who was no partaker in the evil but good even to them who meant nothing but evil And therefore as Origen said etsi novum though it be strangely said yet I say it that Gods anger is good so said St. Augustine audeo dicere though it be boldly said yet I must say it many sinners would never have been saved if they had not committed some greater sin at last than before for the punishment of that sin hath brought them to a remorse of all their other sins formerly neglected A PRACTICAL COMMENTARY UPON THE SECOND BOOK OF MOSES CALLED EXODUS CHAP. I. Verse 5. ALL the Souls that came out of the loins of Iacob into Egypt with him were but seventy Souls of which little Flock God made such an increase as the Egyptians grew afraid of it God so providing to fulfil his Promise touching their inerease Gen. 22. 17. So assuredly true are all other of Gods Promises and therefore think of what you will your Faith and Comfort shall not fail you That sweet Promise That at what time soever a sinner repents of his sin God in mercy will forgive him it shall never fail God may as soon cease to be God as cease to be true in any thing that he hath spoken So both for this Life and that to come we have Gods Word and no more than he fail'd Abraham in multiplying of his Seed will he fail us in any Promise Only we must tarry Gods time and hasty minds must learn humble patience Verse 7. The rising of Houses and Families is from the Lord who blesseth where he pleaseth with increase of Children and maketh a name spread as likewise drieth up and cutteth off as he pleaseth others Which ought to make us cease from envy where we see increase and stay rash judgement where we see decrease for it is the Lords work But then whereas it may be collected from the former verse that this wonderful increase was not till after Iosephs death it will afford us this observation that what was here figured in Ioseph was fulfilled in Christ. For before Christ died few believed in him but after his Death and Resurrection the true Israelites increased and multiplied exceedingly throughout the whole World Verse 9. Gods Favour bestowed in Mercy where he liketh is still an eye-sore to evil men matter enough for them to grate their teeth at and to cause them to enter into Plots and Conspiracies against them The Eye of Envy looks ever upwards who is above who riseth who prospereth and is as much greived at the good of another as at the harm of its self Verse 10. Although this Counsel favoured wholly of bloud yet it is covered with the vizard and die of Wisdome So still is the Devil like himself and ever in his colours the Proud man is Neat the Covetous man Provident the Drunkard a good Fellow and here the bloody minded Egyptians are politick and wise Verse 12. As God afflicted them with another mind then the Egyptians God to exercise them the Egyptians to suppress them so causes he the event to differ Who would not have thought with these Egyptians that so extream misery should not have made the Israelites unfit both for generation and resistance Moderate exercise strengthens extreame destroyes Nature That God which many times works by contrary means caused them to grow with depression with persecution to multiply how can Gods Church but fare well since the very malice of their Enemies benefits them Oh the soveraign Goodness of our God that turns all our Poysons into Cordials Gods Vine bears the better for the pruning hook Verse 16. The stronger the Isarelites grew the more impotent grew the malice of their Persecutors And since their own labour strengthens them now tyranny will try what can be done by the violence of others since the present strength cannot be subdued the hopes of succession must be prevented Women must be suborn'd to be Murtherers and those whose Office is to help the birth must destroy it 'T is true there was lesse suspition of cruelty in that Sex but yet more opportunity of doing mischiefs The Male-Children must be born and die at once What can be more innocent than a Child that hath not lived so much as to cry or to see light It is fault enough to be the Son of an Israelite the Daughters may live for bondage for lust a condition so much at the least worse than death as their Sex was weaker O marvellous cruelty that a man should kill a man for his Sexes sake Whosoever hath loosed the raines unto cruelty is easily carried into incredible extremities Verse 17. The fear of God teacheth the Midwives to disobey an unjust Command they well knew how no excuse it is for evil I was bidden God said to their hearts Thou shalt not kill this Voice was louder than Pharaohs I commend their obedience in disobeying I dare not commend their excuse there was as much weakness in their Answer as strength in their Practice as they feared God in not killing so they feared Pharaoh in dissembling Oft-times those that make conscience of greater sins are overtaken with lesse It is well