God seems to work against me but yet the Word of God works for me and I will try whether shall prevail Gods Word or Gods Providence thus Jacob wrastles I will not let thee go as if he should say I have the Word for what I do and God hath bound himself by Covenant and so long though Heaven and Earth meet together although I see my brother coming against me and God departing from me and all threatning ruin yet I will beleeve still that there is mercy for me This was Jacobs last turn as I may so say as the trying as it were the last fall in this his wrastling in opposing the Word that he had with the Work of God towards him And this is a Note of very great use in al our conditions let us not lay so much weight upon any Work of God as upon the Word of God let us build upon the Word rather than fear the Works for it hath been the usual way of God when he hath given out a Word that his Works have seem'd to go quite cross as not only in our father Jacob but even in our father Abraham What was the Word of God to Abraham There was two promises by God made to Abraham one was this That he would bring him into a Land that flowed with milk and hony And a second That he would make his seed as the Stars in the Firmament Wel here was Gods Word But how was Gods Work The very next thing that you hear of him he was carried into Canaan after he had left all his friends and was ready to starve presently now the word is Thou shalt be brought into a Land that flows with milk and bony and assoon as ever he comes into that Land he was ready to starve Here 's a Land indeed And then a second Promise of having his seed as the Stars of Heaven Abraham was twenty five yeers after this before he had any one child of the Promise and he grew old and also his wife Well he had at length one and God commands him to kill that one to sacrifice that one But what a work is here how quite contrary to the Word Well he was saved and Isaac is forty yeers before he marries here 's sixty five yeers gone from the promise and there 's but even one of his seed that must be as the Stars of Heaven at length Isaac marries and he was twenty yeers without a child here 's eighty five yeers and but only one birth from him yea and after that the story will make it out that Jacob was above fourscore yeers before he married and had any children there 's between eight and nine score yeers gone and here 's but only Isaac and Jacob. How doth the Work of God seem against his Word in appearance It 's the way of God and therefore let us never trouble our selves about Gods Works he came indeed afterwards with his Works and fulfilled his Word to the uttermost but for the present it seem'd to be against it Oh! lay up this as a lesson you will have use of it many and many a time It follows With his strength he prevailed Prevailing at last will recompence all our strivings Jacob was fully recompenced here he speaks in a way of recompence of Jacob after his striving Oh! it was a hard wrastling I but he prevail'd at length And so it will be with all the people of God let them go on and wrastle and though things be hard for the present when mercy comes it wil pay for all Oh! thou wilt hereafter see no cause of repenting that ever thou did est continue in this wrastling with God Oh! thou wilt see cause to bless God blessed be God that kept up my heart all this while Oh! God knows that many times it was ready to sink and if I had left off what had become of me I had lost the mercy that now I find but I continued through Gods mercy and now he is come he is come at length Prevailing recompences all our labor and trouble in seeking Well he prevail'd but what 's this to this people of Israel Thus this was to shew the base degenerateness of this people as if he should say Oh! of what a brave spirit was your Father Jacob but you you are a base people you basely subject your selves to Heathens to Idols your father was of a brave spirit indeed and would not have subjected himself to any creature in the world yea he would wrastle with God himself when he had his Word for it Oh! but it is otherwise with Jacob's posterity you can crouch to every base thing you will crouch to the humors of men in the Worship of God and do any thing to save your skin saith he you are unworthy to be counted of the posterity of Jacob that 's the meaning of the Prophet here Jacob's posterity indeed they should be prevailers upon the world above temptations it 's unseemly for one of the seed of Iacob to yeeld to the base lusts and the humors of men what shall we yeeld to a base lust when Iacob would not yeeld to the Almighty but prevail'd with him are we of the seed of Iacob now Oh! we are of low mean spirits led aside of every vanity and overcome with every difficulty But how did he prevail in what way did he put forth this his strength It follows VER 4. He wept and he made supplication THis weeping of Jacob is not recorded in the History of Genesis nor in all the Book of God but only here his supplication is recorded but not his weeping therefore his weeping was had either from hand to hand by way of tradition it was known that when he wrastled so with the Angel he prevailed or otherwise by Revelation but certain