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242 SERMONS UrON EPHESTANS V. [SeR. VII.
life of these fifty, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire- down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties, with their fifties ; therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.' But our stupidness and blindness is such that we are not moved with these judgments so as to be more cautious : Prov. xxii. 3, 'A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself ; but the simple pass on, and are punished.'
3. To humble us, and make us more earnest in deprecating the wrath of God, and suing out our pardon in Christ. We see sin goeth not unpunished. Alas ! if God should enter into judgment with us, who could stand ? Ps. cxliii. 2. When we see his judgments executed upon others, every humble heart will sue out liis pardon. AVhat miserable wretched creatures should we be if God should stir up all his wrath against us !
4. To make us thankful for our mercies and deliverances by Christ, that, when others are spectacles of his wrath, we should be monuments of his mercy and grace. Were it not for the Lord's pardoning and healing grace, we had been in as bad a condition as the worst : Rom. xi. 22, ' Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God ; on them which fell, severity ; but towards thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness ; otherwise also thou shalt be cut off.' When the Israelites saw the Egyptians drowned in the waters, they saw the more reason ta bless God for their own escape ; and Moses pens a song of thanksgiving, Exod. XV. Our deserts are in part represented to us in the bitter experience of others. It is of the Lord's mercy that we are not con- demned with the world, and left to perish in our sins ; but that we see by their sufferings what an evil and bitter thing sin is.
Secondly, The manner of making these observations. This is need- ful to be stated, because men are apt to misapply providence, and to sit as a coroner's inquest on the souls of their neighbours, and so rather observe things to censure others than for their own caution. These pervert the providences of God, and speak to the grief of others whom God hath wounded. Shimei was one of this sort of men : 2 Sam. xvi. 7, 8, ' Come out, thou bloody man, thou man of Belial : the Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned, and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into- the hand of thy son Absalom ; and behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.' As if God had been call- ing him to an account for the injuries done to Saul's house, and his rebellion against his father-in-law was punished by the rebellion and usurpation of his own son. Such bold glosses and comments do men put upon providence, and make it speak their own language, and so they pry into God's secrets without God's warrant and direction.
Eules concerning the observation of God's providences towards others.
1. Certain it is that judgments on others must be observed. Provi- dence is a comment on the word, and therefore it is stupidness not to take notice of it. They that will not observe God's hand shall feel it. If we will not take the warning at a distance, and by others' smart and rebuke, there is no way left but we ourselves must be taught by ex- perience. He that will plunge himself into a bog or quagmire, where others have miscarried before him, is doubly guilty of folly, because he
VeR. 7.] SEKMONS UPON EPHESIANS V. 243
neither feareth the threatening, nor will tahe warning by their example and punishment. Observe we must : Amos vi. 2, ' Pass ye unto Calneh, and see ; from thence go ye to Hamath the great ; then go down to Gath of the Philistines : be they better than these kingdoms ? or their border greater than your border ? '
2. This observation must be to a good end ; not to censure others, that is malice ; or justify ourselves above them, that is pride and self- conceit, condemned by our Lord Christ : Luke xiii. 2-5, ' And Jesus answered and said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things ? I tell you, Nay ; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, and slew them : think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem ? I tell you, Nay ; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.'
3. In making the observation, we must have a care that we do not make providence speak the language of our fancies.
[1.] There must be a due reasoning from the provocation to the judgment, sed non e contra ; not judge of the wickedness of the per- son by the judgments on the person ; as the barbarians at Melita showed little reason and less charity in misconstruing the passage of ihe viper that fastened on Paul's hand, that therefore 'he was a murderer,' Acts xxviii. 4. The dispensations of God's providence are commonly alike to good and bad, Eccles. ix. 1. By a sudden stroke God may take off the godly as well as the wicked. Josiah died in the same way that Ahab did, by an arrow in the battle, after being dis- guised, 2 Chron. xxxv. 23 ; Jonathan died in the field by the hand of the uncircumcised, as well as Saul, 1 Sam. xxxi. 1, 2. Did Simon Magus break his neck ? so did good old Eli, 1 Sam. iv. 18. We can- not conclude some great sin from the judgment. No ; our reasoning must be the contrary : Prov. xxi. 12, ' The righteous man wisely con- sidereth the house of the wicked, but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.'