The whore of Babylon hath need of a gilded cup, and pictures, and what Bot, to set her out ; but the true religion is in simplicity.
Christ himself when he was born, he was laid in a cratch.* He was simple in his carriage, and his speeches. It was a common speech in ancient time, when the chalices were gold, the priests w^ere wood. In re- ligion, fineness and curiosity carry suspicion of falsehood with them.
Those that overmuch affect fineness of speech, they are either deceived * That is, ' crib or manger.' — G.
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VEE. 12. 233
or ■will deceive. That which is not native, and comes not from witliin, it will deceive. Some falsehoods carry a better colour than some truths ; because men set their wits on work to set some colour upon falsehood alway.
And here take notice of the duty of ministers, that they should utter divine truth in the native simplicity of it. St Paul as a minister, delivered the plain word plainly.
And as a Christian in our common course of life, as we should take heed of doubling, so of too much curiosity. For too much curiosity in diet or apparel, it implies too much care of these things, which hinders our care of better things, as our Saviour Christ saith to Martha, ' Martha, thou art troubled about man}' things,' Luke x. 41.
The soul is finite, and cannot be set about many things at once. There- fore, when there is overmuch curiosity in smaller things, it implies little or no care in the main. What is more than for decency of place, it argues carelessness in the main. Therefore the apostle, labouring to take oft' that, he bids women that they should not be ' decked with gold and broidcred hair,' &c. ; but. to look to the ' hidden man of the heart,' 1 Tim. ii. 9. And therefore Christ took oif Martha from outward things, because he knew it could not be without the neglect of better things. Seriousness in heavenly things, it cai'ries a carelessness in other things. And a Christian cannot choose but discover a mind that is not earthly and vain. When he is a true believer, he regards other things as poor petty things, that are not worthy estimation.
A Christian when he hath fixed his end, to be like to God, to be simple as God is, he still draws toward his end; and therefore he moderates his carriage in all things. What is unnecessary he leaves out. His end is to be like God, and like Christ, with whom he shall live hereafter. Now the best things are the most simple, as the heavens, the sun, and the stars, &c. There is diversity, but no contrariety. There is diversity in the magnitude of the stars, but they are of the same nature. So in a Christian there are many graces, but they are not contrary one to another. So that a Christian hath his main care for better things ; he cares not for the world, nor the things thereof. And therefore he accounts them, in comparison of better things, as nothing ; and that is the reason that he is careless and negligent of those things that he did formerly regard, as having better things to take up his thoughts.
We see then that simplicity, as it is opposed to doubling, so it is opposed to fineness and curiosity.
And usually where there is a fineness and curiosity, there is hypocrisy ; for it is not for nought when men'afi'cct anything. Aftectation usually is a strain above nature. When a man will do that which he is not disposed to b}' nature, but for some forced end, it is hypocrisy. So the Corinthian teachers argued* the falseness of their hearts by the fineness of their teach- ing. They had another aim than to please God and convert souls. Usually affectation to the world is joined with hypocrisy towards God.
Again, this simplicity is contrary to that corruption in popery, namely, equivocation. What simplicity is that, when they speak one thing, and mean another ? when there is a mental reservation, and such a reservation, that if that were set down that is reserved, it were absurd.
Or else there may be a reservation : a man may reserve his meaning. A man may not speak all the truth at all times, except he be called to it, in judgment, &c. Otherwise truth, as all good actions, it is never good but
That is, ' proved.' — G.
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■when it is seasonable ; and then it is seasonable when there is convenient fur- niture of circumstances, when a man is called to it. For there may be a reservation. A man is not bound to speak all things at all times, but to wait for a lit time. One word in a lit time is worth a thousand out of time. But mental reservation, to sjjeak one thing, and to reserve another, it is absurd and inconsequent, and so is dissimulation. There is a lie, in fact. A man's life is a lie, that is a dissembler. Dissimulation is naught.*
A man may sometimes make some show to do something that he intends not. Christ made as though he would have gone further when he did not mean it, Luke xxiv. 28 {^mm). But dissimulation is that which is intrinsi- cally naught.*