it was that he wept when he did wrastle There are many ridiculous conceits of the Jews and some old Writers about this they say it was the Angel that fell a weeping and prayed Jacob to let him alone thus they carry it But to take it generally as our Divines do that Jacob wept and made supplication and so prevailed with God Iacob's heart was prest in the condition that he was in and so prest that it caused tears to bubble from him and no mervail though tears came from him his heart could not but be full for when he came to think thus with himself What after I have served such a hard service under Laban my Uncle and God bad me come away from him which I took to be such a great mercy from God to deliver me yet how soon was I presently in danger of my life even my Uncle Laban pursuing of me and God delivered me there And must I now fall into the hand of my Brother is the day come for him now to have his rage upon me I see little other likelihood his strength is great and God himself appears against me and I have
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee that the Apostle to the Hebrews applies to the Christians at that time that he spake to us he spake it to thee and me if we be BELEEVERS that that God spake to the distressed and afflicted ones in Psal 102. He will regard the prayer of the destitute and not despise their prayer that he spake to us for in ver 18. This shall be written for the Generations to come And that which God spake to Jacob at these two several times in Bethel it 's written for the Generations to come it 's written for us Well then what was it What was the special thing that God spake to Jacob when he found him at Bethel and what was that to us I 'le shew you many things There are nine or ten notable things to be observed by us which God spake unto us The first thing that he spake to Jacob that concerns us as well as himself was this That the foundation of the comfort of the Saints it is in the Covenant of God That he spake to us there Gen. 28. 13. when he appeared to Jacob what said he to him I am the God of Abraham thy Father and the God of Isaac Jacob was flying for his life then and this was to comfort him in his danger I am the God of Abraham thy Father the God of Isaac then he spake this to us that the foundation of the comforts of the Saints in the times of their distresses it is the Covenant of Grace that God hath made with them and their fathers before them The second thing was this That the seed of Jacob are the inheritors of the Land of Canaan for so he told him The Land wherein thou liest I 'le give to thee and to thy seed Now this concerns us that the seed of Jacob shall inherit the Land of Canaan That was typified by it There are some that have a thought that yet there shall be an inheritance of the Land of Canaan by the faithful seed of Jacob but however this certainly he spake to us that all the seed of Jacob are the Inheritors of the Land of Canaan one way or other take it in the Litteral or in the Typical Sense The Third thing was God would have faith raised to beleeve in mercies promised even when there is a great deal of unlikelihood of the fulfilling of it that 's the Third thing he he spake of to us there he tells Jacob there at that time when he was a poor lone man with his staff and no provision but a stone for his pillow then he tells him of making good his promise it was as unlikely a time as could be a poor lone man that Jacob was went over with his staff at that time and that he should have such a Promise fulfill'd and his seed to be so great and to inherit the hand of Canaan how unlikely was this But God would have him to exercise his faith upon the Promise at this time when there was such a great unlikelihood of it The Fourth thing is this That the multiplying of the Church is a great blessing for saith he thy seed shall be thus and thus as the sand of the Sea shore I 'le encrease my Church abundantly from thy loyns Fifthly Promises defer'd though they are to be looked upon as certain as ever they were Yet the Saints of God have need of renewing of Promises even those that have most faith God renews the same Promise to him that was made before God had promised to Abraham to make his seed great but the truth is that the Promise though it be as certain as before yet it had been a long time and there was little come of it And then the Sixth thing was this That the blessing which comes to the world it is by the Promised seed He tels him that in his seed all the Nations of the Earth should be blessed the great blessing of the world is by the Promised seed by Jesus Christ And then the Seventh thing was That we Gentils were in Gods heart to do good unto us for thousands of years since Though at that time we were as Dogs yet it was in Gods heart to bless us Oh! this is a comfortable speech to us it concerns us Gentils in a more special manner than it did them that Hosea did prophesie to at this time And then the Flighth thing is That the Presence of God and his Protection is the only Encouragement of the Saints in their waies For in Vers 15. saith God Behold I am with thee and I will keep thee in all places whither thou goest this he spake to us this the