Twenty-One Sermons on Amos 2, Collection of lectures · Lecture 18
THE XVIII. LECTVRE.
AMOS 2.12.
But yee gaue the Nazirites wine to drinke; and commanded the Prophets, saying, Prophesie not.
THat these words are an exprobation, an vpbraiding or twiting of Israel with the foulenesse of their ingratitude, I signified in my last exercise out of this place. I then obserued in the words a double ouersight in the Israelites: the first was, that they solicited the Nazirites to breake their vow; the second, that they hindred the Prophets in the execution of their holy function. The first in these words, Yee gaue the Nazirites wine to drinke: The second in these, Yee commanded the Prophets, saying, Prophesie not. Of the first then. Now of the second.
My method shall be first, to take a view of the words: then, to examine the matter conteined in them. The words are, Yee commanded the Prophets, saying, Prophesie not.
Yee commanded foreign It is in Pihel, from the roote foreign and it signifieth, to giuegive in charge, to will, to command. If it be ioyned in construction with foreign it properly signifieth to forbid, as vponupon this place the learned Parisian Professor of the Hebrew tongue Mercer, hath obserued. So shall the words sound thus: You, vnthankfull Israelites, you to whom I hauehave raised vp of your sonnes for Prophets, you hauehave taken vponupon you authoritie ouer my Prophets, to forbid them to prophesie in my name, and to threaten them, if they obey you next, that it shall fare the worse with them.
With this exposition agreeth that of Calvin; whose note is, that foreign the word in my text signifieth Praecipere vel iubere, to giuegive in charge, to will, or to command, vel statuere, quùm intercedit publica autoritas, to appoint or to ordaine by publike autoritie. Hereto assenteth Petrus Lusitanus. By the word mandabatis or praecipiebatis, which in the Hebrew is foreign hee vnderstandeth edicta publica, publike edicts or proclamations against such, as should dare to preach true doctrine vntounto the people. So shall the words sound thus: You, vnthankfull Israelites, you, to whom I hauehave raised vp of your sonnes for Prophets, you hauehave not onelyonly in secret corners, in your priuate conventicles, murmured against, repined at, or cryed out vponupon my Prophets, but also by publike order and proclamation you hauehave enioyned them silence. Yee commanded the Prophets, saying, Prophesie not,
The Prophets] What Prophets? We are to distinguish betwixt the Priests of the Sanctuarie, and Ieroboams priests: betweene Starres in the right hand of Christ, fixed in their stations, and planets of an vncertaine motion; betweene shepheards and hirelings. There was an Aaron, and there was an Abiram; there was a Simon Peter, and there was a Simon Magus; there was a Iude, and there was a Iudas. Not eueryevery one that calls himselfe a Prophet, is by and by a Prophet; for euen the woman Iezebel calleth herselfe a Prophetesse, Revel. 2.20. Baal had his foure hundred and fiftie Prophets; not one of them a true Prophet; all of them against Elias, the Prophet of the Lord, 1. Kin. 18.22. Ahab had his foure hundred Prophets; not one of them a true Prophet; all of them against Micaiah, the Prophet of the Lord, 1. King. 22 6.
Against such intruders, seducers and lying Prophets we are armed with an admonition from the Lord, Ierem. 23.16. There thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Hearken not vntounto the words of the Prophets, that prophesie vntounto you; they make you vaine: they speake a vision of their owne heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. In this ranke of seducers and lying Prophets, I place those vpholders of the man of sinne, Priests & Iesuites, who from the Seminaries beyond the Seas come ouer hither into this our Country, here to sowe the seeds of disloyaltie and blinde superstition in the hearts of the people. God hath not sent them, yet they runne; God hath not spoken to them, yet they prophecie: as Ieremie speaketh of the false Prophets in his dayes, chap. 23.21. They prophecie lyes in the Lords name, and cry, I hauehave dreamed, I hauehave dreamed, vers. 25.
