Chap. 22. 44 expa tint. spar tit Boob, of I4, s. Verf.6. unadvifedly with his lips, the murmuriegs and complainings ofthat urfteady people provoked bú Spirit. (Pfal. rob. 33. ) Now the leffe provocation, the greater alwayes is the finne ; as to finne againft admonition, or againft any of thofe meanes that might keep us from finne, makes the fin greater, fo when there is no occafion leading us unto finne. This was one rea- fon of greatning the fin ofour úr14 parents, in caring the for- bidden fruit ; why did they eate ? were they ready to flarve ? were they in any ftreights ? had they not the whole garden before them ? did they not eate theforbidden fruitwithout caufe, orfor neugbr ? Solomon faith (Pro. 6. 3 o.) Mend.e not deipife a thiefe, if he'hate to /atìifi: hiefoul when heia hungry ; for though to fleale for meer hunger dothnot take away the fifulneffe of the fa&,yet it doth much abate it; becaufe the man is provo- ked to do it for the fupply of his prefeot and preffing need ; But fora rich man (who hath no need) to fteale, for a man to fteale who is not hungry, bow finfull is it ! Our grearefl ne- ceflitìes cannot wholly excufeour fin, but to fin where there is no neceffity, dirla greatly encreafe our finne, Saul thought he fhould come offwithout blame, when he had fo much to fay for his rafh facrifice (r Sam, i 3. r 2.) /Aid the 'Phil,fines rein! cow down upen me to Gilgal, axd I bave not made fupplication unto the Lord ; Iforced my felfetherefore, and (ffeted a burnt ,ffring. But doth Samuel approve this plea ? We have his reiolation the next verfe ; Thouh4 done foolifhîy,th u haft n t kept the Corr. rroendement ofthe Lord ;by Clod. Though Saul found himfelfe un- der a moral force to doe what he did, yet that did not free hind eveher from guilt or punifhment when he ventured to doe it. `David (marred for numbring I¡rael,though Satan fio d up againft II ael, andprovoked David to number them (t Oran. 2 r. T. ) What (hall we fay then of thofe, who doe more then `David altogether unprovokedby Satan, who rather tempt themfelves, then are tempted unto evil! ? As the Good we do is fo much the better, fo the evil) we doe is by fb much the werfe, by how much we doe it the more freely, and unconftrained Thus Eli- ph.;z aggravates the firft Inilanceof lobs fuppofed wickednef'e, To take a pledge from a m un in the manner expounded, is not oneiv illiberal, but finfull ; To take a pledge from a brother in diftreffe is more finial!, but to take a pledge of a brother for T nought, 17
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