of his children that were so eminent in office and were destroyed so with such a visible hand of God fire from Heaven when Moses was angry that the Priests had not eat of the sin offering saith Aaron If I had eaten of the sin offering to day should it have been accepted It would have been but as the bread of mourners I that have bin struck this day and am in such a dreadful condition Would God have regarded the sin offering God required joy in his services in Deut. 1â— 7. 18. verses and hence that profession was required in Deut. 26. 13 14. verses Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house and also have given them unto the Levite and unto the Stranger to the Fatherless and to the Widdow according to all the Commandements which thou hast commanded me I have not transgressed thy Commandements neither have I forgotten them And then in the 14. vers I have not eaten thereof in my mourning c. They were to profess this to God That they had not eaten thereof in their mourning this was to shew that sacrifices offered with a sinking heart in sorrow is not pleasing to God God loves a cheerful giver We must not pine away in our iniquities sullenness and dumpishness even in sorrow for sin it sowres our spirits and services and makes them unacceptable to God I say a sullen dumpishness of spirit though it be in sorrow for sin it sowres our spirits and makes our services unacceptable to God There is a groaning and a sighing one to another or rather against one another that is condemn'd in Scripture in Jam. 5. 9. the words in your books are thus Grudge nor one against another but in the Original Sigh not or groan not one against another you shall have many that in company with others have a pensive dumpish spirit sighing and groaning and making their society to be burdensom to others Saith the holy Ghost do not sigh and groan one unto another there is a sullen dumpish sighing of spirit and dejection of soul that is as unpleasing to God as it is unto men it polutes the heart and pollutes duty But you will say Is all mourning forbidden that here the holy Ghost should say Their offerings should be as the bread of Mourners Christ saith blessed are the Mourners and the Sacrifice of God is a contrite heart It 's true an evangelical sorrow is accepted but that hath sweetness in it it is not bitter that 's not a dejected spirit it 's not a mourning that causes dejection or sullenness or straightness of spirit but that mourning doth enlarge the heart and makes it active for God hence in Ezra 9. 5. although we reade before that Ezra was astonished at the sin of the people yet saith he at the 5. verse I arose from my heaviness at the evening sacrifice when the time came that I should sacrifice unto God my heaviness did not hinder me in holy duties But how many are there that sink down in their heaviness and when God calls upon them for any duty they cannot arise they are so over-burdened with heavy spirits There they sink down in a sullen way and shall God accept of such a service as this is You may please your selves in it and think it is humiliation but there may be much pride in dejection there is none so proud a spirit as the Devil is and yet no spirit so dejected as the Devil is Lead we know it melts soonest but it consumes in the melting and many times there may be such a spirit that may be ready to sorrow upon any occasion and to melt but it 's such a melting as consumes the strength of it that it is unfit for any service that God calls for now such services as you in such a mourning way tender up to God are not accepted of him Remember this text Their offering shall be as the bread of mourning Gualter hath a Note from this God would not accept of the offering of Mourners they were unclean yet saith he there are many that seek to get their greatest gain from Funeral mournings and fall of enveighing against them that get gain that way as their Priests and Officers that use to tend upon Funerals for gain he calls them Vulturâ— and Crows that do flock to dead bodies and Sepulchers Dogs those are his words that seek to get advantage by Funerals And we know heretofore what abundance of advantage there was gotten by Funerals scarce could you bury a child under three or four pounds such kind of fees there were and made them even rejoyce when others did mourn and getting a great part of of their livelihood from the bread of Mourners And Theophylact hath another Note from this place The bread of Mourners That is those things offered to God gotten by oppression as thus suppose a man or woman gets an estate and gets it in an oppressing way it may be they are at home and merry but it may be the poor children or widdow is mourning for those morsels that thou art rejoycing in but it is the first Note that is the most according to the mind of the holy Ghost the mourning that hath respect to the funerals and so especially at the dejection of spirit in holy duties It follows The bread for their soul shall not come into the House of the Lord. The bread for their soul That is When they are seeking God even for their very lives By Bread is to be understood their oblations more generally not only Bread but their Oblations As Malac. 1. 