Dreames they hauehave: but what truth, what true vision? I answer in the words of Ieremie, chap. 14.14. They prophecie vntounto you a false vision, a divination, a thing of naught, and the deceit of their owne hearts. Their sweet tongues vtter vntounto you as deadly poyson, as isaDeut. 32.33. the poyson of Dragons, or the venome of Aspes. They will allure you with plausible notes of Peace, Peace. But take heede, you can expect no peace from them. No peace, either to the weale publicke, or to the priuate conscience of any man. Not to the weale publicke: for, their conspiracies are nefarious and bloody. Not to the priuate conscience of any man: for, to be reconciled to that vnsound Church of theirs, the Church of Rome, to partake of their formall, and counterfeit absolution of sinnes, to heare and see their histrionicall Masses, to visit the shrines & reliques of the dead, to say a number of Pater-Nosters, or Ave-Maries vponupon beads, to invocate Saints, to adore Images; can these, or any such forgeries yeeld any peace to a distressed conscience? No, they cannot. Yet care not these false teachers and seducers, so they may with such their vntempered morter of vnwritten traditions, dawbe vp the walls of their Antichristian synagogue.
Now, will you know what shall be the portion of such intruders, seducers, and lying Prophets? Ieremie will tell you chap. 23. that the Lord isbIerem. 23.30, 31, 32. against them: that thecvers. 19. whirlewinde of the Lord is gone forth against them in a furie, euen a grieuous whirlewinde, which shall fall vponupon them grieuously: that thedvers. 20. anger of the Lord shall not returne, vntill it hauehave executed his will vponupon them: that the Lord will bring vponupon them an evers. 40.euerlasting reproch, and a perpetuall shame.
Their cup is tempered with no lesse gall and bitternesse by the Prophet Ezechiel chap. 13. There, for followingfEzech. 13.3. their own spirit, for resemblinggvers. 4. the foxes in the deserts, for neglectinghvers. 5. to goe vp into the gap, to make vp the hedge for the house of Israel, & to stand in the battel in the day of the Lord, for seeingivers. 6, 7. vaine visions, for speaking lying diuinations, for building andkvers. 10. dawbing vp walls with vntempered morter, they are accursed. Their curse, what for the head thereof and for the foote, is full of vnhappinesse. It entreth with a Vae prophetis insipientibus, woe vntounto the foolish Prophets, vers. 3. and it bids farewell with an Anathema, with a cursed excommunication, vers. 8, 9. I am against you, saith the Lord God. Mine hand shall be vponupon you; yee shall not be in the assembly of my people, yee shall not be written in the writing of the house of Israel; ye shall not enter into the land of Israel. A heauy sentence! Will you hauehave the plaine meaning of it? Its thus: The Lord is against all false Prophets; He will come vntounto battell, and will fight against the wicked crue, euen with that sharpe two-edged sword, which proceedeth out of his mouth. His hand shall be vponupon them, for their destruction and ruine. They shall not be of the number of Gods elect. They shalllPsal. 69.28. be blotted out of the booke of the liuing, and not be written with the righteous. They shall neuer enter into that Celestiall Hierusalem which is aboue, and is the habitation of the blessed.
You hauehave heard in generall of Prophets, true and false. I should now speake somewhat more distinctly.
There are two sorts of false Prophets: Some hauehave no calling at all; some hauehave a calling, but without efficacie. Of the first sort were these Priests in Iudah, who were neither chosen by man, nor called of God; of whom the Lord complaineth Ierem. 14 14.mIerem. 14.15. & 27.15. & 29.8, 9. I sent them not, neither hauehave I commanded them, neither spake I vntounto them, yet they prophecie: and chap. 23.21. I sent them not, yet they ranne, I spake not to them, yet they prophecied. Of the second sort, were those Prophets in Israel, whom men chose, but God called not. Of such some would hauehave these words, Hos. 9.8. to be vnderstood, The Prophet is the snare of a fowler in all his wayes, and hatred in the house of his God.
In opposition to these, there are of true Prophets two sorts also. Both of them are lawfully called to their holy function; some by God alone, some by God and man. The holy Prophets in the Old Testament, and the blessed Apostles in the New, had their calling from God alone: but Timothie, Titus, and the seauen Deacons, and the residue of religious and godly Doctors and Pastors of the Church, had and hauehave their calling, both from God and man.
This distinction thus giuen, it is now easie to define, who the Prophets are, that are meant in my text. They are true Prophets, such as had their calling immediatly from God, and from him alone: euen those holy men of God, who liued in the time of the old Testament; some of which had the honour, to be the blessed pen-men thereof. Such were the Prophets, whom the Israelites commanded, saying, Prophecie not.
Prophecie not] Speake not any more vntounto vsus in the name of the Lord. What? No more! Can there be any one so execrably audacious, as vtterly to forbid the passage of the word of God? any forhead so brasen, as simply and precisely to reiect it? Its not to be imagined. The most wicked dare not doe it. Yet would they by their wills hauehave lesse libertie of speach permitted to Gods Prophets, Ministers, and seruants: they would hauehave their tongues somewhat tied, that they might not by their crying out against sins, vex and gall their seared consciences.
