[3.] It was a work that met with many scoffs in the world ; they looked upon Noah as an old doting man tliat envied their jollities and pleasures. And truly, when you fear God and walk strictly, the world will speak of you. with great contempt — you will be set up to be as a sign to be spoken against. You must expect this as your portion : Gal. iv. 29, ' As then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, so it is now.' So it was in the apostle's time, and so it will be to the end of the world. There will be tongue persecution at least ; you. must endure mocks for a good conscience, to be counted hypocrites and foolish, and men that are prodigal of their interests, and Inimorists and the like. I know not what secure pre- sumptuous men may foster in themselves, and conceive the children of God should have a dispensation. The carnal seed will always be mocking. Now, can you endure all this and go on with your work of strictness, and preciseness, and patience ? They will howl for their mocking when you shall be safe.
[4.] It was a work which put him upon great charges, to provide the kinds of all living creatures, and to build an ark that might be of so great receipt, to take in the beasts, and fodder for the beasts and fowls of the air ; so you should consider. At what expense have I been for Christ ? If I believe eternity and the everlasting recompenses, what have I done for Christ ? That wliich you lay out upon the flesh and outward conveniences is mere prodigality ; for you owe the flesh nothing — ' We are not debtors to the flesh,' but all that you have you
VeE. 7.] SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. 195
owe to Christ ; and what have you done for him ? God hath given you a promise, as a bill of exchange ; now he takes it ill if yon should pro- test against it. Jesus Christ will not own you at the last day : Luke xii. 33, ' Sell that you have (saith Ciirist) and give alms, and you shall have treasure in heaven.' This is Christ's bargain — whatever you lay out on earth, he will pay it in another country. Now, what have I ventured upon this promise ? Christ saith, ' Sell that you have/ not to deny propriety of goods ; but certainly it shows that rather than we should reserve our estate to purchase lands, and grow great in our families, we should rather lay them out to pnrchase an estate in heaven. Men are all for buying more rather than for selling that which they have ; therefore Jesus Christ would bend the stick the other way ; as he saith, John vi. 27, ' Labour not for the meat that perisheth ; ' not to deny honest labour, but to blunt the edge of our spirits, that we may labour more for better things. So, ' Sell that you have, and give alms ; ' rather than by hooking in an estate, you should be laying it out ; you should look upon your estate as most safe in God's hands. Noah was at great charge and ex]iense ; no doubt wasted himself and his all ; but what lost he by it ? Noah and his sons had the possession of all the world when he came out of the ark. It is the best bargain that ever we made, when we lay out our estate upon religious uses. Thus may you try yourselves. It is the most foolish thing in the world altogether to look to the present. We that are not affected with things that are not seen, may learn of the creature. Solomon bids us go learn of the ant, Prov. vi, 6-8 ; so certainly if we did believe there was an after-reckoning, and that one day we must give an account, we would make more provision for our souls.
Tliirdly, I go on to the fruits and consequences of Noah's faith — * He was moved with fear ' — evXa^rjOeU — being wary, or piously fear- ing. The same word is used of Jesus Christ, Heb. v. 7. His lioly and innocent fears are expressed by the same word — ' He was heard in that he feared ; ' indeed, it is always used in a good sense in scripture. The word is sometimes used for caution and wariness, sometimes for reverence ; in the latter sense often in scripture : as Acts ii. 5, ' Devout men in every nation.' In the original it is evXa/Sel^;, reverend men ; so Acts viii. 2, 'Devout men carried Stephen to his burial' — euXa/3et9, — men touched with a reverence of God, and with a sense of religion ; so was Noah moved with a godly reverence and godly caution. The note is this —
Boot. That godly fear is a fruit and effect of faith.
Faith, as it works Tipon the promises, begets love and hope ; but as it works upon the threatening, so it begets fear. Love, fear, and hope, are not contrary, though they be different ; they may stand together, and they all proceed from faith.