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.
Ob. I Am a master of a fa∣mily, but a world of griefe it is to see the deceit and falshood of seruants, I am almost vndone by them, I thinke neuer master was thus dealt with.
* 1.1Answ. Had not most ho∣nest, most true hearted Me∣phibosheth, a notable decei∣uer to his seruant, that wic∣ked villaine Zibah? 2. Sam. 16. Had not religious Phi∣lemon, his pilfering Onesi∣mus? Doest thou not know that Iesus Christ himselfe had a traitour to his ser∣uant,
who for gaine sold his life into the hands of his bloudy enemies? Consider and learne patience.
Obiect. I am a poore ser∣uant, I labour faithfully, but my reward is small.
Answ.* 1.2 In so doing thou seruest the Lord Christ, of whom thou shalt receiue thy reward, Col. 3.24. For if with a good will thou doest seruice to thy master, as vnto Christ, with feare and trembling in singlenes of heart, not with eye-ser∣uice, as a man-pleaser, but as a seruant to Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, for the good thing thou doest, thou shalt bee recompensed of the Lord, Ephes. 6.5-8.
Obiect. My master is a very worldling, and dealeth not honestly with mee in my wages, according to coue∣nant. If it were not for com∣mon shame, or that he knowes by law I may recouer my dew, he would send me away empty-handed: it can not but grieue a man to doe faithfull seruice to such a man.
* 1.3Answ. Thou maist not yet cease to be faithfull, loo∣king for a reward at God•• hand, Iacob was a mos•• faithfull and painefull ser¦uant to Laban, yet did thi•• his vncle and master wron•• him, and changed his wa¦ges tenne times, Gen. 31. •• 41. And except the God o•• Abraham, and the feare o•• his father Isaac, had been
with him, surely his master Laban had sent him away emptie, Gen. 31.42.* 1.4 But God saw the faithfulnes of Iacob, and all that Laban did vnto him, and the affli∣ction of his seruant, and the labour of his hands, and therefore did he graciously reward him, & God is one and the same to all faithfull seruants, Ephes. 6.8.
Obiect. I am constrained to be at command to such, as be enemies to true religion, idolaters, and persecutors, and can not get away, which maketh me to thinke my selfe left of God, and not to bee reckoned among such as feare him.
Ans. Ioseph a godly man, liued in Pharaohs Court,
Gen. 41.40.* 1.5 Iacob was a seruant to idolatrous La∣ban, Gen. 31. Daniel was with Nebuchadnezzar and Darius, Dan. 2.48. & 6.3. Abedmelech was one in Ze∣dechias Court, Ierem. 38.7. And Obediah, one fearing God was in Achabs house, 1. King. 18.3. Yet were they not left of God, but such as did serue and feare him. For though they were seruants to men: yet were they (be∣ing good) euen the Lords freemen, 1. Cor. 7.22.
A good ser∣uant serueth the Lord.
A good ser∣uant serueth the Lord.
The masters wickednes, should not make the seruant faithlesse. Gen. 30.26.33. & 31.6.37.38.39.40.
Gen. 31.9.12.42.
A good man may serue a bad master sometime.