earth-quakes all these should be but the beginning of sorrows Secondly God expects from men that though they be not sensible of his threats yet when he begins with them in way of execution of his wrath they should begin a little Oh! it were well with us if we did prevent Gods heavy wrath by our repentance Numbers 16. 46. Moses said unto Aaron Take a Censer and put fire therein from off the Altar and put on Incense and go quickly to the Congregation and make an atonement for them for there is wrath gone out from the Lord the plague is begun Oh! how should we all make hast we cannot say only the plague is begun the plague of Civil War which is the greatest of all kind of plagues but it hath gone on a great way But to proceed VER 11. Because Ephraim hath made many Altars to sin Altars shall be unto him to sin IT was the Charge of God in Scripture That there should be but one Altar for Sacrifice and there was another Altar that afterwards was made for Incense and no further in Deut. 12. 3. and 5. ver There we have the Charge of God that there should be none other made You shall overthrow their Altars and break their pillars and burn their groves with fire and you shall hew down the graven Images of their gods and destroy the names of them out of that place c. And then Take heed to thy self that thou offer not thy burnt offering in every place that thou seest but in the place which the Lord shall chuse c. And in Deut. 27. 5. Thou shalt build an Altar to the Lord thy God an Altar of stones thou shalt not lift up an Iron tool upon them And according to which Joshua did in Joshua 8. 30. and hence in Joshua 22. 11. Now for the Altar of God I shall first shew you a little the meaning of them and then the reason why God would have but this one Altar in Exod. 20. 24. there is an injunction of God for the Altar of Sacrifice An Altar of earth thou shalt make unto me and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offering c. Here observe that That when God would have an Altar made for sacrifice it must be but an Altar of earth but if it should be of stone Take heed that thou liftest not up a tool upon it Why one would think that to carve and paint the stones and do any thing to make it brave would do better than to have the stones rough No saith God whatsoever you may think that to make my Altar brave by carving of it and painting it If you do but lift up a tool upon it you polute my Altar all mans devices in the worship of God though they be never so pompous they do but polute Gods Worship And they must not go up upon steps quite contrary to our high Altars that their nakedness be not discovered therein Noting that when we come into the presence of God we should take heed of our spiritual nakedness and the pride and vanity of our spirits in prayer God would have them make an Altar so as they might not go up upon steps lest their nakedness should be discovered But now in Exod. 27. 1 2. there you shall find an Altar of Shittim wood overlaid with Brass you will say Why was the first with earth and the other with brass The reason was because that the one was to be made when they were in an unsetled condition and the other to be made afterwards when they were in a more stated condition than formerly and that it might endure a long time But mark it must be according to Gods direction except God doth reveal that it should be of Shittim wood and overlaid with brass they were not to do it And then the second Altar was the Altar of burnt Incense and that you have in Exod. 30. 1 2 3. verses and that was to be overlaid with pure Gold that of brass it was because there was sin offerings to be offered upon it but now the Altar of Incense it was the Altar that was just before the Vail against the Mercy-seat where there was only Incense offered which was to signifie the Intercession of Jesus Christ presenting his Merits and the Prayers of all his people to the Father the prayers of the Saints are compar'd to Incense and there 's many things observable about the Altar of God it is said that there should be four horns and in Revel chap. 9. ver 13. I heard a voice from the four horns of the Golden Altar which is before God Now Saint John speaks of after-times that should be he heard a voice from the four horns of the Altar that is from all the prayers of the Saints that were in the four corners of the earth there came a voice from them all and did sound and did great things in the world Certainly my Brethren the prayers of Gods Saints in all the corners of the world is that that makes the world ring It was a Speech of a learned man If there be but one sigh come from a gracious heart it fills the ears of God so that God hears nothing else nay that 's observable in Revel 8. 3. about this Altar of Incense And another Angel came and stood at the Altar having a golden Censer and there was given unto him much Incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden Altar which was before the Throne Thus we see that in our time we are to make use of this golden Altar that is before the Throne all our prayers are to be offered up upon that which was a Type of Jesus Christ and our prayers except they be mingled with the Incense which Christ did offer himself upon the golden Altar cannot be accepted and likewise that 's very observable about it that we reade in Exod. 30. 3. that there was a Crown of Gold round about it to typifie the Intercession of Christ and the prayers of the Saints you may see by this that Christs Intercession and the prayers of the Saints that came from faithful hearts are accounted the very glory of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ accounts it his dignity and glory to make Intercession for his People and to take the poor prayers of his People and present them to his Father he makes account that his Crown is set upon his head when you exercise your faith upon Jesus Christ that Christ might present your prayers with his Intercession to the Father then you set the Crown upon Jesus Christs head but when you think to be heard your selves and do not exercise your faith upon Christ you do as it were take off the Crown from the head of Jesus Christ And that 's very observable the difference between this Altar that was here enjoyn'd to be made by Moses and so was afterwards made and the Altar that we