Saints should make high account of And then the Ninth thing is That though Promises be not yet fulfilled yet God is still working towards their fulfilling for so he tels him I will not leave thee until I have don all that I have promised to thee though you cannot see how my Administrations towards you do any way work for the fulfilling of my Promise yet know I will not leave you until I have fulfilled my Promises And then the last thing is this which God spake to us there he tels us of the constancy of his Mercy and faithfulness that however things may go with us here for a while yet the mery of God continues the line of Gods mercy is not cut asunder but his faithfulness is carried along till all the good that he hath promised or that Faith can beleeve shal be granted to us for so he tels Iacob there I will not leave thee till I have done that which I have spoke to thee of All this he spake with us That 's the first time of Gods meeting with Iacob in Bethel Now the Second time that he met with Iacob in Bethel it is in Gen. 35. 10. and there see what God spake with us there God changes his Name to Israel there God confirms his Promise and Covenant to him again as before God there remembers his prevailing with him and his wrastling with him and in that God tells us he remembers our servent prayers after they are gone yet his heart is upon them there he confirm'd his name Israel and confirm'd his Promise That 's that he spake with us there too That the Saints have need of the confirmation of mercies especially the Covenant But then further Gods presenteng himself to the soul as God Almighty that 's a great help to faith I am God Almighty saith he there thou hast had experience of my Almighty power in turning the heart of thy Brother and now thou art in a great danger Because thou art few in number thou art afraid of the people of the Land but I am God Almighty There 's little power in Thee but there 's great power in Me. The Consideration of Gods Almighty power is that that should help the Saints in the midest
it 's an excellent thing to be able to understand the reach of God in his Word as I may so say and it 's a fruit of love It 's a fruit of the love of Jesus Christ to his Saints that we should know his mind more than other men do And certainly if the people of Israel had but known this when they first went into Egypt and returned back again that the Lord did aim at Jesus Christ in it Would it not have been a comfort to them if they had known that God intended to make them conformable to his Son Would it have been a comfort to them to have known it Then certainly it must needs be a comfort to the Saints to know now that in all their sufferings they have a conformity to Jesus Christ we know it now and that 's the reason why we do suffer it is to make us conformable to Jesus Christ the Jews did not know this that which was the reason why God would have them suffer but we know it and therefore in all our sufferings we should exercise our faith in the sufferings of Jesus Christ Do we suffer thus and thus he did so to take away the sting of our sufferings and in a special manner you that have been driven from house home if there be any here that have been driven to fly for their lives and perhaps you have been driven to go among strangers Oh! but your suffering is not so great as the suffering of Jesus Christ was he fled for his life when he was but an infant and did not only fly to strangers but to his enemies to the Egyptians you are driven but from one part of England to another Oh! exercise your faith in this it was a very strange work of Gods providence that presently after he was born he must fly for his life you that are fain to carry your children with you Oh! remember how Joseph and Mary was fain to do it was fain to fly for the life of Jesus Christ and carry him and this flight was a great deal more than your flight for they were fain to fly to Egypt Now supposing it was by land as that many reasons may be given they were fain to fly a matter of an hundred miles through the desert wilderness where there was no habitations you fly from one town to another and find relief they were fain to fly above an hundred miles it 's fifty leagues which your Marriners accompt three miles to a league and was in the very desert between the Land of Canaan and Egypt Now though it 's true the people of Israel was fourty yeers in the Wilderness but it was not through the length of the place three daies journey might have carried them into the Land of Canaan but it was fourty years that they were about it God prolonged it and they did intangle themselves and were stubborn and Rebellions and so it was prolonged though the way was but in its self short but yet certainly this flight of Joseph with Christ to Egypt must needs be sad and miserable it cannot be conceived that any of your flights should be so said and miserable as that was for they could not carry any provision with them but were fain to fly in a private way to save the life of Jesus Christ Oh! how often do you think did Joseph and Mary look upon this Babe when they were flying through the desert Wildernes think What is this the Son of God Is this the Savior of