Cap.36. you rejoyce; then you would not rejoyce, that they

3.

are difcovered to fuch as will not honor Gods name: You are glad that any know of it, that Gods enemies know of it, that will not make a good use of it, but will be hardened in their fin, and dishonor Gods name: Take heed you do not deceive your felves, to rejoyce fo in the difcovery of the people of God; there is a great deal of evil in it, more then you think of. Fofeph he feared Mary, but he feared the name of God might fuffer, and therefore he would not make her a publike example.

The third branch is to thofe that are divulgers of the reproaches of Gods people. Confider what you do, they are the reproaches of Chrift; take heed you do not divulge the reproaches of Gods people. Suppofe they prove falfe, do you think that after Gods people have fuffered fo much, this will be enough to anfwer God and Chrift, for all the dirt that hath been caft upon his face, I heard fo; that the names of Gods people may fuffer much, when they are under falfe reproaches. As it is with a ftick; a stick when it is in the water, it looks as if it were broken, pull it out of the water, and it is ftraight: So it is with the names of Gods people; when their names are under reports that go abroad in the world, they look as broken; but when their names are pulled out from the reports of the world, they appear whole: And therefore take heed of divulging the reproaches of thofe that are godly, You may in this do the Devils work, and carry the Devils pack. The Apoftle in 1 Timothy 3ia. fpeaking of women,fays,That they must be grave, not flanderers; The word in the Original is, that

they

431

they must not be Devils: So that to carry flanders Cap.37and evil reports up and down, is the work of the devil. Again, wilt thou spread the reproaches of Gods people, when as it is the great work of God to cover the fins of his people? And further, confider, doeft thou stand in need of fo much covering of thy own fins, and wilt thou have a hand in fpreading abroad the fins of others? How just will it be with God to let thee fall into fome grofs fin, and spread abroad thy fhame, feeing his name and the names of his people are not dear in thine eyes?

CHAP. XXXVII.

Seeing Chrift makes our fufferings his, we should make his fufferings ours.

F

Ifthly, if Chrift will take our fufferings and our reproaches, and make them bis; then we are to take Chrifts fufferings,and Chrift reproaches, and make them ours. It was the burning love of Christ, and his zeal to his people, that made him take the reproaches of his people to himself; and fo our burning love to him, and zeal for him, should make us take his reproaches upon our felves. Chrift many ways reproached in the world, not onely in his perfon, when he lived upon the earth, and in his people; and fo we are not onely to take the reproaches of Chrift upon us in thefe regards, but in any particular, whatsoever reproach falls upon Chrift any way, let us account of it as our own: When

is

the

use 5.

Cap.37 the Doctrine of the Gospel is reproached, then he is reproached; when the ways and light that God hath discovered to his people is reproached, he is reproached; when the Ordinances are flighted, when as the blood of Chrift is counted a common thing, and every base luft is preferred before it; when as the bleffed authority of Chrift is villified and flighted, either when it is flighted openly or fecretly, if the authority of Chrift be caft off, then he is reproached, Numb. 15.6, 30. When you put a reed into the hand of Christ, and bow to him, and fay, Hail King of the Fews: when you fhall profefs obedience and fubjection unto Chrift, and in ftead of a Scepter, put a reed into his hand, then he is reproached. Again, when Gods people walk unworthy of Chrift, then Chrift is reproached. And when Chrift is reproached in any of thefe, let us take them to heart, as throughly, as if we were reproached; yea, take them more to heart, because the reproaches of Chrift are far worse then our reproaches: Thofe that are first upon Chrift, and then upon us, are worfer then those that are firft upon us, and then and then upon Chrift: To fpit upon the face of a man, is more reproach to the body, then to fpit upon fome other member of the body is a reproach to the face; and fo the reproach of Chrift that is the face of the Church, is more then the reproach of any other member : And therefore confider, whether your hearts be more broken when Chrift is reproached,then when you your felves are reproached, this is a good fign of grace. And if you demand what fhould be the behavior of a gracious heart, when he is in any company that he hears Chrift reproached in;

I answer,

gracious

haves its

felf, when he hears

Chrift re

I answer, First, thy fpirit fhould rife in indigna- Cap.37. tion against fuch defperate evils and wickedness as I. this, that any fhould dare to be fo bold as to reproach How a the holy One of God, fuch a bleffed one as Chrift heart beis, that is fo infinitely dear to thy foul, and hath done fo much for thy foul, though in our own causes we may be quiet and give way, yet when it comes to the cause of Chrift, it is good for the heart to rife. proached. It is the fpeech of occlampadius to his fellow Minifter, Let our Zeal be bot and burning, not when fcorns and reproaches are cast upon us, but when the truth is endangered, and the name of God is blafphemed. Ye have heard that of King Crafus his fon, who though he were dumb all his life, yet when one would have ftruck at his Father, the affection to his Father broke the bars of his fpeech, and he said, Take heed of killing the King And fo though we be dumb in things that concern our felves, yet when Christ comes to be reproached, let our hearts fwell in us and break

out.

Again, look upon them with trembling hearts, that ever the patience of God fhould fuffer fuch wickedness as this: As they did admire at Mordecai, when he would not bow to Haman, they held their peace, and wondered what would become of that

matter.

Yea, we fhould, if it were poffible, labor to wipe off all the reproach of Chrift, and take it upon our felves, that we might rather be fpit upon and contemned then Chrift. It was a brave fpeech of Ambrofe, he wifhed it would please God to turn all the adverfaries from the Church upon himself, and let them fatiffie their thirft with his blood: This is a true christian Ff heart.

2.

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Cap.37 heart. And therefore if it be for our fakes, and we have any thing in the business by which Chrift is reproached, we should be willing rather to facrifice our felves, then that Chrift fhould be reproached: And as Fonak, when he knew that the tempeft rofe for his fake, fays he, Caft me into the fea: And so NažianZen, when contention rofe about him, fays he, Caft me into the fea, let me lofe my place, rather then the name of Chrift fhould fuffer for me.

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5.

6.

Again, the behaving of a Chriftian fhould be this, it fhould take his heart from his own name, fo long as Chrift is reproached:What though I have efteem Chrift is not efteemed, he is contemned. I have thefe comforts, and I through Gods mercy want nothing, and my friends cleave to me, and prize me, but Chrift is not cleaved to, he is not prized: and what are all my comforts to me they are Ichabods, the glory of all is departed from

me.

And further, we should be willing to intereft our felves in the cause of Chrift: when we hear any of Gods people reproached, we fhould not fay, What have we to do with them, let them clear themselves? but be willing to intereft our felves in it, and take it upon our felves, as if our own name were to be cleared.

And lastly, we should labor to wipe away the reproach of Chrift, in laboring to express the convincing power of that grace which is contrary to their carriage for which Chrift is reproached: Such a one is fcandalous, and Chrifts name fuffers in that, let me labor to make up the breach in being fo much the more faithful, and walking in the con

trary