and those that have oppressed us that they should have their full power over us again oh our bondage would be seven fold more than it is And yet what cause have we to have our hearts tremble and shake when we think of our abuse of the beginning of Deliverance that we had but of all judgments let us pray to be delivered from that judgment that we may never go back again to our prisons But just with God it is that those who inherit their progenitors sins they should inherit their progenitors judgments You continue in their sins you shall have their Judgements also But were they ever carried into Egypt was this threat ever fulfilled No They were not carried captive into Egypt but they fled into Egypt for Refuge and there they lived and died miserably Hence observe All places are places of misery when God forsakes a people As all places are comfortable when God is with a people Many men take their course to seek to refuge themselves to help themselves and perhaps they have what they would have in part but when they have had what they would have even the having of what they desire proves to be the executiō of the wrath of God upon them you have a mind to go to Egypt you shall return to Egypt saith God It follows in the last verse VER 14. For Israel hath forgotten his Maker THEY have forgotten their Maker but I 'le remember them saith God When men think least of God then is Gods time to come upon them for their sins when they are in the greatest security of all whereas if you would remember your sins God might forget them or if you would remember God your sins should not be remembred but you forgetting God your sins are remembred It is an abominable thing for us to forget God by whom we had our memory by whom we are remembred we should never have been thought of if God had not given us what we have and therefore for us not to think of God it is a vile sin Now God is forgotten when he is not honored minded as our confidence help refuge our only good when he is not obeyed if we do but remember sin we cannot but honor him How many forget what manifestations once they had of God they are passed by from them and other things take up their thoughts Oh! what an appearing was there of God to many of your souls heretofore and what conference between God and your souls what lustre of Gods Spirit upon you and you thought you should never forget those things but now other things are in your hearts Oh! such men and women have cause to fear that they are under much wrath that they should forget their Maker God challenges remembrance under this title Remember thy Creator in the daies of thy youth There 's no creature but the rational creature that can reflect upon the cause of their being the first cause and therefore God would not lose the honor from this creature Indeed the Ox knows his owner and the Ass his Masters crib the beasts can take notice of those that bring them good things but to reflect upon the cause of their first being I say that 's proper to the rational creature and therefore it is an honor that God expects from you and will not lose it The word here Creator their Maker it is not now meant for Gods giving them their being but Gods advancing and blessing of them so as to bring them to that happy condition that now they were in They have forgotten their Maker Oh they have forgotten that God that hath advanced them So I find the words used in 1 Sam. 12. 6. The Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron but the words in the Original are the Lord that made Moses and Aaron that is when God call'd them to the publick work God made them Indeed for a man to be call'd to publick service is a great honor that God puts upon a man God makes a man then as many times we use that Phrase our selves if a man be raised to any preferment we say such a man is made for ever Oh that man which God casts his favor upon and delights to use in publick service that man is a made-man But they have forgotten the Lord that made them That 's the Note from hence It 's Gods favor that makes a man You have an excellent Scripture for this in Isa 43. 7. I have created him saith God for my glory I have formed him yea I have made him Here 's these three words together God doth not satisfie himself in this I have given him his being or all that he hath but he makes use of of these three several words to signifie how all our good comes from God I do not know such an expression we have in Scripture I have brought him out of nothing then secondly I have formed him I have put beauty and glory upon him yea and thirdly I have made him I have raised him to the height of all God hath created us all but hath he formed us We are to look at Gods forming as well as at his creation how God forms and fashions us unto his own will They have forgotten God their Maker That should have been the other Note That the greater height of excellency God raises any man to the more vile and wicked is the sin of forgetting God when they are advanced Many men will remember God when they are low but when God hath advanced them then they forget him and that 's worse But it follows And have built Temples How is God forgotten and they build Temples to the honor of God You accuse us of forgetting God our Maker What People in the world doth rememember God so as we do when we are at such charges as we are at The word that is translated Temples it signifies Palaces The Church is indeed Gods Palace but note from hence That when God is worshiped in any way but his own then God is forgotten Papists they set up Images and they say it is to put them in mind of God but the truth is they forget God in it Again When mens hearts depart most desperatly and furthest off from God they are many times very forward in superstitious worship As we know it in the primitive times the hearts of men did close most with the power of godliness and were more sincere in their worship but afterwards when they came to have peace in and after Constantines time when they had Temples then they forgot God most and grew superstitious When the Christians worshiped God in Dens and Caves of the earth they remembred God more than when they had glorious Temples built for them Men that have departed from God and have guilty consciences they must have something to satisfie their consciences Of late our Kingdom how desperatly was it departing from