Hitherto we hauehave taken a view of the words. It followeth, that we examine the matter conteined in them.
Yee commanded the Prophets, saying, Prophecie not.
Hoc nimirum erat, saith Rupertus, non solum loqui, sed etiam agere contra Spiritum Sanctum, qui loquebatur per os Prophetarum: This indeed were not onelyonly to speake against, but also to doe against the holy Ghost, who spake by the mouth of the Prophets. He noteth the disordered and franticke humour, that was in the people of Israel, to vilifie and neglect those Prophets and teachers, which the Lord out of the abundance of his merciemercy had sent vntounto them, to be their guides and directors in the way of true pietie and religion. The lesson we are to take from hence, I giuegive in this proposition, The wicked are euermore in a readinesse to doe all the disgrace and despite they can to the true Prophets of the Lord, and his Ministers.
This truth grounded vponupon my text, and thereby sufficiently warranted, may further be illustrated by other places of this volume of the Booke of God.
In the seauenth Chapter of this Prophecie we see what course entertainment our Prophet Amos receiueth from Amaziah, a Priest of Bethel. He there forbids Amos to prophecie any more in the kingdome of the tenne Tribes; and aduiseth him to get him away by flight to the kingdome of Iudah, where the Lords prophets were better welcome and more regarded: and tells him that in Israel, they needed no such Prophets, nor cared for them, nor would suffer them to preach so plainely to their King Ieroboam. Will you hauehave Amaziahs owne words vntounto Amos? They are in the twelfth and thirteenth verses. O thou Seer (for he that is nown1. Sam 9 9. called a Prophet, was before time called a Seer) O thou Seer, goe, flee thee away into the land of Iudah, and there eate bread, and Prophecie there. But Prophecie not againe any more at Bethel: For it is the Kings Chappell, and it is the kings Court.
Was the entertainement, of the Prophet Ieremie found in Ierusalem, any whit better? Not a whit. In the 18. chapter of his Prophecie, vers. 18 I find the men of Iudah plotting against him. Come, say they, let vsus deuise deuises against Ieremiah: Come, and let vsus smite him with the tongue, and let vsus not giuegive heed to any of his words. In the 20. Chapter, ver. 2. I find him smitten and put in the stockes by Pashur, the chiefe gouernor of the Lords house. In the 26. Chapter, vers, 8. I see him againe apprehended; threatned with death, and arraigned. In the 33. chapter, vers. 1. I see him shut vp in the Court of the prison. In the 38. Chapter, vers. 6. I find him let downe with cords into a miry and dirtie dungeon. And all this befell him, because he prophecied in the name of the Lord.
The vsage of Micaiah the Prophet is likewise memorable. King Ahab, K. of Israell o2. Chro. 18.7.hateth him, 1. King. 22.8. Zedekiah pVers. 23.smiteth him on the cheeke, vers. 24. and Amon, the gouernour of the Citie is commanded to put himqVers. 26. in prison, and to feed him with bread of affliction, and with water of afflicton, vers. 27.
There was a Seer, a Prophet, calledr2. Chro. 16.7. Anani. He had a message from the Lord to Asa King of Iudah, and did faithfully deliuer it. But for so doing the King was in a rage with him, and put him in a prison-house, 2. Chron. 16.10.
As ill affected to the Prophets of the Lord were the people of Iudah for the most part of them. And therefore is Esay chapter 30.8. commanded to write it in a table, and to note it in a Booke, that it might be for the time to come for euer and euer an euidence against that people, that they were a rebellious people, lying children, children, that would not heare the Law of the Lord: such, as blushed not, to say to the Seers, See not, and to the Prophets, Prophecie not vntounto vsus right things: but if you will needs be Seeing, or Prophecying, or Preaching, or speaking vntounto vsus, then speake vntounto vsus smooth things, Prophecie deceits: Get you out of the way; turne aside out of the path: cause the Holy one of Israel to cease from before vsus. Strange that there should be in the people of the Lord, such contempt, such a detestation of the Prophets of the Lord! But you see the lot of Gods Prophets vnderunder the old Testament.
