account of the greatest mercy when they are at the greatest height of prosperity when afflictions seems to be the farthest off from them then it comes heaviest upon them When they thinke least of it when they thinke all sure then God comes upon them by his displeasure when his displeasure shall be most biâ—ter to them for that is the strength of the point he will not onely take them away in the time thereof but when the affliction shall be most grievous to them That in the 20. of Job ver 22. is a most notable Scripture for this In the fulnesse of his sufficiency he shall be in straits A man may seeme to have sufficiency of the creature and may have his fulnesse of sufficiency yet God saith he shall be in straits in the fulnesse of his sufficiency I can give you another admirable work of providence in this very things wherein you may see God to come in sore affliction at such a time when it is most bitter it came from that worthy Divine Doctor Preston it was in the Towne where he was born There was a man who of long time had no childe but when God gave him one at the weaning of it hee called his friends and neighbours to rejoyce with him for this great mercy and the Nurse going to dandle the child in her arme and wearing a knife in her bosom the point of the knife being upward while she was dandling of the child runs into the belly of the child at that time when all his friends were about him to rejoyce with him When men thinke the bitternesse of death to be past as Agag did the curse of God comes on them Ps 78. 30. While the meate was in their mouths the wrath of God fell upon them I have read of Pope John the 22. that he said he knew by the position of the Stars he should live a long time and boasted that he could cast his nativity and the same night by the fall of a chamber he had newly built for his solace he was sâ—ain Another example in this kind I have heard credibly reported of a drunken fellow in an Inne was swearing most dreadfully and one comes in and saith Sir what if you should dye now saith hee I shall never eye and going down the stairs when he went out of his chamber he presently feldown and broke his neck There is likewise a history of one Bibulus a Roman that riding in triumph in all his glory a tyle fel from a house in the street and knockt out his brains As on the contrary Gods wayes and dealings with the Saints are such as what time their condition is most sad God comes in with mercy to them when they are in the most dark condition and gloomish Gods face shines on them so when the wicked are in their prosperity God smites them When the irons entred into Iosephs soule God delivered him When the Apostle had received the sentence of death in himself God comforred him 2 Cor. 1. 9. When Abraham was lifting up his hand to slay Isaac the Angel of the Lord stayed his hand As it is observed in nature a little before day breake it is darker then before so a little before the happinesse of Gods people there are some great afflictions Zech. 1. 7. At the evening time it shall be light I will recover From this phrase of recovering observe First when men abuse mercies they forfeit their right in their mercies they come then to be but usurpers they are not usurpers of mercies meerely for the use of mercies but for the abuse of them they are not charged for their right to use them but for their not right using them there is great difference between these two It hath beene taught by many that all wicked men have no right at all to use any creature but are to answer as usurpers before God But certainely there is a mistake It is certain man hath forfeited all but God hath given a right to all that they do enjoy in a lawful way a right by donation They have not such a right as the Saints have a right in Christ once being in Christ we may challence of God all things that are good for us Another man hath right but how as a malefactor is condemned to dye by his offence being condemned he hath forfeited all his estate and all the benefit of a subject But if the King be pleased to allow him provision for a day or two till the time of execution he cannot be challenged as an usurper for that he hath he hath it by donation and it is such a right that all wicked men have all wicked men in the world are under the sentence of condemnation have forfeited their right and all the good of the creature only the Lord is pleased out of his bounty to give such and such enjoyments they shall have such and such houses and such and such lands for a time till the day of execution comes This might daunt the hearts of wicked men you look upon your selves as great men you have your shops full you have large estates you are like some malefactors who have a better supper before execution then others But still your not right using may make you usurpers before God You give your servant order to buy such and such commodities suppose your servant run away with your money or bestow it on his whores c. if he run away do you not follow him as a thiefe you trust him with such a stock to keepe such markets now he hath right to use your estate but if he run away with your estate and use it against you if you meet with him again you will say what a thief are you to run away with your Masters estate and abuse it against him I will recover c. All the time the creature serves wicked men it is in bondage and God looks upon it with a kinde of pitty God hath made all things for his owne praise and he gives the children of men many mercies but it is for his owne glory but when these creatures which were given for the glory of God are abused to thy lust the creature groanes under thee Thou drinkest wine but the creature groans under thy abuse never any gally-slave did groan more under the bondage of the Turks then thy wine and thy dishes on thy table groan under thy abuse Rom. 8. 