligence to attain and maintain the clearneſs and ſtrength of a ſtate of juſtification before God, by an operative faith in the rightouſneſs of Jeſus Chriſt.Iſa. 50.3. If he be near to juſtifie thee, who can contend with thee? Rom. 8.33.Who ſhall lay any thing to the charge of Gods elect? it is God that juſtifies. Murus aheneus, Nil conſcire ſibi.How big can an Horace, a Cicero, or a Seneca talk of the Bulwarks of innocence and clear conſcience. But ſaith a Paul that was, by a better light, more able to ſee through a ſelf-ſpun rightouſneſs,1 Cor. 4.4 I know nothing by my ſelf, yet am I not hereby juſtified. And therefore,Phil. 3.6, 8, 9. though touching the rightouſneſs that was in the Law blameleſs, he accounts that but dung that he may win Chriſt, and be found in him, not having his own rightouſneſs which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Chriſt, the rightouſneſs which is of God by faith. There are ſpecial promiſes that the faith of a juſtified perſon may improve againſt obloquies and calumniations,Job 5.15, 16. made by him that ſaveth the poor from the ſword, from their mouth and from the hand of the mighty: ſo that the poor hath hope, and iniquity ſtoppeth her mouth. Pſal. 31.22.Thou ſhalt keep them ſecretly in a pavilion from the ſtrife of tongues; and many others of like import.
Laſtly, Let all the barkings of dogs at thee, put thee more in remembrance that thou art a ſtranger on earth, and make thee long more to be at home, where as all tears ſhall be wiped from thine eyes: ſo ſhall all reproaches from thy name. Your Brethren that caſt you forth for my names ſake, ſaid, The Lord be glorified: Iſaiah 66.5.but he ſhall appear to your joy, and they ſhall be aſhamed.
FINITUR
Decemb. 1659.
The Weapon-ſalve if ever I allow,
It ſhall be now.
Gods good Word ſaith, that evil tongues are Swords,
Wounding by words:
Such weapons being well kept ſalv'd, ſuch wound
Will either ne'er be made, or ſoon made ſound.
End of the text · Faithful Teate, Sycophancy is a Sin (1660)