Were they more regarded in the time of the New? It seemes not. For it could not but fall out with them according to that prediction of our Sauiour Christ, Mat. 23.34. Behold, saith he, I send vntounto you Prophets, and wise men, and Scribes, and some of them yee shall kill and Crucifie, and some of them shall yee scourge in your Synagogues, and persecute them from citie to citie. According to this prediction it came to passe.
Some they killed. They killed sEuseb. Histor. Eccles. lib. 2. ca. 9Iames, the brother of Iohn, with the sword, Act. 12.2. Some they crucified. They crucified Christ himselfe, the Lord of life, Act. 3.15. Some they scourged. They scourged Paul. He shall testifie for himselfe, 2. Cor. 11.24. Of the Iewes fiue times receiued I fortie stripes saue one. and vers. 25. Thrice was I beaten with rods. Some they persecuted from citie to citie. So they dealt with Barnabas, Act. 13.50. Some they vexed with many kinds of crueltie. S. Steuen may be one instance. They gnashed on him with their teeth, Act. 7.54. They smote him with their tongues, saying, we hauehave heard him speake blasphemous words against Moses, and against God, Act. 6.11. They came vponupon him, and caught him, and brought him to the councell, vers. 12. They cast him out of the cittie, Act. 7.58. and they stoned him, vers. 59. In a word, they made suchtAct. 8.3. hauocke of the Church in those prime dayes thereof, as that the messengers of God were enforced through the bitternesse of their spirit to complaine with the Apostle, Rom. 8.36.uPsal. 44.22. For thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are counted as sheepe appoynted for the slaughter. And thus you see what is the portion of Gods Ministers vnderunder the new Testament. VnderUnder both New, and Old, they are liable to the disgraces and vexations of this wicked world. So true is my proposition.
The wicked are euermore in a readinesse, to doe all the disgrace and dispite they can to the true Prophets of the Lord, and his Ministers.
Yet not to them onelyonly, not onelyonly to the true Prophets of the Lord, and his ministers; but to you also of the laitie, to as many of you, as hauehave a true desire to liue in the feare of God, and to die in his fauour: to as many of you, as are willing to deny vngodlinesse and worldly lusts, that yee may liuexTit. 2.13. soberly iustly, and piously in this present world. Your lot will be the same with ours. The wicked will be euermore in a readinesse, to doe vntounto you also, all the disgrace and despite they can.
You must put on the Liuery and cognisance of Christ, as well as wee. The most principall and royall garment, which he wore, while he liued vponupon the earth, was affliction. Affliction! It must be your coate too, it must be your liuery. You will hold him for an vndutifull, and an vngracious child, that is ashamed of his father: you will take him for a malapert and a sawcie seruant, that refuseth to weare his masters liuery; Christ is your Father; he is your Master. Take heed then, that you shew not your selues vndutifully vngracious, malapert, or sawcie, in refusing to be, as he was, clothedyReuel. 19.13. with a vesture dipt in bloud.
ThezMark. 3.17. sonnes of Thunder, Iames and Iohn, would needs be aduanced in the Kingdome of Christ, to sit, the one on his right hand, the other, on his left. But what doth Christ? Doth he graunt their request? He doth it not. He thus speakes vntounto them:aMat. 20 22. Mark. 10.38. Are ye able to drinke of the cup, that I shall drinke of, and to be baptized with the baptisme, that I am baptized with? VponUpon their answere which is affirmatiue, we are able, Christ farther saith vntounto them, ye shall indeed drinke of the cup, that I drinke of, and with the baptisme that I am baptised with, shall ye be baptised. But to sit on my right hand, and on my left hand, is not mine to giuegive, but it shall be giuen to them for whom it is prepared. It is as if Christ had said in fewer words, ye must of necessitie beare the Crosse, before yee can weare the Crowne.
But you will say; Iames and Iohn were of the number of the twelue Apostles; and that they indeed by their calling were to take vp their crosse, and to follow Christ: but what is that to vsus? to vsus, who are not of the ranke? who are not Prophets? nor Apostles, nor Ministers? S. Paul shall answere you for me, 2. Tim. 3.12. All that will liue godly in Christ Iesus, shall suffer persecution.
Thus hauehave you my doctrine enlarged: The wicked are euermore in a readinesse, to doe all the disgrace and despite they can, not onelyonly to the true Prophets of the Lord, and his Ministers, but also to the true seruants of God, of what vocation, estate, or condition soeuer they be.