and rare if we can come forth of a dangerous Action without any Foil and if we have escaped the storme that some after-drops wet us not Verse 19. It is dangerous to conclude an Action to be good either because he that did it had a good purpose in doing it or because some good effects proceeded from it The Midwives Lye here in the behalf of the Israelites Children was a Lye and a Sin however God out of his own Goodness found something in their piety to reward I should not venture to say as he said nor yet venture to say that he said well when Moses said Forgive this sin or blot me out of thy Book nor when St. Paul said I could wish that my self were separated from Christ for my Brethren I would not I could not without sin be content that my name should be blotted out of the Book of Life or that I should be separated from Christ though all the World besides were to be blotted out and separated if I stayed in Verse 21. Who would not have expected that the Midwives should be murthered for not murthering Pharaoh could not be so simple to think these Women trusty yet his indignation had no power to reach to their punishment God prospered the Midwives who can harm them Even the not doing of evil is rewarded with good And why did they prosper Because they feared God not for their dissimulation but their pitty So did God regard their mercy that he regarded not their infirmity How fondly do men lay the thank upon the sin which is due to the vertue True Wisdome reaches to distinguish Gods Actions and to ascribe them to the right Causes pardon belongs to the lye of the Midwives and remuneration to their goodness prosperity to their fear of God Verse 22. That which the
hard hearted to their Children Wicked Parents do what they can to make their Children miserable even while they are projecting to make them great and happy Tertullian treating of this point supposeth that God aimed at this in giving the Law when he threatned to punish the iniquity of the Fathers upon the Children c. this saith he God spake in reference to the hardness of their Hearts that if no other argument would move them to observe Gods Laws yet meer compassion to their own Children might do it All Parents have a natural love to their Children So that they who have not a spiritual principle moving them to forebear sin because they love God and delight in his Law may yet be moved by a principle of natural affection to avoid those sins for which by Name God tells them he will surely afflict and punish their Children Verse 22. God was ever wonderful in his Works and fearful in his judgements but he was never so terrible in the execution of his will as now in the promulgation of it Here was nothing but a Majestical terror in the Eyes in the Ears of the Israelites as if God meant to shew them by this how fearful he could be Here was the Lightning darted in their Eyes the Thunders roaring in their Ears the Trumpet of God drowning the Thunder-claps the voice of God out-speaking the Trumpet of the Angel the Cloud enwrapping the Smoak ascending the Fire flaming the Mount trembling Moses climbing and quaking paleness and Death in the face of Israel uproars in the Elements and all the glory of Heaven turned into terror In the destruction of the first World there were Clouds without fire In the destruction of Sodom there was fire raining without Clouds but here was Fire Smoak Clouds Thunder Earthquakes and whatsoevermight work more astonishment than ever was in any vengeance inflicted Verse 26. The living God is an antient and usual Title of the Almighties and as I live is an usual Oath of Gods neither do I remember any thing besides his Holiness and his life that God swears by When Moses ask'd Gods Name he described himself by I am He is he lives and nothing is nothing lives absolutely but he All other things by participation from him In all other things their life and they are two but God is his own life and the life of God is no other than the living God and because he is his own life he is Eternal For nothing ceases to be but by a separation of life and nothing can be separated from its self for every separation is a division of one thing from another most justly therefore is he which is absolute simple eternal in his being called the living God CHAP. VI. Verse 2. VVE must first bear an aweful respect to the Divine Majesty a reverential fear and from this principle of Fear we shall be brought to obey God in every part and point of duty Do this and live for ever Do it in an Evangelical way I mean for we can do it now no otherwise Wish well to exact obedience as David does Psalm 110. 