Hearken, my brethren, hath not G.o.d elected The poor, who by this world have been rejected; Yet rich in faith, and of that kingdom heirs, Which G.o.d will give his foll"wers to be theirs?
But you, my brethren, do the poor despise.
Do not the rich men o"er you tyrannise; And hale ye to their courts; that worthy name By which you"re call"d do not they blaspheme?
Then if ye do the royal law fulfil, To love thy neighbour as thyself, "tis well, According to the scripture; but if ye Shall have respect to persons, ye shall be Guilty of sin, and by the law condemn"d, As such who have its righteousness contemn"d.
For he that shall but in one point offend, Breaks the whole law, whate"er he may pretend.
For he that doth forbid adultery, Forbids likewise all acts of cruelty.
Now tho" thou be not an adulterer, Yet if thou kill, thou shalt thy judgment bear.
So speak and do as those men that shall be Judg"d by the perfect law of liberty: For he shall judgment without mercy know; That to his neighbour doth no mercy show; And mercy triumphs against judgment too.
Brethren what profit is"t if a man saith That he hath faith, and hath not works; can faith Save him? If any of the brotherhood Be dest.i.tute of clothes or daily food, And one of you shall say, Depart in peace, Be warned or be ye fill"d ne"ertheless.
Ye do not furnish them with what they need, Wat boots it? Thus faith without works is dead.
Yea may a man say, thou dost faith profess, And I good works, to me thy faith express Without thy works, and I will plainly show My faith unto thee by the works I do.
Thou dost believe there is one G.o.d, "tis true, The devils do believe and tremble too.
But wilt thou know, vain man, that faith is dead, Which with good works is not accompany"d.
Was not our father Abraham justify"d By works, and by the same his faith was try"d; When he his Isaac to the altar brought; Seest thou how with his works his faith then wrought?
And with his works he perfected his faith?
And so the scripture was fulfill"d, which saith, Abraham believed G.o.d, and "twas imputed For righteousness, and he G.o.d"s friend reputed.
Thus may you see, that by works ev"ry one Is justify"d, and not by faith alone.
Thus was the harlot Rahab justify"d By works, when she the messengers did hide, And by another way their feet did guide.
For as the body"s dead without the spirit, So aith without works never can inherit.
CHAP. III.
Affect not, brethren, superiority, As knowing that we shall receive thereby The greater condemnation in the end: For we in many things do all offend.
Who doth not with his tongue offend, he can Guide his whole body, he"s a perfect man.
Behold, in horses" mouths we bridles put, To rule and turn their bodies quite about.
Behold likewise the ships, which tho" they be Of mighty bulk, and thro" the raging sea Are driv"n by the strength of winds, yet they By a small helm the pilot"s will obey.
Ev"n so the tongue of man, which tho" it be But a small member, in a high degree It boasts of things. Behold, we may remark How great a matter"s kindled by a spark.
The tongue"s a fire, a world of ill, which plac"d Among the members, often has disgrac"d All the whole body, firing the whole frame Of nature, and is kindl"d by h.e.l.l flame.
All kind of beasts and birds that can be nam"d, Serpents and fishes, are and have been tam"d By mankind; but the tongue can no man tame, A stubborn evil full of deadly bane.
We therewith G.o.d the Father bless, and we Therewith curse men made like the Deity: Blessing and cursing from the same mouth flow, These things, my brethren, ought not to be so.
Is any fountain of so strange a nature, At once to send forth sweet and bitter water?
Can olives, brethren, on a fig-tree grow, Or figs on vines? no more can water flow From the same fountain sweet and bitter too.
He that"s endu"d with wisdom and discretion Amongst you, let that may by the profession Of meekness, wisely give a demonstration, Of all his works, from a good conversation.
But if your hearts are full of bitterness And strife, boast not, nor do the truth profess.
This wisdom is not from above descending, But earthly, sensual, and to evil tending: For where there"s strife and envying there"s confusion And ev"ry evil work in the conclusion.
But the true wisdom that is from above, Is, in the first place, pure, then full of love, Then gentle and entreated easily, Next merciful, without partiality, Full of good fruits, without hypocrisy.
And what is more, the fruits of righteousness Is sown in peace, of them that do make peace.
CHAP. IV.
From whence come wars and fights, come they not hence, Ev"n from th" inordinate concupiscence That in your members prompts to variance?
You l.u.s.t and have not, kill and desire to have; But ne"ertheless obtain not what you crave.
With war and fighting ye contend, yet have not The things which you desire, because you crave not; Ye crave but don"t receive, the reason"s just, Ye crave amiss to spend it on your l.u.s.t.
You that live in adultery, know not ye The friendship of the world is enmity With G.o.d? He is G.o.d"s enemy therefore That doth the friendship of the world adore.
