Wicked Men Compared to Thieves

    WICKED MEN COMPARED TO THIEVES

    Jer 7:11. Mt 21:13. Isa 1:23. Re 9:21.

    A thief klepthv, fur, Mt 6:16,20; 24:43; Joh 10:8,10; 12:6, he that stealeth cunningly, fwr, so a Thief was named of old, or as if it were klepthv, of carrying or taking away, lhjhv, Latro, Mt 21:13; 26:55; 27:38,44, a robber. In what respect Wicked Men may be fitly compared to Thieves, take as followeth.

    PARALLELS

    I. Some are Thieves from their childhood, they begin betimes to steal and rob: so the ungodly begin betimes to be wicked, they are said to go astray from the womb, telling lies, and are by nature prone to all manner of sin and wickedness; hereby depriving God of that honour, fear, and reverence, that belongs to him.

    II. Thieves love not the day, lest they should be discovered, but are active in the night: so wicked Men hate the light, "They love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil," Joh 3:19.

    III. Thieves run many hazards and dangers, venture their lives to accomplish their designs: so Wicked Men run great hazards and dangers, venture not only the life of their bodies, but of their souls also, to fulfil their designs and wicked purposes.

    IV. Thieves. are a great terror to honest men, they put many in fear: so some Wicked and ungodly Men are a great trouble, grief, and terror to those who are godly; how was the soul of righteous Lot vexed with the filthy, conversation of the Sodomites, 2Pe 2:7.

    V. Thieves greatly abuse, rob and wrong others, not only such as are of their own rank and quality; but sometimes set upon, and rob persons in authority; the judge nay, and prince himself, has been sometimes robbed and abused by Thieves: did not T. Blood but a few years since, steal the king's crown? so Wicked Men greatly abuse their neighbours, they do often take away the good name of such who truly fear God, and sometimes attempt their chastity, &c. This is not all, they do not only thus endeavour to rob men, such who are poor mortals like themselves; but they rob God; and that many ways. (1.) They rob him of his glory. And (2.) Of their own strength and flower of their age, which belong to him. (3.) They rob him of their hearts and affections, and place it upon the world and their own base lusts. (4.) They rob him of their precious time, and squander it away in a foolish and idle manner, upon their lusts; nay, hath, not that man of blood, I mean the Pope, robbed Jesus Christ of his crown and royal diadem! doth he not assume that power and headship to himself, that only belongs to the Prince of the kings of the earth.

    VI. Thieves oft-times kill as well as steal, and kill in stealing, so that they make themselves guilty of murder as well as of theft; so wicked and ungodly men, by their ungodly and sinful lives, make themselves guilty of the breach of the whole law of God, by adding sin to sin, and multiplying their wickedness, and so transgress not only in one, but in every point, and thereby wilfully murder their own souls, and many times kill and destroy their innocent neighbours too.

    VII. Thieves are sometimes taken in the fact, or by pursuit are apprehended, and laid hands on, that they may answer the law in that case made and provided: so Wicked Men are sometimes taken in their wickedness by the hand of God; or if they escape an immediate stroke in the very act of sin, yet they are pursued by God's just judgment that followeth them, and will overtake them at last.

    VIII. Thieves, when taken, would fain make an escape; nay if they are not held by strong hands, they will get loose and run away: so Wicked Men when God's hand is upon them how fain would they make an escape? When Adam fell in with the tempter to rob God of his honour, it is said, he hid himself among the trees of the garden: guilt made him fly; and what pitiful shifts do all old Adam's children make, to excuse their sins? or if they cannot make excuse, then they seek out ways to escape if possible: some say, their sins are not so great as others; others say they were drawn in and enticed; others, that God is merciful, and they doubt not but he will pardon them: others fly to the goodness of their hearts; some to seeming repentance, saying, God forgive me, &c.; but whatever way they take, till they are truly converted, they are holden by the cords of their own sins, and they shall not escape, nor can get out of God's hand, but must answer for all their wickedness at their utmost peril.

    IX. Some Thieves are so impudent, that they will adventure to rob in the day-time, let who will look on, being too strong for the standers-by: so some Wicked Men are so impudent, that they will adventure to rob their innocent neighbours of their goods in a public manner in the day-time; as many of the Papists have served the poor Protestants in former times, in divers nations, and pretended they had law for what they did.

