To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
IN the next place I will set forth the great∣ness of this sin of hating the people of God, or others.
1. It is an argument that such persons love not God himself. If a King should say of some certain men about him. These men are very dear unto me; and as I love them in a special manner, so I will have all that love me to love them; I will make this as a note by which to know a faithful subject from a traitour viz. love to these whom I dearly love; he that lo∣veth
not them, I will not account them loyal and true hearted to me: Whether these persons deserve the love of all or not, yet this would be a greater argument of the King's extraordi∣nary love to such men: so in this case, the Lord saith in effect of every child of his, He that loveth not thee, I will take him for none of my friends, for none of my children; he that loo∣keth for love and favour from me, must bear true love to thee. How great then is the love of God toward his children, he will not ac∣knowledg that any love him, who hate them. When the unbelieving Jews told our Saviour; we have one father, even God, he answered, If God were your father, ye would love me; for I pro∣ceeded forth, and came from God, neither come I of my self, but he sent me, Joh. 8.41, 42. So in this case it may be said to many carnal persons, who think th••mselves the children and people of Cod. If God were your father, ye would love them that do most of all labour to honour and please God, and are most careful not to sin against him. Such is God's love to his people, that he taketh none for his own, that do not love them. There be many that say, they love God, and yet love not his children. Well! the Lord will none of thy love, unless it be such as maketh thee also to love his children. If thou sayest thou lovest God, and yet lovest Drunkards, Swearers, Worldlings, more than his children, who are
zealous for his glory, thou maist keep thy love to thy self, God will not accept of it. To all that live in the visible Church, and come to the or∣dinances, and take the name of God in their mouths, and do hate the godly, the Lord saith in effect, why dost thou not love me? in that thou lovest not my children, thou lovest not me; such tender love doth the Lord bear to his peo∣ple; This our Saviour expressed sweetly in that speech to St. Peter after his Resurrection from the dead, when by a three-••old confession of his love to him, he seemed (as it were) to put him to penance for his late three-fold de∣nial of him. Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou me? Peter answered thrice; Yea Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. Yea, but Peter, if thou wilt have me tast of the fruit of thy Love to me; if thou dost love me indeed, and wilt have me to accept of thy love as sound and true; love them whom I love; love them and love me, and shew it by thy care of their Souls, and by thy diligence in feeding them with my word; go feed my Sheep and Lambs.
II HE that loveth not his brother abideth in death; 1 Joh. 3.14. All by nature are in a state of death, and void of Christian love,
but all do not abide in death, some do not con∣tinue in the state of death, but those that love the brethren are passed from death to life: Now those who want this Christian and brotherly love, these are not only dead in sins by nature, but they abide in death. They abide in the death of guilt, the guilt of all their sins lieth upon them, they abide under the dominion and power of sin; they abide in a state of wrath; the wrath of God abideth on them, as long as they abide in the hatred of the brethren, they abide in a death of condemnation. As St. John saith, We know we are passed from death to life, because we love the brethren: So also we may know, that those are dead in sin & lie obnoxious every mo∣ment to eternal death, who hate the brethren.
Now I conceive, that the Apostle speaketh of a brother in the same sense, as he did before, viz. a brother by grace, a child of God.
Quest. But how can such be brethren to those who abide in death?
Resp. 1. That all men and women as they 〈◊〉〈◊〉 men and women, are brethren and sisters by a natural relation, all coming of one man, and one woman originally, viz. Adam and Eve. St. Paul taught this learning to the Scholars of Athens, Act 17.26. viz. that God hath made of one blood all Nations of men that dwell upon all the face of the earth. The Athenians (as proud as they were in despising other nations as barba∣rous,
yea other Cities of Greece in comparison of themselves, yet) were not of any better stock or blood originally than the meanest of them. The Athenians were not of one blood, and the Argives of another, and the B••aetians of another, &c. no, the very Scythians were of as good a stock originally as they, even of the same blood. So now, the greatest Potentate, and the poorest beggar; the most civil, and the most savage Nations, are of one blood originally; the English and the Muscovitae; the Laplanders, Tarta∣rians, yea the Beasilians and Canibals, are of one blood originally. God could have made a man, and woman for every province and part of the world, and so have given a several Original to every Nation; but he in his wisdom did rather please to make one man out of whose loyns, one woman out of whose womb, all the Nations of the earth should issue; that so all Nations might be made of one blood, and all might be of kin, and that so there might be a natural bond of union, brotherhood, and love between them: So then a child of God is a brother to a natural person; for th••y that are the children of God are the children of men too, and of the same blood with others; therefore when natural persons do not love the children of God, it is a sign they do abide in death. When the graces of the godly, and the fruits of grace in their conversation and practice are so distastful unto
men, that for this they cast off love and affecti∣on towards them, though they be their bre∣thren by nature and of the same blood with them originally, whereas this should encrease their love towards them; this sheweth, that such do abide in death.
