a Spirit of Meekness towards men Besides If we do not treat our Brother with a Spirit of Meekness but with biting Scoffs and Revilings we are not good men for our Carriage towards them contradicts our Prayers to God We pray that God Would lead into the way of Truth all such as have erred and are deceived We pray that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of Truth and hold the Faith in Vnity of Spirit and in the bond of Peace And if we treat those ill that have erred and are returned to the Church where 't is to be hoped they will be convinced of their Errors It is a sign that we never were devout in those prayers for we seem discontented that God hath heard them I heartily wish that those men who are so apt to reviling would consider what the Apostle saith Every one must give an account of himself to God and consider how impossible it is that they can be justifyed when they shall appear before that God who will judge men according to the Gospel which as I have shewed doth so strictly require All Meekness towards all men Surely there is not a man that ever read the Comands of Christ who can think that he shall come off well at the great Tribunal if he can only say Lord I was so Zealous for the Church that I hated all that seperated from it I could not see them but my Spirit was incensed I could not speak to them but with provoking Expressions c. This plea might be of great force if God would make mens Passions to be the rule of Judging and not his Word which requires that we do good to all that we love our Enemies and that we should make it our business to convert sinners from the errours of their wayes But on the contrary If a man can say Lord I have been afflicted for thy Church to see the Rents and Divisions which have been amongst Christians It hath greived me to see how little men have regarded Jerusalems peace and how much they have indulged their unreasonable and causeless Prejudices I have heartily prayed to thee to bring them into the way of Truth I have endeavoured to convince them of their mistakes and to perswade them with all expressions of Meekness and Love that they would consider the Dishonour that hath redounded to thy Great Name and to the profession of the Holy Religion of Christianity And when I saw that they Returned my heart rejoyced and my Arms Embraced them and I was glad when I could go with them into Thy House or meet them there This is the right Temper of a Christian and this is the Person that will be found fit to sit with Christ when he shall Judge the World A Spirit of Meekness is a good evidence of a sincere Christian and that he shall come off with Triumph when the Lamb shall appear sitting upon the Throne One would think that what our Saviour said in his Sermon upon the Mount Mat. 5.21 22. should make all men afraid of Reviling their Brother as they love their own Souls and value their Eternal welfare He tells them that they who are guilty of it are Murderers and shall be punished as such and I am sure the House of God is a very unfit place for men to commit Murder in if their timely Repentance which is a change in them to a better temper doth not prevent it Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old times Thou shalt not Kill and whosoever shall Kill shall be in danger of the Judgment But I say unto you that whosoever shall be angry with his Brother without a Cause shall be in danger of the Judgment and whosoever shall say unto his Brother Racha shall be in danger of the Council and whosoever shall say Thou Fool shall be in danger of Hell Fire Our Saviour spake to them who thought that the sixth Commandment could not be broken unless a man did actually commit Murder and therefore he Explaines it by telling them that men might be Murderers in their Hearts though they were not so with their Hands And that those who are of Malitious and Reproachful Spirits should be punished as such He gives an account of it with allusion to the several degrees of Punishments amongst the Jewes whereof the least was Death Whosoever shall be Angry with his Brother without a Cause shall be in danger of the Judgment that is whosoever shall be Offended at his Brother more from his Aptness to take Offence than from any Cause given to him or shall not moderate his Passion with a proportionable respect to the nature of the Offence shall have that Punishment in another state which is answerable to that which the Jews called Capital He hath made himself thereby liable to Eternal Death in another State And whosoever shall say to his Brother Racha that is worthless empty Fellow that shall vilifie him as mean and inconsiderable shall be in danger of the Council of being condemned to suffer a greater punishment than an ordinary Death that was to be Stoned to death which was the sentence of the Sanhedrim Meaning that he who used Reproachful Expressions should have a greater punishment than he who did not vent his passion in Opprobrious Language But whosoever shall say Thou Fool shall be in danger of Hell Fire which we are not to understand as if the punishments afore-mentioned were any whit less than the punishment of Hell Fire but as signifying a greater degree of Punishment or I may say the Fire made hotter It alludes to the burning in the Valley of Hinnom which was a punishment far greater than the other two where Children were put into Brazen Vessels set over the fire till they were Scalded to death and therefore signifies that he who doth not only use undervaluing Expressions by representing his Brother as weak and empty-headed but proceeds to the highest degree of Railing which is exprest by saying to him Thou Fool shall be in danger of exceeding great punishment in the place of Torments I was the more willing to give an Account of this place according to the Opinion of the best Expositors not only because there are many who do not Understand it but because there are more who do not Consider it and because it is very much to my present purpose If a man would know what his condition is and what it is like to be let him Examine the Temper of his Mind whether Religion hath subdued his Passion and keeps his Tongue from venting it Bad Words do as well discover a bad Man as bad Actions what ever men may pretend to Let men that are apt to revile consider what St. James saith and look to themselves chap. 1. v. 26. If any man amongst you seem to be Religious and bridleth not his Tongue but deceiveth his own Heart that mans Religion is vain Surely then they are very far
