361 judges fuffer themselves to receive gifts, prefents, buds or bribes, whether to the perverting of judgment, or for doing right in judgment which they are obliged to do without these. Whoever fuffer themselves to be bribed for judging right, may eafily be tempted by a bribe to do wrong in judgment; all fuch forget that judgment is the Lord's, Deut. 1. 17. that they ought to not judge for men, but for the Lord, 2 Chron. 19. 6. that they ought in a fpecial manner to be fearers of God, men of truth, and haters of covetousness, Exod. 18. 21. that they fbould not refpect perfons in judgment, but bear the small as well as the great, Deut. 1. 17. that they fhould not respect the perfon of the poor, nor honour the perfon of the mighty, but judge righteous judgment, Lev. 19. 15. that they ought not to wrest judgment, nor to take a gift (which blindeth the eyes even of the wife, and perverteth the words of the righteous, Deut. 16. 19. Exod. 23. 8) and that fire ball confume the tabernacles of bribery, Job 15. 34. The Lord doth highly resent, and will moft feverly punish, the breach of this command in fuch, because they do more immediately represent himfelf, as being placed in judgment to fupply his room. 14. There is a breach of it, when there is inequality betwixt our advantage, and that which is expended by us for others; or when, for what is not useful and needful, their money intrufted to us is exhaufted; or when we occafion them to spend money needlefly, upon any thing that is not useful, but rather hurtful, as in exceffive drinking, feafting, clothing, that is full of vanity, or in vain fashions of clothing, playing at unlawful games, as cards and dice, or exceffively at lawful games, or in dancing and fidling, and fuch like, which are amongst the lavish and profufe ways of living; and whoever are acceffory to make others follow thefe,or for thefe do procure money from others, become thieves. And thus all idle vagabonds, playfairs, fporters, minfrels, ftage-players, and fuch like livers on other folks charges, are guilty of the breach of this command. 15. There is a wronging of our neighbour's eftate by negligence, floth, &c. when that is not done which we ought to do for their good; this is done efpecially by tutors, by fervants, and others, who ftand in fuch relations to any, as that by vertue thereof they are obliged to have a care of what they are interested in. 16. We wrong others, by engaging them to be fureties for us, when we fee not a way how to relieve them. The engagers themfelves alfo become guilty of the breach 362 breach of this command, except in fuch cafes wherein equity and charity requireth their engaging; and, this way, many are ftolen from their eftates. 17. It is committed in retaining what is our neighbour's; as, (1.) When the payment of money or things borrowed is delayed beyond the time appointed, Prov. 3. 28. (2.) When things borrowed are hurt or wronged; the Lord giveth laws for this, Exod. 22. 14. (3.) When pledges are loft by negligence, or interverted to our own ufe. (4.) When our neighbour's beaft is ftraying, and when feen by us, and not kept for him, as we would he should do to us; fee Deut. 22. 2. Lev. 6. 4. (5.) When fomething is loft, and we keep it, as if finding gave us a right to it: It fhould be for the right owner, and, if he cannot be found, publick fignification fhould be made of it, as the law requireth. 18. This command obligeth us to reftore, (1.) What we have unjaftly taken from, or gained of, others any way; as Zaccheus did, Luke 19. 8. It is recorded of Selymus the Turki emperor, a moft blody man, that when he was a dying, one of his Bafhaws defiring him to build a hospital for relief of the poor with the wealth taken from the Perfian merchants, he replied thus, Wouldst thou, Pyrrhus, that I should bestow other mens goods, wrongfully taken from them, on works of charity and devotion, for mine own vain-glory and praife? affuredly I will never do it; nay, rather that they be beftowed on the right owners again. Which was done forthwith accordingly, to the great fhame of many chriftians, who mind nothing lefs than the reftitution of ill-gotten goods, whether by themfelves, or by their ancestors, but cull out fome fmall fragments of a world of such ill-gotten goods to beftow on fome charitable or pious work, as they call it. Zaccheus his penitent proclamation here confifted of two branches, to wit, reftitution and deftribution. (2.) It obligeth even children, that have fomewhat tranfmitted to them from their parents which they have unjustly conquifhed, to reftore it; otherwise they make themselves guilty: And in all thefe we would diftin guifh the court of the Lord, or of confcience, from men's civil courts; and thus it will not warrant the heir before God (tho' before men it may) to retain that which he poffeffeth, that the father left him a right to what he unjustly purchased. It may be it is the doing of this which maketh great eftates melt away in the childrens hands, because it thus defcended: The Lord hereby would have men know that they are not richest who who have moft left them, but who have it well conquished with God's bleffing. 19. Confider it as it doth not properly take from our neighbours, yet wrongeth them, and deteriorateth their eftate; fo men may wrong the house they dwell in, the horse they ride on, or any thing which is fet or given in, loan to them: Thus they may wrong the inftruments that others win their living with; fo alfo we wrong others, when their time is taken up, either by waiting idly on us, or by unneceffary employments put upon them, vifits, and fuch like; or when weakness of body is occafioned to them by any of thefe. Thus, Exod. 21. 