22. As God hears the cry of the widow and fatherless so he hears the groans of the creature Cornelius a Lapide tels a story that he heard of a famous Preacher shewing this bondage of the creature brings in the creatures complaining thus Oh that we could serve such as are godly Oh that our substance our flesh might be incorporated into godly people that so we might rise into glory but if our flesh be incorporated into the flesh of sinners we shall go to hell and would any creature
have him take it away yet if this Magistrate should be guilty of the same sin or that which amounteth to the same sin God will avenge himselfe upon this Magistrate as upon a Murtherer as here God revengeth himselfe upon the house of Iehu as for murther yet Iehu was a Magistrate and this was commanded Iehu by God himselfe So suppose a Magistrate fine a man for any evill and that justly yet if he be guilty of the same himselfe God will deal with this Magistrate as if he robbed by the high way side and took away a mans money by violence It is apparent out of the Text. Certainely my brethren therefore great wrath and vengeance hangeth over the head of wicked Magistrates All this you learn from what is here said that God will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu upon the inquiring into the reason of it And he will doe this upon the house of Iehu that is the third Question What is the house of Iehu That is his Posterity his Family that was to succeed And indeed it was to the fourth generation till God came against him as we shall heare by and by God followeth wicked men to the 3. and 4. generation The posterity of the ungodly specially Idolaters shall suffer for their Fathers sin It is very observable what you have in the second Commandement that God in no other doth threaten the sinne of the fathers upon the children but in the second Commandement What is thereason of this That Commandement forbiddeth Images Because your superstitious worshippers of all men are strengthened by the tradition of their Fathers Oh our Fathers did thus and thus and shall we be wiser then our Fore-fathers We have now a company of up-start men and they will be wiser then their Ancestors Because superstitious worshippers harden themselves so much in that way upon their Fathers therefore it is that in that very Commandement against making and worshipping of Images God threatneth to visite the sinne of the fathers upon the children and in no other What the house of Iehu after Iehu was dead how can this be Yes as a Prince that hath to doe with two Traitors both of them have deserved death but the Prince is enclined to shew mercy and against the one there commeth this Accusation This mans Father was a Traytor and his grand-father and his great grand-father were Traytors Nay then let him dye saith the Prince But now the other that is guilty of as much as this man was yet it is told the King Sir This mans Fathers hath done a great deale of excellent fervice for the Common-wealth there were never any of his house but were loyaâ—l This man now is spared though hee deserveth death and guilty with the other of the same treason and the King is just in this And so the first man may be said to dye for his Fathers sinne that is he should not have been executed if his Fore-fathers had not been in the fault Take heed what you doe in the course of your lives if you regard not your selves yet for your childrens sake that you may not leave a curse behind you upon the off-spring of your loins and fruit of your wombs look upon them pity them Though you your selves may escape in this world yet you may leave the inheritance of your sinnes unto your children Pity your children that they may not have cause to curse the time that they were borne of such parents and wish that they had rather been of the off-spring of Dragons and a generation of Vipers then to be born of such parents that have left them a curse for an inheritance It had been better you had left them never a peny then to leave them to inherite the curse of your wickednesse Vpon the house of Jehu The house of Jehu fareth the worse for Jehu Those that desire to raise and continue the honour of their houses let them take heed of wayes of wickednesse for wickednesse will bring down any Family whatsoever But why is it The house of Jehu without any addition of Jehu the King as in others it is usual Hereby