see but little of it there I but saith God my people have my Law where my mind is written plainly and they may see it there and know what my Covenant is with them and therefore their sin is so much the greater they have transgressed against my Law The Seventy translate these words They have dealt ungodlily against my Law and the word especially hath reference to the worship of God that is commanded in the Law they have not worshiped me according to my Law for though God looks at every part of his Law yet more especially at that that requires his more immediate worship And in the Hebrew it is they have prevaricated against my Law they have made a shew that they would do what my Law requires but they do quite contrary that 's the propriety of the word in the Hebrew What people is there in the world but will make some shew that they would obey Gods Law no people but say it is fit that they should be obedient to Gods Law what variety of opinions and practices are there among men and yet all will father their opinions and practices upon Gods Law and mark but they do prevaricate in this they pretend one thing but they go quite the contrary way and this is that which God charges his people withal upon which he would send his enemies even an Eagle upon them It follows VER 2. Israel shall cry unto me My God we know thee THE words as they are in the Hebrew are somewhat different from what they are in your books for Israel in your books is in the first place but in the Hebrew it is in the last that is To me they shall cry My God we know thee Israel What difference is this yes the words thus read have more elegancy in them than otherwise and they hint some observations that would hardly be hinted to us as it is in your books as thus If you reade it as it is in your books then it is only a speech of God to them But if you reade it according to the Hebrew they shall cry to me My God we know thee Israel They here seem to put God in mind who they were as if they should say we are Israel who know thee remember we are not strangers to thee They shall cry unto me My God we know thee Israel It 's Israel that cries to thee Oh my God! Or as if they should put God in mind of their Father Israel in whom their confidence was They shall cry to me My God we know thee Israel Oh remember our Father Israel and deal graciously with us for the sake of our Father Israel Just like those in Matth. that would cry We have Abraham to our Father so here this people would cry in their cries in the time of their affliction they would cry to God that they had Israel to their Father we have reference to Israel who did so prevail as a Prince with God and therefore we hope we shall fare the better for Israel Or thus They shall cry to me My God we know thee Israel That is we know thee to be the God of Israel we have known how thy waies have been in former times for the good of thine Israel and Lord remember how thou hast wrought for thine Israel heretofore and work now for us in the same manner thus there is a great deal in this word Israel if you set it in the last place in the verse more than if you set it in the beginning From hence the Notes are these First That in affliction men see their need of God So the Chaldae paraphrase upon this place Alwaies when I bring straights upon them then they pray before me and say Now we see plainly that we have no other God besides thee Oh! redeem us because we are thy people Israel so that 's the meaning Secondly Even Hypocrites and the vilest Wretches that are in the time of their distress will claim interest in God and cry to him even those that have departed most from him will be ready to claim interest in him in their distress What an impudency was it for this people that had so grosly departed from God that had gone so against their light and yet they will come boldly and claim their interest in God in the time of their affliction Truly we see the same spirit in men at this very day the most wicked and vile ungodly man or woman that is yet will be ready in afflictions to claim interest in God My God I appeal to you in this Congregation if one should go from one end of the Congregation and speak particularly to every one and ask but this question Do you hope that God is your God Every one would be ready to say Yes we hope he is This is the impudency of mens hearts that will take liberty to go on in a way of rebellion and fighting against God all their lives and yet in the time of their distress claim interest in God Thirdly That knowledg and acknowledgment of God in an outward formal way is that which Hypocrites think will commend them much to God in time of affliction that by which they shall have favour from Him because they have made some profession of God We know thee as if they should say Lord we were not as others that had forsaken thee we continued Israel still we did not turn to be Heathens It is very hard for mens spirits to be taken off from trusting in formality in outward worship we are all Christians we are not turned Heathens so they shall call to me My God we know thee Israel we continue Israel still Oh! how sweet and comfortable is it then to have a true interest in God in the time of affliction to be able to say in truth Lord we know thee and blessed be thy Name Lord we have known thee we have had experience of thy goodness and faithfulness mercy love and tender compassion towards us we have known thee an infinite al sufficient good thou hast satisfied our souls with thy love the light of thy countenance it hath been the joy of our hearts and blessed be the time that ever we knew thee Oh blessed be the time that ever the Lord made himself known to us we can say Lord we have known thee and therefore now Lord have mercy upon us Oh let us all learn to make more of our interest in God and to labor to know Him more and more that we may have this comfort in our afflictions to be able to say in truth Oh Lord thou art our God and we have known thee If Hypocrites think it to be so great a comfort that they are Israel Oh what is it then to be a true Israelite in whose heart is no guile Fourthly Degenerate children they think to have favour for the sake of their godly parents We have known thee Israel Children should imitate
