A practicall commentary, or an exposition with observations, reasons, and vses upon the first Epistle generall of John by ... John Cotton ...

Doct. A beleeving Christian is not to hide his eyes from beholding and obser∣ving the sins of his Brethren.

If any man see his Brother sin, he may see it, and ought to see it, Gal. 2.14. St. Paul did not turn away his eyes from seeing Peters dissembling, but took notice of it, and reproved him, Heb. 3.12, 13. Take heed lest there be in any of you an evill heart of unbeliefe. He speaks not only of a mans selfe, but of his Brother, that ye have not an evill heart, and therefore he propounds a means to help them, and that is exhorting one another. This the Apostle exhorts us to, Heb. 10.24.

Reas. 1. From the love we owe to our Brethren. God requires larger love towards our Brethren then towards our Oxe or Asse, and yet God requires that if we see them lying under their burthen, we should help them up, Deut. 22.4. Now if God require so much help to their beast, much more to our Brethrens souls, that if we see them going astray, or sinking under the burden of sin, we should raise them up again.

2. From the love we owe to our selves; this benefit we shall reap by it, we shall learn to keep better watch our selves, when we see our Brethren fall, Rom. 11.20. We must not by their falls grow high-minded, and pride our selves that we are not so bad as they, but their falls must be our fears.

Q. With what eyes should we look at the falls of our Brethren?

Answ. 1. Look not at them wirh a partial or hypocriticall eye, Mat. 7.3, 4, 5. But we must so look at the mote in their eye, as to see a beam in our own; we should see as great sins in our selves, or greater, if God did not restrain us, for we all have the same root of evill, and should break out into as bad distem∣pers as any, if God did not hold us back.

2. We must not observe them with a curious and censorious eye, for that is an imbred curiosity in us, that we love to be prying into other mens sins, not to heal them, but to censure them. This St. James reproves, ch. 3.1, 2, 3. Be not many M sters: that is be not of a Master-like spirit, be not busie in e∣very mans matters, and censorious of them.

3 Look not at them with an envious, malicious eye. This Jeremiah com∣plains of, ch. 20.10. All my familiars watched for my haltings. That's an envi∣ous eye, when a man watches for an advantage to undermine his Bro∣ther.

4. There is a wanton eye:

1. When a man is not humbled at the sight of his Brothers sins, but puft up by it, like the proud Pharisee, Luk. 18.9, 10. he built his comfort on the falls of others. This the Apostle reprehends in the Church of Corinth, 1 Cor. 5.2. That there was fornication among them, and yet they were not humbled but puft up, they magnified themselves that they were honester men.

2. A man sees his Brothers sin with a wanton eye, when he thereby grows to imitate him; if such a man venture into such a course, I hope I need not stick at it. This God gtievously complains of in the Church of Judah, that though she saw what her treacherous Sister Israel had done, and that God had therefore cast her off, yet she feared not, but went and played the Harlot also, Jer. 3.7, 8. Now all those heads of seeing our Brothers sins ought to be far from us.

Ʋse 1. Hence learn not to neglect the falls of our Brethren, as if they be∣longed not to us, and we would neither meddle nor make with them. This was Cains spirit, Am I my Brothers keeper? Gen. 4.9. We should look at every mans sin as belonging unto us, and strive to heal them.

Ʋse 2. To teach us to have a due regard to the falls of our Brethren, not to see them, and take no notice of them, but God requires we should observe them, and help them, and make use of them.

What use should we make of our Brethrens falls?

1. Let their falls affect us with a holy fear and jealousie of our own hearts; in that we have a deceitfull heart, subject to the like. This use Paul would have the Church of the Romanes to make of the fall of the Church of Israel, Rom. 11.20.

2. Look at them with such an eye as may move thee to pity thy Brother; if he be gone astray, bring him back; if he lye under the burthen of sin, help him up, and if thou canst not have opportunity to speake to him, yet pray heartily for him, that is the frame of heart of every loving Christian, to be compassionate of his Brothers misery.

Object. Doth not the Holy Ghost say, love covereth a multitude of sins? 1 Pet. 4. v. 8.

Answ. True, it covers them, but how?

1. With a mantle of wisdome, not so cover them as to skinne over their wounds, but so cover them as that they may be covered before God and men, Jam. 5.19, 20. This is a right covering, when a man takes such a course as that his Brothers sins may be covered from Gods eyes, and from the consci∣ence of the sinner, that it may not be overwhelmed with them, Psal. 32.1, 2. God would have us cover them not with a mantle of flattery, but with a healing plaister that may cure them.

2. We must cover these sins with a mantle of faithfulnesse, that is, not to blaze them abroad to their defaming; but as if our Brothers beast lay under his burden, and we were notable to help him up alone, we get the help of o∣thers; this is faithfulnesse, no further to reveale their infirmities, then to such as may help them, Prov. 11.13. And yet we may so ••eveile them in this kind to others, as may be sinfull, if it be done in as insulting, soot•••• manner, Gen. 9.22, 23. Cham told his Brethren of their Fathers nakednesse, but he did it in a scornfull manner; beside▪ he might have covered him himself, and never told them, and therefore Noah made him a curse. This God requires of us, if we be able to heal an infirmity our selves, then to let it goe no further; if not, then to get the help of others, but not in a scornfull manner, but in a spirit of grief and holy fear.

3. Cover them with a mantle of compassion, that if they shall turn again, and say, It repents them, be ready to forgive them, even as God for Christs sake forgave you, Luk. 17.13, 14. Eph. 4.2 last vers.

Obj. 2. If a man be thus willing to observe other mens sins, we shall be counted busie bodies, and medlers in other mens di••cesses.

Answ. True, we shall be buisie, but yet not where we have nothing to doe, God layes the charge upon us to have regard of our Brethrens carriages; if we keep the true bounds of observing them, named before, we doe not goe beyond our commission.

Obj. 3. But I shall be more busie then I shall have thank for, I shall be worse, and he never the better.

Answ. True, for a while it may be so, but yet remember what Solomon saith, Prov. 28.28. He that rebuketh a man, afterward shall find more favour then he that flattereth with the tongue; but suppose thou shouldst loose his fa∣vour; yet thou shalt have favour with God.