God would give a check to Jehu and bid him look back upon the meannesse of his birth for Jehu was not of the Kingly race yet how unthankfull was he who was raised from the dung-hill thus unworthily to depart from the Lord. You whom God hath raised up on high to great honours and estates look back to the meannesse of your beginning that God hath raised you from and labour to give him an answerable return of obedience Those that will not give God the glory of their honours and estates it is just their honors and estates should be taken from them But what is this Yet a little while This is to be understood in reference to Jehu or in reference to the house of Israel Yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu and will cease the Kingdome of the house of Israel It was a long while before God came upon the house ol Jehu and yet now he saith yet but a little while I will stay but a little longer ere I avenge the blood of Iezreel upon the house of Iehu It was now the third generation since Iehu committed those sins nay it will appeare that it was above an hundred years from the sinnes of Iehu to Gods avenging the blood of Iezreel upon his house for Iehu raigned 28. years his sonne Iehoahaz 17. years and Iehoash his sonne 16. years and Ieroboam his son 41. yeares and then in the days of Zachariah the son of this Ieroboam God came to avenge this blood which was above a hundred years Oh the patience of the Lord towards sinners But though he stayed long yet he saith yet a little while Here is an excellent observation from hence That God sometimes commeth upon sinners for their old sins for sins committed a long time agon Sins a long time agone committed are perhaps forgotten by you yet they are remaining filed up and recorded in heaven above a hundred years after the commission It is like these sinns of Iehu were forgotten yet God commeth now at last to avenge the sins of Iehu upon his house So he did for the sins of Manasses and for the sins of Iosephs brethren it was 22. years before they came to have their consciences troubled and then say they We are verily guilty concerning our brother therefore is this distresse come upon us and now saith Reuben behold also his blood is required Looke to your selves you that are young take heed of youthfull sinnes Youthful sins may prove to be ages terrors Perhaps you think it was a grat while agone that you when you were a young man were in fuch a Taverne or in such a journey and committed such and such sins Have you repented for them Have you made
not God thou hast a good estate more then other men and all the use thou makest of thy estate is meerly that it might be but as fewell for thy lusts who gave thee this thy estate Is it not God God giveth thee cloathes and thou sacrificest them to thy pride thou hast more money then others and so canst vent thy malice more then others from whence hast thou this Thou hast more strength of body then others and thou ventest it in uncleannesse where hadst thou this consider this and let this meditation prevayle with thine heart to stop thee in thy sinful way let it be seconded with the next viz That is a most horrible wickedness and abominable ingratitude for any man to take Gods creatures and abuse them against God What I gave them corne and wine and multiplyed their silver and their gold and have they prepared these for Baal God speakes of this as of a monstrous sin as if God should say let all my people lament my condition that I should do so much for them and they doe nothing for me but all against me sacrifice all to Baal As perhaps many of you have beene kinde to some of your friends and have raised them and made them as we use to say they have wanted nothing but you have been bountifull to them if now these men should turne your enemies and that estate they have got by you they should use it to doe you a mischiefe would you not call in your neighbours and friends to joyne with you in lamenting your condition What did you ever heare of such an example that I should doe so much for such and they turne all against me you tell it as a most lamentable story to your friends God doth so here he makes this his grievous complaint This is as if a bird should be shot with an Arrow whose feathers came out of her own body we would even pity a bird in that case Many men make no other use of their estates but to turne them against God they are not as the slothfull servant that hid his talent in the napkin if it were but so it were not so much but they take their talents imploy them against God Would it not goe to your heart if one should sue you in law and beare the charges of the suit out of your owne estate VVe use to complaine such a man sueth me and it is my owne money hee goeth to law with So thou goest against God and hee is fayne as it were to beare all the charges It is not against the light of Nature the very heathens the publicanes and sinners will doe good to those that do good to them Thou art worse then a publicane and sinner wilt thou do hurt to God that doth thee good When Julius Caesar saw Brutus come to give him a stab in the Senate