will be others render it ubi where So the Septuagint render it by 〈◊〉 ubi and the Apostle following the Septuagint speaking to Greeks and that in Greece alledgeth a Greek text as being most familiar and best known to them The Apostle gives the sense and meaning but not the words which is frequent in Scripture the Pen-men being intent on the matter were not curious in the words but did adde and alter what might explain and clear them yet the Prophet and the Apostle are easily reconciled thus O death I will be thy Plagues i. e. I will pull out thy Pestilent sting O grave I will be thy destruction i. e. I will get the victory over thee q. d. I the Lord Christ for to him the Apostle applies this text will redeem them from death by paying a valuable price for their Redemption this none could do but I yea I will bee the death of death I will bee its plagues and destruction it shall never prevail against my people for I will restore them to life again 1 Cor. 15. 26 54 55. 'T is not I am or I have been but 't is Ehi I will bee thy destruction Now in Hebrew the Future Tense doth oft express both the Present Tense and the Preterperfect Tense it implies not only the time to come but also the time present and the time past q. d. I am I have been and shall bee for ever deaths destroyer Christ was Virtually the Lamb â—lain from the beginning of the world and so was deaths destroyer but actually he conquered death and the grave by lying dead in the grave and by his Almighty power raising himself thence again so that death hath now no more dominion over him and his Act. 2. 24. O death I will bee thy plagues not one or two but many plagues even so many as shall destroy thee Thou didst destroy my people but now I will destroy thee thou didst triumph over them but now I will triumph over thee and lead thee and all the enemies of my people in triumph at my Chariot wheeles Psal. 68. 18. Ephes. 4. 8. for under death and the grave is Synecdâ—chically comprehended the conquest of all the enemies of our salvation as sin death heâ—â— Satan banishment prisonment poverty sickness tribulation persecution famine sword c. over all these wee are more then conquerours even triumphers through Christ that loved us Rom. 8. 35 37. Hee names only death because death is the last enemy that shall bee destroyed 1 Cor. 15. 26. yet by an Argument a Majore ad minus from the greater to the less he comforts his people thus If I can deliver you from death and the grave then much more from banishment and captivity O grave I will bee thy destruction or I le bee thy rooting out and cutting off The same word is used Deut. 32. 24. Psal. 91. 6. I say 28. 2. q. d. Thou didst destroy my people but now I will destroy thee so that they may now sing triumphantly O death where is thy pestilent sting wherewith thou wast wont to torture and torment us 't is gone 't is destroyed by Christ who is thy death O death and thy utter destruction As a man that drinks a cup of poyson drinks that which will bee his ruine so the grave by swallowing and devouring Christ was conquered and killed by him Of old they did celebrate the Victories and Triumphs of Achilles Hercules Alexander Iulius Caesar and the rest of the great conquerours of the world but alas alâ— those dyed and were conquered by death Only Christ the King and Saviour of his Church and people by his death hath conquered sin Satan and death and hath made full satisfaction for us to the Law and Justice of God So that what the Prophet speaks here of the restauration of the Jews in particular the Apostle applies to the general Resurrection of the dead when this corruptible shall have put on incorruptioâ— and this mortality shall have put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in Victory O death where is thy sting c. 1 Cor. 15. 54 55. Where the Apostle alledgeth two Texts and 't is usual with the Pen-men of the New Testament to alledge divers Texts out of the Old Testament and compose them into one in the New So doth Peter speaking against Iudas Act. 1. 20. 't is written in the book of the Psalms let his habitation be desolate and his Bishoprick let another take the former part is taken out of Psal. 69. 26. and the latter part out of Psal. 109. 7. So Mark 1. 2 3. the former part is taken out of Mal. 3. 1. the latter part from Esay 28. 16. So Christ himself Mat. 21. 13. alludes to Esay 56. 7. and Ier. 7. 11. So here the Apostle cites one text out of Esay 25. 8. he will swallow up death in Victory The other is Hos. 14. 13. The seventy render it thus devorabit mors praevalens Death devours all but this is contrary both to the sense of the Prophet and the Apostle who speak not of the prevailing power of death but of the power of Christ over death Death is swallowed up in Victory and that great devourer of all is by Christ devoured This promile is now fulfilled in the death of Christ who hath already destroyed the power of death for his people and shall bee compleatly fulfilled at the Resurrection of the dead when all corruption and mortality shall bee totally taken away and death shall bee swallowed up in Victory for ever In the sense of this mercy the Apostle breaks forth ravished as it were with the contemplation of this conquest over death into a triumphant song which all the Saints shall sing at the last day when they shall bee totally freed from the captivity of death and the grave then shall they insult over subdued death and say O death where is thy sting wherewith thou hadst wont to wound all creatures O grave where is thy victory by which thou hast hitherto kept the dead under by force which now thou must render again as not being able any longer to hold them under thy power Rev. 20. 13 14. It is onely sin by which death hath power over us and it is the just rigor of the Law which inflicts death upon us for sin But thanks bee to God who hath given us the victory over sin which is the cause of death and over death which is inflicted for sin through Jesus Christ our Lord by whom wee obtain an immortal and incorruptible life Thus the Apostle hath faithfully given us the sense of the Prophet though not his very words The summe and substance of all is this Though Ephraim hath been an unwise Son and hath delayed his returning unto mee yet his impenitency and security shall not retard or disanul my faithfulness and truth unto my people I