7. Ye offer polluted bread upon mine Altar it 's taken generally for all kind of offerings upon Gods Altar So The bread for their souls that is those offerings that they did offer for their very lives Now from thence the Note is this That it 's a sad thing when a creature would seek to God for his very life yet then God rejects him and his offering too Before these people they did reject the voice of the Lord at the Temple and they kept others from going to the House of the Lord they thought sacrifices elsewhere would serve the turn as well but now they shall be far enough from bringing any sactifices to the House of the Lord though they should desire to do it for their very souls Thus many who in the time of their prosperity do neglect the Worship of God and slight it and think there is no great matter in it but afterwards when they see their very lives their souls lie at the mercy of God then they would fain seek God for their lives they see they are undone if God be not merciful to them yet then God rejects them their offerings then for their souls shall not come into the House of the Lord that is will not be accepted
of God And hence is the reason of that phrase that we have That Wine doth cheer the heart of God and man it cheer'd Gods heart to have offerings offered in a holy manner to him the greatest joy that God hath in the world is in the offerings of the Saints which should be the greatest encouragement to them men by their Wine and good Cheer may make themselves merry may make their friends merry but by their holy offerings they do cheer the heart of God they are as sweet-meats to God all the Wine and delightful things in the world they are as sweet I say to God as all the Wine and delightful things in the world are for men Thou hast a cup of Wine for thy friend to cheer him but hast thou a cup of Wine for God to cheer his heart that is a gracious holy offering unto God Surely that which is most sweet to the Soul of God should be most sweet to our souls You would wonder to hear a man say that he takes as much delight and he can recreate himself as much in reading in praying in hearing Sermons in holy conference as you can do in all your good cheer in playing and drinking of Wine in bowls you think that men are mad to say that they have as much pleasure in those things as playing at Cards and merriment and musick and good cheer you call upon them to play at Cards with you or be merry you say to them why should you be dumpish and never be merry they tell you again That they can be as merry and as cheerful in hearing the Word and praying and reading as you in all your playing and all that that you account delightful You say to them That they have no recreation They tell you That those things that are your burdens are their recreation you think it strange Why should you wonder Surely that that sweetens and joyes the heart of God that must needs be the rejoycing of the hearts of those that have the Spirit of God in them you have joy and mirth in such and such things these are sweet to you yea but do these things rejoyce God are they sweet to God But now this is the threatning here They shall not be sweet now to him nothing that is tendered to God from them shall be pleasing to him no saith God now I will have other waies to glorifie my self in upon you not by your offerings I 'le rather glorifie my self in your miseries and they shall be sweet and delightful to me If an Hypocriâ—e hath never so great enlargements in duties these would not be pleasing to God Gods palate is more delicate than to tast such sowre and sapless things than those are that comes from them Saith Tertullian The Spirit of God is a most delicate thing it hath a delicate palat and such swill that hath such mixtures of filth as your services have how can they be sweet to the delicate palat of the Spirit of God you are Hypocrites your lives are naught and filthy and unclean therefore none of your offerings can be sweet they are but swill unto that palat of mine It follows Their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners The Hebrew may be taken substantively or adjectively as thus For the bread of mourning or the bread of mourners either of both two may be taken according to the original Now by the bread of mourners is here meant unclean bread for so it is interpreted afterwards It shall be unclean But why the bread of mourners unclean This Text hath reference to what you reade in Numb 19. 11. and 14. verses you may reade there that the dead body of a man it did defile whatsoever touch'd it yea whatsoever came neer it and all those that were at Funerals that did mourn for the dead that came to the place where the dead body was to mourn with the friends for the dead they became unclean by the dead body And that 's observable that the dead body of a beast did not make men so unclean by legal uncleanness as the dead body of a man did The dead body of a beast made one unclean but only till the evening in Numb 11. 