6o Chap. 17. ,4n Expoftion upon the Book- of jo s. Vert, b', Hence Obferve ; As a godly man refolves to bold on in the prabiice of righttotal's agaenfl all temptation, fo to maintainhis righteoufnef e againfi all oppof:tion. He that knoweth he isfincere, cannot be perfwaded, norbea- ten from holding hs fincerity : a godly than (as the Apoftle famesdefcribes the wifdome from above, that is, thófe who are made wife from above, Chap. 3. 17.) isfirfl pure,tbon peaceable, gentle,and eafie to beentreated.He may be intreatedeafily in force things, but in others you may as foon remove a rocke as move him, there's no intreating, noperfwading him; a godly man is eafily entreated to do good for others, and he is eafily intreated to remit the wrongwhich othershave done him; in there two ca- fes he is eafily entreated : but if you come to take his integrity from him, and touch him in hisuprightneffe, he will by no means be intreated to wrong himfelf. As it is fnnful (inmany cafes ) not to remit thewrong done to usby others, fo not to maintaine the right doneby our felves ; we may, yeaweought fometimes ( for peace fake ) to part with our right ; but we maynot,we muff not part with our righteoufneffe for thatindeed is as,ifnot more finful, than to wrong others to beare falfe wirneffe again!l our felves is the falfeft wuneee-bearing; In what weareboneft and in- nocent, we cannot be too-float. He buyes hispeace too deare, who either quits the truth of God for it, or the truth of his own wayes. It is dangerous laying down our own will, to fubmit to any thing which is not according to the will of God. Here and nowhere elfe wilfulneffe isa vertue. Iwill not let it go,faitb ob, and he did well in Paying fo, for elfehe had fallen into the after- claps, indeed, the thunder-claps of his own confeience, which he had nomind to doe, as he profeffeth in the next words. My heart (hall not reproach mefo long as I live, That is, my confcience (hall not ; the heart in Scripture is put for the underflanding,for the will, for the affeaions, as pathbeen elfewhere (hewed, here for the confeience; my heart!hall not re- mit) e(Z pro- poachme. To reproach, is tocalf a blot upon our felves or others. brisa ereex- The original word isfometimesunlisted to blafpheme (Ija.6g. praórare. 7.) Blafphemy isthe highefl degree ofreproach. job fpeakes here to
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