good we cast off mercy and protection we open a door to all kind of misery if we retain that which is good we retain God but when that which is good is cast off we lie exposed and naked to all kind of misery for God owns us not It follows VER 4. They have set up Kings but not by me they have made Princes and I knew it not HERE we have their Civil apostasie the other was a Moral apostasie They have set up their Kings but not by me Though all Government it is to hold on God yet we are to know that God had an especial hand in the Government of the people of the Jews It was as Lapide upon the place calls it a Spiritual and a kind of Divine Kingdom it was not meerly Civil the Government that God set over them was typical it was to typifie the Government of Christ And hence we are to take this Caution We may easily be led aside into many mistakes and errors if we argue thus That because the Kings of Israel and Judah did thus and thus therefore it is in the power of any King at these times to do so for certainly there was a mighty deal of difference between the Government then even the Government in that State and the Government now for State and Church was mixt together and the Government then it was typical it was to typifie the Kingdom of Jesus Christ therefore though God leaves People leaves States now to their Liberty to set up what Government may be best for them yet it was not permitted to the Jews they were to have only that Government that God should reveal from Heaven for their Civil State therefore when they would change the form of their Government first from Judges to Kings God said they had rejected him in casting off that They set up Kings but not by me Some think that this hath reference to the chusing of Kings at first because that they did it without Gods Warrant when they chose a King to themselves at first and so they have set up Kings but not by me But I rather think that this hath reference to Jeroboam and his successors they set up Jeroboam and his successors and not by God This you will say is very strange for it is cleer in Scripture that it was from God that Jeroboam should be King and that the ten Tribes should be rent from Solomons posterity for the punishment of Solomons sin it was prophesied of by Ahijah the Shilonite 1 King 11. 29 30 31. the Prophet came to Jeroboam and renâ— the Garment of Jeroboam in twelve pieces and said to him Take thee ten pieâ—es for thus saith the Lord the God of Israel Behold I will rent the Kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten Tribes to thee The Lord sent his Prophet to tell him expresly that he would rent ten Tribes from the house of Solomon to give them to him and yet here it is said That they have set up Kings but not by me Again in the 10. chap. and 15. ver Rehoboam hearkened not unto the people for the Cause was from the Lord that he might perform his saying which the Lord spake by Ahijah the Shilomite unto Jeroboam the Son of Nebat It was from the Lord that Rehoboam gave such a churlish answer was from the Lord that he was left to such a Tyrannical cruel spirit that the Lord might fulfil the word that he had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite Abulensis thinks that the ten Tribes for the matter of the thing did no more than they might do and he gives this reason for saith he the people these Tribes were free Tribes but Rehoboam would bring them into slavery and he would reign over them as a Tyrant therefore saith he they might lawfully depart from him and leave him and make to themselves a new King and then he puts the Cause viz. for that a people or Common-wealth saith he they first gave the power to Kings and Princes but they did it upon certain conditions at first therefore as they first gave power unto them so saith he they may diminish it if they abuse it and Tyrannize over them for he hath this further expression the people did not absolutely give themselves to him when a people do chuse a chief Governor saith he they do not give themselves to them as a man gives to his friend a piece of money or a horse so as they give all out of their own possession and that he might do with them what he will but upon certain conditions thus and thus this Abulensis hath Now though I do not altogether approve of what he hath said because at least the case between People and Princes now is different from what it was then God chalenged a peculiar Prerogative over them for tendering their Government yet thus far in Divinity is true There is more reason that people should now have more power to cast off Tyranny than there was because now none comes to Government over others but by Agreement therefore if the Agreement and Law of the Country be that they shall be elect and not haereditary they are so if that the males shall only inherit he shall only inherit and so if the Law of the Country were for delivering themselves from tyranny so far certainly God allows it in His Word But now to answer the Case more cleerly They set up Kings but not by me though GOD had foretold that the ten Tribes should be rent away from the house of David and that Jeroboam should be set up yet they did not do this thing in a lawful way as they ought for they should have consulted with God about the time and manner of it when God would have it done it was not enough that God did fortell it should be done but when they did it they ought to have done it in a way of consulting with God and they ought to have been ordered by God for the way and manner of it and they did not do it in way of fulfilling the Prophesie for the people generally knew no such thing but meerly minding their own passions and lusts they look'd at no further though God did over-rule it to fulfil his own Counsels yet they aimed at no such thing Whence we have these useful Notes for our edification First That we may do the thing that God would have done and yet sin highly against God God would have Jeroboam set up but they only looking at the matter and did not observe Gods way God did reject them Secondly To do that which God would have done yet if we do not know that it is Gods mind we sin against God Though we do the thing that God would have done in His secret will yet we sin against God if we know it not to be His revealed will Now no action can be good but that which is done not