Do ye think that th" scripture saith in vain, The spirit that l.u.s.ts to hate, doth in you reign?
But he bestows more grace, wherefore he says, G.o.d scorns the proud, but doth the humble raise.
Unto the Lord therefore submissive be, Resist the devil and he"ll from you flee.
Draw nigh to G.o.d, and he"ll to you draw nigh.
Make clean your hands you sinners, purify Your hearts you double-minded, weep and mourn, And be afflicted, let your laughter turn To sorrow, and your joy to sadness: stoop Before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
My brethren, speak not evil of each other; He that doth judge and speak ill of his brother, Doth judge and speak ill of the law; therefore If thou dost judge the law, thou art no more A doer of the same, but dost a.s.sume The judgment-seat, and art thyself become A judge thereof. There is but one law-giver, That"s able to destroy and to deliver; Who then art thou that dost condemn thy neighbour?
Go to now, you that say, to such a place To-morrow will we go, and for the s.p.a.ce Of one whole year, or so, will there remain, And buy and sell, and get great store of gain: Whereas ye know not what a day may do.
For what"s the life of man? Ev"n like unto A vapour, which, tho" for a while it may Appear, it quickly vanisheth away.
So that ye ought to say, If G.o.d permit Us life and health, we will accomplish it.
But now ye glory in your confidence, Such glorying is of evil consequence.
He therefore that doth know, and doth not act The thing that"s good, doth guilt thereby contract.
CHAP. V.[13]
Go to now, O ye rich men, howl and cry, Because of your approaching misery: Your riches are corrupted, and the moths Have ent"red, and have eaten up your clothes.
Your gold and silver"s canker"d, and the rust Thereof, shall be an evidence that"s just Against you, and like fire your flesh devour: Against the last days ye have heap"d up store.
The hire of them that reaped down your field, The which by you is wrongfully withheld.
Cries, and the voice thereof hath reach"d the ears Ev"n of the G.o.d of sabbath, and he hears.
Your lives in pleasure ye on earth have led, And as in days of slaughter nourished Your wanton hearts, and have condemn"d and slain The just, and he doth not resist again.
Be patient therefore, brethren, ev"n unto The coming of the Lord: behold, ev"n so The husbandman expecteth patiently The precious increase of the earth to see, With patience waiting till he doth obtain The showers of early and of latter rain.
So be ye patient, fixing stedfastly Your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draws nigh.
Grieve not each other, brethren, lest ye bear The condemnation;[14] lo! the judge stands near.
The prophets, brethren, who all heretofore In the name of the Lord their witness bore, Take for examples in their sufferings And patience: they that endure such things, Ye know are counted blest. Have ye not read Of Job, how patiently he suffered?
Have ye not seen in him what was G.o.d"s end; How he doth pity and great love extend?
My brethren, but above all things forbear, By heav"n or earth, or otherwise to swear; But let your yea be yea, your nay be nay, Lest ye become reprovable I say.
Let him sing psalms that"s merry; he that"s griev"d, Let him by prayer seek to be reliev"d.
If any of you by sickness be distress"d, Let him the elders of the church request That they would come and pray for him a while; Anointing him in the Lord"s name with oil; So shall the pray"r that is of faith restore The sick, and G.o.d shall raise him as before.
And all th" offences which he hath committed Shall be forgiv"n, and he shall be acquitted.
Confess your faults each one unto his brother, And put up supplications for each other, That so you may be heal"d; the fervency Of just men"s prayers prevails effectually.
Elias was a man as frail as we are, And he was earnest with the Lord in pray"r, That there might be no rain, and for the s.p.a.ce Of three years and six months no rain there was: And afterward, when he again made suit, The heav"n gave rain, the earth brought forth her fruit.
If any one shall from the truth desert, And one, my brethren, shall that man convert; Let him be sure, that he that doth recall The poor backsliding sinner from his fall, Shall save a soul from death, and certainly Shall hide a mult.i.tude of sins thereby.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Grace Abounding, No. 3.
2. George Herbert, in that admirable poem called "The Temple,"
introduces his reader tot he church porch thus:--
"Thou, whose sweet youth and early hopes enhance Thy rate and price, and mark thee for a treasure; Hearken unto a verser, who may chance Rhyme thee to good, and make a bait of pleasure.
A verse may find him, who a sermon flies, And turn delight into a sacrifice."
3. "An husband," c. i. 12.
4. "Set abroach," in a posture to run out, or yield the liquor contained.--Ed.
5. "An ephah," a measure containing three pecks and three pints.--Calmet.
6. Similar to Christian"s exclamation, when calling to Faithful to stop and bear him company. See Pilgrim"s Progress, Part 1st.
7. These lines, and those on the next page, "The eye"s the light o" th" body," remind one of Bunyan"s style in his Apology for the Pilgrim"s Progress,--