Though God should not come down to that, yet that cometh up to God. And when it is said the cry cometh up to him, and not he at the cry. This intimates the cry of oppression, a very loud cry, that's a loud cry that ascends up to heaven; Cities walled up to heaven, are high-walled Cities, and cries reaching up to heaven, are high-strained cries. The breach of a commandment makes a great crack, especially when it is such a breach as makes the poor cry too. If a Great house, or a Tower fall suddenly, what a noise doth it make? Certainly the unjust pulling down of any poor man, is like the fall of a great house, or of a tower, it makes a noise that reacheth up to heaven; he doth not speak of Gods coming down. When Cain had slain his brother Abel, the Lord said (Gen: 4.10.) The voice of thy brothers blood crieth unto me from the ground; and so the cry of Sodom came up to God, (Gen: 18.21.) The fall of a poor man makes a report as far as heaven. Among men the fall of Princes and mighty men, makes a huge noise, all the world is filled with the fall of a Prince, 'tis told every where, A great Prince is fallen. But I tell you the fall of a poor godly man, of the meanest of the servants of God, makes a greater cry then the fall of the greatest Prince in the world who is not so. The fall of a poor man by the oppression of the wicked, possibly is not heard a mile from the place where it was done on earth, yet it reacheth up to heaven; oppression hath not only a voice, but a very loud voice. To wrong a rich man, who can bear the wrong and be a rich man still, is a sin which hath a voice in it; but the sin which the Scripture saith hath a cry in it, is the oppressing of a poor man. There is no liberty given to wrong a rich man, and that would be considered; Some ⟨p. 722⟩take a kind of liberty, if he be a rich man that they are to put a reckoning upon, they think they may do it somewhat largely, and say, he is able to bear it. But be the man never so rich and able to bear it, yet to wrong him is a sin, and a sin that God will take notice of to punish. And though he can bear the wrong done, yet the wrong-doer will hardly be able to bear it when he comes to reckon with God for it. Thus (I say) to wrong the rich offends God; but to wrong the poor crieth to God; and as it followeth in the text.
Though God should not come downe to that, yet that cometh up to God. And when it is sayd the cry cometh up to him, and not he at the cry. This intimates the cry of oppression, a very loud cry, that's a loud cry that ascends up to heaven; Cities walled up to heaven, are high-walled Cities, and cryes reaching up to heaven, are high-strained cryes. The breach of a commandement makes a great crack, especially when it is such a breach as makes the poore cry too. If a Great house, or a Tower fall suddenly, what a noyse doth it make? Certainly the unjust pulling downe of any poore man, is like the fall of a great house, or of a tower, it makes a noyse that reacheth up to heaven; he doth not speak of Gods coming downe. When Cain had slaine his brother Abel, the Lord sayd (Gen: 4.10.) The voyce of thy brothers blood cryeth unto me from the ground; and so the cry of Sodom came up to God, (Gen: 18.21.) The fall of a poore man makes a report as farre as heaven. Among men the fall of Princes and mighty men, makes a huge noyse, all the world is filled with the fall of a Prince, 'tis told every where, A great Prince is fallen. But I tell you the fall of a poore godly man, of the meanest of the servants of God, makes a greater cry then the fall of the greatest Prince in the world who is not so. The fall of a poore man by the oppression of the wicked, possibly is not heard a mile from the place where it was done on eatth, yet it reacheth up to heaven; oppression hath not only a voyce, but a very loud voyce. To wrong a rich man, who can beare the wrong and be a rich man still, is a sin which hath a voyce in it; but the sin which the Scripture saith hath a cry in it, is the oppressing of a poore man. There is no liberty given to wrong a rich man, and that would be considered; Some ⟨p. 722⟩take a kinde of liberty, if he be a rich man that they are to put a reckoning upon, they thinke they may doe it somewhat largely, and say, he is able to beare it. But be the man never so rich and able to beare it, yet to wrong him is a sin, and a sin that God will take notice of to punish. And though he can beare the wrong done, yet the wrong-doer will hardly be able to beare it when he comes to reckon with God for it. Thus (I say) to wrong the rich offends God; but to wrong the poore cryeth to God; and as it followeth in the text.