2. He that liveth in the Church of God, and accounteth himself a child of God; if he be a child of God indeed, all the children of God are his brethren and sisters, both by Nature and Grace. If God be his father, the children of God are his brethren and sisters; but if he doth not love them as brethren, it sheweth that he abideth in death, and deceiveth himself, he is not born of God, nor passed from death to life.
III. HAters of others (especially of the god∣ly) they are murderers, 1 Job. 3 15. He that hateth his brother is a murderer. Every act of hatred is a mortal wound given to a god∣ly man. Some think, St. John speaketh by way of allusion to Cain, who was an actual murde∣rer of holy Abel, and that God accounteth all haters of godly men, as hainous sinners, as dam∣ned Cain is, and their hatred as abominable a sin as his actual murder. Dost thou see a man ha∣ting,
scoffing, opposing, persecuting godliness, for godliness sake, Thou maist point at him, and say, yonder goeth a Cain, a murderer of a righteous man!
1. Malice and hatred is murder, affectu & desi∣derio, in affection and desire; it makes a man to desire, wish, and rejoyce in the death or destru∣ction of those whom he hateth. This the Hea∣thens saw by the light of Nature, therefore one of them said, Quem oderunt, periisse expetunt, whom men do hate, his death they do desire. Now what is this but murder? It is true! that in respect of the person hated, the hurt done to him by hating him is much less than when he is actually murdered, and his blood spilt. It is true also, that the actual commission of murder in outward act doth add much to the guilt of his conscience that hateth his brother, because there is both the inward hatred or murder of the heart, and the outward cruel act of murder added to it; there is the beginning, and the consummation, the accomplishing and finishing of this bloody sin. But yet the inward malice and hatred of the heart, which maketh those that harbour malice in their hearts, to wish the death and destruction of those they hate, or to rejoyce in it, is murder in the sight of God. Men that have malice festering in their hearts against others, causing a desire of their destru∣ction may hold their hands from shedding of
blood for want of opportunity, for fear of the Law, for fear of infamy among men, yea out of a slavish fear, left their own conscience, as a revenger of blood should pursue them with restless horror and terror, and never let them enjoy merry hour in this life, besides the dismal effects of it in the life to come. And on the o∣ther side, they are not restrained from murther by Love in any degree. That appeareth by this; that though themselves are loth to shed blood, yet they that are malicious, generally could be content that those whom they hate, should pe∣rish by the hands of others: they have a secret d••sire of this, and are well enough pleased with it in the retired thoughts of their hearts, if such a thing happen by the hands of others.
2. M••lice is the root of Murther; and there∣fore it is murther virtualiter et eminenter: Mur∣ther is conceived in the womb of Malice; Ma∣lice is the Seed of which this foul and bloody Monster of Murther and Bloodshed is hatched. As the Child is in the Fathers Loyus ere it be born or conceived, so murther is in the Bowels of Malice before it is brought sorth. As poyson is in the young Brood of the Viper before it is able to put forth the sting; so murther lyeth a breeding in the womb of Malice and Hatred be∣fore it break forth into Blood. Malice maketh a bloody Heart, and Murther maketh bloody hands. Murther is oftentimes the effect of Ha∣tied
and Malice: first Cain did hate Abel, he was wroth with him, then he killed him. Absa∣lom's Hatred made him to kill his Brother Am∣non. Thus Persecutors hating the Professors of Truth, took away their Lives from them: They set their Wits on work to invent Torments for the painful death of Gods Saints: Hatred of godliness did kindle the fire of Martyrdom.
