and hee that prouided this harbour and lodging for mee turned many poore people out of dores it cannot bee so comfortable vnto him as otherwise it would And therefore Solomon exhorteth men to honour the Lord but with their owne riches And the Apostle would haue men to leaue stealing and to worke with their hands the thing that is good that they may haue to giue to him that needeth That that is giuen to the poore must not bee gotten by vnlawfull means but by honest labour for as Saint Augustine sayth well (c) Quale est illud munus quod alter cum gaudio accipit alter cum lachrymis amittit What a manner of gift is that which one receyueth with ioy and another loseth with griefe When Dauid made prouision for building the Temple and saw how chearefully the Princes offered thereunto he maketh a solemn thanksgiuing to God acknowledgeth that they had first receiued all from God 1. Chr. 29.14 Of thine owne hand sayth he haue wee giuen thee That which men giue to God they must first receiue of Gods hand and not of the deuils hand For if it be vniustly gotten it is so farre from pacifying as it will rather prouoke the wrath of GOD against them Luc. 19.8 vnlesse with good Zacheus they first make restitution And therefore to conclude this point let mee say vnto them as Daniel sayde to the King of Babylon Dan. 4.24 Let my counsell bee acceptable vnto them let them breake off their sinnes by righteousnesse As wee haue tolde you before testified This latter reason is confirmed by the Apostles former testimony he had before seriously reproued them for these sins had denounced the iudgements of God against thē Frō this constancy of the Apostle we that are the Ministers of the Word are taught that we must not coldly and remissly reproue mens sins but oppose the threatnings of the Word the vengeance of God against them Isa 58.1 This the Lord cōmanded the Prophet Isaiah Cry aloud spare not lift vp thy voyce like a trumpet shew my people their transgression the house of Iacob their sins Ministers must be as Christ called Iames Iohn Boanerges that is Mar. 3.17 the sons of thunder they must thunder and lighten against vngodlnesse and sinne And therefore the Apostle giueth Timotheus a strait charge 2. Tim. 4.2 that in preaching of the Word he improue rebuke c. Tit. 2.15 And he commandeth Titus to rebuke with all authority And againe he sayth to Timotheus Them that sinne rebuke openly 1. Tim. 5.20 that the rest may feare The reason is euident For such is the dulnes of mēs nature that of themselues they are not affected with any sense of Gods iudgements yea they are so blinded with selfe loue so hardned with the deceitfulnes of sinne that willingly they wil not acknowledge themselues to be sinners And therefore the Minister must pull the vizard from their faces and hold the glasse of Gods lavv before them whether they will or no that so they may see their sinnes and the vengeance due vnto them Thus did the Prophet Nathan with Dauid when hee lay in his sin for a time without repentance he telleth him plainely 2. Sam. 12.7 8 9. Thou art the man thus and thus hath God blessed thee and thus and thus hast thou rewarded him therefore thus and thus will the Lord be reuenged of thee And thus did the Apostle Peter with those secure careles Iewes who for the space of fifty dayes were not so much as once touched for their sin he laboureth to conuince their consciences that they had imbrued their hands in the bloud of the sonne of God Vse 1 This doctrine hath a twofold vse First it serueth to reproue those flattering Ministers who onely preach pleasing and smooth things vnto the people Isa 30.10 and sing them a song of mercy onely without any mention of iudgemēt who sow pillowes vnder mens arme-boles Ezech. 13.18 as the Prophet speaketh to make them sleepe more securely in their sins 1. Thess 2.5 The Apostle Paul tooke another course with this people for he taketh themselues to witnesse that hee neuer vsed flattering words And speaking of the abuses corruptions which the Corinthians had brought into the Lords Supper 1. Cor. 11.22 What shall I say to you sayth he shal I praise you in this Stapleton Domini in 3. quadrages I prayse you not whereupon one though otherwise none of the best sayde very well They are Ministers of Satan that dare promise peace to a wicked man without repentāce And it is the greatest deceiuing that can be to secure a man that liueth in the state of sinne Vse 2 Secondly it serueth to reproue all such hearers of the word as cannot endure that the Minister should denounce threatnings of Gods iudgements against their sinnes Ezech. 