pains of a woman in travel are sharp exquisit and extream sorrows the bitterness whereof that sex can witness Such pangs the Scripture oft makes the emblems of extream anguish and distress Psal 48. 6. Esay 26. 17 18. and 37. 3. Ier. 6. 28. and 22. 23. and 49. 24. Micai 4. 9 10. Gal. 4. 19. So the calamities which were coming upon this people were not slight sorrows but such as brought desolation with them 2. The longer a dead birth is concealed and carried in the womb the more dangerous and difficult is the travel Ephraim had for a long time concealed his sin and therefore now his pangs are like to be so much the more grievous 3. If the birth be living the greater the birth and the longer they go with it the sharper are the pangs so the longer God bears with a people and the more his Patience is a bused the more terrible will his wrath be 3. Inevitable and irresistible There 's no escaping when once the time of travelling is come Cum adest hora non datur mora So the set time of Ephraims calamities was now at hand which they should in no wise be able to avert or avoyd 2. Here is a Reason of this Commination taken from the folly of Ephraim he is and for ought I see for ever will be an unwise son which appears in his stupidity and obstinate persisting in his sins without any striving to get out of them by Repentance Ephraim is an unwise son for had he been wise he had not staid so long in the birth Object Lest Ephraim should reply that a travelling woman is soon delivered her pain may be sharp but 't is but short she hath hope not only of an end but also of a birth the joy whereof maketh her remember her anguish no more Iohn 16. 27. Answ. The Prophet replyes that 't is not so with Ephraim for he 's an unwise son that sticks long in the birth and so will be the death both of himself and mother also He useth no means to facilitate the birth or to help himself by passing through the straight gate of Repentance God stands over him stretching forth his hands all the day long to do a Midwifes office and take him from the womb to cut his navel and wash off his filth Ezek. 16. 4 9. but he had no mind to come out of his filth or to be washt from his wickedness Rather than endure the pangs of regeneration he 'l venture to stay a while at least in the very mouth of the matrix though he be stifled for his pains q. d. 'T is Ephraims sin and misery that he sticks so long in the birth were Ephraim wise he would humble himself and make his peace with God that hee might by his mercy bee delivered fully from those miserable straights where in hoe is if there were but one drop of true wisdom in him yea if hee were not utterly stupified or rather mad he would take notice of Gods judgements impendent over him and would imitate little infants who coming into the world do help themselves and strive to free themselves out of the straights and dangers of the birth so would Ephraim have endeavoured to free himself out of those calamities that have be set him by true repentance But alas so besotted and hardned is hee in his sins that hee rests content with his carnal condition never once striving or desiring to come out of this darkness into light or to be brought from under the power of Satan unto God So that in these words the Prophet doth notably inveigh against the stupidity and folly of Gods people in that they had rather stick and bee stifled in the filth of their sins lye in the mouth of death and under the pressures of Gods wrath to the destruction both of themselves and the Church which hee had before compared to a mother Hos. 2. 2 rather than extricate themselves out of this sin and misery by true repentance OBSERVATIONS 1. Where sin goeth before there sudden Certain sharp inevitable sorrows alwayes follow In the former part of the Chapter wee read of Ephraims Idolatry Pride Impenitency c. now follows The sorrows of a travelling woman shall come upon him flagitium flagellum sin and punishment are inseparable companions Gen. 4. 7 14. and 19. 15. Numb 32. 23. Deut. 28. 15. to 68. hence the word that wee render Iniquity signifieth pain and sorrow because the workers of iniquity bring pain and sorrow upon their own heads Iob 21. 19. Psalm 32. 10. How then should wee hare sin with a pure and perfect hatred not only odio inimicitiae but also odio aversationis hate it so as to turn from it This is the cause of all our sorrows wee may thank our sins for all our sickness pains plagues Lam. 3. 39. wee should therefore do by our sins as the Jews did by Paul whom they lookt upon as their enemy Acts 21. 27 28. when they saw him they stirred up all the people and laid hands on him saying Men of Israel help this is hee that is agaist the people against the Law and against this place So should wee encourage each other against sin and lay violent hands upon it saying Men and Brethren help this is it that destroyeth our people layeth waste our Cities opâ—poseth the Law defiles our duties and incenseth the most high against us Let us therefore purge it out of our understandings and mortifie it in our affections Considering 1. What sin is in its own nature 't is poyson dung vomit filth folly madness darkness sickness destruction death It turned Angels into Devils men into beasts light into darkness life into death and order into confusion 2. Considering what sin is in respect of God 't is a reproach and a contempt of him 2 Sam. 12. 