house he cryed out What thou my sonne wilt thou do it But suppose that Iulius Caesar had given him the dagger with which he stabbed him then O thou my sonne what stab me with that dagger I gave thee If when Jonathan gave David his sword and bow David should have turned against Jonathan and killed him with his own sword and bow would not the unkindnesse or rather the abominable wickedness have pierced deeper into his heart then any swords or arrows possibly could If you can finde any creature that is not GODS to fight against him withall you may doe it but if all you have is from him it is horrible wickednesse to take that and to sacrifice it to Baal Certainly God giveth it for other ends to goe crosse to Gods ends is an evill thing VVhen God aymeth at such a thing for us not to joyne with God in the same end he aymeth at is an evil but for us to ayme at a quite contrary end that is horrible wickednesse indeed They sacrificed to Baal When once superstition and Idolatry hath got into a place though there be much done against it yet it is not easie to get it out It is from hence that God doth so often complaine of Baal yet you shall finde in Iudg 2. I thinke that is the first place it is mentioned that they served Baal but it appeareth that they fell off from Baal yet they fell to him againe for in Iudg. 8. 33. After Gideons death it came to passe that the children of Israel turned againe and went a whoring after Baalim and made Baal-berith their god It speakes as if it were a new thing now that they should fall to worship Baal after they had left worshipping him After his death And 1 Sam. 7. 4. The children of Israel did put away Baalim and yet if you reade Chap 10. 22. they fall a confessing that they had sinned because they had forsaken the Lord and served Baalim though they had put him away before yet he had got up again So in that place before named 1 King 16. there Ahah would serve Baal it is brought in there as a new thing as a novelty because Baal had beene so much suppressed 2 King 10. you find that Iehu sought to destroy Baal all his Priests but yet Baal was not got out for all this but he got in againe for in 2 Kin. 23. 4. the Text saith that Josia who was long after that time caused the vessels that were made for Baal to be taken away and burnt This is a marvailous use and seasonable for our times If superstition be opposed though it be cast out as we thinke in a great degree yet if there be not a thorough Reformation it will winde in one way or other againe If we thinke it enough to cut things short and to take away their strength and their enormities we deceive our selves if there be nothing done but so they will grow up againe it is but cutting the weeds a little if branch and root be not taken away they will up again Baal will put up his head one way or other I remember Cluverus a late Historian yet much approved of bringeth in one that gave this councell concerning Rome because it was much annoyed with Wolves saith he there is no way to save Rome from Wolves but to cut down the woods wherein these Wolves breed and live for otherwise they might kill and kill but they would breed agaiue So sometimes when childrens heads are overrunne with vermine the way to destroy the vermine is to shave the haire quite of off So certainly this is the way to destroy superstition from amongst us to take away the places and revenews of those men that have beene maintainers and upholders of superstitious wayes of worship Let us by cutting down the woods and shaving off the hayre destroy these Wolves and if they will needs be Priests let them be Shavelings Which they sacrificed to Baal Lastly Idolaters are very liberall to their Idols they are willing to sacrifice gold ' silver corne wine and oyle
is a choyce mercy it is a fruite of the Covenant This mercy the Lord promiseth Pro. 3. 23. Then shalt thou walke in thy way safely thy foot shall not stumble Mark the 24 ver When thou lyest down thou shalt not be afraid yea thou shalt lye down and thy sleepe shall be sweet be not afraid of sudden feare for the Lord shall be thy confidence c. This made good to one in these dayes is a Text worth gold indeed So Ps 107. 3. So doth the Lord give his beloved rest others they labour and toyle and they eate the bread of carefulnes and are mightily perplexed but so doth the Lord give his beloved rest that is the Lord takes away care and thought from his beloved and gives them rest so that they can lye downe quietly as it were in his bosome There is a false â—est and security of the wicked when they make a covenant with death and with hell as Esay 28. 16. Ye have said we have made a covenant with death with hel when the overflowing scourge shal passe through it shall not come unto us for we have made lyes our refuge and under falshood have we hid our selves This text is as proper a text to our adversaries as any I know in the Scripture they promise to themselves all security and safety they make a Covenant with hell death but how they make lyes their refuge and under falshood have they hid themselves Here is a security and it is by a covenant with hell death but this Text holds forth a lying down safely by vertue of another Covenant even the Covenant of God therefore it followes ver 16. Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone a tryed stone aprocious corner stone a sure foundation he that believeth shall not make haste It is an Observable Text concerning our times there is a security upon that ground the overflowing scourge will breake down all but saith God I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone a tryed stone a precious corner stone a sure foundation he that believeth shal not make haste you may be secure though your enemies doe vaunt themselves and will boast in their own wayes they have made a covenant with hell death yet for you I lay in Zion a stone a sure foundation he that believeth shall not make haste Although God doth not come with his deliverance for the present yet you who believe quiet your selves lye downe safely and do not make haste A horse saith the Scripture Psal 33. 17. is a vaine thing for safety they trust in the creature ver 18. but behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that feare him they have a greater safety then if they had Troopes of horses lye about them to defend them and ver 20. Our soule waiteth for the Lord he is our help our shield so Pro. 21. 31. The horse is prepared against the day of battel but safety is of the Lord. Let us the resore cry with the Psalmist Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance vpon us then will we lye down in peace sleep for thou only makest us dwell in safety Would you have quiet sleepe in these troublesome times make your peace with God if there be peace within then you may lye downe safely notwithstanding all the rumors and tumults of war abroad but if there be no peace in the heart though you should live to see outward peace your sins would dog you they would pursue you the terrours of the Almighty would be upon you and you should not have one nights rest But Lord what is all this except we may have communion with thy selfe except we may have communion with JESUS CHRIST This is the voice of a gracious heart therefore follows that blessed promise as a further fruite of the Covenant that God would make with his people saith the Lord I will betroth thee unto my selfe I will be yours too there shall be a most blessed union and conjugall communion between you and me you shall enjoy me in all the sweetnesse and love that the wife enjoyeth the husband in though you have most wretchedly departed from me yet behold I will betroth you unto me in righteousnesse and in judgement in loving kindnesse and iu mercies The Seventeenth Lecture HOSEA 2. 19. 20. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever yea I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness and in judgement in loving kindnes in mercies I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness thou shalt know the Lord. BUt how betroth this phrase seems to be very strange she had been the wife of God before and was gone a whoring from him though God should be reconciled to her one would have thought it should rather have been I will receive you againe No but I will betroth you The reason of the phrase is to note that God would receive her with that love as if she had been a pure virgin and he would never upbraid her former departing from him you have beene an adulteresse beare your shame but for my own Names sake I will be content to receive you again No but I will beâ—roth you unto me you shall be as now taken to me and your sins shall be no more remembred they shall be as if they had never been committed When God pardoneth sin he will remember it no more the Lord will never charge upon sinners their former sins And if God will not remember the sins of his people of his repenting people to charge them upon them we should not remember them to up brayd them for them what ever they have been before if now converted it is too much boldnesse in any of us to upbraid them for any of their former sins I remember Beza tells of himselfe that the Papists upbraided him much for the sinnes of his youth for his lascivious Poems he made before his conversion but Beza answers them thus Hi homines invident mihi graciam divinam these men envy me the grace of God I will betroth thee unto mee yea I will betroth thee unto me I will even betroth thee unto me The repenting Church might say How is it possible that such an adulteresse who hath been so vile who hath been so impudent in her wayes of forsaking the blessed God her glorious husband who hath so long continued in filthy whordoms should yet expect to receive mercy What this mercy to be betrothed to God to be taken as if she were a chast Spouse before him Yes saith God I will do it and therefore it is repeated three times for the assurance of the humbled repenting Church that God will again betroth himselfe unto her and that with some Emphasis I will betroth yea I will betroth even I will betroth there is betrething and betrothing and betrothing and I and I and I shewing how much the heart of God is in this thing As if God