4 5. O that I could keep thy Commandements accurately and woe is me that I cannot and then be doing as thou canst for affection without endeavour is like Rachel beautiful but barren Be doing I say at every thing as well as at any thing Fear God and keep all his Commandements saith Moses here thou must not be funambulus virtutum as Tertullians phrase is one that goes in a narrow tract of obedience no thy obedience must be universal extending to the compass of the whole Law and then Beati sunt qui praecepta faciunt etiamsi non persiciunt saith St. Augustine they are blessed that do what they can though they cannot but underdo that do what they can though they cannot do as they ought Fear God then and keep all his Commandements all of them to the utmost of thy power and the assistance of Gods grace The Book of Ecclesiastes begins with All is vanity and ends with Fear God and keep his Commandements that which troubleth us Solomon calls vanity that which is necessary he calls the fear of God From that to this should be every Mans Pilgrimage in this World we begin at Vanity and never know perfectly that we are vain till we come to fear God and keep his Commandements Verse 3. I observe here an excellent connexion betwixt the service required and the reward promised God hath no intent to be served by his Creatures for nought if the service be but once hinted Hear O Israel and observe to do it the reward is express'd in terminis It shall be well with thee and thou shalt encrease and multiply Gods Precepts are still waited upon by Promises Yea his precepts are but subservient to his Promises God commands that he may promise and would have obedience that he may perform blessedness to the Creature It is true there is nothing that man can bestow upon God but might be exacted upon a bare Command and yet God adds the Promise when he presseth the Precept and that he might win Man he is fain to bait the Hook when he would catch the Fish and to hang the Promise upon the Precept that so Man might be made his own Verse 5. God cannot abide that we should serve him with a double Heart an heart and an heart that is hypocritically Neither that we should serve him with half an heart that is niggardly and unwillingly to serve God and not with the whole heart is a base dodging with God If the Heart were not Gods it were too much to give him a part of it but now that he made this whole heart of ours it is but reason he should be served with all of it Those serve God not with all the heart whose bosom is like Rachels tent that hath Teraphim Idols hid in the Straw or rather like a Philistines Temple that hath the Ark and Dagon under one roof those that have let down the World like the Spies into the bottom of the well of their heart and cover the mouth of it with Wheat I mean that hide great oppressions with smal Beneficences those which like Solomons Curtizan cry Dividatur and are willing to share themselves betwixt God and the World Verse 8. God hath charged the Jews here to bind the Law to their hand and before their Eyes wherein as Ierome and Theophylact well interpret it he meant the meditation and practice of the Law they in the mean time like the foolish Patient which when the Physitian bids him take such a Prescript eats up the Paper if they could get but a List of Parchment wherein the Law was writ to tye upon their arm and fore-head thought they might say with Saul Blessed art thou of the Lord I have done the Commandement of the Lord. Men now adayes like those Jews care only to seem Christians and if they can get Gods livery on
uncleanness for our fault may be hid from us and we not ware of it and therefore David prayeth for his secret sins but still it remaineth an Uncleanness though we be blind and it will destroy us if we see it not in time Upon our Garments we endure no manner of Uncleanness not a little Mote but we brush and beat it off Yet our Bodies and Souls are unclean and we see it not we go not about to see it but use all the means we can to put it out of our sight by sports Company and the like Nay we hate him that will rub us that way and we avoid the place where sin is reproved Verse 4. Let this reform our rash Swearing in our common Talk and our foolish Vowing of things neither lawful nor in our power And think with your self whether they err not greatly that think what they have rashly sworn and vowed they must needs keep when you see here God would have them offer a Sin-offering for their rashness and not add more sin unto it by performing their rash Vows Verse 7. Thus gracious is God to his poor People to whom he appointeth smal offerings framing his Law to their powers and so giving them most sweet and true comfort of his Love to them as also in accepting of their little as well as of the greater Sacrifices of Richer Persons Verse 11. Oil signifying gladness and Incense a sweet savour The Lord by this Ceremony shadowed how hateful a thing it is and all that commit it till the Lord be reconciled to them again He hath no joy in us neither yield we any sweet savour And as he joyeth not in us so should not we joy in our selves For if we do we pour Oil into our Sacrifice contrary to the Law and we think our smell is as Incense to God pleasing and acceptable when he abhorres us and all our Works The Lord loveth a sorrowful sinner adorned with sackcloth and ashes and they that so weep shall laugh Verse 15. How little this false and unjust dealing with Gods Ministers is regarded with many in these dayes who knoweth not and they are never troubled for it much lesse do they purpose either restitution or amendment But the day will come when it will smart this Law of God having its enduring equity and God in other places professing that this robbing of his Servants is the robbing of him Mal. 3. 