the World Is this he that should be the redeemer of Israel Is this he that is God and Man Is this he that is the second person in Trinity that presently after he is born we must fly for his life through a desert wilderness Oh! the strange work of God in the very work of Mans Redemption Things were so low and poor and seemed to go on in such a contrary way as it would have put any ones faith to it to have thought that Jesus Christ should have done such great things as he did Oh my brethren this is the way of God to put the faith of men to it especially at first So it was with Christs flight into Egypt It follows VERS 2. As they called them so they went from them c. AS they That is Moses and Aaron and other Prophets and Ministers of God sent unto them they called them to serve the Lord and to worship him according to his own way And especially they called them from Idolaters and false worship As they called them so some turn it that is Though they were so called so called yet they went from them When the means of God is so powerful to resist then is a very great evil If our Gospel that is our Gospel preached with so much plainess and power is hid it is hid to those that are lost But take it here As they called them that is Look what earn 〈…〉 ess there was in Moses and Aaron and other Ministers of God to call them from their evil waies so much stubornness and stoutness was it for them to go against it Calvin thinks it is Because they called them THEREFORE they went from them Because they called them that is They went from them for the very nonce as we use to say Because Moses would have us do thus and thus we will do the quite contrary for the very nonce They went from them that is Turned their backs upon them like stuborn Children and Servants when they are called they will not hear but turn their backs upon you so did they to Moses From whence observe First It is a mercy of God to have Gods Ministers calling us to obedience Who are we that God should send his Messengers after us What need hath God of us Suppose we go on in the waies of death and perish what shal God lose by it But this is Gods mercy that he will cal after us God may say If you will go go on and perish everlastingly Oh! but he doth not so Secondly When God hath called us out of affliction it is a great addition of mercy to call us out of sin unto duty and we should account one as great as another We think it a great mercy if the Lord will call us out of an affliction but when God calls us out of a misery and calls us to a duty Do you think that that 's as great a mercy That 's a sign of a sanctified heart indeed You are in sickness and under great extremity if God should say I wil give out my Word to deliver you that would be a sweet word you would say I but when God gives out his Word to call thee out of thy sin to a duty thou shouldest as joyfully take an hint of that Word of God too Oh! do you prize Gods call unto you from sin to duty as much as from misery to prosperity
that they understand not which get such falls and bruises that are like to stick upon them as long as they live Some of you it may be may remember when you were children you would use to venture upon the Ice and be sliding and you got such bruises then that now you feel them Oh! let yong ones take heed of venturing upon doubtful things let them look up to God to make their way plain before them and not lean to their own understandings lest they have falls I say by which they get bruises that they may feel another day And further Seeing God makes it to be a fruit of his love to teach them how to go when you see others slip and stumble in in the way of profession of Religion and spoil themselves Oh bless God then for his mercy towards you that he helps and teaches you in your way As when a man is riding upon the road in winter time it may be he sees some before him whose horses get into holes and stumble and it may be the man breaks his leg or shoulder before him if it proves not to be deadly to him now if you should see a man falling and breaking his leg or arms falling down with his horse in such dangerous waies as there is in many places would you not have cause to bless God that you are delivered from that that God hath preserved your limbs Thus when you see Professors falling in the way of profession of Religion Oh! bless God that he teaches you in your way that he guides you To women that are weak in waies that are slipery you will take hold of their hands to guide them and so God doth to you know the whol course of your way from spiritual Egypt to spiritual Canaan it is Ice and rugged al the way that God is fain to take you by the hand and Oh! the goodness of God to condescend thus to his poor Creatures to compare himself to a Nurse Oh! how often would we run into harms way as we use to say if God did not lead us And further Take heed you who are weak and have need of teaching that you be not wayward and wanton that you be not foolish and unruly and that you do not wilfully run into rugged and slippery waies God indeed is as a Nurse to teach you how to go yea but be not you as wayward and froward children that sometimes tire their Nurses it 's more difficult to teach