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report of all good men. Let a man's good name be but up, and he cannot easily want any thing that men or money can help him to; a good name will bring a man into favour, and keep a man in favour with all that are good: therefore say the moralists.

Whatsoever commodity you lose, be sure yet to preserve that jewel of a good name. A Christian should be most careful of his good name, for a good name answers to all things, as Solomon speaks of money; If I may bur keep a good name, I have wealth enough, said the Heathen. A Christian should rather forego gold, than let go a good name; and he that robs a Christian of his good name, is a worse thief than he that robs him of his purse, and better deserves a hanging than he, &c. But,

2. It must be granted, that a good name once lost, is very hardly recovered again; a man may more easily recover a lost friend, a lost estate, than a lost name; a good name is like a princely structure, quickly ruined, but long a-rearing, The father of the prodigal could say of his lost son, This my son was lost, but is found; he was dead, but is alive: But how few Christians can say, This my good name was lost, but is found; it was dead, but now it lives. As when Orpa once left Naomi, she returned no more to her; so when once a good name leaves a man, it hardly returns to him again; new wine is rarely put into old bottles; a man should stand upon no

thing more than the credit of his conscience, and the credit of his name.

In Japan, the very children are so jealous of their reputation, that in case you lose a trifle, and say to one of them, Sirrah, I believe you have stolen it; without any pause, the boy will immediately cut off a joint from one of his fingers and say, Sir, if you say true, I wish my finger may never heal again. Three things a Christian should stiffly labour to maintain. 1. The honour of God. 2. The honour of the gospel.. 3. The honour of his own name. If once a Christain's good name sets in a cloud, it will be long before it rises again.

3. Though all this be true, yet it hath been the portion of God's dearest saints and servants to be slandered, reproached, villified, and falsely accused, Matth. v. 10, 11, 12. 1 Pet. iii. 14. chap. iv. 14. Psal. lxix. 7. Gen. xxxix. Psal. lii. 2 Sam. xvi. 11, 12, Job chap. vi. xiii. & xv. Jer. li. 51. "Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak grievous things, proudly and contemptuously, against the righteous, Psal. xxxi. 13. How sadly and falsely was Joseph accused by his wanton mistress. David by Doeg and Shimei, Job of hypocrisy, impiety, inhumanity, cruelty, partiality, pride, and irreligion? Job xxii. Was not Naboth accused of speaking blasphemy against God and the king? Did not Haman represent the Jews to the king as refractories and rebels? Was not Elias accused to be the troubler of Israel, and Jeremiah the trumpet of rebellion? Jer. xx. 7, 8

Rom. iii. 8. 2 Cor. vi. 8. 1 Cor. iv. 12, 13. 'the Baptist a stirrer up of sedition, and Paul a pestilent incendiary? Were not the apostles generally accounted deceivers and deluders of the people, and the off-scouring of the world, &c. Athanasius and Eustathius were falsely accused of adultery; adultery, heresy, and treason were charged upon Cranmer; parricide upon Philpot; sedition upon Latimer. As the primitive persecutors usually put Christians into bears skins, and dogs skins, and then baited them; so they usually loaded their names and persons with all the reproach, scorn, contempt, and false reports imaginable, and then baited them, and then acted all their malice and cruelty upon them. I think there is no Christian, but sooner or latter, first or last, will have cause to say with David, Psal. xxxv. 11. "False witnesses did rise up, they laid to my charge things that I knew not; they charged me with such things whereof I was both innocent and ignorant. It was the saying of one, That there was nothing so intolerable as accusation, because there was no punishment ordained by law for accusers, as there was for thieves, although they stole friendship from men, which is the goodliest riches men can have. Well, Christians, seeing it hath been the lot of the dearest saints, to be falsely accused, and to have their names and reputes in the world reproached, do you hold your peace, seeing it is no worse with you, than it was with them, of whomthis world was not worthy. The Rabbins say, That the

world cannot subsist without patient bearing of reproaches. But,

4. Our Lord Jesus Christ was sadly reproached, and falsely accused; his precious name (that deserves to be always writ in characters of gold, as the Persians usually write their kings,) was often eclipsed, before the sun was eclipsed at his death; his sweet name, that was sweeter than all sweets, was often crucified before his body. Oh the stones of reproach that were frequently rolled upon that name by which we must be saved, if ever we are saved? Oh the jeers, the scoffs, the scorns that were cast upon that name that can only bless us! The name of Jesus (saith Chrysostom) hath a thousand treasures of joy and comfort in it. The name of a Saviour (saith Bernard) is honey in the mouth, and music in the ear, and a jubliee in the heart: and yet where is the heart that can conceive, or the tongue that can express how much reproach hath been cast upon Christ's names? and how many sharp arrows of reproach and scorn have been, and daily, yea, hourly, are shot by the world at Christ's name and honour? Such ignominious reproaches were cast upon Christ and his name, in the time of his life, and at his death, that the sun did blush, and mask himself with a cloud, that he might no longer behold them*, Mat. xi. 19. "The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Be

* It is a foolish thing, saith Cato, to hope for life by a nother's death. The world practically speaks as much es very day.

hold a man gluttonous, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners." But was he such a one? No. Wisdom is justified of her children. Wisdom's children will stand up, and justify her before all the world, Mat. xxvii. 63. "We remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days Í will rise again." But was he a deceiver of the people? No; he was the faithful and true witness, Rev. i. 5. chap. iii. 14. John vii. 20. "The people answered, and said, Thou hast a devil; who goeth about to kill thee? chap. viii. 48. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well, that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? chap. x. 20. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?" It was a wonder of wonders, that the earth did not open and swal low up these monsters, and that God did not rain hell out of heaven upon these horrid blasphemers; but their blasphemous assertions were denied and disproved by some of wisdom's children, ver. 21. "Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil: can a devil open the eyes of the blind?" The devil hath no such power, nor any such goodness, as to create eyes to him that was born blind.

Will you yet see more scorn, and contempt cast upon the Lord of glory? Why, then, cast your eyes upon that, Luke xvi. 14. " And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things, and they derided him; or, as the Greek reads it, They blow their noses at

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