8. for so he taketh it and so will punish it CHAP. VI. Verse 5. GOD is never pleas'd with any thing that is ours whilst we retain and keep that that is not ours unless we make restitution of what we have unjustly taken away that very day we offer our Oblations are abominations Verse 7. The Priest must ever make the Atonement so ever signifying that not in the Sacrifice but in the Priesthood was the matter Now in that Priesthood was typified Christs Office And therefore as then no Sacrifice pleas'd but as offered by the Priest so at this day nothing of ours as Prayer and the like availeth but in Christ and by Christ our only and eternal High-Priest Again the Text sayes Before the Lord the Atonement shall be thereby overthrowing the wicked error of them that affirm a civil purgation only of sin by those Sacrifices and not any spiritual Promise in them Because so those Sacrifices should no wayes have served to breed and strengthen Faith in Man touching his spiritual Estate whereunto indeed they wholly aimed Verse 12. This Fire which God first kindled was not to be as some momentary Bone-fire or a sudden and short Triumph nor as a domestical Fire to go out with the day but it was given for a perpetuity it must neither die nor be quench'd God as he is himself eternal so he loves permanency and constancy of Grace in us If we be but a flash and away God regards us not all Promises are to perseverance Sure it is but an elementary Fire that goes out that which is Celestial continues It was but some presumptuous heat in us that decayes upon every occasion But yet he that miraculously sent down this Fire at first will not renew the Miracle every day by a like supply It began immediately from God it must be nourished by means Fuel must maintain that Fire that came from Heaven God will not work Miracles every day If he have kindled his Spirit in us we may not expect he shall every day begin again we have the Fuel of the Word and Sacraments Prayers and Meditations which must keep it in for ever It is from God that these helps can nourish his Graces in us like as every flame of our material Fire hath a concourse of Providence but we may not expect new infusions rather know that God expects of us an improvement of those habitual Graces we have received Verse 13. First by this he figured the death of Christ from the beginning of the World and by this shadow they were led to believe that although as yet Christ was not come in the Flesh nevertheless the fruit of his Death belonged to them as well as to those that should live when he came or was come for this Fire was continual and went not out no more did the fruit of his Passion fail to any true Believer even from the beginning but they were saved by believing that he should come as we are now by believing that he is come Secondly this shews that God is ever ready to accept our Sacrifices ever ready to hear us and forgive us but we are slow and dull and come not to him as we ought Thirdly no other Fire might be used but this and so they were taught to keep to Gods Ordinances and to fly from all inventions of their own heads Lastly this fire thus kept with all care taught them and still may teach us to be careful to keep in the Fire of Gods holy Spirit that it never die nor go out within us The Fire is kept in with wood with breath or blowing and with ashes so is Gods Spirit kept in by an honest Life as by wood by true sighs of unfained Repentance as by Breath or blowing and by meek Humility as by soft ashes Verse 16. In the Holy Place only and not else where must they eat it to signifie that only in the Church is the benefit of Christ to be had and not out of the Church the Branch beareth not Fruit but in the Vine and the Vine is only in the Vineyard CHAP. VII Verse 8. VVHy God should think of so small and base a thing as the skin some may ask the reason And it is first to confirm our Faith in his Providence that he will never forget us and leave us destitute of things needful and good for us seeing we are much better than the skin of a brute Beast whereof yet he hath care and thought Secondly this shews that sweet and comfortable care that the Lord then had and still hath