9. 't is blasphemy rebellion enmitie Rom. 8. 7. 2. Obs. Scripture language is modest The mouth of the matrix is called the place of the breaking forth of children So the vessel wherein nature doth ease it self is called a vessel wherein there is no pleasure Jer. 22. 28. Hos. 8. 8. Thus Adam is said to know Eve and David went in to Bathshebâ— Ehud covered his feer i. e. he eased nature Iudg. 3. 24. I Sam. 24. 3. Deut. 23. 13. Adultery is called stollen waters Prov. 9. 17. and grinding to another Iob 31. 10. See Matth. 1. 18 25. and 1 Cor. 7. 3 5. The holy Ghost knowing the power of our corruption and how apt wee are to bee fired with filthy speeches therefore by an Euphâ—mismus hee putteth seemly titles upon unseemly things The Scripture doth not only command chaste and modest things but it also speaks chastly and modestly of those things Abominable then is the sin of the Popish Casuists which speak so grossely of the secrets of women in their Cases on the seventh Commandment that they become foulely guilty of the breach of it By
all the sores of Iob and all the sorrows of Ioseph are nothing compared with it This brings spiritual blindness a reprobate sense a spirit of slumber and strong delusions Isa. 6. 9 10. Rom. 9. 17. and 11. 8. 3 Eternal miseries both in soul and body it brings sorrows endless easeless and remediless So that there is no evil like the evil of sin no plague like this plague As piety hath the promise and carries its reward with it and though no man should recompence it yet the good wee do is recompence it self not onely for but in the very keeping of Gods Commandements there is great reward Psal. 19. 11. The act of keeping them is a reward as well as the issue As every good work brings its reward with it so every evil work brings its sorrow with it and though no man punish it yet it is a punishment to it self it is finis operis though not finis operantis Jer. 4. 18. Thy way and thy doings have procured thee these things Sin is that which procures us all our sorrow we should therefore hate it with a pure and perfect hatâ—ed and get this cause of all our sorrows removed and then the effect will cease Now is sin so bitter I Then take heed of pleading for sin or extenuating of it Put not sweet names upon so bitter a thing There is a woe denounced against such as do so Isa. 5. 20. Wo to them that call evil good that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter Such look upon sin through the Devils spectacles and then no wonder if they call Drunkenness Good-fellowship Covetousness Frugality Pride Decency c. Those put a fair glove upon a foul hand and false glosses upon filthy vices the better to deceive But let no man deceive you with vain words for even for these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience Call not therefore sin so as the corrupt world calls it but esteem and call it as the Word of God calls it How is that Why it calls it an abomination poyson sorrow sickness bitterness filth vomit folly madness darkness dung death c. When the judgement is thus truly convinced of the vileness of sin it is an excellent preservation against sin 2 If sin bee so bitter then sad is the condition of such as are insensible of its bitterness who make that their Recreation here which will bee their damnation hereafter who plead not onely for infirmities which yet no good man dares do but also for enormities They declare their sin like Sodome impudently and impenitently they thank God they never knew what the burden or bitterness of sin meant the more is behinde for if sin bee not bitter here it will bee in another world And therefore this may comfort those that groan and grieve under the burden and bitterness of sin such as make their sin their greatest sorrow Christ will bee unto them their greatest joy Christ calls such as it were by name to come to him Isa. 55. 1 2. Matth. 11. 28. This qualifies a man and fits him for Christ when Christ sees of the travel of his soul in our souls it delights him Isa. 53. 10 11. This sense of sin argues some spiritual life in the soul. Nature will not complain of Nature nor will corruption complain of corruption it is onely grace that makes us truly sensible of the bitterness of sin 3 Pitty those that groan under the burden and bitterness of sin No sorrow like their sorrow no burden like the burden of a wounded conscience Adde not affliction to the afflictions of those whom God hath wounded but power the oyl of mercy into their sin-sick souls Bee not like Iobs friends miserable comforters and Physicians of no value if wee must ease our enemies Oxe or Ass when hee lyeth under his burden shall wee not much more ease our brothers soul Exod. 23. 5. Bee not harsh or hasty bee not sowre and censorious to such but bee meek and merciful and so bear each others burdens Gal. 6. 1 2. 9. Obs. It is a sad Aggravation of peoples sins when they sin against their God The God of all their mercies the fountain of all their enjoyments Their God in Covenant with them whom they have avouched for their God and vowed openly that hee shall bee their God and they would bee his people to love serve fear and obey him yet contrary to all Vows Baptistical Eucharistical personal National to flye from God and to rebel against him this is the heighth of sâ—n and makes it â—xceeding sinful and provokes the Lord to say Lo-ammi yee are no people of mine as hee said to Ephram here Hâ—s 1. 