3. The Scripture calleth it Murther, to shew how great a Sin hatred of Godliness is. Aquinas disputing what was the greatest sin as a man man could commit against his Neighbour, his resolution was, that Odium proximi est gravissimum peccatorum, it was Hatred of our Neighbour. Much more grievous it is, when a man shall hate any one, because he followeth the thing that good is, and hateth a man because he laboureth to be like unto God. To shed mans Blood, who was made after the Image of God, and to do that murther that ever was committed with the least degree of malice that any was, is a most fearful and damnable sin: but I conceive, that there may be a greater sin committed in harbouring abundance of malice and bitterness in the heart, though without Bloodshed, than in some Cases, when Blood is unlawfully spilt. In the malice of our powder-Traytors, this is apparent, which though by the Providence of God, it was restrained from shedding of Blood, was far more grievous than many an act of
murther, which hath been committed. But besides this, when men do neither actually shed Blood, nor purpose and plot bloodshed, I con∣ceive their malice may be more sinful than some acts of Murther. I doubt not, but that many a man sinneth far more in malice against his Neighbour, than David in killing Ʋriah, though it was a grievous sin: for, what is sin, but the Transgression of the Law? 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Now there may be a more strong bent of the heart against the Law of Love in deep-setled malice long continued in the heart and soul, full of impla∣cable rage and bitterness, than in some acts of murther. The hurt done to a mans Neigh∣bour is incomparably greater in murthering him, than that which is done by meer malice concealed, and kept close in the heart, be it never so great. But the greatness of sin, (I suppose) though against the second Table, is not always to be measured by the hurt done to a Neighbour, but by the greater or lesser op∣position to the Law of Love. And I am per∣swaded, that some men going on with restless malice and bitterness of spirit against their Neighbour, may be more guilty in the sight of God, than some others that have committed that fearful sin of murther; so great and hai∣nous a sin is the sin of malice before the Lord, who is Love.
1. HEre let us consider, What the occasions have been, which have bred distast and di••content, whether they have been wrongs in∣deed, or wrongs only in appearance: or whe∣ther (being rightly considered) their deeds which we have distasted, and taken occasion to hate them for, have been good, tending to the discharge of their consciences, and our refor∣mation. If they have been indeed wrongs and injuries; yet nevertheless, to harbour malice a∣gainst them, is to commit murther. It is true, that Hatred in such a case is not so great a sin, as in the other cases mentioned; yet in this case it being no less, than a degree of murther, we are to lament, and to be humbled ••or it, as for a sin exceeding hainous.
On the other side, If it hath been for some actions, which were not real injuries, but only taken for such by reason of our own weakness, partiality, self-love, prejudice against their persons, &c. then is our Hatred a sin of an higher Nature than in the former case, and so we are accordingly to be affected with it — Again, if they have been such words or actions, as have tended to the discharge of their consci∣ences, and for the reformation of us in our
course, or for the righting of others whom we have wronged, &c; if for any of these we have hated them, and been malicious against them, then is our sin yet more grievous and a∣bominable. So Jonathan dealt plainly with his Father Saul, laying open the greatness of his sin in hating David to the death, if the Fa∣ther had had Grace to have made use of his Sons faithful dealing with him. 1 Sam. 19.4. Jona∣than spake good of David unto Saul his Father, and said unto him, let not the King sin against his servant, against David, because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good. For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the Lord wrought a great salva∣tion for all Israel. Thou sawest it, and didst rejoyce, wher••fore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? Thus when men hate others that admonish and reprove them in publick or in private, and seek their restraint in sin, or reformation; or those that punish them being Magistrates, or in office, &c. this is a bloo∣dy kind of malice, and for this we are to be deeply humbled. If malice be murther, when injuries are received; how much more when o∣thers have laboured to do us good? if thou hast hated any for crossing thee in an evil way in word or deed, thou hast sinned in an high de∣gree, and hast cause to be greatly humbled for it.
2. Let us also examine, how our hearts have been stirred less or more in hatred, or bitter affections against any others; for, there is great difference of degrees in this as in other sins: how hardly we have been brought to reconcili∣ation, how implacable? What bitterness hath broken forth out of our hearts in words or actions against them? what offence, or evil ex∣ample we have given to others by these means? and accordingly should we charge our Consci∣ences before the Lord. I fear many do very lightly pass over this sin of malice, especially it having not much shewed it self openly, but ha∣ving for the most part part layen in the depths of their malicious hearts. Owe nothing then to any man, but to love one another: Do not in malice think, that thou owest ill will, or an ill-turn to any, but that thou owest love to all, malice to none: for whosoever hateth his Bro∣ther, is a murtherer, and ye know that no mur∣therer hath eternal Life abiding in him.