of pains about their false worship Those that sow they must be abroad in the cold and wind Idolaters were willing to take pains and go through many difficulties for the furtherance of their false worship Let not us be sluggish then in the true Worship of our God let us be willing to pass through many difficulties to further the service of our God Secondly Sowing is a labor without any present profit coming in by it the benefit of the labor it lies in expectation for the future Idolaters are content to sow though they gain nothing by their labor yet in expectation of somewhat hereafter We are presently weary of a little labor except we find somewhat coming in presently we cannot wait for the blessing of the former and latter rain upon our endeavours we must be alwaies reaping or else we are wearied and discouraged Idolaters would work hard though they get nothing for the present how much more should we labor for God in expectation of the harvest that God hath provided Thirdly Sowing it is a work for the maintaining of the succession of provision for one Generation to another Idolaters they labor to keep up their false worship for the posterity that is coming after they are not content to enjoy it themselves all the while they live but they take a course to have those they leave behind them to enjoy it when they are gone Thus we should do and great reason we have to do thus in the true Worship of God not think it enough to enjoy it our selves but to take al waies that possibly we can that we may leave our posterity to enjoy it that we may sow for posterity as well as for our selves that we may leave a stock of provision for our children afterwards Through Gods mercy our forefathers did so and we have reapt the harvest of their seed and through their endeavors we have enjoyed much of this Worship of God and the Truths of God let us likewise sow for those that are coming after Fourthly Sowing is a work that must be done in its season or it is in vain Idolaters they will observe their seasons their fit times for the furtherance of their false worship much more should we do for the Worship of God We have had a fair season and we have seemed to be very busie the Lord grant we do not sow the wind as it follows in the next words They have sown to the wind This is a proverbial speech that signifies the taking a great deal of pains to little purpose As a man that should go abroad in the fields and spread his hands about and take pains and yet hath nothing but air in his hands The Wind is an empty creature in respect of things that are sollid therefore the Scripture doth often make use of this creature to signifie the vanity of the labors the hopes and endeavors of wicked men you shall find these several expressions in Scripture tending to this purpose as the Laboring for the wind Eccles 5. 16. Secondly to â—eed upon the wind Hos 12. 1. Thirdly to bring forth the wind Isa 26. 18. And fourthly to inherit the wind Prov. 11. 29. And fiftly here in the text sowing to the wind Many people do nothing all their lives time but sow the wind they labor and toil but what comes of it it is no good account that we can give to God of our time to say that we have taken a great deal of pains we may take pains and yet sow the wind Who are those that sow the wind First Men that spend their thoughts and strength about things no way profitable to themselves or others those sow the wind those that do with a great deal of earnestness do just nothing or what they do is but a trifle many Scholers study night and day they tire themselves with reading and musing and writing and yet they are no way useful either their studies have been in useless things â—aking among rubbish and lumber or else they know not how to make use of their reading and learning and indeed it is a pittiful object to behold to behold one that hath been all his daies a great Studient and hath beat his brains and rose early and gone to bed late grutch'd the very time of his meat and yet he is a useless man in the place where he is he hath no use at all of all his studies he is of no service to Church or Common-wealth Here 's a man that hath all his daies sown to the wind Secondly All those who take pains and are at great cost in superstitious worship all their intentions that they have to honor God they come to nothing it 's but a sowing to the wind and this is that which is here especially meant They sow the wind All Idolatrous worshippers that take much pains and are at great cost they do but sow the wind How many Papists have we that dares not for their lives but rise at their hours that they have vowed to rise at midnight to their beads or very early spend many hours every day at their beads wear out their bodies by their fasting by their watching deny themselves the use of the creatures wear sackcloath lie very hard tire their bodies by pilgrimage forsake their revenues that that their progeniters had left them vow perpetual virginity shut themselves up in Cloisters what a deal of labor and toil is here to the flesh and all this with conscienciousness all this with a desire to honor God and to afflict themselves for their sins And yet this not having warrant from God being a will-worship all this is but sowing the wind they lose al their labor cost and charge and all their thoughts and devotions they are all lost Thirdly Such as are formal in the true Worship of God as content themselves in the outward part of Gods Worship having no power nor life of godliness in their service they perform You have many that do things out of custom content themselves in the deed done dare not for their lives neglect Prayer not one morning nor evening nor at other times and are often with Gods People in fasting or coming to hear the Word but yet all this while being but formal they not having the life and power of godliness in these duties they do but sow the wind they lose all their labor and when they shall come upon their sick-beds and death-beds and desire comfort from what they have done they shall find nothing but the wind to feed upon all will be turned into wind and they will have no sollid comfort for their souls to feed upon in the day of their distress Fourthly Those men sow the wind who do all that they do out of vain glory in hypocrisie to set up themselves among others spend a long time in prayer hath admirable gifts in
