should not exact this of itself: and teach a man to prevent the vengeance of God, by being himself the avenger of his own sins. And the severer, saith he, we are to ourselves, and the sharper censure we pass upon our sins; the more propitious and merciful we may hope God will be unto us.

6

Which he seems to have borrowed from Tertullian, in his book of Repentance; where he hath these known words. "When repentance throws a man on the ground, it supports and relieves him. When it makes him all squalid, it renders him the more pure and clean. It excuses, when it accuses him. It absolves, when it condemns. And the less thou sparest thyself, believe me, the more will God spare thee."

Which is agreeable to the doctrine of St. Paul, that, if we would judge ourselves we should not be judged of the Lord." It is certain, that the judgment, which he would have had the Corinthians prevent, by judging

6 Cap. ix. & x.

71 Corinth. xi. 31.

themselves, was the sharp chastisements which God inflicted upon that Church, by sickness, weakness and death; as we read in the verse foregoing. In a few words, it was His inflicting punishments upon them for their sins and therefore it is most reasonable to think that this is the judgment He would have them pass upon themselves; which might, as I said, have prevented that judgment of God, and still might remove it. They should have afflicted and chastened themselves in a contrite manner, with fastings and mournings, and bewailing of their sins, and other humiliations: that so there might have been no need of God's inflicting punishments upon them for their reformation, which they had already begun to inflict on themselves. For if by being judged in the latter part of the verse, he meant being punished (which is unquestioned) it seems the most agreeable interpretation of judging ourselves in the former part, if we understand thereby punishing ourselves by that severe discipline, which I am treating of.

It is true indeed (for I will dissemble nothing that I know, nor strain any passage of Scripture to justify this doctrine) that the word we render judge in the beginning of the verse, is not the very same with that which is in like manner so rendered by us in the conclusion: but in the Greek there is some difference, when he saith, if we would judge ourselves, (which is Stangívoμev) from the other, we should not be judged, which is 3× av Expvóμla. And it is further true, that St. Chrysostom and Ecumenius there expressly note, that the apostle doth not say l Exoλáloμev, if we would punish ourselves, but only if we would sentence and condemn ourselves as sinners; which they take to be the import of the word διακρίνειν.

But this notwithstanding, I cannot think the infliction of such punishments upon themselves, as are the subject of this discourse (which are of a different kind from those inflicted by God, and so expressed by a different word) are here excluded. For to what do men sentence and condemn themselves (which

St. Chrysostom makes the meaning of the word) but to suffer all that a just judge shall inflict, if he deal with them according to their deserts? and how could they think of inflicting less chastisements upon themselves, than such humiliations, as were then in use; whereby they acknowledged themselves to be unworthy to live?

In which, saith the apostle, if they had not favoured themselves, but pronounced and executed that sentence which their sins justly deserved; they might have been spared by God and not punished, as some were, by those sicknesses and infirmities, nay, death, which He sent among them.

So that the full import of that word judge ourselves I conceive to be this. If you had strictly examined yourselves, and made an exact difference (so the word is expounded verse 29) between yourselves, and those who had no sense of their irreverent behaviour towards our Lord; if you had acknowledged your errors and condemned yourselves for them, and deprecated his displeasure by due

humiliations, and studied amendment; He would not have handled you in this manner, by sending a terrible plague upon you. For it cannot reasonably be denied, that in this judging or condemning themselves (translate it how you please) all things are contained, which were or ought to have been, the effects and fruits thereof: as in confession of sin, the Scripture includes repentance, and the fruits of repentance, or amendment of life: and in the Exomologesis of the ancient Christians, the whole business of penance was contained; as appears sufficiently, by the story I related of the Deacon's wife in Asia. Now such humiliations as I have treated of, were the effects of their condemning themselves; when they were deeply guilty, and as deeply sensible of their guilt. Which the Corinthians were not; and so did not sue out their pardon, in such a humble and afflicted manner, as became such gross offenders: for if they had, they should not have fallen under such a severe discipline of Heaven, as to have been cut off (which the Jews say was