31. but the dead body of a man made a man unclean seven daies So you shall find in the former chap. of Numbers that they must be seven daies before they could be clensed and this was to note That there were more remarkable expressions of the anger of God upon the sin of man in the dead body of a man than in the dead body of a beast one made unclean but till evening and the other seven daies But the reason why there was this uncleanness from the dead body was First To note the uncleanness that there is in sin in dead works that those that did meddle with them they were polluted yea the uncleanness that there is in coming near unto sinners the coming but near to them all that was in the tent was polluted Secondly It was to shew how little pleasing to God Funeral mournings are for they were made unclean by them they were made unclean by their Funeral mournings for this bread of mourners is the bread that they eat in their Funerals The Gentils did mourn for their dead in an inordinate manner exceedingly and God would have a difference between his peoples mourning for the dead and their mourning because that he would keep up his peoplâ— faith and the hope of resurection from the dead whereas had they had liberty to mourn so excessively as the Heathens did by this means the very faith and hope of resurrection from the dead might in time even almost have been extinguished therefore God would have them take heed of that and therefore he did so ordain in the Ceremonial Law that al the mourners for the dead they should be unclean for so long a time As for any that doth give liberty in their natural affections and doth not hold the reins of them in their mourning for the dead I would apply to them that Scripture in Jer. 31. 15 16. Thus saith the Lord A voice was heard in Ramah Lamentation and bitter weeping RACHEL weeping for her CHILDREN refused to be comforted for her children because they were not But now Thus saith the Lord Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears thy work shall be rewarded and thy children shall come back again So it followed afterwards Do not weep as others let us not mourn as others that have no hope remember that the mourners for the dead in the Law they were to be unclean for seven daies Thirdly it was to note this That God would have cheerfulness in his service and therefore the bread of mourners is accounted polluted Levit. 10. 19. we reade of Aaron when there was such an occasion of mourning as ever was almost for a man for the death
they come to be born there they shall perish in their birth and so at every time my curse shall follow them from the conception from the womb and from the birth Yea and Fourthly Though perhaps some may escape in the conception and in the womb and in the birth yet it follows VER 12. Though they bring up children yet will I bereave them THE Curse of God is here threatned to pursue them and over-take them though they escaped the Curse that others are under Many think that when they have escaped some Judgment that hath come upon some others then they are safe enough and all is well But thy preservation from some Judgment that hath struck others may be thy reservation to greater Judgments that God intends for thee afterwards 2. It is a judgment to be deprived of children in the womb in the birth but when you have endured much pain in bearing and bringing forth your children much labor and trouble in bringing up your children when many a thoughtful care in the education of them much sorrow and grief they have cost you and now when they come to be hopeful almost to mens and womens estate and you think to have comfort in them now for God to take them away this is very sad unto parents it goes exceeding much unto their hearts to be bereaved then yet such things as these have befallen many heretofore and Parents though the condition must be acknowledged very sad yet they must submit to Gods hand in this Perhaps some of you have in the breeding of your children endured much and through many difficulties they have been brought till they have grown up to be almost at mens and womens estates and perhaps they have been towardly and hopeful you had hoped to have had them to have been the staff of your age and yet God suddenly hath made them fly away like a bird perhaps be drowned perhaps some other way in a most uncomfortable manner the Lord hath bereaved you of them You will say The condition is sad more than ordinary Therefore God calls you to Sanctifie his Name more than ordinary to exercise grace more than ordinary and the exercise of grace in such an extraordinary stroke of God upon you may be as great a good and comfort as great a blessing unto you as the enjoyment of your child would have been If a tender mother that through all her care and pain and labor after breeding and bringing up a child should have him taken away in some untimely death as you call it she would think her condition the saddest of any living Be it known to you perhaps some may be here or know others of their friends that have had such a hand of God upon them be but convinced of this one thing which I know you cannot deny That the exercise of grace sutable to this work of God that is now upon thee or against thee conceive it as thou wilt I say the exercise of thy grace sutable to this work of God is a greater good to thee than the life of thy child could have been it could never have done thee that good as the exercise of grace may do in this condition when it is sutable to this stroke of God upon thee and this indeed is the only way to make up any losses of children or loss of any goods be it a child be it a husband