19. the Lord will have reparation made for loft time as well as for loft means. Many tipplers are thieves, this ways to each other, and to themselves, which God will make them count for, how little foever they think of it. 20. There is a wronging of our neighbour without a compenfation, and there is a wronging him with a pretended compenfation, that is, either when the thing is not fo good in itfelf, or not fo good to him; thus Abab, 1 Kings 17. was guilty in defiring Naboth's vineyard, even tho' he offered him as good; yet it was not fo good to Naboth, because this was his father's, and he esteemed it more: Thus alfo there is a stealing of another man's contentment, altho' that in which he placeth it may be a matter of very little or no worth at all; but yet, if therein he hath an intereft of affection, as they call it, fuch as a man may have for fome petty jewel, a hawk, a hound, or the like, fo that it please him, or delight him, the wronging of him in that, is not only a fin against the fixth command, in grieving him, but against this, in prejudicing him of his contentment, which as to him, in fome refpect, is a forer wrong than the taking from him of that which in itself were of far greater worth would have been. 21. There is a failing by unskilfulness; as, when one taketh on him fome office, and receiveth wages or hire for it, and is not qualified for, nor fuitable to the place and employment: Thus phyficians, lawiers and judges often steal from men, thro' their ignorance; as alfo minifters who fupply charges they are unfit for, and confume that which should entertain others; but this fin in minifters is oftentimes more thro' unfaithfulness, when, being fuftained for the good of the people, they turn rather to be hurtful. Thus Chrift, John 10. 1. calleth falfe prophets, thieves and robbers: And indeed it is the worst gain in the world, that utterly unskilful and unfaithful minifters get by money, Com. 8. by ftarving and murdering the immortal fouls of men. 22. We wrong others, when we communicate not to them when they are in need,and we in capacity to help them; yea, when by idlenefs and prodigality we incapacitate ourselves to commun cate to the neceffities of others; as, Epb. 4. 28. is clear. 23 Befide, there cometh in here all felling and buying of what fhould not be fold or bought; as publick places in church or ftate: This, firft from Simon Magus, Acts 8. 18, 19. is called Simony,and is a fin of a high degree,making that faleable which the Lord will have free; and it taketh in, not only giving but any other thing, upon this account to promove fuch and fuch perfons, or receiving any thing to be fwayed fo and fo, whether it be munus manus, lingua aut actionis, a gift of the hand, tongue or action. (1.) By a gift of the hand is underflood money, or things that are ufually given. (2) A gift of the tongue comprehendeth fair fpeeches, folicitations, flatteries, &c. (3.) By a gift of action is understood fervice, dependence, on-waiting and courtefies (as they are called) made ufe of to procure another's favour. And in all these three men may greatly fin, as when they hunt after, and are fwayed with any of them, and fo covet them: as when magistrates or judges fell juftice for bribes; when men by lying and falfe witnefs-bearing, fell the truth; whereof lawiers are chiefly guilty, who for fees plead ill caufes wittingly: or, when one giveth them, that he may gain more really upon the other; as for inftance, when men by any of these bribes buy juftice, and much more injuftice, and buy lies and falfe teftimonies to prevent or pervert juftice. 24. There is guilt in confenting to, encouraging in, conniving at, or juftifying of fuch as commit this fin, or are receivers or refetters of what is ftolen, for their ftrengthning and encouragement. See Pfal. 50. 18. Prov. I. IO. 25. Seizing upon other folks goods fometimes under pretext of efcheats, as admirals do upon fea-wreck, and fuch like, when there is no juft ground to take away the owner's right; and this is reckoned open violence before God, and is a moft cruel adding of affliction to the afflicted. This fin then of theft, in reference to our neighbours, is fallen into by violence, deceit, negligence, unfaithfulness, ignorance, unskilfulness, &c. And, when all is faid, a tender heart will till need its own examination and trial of itself, there being as many ways to break this command, as there are ways to prejudice our neighbour's eftate. We We come now to confider how a man is guilty in wronging his own eftate (for there is a skill and dexterity in the managing the unrighteous mammon) which we consider two ways; (1) As he wrongeth and diminisheth his eftate, by not providently caring for its preservation and increase, or improvement: when he is not frugal, or not so frugal as he ought to be, but lazy and flothful, he becometh guily of the breach of this command; because he incapacitateth himself for being useful to others, and putteth himself in hazard of pover ty and want, which is the proper fnare of this fin of stealing, and difpofeth for it, Prov. 30. 9. This poverty, which is fo enfnaring, is brought on, 1. By finful fpending and debauching away of our eftate and time, as the prodigal did, Luke 15. 11, &c. 2. By unneceffary = wafte in prodigality and lavishness, such as (tho' unjustly) Judas condemned in the woman fpoken of, John 12. 5. For much spending muft have much to uphold it, and muft have many ways to furnish itself; according to the proverb most ordinarily verified, Omnis prodigus eft avarus, every prodigal man is greedy or covetous, to fatisfy one luft he exerceth another; however, he being but a fteward of what he poffeffeth, he by his prodigality not only interverteth from the right end what means God hath given him to be otherwise difpofed of, but also draweth upon himself poverty. 3. By negligence, laziness, carelenefs, &c. in a lawful calling (for they that are given to fleep, or idleness, fall come to poverty, as the wife man faith) or being without a calling altogether. When God giveth men ability of body or mind, it is fad that they fhould be useful for nothing, nor active in any thing but to fin, and be fnares and reproaches unto chriftians and christian religion, as all idle perfons, bearing the name of christians, are, whoever they be, whether gentlemen or others. It is obfervable, that both before the fall, and after the fall, God put that task of working in man's hand, commanding him to labour. Many other fuch foolish ways there are, whereby a man cometh unto poverty, and becometh guilty of not providing for himself or his family: Alfo by furetifhip many are bowed and brought low, which altho' it is not fimply to be condemned, more than to give freely, yet it is to be well regulated by charity and prudence, directing fo to aflift our neighbour in his prefent exigence, as we may also be sure of our after-relief, left, for the debts of others, our own fami |