of the Ministery that it should not be defrauded of the least thing allotted to it And therefore harden not your heart against God against Law against Right and Truth accustome not your hearts to cover your Neighbours due your hands to purloin it by fraud or take it by strength it is theft spiritual theft sacriledge your house receiveth stoln Goods and the Wrath of God may happily shake the foundation of it for such a sin and you in yours or you and yours be punished Verse 13. Here Leaven is admitted of which before was forbid Leaven therefore is taken in a good sense as well as in an ill Thus the Apostles are resembled to a little Leaven that leaveneth the whole lump they being sent out of God into the unleavened World by preaching to leaven it clean through And there is a Leaven of the new Nature accepted as there is a Leaven of the old Nature rejected For look how the Leaven maketh the Bread savory and strong and wholsome look also how it makes it rise and heave up which otherwise would be sad and heavy So doth Gods regenerate Spirit change us make us savory and all our Duties pleasing to God and we rise up our Hearts and Souls are heaved up in all love in thankfulness to him that in Mercy hath so look'd upon us Verse 15. A Ceremony us'd to signifie that publick Feasts should not be superfluously continued and kept long under the colour of Religion For God loveth not idle banquetting and prodigal spending although he allow graciously what is fit for the occasion Secondly this was done in wisdome by God least if the flesh should have smelt by longer keeping Religion might so have been vile in the eyes of fickle persons Verse 18. We may learn by this that the taking hold of Christ is not to be deferr'd and put off but speedily and quickly to be done whilst time serves and opportunity is offer'd For behold sayes Christ to day and to morrow I cast out Devils and the third day Luke 13. that is a short time I have yet to go on with my Ministery and then I shall be slain More particularly every Man and Woman may be said to have three dayes The first of Youth till Age come the second of Age till Death come and in these two dayes there is Mercy offered but the third day is after Death and then there is no help as here on the third day no Offering was accepted but the sin remained unpardoned and not forgiven Verse 30. The bringing of the Sacrifice with his own hands and not sending it by others taught Humility and Duty to God taught that every one must live by his own Faith and not by anothers Verse 34. The shaking of it to and fro four wayes East West North and South shadowed the spreading of that lifting up of Christ that is of Christs Death and Passion throughouâ— all the World by the preaching of the Gospel CHAP. VIII Verse 2. THe Lord precisely appointed Priests and would not leave it to every man to perform this Office to signifie that not any man butthe-man Christ Jesus could appease Gods Wrath satisfie his Justice and take away the sins of the World This could not be figured out better than by secluding all the Host of Israel from this Office and chusing but Aaron and his Sons as Types of Christ that so by such an Ordinance the Majesty Authority and Property of Christs Office might be resembled and shadowed Verse 5. Nothing but Gods Commandement doth Moses offer unto them For he well knew Gods Will only in his own House must be the Rule Our own heads were never the best heads to follow and for God he knoweth our mould too well to give that swinge unto us Verse 13. Aarons Sons were a figure of the Church which by Faith eateth also of the Sacrifice of Christ being made partakers of his Merits as well as the Priests Their Garments figured out the Graces and Gifts wherewith the Believers in Christ are adorned and beautified casting away the Works of Darkness and putting on daily more and more the Deeds of Light Rom. 13. 12. Verse 30. Upon Aarons Sons Moses did but sprinkle the annointing Oil which was said to be poured upon Aaron verse 12. So plainly shewing that in Christ the Spirit should be without measure and upon his Servants in measure we all receiving of his fulness according to his good Pleasure some more some lesse Verse 35. By this is signified that watch which all our life time is noted by the seven dayes we keep in avoiding sin and working righteousness as the Lord shall enable which indeed may be call'd the watch of the Lord being a holy Christian and happy watch The seventh day we shall be free fully sanctified and delivered from this vail of misery to keep an eternal Sabbath in Heaven to our endless comfort CHAP. IX Verse 7. IN that Aaron was here commanded to offer as well for himself as the People he was herein a figure of Christ not that Christ had any sins of his own but that ours were so laid upon him and he so made satisfaction to God for them as they had been his own Surely sayes the Prophet Isai. 53. 