Now let vsus a little examine the reason why the wicked should stand thus affected towards the godly. The reason is, because they hate the Godly. They hate the Godly: and therefore will they doe them all the disgrace and despite they can.
The wicked hate the Godly. It is no new thing: Its no rare thing. No new thing; forbGen. 27.41. Esay hated Iacob, cGen. 21.9.Ismaell Isaac, anddGen. 4.8. Cain Abell. Its no rare thing; for it is exceeding common at all times, in all places. The consideration wherof made S. Peter thus to speake vntounto the faithfull in his dayes; Beloued, thinke it not strange concerning the fiery triall, which is to try you, as though some strange thing were come vntounto you. Thinke it not strange; its no strange thing. It is Epistle 1. chap. 4.12. So S. Iohn, Epist. 1. chap. 3.13. Maruaile not my brethren, if the world hate you. Maruaile not. Its no point of wisedome to wonder at that which is neither Magnum, nor Novum, nor Rarum. If it be not a great thing, or new, or rare, maruaile not at it.
A Father of the Schooles,eComment. in 1. Johan. 3. Aquinas auoucheth it, that there is no cause of maruaile, if it be not either great, or new, or rare. Now that the world, that is, amatores mundi, the louers of the world, wicked, carnall, irreligious, and prophane men liuing in the world, should hate the Godly, non est magnum: it is no great matter.
The Physition that binds a franticke man, if he be bitten by him, non reputat magnum, he counts it not any great matter; but excuseth his patient for his frensies sake. The wicked are as this franticke man; the Godly as the Physition: whence it is, that vponupon those words, Gen. 4.8. Cain rose vp against Abel; for against Abel, the glosse saith,fContra medicum. against his Physition. Thus you see, its not magnum, no great matter, that the wicked doe hate the Godly.
Nor is it Novum, nor is it Rarum; its neither new, nor rare, as you hauehave alreadie heard. Its no great matter, nor is it any new thing, or rare that the world should hate you, therefore maruaile not, if it hate you! Yea, say I: it were much to be maruailed at, if it should not hate you. For such are the contrary dispositions of Saints, and worldlings, of the wicked and the Godly, that of necessitie there will euer be occasioned contentious oppositions betweene them. The consideration hereof drew from S. Iames those words, chap. 4.4. Know ye not, that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Know ye not, that is, saith Aquinas, Ignorare non debetis, ye ought not to be ignorant of this, that the amitie of the world is enmitie with God; and that whosoeuer is a friend of the world, he is the enemie of God: I may adde, yea, and of the Godly too.
Hereto agreeth that demaund of S. Paul 2. Cor. 6.14.15. What fellowship hath righteousnesse with vnrighteousnesse? What communion hath light with darknesse? What concord hath Christ with Belial? God is righteous, the world is wicked, andg1. Johan. 5.19 lieth altogether in sinne, therefore there can be no fellowship betweene God and the world. God ish1. I han. 1.5. light, he is theiIam. 1.17. Father of lights; in him there is no darkenesse at all: The world what is it butkEphe. 5.8. darknesse, what but a receptacle of the vnfruitfulllVers. 11. workes of darkenesse? therefore there can bee no communion betweene God and the world. Christ is holy, altogether holy, and immaculate; Belial is wicked, he is the Prince of wickednesse: therefore there can be no concord betweene Christ and Belial.
Now if there can be no fellowship, if no communion betweene God and the world; can we looke there should be any fellowship, any communion, betweene Saints & worldlings, betweene the godly, and the wicked, betweene such as louelove God, and such as louelove the world? If there be no concord betweene Christ and Belial, can we expect there should be any concord betweene true Christians and Belialists, betweene the followers of Christ, and the sonnes of Belial?
It cannot be expected. These, whom I call Belialists or the sonnes of Beliall, worldlings and the wicked, are such as louelove the world: the other, whom I call true Christians, or followers of Christ, Saints, & the godly, are such as louelove God. The repugnancie that is betweene the qualities of these two, is elegantly deliuered in holy writ.
The louers of God aremRom. 8.14. Galat. 5.18. led by the Spirit of God; theynGalat. 5.16. walke in the Spirit, and bring forth theoVers. 22.23. fruits thereof, as louelove, ioy, peace, long-suffering, gentlenes, goodnes, faith, meekenes, temperance, and such like; but they that louelove the world, are invested, withpVer. 19.20.21 adulterie, fornication, vncleannesse, lasciuiousnesse, Idolatrie, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murthers, drunkennesse, revellings, and such like. What greater repugnancie can there be then this?
