Moses his choice with his eye fixed upon Heaven, discovering the happy condition of…

Secondly, it should teach the godly to be accurate in their way: you live amongst those that will observe you, and cast filth on your faces, take heed you give no just occasion; it is enough we shall suffer without any just cause, let us take heed they take no filth out of our own bosoms, and cast upon our faces, that will be grievous indeed, when our consciences shall join with their reproaches. God threatens, Hos. 7. ult. as a great affliction, that his people shall be derided by the Egyptians, this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt; to have the wicked deride us, and that for our sin, is a grievous misery; Make me not a scorn, says David, to fools: It is a great evil for a professor of Religion to make himself a scorn to the fools of the world; if they will reproach us, let it be for forwardness in Gods ways, and not for our sin; sin is only a just reproach, and therefore when ⟨p. 364⟩Joshua circumcised the people, it is said, He took away their reproach, therefore the place was called Gilgal, because their reproach was rolled away; bodily uncircumcision was a reproach, much more is spiritual uncircumcision: Let us take heed we do not manifest any filth to them, being you live among ¹those that will revile you, whose tongues in Scripture are compared to three things, a Razor, a Sword, and an Arrow: A Razor that will take off every little hair, so a reviling tongue will not only take advantage of every gross sin, but the least thing that another can hardly see. Secondly, it is compared to a Sword, a sword that wounds, so the tongues of revilers do a great deal of mischief: but a sword can do mischief only near hand, it cannot do mischief afar off; and therefore, Thirdly, it is compared to an Arrow, that can do mischief a great way off, as far as one can see a man, and so revilers do not only mischief to a man in the Town where they live, but a great way off in other Towns: Now if mens tongues be Razors, and Swords, and Arrows, the people of God had need take heed how they walk, and walk accurately, to give no just cause of reproach, that so the reproach may fall upon themselves.

Secondly, it should teach the godly to be accurate in their way: you live amongst those that will observe you, and cast filth on your faces, take heed you give no just occasion; it is enough we shall suffer without any just cause, let us take heed they take no filth out of our own bosoms, and cast upon our faces, that will be grievous indeed, when our consciences shall joyn with their reproaches. God threatens,