or the dearest friend a wife or thy estate yet the exercise of thy grace is better than the enjoiment of them all It follows There shall not be a man left I 'le bereave them when they bring them up the words are not a man and left is not in the Original that they be not men And sometimes God lets the children of men and women live and yet they never come to be men but strikes them in their understandings that they are bereaved of them so far that they never come to be men I remember it 's reported of S r Thomas Moore that his wife was mightilie desirous of a Boy that was her word and she had one that proved a fool and saith her husband to her You were never quiet till you had a boy and now you have one that be all his life a Boy I will bereave them that there shall not be a man left But I rather think the meaning is I wil take them away that they shall not live to be men strong men of war You boasted your selves that you had so many of your children that were such valiant men of war before but I 'le bereave you of them saith the Lord. Yea wo to them when I depart from them Surely even wo to them he puts a sureness upon this Wo to them when I depart from them As if the holy Ghost should say What do I threaten this or the other evil the great evil of all the rise of al evils is Gods forsaking them Wo also to them when I depart from them God departs from a people or a particular soul when he withdraws his goodness and mercy from them and the reason why wicked men for a time do enjoy good things it is because Gods time is not yet come to depart from them but when Gods time is come to depart from them then al vanishes suddenly As the light continues so long as the Sun is in the firmament but as soon as ever it is gon it grows to be dark the darkness of the night comes suddenly A man hath strength and health so long as his vitals hold but as soon as ever the vitals are struck the craseis of the body if that be strucken the strength and health goes The general presence of God with his Creature keeps strength and health it 's God in the creature that keeps its comforts and upon Gods departing al vanishes and comes to nothing Thou hast thy prosperity now and thou thinkest thou maiest enjoy it still but how canst thou tell but God may suddenly depart and then all is gone The alteration of mans condition is not only from Natural causes but heigher from Gods departing Carnal hearts think themselves safe if they do not see how Natural causes shall work their ruin they see nothing but as they have enjoyed much good from Natural causes so they see them working still for good to them Yea but know that thy prosperity or thy adversity depends not upon Natural causes but upon a higher cause though thou hast the confluence of all Natural causes working for thee as much as ever yet if God pleases to withdraw himself thou art a lost creature And so it is with a Kingdom When God pleases to depart from a Kingdom he doth then take away Wisdome from the Wise he gives them up to their own Counsels to perverse Counsels he blinds them that they cannot forsee their danger nor see means to help them but they shall take waies as if they intended to destroy
the word comes out against him Again especially it should teach us not to trust as in no outward prosperity so not in any fortifications nor strength Tyrus was an invinceable place it seems to be so yet God could pul it down nor to trust in the multitude of Soldiers This example is as famous as any to teach men not to trust in any outwards whatsoever Calvin he carries it in somewhat a different way and truly not without some probability neither I saw Ephraim that thou wert planted in a pleasant place as in Tyrus so he carries it thus that is Thou art a plant like to the plants that were in Tyrus And the word translated pleasant place it 's a word that signifies building because they use to build the most delightful places it signifies also a secure place of habitation now saith he Tyrus it was upon a Rock and therefore they had little ground for Orchards or Gardens or Plants but only such as were made by art and with a great deal of cost and charges and saith he As men when they are striving with Nature if they mean to do any thing at all they will do it to purpose and fetch out the most curious plants and bestow a great deal of cost to cover them from the coldness of the winter as we see in places that are neer the Sea that meerly by art they fetch out a place for a Garden or Orchard they are mighty chargable So Ephraim was compared to such a plant that is God was at a great deal of charge for it and very careful he was to preserve them As you heard the last day God compar'd his love to his people to a longing woman that longed for the first ripe fruits so Gods love was towards his people and here God compares his respect to his people as a man or woman would do to a tender plant that is in a Garden or Orchard that is made with abundance of cost and charge look how careful they would be to preserve some tender plant in covering of it and keeping of it from being mixt with the frost saith he such was my care towards Ephraim howsoever they have served me Thus to aggravate their sins God doth shew his care of them thus Calvin But saith the text for all this