Againe, they that louelove God, areq2. Tim. 2.22. of pure hearts, and of r 1. Tim. 1.5. good consciences, theysColoss. 1.22. present themselues holy, vnblameable and vnreproueable in the sight of God; they serue the LordtJohan. 4.23. in Spirit and in truth: but they that louelove the world are ofuPsal. 14.1. And 53.1. corrupt hearts, ofxTit. 1.15. defiled minds and consciences, their works areyPsal. 14.1. abominable, they arezPsal. 58.3. deceitfull from the wombe, they are altogether aPsal. 14.3.become filthy, their seruice of God is but a flattering of him; for theybPsal. 78.36. lye vntounto him with their double tongue. What greater repugnancie can there be then this?
Once more. They that louelove God, cast all theirc1. Pet. 5.7. care vponupon him; they aredVers. 8. sober and vigilant: for they know that their aduersarie the Deuill, as a roaring Lyon walketh about seeking, whom he may deuour: but they that louelove the world, like the foole in the Psalme ePsal. 14.1. & 53.1. & 10.4.say in their heart, there is no God. Sobrietie they care not for, vigilancie, they will none of it.fPhilip. 3.19. Minding earthly things, & glutted with the pleasure thereof, their sole care is,gRom. 16.18. to serue their owne belly, hPhilip. 3.19.their God is their belly, their glory is their shame, their end is damnation. What greater repugnancie can there be then this?
Will it now please you to collect with me? the qualities of the wicked, the sonnes of Belial, worldlings, such as louelove the world, are wholy repugnant and contrary to the qualities, of the Godly, the followers of Christ, Saints, such as louelove God: and therefore there can be no agreement betweene them: No better then was betweene Cain and Abel. And that you know was bad enough. For Cain slew Abel. And wherefore slew he him? S. Iohn giues you the reason, 1. Epist. 3.12. Because his owne workes were euill, and his brothers righteous.
Thus farre of the hatred of the wicked against the Godly, the true reason of my doctrine, which was: The wicked are euermore in a readinesse, to doe all the disgrace and despite they can, not onelyonly to the true Prophets of the Lord, and his Ministers, but also to the true seruants of God, of what vocation, estate, or condition soeuer they be.
Let vsus now make some vse of that which hath beene hitherto deliuered, for the bettering, and the amendment of our sinfull liues.
First, the Ministers of Gods word, may from hence learne, not to take it vntounto heart, if such, as are bound by the Law of God and nature, and by all good order, to yeeld them due louelove and reuerence, shall in pride and contempt insult ouer them, to disgrace and to despite them. They may well remember, that its neither great, nor new, nor rare thing, that they meete with such course entertainement in the world; forasmuch as they cannot be ignorant, that the world hateth them. And what if the world hate them! Shall they therefore be altogether dejected? They need not. For Christ giues them encouragement and comfort, Iohn. 15.18. If the world hate you, yee know that it hated me before it hated you.
The argument is drawen ab exemplo, from Christs owne example. The world hateth mee, you know it to be so, you see it. It needes not then to be any disparagement to you if it hate you, it hated me before it hated you. Cur ergo se membrum, supra verticem extollit? S. Austine propounds the question Tract. 88. in Iohannem. Why doth a member extoll it selfe aboue the head? Recusas esse in corpore, si non vis odium mundi sustinere cum capite: thou refusest to be in the bodie, if thou wilt not with the head susteine the hatred of the world.
A second argument of encouragement and comfort to vsus against the hatred of the world; is drawne from the nature of the world, vers. 19. If ye were of the world the world would louelove his owne: hut because ye are not of the world, but I hauehave chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. This argument is euident euen to the common sense of men; who cannot but know, that betweene contraries there is no argreement, and betweene men of vnlike qualities, no full consent of minds. It is then as if Christ had thus said: The world loues none but his owne; none but those that are addicted, deuoted, and wholy giuen ouer to it: but you are not of the world; therefore it loues not you. You are not of the world; for you are mine; andiIohan. 8.23. and 17.14. I am not of the world. I hauehave separated you from the seruice of the world, to doe me seruice; and therefore the world hateth you.
A third argument of encouragement and comfort to vsus, is vers. 20. Remember the word, that I said vntounto you: The seruant is not greater then the Lord: if they hauehave persecuted me, they will also persecute you. This argument is like the first: Its drawne from Christs owne example, as that was. All the difference is: the first specifieth the hatred of the world; this the effect of that hatred, Persecution.
