Defilement of Sin and Error, it being the property of true 7i!do;y to make Men adhere both to Truth and Holineſs. / Diſpoſeth Mey, to Peace, both as to the making and keeping it, in oppoiition to Strife and Contention, which 1s a Fruit of the earthly Witdum. Peaceableneſs, which relates to Man, is ſet after Purity, which re- ſped God in the firſt place, to intimate, that Purity muſt have tt. Preference to Peace. Our Pcace with Men muſt always be «ith 4 Salvo to our Reſpetts to God, and Holineſs. m Or, equal, or myde- rate, Phil. 4.5. 1 Tim. 3.3. Tit. 3. 2, It implies, that Getitlencts ( as we tranſlate it ) whereby we bear with others Inirmities, {or- glve Injuries, interpret all things for the teſt, recede from our own right for Peace-ſake; and is oppoſed to that Auſteritv and Rigidne/ In cur Prattices, and Cenſures, which will bear with nothing iq weak, diſſenting, or offending Brethren, n Eafily perſwada!lc, True Wiſdom makes Men yield to good Admonitions, good Counſel, good Reaſon. This 1s oppoſed to Implacableneſs, Row. 1. 31. Pride and Obſtinacy in evil, Prov. 12. 1. and 13. 1. 0 A Grace wherchy we pitty others that are afflicted, or that offend, and is oppoſed to Inhumanity, and Incxorableneſs. p Beneficence, Liberality, and all other Othces of Humanity, which proceed from Mercs. 40s, without judging, 1. e. either a curious inquiring into the Faults of others, to find matter for Cenſures, which many times infers Wranz- livg, as our Margin renders it; or a diſcerning between Perſcn ani Perſon, upon carnal Accounts, which 1s Partiality, as it is hcre tranſlated, *and Chap. 2. 4. r Or, Counterfeiting, as they do that judge others, being guilty of the ſame things, or as bad theinſelve: - or Hypocrtifie may be here added, to ſhew that Sincerity is the Pcr- {eRton of all the reſt before named'; Purity, Peace, and Gentlcne(, @c. may be counterfeit; Hypocriſie ſpoils all, and therefore the Wiſdom that is from above, 1s fincere, and without Hypocrihe.
13 And the fruit / of righreouſnets 7 is fown » in peace x of them thar make peace y.
/ Either the Fruit we bring forth, which is Righteouſneſs 1t ſelf, Wb Luke 3. 8, 9. Rem. 6. 22. Phil, 1. 11, or the Fruit we reap, which 1s the Reward of Righteouſneſs, viz. eternal Life. tf Metonymircal- ly here put for the heavenly Wiſdom, before deſcribed, whereot It 1s the inſeparable Companion, or the Effet, Job 28.28, » Ei- ther Righteouſneſs, as the good Fruit, is wrought or exerciicd, Hy. 10. 12. (as Wickedneſs 1s ſaid to be ſown when it is ated,
the truth 2.
t Gr. Zeal, which he calls bitter, partly te diftinguiſh it from that Zeal which is good; whereas this he ſpeaks of is evil; and though it pretends to be Zeal, yet is really no other than Envy; and partly becauſe it commonly proceeds from an imbittered Spirit, and rends to the imbittering it more. u Strife, the uſual Effet of bit- ter Zeal, or Envy. x The Fountain whence it proceeds; or Strife in the Heart implies a Heart propenſe, and inclined to Strife. » Glory not of your Zeal, or rather, of your Witdom, as if you were ſo well able to reprehend others, but rather be humbled; what You make the matter of your Glorying, being reaily juſt cauſe of Shame. 2 Viz. By profefſing your ſelves wiſe, or zealous, when ye are really neither.
Fohn 4.8.) or it relates to the Reward, which is the Fruit, of which Righteouſneſs 1s the Seed, Pſzl. 97. 11. and then it implies, cither the ſureneſs of that Reward, that it is as certain as Harvett after Secd. time, or the non-enjoyment of it for the preſent; as they that ſow their Seed, receive not the Crop till long after. x Either in a mild, peaceable, amicable way, -or 7n Peace, is as much as with Peace, wiz. ſpiritual Peace and Comfort of Conſcience. y That follow after, and are ſtudious of Peace; and ſo the Words may have a two-fold ſenſe, either, 1. the meaning is, That they th! exerciſe Righteouſneſs, muſt do it in a ſweet and. peaccable way ; in particular, Men may reprehend others, ſo they do it with Mo- deration and Gentleneſs, not as Executioners, to torment them, but as Phyſicians, to heal them. As on the other fide, they that
15 This wiſdom 2 deſcended not from above 6, but 7s earthly c, |\| ſenſual d, deviliſh e.
2 This Wiſdom which they pretended ſo much to, who fo criticized on other Men's A&ions, and inveighed againſt them, and which was accompanied with Strife and Envy. b 7. e. From God the Au- thor of Wiſdom, from whom, though every good and perfe(t Gift defeends, Chap. 1. 17- and even Knowledge, and Skill in natural things, 1/a. 28. 26, 29. yet this Wiſdom being finful, 1s not from him, c becauſe it is of the Earth, of no higher Original than from the firſt Adam, who was of the Earth, and earthly, 1 Cor. 15. 47. and likewiſe hecauſe it 1s employed, and fixeth Mens Minds on earthly things. d This may be underitood, either, x. according to the reading in the Text, the word here uſed, being ſo rendred, Fude 1.9. agreeable to 1 Theſſ. 5. 23. where Soul, from whence the word 1s derived, is oppoſed to Spirit, and taken for the ſenfi- tive Powers, which Men have in common with Brutes in Diſtini- on from the intelle&ual, which under the name of Spirit, and are proper to Men: Meer Reaſon, without a Divine Grace, being apt
are moſt peaceably diſpoſed, yet muſt not make Peace, without ſowing Righteouſneſs with it, which includes juſt Reprehenfion whereby Righteouſneſs is promoted : Or, 21y, that they who tow Righteouſneſs in Peace, 7. e. joyn Righteouſneſs with their Endet- vours after Peace, ſhall reap the Reward, not only in Comfort liere,
but in Glory hereafter. CHAT, Iv.
Luſts, Covetouſmeſs, Wantonneſs and Envy, byeeds Strifes, hinders the ſucceſs of our P rayers, and are Enmity to 'God;, contrary to hrs Spt- rit in us, 1—5. We muſt be humble and ſubmiſſive towards Goa, reſiſt the Devil, draw nigh to God, and repent : the Bleſſing belong- ing t' theſe Graces, 6 10. We muſt not condemn our Neighbour, which belongs only to God, 11, 12. They are reproved who in that which they purpoſe to dv, have m reſpec} to the providence of God, nor to the frailty of this Life, but rejnyce in their Pride, 13 -— 16 He who knowingly Sinneth 1s moſſ guilty, 17. |: Or, fra Rom whence come wars, and || fightings « among ings - you ? come they not hence, ever of + vous iuſts 6, SEP
to degenerate into Brutiſhneſs, and eaſily brought to ſerye the ends