    X. Some are great Thieves, and therefore called the captains of the Thieves, under whose conduct and direction the lesser Thieves do rob and steal: so some Wicked Men are so notorious in wickedness, that they lead the van as it were, and are not only examples to others of inventing new coined oaths, and sinful fashions, and customs; but do command or lay some kind of force upon such, who are under their power, to be as wicked as themselves, else they turn them off as not fit to do them service: as it is written; "If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked," that is, he will so discountenance and discourage truth and honest dealing, that none but liars and wicked persons can live with him, Pr 29:12.

    XI. Some Thieves are so merciless, they steal and carry away all that people have: so some persecutors have been so void of pity and humanity, that they have taken away all which some godly people had, even their very beds from under them.

    XII. There are some sacrilegious Thieves, such as rob churches, and steal away those things that are set apart for divine worship: so some Wicked Men are robbers of the Church of God, by taking away his holy institutions, and setting their inventions in the room thereof; such are the Romish crew, &c. Christ tells us, that such who come not in by the door, but climb up some other way, are Thieves and robbers: nay, if it were possible, the great Thief the Pope, and his accomplices would have robbed us of the Bible, and the true religion, nay of the true Church itself; however they, with all that adhere to them, have robbed many hundreds, nay, thousands, of her true and faithful members, both of their goods, lives, and liberties, for the which they must give an account at the great day.

    XIII. Thieves are so opposite to honest men, that they by all means avoid their company and society, if possible, when they know them. So Wicked men, known and discovered to be so, are not at all fit company for the godly, nay, the godly are commanded to avoid them, and to have no fellowship with them, so far as possible they may; how ever if in civil things there be some kind of necessity to buy and sell with them, yet their sin in that, or any other way, is to be hated and departed from; nay, if a man hath been a professor of godliness, and turn to be a wicked man, with such an one the godly are to have no intimacy, that he may be ashamed, 1Co 5.

    XIV. Thieves know by-ways, and are acquainted with such places where they may accomplish their designs, not only as to secrecy, but security. So Wicked Men acquaint themselves with bye-ways, and therefore called the way of the wicked. "Let the wicked forsake his way," &c., Isa 55:7. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the way of the ungodly," &c., Ps 1:1. Joseph's mistress made use of her skill in the way of the Wicked when she attempted to rob him of his chastity. For there was, (1.) privacy, none saw. (2.) Secrecy, none knew, and (3.) Opportunity, which he might now, without fear of shame, make use of; and there is not a Wicked fornicator in the world, but would hare owned it as his way, and have chosen it too as a fit opportunity; but blessed Joseph walked not in this way, he knew that nothing could be so private, nor be kept so secret but the all-seeing eye of God can see it, and will bring it to light.

    XV. Thieves are sometimes taken and committed to prison, there to be kept safe till the general assize, or time of trial, and then are brought forth, tried, and condemned, many times to die, and soon after executed. So Wicked Men are taken by death, and committed to the grave, and there they are held fast till the day of resurrection, and last judgment or great assize, where they shall be tried, and give an account of all their wickedness done in the body, against whom Jesus Christ will proceed in a way of justice; and being arraigned, and indicted for all their wickedness, thefts, and robberies, shall be found guilty by good evidence, by the law of God, conscience, and nature; and being so found guilty, shall receive the just sentence of hell-fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, with a "Go ye cursed," Mt 25:46.

    DISPABITY

    I. Thieves can but rob and steal such things as are common to mea. But Wicked Men rob God, and cheat themselves of their own immortal souls, as hath been showed.

    II. Thieves endeavour to hide themselves, and are not willing to be known. But Wicked Men commit their wickedness publicly, and matter not who seeth them; they declare their sin as Sodom, and hide it not, they are not ashamed to commit their wickedness in the very face of the sun.

    III. Thieves oft-times spare the poor, and let them pass, but seize upon such as are rich. But Wicked Men regard neither poor nor rich, if they be godly; nay the poor of this world, though rich in faith, are mostly in their eye, to be made a spoil, robbed and ruined by them.

    IV. Some Thieves after they have received the just sentence of death, from which they cannot escape, yet do repent of their wickedness and receive pardon of God, though they die by the law of man. But Wicked Men, living and dying in sin, after the last judgment, and sentence of eternal death, cannot repent, neither have they any time so to do, but must be damned without remedy.

    INFERENCES

    I. Hence we may see, how easily men may mistake themselves, by condemning others when they are in as bad or a worse state themselves; who is it but will readily cry out against a Thief, and use their utmost endeavour to apprehend him? but how few are there, of the same kind, viz, Thieves, as hath been shown, will lay hands upon, or condemn themselves? who are, as you have heard, worse than Thieves.

    II. How doth it warn the godly to look to themselves: "for if the good man of the house had known at what time the Thief would have come, he would have watched."