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Show The Mini/lers 411d priv~tte C ifliam dHIJ, &c. II HI as to . the fruit! of HoliHeji, and efpecially whiles the; ba~its of grace are imperfect in them, comes under the denommauon ?f Foxn in this Text whofe nature is defcubed.to us here from their fpoiling the Vines\ what hath made fo many interptetets rel\ni? this Text only to f•lfe te.chrrr , I do not underHand, u~ltfs It bath been their imitation of fame Potifb Interpreters, who mdeed generally fo Interpret it. Ber>tard is the only lntnpreter c! any antiquity whom J find making a more gen~ral lnterpre.tauon of the Text: he " (I have told you before) mtetpreteth 1t of corruptions within us, and ttmptaiiOHI without us, as well as falfe teachers: corruptions arc Foxes, ttmptatto~lf a~e Foxes, PerflcutzoHs are foxes as well asfedt<eerJ. Nor areal\ falfe teachers 11 uly Foxes; but fuch only as fpoil the ViHrt, as to the fruitS ofF a11h and · Holim[t. Secondly, Obferve from hence there are rr.ore ways than one u tal<$ tbrfr Foxa. The p•eccpt hath a limitatio.n in thofe. w"'ds tak; for us, as well as an end exprd)ed. There IS no rakmg lot Chtifl but fuch os he dirt/letb in his word. Our Lord could as eafily have (aid , kjU ur the F ,xu, as takt ,.r the Fox a; but a ~ra~e Author tells us, non vmit Chrij1UI a>ti"''" perdere Fd falvare.: Chn1\ ~arne not to dcfiroy mens lives, but to f"•Oheir Souls; he rebuked his Difciples whe.n they would havt h:>.d fire brought down from Heaven upon the Samaritanu. he tells them , 'Ibey ~Htll' not ..,bat Spirit they were of. He ddires not the death of 1mners : Mavult incenti.va vititwum in ufum viriMt•tn commutar1 quam rxtm· gui vel abf•mi faith Gregory; where the pretended Vicar of Chrifl learned, to ki;,d!e fo many {ires upon the Eatth, to burn f:r<h as Chrifl wourd not fuJfe; fite !rom Heaven to bc.ca\led fot agamll, I cannot tell. There is a taking <>f them by not rruiving them i~to ?"r bou[rt; nor bidding them ·God (peed, 2 7oh. 20. by convtnctng_ them, admoniA1inl!; thcm<~nd .earling rbem out of the Churc.h: ol this w.e read, 1 'tim. J. 3, 20. But a taking of them, and kalhng CJ tusilltvidt- and bur·ning them we read not .o(ln all the Gofpcl. ~ven Foxes ,,} qui fuDu{ils mufl be taken by rhofe nets, which Ill!' Lord hath dm&ed us to oYa rubm """ take them by, o1 'tis no fer.,ice to Chnfl. Brrnard ( though a Pa~ e[ms propri""' pi{t) at old interpreted this, 'Ia~e ,.,., divers other ways than the 1"d"""' rpf•. latter Chu<ch of Romr no>~ armis [11/ argremmtu ; Not by force of fl&•~ confe/J"~" arms bur by argumen;s fairh he : and again, by ltindnefs and pa-p~ n~ttnt•~. ' 0 h fl d ttf/iHjl.'Bcrn. rience, and prayers to God fot them ; by making t cmautame ' Cone. of their errors. 1 wi(h (faith that devout Author) I could fo tak''· , 'ihe DolJrme t1p.p!fed. · take all that are my adverfaries as ro.gain them to ChriR. 3· Latlly, By way of inllru&ion : Obfetve the Text, Taft,! for ut, and leam hence the union •J Chrijl to bit Spo~t[r; and hi~ wonderfullo~e to ber. Bmzard hints this branch of Application to me: !f<:t_id (faith he) h•c voce .focialiur l annon tibi videtttr bLc dictre qu•fi Pater-f4.01iliM, qui per[< nihil habeot[<d omnia communi• cum ttxore e1 lib.rit? what more f<Jiowly than this expretlion ? (faith he) doth not om Lord in this ex pre ilion fpeak like a Maller of family, that hath all things common with his wife and Children? he that fpeaks ( faith he) is God, but he dmh not fpeak ar a God, but at a Bridegroom. Vide qu•m fociali•er loquitHr B,.n.rdxr i• qut Joctum Hon habet, Poter~t dictr< mihi, {td dicit nobis con[urtio de- [trm. S'9· ~dlat11s; he co~ld have fa~dfor me, but he faith for us; delighted 10 our fcllow011p, 0 foavttatem! 0 Gr.tiam! 0 amoris vim. 0 the [ weetnefs, 0 tbe grace, 0 the force of divine Love ! God hath conjoined his iurw II with OlliS, we cannot fttve him bur in and by it wemuH f(;rve out (elves; and cettainly this meditation di-gelled, (hould have the highel\ imaginable efficacy to a !fed our hearts with love to God, and Zeal to our duty. l (hall !hut up all _with a word of Exhortation; which will be but the wotds of our Lord in the Text : 'Iak; t!Jerefore the Foxes the little Foxes. Here, . _ ' 1. Were T [praking lufore M•gift'ratu, I would call upon them, To tak; the F oxtt, the little Foxer. To ufe the power with which our Lord hath betrul\ed them, for the hind ring, and fuppretfing of whatfoever or whofocver they be, that hinder profe(fors from the bringingforth fruits ofholinefs; whetherthey be profane perCons, that thtnk to fcoff and )ear men out of the way to Heaven ; or loofe and drbaucbt perforu, that make it their bufinefs to debauch Chtillians intjYfewd and licentious courfes : Or malitiout per[tcutors, who fly }'POn the Jmage of God where-ever they fee it as they fay fome Serpents wil.l do upo.n the reprefenration of a man~ face though it be but in a gl~fs. Or falfe Teachets, thofe I m~an who teRlpt men togo an~ ferve other gods, or who would wting out ~four hands, the holy Scriptures the vety rule of our Faith, ~nd hfe. .or who teach men to be profane by p.rinciples ; tea~hmg Oodr.mes thatar~ of their own natures .del\rudive to a godly and holy hfe, or dellrudive of mens Salvation, as denying the Lo!d tb4t bwght the"}; ·I lhould not dare to.ca,ll upon tljem, to rutne aqd deflroy all tbofe th~t every idle .Pr!efi hath the irnpu- . Iii dencc |