4. he hath born our infirmities c. that is we judg'd him evil as though he were punish'd for his own sins and not for ours Verse 22. Thus doth God blesse us in Christ in whom all the Nations of the World are blessed First with the Blessing of Reconciliation to himself reputing us now just for his Son Christ. Secondly with the Blessing of his Spirit whereby we walk in his Calling being guided thereby in the same Thirdly with the Blessing of Acceptance of all our Works though full of imperfection and weakness And last of all with this great Blessing that all adversity becometh a help to us to draw us to Heaven and Eternal Rest. Verse 24. That God which shew'd himself to Men in fire when he delivered his Law would have men present their Sacrifices to him in fire and this fire he would have his own that there might be a just circulation in this Creature as the Water sends up those vapours which it receives down again in Rain Hereupon it was that fire came down from God to the Altar that as the charge of the Sacrifice was delivered in fire so God might signifie the acceptation of it in the like fashion wherein it was commanded The Baalites might lay ready their Bullock upon the Wood but they might sooner fetch the blood out of their Bodies and destroy themselves than one flash out of Heaven to consume the Sacrifice CHAP. X. Verse 2. NAdab and Abibu were two of Aarons Eldest Sons which after their Father should have succeeded him in his place yet there is no Mercy with God to stay his Judgement when they will not be Ruled by his Word No Prerogative therefore shall save any Man from Wrath if he offend but
the Elder shall suffer no less than the Younger the Rich as well as the Poor there is no regard with God of these things Verse 3. He howled not out with any unseemly cries neither uttered any words of Rage and Impatience but meekly stoop'd to Gods will kiss'd the Rod and held his peace If thus Aaron in so great a Judgement how much more we when our Friends dye naturally sweetly and comfortably so that we may boldly say we have not lost them but sent them before us whether we hope also to follow Verse 5. That which the Father and Brother may not do the Cousins are Commanded Dead Carkasses are not for the presence of God his Justice was shewn sufficiently in killing them they are now fit for the Grave not the Sanctuary neither are they carried out naked but in their Coats It was an unusual sight for Israel to set a linnen Ephod upon the Beer the Judgement was so much the more remarkable because they had the badg of their Calling upon their backs Nothing is either more pleasing unto God more commodious to Men then that when he hath executed Judgment it should be seen and wondered at for therefore he strikes some that he may warn all Verse 12. This is added to comfort and strengthen the shaken Hearts of Aaron and his living Sons who might by this strange punishment have been driven into doubt whether ever the Lord would be pleased that they should meddle again with the Sacrifices and we see therein a gracious God who maketh not his Promises void to all for the faults of some We must therefore cleave to our Calling and even so much the more painfully go forward therein by how much we see others punish'd for ill doing be taught therefore and school'd but never be discouraged and feared from imposed Duty Verse 20. In that Moses admitted of a reasonable excuse we may learn to abhor Pride and to do the like Pride I say which scorneth to hear what may be said against the conceit we have once harboured A modest man doth not thus and therefore holy Iob had an Ear for his Servant and his Maid and did not despise their Judgement their Complaint and Grief when they thought themselves evill entreated by him CHAP. XI Verse 2. LEarn from hence our Duty to depend upon the Word and Will of God in all things yea even in our Meat and how careful likewise we ought to be to seek cleanness of Body and Soul before that God who expects it in our very Diet. Verse 3. This typified a difference of Men and Women in the World some clean and some unclean for they that have a true Faith and a good Life by meditating in the Word are such as divide the Hoof and chew the Cud and they are clean but such as do neither or but one are unclean as he that believeth in God but liveth not well or he that liveth in an outward honesty but believeth not rightly They again may be called clean dividing the Hoof who do not believe in great or in gross but discern and distinguish things as Christ and Moses Nature and Grace not believing every Spirit but trying the Spirits whether they be of God or no. Iohn 4. 1. For chewing the Cud they may be said to do it and so to be clean who meditate of that they hear lay it up in their Hearts and practice it in their Conversations Verse 5. By the Coney are figured out such Men as lay up their Treasures in the Earth because the Conies digg and scrape and make their Berries in the ground whereas we are taught to lay up our Treasure in Heaven Mat. 6. Verse 6. The Hare is a very fearful Creature and therefore is the type of fearful Men and Women despairing of Grace and shrinking from God such persons are unclean and excluded the Kingdom of God Rev. 21. 