13.10 Ier. 6.14.15 So long as the Minister doth daube with vntempered morter so long as he will heale their hurt with sweet words and stroke their head in their sinnes so long as hee will not open his mouth against their sinnes but rather will giue them a placarde to continue in them yea it may be wil runne with them to the same exercise of ryot 1. Pet. 4 4. hee is a Preacher for their tooth then they loue him commend him but if in conscience of his duety hee will rebuke them sharpely and not suffer them to sinne Leu 19.17 then they cry out of him as they did of the Prophet Ieremy Ier. 15 10. to be a contentions man and a man that striueth with the whole earth Thus did Abab with Michaiah 1. Reg. 22 8. There is sayth he another Prophet but I hate him for hee doth not prophesie good vnto me but euill I can neuer heare him but he vexeth me he is alwayes telling me of my sinnes And the Apostle sayth that the Galatians accounted him their enemie because hee tolde them the truth Yea Gal. 4 16. if it be possible they will finde some cauill or other against their doctrine that so they may accuse them as enemies to the State As Amasiah that false Prophet complayned of Amos that hee had conspired against the King Amos. 7 10. that the land was not able to beare his words And if their words will serue hee shall hardly escape without violence As Ieroboam when the Prophet threatned Gods iudgements against him for his idolatry hee cryed 1. Reg. 13 4. Lay holde on him And Amasiah sayde to another Prophet in the like case Haue they made thee the Kings Counseller cease why should they smite thee But this is a more grieuous sinne then men are aware of Solomon sayth Prou. 29 1. A man that hardneth his necke when hee is rebuked shall suddenly bee destroyed and cannot be cured And doubtlesse the time wil come that they shall curse the time that euer they gaue credite to flattering Preachers As the Church complaineth in the Lamentations Thy Prophets haue looked out vaine and foolish things for thee Lament 2 14. they haue not discouered thine iniquity to turne away thy captiuity c. Confessing that if their Prophets had dealt sincerely with them and brought them to the sight of their sinnes they had repented of them and so had not gone into captiuity Nay it is the greatest token of Gods anger that can be when he sendeth such clawbacke Ministers vnto a people Hos 9.7 As the Prophet plainely sheweth The dayes of Visitation saith he are come the dayes of recompence are come Israel shall know it And because the people might obiect Our Prophets tell vs otherwise they perswade vs that God is a mercifull God and that hauing set his loue vpon vs to make vs his peculiar people hee will not thus reiect and cast vs off Therefore the Prophet meeteth with them in the next words Doth your Prophet Zanch. in locū sayth he tell you so then the Prophet is a foole and the man of the spirit that is the false Prophet that boasteth he hath the spirit of God and that hee speaketh by it is mad And whereas they might obiect further Why then doth the Lord send vs such Prophets He answereth that for the multitude of their iniquities therefore the hatred of God is great against them And therefore Heb. 13.22 to shut vp all in a word let vs be perswaded to suffer the words of exhortation And howsoeuer it may bee harsh and vnpleasing at the first yet if euer it please God to bring vs to repentance then as Solomon sayth Pro. 28.23 Hee that rebuketh a man shall finde more fauour at the last then hee that flattereth with his tongue FINIS
As the Apostle Iames saith Iam. 2.6 Doe not the rich oppresse you by tyranny c. From hence then wee obserue in the first place Doctrine that oppression is a grieuous sinne against the will of God The trueth of this will appeare vnto vs if wee consider how oft how earnestly the Lord forbiddeth it in the whole course of the scripturs He chargeth the people of Israel by Moses Leu 19.13 25.17 Prou. 3.29 Thou shalt not oppresse thy neighbor by violence neyther rob him And again Ye shall not oppresse one another c. And Solomon goeth yet further Intend no hurt saith he against thy neighbor seeing he dwelleth securely by thee thereby teaching vs that we should be so farre from doing and practising hurt to our neighbour that wee must not so much as intend and deuise it in our thoughts 22.22 And in another place Robbe not the poore because hee is poore neyther oppresse the afflicted in iudgement And Dauid maketh it a marke and property of a true member of the Church in this life and of the kingdome of heauen in the life to come Psal 15 3. that hee doth no euill to his neighbour And our Sauiour Christ deliuering the summe of the Law Mat. 10.19 setteth downe this for one branch of it Doe no hurt Luc. 3.14 In a word Iohn Baptist chargeth Souldiers who of all other men commonly take most liberty this way that they should doe violence to no man Besides there are many reasons to shew the hainousnesse of this sinne First of all it is against nature for euery mans neighbour is his owne flesh as it were Isa 58.7 Now as the Apostle sayth No man vnlesse hee bee a mad man will offer violence to his owne flesh Ephes 5.29 yea the poorest meanest wretch in the world beareth the same stampe and impression of Gods Image that the greatest dooth Gen. 6.6 And therefore one man should bee so farre from hurting of another as that rather hee should bee a God vnto him as it were to protect him and defend him from wrong to the vttermost of his power Hence is it that there are such titles giuen to Gods children as should put them in mind of that harmelesnes that ought to bee in them They are called Lambs and Sheepe and Doues The Doue saith Barnard (a) Columba simplex est animal felle caret rostro non laedit Bern. in die purificat is a simple creature it hath no gall it striketh not with the bill as other rauenous foules doe such should one man bee to another But alas wee see the common practise of most men is cleane contrary The greatest danger that befalleth mā commeth from