IV. MAlice and Hatred makes men most contrary to God, and most like unto the Devil. It makes a man most contrary to God, for God is Love, 1 Joh. 4.16. It is the Nature of God to love men; He is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, he is of a most glorious, lovely, and loving Na∣ture, and is the Author of all Love in us. This sheweth what a God he is to us, and every Crea∣ture findeth him to be a loving God, a loving Father. As the Sun is Light, and the Foun∣tain of Light, and gives Light to the Stars of Heaven, and to all sublunary things; so God is Love it self, and the Fountain of all Love: he filleth the Angels in Heaven with Love, he filleth the Saints on earth with mutual and spiritual Love; and the natural Love and Affection that are in men one to another, are sparks and rays of Gods Love: all the Crea∣tures are objects of his Love, every Creature of God is good, therefore beloved of God. Do ye think God would vouchsafe to call himself by the Name of Love, if there were not a won∣derful excellency in Love? now, he that dwelleth in Love, dwelleth in God, and God in him: he that embraceth the Love of God by Faith, and there∣upon unfeignedly loveth God and his Brethren,
dwelling, continuing, or abiding in this Love, he continueth or abideth in God, and God in him. If in any Love it be true, That the Soul is where it loveth, it is most true in this Love of a Child of God to his heavenly Father, and to all the Saints: his Soul is with God, with Christ, his Beloved in Heaven, and abideth in him. This our Saviour knew full well, when he taught us, Mat. 6. Lay not up for your selves Trea∣sures on earth, but lay up for your selves Treasures in Heaven: for where your Treasures are, there will your hearts be also. His delight also is in the Saints that are on the earth in those that excel in Grace and Holiness. One that was full of holy Love was wont to answer all questions therewith. Whence camest thou? from Love: Whither goest thou? to Love: Where dwellest thou? in Love. God is such a ones dwelling-place, his home, his resting-place, and Christ is the Door by which he entreth into this dwel∣ling, by Christ he entreth and dwelleth in God. Now malice makes men most like unto the Devil, whose continual exercise is malice, and malicious practices against God and man. Such was his hellish malice, that seeing man in happiness, and the favour of God, he entised the woman, and by her the man, to that sin and rebellion, which brought all mankind in∣to a most miserable Condition: and what is his continual practice, but to sin, and to draw men
and women into sin? Now those that harbour malice in their hearts, they are in a special sort like to Satan, when it is against the persons, not the sins of others only. Malice is properly a setled Hatred, a rancour of heart, by which men are provoked to deal spitefu••ly and mis∣chievously with those whom they love not, ei∣ther wishing them ill, or doing them ill. Wick∣ked Shimei railed upon David, when he was in an heavy strait, and cursed him, Come up thou bloody man, thou son of Belial: and when a god∣ly man is brought into misery, malicious per∣sons say, Aha, aha, so would we have it. God∣ly men walk in the narrow way, their lives are strict and holy; the wicked are in the broad way, walking in all excess of riot. Repugnans quâ repugnans, est causa odij: When one crosseth another in his Happiness, in his pleasures, he is counted an enemy. Can a wicked man (as a wicked man) have a greater enemy than such as will not give them Elbow room in their sins, but cross them in their Prophaness? When the water-courses are stopt, the waters swell high; so when the godly man laboureth to dam up the courses of ungodliness, the wicked swell with hatred against such. It is true what Lactantius said, Veritas ideo semper invisa est, eò quod is qui p••ccat, vult habere liberum peccandi locum; Wick∣ed men hate godliness for no other cause, but that it will not afford them room to sin freely
without control. Now the Devil is ever stir∣ring up the wicked to hate the godly; that Prince of malice is ever filling the hearts of the wicked with malice. It is one of the Devils main plots, to raise evil surmises in wicked mens hearts against the godly, and to disgrace the way of Holiness as a thing, that tendeth to nothing else, but to curb men from their plea∣sures, and to be an hook in their Nostrils. Now as God is Love, so Satan is full of malice: and as they that cherish in their hearts true Christian Love, and walk in the Spirit of Love, are of God, and do bear his Image; so they that do not purge their hearts of Hatred, Malice, and bitterness, are of the Devil.