8. Verse 7. The Swine never looks up to Heaven but hath his mouth ever in the Earth and Mire caring for nothing but his Belly nourish'd only to be kill'd for his Death hath use his Life hath none A good Caveat for the Rich miserable Wretches of the World who never profit any till they dye A Knife therefore for the Hogg that we may have what is useful in him and Death for such Wretches that the Common-wealth may have use of theie Baggs Verse 14. By the Goss-hauk is shadowed forth Men that Prey upon their weaker Brethren and Neighbours By the Vulture Men that delight in Wars and Contention By the Ravens unnatural Parents that forsake their Children unkind Friends which shrink away Ill Husbands that provide not for their Families By the Ostrich painted Hypocrites and Carnal Men that have fair great Feathers but cannot flye By the Seamew that liveth both on Land and Water such as will be saved both by Faith and Works such Ambodexters as the World hath store of that carry two Faces under a Hood Fire in one hand and Water i th' other CHAP. XII Verse 2. THis serves to Confute that gross Error of Pelagius denying the propagation of sin from Parents to Children but if the Birth were clean the Mother by the Birth should not be unclean as this purification did shadow that she was God would therefore have all Men know what they are by Nature and what by Grace through the Remedy provided Christ our only Righteousness and Purity Also that God had rather have them never enter into the Church than to enter with Corruption unsorrowed for and uncared for Verse 4. Although this Ceremonial Law of Moses be abrogated and gone yet honesty of Nature and modesty in Woman-kind is neither abrogated nor gone Therefore even still we retain in the Church a lawful and laudible custome among Women that they should stay a time after Child-birth to gather strength in their Houses and then come to Church to give God Thanks And this is nothing but a needful thing in regard of weakness a modest Ceremony in regard of Woman-hood and a Christian Duty in regard of Comfort and Mercy received to come to Church there thankfully to acknowledg Gods great mercy to them in both giving them safe deliverance and blessing them with Children to their Comfort Verse 5. There is no sin in Marriage if it be not abused but because this is rare therefore after Women were delivered God appointed them to be purified shewing that some stain or other doth creep into this Action which had need to be repented and therefore when they prayed 1 Cor. 7. 5. St. Paul would not have them come together lest their Prayer should be hindred Verse 8. The Sacrifice was indifferent whether Turtles or Pigeons Turtles that live solitarily and Pigeons that live sociably were all one to God God in Christ may be had in an active and sociable life denoted in the Pigeon and in the solitary and contemplative life set out in the Turtle Let not Westminster despise the Church nor the Church
oblation It was a great blessing of God to overcome the Enemy and obtain the Victory but thus to overcome and to have such a Victory required an extraordinary Thanksgiving As men ought to return thanks to God for all his blessings so they ought for extraordinary Blessings to return extraordinary Thanks As in extraordinary visitations it is our duty to use extraordinary humiliation so when God shews us extraordinary mercy we must be thankful accordingly Hezekiah return'd great thanks for his great Deliverance Isai. 38. We must therefore consider what blessings we have received from God that so we may render what thankfulness we owe him else his Blessings will be turn'd into Curses and his Mercies into Judgements CHAP. XXXII Verse 5. THis was an unseasonable demand of these Men at this time but Covetousness had blinded their eyes that they could not see what was fit for them to ask and therefore were afterwards the first of the Children of Israel that were carried away Captive 1 Chron. 5. 25. After the same manner it befel Lot who looking after the goodness of the Plains of Sodom more than the goodness of the People preferr'd that place in his choice and was carried away Prisoner for it Gen. 14. Thus God will not pass by the sins of his dearest Children without a sensible check These Reubenites and Gadites for affecting the first choice had soon enough of it Strong affections bring strong afflictions as hard knots require hard wedges Earthly things court us that they may cut our throats these Hosts welcome us to our Inne with smiling countenance that they may dispatch us in our Beds Beware therefore of the Worlds cut-throat kindness Verse 18. Reuben and Gad were the first that had an Inheritance signed them yet they must