As the unfaithful servant, ' I knew thou wert a hard master, that exactest that that thou hadst not given,' Mat. xxv. 24, — and therefore I hid my talent. The bad servant forceth upon himself hardness in his master, when he was not so, — that he might be idle. So men force upon themselves some- what in God to be hard ; God's dealings to be so and so, that they may take more liberty. For if God be so loving, and so gracious, as he hath discovered himself to be, their hearts would melt, they would never live in such courses, but rather put all to the venture, than to clamour upon God's justice. Therefore God himself purgeth himself from a disposition of un- kindness, and unmercifulness. ' As I live, saith the Lord, I will not the death of a sinner.' So his whole course is to shew that he loves us.
And what is our Saviour Christ's whole course, but to free men from suspicion of want of love ? Did he ever turn any back from him, but those that went away of themselves ? Did he not shed tears for those that shed his blood, so merciful and gracious was he ? If so be that holy men of all times have laboured to clear themselves to others, we ought not to rage against the ill dispositions of men. If we were as good as God, and as Christ, men would have false suspicion of us. It is no innocency in the world that will free a man from suspicion ; the wicked, poisonful disposi- tion that the devil stirs up against him. Therefore rage not against it, but bear it with a spirit of moderation.
And let us decline as much as we can, and free the hearts of people from evil suspicion ; and if we cannot avoid it, yet to bear it without discontent, considering it is the lot of God's childi'en to be suspected, as we see here St Paul was.
' To simre you, I came not to Corinth.' St Paul besides his labouring to remove suspicion, he sets down here the true cause of his not coming to them. It was not lightness and inconstancy, it was ' to spare you.' They had many abuses among them, and amended they must be, that was a conclusion. But the question is de modo, whether by gentle means, by wridng an epistle, and staying a while, or afterwards by coming, and telling them their sin to their face, and by being severe, and terrible among them? Now he concludes, I came not among you, for this very cause, that I might not be so severe, and terrible among you, as by office I should have been, if you had not amended before I came ; as indeed they did, for they cast
2 CORINTHIANS CH.VP. I, VER. 23. 489
out the incestuous person, and reformed other abuses comfortably. They prevented St Paul's severity, with their reformation. They had not at the first cast out the incestuous person, and they had factions among them ; they had atheists among them that doubted of the rcsm-rection. many abuses were crept in among them. St Paul wrote a former epistle upon a desire to reform those, and there was a blessed reformation wrought. St Paul did not delight in austerity ; therefore he deferred his coming, that he might have more joy and contentment than sorrow.
' To spare you, I came not.' Before I come to the points, take this for a ground,
Obs. Sin must ho jnchfed and censured when it is committed.
It must be undone by repentance, or by eternal punishment in hell. It must be censured here or hereafter.
For it is against God's nature and God's word. * The soul that sinneth shall die,' Ezek. xviii. 4. It must be repented of, of necessity, or eternally punished in hell. Censured it must be, one way or other, it is of such a contrary nature, so opposite to the holiness of God. That is a ground.
Now this being laid as a ground, the question is, What is the best way to take away sin, whether by means gentle or severe ? By gentle means, it may be ; if not, then by severe. St Paul would not have spared them, if he had come, if they had not amended. So the points are two.
First of all, that the best way for the redressing of sin, is hj gentle means, if it may be.
Secondly, if that will not, then by severe, if men would not have men damned.
' I came not, to spare you,' because I desired that gentler courses might prevail. So I say, the first point is this, that
Doct. If (lentler courses nill prevail, theij ought espccicdhj, and in the first place, to be taken.
It should be the care both of ministers, and of all those that deal with others, first of all to use mild, and winning, and gaining courses.
Now to prove this.
Reason 1. First, the.g are more suitable to the 7iature of man ; for the nature of man is best wrought on by rational courses suitable to his nature, suitable to his priiiciple. Man is a reasonable creatm-e, there foi'e rational com'ses will prevail with a rational man, a course of persuasion and dis- covery. A man that is not beast-like, tell him but the danger of his sin, tell him the peril of it in gentle words, and he will amend, if so be he be not hardened by God to destruction ; or if God do not reserve him to a more severe redi'ess. Gentle courses ought first to be used, because they are agreeable to the nature of man.