Chap. 31. An Expofition upon the Booke of J o a. Verf. 6. 345 Tradeftnen, who weigh their goods, and fell them by weigh in old time all payments in money whether ofgoldor !liver were paffed by weight ( and fo they are in forge places at this day) Iweighed him the money in the ballances, faith the Prophet (Yer. 32. t o.) when he ( according to the word of the Lord) bought the field ofHansneel his Uncles Son. From this Hebrew roo :e in the Teat the word Shekel is derived, tigniïïying a price of coyne sx ab among the ?ewes, frequently mentioned in Scripture, which was cGt pondererc. of a knowne weight, and the Standard, by which all other weights were regulated, Such alto was the Stater among the Grecitnr. lob defires to be weighed exactly, as gold in the bal- lance. He laid before, If Ihave hafted to deceit ; And here he feemes to fay, If I have ufed any deceit in my dealings with men, or in my fervices and addreffes to God, let God weigh me, and flume me for my lightnes. Let me be neighed, or, Let him weigh me -, that.is, let him try me to the utmoft in my moralls, and inmy ci- vil is ; let him try mein the whole courfe of my life ; let him try me as a man,and try me as aMagifirare, let all my wayes,workes, and words, yea all my thoughts, purpofes and deflgnes be tryed and weighed. He includes all their in the word Ale which he offers to the ballance. And indeed though our outward actions are all that man can weigh, yet they are the leaft part of that which God will weigh when he comes to weigh us. Thus we may extend the me in the text to lob inall his capacities and relations ; hewas willing tobe weighed and tryed throughout, only he de- fired a fayre proceeding, and a righteous tryall ; Let me be weighed, faith he, in an even ballance, ABallance properly taken is an Artificiall Inftrument, where- in any thing which is weighable is put to be weighed, or that the weight of it may be taken and knowne. And though all ballances though ofdifferent kindes and forts,as to matter and file, thould be ofone kinde and fort as to troth and evennefïe ; yet through the corruption of men and mangers, there are ballancesof two forts; Firft, even or right; Secondly, uneven or deceitful) bal- lances. lob craves no favour, but to be weighed in an even bal- lance; that is in fuck aballance,as kathno intrinfelall pi ponde- Y y ration
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