56 Chap.,22. .tfn Expofitioss upon the Booke of J o B. Verfó. Thou ball taken a pledgeofthy brother. Againe, Without cau¡e or for nought, may have this meaning, thoudidft oblidge thy brother to reftore that which really and incited he never received from thee : thou didft put to debt to thy 'Solentd-'viteer brothers account which he never made by borrowing David ft.gere fe credi complainer offuch kinde ofunkind ufage (Pfal 69. rr.) They that to-es dg atce hate me without caule, are mee then the hayres of myhead : They otbuoru. that would drfiroy me, being mineenemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I refored that which I tooke not awa) ; That is, which I took not away, either as borrowed of them, or as ftolne from them. I was neithera debtor, nor a thiefe, I had nothing of theirs in my hands, yet I' was forced to reftore. This is the worft fort of taking apledgefor nough'. Thirdly, For nought That is, when there was no reafon to of take fo great a pledge thy brother, the thing which thou didtt lend him was but foene trifle, yet thouwouldett have a pledge of thy brother for it; thouwouldeft have great fecuriry foran in- confiderable debt; that'sthe conrfe of manyoppreffors,by lend- ing a little they will have much to fecure it. And this is to take a pledge froma brother for nought, there fhould be force equality between the debt and the fecurity, he that lends a trifle, a (mall matter, and requires great affurance,takes a pledge ofhis brother for nought. So that all unreafonable and unequal! demands for fecurity, either taking ( where charity bids us trul) from the poore, or taking it ( wherein juftice we Mould not take any thing) whennothing was lent, or when there is no reafon we fhould take fo much ; any ofthefeharfh and injurious praâices, is the takingapledge ofour brotherfor nought. Henceobferve ; That the !rife caufe we bays to doanyevil, thegreater is the evil whichwe doe. But bath any mana taufe todoe any evil! ; he bath not ; by taufe I meane a provocation ; there is no caufe for which we fhould doe any eviti, but there may be many provocations or temptations to doe evili ; Teninab provoked Hannah fore to make her fret (a Sara. i. 6.) It wasnot for nought or without caule that Mores his paffion was Rived, and that he fake unadvifedly
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=