enjoy it last so it falls out oft in the Heavenly Canaan the first in title are last in possession They had their lot assign'd them beyond Iordan which though it were then in peace must be purchas'd with their War that must be done for their Brethren which needed not be done for themselves they must yet still fight and fight foremost that as they had the first Patrimony they might endure the first encounter I do not hear them say this is our share let us sit down and enjoy it quietly fight who will for the rest but when they knew their own Portion they leave Wives and Children to take possession and march arm'd before their Brethren till they have conquered all Canaan Whether should we more commend their Courage or their Charity others were moved to fight with hope they only with love they could not win more they might lose themselves yet they will fight both for that they had something and that their Brethren might have Thankfulness and Love can do more with Gods Children than desire to merit or necessity no Israelite can if he might choose abide to sit still beyond Iordan when all his Brethren are in the field Verse 23. When God is searching it is high time for us to search our selves It is sad when God is searching for our sins if we are not searching for them too and it is more sad if when God comes to search for our sins we be found hiding our sins These are searching times God is searching let us search too else we may be sure as Moses tells the people of Israel here Our sins will find us out They who endeavour not to find their sins shall be found by their sins our Iniquity will enquire after us if we enquire not after it But what if Iniquity enquire after us What if Iniquity enquire after us it will find us and if Iniquity find us Trouble will find us yea if Iniquity find us alone without Christ Hell and Death will find us If Iniquity find any man he hath reason enough to say unto it what Ahab said to Eliah without reason Hast thou found me O mine enemy the best of men have reason to look out what evill is in them when God brings evil upon them or wraps them up in common evils They who have no wickedness in them to cast them under Condemnation yet have sin enough in them to make them smart under Correction CHAP. XXXIII Verse 8. THis is that place where the Israelites after three dayes journey found the bitter Waters The long deferring of a good though tedious yet makes it the better when it comes Well did the Israelites hope that the Waters which were so long in finding would be precious when they were found Yet behold they are cross'd not only in their desires but their hopes for after three dayes travel the first Fountains they find are bitter Waters If these Wels had not run pure Gall they could not have so much complained Long thirst will make bitter Waters sweet yet such were these springs that the Israelites did not so much like their moisture as abhor their relish I see the first handsel that God gives his People in their Voyage to the Land of Promise is thirst and bitterness Satan gives us pleasant entrances into his wayes and reserves the bitterness to the end God invites us to our worst at first and sweetens our conclusion with pleasure O my Saviour thou didst drink a more bitter Cup from the hands of thy Father than that which thou refused'st of the Jews or than that which I can drink from thee Verse 9. God taught his People by actions as well as words This entrance shewed them their whole Journey wherein they should taste of much bitterness but at last through the mercy of God sweetned with much more comfort and for one Fountain of bitter Water they should have no less than twelve of sweet Or did it not represent the Israelites rather in their Journey in the Fountains of whose Hearts were the bitter Waters of manifold corruptions yet their unsavory Souls are sweetned by the more abundant Graces of Gods Spirit O blessed Saviour that Fountain of Water and Blood which issued from thy side that is the application of thy Sufferings is enough to sweeten a whole Sea of bitterness I care not how unpleasant a portion I find in this Wilderness if the power and benefit of thy precious Death may season it to my Soul Verse 14. Bread they had from Heaven but wanted Water Our condition here in this World is a condition of singular indigency we are ever wanting somewhat or other Verse 42. Among the several stations which the Israelites made through the Wilderness one was Punon or Phinon which as one of the antient Fathers observes signifieth silence or sparingness of Speech upon which he maketh this useful Application Let us be careful to take up our station here sometimes while we are travailing through the Wilderness of this World It may he our wisdom to pitch in silence The hand is well imployed while we stop the mouth with it from broaching and maintaining that which is evill or from opposing that which is good