some children than others how to go they are so froward and wilful that they will go their own way if the eye of their Nurse be but from them never so little they will go their own way Oh! take heed you be not among those froward wilful children that will be going their own way Again further I taught Ephraim to go Gods Ministers and all of us should labor to follow God in this way of his that is To have a tender care of others we should be like our Father God takes a delight in teaching weak opes how to go and in guiding of them in their way Truly we that profess our selves to be Gods children we should imitate our Father and especially Gods Ministers they should take a delight to help weak ones on in their way and to carry weak ones in their very arms that which God is said here to do Moses in another Scripture is said to do as in Numb 11. 12. Have I conceived all this people have I begotten them that thou shouldest say unto me carry them in thy bosom as a Nursing Father beareth a sucking child unto the Land which thou swearest unto their Fathers It seems Moses though he thought it to be very hard to bear so many people in his arms as it were yet God gave that Commission to him and he did it according as he was able he did carry the people as a Nurse or a Father or Mother carrieth the sucking child in their bosom Yea And though Gods Ministers meet with those that are very froward yet they must not be discouraged we are as froward in reference unto God as any can be in reference unto us and therefore you must consider you that are Ministers when you meet with yong Professors and others that are beginning in the waies of godliness and you find them untoward and peevish many times do not cast them off because of that if God should have cast off you because of that what would have become of you No instruct them with meekness even instruct them with meekness that oppose themselves though they kick and spurn yet instruct them with meekness though they oppose themselves and in 1 Thess 2. 7. we have a notable pattern of a Minister there how he should carry himself in this respect But we were gentle among you even as a Nurse cherishes her children Thus Ministers should be of gentle spirits and know that God doth put them in place to teach children how to go in their way and therefore we find it in Tit. 1. 7. that they must not be soon angry Ministers must not be of angry dispositions you would be loth to put your children to froward Nurses their very milk would some way favour of them and your children may get a great deal of hurt by Nurses that are pettish and froward it is a special qualification and necessarily required in a Nurse that she be of a gentle and patient disposition Now Gods Ministers are compared to Nurses and do not think the comparison too mean for God himself is compared to a Nurse when he saith he taught Ephraim how to go And then lastly Seeing the tender care of God like a Parent or a Nurse towards the Child is made an engagement to their duty and an aggravation of their sin because they were not what they ought to be As if the Prophet should have said Oh! therefore you should have served and loved the Lord that was so gracious to you as to teach you but you have not done so and therefore your sin is greater From whence the Note is That the love and tender care of Parents and Nurses in bringing up children and enduring much trouble with them is a great judgment to children when they grow up to requite with duty and due respect their Parents and Nurses and if they do not it's a great aggravation of their evil You that are grown up from children remember the care remember the sorrow remember the trouble of your bringing up and be ashamed of your undutifulness How is it that you have all your limbs but from the care of your Parents and Nurses you are to bless God for your Parents care and the care of those to whom you were committed when you were children and know that you owe due respect unto them for it He is an Apostate to the great Law of Nature who Violates Charities due unto Parents and Nurses I
hath done for them in former times As if he should say You do not remember that I am the Lord thy God from the Land of Egypt Now you are frolick and merrie and have your hearts desires but remember there was a time when you were low enough and cried and made your moan to me in your affliction Oh! remember those daies Oh! how ordinarie is it for us in our prosperitie to forget Gods mercies in delivering of us from Affliction We have been low enough not long since but the Lord hath in great measure delivered us from our Egypt and presently assoon as God hath delivered us everie man begins to think of enriching themselves and are plotting for estates presentlie I say we have forgotten our sad condition the time of our mourning our praying Oh what disposition is there in our hearts now contrarie to what seem'd to be a while ago when we were under sore and sad afflictions New sins that we commit doth as it were occasion God to remember afresh his mercies that he hath done for us The Second Note is this When you walk unthankfully it doth occasion the fresh remembrance of Gods mercy to you God looks upon