Thus stands the argument. The world persecuteth me; you are my witnesses it doth so. Thinke it not much then, if it also persecute you. Remember the word that I said vntounto you; ThekMatth. 10.24 I…han. 13.16. seruant is not greater then the Lord. lSalmeron Tom. 9. Com. Tract. 60Si me Dominum, Regem, caput, magistrum, persecutisunt, vos quo{que} servos ac subditos meos, membra mea, at{que} discipulos meos persequentur. If they hauehave persecuted mee your Lord, your King, your head, your Master, they will also persecute you, my seruants, my subiects, my members, my disciples. If they hauehave called me amIohan. 10.20 mad man, one that hath a Deuill, nMat. 27.63.a seducer, oMat. 26.65.a blasphemer, pMat. 11.19.a glutton, a wine-bibber, a friend of Publicans and sinners, will they not much more speake of you reproachfully?qMat. 10.25. If they hauehave called the Master of the house Belzebub, how much more shall they call them of his houshold so? Turpe profectò est, & dedecore plenum, Rege in castris vulnerato existente, milites eius sine vulnere in civitate epulantes manere, sayth Salmeron: It were very base and shamefull, for souldiers to remaine in the Citie at ease without hurt, while their King lies wounded in the Campe. Pudeat, saith Saint Bernard Serm. 5. in Festo omnium Sanct. pudeat sub spinato capite, membrum fieri delicatum: It were a shame for vsus to liue deliciously and in pleasures, saith our head, Christ, was crowned with thornes.
I conclude the first vse: Let the wicked fret, and fume, and stamp, and stare, and grudge, and murmure against vsus, let them forbid vsus to prophecie, let them refuse to heare vsus, let them lay vponupon vsus all the disgrace and despite they can; yet will we possesse our soules in patience, knowing it to be a faithfull saying, which S. Paul hath. 2. Tim. 2.11.12. that, if we die with Christ, we shall also liue with him, and if we suffer with him, we shall also raigne with him.
A second vse is for all other the true seruants of God, of what vocation, condition, or estate soeuer they be: for as much as the wicked lie in waite for them also, to doe them all the disgrace and despite they can, as hath already bin prooued vntounto you. The vse is to admonish you, that ye take it not to heart, if they, who are bound by the law of God and nature, by the bond of neighbour-hood, and our Christian profession, to louelove you, and to tender your good, shall in pride and contempt insult ouer you, to disgrace and to despite you.
The arguments for your encouragement and comfort in such a case, may be the same with those, which I but euen now produced for the encouragement and comfort of our selues in the like: will you hauehave them sūmed vp vntounto you? Then thus.
You find but course respect and entertainement in the world, because the world hateth you. It hateth you. Maruaile not at it, nor feare it. For first it hated Christ, before it hated you.
Secondly, the world would louelove you, if you were his owne. But you are not. You are not of the world, and therefore the world hateth you. Be of good comfort: you are not of the world, for Christ hath chosen you out of the world, to be his beloued.
Thirdly, the world from hating you proceedeth to persecute you. Let not this discourage you. For it persecuted Christ first. They hauehave persecuted Christ, and therefore will they persecute you.rMath. 10.25. It is enough for the Disciple, that he be as his Master, and the seruant as the Lord. Christ is your Master, he is your Lord: you are his disciples, you are his seruants. Let hiss1. Pet. 2.21. example be your rule; be it our rule too, (for herein we are all equall) be it the rule of direction to vsus all; the rule of all our sufferings.tvers. 23. When he was reviled, he reviled not againe; when he suffered, he threatned not; but committed his cause to him, that iudgeth righteously. Here is matter worthy our imitation.
The resolued Christian herevpon thus sweetly meditateth. Shall Christ lie in the manger, and we ruffle it out in our palaces? Shall he mourne in sackcloth, and wee bath in pleasure? Shall he fighting in our defence, be wounded and crucified among theeues; and shall we disport and solace our selues with fond and vaine delights? Shall he bee pierced through with the sword of Gods iustice for our sins, and shall we be vnwilling to suffer any thing for our selues? This were too too vnnaturall and vnkinde.
