3 7 . Chap. 13. An Expoltron upon the Book of JoB. Verf. 7, thus . M we mull not do evil that good may come to our felves, fo we mull not do evil that good may come to God, R. 3 g, The Apoflle rejects the very thought Of Inch a defign with a kind of honour and deteli ation ; for he had no fooner repeated that impudent and blafphemous Bander (Jouleaffirm that wefay, Let us do evilthat good maycome) but prefently he blahs both it and them, with this dreadful judgment, whofe damnation is ju : If they deferved damnation, whoput fuch anopinion upon the Apoi les, what do they who pratlife it ? They who fir. pole themfelves fuch skilful Al.chymiils, in drawing good out of evil, that (to try their skill ) theywill do evil, hoping to draw good out of it, (hall find at lafl, that they have drawn damna- tion upon themfelves by that tryal. But fome may obje61, Doth not the Apoflle confers at the 7`hverfe, that he had done evil for that end, and that having attained a good end, he thought himfelf excufed for the evil of hi. way : Ifthe truthof God bath more abounded through my lye, unit hisglory, whyyet am Ijudged as a inner ? It feems then the Apoflle had told lies for the up- holding of truth, and that the truth of God had abounded to the glory of God through his lies. I anfwer, The Apoille loth nodpeak thofe words in his own perfon, or in the perfon of a godly man, but the perfon of a profane Objenor, whom he eonfiteth : As if he had Said, SMC train pofbey may plead thus for hisfin ; 7 he truthofGod bath gained by my lie, and why am I judged as a f aner ? They are lhining fins indeed which caufe the glory of God toThine more bright. Can Ibe a frier where Godgains ? Purely I cannot. I may rather encourage my f if to do evil (as we, faith the Apofile, are alfo affirmed tofay) thatgood may come. So then, the Apoille loth but repeat an l refute what fome laid for themfelves, and of the Apoflles; he loth not in the leaf} affirm it of himfelf. God often brings good out of the wort of evils , but that's no thank to thole who commit the evil. Evil can produce nothing naturally but evil ; it is a divine power and wifdom which overmaflleís it unto good. Theway which God hath taught us to glorifiehim by, is to do that which isgood, and to fpeak the truth ; and thoughhe can ralle glory to himfelf out of the evil which we do, andout of the lies which wepublifh, yet he never calls for our evil or for our lie to raife his glory. The Pfalmifl affures us ( P/al, a6.2.) My goodnofa extendcth not to the(; and if God bath no need of our
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