9. And is not this Englands sin God hath taken us into Covenant with himself he hath owned us above all the people in the world hee hath made us the head and terrâ—ur of the Nations hee hath done wonders for us at home and abroad hee hath made us his darling Nation whilst others swim in blood wee swim in blessings of peace whilst others are weeping and wayling by the waters of Babylon wee dwell in an Eden joy and gladness is found in us thanksgiving and the voyce of melody Hee hath made us his Ephraim hee hath laid his right hand upon us hee hath planted us in a fruitful soyl hedged us about with his gracious protection and good Laws hee hath removed from amongst us all the apparent impediments of our growth and fruitfulness hee hath furnished us with choâ—ce persons and those persons with excellent gifts and graces Hee hath a special care over us for good and now hee looks as well hee may for the pleasant grapes of obedience but behold the sowre and wilde grapes of confusion disorder errour and disobedience abound amongst us Wee have broken all our Covenants wee are not onely Sermon-proof but wee are also Covenant proof no bonds so sacred so strong but wee can as easily break them as Sampson did the cords of the Phiâ—istims So that what can wee expect but that the Lord should take away his hedge of Government both Temporal and Spiritual breaking down the wall which defended us from our enemies and letting in all the wilde beasts that might destroy us Justly might hee withdraw his good hand of providence and protection from us and expoâ—e us to all manner of rapine and ruine for our Apostasies and Rebellions 10 Obs. Sin especially the sin of Rebellion brings the sword upon a people They shall fall by the Sword This is Gods last and great Rod and hee never brings it forth till hee bee â— greatly provoked by his peoples sins Iob 36. 12. Isa. 1. 20. When no other means will better a people then comes the Sword and cuts them off God hath three evil Arrows which hee shoots at a Rebellious people viz. the Sword Famine and Pestilence Ezek. 5. 16. these are called Arrows because they are sharp and deadly and evil
because of the misery and mischief which they bring Of all the three the Sword is the â—orest as appears by Davids choice 2 Sam. 24. 14. besides the Plague and Famine are the usual attendants of War where the Sword goes before there Famine and Pestilence usually attend Their Infants shall bee dashed in peeces 11 Obs. Little Infants are great sinners 1 That great Sin and Rebellion of Adam is impâ—ted to them for sin what hee did they did wee were all in the loyns of that one man Rom. 5. 12. 2 They have not onely original sin imputed but imparted also they have inherent original sin which is radically seminally fundamentally all sin The youngest childe carries an old man of sin within him Wee are no sooner born into the world but wee have a world of sin about us 3 The sad diseases pangs and dismal deaths which seize on Infants are strong proofs of this point their very dying speaks them sinners The wages of sin bee it original or actual is death Rom. 6. 23. Original sin which is the greatest sin in the world cleaves to their natures and makes them odious and abominable in Gods sight so that they are by nature children of wrath and obnoxious to all his judgements VVee are all daninati antequam nati and so might justly have been sent from the VVomb to the Tomb c. 12 Obs. Wicked parents bring judgements on their posterity Their poor little ones fare the worse for them Hos. 9. 12 13. Though they bring up children yet I will bereave them of them and they shall bring forth children to the murderer who is Gods executioner and so become Paricides rather than Parents Thus the old world was drowned and their children with them And the Sodomites were burnt and their children with them Achan was not onely stoned himself but his sons and daughters yea and his cattel perished with him The accusers of Daniel were slain by the Lions both they and their children Dan. 6. 24. The Iews that rejected and crucified Christ brought a curse not onely upon themselves but also upon their children Matth. 27. 25. His blood bee on â—s and on our children which hath lain on them above sixteen hundred years It is just with God to cut off the wicked and their seed as wee kill the VVolf vvith her VVhelps and the Fox vvith her Cubs though the young Toad hath not actually poysoned any yet because it hath a posonous nature in it vvee destroy it So doth God by the children of the vvicked Gen. 19. 25. Numb 16. 32 33. I Sam. 15. 3. Isa. 13. 16. Ier. 44. 7. Hos. 10. 14. When men rebel against God and reject his wayes hee vvill send against them a barbarous and cruel Nation that shall not regard the persons of the old nor have compassion on the young Deut. 28. 50. and 32. 25. Ezâ—k 9 6. Q. Are not Infants called Innocents Psal. 106. 38. Ier. 19. 4. how then can it stand with the justice of God thus severely to punish them Answ. They are not called so because they have no sin but I In respect of those cruel men who without any cause shed the blood of those little ones who had deserved no such thing at their hands So the Assyrians here were guilty of great inhumanity in killing those Infants and God in his due time did retaliate it to them Nahum 3. 10. 2 Though they may bee called Innocent in respect of any actual sin yet they are not so in respect of original sin which seminally and radically is every sin The guilt of that sin cleaves to their natures and makes them obnoxious to all tortures here and eternal torments hereafter 3 The sins of the Parents may bee also a moving cause and may provoke the Lord to smite the Parents with their children Exod. 20. 