Chapter 15: The Tenth Prerogative Royal

The next Privilege to come is the Vindication of Names. Those which have a good conscience, have not always a good name. The old Serpent spits his venom at the godly through the mouths of wicked men: if Satan cannot strike his dart into our consciences, he will put a dead fly into our name. The people of God are represented to the world in a very sad manner; how strangely does a saint look when he is put in the devil's dress! as those primitive Christians that were clothed with bearskins, and painted with red devils, Job was represented to the world as a hypocrite, and by his friends too, which went near to him. Paul was called a seditious man; and he suffered in the opinion of some as an evil doer (2 Timothy 2:9). Wherein I suffer trouble as an evil doer, even to bonds: he did not only bear Christ's marks in his body, but in his name. Our blessed Savior was called a deceiver of the people. It has ever been the manner of the wicked world, to paint God's children in very strange colors. It is a great sin to defame a saint, it is murder; better take away his life than his name; it is a sin which we can never make him reparation for; a flaw in a man's credit being like a blot in a white paper, which will never out: The defaming of a saint is no less than the defaming of God himself; the saints have God's picture drawn in their hearts; a man cannot abuse the picture of Caesar, without some reflection upon Caesar's person. Well, either God will clear his people's innocency here, which he has promised (Psalm 37:6). And he shall bring forth your righteousness as the light: your good name may be in a cloud, but it shall not set in a cloud; or else at the day of judgment, then there shall be a Vindication of Names.

In this life the godly are called the troublers of Israel, they are seditious, rebellious, what not? but a day is shortly coming when God himself will proclaim their innocency. Believe it, as God will make inquisition for blood, so for names; The name of a saint is precious in God's esteem, it is like a statue of gold which the polluted breath of men cannot stain; and though the wicked may throw dust upon it, yet as God will wipe away tears from the eyes of his people, so he will wipe off the dust from their name. The time is shortly coming when God will say to us, as once to Joshua, I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you: Even as it was with Christ, the Jews rolled a great stone upon him, and as they thought, it was impossible he should rise again; but an angel came and rolled away the stone, and he arose in a glorious triumphant manner: So it shall be with the godly, their good name oft lies buried, a stone of obloquy and reproach is rolled upon them; but at the day of judgment, not an angel, but God himself will roll away the stone, and they shall come forth from among the pots, where they have been blacked and sullied, as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. O what a blessed day will that be, when God himself shall be the saints' compurgator!