from being Religious who do not bridle their Tongues in that House which is appointed for Religion and the Worship of God And let not men think that any Zeal for Religion or any Devotion which they shew in the House of God will avail them if they are void of a Christian-Spirit towards their Brethren It is a strange thing that men should think that their praying to God can be acceptable especially at that time when they have reviled their Brother Nor let men think that they shall only be called to account for what they have been towards God For we find in the Gospel that when the great day of Judgment is spoken of the transactions of it which are mentioned do chiefly relate to what we are towards one another for fear as we may suppose that men should think that a dread and reverence of God should availe them though they are of evil Spirits towards their Brethren A Spirit of Meekness is a good argument of Piety that we are in the favour of God and shall be for ever Happy in another World 2. A Spirit of Meekness is an Argument of Wisdom We never hear any say that they have been in company with men whom they have heard Reviling and reproaching other men and therefore they believe them to be Wise men But on the Contrary all men know that such are very weak men men that are very unfit to Manage any affairs of concern because they can not Manage themselves We find that every Fool Idiot can give ill Language if he can but speak But as Solomon saith The words of a wise man are heard in quiet Eccles 9. v. 7. He is a Wise man who will not be provoked to Passion but can give a mild reply to him that is Furious and Provoking It is exceedingly to be lamented that those who call themselves the Disciples and Followers of the Meek Jesus should come so far short as they do of the Meekness of many Heathens whom we read of for which they were very deservedly accounted Wise men We read of one who when he was basely Reproached and falsly Accused took no other notice of it but only to say Bene loqui non didicit He told those that were with him that he perceived The man had not learnt to give Good Words Of another who was so affronted by his Opprobrious Adversary that he followed him to his own house all the way Rading at him But the Meek man did exceedingly Pity him and because it was in the Dark he commanded his Servant to take a Candle and Lanthorn and light the man back to his own house We read of another whose Provocation was greater It was not enough for his Enemy to fill his Ears with base Language but he gave him a great stroke upon the Head At which the abused Person would not be moved to Passion and Revenge but only made a reply to this purpose What an ill thing it is that when men go abroad they forget to put on a Helmet to defend their Heads These were Wise men of whom History hath made mention that their Wisdom might be recorded for the honour of their Memories and the Examples of others that they might have such a Spirit of Meekness for which these were Eminent I know there are some men who seem to be Meek men and are not Such as can restrain their Passions with a resolution to study a full Revenge afterwards for any Injury that is done to them and in the mean while they can give very smooth words But these are men in whom there is Devilish Policy and not that Wisdom which I am speaking of nor is their Temper a Spirit of Meekness by which they lay aside Prejudice and Revenge as God requires but a most desperate and Devilish Spirit far more mischievous than that which vents it self by a present Rage and Fury This is Wisdom if I may give it so good a name which is from beneath but the Spirit of Meekness is an argument of that Wisdom which is from above which is first pure and then peaceable That Wisdom which I may call Christian Policy by which Christianity was exceedingly promoted in the first Ages of it and which would tend exceedingly to the advantage of the Church of Christ amongst us That Wisdom which the Apostle exhorted to for the bringing in of Proselites Colos 4.5 Walk in Wisdom towards them that are without Redeeming the time His meaning according to the sence of some good Expositors is that they should be circumspect and carry themselves so as to take all opportunities to render Christianity lovely and amiable to those who were prejudiced against it And because the Tongue is an unruly member which betrayes folly and weakness he adds ver 6. Let your speech be alwayes with grace seasoned with Salt pleasant and not unsavory that ye may know how to answer every man By which we may observe that good words are not only tending to the good of others but they shew a man that speaks them to be a Wise man Remarkable likewise is that Expression of St. James Chap. 3. v. 13. Whoso is a Wise man and endued with Knowledge amongst you Let him shew out of a good Conversation his works with Meekness of Wisdom The Apostle had before been shewing what a mischeivous member the Tongue is and what an Unchristian thing it is that men should Villify and Reproach their Brethren with it those especially that profess Religion that God should be blessed and men should be cursed with the same Tongue which is the meaning of the Apostle ver 9. Therewith bless we God even the Father and therewith curse we men which are made after the similitude of God That cursing of men is interpreted to be railing against them and reviling of them To avoid this there must be Meekness of Wisdom that Wisdom which hath Meekness accompanying of it 3. It is an Argument of Humility and that a man hath a great sense of his own Failings and Infirmities He that is acquainted with himself and considers what his own faults have been can not be very apt to break out into a Rage and Passion because of the faults of other men It is impossible that any man can take another in a fault so often as he may take himself If men would look back and consider what they have done amiss themselves it would give a check to their ill-natured passions towards others This was the Apostles Argument which he would have Titus use to them that were very mindful of other mens faults but very forgetful of their own In the forementioned place Tit. 3.2 he requires them To speak evil of no man to be no brawlers but gentle shewing all Meekness unto all men and at v. 3. he tells them that their own faults should be a Motive to it For we our selves also were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers Lusts and Pleasures living in Malice and Envy hateful and