5. The Lord threatens to visit the sins of Idolatrous Parents upon their children because either they already walk in their fathers sins or else in time they would do so or it may bee worse which God onely knows 3 God hath a sovereign right and power over all his creatures hee is the Potter and wee are his clay hee may do with his own what hee pleaseth hee may make us or mar us raise us or ruine us and none may say unto him What doest thou Hee that giveth life may take it away how and when hee pleaseth his will is the rule of Justice yea Justice it self wee must therefore adore Gods Judgements when wee cannot comprehend them and know that though they may bee secret yet they are alwayes just 4 Children are parts of their Parents part of their Family and part of their substance and God may justly punish the sinful parent in his childe as wel as in his cattel and estate because they do not onely belong to him but also are a part of him 5 Sin committed by a particular man that is a member of a Politick body doth after a sort belong to the whole body Thus Achans sin though not known to the people yet made them all guilty till hee was put to death Iosh. 7. 11. 6 Yet these temporal Judgements may bee mingled with spiritual mercies as wee see in Ierobâ—ams childe who was taken away in mercy because there was some goodness found in him I King 14. 12 13. especially the Infants of Gods people that are in Covenant with their Parents there is great grounds of hope that they have changed their temporal life for an eternal and are freed from many sins sorrows and tentations which men that live to riper years are exposed to yea if they should bee cast away for their original sin yet their damnation will bee lighter than if they had lived longer It had been good for reprobates if they had not been born or that they had dyed as soon as they had been born for then they would not have had so many sins to answer for Quest. But hath not God said The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father Deut. 24. â—6 and 2 King 14. 16. Ezek. 18. 20. it seems then to bee cruelty to kill the children for the Parents sins especially such as are unborn and have not deserved such evils Answ. 1 It is true in respect of the Assyrians it was cruelty and horrid barbarousness in them to kill poor harmless little ones and God threatens to visit such sins upon the heads of such sinners 2 It is not cruelty in God for children are children of wrath as well as their Parents as all have sinned so hee may punish all without injustice Besides hee permits and orders the cruelty of wicked adversaries to his own glory and his peoples good As for that Deut. 24. 16. It speaks of Gods restraining of Magistrates who may not punish the children for the fathers offences True it is God findes cause enough in children themselves to punish them but when they imitate their wicked parents this hastens and
heightens wrath by adding sin to sin 3 The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father if hee depart from the fathers iniquity and do not walk in his steps Ezek. 18. 14 17. If a man beget a son that seeth all his fathers sin and feareth and doth not the like hee shall not dye for his fathers iniquity But if the son tread in his fathers steps hee shall bear his own iniquity and becomes accessary to his fathers sin by imitation and approbation of it Matth. 23. 32. Luke 11. 48 50. the blood of former generations had not been required of that generation if they had not been as bloody as the former But where old sins are continued and approved of by new acting of them there the old sins as well as the new are justly punished So that the threatning is not to bee understood absolutely but conditionally viz. If the children do persist in their fathers sins and walk in their wicked wayes 4 The son shall not bear the personal iniquities of the father in reference to eternal punishment God will not damn a son simply for the sin of his father it is a mans own sin which is his everlasting ruine yet hee may lay many temporal chafâ—isements upon a good son for the sin of his father The Lord in Ezek. 18. 20 23 32. seems to speak of eternal and not of temporal punishment 1 This should make Parents fearful of displeasing God lest they bring miseries not only on themselves but also on their children their Idolatry may bring a curse upon their childrens children to many generations No children in Scripture are threatned like the children of Idolaters In none of the Commandements doth God threaten to visit the sin of the fathers upon the children but onely in the second Exod. 20. 5. It is well observed by a pious and precious Divine that there are eight sins which do more especially bring Judgements on a mans Posterity whereof the first is Idolatry 2 Adultery 2 Sam. 12. 14. 3 Covenant-breaking 2 Sam. 21. 13. 4 Persecution of the godly Matth. 23. 31. to 36. Psal. 137. 7. 5 Murder 1 King 21. 21. Jer. 15. 4. 6 Oppression Job 20. 19 26. Hab. 2. 9. 7 Contempt of Magistracy and Ministry Num. 16. 32. 41. 49. 1 King 13. 33 34. 8 When men pretend Reformation and intend themselves as Iehu did Hos. 1. 4. God is very pittiful and tender over Infants as appears in that hee would not destroy Nineveh for the Infants sakes that were in ti Ionah 4 11. and in the sacking of Cities hee commands them to spare Infants Deut. 20. 