that were said against the strictest way of holiness but now he can be ready to listen to Objections As a man when he was intimate with his friend he could not endure to hear any thing that was said against him but now being estranged from him he can drink in any thing which is said against him Sixthly When the heart is estranged from the Word it wil put off thoughts and through examination of truths it will not search into things as it was wont to do but is willing to put off and shut his eyes and will rather search into any thing that may make against the Truth than that which will work for it I beseech you observe these workings of your hearts Seventhly There will be an engagement in some practice not allowed by the Word Then a man grows further estranged from his Friend when he doth not only refrain coming into his company but he will engage himself into some others that are against him Eighthly It comes to have a slight esteem of what before they thought had great weight in it there was a time when such such things were thought to have very great weight in them but now they are nothing they are of another judgment Just as when a man is estranged from his friend he thought before he had a great deal of excellency in him but now he esteems him not and this is the argument of the estrangement of his heart from him Lastly If men take not heed when they are by these degrees grown to be estranged from the Truth they will at length violently reject the Truths of the Word they will grow to be open enemies to the Truth Men that have bin familiar with Gods Word and Truth and made profession of them and seem'd to love them most by several degrees they have grown to be strangers from them and at length to be enemies to them Apostates have proved to be the most desperate enemies to the truths of God of any in the world take heed therefore of the strangeness of your hearts from the Truths of God lest you afterwards prove to be an enemy to God it 's an evil thing to account the Law of God a strange thing but much more to account it an enemy to us and our hearts to be an enemy to it Isa 5. 24. Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble and the flame consumeth the chaff so their root shall be rottenness and their blossom shall go up as dust why because they have cast away the Law of the Lord of Hosts and despised the Word of the holy One of Israel Oh! let us for ever take heed of this and therefore let our prayer be that of the Prophet David in Psal 119. 18 19. Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy Law And then it follows I am a stranger in the earth hide not thy Commandements from me Lord I account my self a stranger here in the world Oh! let not thy Word be a stranger to me I beseech you observe this Those men and women that account themselves strangers in the world will never account the Law of God a strang thing to them but such men as account themselves to be the inhabitants of the world they will have Gods Law to be a stranger to them Observe it and you shall find this to be a Note When your hearts begin to close with the things of the world you do not meditate in Gods Word so much as you did before nor delight to reade it but now if you can keep your heart from the things of the world to use them as if you used them not then this will be your prayer Lord hide not thy Commandements from me Oh thy Word is sweet unto me as honey and the honey comb One Note more about this They accounted this as a strange thing Men they have a strange way now a daies to estrange the Law from them and themselves from the Law That which their corrupt hearts will not close withal as for a rule of holiness that they will put upon Christ as if Christ had delivered them from it This is a strange way indeed of estranging themselves from Gods Law many men will eestrange themselves from the Law of God by too much familiarity in the world but for people to have this way by their familiarity with Jesus Christ because they come now to know Christ more therefore they should be greater strangers from the Law than they were before this is a strange way of estranging mens hearts from Gods Law The holy Ghost foreseeing such a generation which would be in the times of the Gospel that would boldly assert that whosoever the people of God were bound to under the old Testament yet in the new Testament they have nothing to do with the Law of Moses it is very observable In Malac. 4. 2. 4. the very close of the old Testament even then when there is a Prophesie of Christ to annex the old Testament and the new together saith the text there Vnto you that fear my Name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings to you that fear my Name shall Christ arise what then then you shall have nothing to with the Law when Christ arises Mark then in the 4 th vers Remember ye the Law of Moses almost the last words in the old Testament and the Conclusion as if the holy Ghost should say now I have done revealing all my mind about the old Testament and you must never expect any more Prophets nor any further Revelations of my mind till the time of the new Testament but instead of the Prophets you shall have the Sun of righteousness arise Well then I hope they shall never have any thing to do with the Law of Moses more Nay but saith the holy Ghost Remember ye the Law of Moses my servant c. VER 13. They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifice of mine offering THE Jews might object Why how do we account the Law of God a strange thing do not we continue in sacrificing do not we offer our sacrifices to God why do you say we account the Law a strange thing From the connexion therefore this Note may be observed That men may continue in outward profession and performances of duties of Religion and yet the great things of Gods Law may be a strange thing to them They do offer sacrifices still and yet they accounted Gods Law as a strange thing to them Do not think that sufficient that you continue in outward profession of Religion Nay shall I say more I make no qustion but a man may continue in outward duties and yet Apostatize from God so far as to commit the sin against the holy Ghost and that 's evident from the example of the Scribes and Pharisees that Christ charges for commission of the sin against the