whence it ought least of all to come euen from man himselfe And now the olde Prouerbe is verified (a) Homo homini lupus One man is a Wolfe to another Nay there is no brute beast so hurtfull to man as one man is to another for they lightly neuer set vpon a man vnlesse necessity force them to it eyther by hunger or by feare they are constrained to fight But one man taketh pleasure to wrong and to hurt another which caused Seneca to propound the question and giue the answer (b) Quid homini inimicissimum Homo What is the greatest enemy that man hath Man himselfe (c) Caetera animantia in suo genere probè degunt c. At homini plutima ex homine mala Plin. in Prolog lib. 7. All other creatures as Plinie noteth do liue peaceably with those of their own kind they all hold together and stand in opposition against all others The Lions though neuer so fierce doe not fight among themselues one serpent doth not sting another yea the great fishes and monsters of the sea deuoure none but those that are of other kindes But the greatest euils that man sustayneth come from man (d) O humanae malitiae detestanda crudelitas Ferae parcunt aues pascunt homines insidiantur saeuiunt Serm. 6. This made Cyprian cry out with wonderment and admiration O the detestable cruelty of mans malice the fierce Lyons doe spare Daniel in the denne the rauenous birdes doe feede Elias in the wildernesse but one man exerciseth cruelty vpon another Secondly it is against that iustice that ought to be in ciuill societies for the preseruation whereof it is necessary that men doe conuerse safely together without feare one of another And therefore it was well said by a wiseman that the first foundation of iustice is to hurt no body and the second to procure the common benefit as much as lyeth in a mans power Thirdly it is against Christianity (e) Vita Christiana est bene faciendi malè patiendi disciplina 1. Cor. 6.7 which is a life that teacheth a man to be ready to do well and to suffer il according to that speech of the Apostle Why rather suffer yee not wrong Why rather sustaine yee not harme Implying that a Christian man should rather part with his owne right then vse the lawfull remedy of the lavv to the scandall of the Church Not that it is not lawfull for a man to prosecute and maintaine his own right but to teach vs that if hee will not doe this much lesse will hee spoyle and vniustly depriue another man of his right And this was prophesied of long before that in the time of the Gospell the Wolfe shall dwell with the Lambe and the Leopard shall lie with the Kid Isa 11.6.7.8 and the Calfe and the Lion and the fat beast together and a little childe shall leade them And the Kow and the Beare shall feed their young ones shall lie together and the Lion shall eate straw like the Bullocke And the sucking child shall play vpon the hole of the Aspe and the weined child shall put his hand vpon the Cockatrice hole Thereby teaching vs that though men by nature bee brutish and sauage like those Indians that Plinie speaketh of Lib. 7. cap. 2. who hauing copulation with wilde beasts doe beget a mixt and halfe wilde broode yet when it pleaseth God to conuert them and place them in his Kingdome they lay aside their fierce disposition and liue peaceably one with another For as it followeth in the next verse None shall hurt nor destroy in all the mountaine of the Lords holinesse And in another place it is said that vnder the Kingdome of Christ men shall breake their swords into mattockes or plow-shares Isa 2.4 and their speares into sithes c. That is to say those weapons which before were instruments of cruelty shall now be turned into instruments of peace Rom. 13.10 Fourthly it is against the rule of Charity for as the Apostle saith Loue doth not euill to his neighbour And in another place 1 Cor. 13.6 Loue reioyceth not in iniquity and wrongfull dealing And therefore they that care not what iniury they offer to
A SERMON AGAINST OPpression and fraudulent Dealing PREACHED AT PAVLES CROSSE the eleuenth of December BY CHARLES RICHARDSON Preacher at Saint KATHERINES neare the Tower of LONDON ECCLESIASTES CHAP. 5. VER 8. If thou seest the oppression of the poore and violent peruerting of iudgement and iustice in a Prouince maruel not at the matter for he that is higher then the highest regardeth and there be higher then they LONDON Imprinted by George Furslowe for Ioseph Browne and Thomas Harper 1615. TO THE RIGHT Honourable Sir IVLIVS CAESAR Master of the Rolles and one of his Maiesties most Honourable Priuie Counsell Encrease of grace in this life and eternall happinesse in the life to come Right Honourable AS it pleased God to giue better approbation to this poore Sermon in the deliuering of it then I expected I haue beene earnestly intreated since by some of my good friends to giue way that it might bee printed And though I am not ignorant of mine own inability yet because I know that God can and doth worke as well by weake as by greater meanes I haue yeelded to their request I confesse it is written in a rude homely stile and I doubt not but the curious censurers of this age who like nothing but that which is for their owne humors will carpe cauill at the plainenesse of it but my desire was to make it appear that as Barnard sayeth in the like case I rather sought Edification then