14. but it is the sin of Parents which many times hardens Gods heart against them and makes him to delight in the destruction both of them and theirs yea and it hardens mens hearts against them so that they cannot but act such cruelty against them as they never intended as wee see in Hazael 2 King 8. 11 12 13. when the Prophet Elisha wept and told him what mischief hee should do to Israel viz. that hee should kill the young men and dash the Infants against the stones and rend in peeces the women with childe Am I a dog saith Hazael that I should do such things as these Hee then thought it a base and barbarous thing when hee was King Benhadads servant to act such inhumane villany upon the mothers with their infants the Prophet onely tell him that hee shall bee a King vers 13. and then when hee had changed his condition hee would also change his manners and commit all the abominations which hee mentioned Let Parents then labour for grace that they may leave a blessing and not a curse to their posterity Gen. 17. 7. Exod. 20. 6. Psal. 112. 2. If you will not pitty your selves yet pitty your little ones let not them fare the worse for you It is ill-being a wicked mans childe yea their very beasts faâ—e the worse for them Iosh. 7. 24 25. Achan was stoned and his cattel with him Wicked Egyptians bring a Murrain upon their cattel Exod. 9. 3. As a good man is a publick good the Family City Kingdome fare the better for him yea his cattel are spared for his sake Exod. 9. 4. The Lord shall sever between the cattel of Egypt and the cattel of Israel there shall nothing dye of all that is the children of Israels God blesseth the very cattel of his people and if the creature could speak it would desire to serve those that serve God Most Parents provide Inheritances for their children but oft-times they leave their sins with them too It was a sad Legacy that Ioab left to his children that one should bee a Leper another a weakling a third beg his bread 2 Sam. 3. 29. So many a man to one childe hee leaves his Murder to another his Adultery to a third his Usury to a fourth his Swearing Gehazi left a Talent of silver behinde him to his posterity but hee left the Leprosie with it Better want such mens lands and inheritances than thus to inherit their sins too 2 Let children bee humbled then for their forefathers sins that they bee not imputed to them Lâ—v. 26. 41. So did Nehemia ch 1. 6. and David Psal. 79. 8. Remember not against us iniquitates praecedentium saith the Original the sins of our forefathers Hee that sees the sins of his Predecessors and is not humbled for them approves of them and so becomes accessary to them Hence the Lord blames Belshazzar for not humbling himself for his fathers sin and punishment which hee knew of Dan. 5. 22. Let us therefore acknowledge our selves to bee the children of sinful parents and say with him Deut. 26. 5. A Syrian was my father ready to perish and with David Wee have sinned with our fathers Psal. 106. 6. and with Daniel ch 9. 8. Deprecate the punishment which is due to uâ— for their sins So Ier. 14. 20. 3 Admire the patience of the Lord that hath born so long with us who have been sinners from the womb If little ones who never sinned against the patience of God as wee have done indure such pangs sorrows sickness and death what may men of years look for who have added to original corruption a numberless number of actual transgressions If this bee done to the green tree what shall bee done to the dry If Infants who are Innocents and righteous comparatively shall scarcely bee saved where shall the ungodly and rebellious sinner appear If hee spare not little ones that lye in their mothers bowels but suffer wicked men to drag them thence where oh where shall those wicked parents appear that have been the primary cause of all this mischief and sorrow to them and have been the authors and actors of that wickedness which hath brought this misery on them It should therefore bee matter of great humiliation to us all when wee see the sharp and sore judgements that oft light upon little ones
mens inventions before the wheat of Gods word Let the ablest Minister in the land preach in some Towns yet how many are there that prefer a rayling seducing Sectary that preacheth the fancies and dotages of his own brain before the faithful servants of God that dispense his word sincerely This also is a sad presage of some approaching Judgement 3 Contempt of the true Prophets It was a rare age of Prophets they had the best preaching a little before their ruine So great was the Lords care over them and so loath was hee that they should perish that hee sent extraordinary Prophets to them more in number than hee did to the Kingdome of Iudah and by them hee supplied the defect of the ordinary Ministry of Priests and Levites They had Elijah Elisha Ionah Amos Micah Ioel and Hosea who prophesied about seven and forty years unto them besides these Prophets Ahijah Semaja Iehu Iddo Amani Azariah c. yet such was their obstinacy and perversness that no wooings nor warnings could work upon them instead of hearkning to those Messengers which the Lord in great compassion sent unto them to reclaim them from their Idols they mocked jeered mis-used and persecuted them and looked upon them as a pack of Cheats and deceivers that frighted people without a cause till the wrath of the Lord broke forth against them and there was no remedy his anger was so fierce it could not bee extinguished When David sent messengers to comfort Hanun and hee abused them Davids anger was kindled against him and it cost him dear 2 Sam. 10. 4. Contempt of the word is an infallible fore-runner of judgement When Elies sons hearkned not to the counsel of their father God cut them off When Amaziah contemned the counsel of the Prâ—phet it was a sign the Lord had a purpose to destroy him 2 Chron. 