neerer to an ingenious heart than the loss of Love he had rather lose his Money than his Love such an one hath requited me il for my love this I say goes to the heart of a man and there 's nothing more grieves him than that he finds his love is ill bestowed So certainly it goes to the heart of God that his Love should be ill bestowed upon people They went to BAAL-PEOR Many loathsom and obscene things are reported concerning this Baal-Peor this god that was the god of the Moabites that is unfit for chast ears to hear therefore we shall not mention such things Much filthiness was committed in the worship of this their Baal-Peor and yet saith God notwithstanding all my love to their fore-fathers whereby they might have drawn an argument that they should have had blessings upon themselves if they had continued in the waies of their forefathers yet they went from me went to Baal-Peor From whence the Notes are First The more shameful any thing is the more abominable is it to forsake God It 's an abominable thing to forsake God for the gaining of Heaven and Earth if it could be gained by it but for to forsake God for a Baal-Peor God takes this â—ll but that we met with before Secondly This is the evil of mans heart That there is no evil so base and shameful but he is ready to forsake the blessed and glorious God that he may cleave to that As it is reported of the Panther that it doth love the dung of man so well that if it be hung up at a height it will leap and skip for it till it bursts in pieces So many there are that are set upon such base things that they are content to part with all good that there is in God and Jesus Christ if they may but have them they are content to undo themselves to all eternity Thirdly So to leave God as to give up our selves to baseness and wickedness Oh! this is most abâ—minable To be over taken with a sin is vile but for one to give up himself or her self to wickedness this is abominable and yet this is that that many are guilty of at first perhaps sin is fair-mannerd and saith Do but take some dallies with me at first but after the soul begins to give up its self in a most desperate way in sinful courses many an Apostate doth thus that had some comfort before in God but now having gotten a haunt of wickedness they have lost all their comforts in God and Christ and now saith this desperat soul I cannot have comfort in God and Christ and therefore I will have it in the satisfying of my lusts Oh! my Brethren what a shame is this So far as thou art able to be guilty of shaming even God Himself and Jesus Christ therfore in Heb. 6. 6. Apostates are said to put Jesus Christ to open shame and Apostate that leaves the waies of God and separates himself to his lusts he doth put the Lord Jesus Christ to an open shame Oh! how should Gods people separate themselves for the Lord and be wholly his seeing Idolaters separate themselves to their Idols let them look upon themselves as a people separated for the Lord. And their abominations were as they loved That is First as they loved so they were guided they were not guided by the Word nor by any Divine Rule not by right Reason but according as they loved they followed what they had a mind to never regarding what Gods mind was The judgment is soon gone when the heart is taken with a thing Ordinarily people love that way they go not that way the Rule guides them to but what way their affections carry them on in this is a very sinful thing for men to be acted with and carried upon meerly by the violence of their affections and especially this is evil in the matters of Gods Worship there we may not do things as we love that is because we think such things are very fair and there appears no hurt in them to us and they like us well yea but we must examine whether we have warrant out of the Word for that we must not do as we love but according as the rule is Secondly They were abominable as they loved they were turned into the very likeness of what they loved and indeed our loves what ever they are upon doth turn us into the likeness of the thing The understanding turns the object into a likeness to it but the heart is turned into the likeness of its object Austin hath a notable expression for this saith he Such is every man as his love is Doth a man love the earth he is earth doth a man love God what shall I say saith Austin he shall be even God too And indeed the Scripture saith we are partakers of the Divine Nature Oh! what care had we need have of what we love Doest thou love a base filthy thing then thy soul is base and filthy too Doest thou love the glorious and blessed God then thy soul is made like to God Chuse therefore good objects for thy love love the Lord and love his holy waies love things that are excellent and glorious and by the loving of those things thy heart will come to have excellency and glory put upon it but if thou lovest that which is drossy and filthy thou comest to have a base and drossy heart of thy own Mans soul is like to the Cameleon that is changed into the color of the object it looks upon They were abominable as they loved Every man or woman is as he loves Thirdly They were abominable as they loved That which is here translated of the Concrete I find it may be as well translated of the Abstract They were abominable as their love and so it 's carried by Interpreters that is they were abominable as their Idols were that they did love and their Idols were call'd Love in the Abstract as a man cals his Wife his Love so they call'd their Idols their Love and they were abominable as their Love was that is look how abominable Baal-Peor was so abominable were they so the Psalmist saith that they that make Idols are like unto them But fourthly which I think is especially the scope of the holy Ghost here They were abominable as they love though the other may be taken in this Scripture hath reference to that that you reade in Numb 25. 1. there you find that the people of Israel by the wicked counsel of Balaam when they could not be cursed yet Balaam did counsel them that they should come and bring their daughters before them and so to intice them to commit uncleanness with their daughters and then they should intice them to Idolatry that was the wicked counsel of Balaam they committed whordom with the daughters of Moab and they called the
