2. Take heed of envy, covetousness, pride, revenge ; these are ill- counsellors. Ahab envies Naboth's vineyard, and covets it, and that put him upon oppressing him. So Hosea xii. 7, ' He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand ; he loveth to oppress.' So take heed of pride : Ps. x. 2, ' The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor.' So when persons are of a revengeful temper, it will put them upon oppression and persecution for every fancied or supposed ahront offered to them : the enemy and avenger go together, Ps. viii. 2.
3. Think of changes, that pride may not be without a curb, nor* aiSiction without a comfort. It is the proud oppress, who are drunk with their wealth and outward prosperity. The Lord's people are not troubled by humble souls, that are sensible of their mutablencss and frailty, but by those who little think of these things, and how hard it fareth with them that fear God.
Secondly, Here are the persons to inflict it, ' The proud.' Doct. The proud are they that especially persecute the godly. Who are the proud ?
1. Generally those that obstinately stand it out against God and the methods of his grace: Neh. ix. 16, 'But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not unto thy com- mandments ;' and ver. 29, ' Yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not to thy commandments ; ' Jer. xiii. 17, ' My soul shall weep in secret for your pride.'
2. More especially those that are too well conceited of themselves, seen by their affecting to meddle with things too high for them : Ps. cxxxi. 1, ' Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty, neither do I exercise myself in great matters, nor in things too high for me.' Murmur under crosses, quarrel with providences, finding fault M'ith all God's sayings and doings, trust in themselves that they are right- eous, Luke xviii. 14 ; scoff at others for their godliness : Ps. cxix. 51, the proud ' had me greatly in derision ; ' Ps. x. 2, ' The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor,' ready to brawl on all occasions ; Prov. xxiii. 10, ' Only by pride cometh contention ; ' would have all to stoop to them, are stiff' in their opinions, boasters, lessening the gifts of others, impatient of admonition.
3. The particular pride here mentioned, when men are high-minded, and trust in uncertain riches, drunk with their prosperity. So oppress- ing in their honour and greatness, as if they would trample all others imder foot, and crush them at pleasure. These are merciless and ])itiless, disdain the poor, whatsoever presence of God they have with ihem ; we are lilled with the scorning of them that are at ease.
VeR. 123.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 263
SEEMON CXXXV.
Mi7ie eyes fail for iluj salvation, and for the word of thy righteous- ness.— ^Ver. 123.
In the former verse, David spake as one under oppression, here he setteth forth his longing and waiting for deliverance. In the words we have —
1. The act of faith, together with the object of it ; his eyes were to the salvation of God.
2. The defect and weakness of his faith, and God's delay, implied in the occasion of it, ' Mine eyes fail.'
3. The ground and support of his soul in this exercise, ' The word of thy righteousness.'
By salvation is meant temporal deliverance: his eyes were to his salvation ; that is, he did with faith and patience wait for it. But in waiting, his eyes failed ; that noteth some deficiency and weakness, but his support during all this was the word of God's righteousness ; that word wherein God promised salvation and deliverance to them that are oppressed. And he calleth it the word of his righteousness, because he is one that kept it justly and faithfully ; as if he had said, Surely God is righteous, and is no more liberal in promises than faith- ful in performing, therefore, though mine eyes even fail, yet I will keep looking and longing still for his salvation.
I begin with the ground of his faith, and the support of his soul, which is the word of promise.
Boct. That God's word, wherein he hath promised deliverance to his suffering servants, is a word of righteousness.
There are three things in the promise — Veritas, fdeUtas, justitia, fidelity, faithfulness, and righteousness.
1. Veritas, sincerity or truth in making the promise, according to which God doth really intend and mean to bestow what he promiseth; ' For God is not as man, that he should lie ; neither the son of man, that he should repent : hath he said, and shall he not do it ? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good ? ' To lie is to speak a false- hood with an intention to deceive ; this cannot be imagined of God. What need hath he to court a worm, or to mock and flatter us into a vain hope ? What interest can accrue to him thereby ? Yea, the purity of his nature will not permit it : Titus i. 2, ' According to the hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.' He will as soon cease to be God as cease to be ti'ue, for his truth is his nature, he is truth itself. Man, that is mutable, and hath an interest to promote by dissembling, may put on a false appear- ance, and speak what he never meaneth ; but God cannot do so, for he is truth itself, essentially so in the abstract, can admit of no mixture, though creatures may. Light itself admitteth not of any darkness, but as it is in subjects, so it doth. But God is truth, and in him is no falsehood at all. Now, of all lies, a promissory lie is the worst ; it is greater than an assertory lie. An assertory lie is when we speak of a thing past or present otherwise than it is. A promissory lie is when we promise a thing for time to come, which we never intend to perform.