25. 16. And if this bee an infallible sign of a Nations ruine the Lord bee merciful to England never was the land so full of pious painful learned Ministers and never were any so coorsely and ingratefully dealt withall by many as these are What loads of reproaches and floods of bitter raylings are cast out against us not for any evil that wee have done but solely for discharging our duty and stopping men in their sinful heretical destructive wayes Wee are their enemies onely because wee tell them the truth Those that formerly were ready to pull out their own eyes to do us good now they are ready to pull out our eyes Thus have wee been wounded in the house of our friends To bee derided by Egyptians is threatned as a misery Hos. 7. ulâ— but to bee reproached by friends and professors is very grievous The good Lord lay not this ingratitude and contempt to their charge Though wee bear yet God will not alwayes bear When Moses is silent then God ariseth when hee is dumb then God speaks when hee is deaf then God hears and stirs Numb 12. 1 4. God will smite through the loyns of those that rise against his Messengers and of those that hate them that they rise not up again Deut. 33. 11. It is not so much the Minister as the Ministry that is cried down that which they should principally love us for viz. for our work sake that is the ground of these mens hatred As it was not the Baron but the Barony that was the Traytor so foâ— the most part it is not so much the man that they smite at as the Maintenance the Tythes the Glebe and the Ordinances of God wherewith they are intrusted 4 As the true Prophets were contemned so they delighted in false ones Elijah is persecuted when eight hundred and fifty false Prophets are entertained and fed I King 18. 4 19. Though they were fools and mad-men Hos. 9. 7. The daies of Visitation are come how doth that appear why the Prophet the false Prophet is a fool and flatters the people with vain hopes yea the spiritual man is mad i. e. Hee who braggs so much of the Spirit and falsly boasteth that hee is inspired by the holy Spirit and that hee speaks all by the Spirit this man is mad hee is smitten with a spiritual frenzy doating upon his own dreams and lunatick illuminations and venting his brain-sick notions instead of Gods Word These Priests Ieroboam in his carnal policy chose out of the meanest of the people fit servants for such gods Calves suit well with Calves which were not of the Sons of Levi who were set apart by Gods special command for the service of his house but whosoever would might thrust himself into the office how unworthy soever I King 13. 33. But see what follows in the next vers 34. This thing became a sin to the house of Ieroboam even to cut it off from the face of the Earth This even this was that indeleble sin which ruined both him and his Family And is not this the sin of England are not false Prophets by many thousands preferred before the true will not many go ten miles to hear a deceiver that will not go two to hear a faithful Minister of Christ when men go by troops to such harlotrymeetings the Lord will visit for this as well as for corporal harloâ—â—y Ier. 5. 7 9. The quaking Seducers are certainly lead by this spirit of the Devil as will easily appear if wee consider the Men the Matter or the Manner of their speaking 1 The Men both Speakers and Hearers are generally a prophane Generation they are mordaces mendaces notorious Railers and Lyars as like their Father the Devil as ever they can look 2 What is the Matter of their Speaking why it is against Ministers and their Maintenance or against the Coercive power of the Magistrate against Scripture Ordinances c. 3 The Manner of their Meeting is prophane and tumultuous A rout meet together on a Mountain a Common or under some Hedge and there without any praying before some speak others jeer some dispute some quarrel and fight others take Tobacco amidst such an unsavoury company they had need of some better Antidote so that one would think they were at some Bear-baiting and not at the Service of God That men should bee tolerated yea and commanded to serve God is commendable but that men should bee tollerated to blaspheme and worship the Devil is abominable 2 What folly and madness hath seized on the false Prophets of our times the swarms of blasphemous Pamphlets do sufficiently testifie to the world and the thousands and ten thousands that have been infected by them do plainly fore-tell that some judgement is at hand 3 How many of Ieroboams Priests have thrust themselves into the work of the Ministery who vent heresies and blasphemies instead of truth and what tolleration and countenance hath been given to such is known now to all the world and forreign Churches complain against us for it and what cause wee have to fear that wrath is coming upon