though my care hath been thus over them yet they shall bring forth their children to the murderers God never shews so much respect to any man or woman but upon their forsaking of him wrath doth follow Yet after all this they shall bring forth their children to the murderers as if so be their children had been born for no other end but to satisfie the mouth of the sword to be objects of the fury of the murderers and those children that they shall bring forth in their war they shall send them forth just as if a man did send a company of beasts to the slaughter-house They shall bring them forth to the murderers Sometimes indeed in war men are led forth even by the treachery or the spight at least of Commanders in the war only that they might be a prey to the murderers if any wicked Officers in an Army have a spight against a man or any particular company of men ordinarily their spight is most against godly men in their Army a wicked swearing deboist Officer that hath a spight against godly men in an Army he will set them upon the most desperat service there enjoyn them upon pain of death to do service and not to stir on purpose that they might be cut off or at least hoping that they will fall into the hand of the murderer Just in this case like to David for his own ends in another way that would set Vriah in the forefront and would have others withdraw from him on purpose that he might fall by the enemy They shall bring forth children to the murderers Many children have been brought forth to the murderers even in this way But for the Observations from the words First The Curse of God stayes not upon the Parents but goes forwards to the children It 's for the sin of the parents that the children are to be brought forth to the murderers and especially it staies not upon Idolaters but goes to their children There are two branches in this Note 1. The Curse of God staies not upon the parents but goes towards the children in Deut. 28. 18. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body and especially to the children of Idolaters In Psal 137. 8. O daughter of Babylon who art to be destroyed happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones And in Isa 13. 18. Their Bowes also shall dash the young men to pieces and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb their eye shall not spare children So in the second Commandement the Lord there threatens to visit the sins of the fathers upon the children to them that hate him to the third and fourth generation You wil say Why should children suffer for their parents sins You will kill yong Vipers and Snakes though they never have stung So God sees guilt enough in the children of wicked men and of Idolaters so that in Justice he may destroy them but he doth rather take advantage to destroy them because they be the children of wicked men and of Idolaters As if a man commit TREASON he deserves death then for his own fault but if the King hear that his Father and Grandfather were Traitors he shall die the rather because of them So it 's true the children of godly people have sin and guilt in them as well as the children of wicked men Yea but the children of wicked men having guilt and so liable to Gods Justice God will take the advantage the rather to do them Justice because their parents was wicked and ungodly and this is righteous enough with God And the children of Idolaters above all shall not be spared and especially those that live to many years because there is no sin that is so much strengthened from their Ancestors and the example of their Forefathers as Superstition and Idolatry is Why should we be wiser than our Forefathers What 's the argument of our superstitious vanities but our Forefathers did thus And therefore that 's observable That there 's no Commandement in the Ten threatens Gods judgments upon the children but the second Commandement Because that there 's no Commandement broken from the example and plea of forefathers as the second Commandement and therefore let the children of Idolaters and false Worshipers look to it that they repent from the sins of their forefathers Instead of pleading for the sins of your forefathers you should fall down and humble your souls for the sins of your forefathers or
might be another in thy family or place that might bring forth fruit to God but thou hinderest God might have more Rent as I may so say for all his possessions in the world the great Rent is the fruit that the Church brings forth in Cant. 8. 