such a people that walk so vilie What are these the people that I have done such things for it's as fresh in Gods memorie to speak after the manner of men what he hath done for us And if we could have what God hath done for us afresh in our minds upon the commission of new sins it would be a mightie means to humble us And the next is Old mercies are great engagements to duty and great aggravations of our sin or neglect of duty But we have had occasion to speak of these things for merlie It follows And I will yet make thee to dwell in Tabernacles By way of Interogation some reade it thus What shall I the Lord that brought thee out of the Land of Egypt make thee to dwell in Tabernacles Shall I yet continue my wonted love to you as to make you to keep your Feast of Tabernacles still with joy as you were wont to do yeerly shall I do thus saith God Or as Calvin hath it and it 's a peculier interpretation that he hath different from all it 's as if God should say thus It is a wonderful thing that you should be so forgetful of my great mercie in bringing of you out of Egypt it is so out of your minds that I had need work over that deliverance again What shall I cast you out of your houses and bring you into captivity again and then deliver you again and bring you into the wilderness to dwell in Tabernacles again shall I go over my work again It is so much gone out of your minds and hearts as I had need to quicken up your spirits to go all over it again this is Calvins Interpretation upon this place and he commonlie hits as right as any And this Interpretation may be of verie good use to us thus Let us consider our selves that if all Gods merciful dealings towards us were to begin again if we were to go through all those straits and fears and sorrows that we have passed through our hearts would shake within us as a Marriner that hath past through dangerous Seas Oh he thinks if I were to pass over these again it would be hard and grievous Now let us consider of this if God should but put us into the same condition that we were in seven yeers ago and say you shall pass through all those straights that you have been in and you shall come into the same condition that you have been in it would be very sad to us to think of it would make our hearts quake to think of it I verily beleeve there 's scarce any of you who have been any way observant of the providence of God towards you but would be very loth to venture all again would be loth that God should be to go over with you in all those providences and yet God is the same God still and may do it yea but flesh and blood would shake at it now do not show your selves so unworthy of Gods gracious dealings with you as to put him to it to bring you into straits again to renew what he hath done unto you Thus he Many carrie the words in a meer threatning way and no otherwise I did indeed bring you from the Land of Egypt but I 'le bring you into Tabernacles again as if God should say I 'le cast you out of your brave stately Pallaces your City and Country Houses and you shall come into the wilderness again and dwell in Tents and Tabernacles Thus many But rather I think the scope and meaning of the words is a consolatory Promise whereby the holie Ghost invites them here to-Repentance as if God should say thus Though you have indeed deserved to be cast out of your dwellings you have deserved to be brought into Tents and Tabernacles in the Wildernes again yet I remember my ancient goodness towards you and my Covenant with your Father Abraham I am the same God that brought you out of the Land of Egypt and therefore return and repent and I 'le be with you in as much mercy as ever I was what ever the breaches have been for time past I 'le be as gracious to you as ever I was as you have celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles with abundance of rejoycing so I 'le continue this your prosperous estate you shall from yeer to yeer have cause to rejoyce havâ—â—ause to rejoyce in the Feast of Tabernacles For this Feast of Tabernacles it was the principal Feast of their rejoycing that they had and therefore all their Feasts were Feast of rejoycing in Lament 2. 7. They have made a noise in the House of the Lord as in the day of a solemn Feast There was Triumph and Joy in their solemn Feasts But now this Feast of Tabernacles was a special Feast of rejoycing and that you have in Deut. 23. 40 there they are commanded to rejoyce in this Feast for it was after the gathering in of their Corn and Wine in Deut. 16. 13 14. there you shall see further and in the end of the 15 verse Thou shalt surely rejoyce it is not only you may but a Command look to it that you do rejoyce in this Feast of Tabernacles so that the Feast of Tabernacles was a very joyful Feast Now saith God I am the Lord thy God from the Land of Egypt and I will yet make thee rejoyce as in the Feast of Tabernacles From hence we have these Notes First God loves to give hopes of mercy to sinners upon their repentance God loves to draw the hearts of wretched vile sinners by giving them hopes of mercie upon their repentance so you have it in 1 Sam. 12. 21 22. there they confest their sin and their special sin in asking a King