Let not therefore the crosse aduentures that may betide vsus, dismay vsus: Let not the crueltie of our enemies, the sharpnes of our miseries, the continuance of our afflictions, daunt vsus: but let vsus (following the aduise of S. Peter 1. Ep. chap. 4. vers. 13.) Let vsus reioyce, in as much as we are partakers of Christs sufferings. So when his glory shall be reuealed, we shall be glad also with exceeding ioy. Thus much of the second vse.
A third followeth. You remember the doctrine.
The wicked are euermore in a readinesse, to doe all the disgrace and despite they can, not onelyonly to the true Prophets of the Lord and his Ministers, but also to all other, the true seruants of God, of what vocation, estate, or condition soeuer they be.
The vse is, to reproue those, who esteeme not aright of the sufferings of the godly. Let a godly man be humbled vnderunder the crosse, let him feele the hand of God vponupon him; how will some wonder at him, as at auPs. 102.6, 7. Pelican of the wildernesse, as at an Owle of the desert, as at a sparrow that sits alone vponupon the house top? They will hold him for a great sinner, and will measure his condition by the chastisement, that he endureth.
Did not Eliphaz deale so with Iob? From the afflictions, the miseries, the calamities, that Iob suffered, Eliphaz concludeth, that Iob is no innocent man, no righteous man, but a deepe dissembler, and a hollow-hearted hypocrite. His censure of Iob you may finde chap. 4.7. Remember I pray thee, saith Eliphaz to Iob, Remember I pray thee, who euer perished being innocent? Or where were the righteous cut off?
Who euer perished being innocent? Or where were the righteous cut off? It was Eliphaz his error, to collect, because Iob was afflicted, and that most grieuously, that therefore he was to perish, or to be cut off vtterly. God suffereth not his elect children, such as Iob was, vtterly to perish, or to be cut off. He afflicteth them, but with a purpose to deliuer them; his hand is sometimes vponupon them, but it is for their good, not for their ruine. For albeit they may seeme to vsus to perish, when in the fire of their calamities and trials, they are surprised by death, yet they perish not; the Lord, he receiues them into his glory, and to a more happy life.
Wherefore to Eliphaz his question, Who euer perished being innocent? Or where were the righteous cut off? I answer; If Eliphaz take the words of perishing, and cutting off, in the strict sense and properly, I answer, neuer did the innocent perish, neuer was any righteous man cut off. But if he take the words in a larger sense for wallowing in miserie, or lying in affliction; my answer then, is the same that S. Gregorie hath lib. 5. Moral. cap. 14. Saepè quippe hîc & innocentes pereunt, & recti funditùs delentur. Surely here in this world the innocent doe oftentimes perish, and the righteous are vtterly cut off: sed tamen ad aeternam gloriam, pereundo seruantur: yet in perishing, and in being cut off, they are reserued to eternall glory.
Si nullus innocens periret, if no man should perish, that is innocent, why should the Prophet Esai. say, chap. 57.1. The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart! Si rectos, Deus providendo non raperet, if God in his prouidence should not take away any righteous man, why should the wise man, chap. 4.11. say, The righteous was speedily taken away, lest that wickednesse should alter his vnderstanding, or deceit beguile his soule? Si iustos, animadversio nulla percuteret, if no punishment should smite the iust, why should S. Peter say, 1. Ep. 4, 17. The time is, that iudgement must begin at the house of God?
Now, dearely beloued, sith it may in some sense bee truely said of the man that is innocent, that he perisheth; and of the righteous man, that he is punished, is taken away, is cut off; and of the faithfull of Gods house, that iudgement must begin with them: let it euer bee our care to esteeme aright of the afflictions of our neighbours, and to iudge of them, with a righteous iudgment. Though they be iudged, be plagued, be smitten of God, it is not for vsus slightly to regard them, to despise them, or to hide our faces from them: it is our parts rather to hauehave a fellow-feeling and a tender compassion of their tryals.
It were an vnchristian, an vncharitable, yea a hellish conceit, thus to inferre: My neighbour, such a man, or such a man, is exercised vnderunder the Crosse, and is sensible of the scourge of God vponupon him, therefore he is in Gods disfauour, and a very grieuous sinner. No such inference is allowable in Christs schole. In his schole, these Maximes passe for good. Where God purposeth to heale, he spareth not to launce. He ministreth bitter sirupes to purge corrupt humors: he sends embassies of death and reuenge, where he meaneth to bestow eternall life. I conclude with that blessing which S. Iames chap. 1.12. bestoweth vponupon the afflicted. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tryed, he shall receiue the crowne of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that louelove him.