us for this sin Let the wise Reader judge If ever that Caution of our Saviour were in season it is now Mat. 10. 17. Beware of men Christ doth not say beware of Serpents or Devils hee promised them power over these Mark 16. 17 18. But Beware of men 1 Beware of wicked men woolfish persecutors and blood-suckers who hate us without a cause Psal. 69. 4. how much more when by our unwise walking wee shall expose our selves to their fury and malice 2 Beware of Hypocrites and seeming good men The Devil can transform himself into an Angel of Light and oft â—â—â—ears in Samuels Mantle the better to deceive hee is never more to bee feared than when such it is this Sanctus Satanas this white Devil that doth us most hurt The swearing cursing black Devil every one cries shame of but it is the preaching praying professing Devil who pretends to extraordinary sanctity and mortification that deceives even many a good soul by its over-much credulity These are more dangerous in some sense to us than the very Devil himself for if the Devil should appear to us in his own likeness and ugly shape wee should run from him for fear no man would hearken to him if the Devil should come in person and call men to the Ale-house or call them from their callings who would obey but when hee comes to us in a friend a wife a bosom-companion c. hee is not so easily perceived and so wee are sooner ensnared and therefore our Saviour doth not say Beware of Satan but Beware of those men who are the Instruments of Satan if they should come like Angels wee should suspect them if like Beasts wee should shun them if like fiends wee should fear them but coming to us like men of the same profession with us and professing great kindness to us how soon are poor plain souls deceived by such and therefore Beware of men for as God loves to work upon men by the Ministry of man and sends them to such So the Devil who is Gods Ape loves to draw men from God by men viz. by seducers and deceivers who are inspired fitted and filled by him for that purpose if Ahab will not hear Micaiah the true Prophet of the Lord the Devil hath four hundred false Prophets at hand to deceive him When hee would seduce Adam from his obedience hee doth not appear himself but hee sets Eve his wife upon him and so prevails When hee would have innocent Abel slain hee doth not do it himself but hee hath a malicious Cain that will do it When the Devil would have Christ crucified hee hath a Iudas a Devil incarnate ready at hand to betray him Iohn 13. 2. 3 Beware of real good men The Devil can shrowd himself under a Peter and tempt our Saviour by him Matth. 16. 23. by his example hee can compel the Gentiles to live after the Jewish manner in observing the Ceremonial Law Gal. 2. 14. The best of men are but men at best they know but in part they have their infirmities and must have their grains of allowance wee may not therefore glory in men nor pin our Faith on their sleeves because wee know not whither they may carry it The great sin of this age is building on man Such a holy man is for a tolleration and such a one holds such opinions what tell you mee of men Wee must live by Rule not by Example neither may wee follow any good man further than hee follows Christ in his Word I Cor. 11. 1. Bee it Paul you must try his Doctrine by the touch-stone of the Word before you trust it Acts 17. 11. Remember every man is a lyar Rom. 3. 4. either actively or passively either by Imposture and of purpose or else by Impotency and in event 4 Beware of great men Wee are apt to bee lead by their examples if Prince such a one or Sir Thomas such a one rise c. how apt are people to follow without any consideration Great men many times are great sinners they have their native corruption heightened by their pomp and prosperity Iob 21. 7 to 15. Ier. 4. 5. When great men are wicked men and have great parts and great wits they do great mischief as Achitophel Catiline c. Beware then of following such great ones 5 Beware of subtil seducers that pretend New-light Gen. 3. 5. Revelations glorious Mysteries c. Rom. 16. 17. but inwardly they are ravening wolves Mat. 7. 15. Poison in it self is dangerous but never more dangerous than when it is mixt with honey These have mens persons in admiration but it is for their own ends and advantage Iude 16. and if ever this Caution were in season it is now when there are so many Juglers and chearers gone forth into the world Their number is greater than formerly and they act more subtilly and mystically they act against Christ under the Name of Christ Mat. 24. 5. and that so cunningly and craftily that if it were possible they would deceive the very Elect Mat. 24. 24. they have Iacob's voice but Esau's hands they talk so divinely as if they had no bodies and live so lewdly as if they had no souls hence it is that wee are so oft admonished to take heed of them Rom. 16. 17. 2 Tim. 3. 5. 2 Iohn 10. Object They cite Scripture Answ. So did the Devil Matth. 4. 6. Object There is some truth in what they say Answ. So there is in the Mass and in Stage-plaies It is the Devils usual practice to mix some sugar with his poison to make it go down the better and to mingle some truths with his errours as the Fowler mingles corn with his chaff that hee may catch the sooner You will shun those that poison your bodies Oh take heed of those that would poison your souls No murder like soul-murder Shun a seducer as you would shun the Devil himself whose factor hee is and when hee speaks fairest and pretends most love then fear him most when Herod intended Christs destruction hee then pretended devotion Matth. 2. 8. When Absolom sought his Fathers Kingdome hee pretends a Vow at Hebron when Saul would mischief David hee makes him his Son-in-Law I Sam. 18. 17. Beware then of men who put fair Gloves upon foul hands who pretend pitty but act cruelty who promise liberty when they intend thraldome Object But they are great Professors Answ. So were those that followed Christ yet hee would not trust them for hee knew the deceit that was in them Ioh. 2. 24 25. All is not gold that glisters nor are all Israel that are of Israel and therefore take heed whom you trust 6 Beware of thy foes Wee are beset round with them and that both corporal and spiritual wee had need therefore to bee sober and watch and to pray with David Help mee O Lord and that because of mine enemies Psal. 27. 11. Many there bee that watch for our halting wee also should