from her. Slie commonly Ccarried a mantle of love about her to cast over other men's sins ; she seemed to live under the power of that word: Prov. X. 12, ' Love covereth all sins : ' and that 1 Pet. ix. 8, ' Charity shall cover the mtdtitude of sins.' By covering must be meant (1.) A favourable construction of all things, which in right reason might well be construed ; (2.) A passing by smaller infirmities and private- oflfences ; (3.) Such a covering as might cure also, for love is wise. Love hath a large mantle, and covers all sins — that is, all private sins, and all such sins as may be concealed with a good conscience both towards God and towards men. Again, it must be understood, not of our own transgressions committed against God, but of other men's sins and transgressions committed against us. Love is not suspicious, but in- terprets all things in the best sense, Prov. xvii. 9. Love will not publish private injuries, to the dishonour or shame of the party offend- ing : Prov, xii. 6, ' A prudent man covereth shame.' It is recorded to Vespasian's honour, ' that he was more ready to conceal the vices than the virtues of his friends.' To observe and take notice of other men's faults, but not of our own, is the easiest thing in the world, said Thalcs. Such commonly are best acquainted with other men's infir- mities, who are least observant of their own iniquities and irregulari- ties. ' The nature of man is very apt,' saitli Seneca, Utimur pe7^- spicillis magis qicam speculis, to use spectacles to behold other men's faults, rather than looking-glasses to behold their own.' Erasmus speaks of one who collected all the lame and defective verses in Homer's works, but passed over all that was excellent. The Donatists of old were more glad to find a fault than to see it amended, and to proclaim it than to cover it ; to carp at it than to cure it. ' If I should find a bishop committing adultery,' saith Constantine the Great, ' I would cover that foul fact with mine imperial robe rather than it should come abroad to the scandal of the w^eak and the scorn of the wicked.' Seneca, unmasking the face of their corrupt state, hath this notable passage, ' The news from Kome take thus : the walls are ruined, the temples are not visited, the priests are fled, the treasuries robbed, old men are dead, young men are mad, vices are lords over all. The dictator blames the consul, the consul checks the censor, the censor chides the pra3tor, the pri\3tor falls foul upon the a3dile, and he casts all the fault upon the quaistor, and because no man will acknowledge himself in fault, we have no hopes of better times.' How applicable this is to our ])resent times, I shall leave others to judge ; but by the whole you see that all sorts and ranks of men are more apt to shame and quarrel at other men's faults than with their own. Observable is that of our blessed Saviour : Luke vii. 37, ' There was a woman in the city which was a sinner.' No wonder ! what woman is not ? We may guess both who the woman was, and what the sin was, and which city it was ; but he neither names the city, nor the sin, nor the sinner. See- inf her reformation, he consults her re])utation. Oh that you would all labour to write after this co]>y. When Alexander was painted, the painter laid his finger on his wart, and Apelles covered Venus' mole with his finger, that it might not be spied. As you stand in a near relation one to another, so I could wish that you would lay your fingers upon one another's warts and moles, and not blazon one an-
THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 447
other's human frailties and infirmities to the world ; but love and live as brethren and sisters who are never without a mantle of love to cover infirmities — I say not enormities ; to cover weaknesses — I say not wickedness ; to cover from the world — I say not from God nor from one another. But,
11. Eleventhly, Imitate her in her earnest desires and endeavours that others, especially that her nearest and dearest relations, might taste that the Lord is gracious; that they might all be holy and happy, gracious and glorious; that they might all have changed hearts, renewed natures, and sanctified souls ; that they might all be born again, adorned with grace, filled with the Spirit, and fitted for heaven. You know that upon her dying-bed she desired me that when she was asleep in Jesus, 1 Thes. iv. 14, that I would, for the advantage of the living, especially for your sakes, who lay nearest her heart, preach on that Psalm xxxiv. 8, ' Oh taste and see that the Lord is gracious,' which accordingly I did once and again. i Now what was her design in this, but that every one of you might share with her in the same favour, love, spirit, grace, merit, righteousness, and goodness that her soul had long tasted of? There is not a soul that ever lias had any saving taste of the Lord and of his goodness, but is mighty desirous that others should taste of the same grace and good- ness. ' Oh taste and see that the Lord is good ; ' as if David should have said, I for my part have seen, tasted, and experienced much of God and his goodness, and never more than in my greatest straits. I am loath to eat these heavenly viands and soul-ravishing morsels of contentment alone. ' Come hither, all you that fear God, and I will tell you what God hath done for my soul.'^ Come, oh come, poor souls ! taste and see with me how good the Lord is ; how comfortable the embraces of Christ are, and how sweet communion with heaven is. We cannot advantage others more than by declaring and communi- cating unto them our soul-secrets, our soul -experiments. All the saints own it as their duty to glorify God in their generation : and wherein can they bring more glory to God than in helping souls to heaven ? and how can they find out a readier way to eftect this great business, than by telling them what God has done for their souls, than by making a faithful narrative of their own conditions by nature and by grace, when and how the goodness of the Lord was made known unto them upon a saving account. Oh tell poor wounded sinners what methods of mercy the Lord used to the healing of your wounds and to the quieting of your consciences, that so they may be encour- aged to a serious use of all gospel means, and to a hope of the same grace and goodness of the Lord towards them. Oh labour more and more to convince others by your experiences that grace is the only way to glory, and that ' without holiness no man shall see the Lord,' Heb. xii. 14.3 Paul had tasted that the Lord was good, and he
* The three sermons that I preached on Ps. xxxiv. 8 I have been desired to print, but could not answer friends' expectations in that, l)ecause I had not the notes by me of what I said upon that text.
* Ps. Ixvi. 16 : the words are without a copulative in the Hebrew, venile, audi/e : Calvin, ' Come hearken ;' like that Gen. xix. 14. It not only imparts an invitation, but the affection also of him that speaks.