have been taken in the fault of Dissenting may be in great pain they may have an aching Mind which is worse and far more painful than an aching Limb. It must be acknowledged that nothing is so tender as the mind and conscience is although it ought to be considered that there is nothing more apt to error and men must have a care that it be guided by a Rule and that from the tenderness of it men do not start at the performance of what is their Duty for fear of hurting it and therefore we ought to deal gently and tenderly with them as he that sets a bone They have received ill Principles and have thought it their duty to separate from us and that they should displease God by having Communion with us and although they are in some measure satisfied yet they are still in some Fear Doubt like a man whose bone is set but he hath not recovered his strength It is very great unkindness or I may say Cruelty to revile a man who is under any discomposure of mind Besides as it is a thing greivous in it self so it may be in another respect because it is a means to encrease his pain which he had before He was afraid lest he should do amiss by joyning in Communion with us and this ill carriage towards him encreases his fear and so puts him to more pain There is no question but that any Alteration in matters of Religion and the Worship of God meets with great aching and regret of mind We may easily understand it by making the case to be our own Suppose that we should be required no longer to Worship God by a Publick form which we count most solid and substantial and is a great advantage to our Devotion but should be required to joyn with those that use Extemporary prayers and it appears to us that they have not considered before hand what they should say when they speak to the Great and Holy God it would be a great Trouble to us especially if we had ever doubted whether we might joyn with such men in such Prayers The Case is the same for the trouble of a mans mind is according only to the Opinion which he hath received which he is not apt to make any doubt of A Jew or a Turk or I may say a Heathen-Idolater is as much in pain if you require him to alter his Opinion as he that hath the greatest evidence for his Religion and gives the most satisfactory Reason for his way of Worshipping God We must restore our Brother with a Spirit of Meekness because he is in pain about his being restored That which now remaines is that I make some Inferences by way of Application I. It is of great moment that men be very careful and diligent in examining the Temper of their own minds for if they be not they may not only be in great danger as to their own immortal Souls but do great mischiefs to others and particularly to that Cause which they would advance Most certain it is that every man may be taken in a Fault and it is as certain that every man is not fit to tell others of their Faults He must have a great command of his own mind and be of an excellent temper who expects to have any influence upon the mind of another that hath done amiss Those that have been faulty must be reproved for their Faults but there must be Love and Kindness tempered with the reproof or else it will only provoke and not restore And this is not all but he must be a good man himself who would make another good and he that hath offended must believe him to be so David saith Psal 141.5 Let the righteous smite me it shall be a kindness and let him reprove me it shall be an excellent Oyl which shall not break my head Where note there are some that smite and it is no kindness there is nothing but Malice and Hatred in it There is a Reproof which breaks the head and doth rather enrage the Offender than prevail with him to mend his faults Where the reproof comes from a good man it is as an excellent Oyl which doth not break the head The Psalmist alludes to a Custome which was in ancient time to anoint the head with Oyl which cast a fragrant smell It was wont to be used especially at the times of feasting and of great mirth and triumph and to be omitted when there was occasion of fasting and humiliation So that the meaning of the Psalmist is very high Let him reprove me and it shall be an excellent Oyl It shall be sweet and pleasant and joyful to me that I have such a friend that shews such true Love and Kindness to me as to reprove me for my Faults It shall not break my head As kind Reproofs are figuratively called Oyl so Words are figuratively called Blows which offer great violence and do great hurt to men It was Job's complaint to his Friends who did not treat him kindly Job 19.2 How long will ye vex my Soul and break me in peices with words There are some men whose Reproofs are accompanied with so much Rage and Bitterness that they may be said to break the head i. e. they are a very great Affront or injury to a Man or as a more usual expression is they cut men to the Heart But the Reproofs of those who are good men are exprest with so much Love and Tenderness and desire of doing good to the offending person that they are as an excellent Oyl both sweet and healing which offers no injury nor are they taken so but are very obliging David thought himself so exceedingly oblig'd by them that he resolves to requite them by being a Friend in adversity to him that reproved him And therefore it followes My Prayer shall be in their Calamities Some men when they are reproved for their faults are of such a malicious nature and disposition that they rejoyce at any evil which befals their Reprovers and take that opportunity to insult over them But he would take that opportunity to express his Obligations by praying to God for them He that reproves another must be a good man himself or else it is very doubtful whether he can restore his Brother Especially where the Fault is an Error of Judgment and relates to matters of Opinion If a man that is scandalous in his Conversation reproves a Schismatick he will be ready to tell him that he is fitter to be reproved himself than to reprove others and that he is not a man fit to dispute matters of Religion who hath nothing of the Power of it prevailing in his own mind Some men when they have taken another in a fault should desire others to reprove them who are more fit to do it rather than undertake it themselves for otherwise it may be that instead of mending one fault there may be two more added to it One in the