Caryl - Houston-Packer Collection BS1415 .C37 v6

236 Chap. 19. An Expofition upon the Book of J o B. Verf. t 3: of brotherhood could be broken , 'twas broken; Caine flew his brother Abell he was fare from him indeed when he thus drew neere to him. Chriff forewarnes us that we may quickly metre with filch ac`tings againft the light of nature, while we follow and a6f up to the light of Grace ; The brother(balldeliver up thebrother to death, and the father the childe, and the chiide¡hall rife tep ajainji his parents and caufe them to be pxt to death, ( Matth. O. 2I. ) To deliver a brother up to death, that is, to deliver him up to others to put him to death is as bad as if our felves had taken awayhis life. We doe that evill which we doe not hinder others ( according to our place and power) from doing, much more may we be faid to doe that evill which we provoke thofe to doe who have power to doe it. To deliver a brother up to death, is to kill our brother. Grace teaches us to lay downe'our lives for the brethren. Corruption teaches the brother w take away the life of a brother. Our Booke of e9%lartyrs gives divers inftances ofbrethren fuffering for Chrift, by the procurement of brethren. There are no bonds of love, but have often received a crack by lull and fometimes a total' breach ; and where there fhould be the greateft love, there have been the greateft breaches. The Prophet Obadiab checks thofe Edomites who were the Defcendantsof Efate, and fo by Ifaac their common father, brethren to the Ifraelites ; the Prophet, I fay, checks them for their infolency againft their afflifted bre- thren(v. r z.)Thou íbouidocl not have lookedon the dayofthy brother, The day of their brother, was the day of their brothers cala- mitie, as is plaine in the next words, In the day that he became aftranger, that is to his owne Land being carried away into Ctaptivitie : Thou íhouldeft not have looked upon this day of thy brother. But was it a fin to looke upon them in that day ? To fee themwas no fin, and to fee or looke upon them with an eye of compaflion was a dutie ;_ but they looked upon their brethrenwith an eye of fcorne at or with an eye of delight in their mifery ; it pleafed them to fee their brethren oppreffed and carried captives. This kinde of feeing their brethren was ( within onedegree) as finfull as flaying them , filch looking upon them when led into captivitie, was a leading them into captivitie. That which we rejoyce to fee any fuffer from the hand of others, they fuffer alfo from our hand. The Prophet Ifaiah

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=