1 Cor. viii. 13, ' Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.' Strong saints must stand unchangeably resolved neither to give offence carelessly, nor to take offence causelessly. Says the apostle, I will not stand to dispute my Christian liberty, but will rather lay it down at my weak brother's feet, than I will by the use of it offend one for whom Christ hath died. 1 Cor. ix. 22, ' To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak. I am made all things to aU men, that I might by all means save some.' That is, I condescended and went to the uttermost that possibly I could, without sin, to win and gain upon the weak ; I displeased myself in things that were of an indif- ferent nature, to please them. Thou oughtest not, O strong Christian, by the use of thy Christian liberty, to put a stumbling-block before thy weak brother. Rom. xv. 2, ' We then that are strong, ought to bear with the inhrmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.' He doth not say. Let every one of us please the lust of his neighbour, but let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. Let us in thiugs of an indifferent nature so yield as to please our neighbour. There were some thought that they might observe days ; others thought they might not. Some thought they might eat meat ; others thought they might oidy eat herbs. Why, saith the apostle, in these things that are of an indifferent nature, I will rather displease and deny myself, to profit my neighbour, than I will, by the use of my liberty, occasion my neighbour to offend. Ay, this is true Christian love indeed, for a man to cross himself to please his neighbour, so it may be for his soul's edification. But this heavenly love is driven almost out of the world, which causeth men to dislike those things in others which they flatter in themselves.
A fifth duty incumbent upon strong saints is,
' Diogenes apud Laertium, lib. vi.
EpH. III. 8.] RICHES OF CHRIST. 99
[5.] To support the tveak.
] Thes. V. 14, ' Support the weak, be patient towards all men.' Look, what tlie crutch is to the lame, and the beam of the house is to the ruinated house, that ought strong saints to be to the weak. Strong saints are to be crutches to the weak, they are to be, as it were, beams to bear up the weak. Strong saints are to set to their shoulder, to shore up the weak by their counsels, prayers, tears, and examples. Strong saints must not deal by the weak, as the herd of deer do by the wounded deer ; they forsake it and push it away. Oh no ! When a poor weak saint is wounded by a temptation, or by the power of some corruption, then they that are strong ought to succour and support such an one, lest he be swallowed up of sorrow. When you that are strong see a weak saint staggering and reeling under a temptation or affliction. Oh, know it is then your duty to put both your hands under- neath, to support him that he faint not, that he miscarries not in such an hour. Isa. xxxv. 3, 'Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.'^
' Strengthen the weak hands,' that is, hands that hang down ; ' and confirm the feeble knees,' that is, such knees that by reason of feebleness are ready to fall. Strengthen such, that is, encourage them, by casting in a promise, by casting in thy experiences, or by casting in the expe- riences of other saints, that so they may be supported. It may be his case was once thine : if so, then tell him what promises did support thee, what discoveries of God did uphold thee ; tell him what tastes, what sights, and what in-comes thou hadst, and how bravely thou didst bear up, by the strength of his everlasting arms that were under thee, &c.^
A sixth duty that is incumbent upon strong saints is,
[6.] To take heed of making weak saints halt and go lame in a way of holiness, or of keeping them off from the ways of God, or of turning them out of the ways of God.
That is the meaning of that scripture, as I conceive, Luke xvii. 2. And of that. Mat. xviii. 10, 'Take heed that ye offend not one of these little ones, for their angels do always behold the face of my Father.' You are apt to slight them because they are weak in grace and holiness, and so you are apt to cause them to halt ; but take heed of this, they have glistering courtiers that do attend them ; therefore take heed that you do not offend them, for their angels, as so many champions, stand ready to right them and fight for them. A man were better offend and anger all the devils in hell, and all the witches in the world, than to anger and offend the least of Christ's little ones. If Cain do but lower upon Abel, God will arraign him for it : ' Why is thy counte- nance cast down ? Gen. iv. 6. If Miriam do but mutter against Moses, God will spit in her face for it. Num. xii. 14. That is a very dreadful word. Mat. xviii. 6, 'Take heed how ye offend one of these little ones ;' you make nothing of it, but saith Christ, take heed, 'for it were better that a millstone,' a huge millstone, as the Greek word signifies, such a one as an ass can but turn about ; (this kind of punishment the greatest
1 Look, what the nurse is to the child, the oak to the ivy, the house to the vine ; that should strong saints be to the weak, &c., 2 Cor. ii. 7.
2 For a fine example of this, adduced elsewhere by Brooks, see Index under Throg- morton. — G.
100 THE UNSEAECHABLE [EPH. III. 8.
malefactors among the Jews were put to in those days, saith Jerome), ' and cast into the middle of the sea ;' so it is word for word in the Oreek, the middle being deepest and farthest off from the shore, ren- dering his estate most miserable and irrecoverable.
[7.] Seventhly, It is the duty of strong saints to suit all things to the capacity of the weak.
To suit all their prayers and all their discourses to the capacity of the weak. Paul was good at this : ' To the weak became I as weak.' Paul was a man as strong in natural and acquired parts as any living, and he knew how to word it, and to carry it in as lofty strains, as any that breathed, yet who more plain in his preaching than Paul ? It hath many a time made my heart sad, to think how those men will answer it in the day of Christ, that affect lofty strains, high notions, and cloudy expressions, that make the j)lain things of the gospel dark and obscure.