^ Fucrunt quidam nostrorum vel minus stabilita fide, vel minus docti, vel minus cauti, qui dissidium facerent unitatis vel ecclesiam dissiparent ; sed ii quorum fides fuit lubriea, cum Deum nosse se aut colere simularunt, augendis opibus et Loiiori studentes affecta- bant maximum sacerdotium, et a potioribus vieti sscedere cum suflfragatoribus suis malu- erunt, quam eos ferre praepositos quibus concupiebant ipsi prseponi,' &c. — Lactan., lib. 4, Jnstit., cap. ult.
304 AN EXPOSITIOX, WITH NOTES, [JaS. III. 14.
SO it is odious ; it is injurious to God and his dispensations, as if he had unequally distributed his gifts. It is hurtful toothers ; we malign the good tiiat is in them, thence hatred and persecution , it is painful to ourselves, therefore called ' the rottenness f»f the bones,' Prov. xiv. 30. In short, it ariseth iioni pride, it is carried out in covetousness and evil desire,and ends in discontent. Oh ! then, beware of this bitter envying and strife: Eph. iv. 31, 'Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger be put away from you.' It is hateful to God, prejudicial to others, troublesome to ourselves ; it is its own punishment. Nothing more unjust than envy, and yet nothing more just, saith Nazianzen. Will you know what it is ? Discontentedness at another man's good and prosperous estate, holiness, esteem, renown, parts, &c. In carnal things it is sordid, in higher things it is devilish ; in the one we par- take with the beasts, who ravenously seek to take tlie prey from one another ; in the other with the devils and evil angels, who, being fallen from happiness, now malign and envy those that enjoy it. Envy dis- covereth itself — (1.) By grief at others' enjoyments, Gen. iv. Cain is sad because Abel's sacrifice was accepted ; their having is not the cause of our want, but our envying it. (2.) In rejoicing at their evils, disgrace, ruin : Ps. xxii. 7, ' They laughed me to scorn ; This is he,' &c. David fa.sted for an enemy's fulness. &c. (3.) By incommuni- cation : men would have all things inclosed within their line and pale ; are vexed at the commonest of gifts, because they would shine alone. Moses, contrarily : ' Would to God all did prophesy,' Num. xi. 28, 29. Consider these things, how unsuitable to your profession. So also for strifes ; they do not become those who should be cemented with the same blood of Christ.i All strifes are bad : your heart was never the better when you came from them ; but envious strifes are worst of all, and yet usually this is the sum of our contests, ' Who shall be greatest?' Ojjinions are drawn in for the greater gloss and varnish (as Paul said, Some preached gospel out of envy, Phil. i. 15), but usually that is the main quairel ; and so religion, which is the best thing, is made to serve the vilest atiection.
Obs. 4. Envy and strife goeth often under the mask of zeal. These were apt to glory in their carnal strifes ; it is easy to take on a })retence of religion, and to baptize envious contests with a glorious name. One faction at Corinth entitled their sect by the name of Christ, ' I am of Christ,' 1 Cor. i. 12, they are reckoned among the rest of the factions ; ' I am of Christ,' in the apostle's sense, is as bad as ' I am of Paul, and I am of Apollos, and 1 am of Cephas.' Well, then, examine those affections that are drawn forth under a disguise of religion ; there may be zeal in the pretence, and bilter envy at the bottom. Sin is often arrayed in the garments of virtue ; and there are so many things that look like zeal, but are not ; and our own interest is so often con- cerned in the interests of religion, that we have need to suspect our- selves, lest the wild gourds of frowardness and passion be mistaken for ' the planting of the Lord,' zeal and righteousness. There are two shrewd presumptions, upon which, if you cannot absolutely condemn such motions, you have cause to suspect them. One is, when they boil up into irregular and strange actions : true zeal, though it increase
' ' Eodem sanguine Chriati glutinati.'— Aw»/.
JaS. III. 15.] UrON THE EPISTLE OF JAMES. 305
the stream, doth not usually overflow the banks, and break one rule to vindicate another. The other is, when we are apt to glory and boast, as in this place : we usually boast of graces of our own making : 2 Kings X. 16, ' Come and see my zeal for the Lord of hosts,' was in effect but, Come and discern my pride and hypocrisy. Hypocrites have so little of the power of religion, that they adore their own form.
Obs. 5. Hypocrisy and carnal pretences are the worst kind of lies. The Lord complaineth, ' They compass me about with lies.' The practical lie is worst of all ; by other lies we deny the truth, by this we abuse it ; and it is worse sometimes to abuse an enemy than to destroy him. It had been more mercy in Tamerlane to have executed Bajazet, than to have carried him up and down in scorn as his foot- stool. Hypocrites do not only feign against religion, but carry it up and down as a footstool, upon wliich they step into their own interests and advancement. The practical lie is little better than blasphemy: Rev. ii. 9, ' I know the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and are not.' It is a ' lie against the truth ' indeed, and a blasphemy, when we entitle it to our unclean intents.