Ostentation Now because the meanes of that maintenance which I haue is chiefly by your honourable fauour I haue therefore presumed to publish it vnder your Honours name And howsoeuer there be nothing in it worthy your Honours contemplation yet I beseech you to accept of it as a poore testimony of that dutiful affection which most deseruedly I owe vnto you The Lord blesse your Honour with increase of all sauing graces that you may long be a profitable instrument of his glory both in the Church and in the common wealth Your Honors in all humble duety and seruice C. R. 1. THESSAL 4.6 That no man oppresse and defraude his brother in any matter for the Lord is the auenger of all such as wee haue tolde you before and testified THe Apostle Paul hauing planted a Church at Thessalonica Act. 17.1.2.3.4.5.15 c. and being driuen from thence by some malicious enemies of the truth hee made his abode for a while at Athens where vnderstanding what troubles and persecutions were raysed vp against these new Conuerts out of his loue and care for their good 1. Thess 3.1.2.5 hee sendeth Timotheus vnto them to visite and comfort them And being certified by him with what great patience and inuincible constancy they endured tribulation for the Gospels sake Ver. 6.7 c. because hee could not come vnto them as hee desired hee writeth this Epistle to confirme and establish them in the present truth Wherein in the three former Chapters he congratulateth with them for their faith loue patience reuerence to the word and other excellent graces which God by his spirit had wrought in them which gratulation he concludeth in the end of the third Chapter with a gracious prayer in their behalfe Ver. 12.13 that God which had begunne so good a worke in them would stablish them in the same vnto the end In the two next Chapters he exhorteth them to holinesse and to a Christian conuersation And that first generally that they should not content themselues with their good beginning Ver. 1.2 but increase more and more and labour to surpasse and to goe beyond themselues Then more particularly he descendeth to the parts of sanctification and layeth downe certaine speciall rules the better to direct them how to runne in this Christian course The first respecteth euery mans owne person in the priuate carryage of himselfe Namely This is the will of God Ver. 3.4.5 euen your sanctification c. The second respecteth a mans dealing with his neighbour in this verse that I haue read That no man oppresse c. For it is not enough for a man Tit. 2.11.22 to liue soberly in regard of himselfe vnlesse hee also liue righteously in respect of others The words are imperfect in themselues and must bee supplyed out of the third verse in this manner It is the will of God that no man oppresse defraud his brother c. And this is the coherence that these wordes haue with the former Now for our more orderly proceeding in the handling of them wee haue to consider two things in generall First the exhortation it selfe and secondly the reasons whereby it is inforced In the exhortation we may obserue first the branches of it secondly the extent of it The branches are two First that no man oppresse secondly that no man defraud his his brother The first signifieth violence and manifest force the second deceitfull and fraudulent dealing and that by a generall consent of the most interpreters The extent is eyther in respect of the persons oppressing and oppressed no man his brother of whatsoeuer place or condition he be or in respect of the obiect in any matter whatsoeuer great or small And howsoeuer these vniuersal tearms be not expressed yet the proposition being indefinitely set downe it is as much as if they were expressed The reasons are likewise two The first is included in the word his brother which as we shall see afterward containeth in it a very forcible argument The second is expressed and it is taken from the vengeance of God For the Lord is the auenger of all such And this is further amplified and confirmed by the Apostles former testimony in the last words as wee haue tolde you before and testified And this is briefly the summe and resolution of this portion of Scripture Let vs now see the instructions that arise from thence for our further learning That no man oppresse This is the first branch of the exhortation The word here vsed in the Originall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth properly signifie to goe vpon or to climbe vpon a man and to tread him vnder foot representing vnto vs those persons who hauing oppressed a man by violence doe trample vpon him As wee read of Ioshuah who hauing vanquished those fiue Kings of the Amorites called the Captaines that were with him and bad them put their feet vpon their neckes Iosh 10.24 And to this purpose is that threatning denounced by Moses against the disobedient Israelites Deut. 28.43 The stranger that is with thee shal climbe vp aboue thee on high and thou shalt come downe beneath very low A plaine description of that which is signified here And the Church of God complaining of the iniuries of her enemies saith Psal 66.12 Thou hast caused men to ride ouer our heads This is referred as hath been said to violent oppressions vvhen they that are mighty powerfull take boldnesse to hurt and wrong those that are vnder them