Reason 4. Fourthly, Their own consciences will be upon them, and it is with them as with a child that plays truant, his heart throbs, he hath no peace: so a Christian, whether he prosper or not prospers, he hath no peace, he eats not, he sleeps not in peace. The uses briefly are two.
Use 1. Is this true? It first teacheth us to do as the church doth, to examine ourselves ivhen troubles come, when the Lord sends officers to arrest us, sets dogs upon us to fetch us in. When we meet stirs and storms abroad, when wicked men bark and brawl, when they tyrannize and task, when good men look strangely on us, when God hides his face, and our consciences be not comfortable unto us, oh, then, let us ask ourselves the question, {where am I ? what have I done ? wherein have I been negligent ? This, this is that which God aimeth at. Therefore he makes our paths uncomfortable, to the end we should examine our vaunts ; therefore he turneth loose wicked men, that we might inquire. This is that which will work us patience in all provocations, drive us to repentance, and bring us home ; this will make one lay his face in the dust, and rather justify God, than charge him fool- ishly. Therefore let us not fret or chafe at men, their pride, mahce, &c., but say, why doth living man fret ? He suffers for sin : Lament, iii. 1, et seq., say with the church here, ' I kept not mine own vine : and this hath hurt me.' And then howsoever God's people may sometimes smart for not keeping their vines, and performing their own duties ; yet those crosses sting not, but comfort ; they then ere long abound with joy, peace, increase of love and watchfulness, which are let in most an end by former negli- gences. God saw his people drowsy, worldly, secure, and therefore is con- strained to send persecution, so that if evils be upon us, we have cause to say, * I kept not mine own vine ;' time was when I was idle all day in the vineyard, and did nothing, and yet I am too negligent. * That is, ' thickets ' = difiBculties. — G.
104 THE church's blackness.
Use 2. Secondly, Here see what is the best way to prevent crosses. All crosses be rods, as Christ speaks in the gospel, and scourges. Now if a child will do well, what father will whip him ? If we will learn the lessons of our salvation, Christ, God will not scourge us ; if we would follow the shep- herd and not stray, what need dogs run at us ? Why then, let us know the duties of our place and do them, and keep ourselves close to them, for all our safety, peace, comfort, lieth there. Our place is a ship on the seas. Now two ways we fail in our course. First, by out-running our callings. We grow too far over-busy, and indeed this is most incident to the church in her first beginning. She is then too nimble with others, and too busy ; her zeal, as she thinks, carries her captive. Secondly, by running too slowly. This is incident to Christians of riper years. After a while they slack, cooling apace, and it is with us as with children, so eager to^ go to school at first, that there is no quiet, but after hardly* drawn. So it is with us. Amend, amend therefore these : turn neither to the right hand nor the left ; for if thou doest, thou art like to smart for it. Then up and upon your callings as Christians, as masters, as servants, as magistrates, as husbands, as wives. Every one hath a vine to look to, look to your callings ; and then whatsoever befall you, ' if you suffer not as evil doers, blessed are you,' 1 Peter iii. 14.
* That is, ' with difficulty.'— G.
NOTES.
(a) P. 96. — ' They dwelt in tents, covered with hair (as Solymus and [as] Pliny speaks).' The tents of the Kedaveens, a nomadic tribe of North Arabia (Gen. XXV. 13, Isa. xxi. 17), were and still are made of coarse cloth obtained from the shaggy hair of their black goats (Rosenmiiller, Orient, iv. 939 ; Saalschiitz, Archiiologie der Hebraer, Erster Theil. p. 63). Cf. Guisburg among modern, and Kobotham and Trapp among early, commentators in loco. For Sibbes"s references io Pliny, see Natural History, lib. vi. c. 28; and for Solinus (not Solymus), c. 26; i. e., Caius Julius Solinus, who has been called the ' ape of Pliny,' for the large use he makes of that writer's works. Among the many services to our early English literature by Arthur Golding, was a translation — racy and finely touched — of Solinus.
(6) P. 96. — ' For the meaning, ... we will not be prejudicial to any man's opinion.' Commentators named in above, note a, will shew the various 'opinions,' — the Puritans having much quaint fancy, and not less quaint lore. G.
MIEACLE OF MIRACLES.
MIRACLE OF MIEACLES.
NOTE.
'A Miracle of Miracles' originally appeared as a thin 4to, in 1638. The title- page is given below of the second edition (1656). It was appended to the Com- mentary upon 2 Corinthians chap. iv. See note Vol. IV., page 308. Cf. Memoir,