11. it is said that Solomon let out his Vineyard and it brought him in a thousand pieces of Silver for the fruit of it And God he lets out his Vinyard and his Rent I say it is the fruit that the Saints bring forth to him What glory hath God in the world if those that profess themselves to be his people should be empty 8. God doth not let us sit under empty Vines our Vines they have bin fruitful Vines shall we then be empty Vines our selves 9. The Lord hath justly struck this Vine here in England and our Vine bleeds it bleeds and is in danger to bleed to death and what though it doth it hath brought forth little fruit and therefore it 's just with God that he should let this Vine even bleed now to death 10. According to the greatness of the opportunities that any man hath or any society of men so is the greatness of the evil of emptiness Oh! now to be empty when God puts great opportunities of great service into our hands now to be empty when God expects great services Oh! it is the most vile thing of all Oh my brethren that we were but sensible of this But if this be an evil thing to be empty than what is it to bring forth the Grapes of Sodom and the Clusters of Gomorrah to bring forth the Wine of the Gall of Asps wild Grapes And yet a great deal of such fruit there hath been brought forth And truly the fruit that most men have brought forth now they are wild Grapes at the best If men do any thing yet they do so mingle the vanity of prid the sowreness of their own spirits the rigedness of their own nature with what they do that all is but sowr before God Well To conclude this about the emptiness of the Vine Oh! let us prize fruitfulness more and say as the Vine that is brought in in the 9 th of Judges Shall I leave my Wine which cheereth God and man and go and reign over you Oh so Shall we leave our fruitfulness upon any earthly advantage in the world Let us account it a greater advantage to bring forth much fruit to the glory of God than to glory in any earthly advantage No matter what becomes of us so we may be but fruitful though God dung us though he cast all the filth and reproaches in the world upon us yet if God will make this but cause us to be fruitful it is no great matter But further from the manner of the Phrase Israel is a Vine emptying its self That is an aggravation of emptiness when we empty our selves when God is not wanting to us in means but we are the Cause of it And what is the cause of emptiness but the emptying out our strength and spirits to our lusts and the world No mervail though we have no fruit for God and strength in his service when we let out all to other things And the old Latin here turns it A leavie vine And the Seventy they have it A Vine that brings forth goodly branches And yet it 's said here empty that is all the strength and juyce of it is let out in the goodliness of the branches and leaves Oh! so many Professors in these daies they empty out all their strength that they have and all their parts meerly into leaves and have goodly branches make goodly outward profession and goodly words they give and will speak much of Religion but nothing but leaves nothing but words all this while Pliny in his 17. Book and 22. Chapter saith of Vines that it is fit at least for two years together after their planting that they should be cut down to the very ground that they may not sprout out in leaves and so to lose their juyce and strength at the root And truly this is that that hath lost the hopeful beginnings of many yong people in these times they have presently sprouted out into leaves for never was there a more hopeful time of yong people than at the beginning of this Parliament and no greater encouragement was there than from them at that time I will not say it is wholly lost but Oh! how many of them that began to understand the waies of God hath let out all their strength in leaves and contests and disputes and wranglings and strange kind of opinions and little fruit is come of any thing Nay there is little savor at all in their spirits Oh! how happy had it been if so be that God had kept them down in a work of humiliation to the very ground for a yeer or two together Now that 's a thing that is altogether laid aside any work of humiliation but presently they sprout out into leaves My Brethren whatsoever may be said or whatsoevee heretofore hath seem'd to be preached to the contrary yet certainly if rightly understood hath been but the same things that must of necessity be acknowledged we do not press Humiliation as the Condition of the Covenant of Grace we look not at it so but Humiliation keeps the spirits of men low and empties them of themselves and keeps them down I say this is that which would have made them a great deal more fruitful and they could not have run up as meer leaves and their strength spent and so how many of them are fallen off again not only to be slight and vain but to be wicked and ungodly and quite naught because they were not kept down low for a while but God ordering things that they should live in times of liberty Oh! how luxurious have they grown that way When God lets a people grow rank and prunes them not they quickly grow barren We had never so many rank Christians as we have at this day that grow out in luxurious branches and they think they have over-topt all because they can talk more than others do when as there are some poor Christians that grow low to the ground and when they get a little comfort it is gone away from them presently and they walk humbly before God and no body takes notice of them but are despised and contemned O! these will grow and be delightful to the pallate of God when such rank professors as these shall wither and be cast out The pruned Vines bring forth the best fruit and therefore that 's observable compare Isa 5. with the 27. there 's a Note very observable In the 5. Chapter God complains of his Vinyard that he lookt for Grapes and they brought forth wild Grapes but there the Prophet speaks of the time before the Captivity but in the 27. Chapter there is a