themselves If God do but leave them whatsoever their wisdom was before all their endeavors they shall be blasted and come to nothing in this it is we should sanctifie Gods Name and acknowledge it acknowledge our immediate dependance upon God for all our outward good we enjoy whatsoever second causes we have to help our selves Wicked men will not take notice of him in their Comforts they cry out of this and the other cause of their evil but it 's Gods departing from them that is the great thing they should take to heart Particular evils must not be taken so much to heart as this of Gods departing Whatsoever our condition be yet if God be not departing we are well enough though in the fire though in the water I will be with thee saith the Lord. Mark the ground of the confidence of the Saints in the time of affliction in Psalm 46. Luther's Psalm it 's called that is a Psalm that Luther was wont to call to his friends to sing when he heard of any danger that they were in or any sad thing fallen out Come saith he let us sing the 46. Psalm And mark the confidence of the Saints We will not fear though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea Though the waters thereof rore and be troubled though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof though the heathen rage and the Kingdoms be removed yet al shal not trouble us Why what 's the ground The Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge And it 's twice repeated in the same words in the Psalm God is not gone God is not departed therefore no great matter what men can do unto us But if one be in misery and have God departed Oh! how dreadful is that condition It was a dreadful speech of Saul in 1 Sam. 28. 15. I am sore distressed for the Philistins make war against me and God is departed from me Oh! when the Philistins make war upon a people when there is enemies at our gates and then our consciences shall tell us that God is departed from us this is a sad condition It was a woful speech of Saul God is now departed when I have most need of him Wo to them then For First The root of all evil is very deep that is upon us when God is departed It doth not lie in this particular or that particular we might make shift to get over them the spirit of a man might sustain his infirmity but the root of the evil it lies in the departing of God And what can the Creature do when God is departed As the King of Israel when the women said Help O King Saith he If the Lord doth not help thee whence shall I help thee And as all creatures say If God be departed we cannot help nay the very Devil cannot help if God be gone In 1 Sam. 28. when Saul was sore distressed and he would raise up Samuel and the Devil came in the likeness of Samuel saith he Wherefore doest thou ask of me seeing the Lord is departed from thee No Creatures in the world nor Devils can do good when God is departed then the evil is only evil when God is gone An evil may have much good in it and God may sanctifie it for abundance of blessings to his People so long as he continues with them but if he be gone then the evil is only evil And if God be gon all protection is gon and therfore thou liest liable to all kind of evils whatsoever And however for the present things do seem to be good that are remaining yet the blessing of it is gone if God be not with thee And this evil that is upon thee it is no other but the forerunner of eternal evil and the creature certainly then must needs sink when God is thus departed Oh! If so be that it is so woful a thing for God to depart from a people here in this world in regard of the withdrawing of outward things and mercies from them what is it then for the Lord to depart for ever from the soul What an alteration doth the departing of the Sun make Take a delightful Sunshine Summers day and how beautiful is it Now compare that with a winters dark dismal night What makes the difference between these two The presence of the Sun in the one and the Sun is departed from the other It is but the presence or the departing of one creature Oh! if the presence or the departing of one creature makes such a difference in the world what doth the presence or the departing of the infinite God do to the soul Let the Saints who enjoy Gods presence prize it and pray as the Prophet did Lord leave us not Oh! how vain is the heart of man that will depart from God If thou depart from him he departs from thee too and wo to thee whatsoever thou hast when the Lord is gone and departed from thee The Lord departs from particular men and women as well as from Kingdoms and Nations and wo to them also when God departs from a particular man or woman he doth withdraw his common gifts and graces and comforts that they were wont to have he doth curse all means for good unto them and he gives them up unto temptations those are the three special things that God doth in departing from any particular soul he withdraws the common gifts and graces that they had and the comforts that follows and curses the means that may do them good and gives them up to the strength and power of temptation You will say it may be Many a soul that doth desire further presence of God may be afraid out of this that God is departed Now though God no question may in some degree withdraw himself even from his Saints so as they may be afraid that God is gone and departed from them yet there 's this one evidence to thee let thy condition be never so sad yet if thou beest a Saint I say this is one evidence that God is not wholly gone if he leaves any kind of shine behind him so far as makes thy heart to be longing after him God doth not so depart from his Saints but he leaves some luster some little glimmering of himself behind so much as the soul sees which way God is gone so much as serves to draw the heart of a poor sinner after himself and makes it restless and unquiet till it comes to be in Gods presence again As when a Candle is taken out of a room the room is darker than it was yet there 's a glimmering left behind in that if you go quickly you may follow When God departs from hypocrites he departs so as he leaves nothing behind him and they have not so much of God as makes them make after God and so they
turn away from God and seek to make up the loss of God in some other thing but a Saint of God that hath God beginning to depart in any degree when God is gone he will not turn aside to seek to make up the loss of God in any other thing else but he hath so much of God as doth strongly carry his heart after him that he looks and sighs and groans and cries after the Lord and as David in Psal 119. 8. there he shews us that God was in some degree departed from him in his own sense at least but mark his expression there and that one Scripture may much help any soul that is afraid that God is departed I will keep thy Statutes O forsake me not utterly Oh Lord me thinks I feel that thou art a going I feel that I have not those comforts I was wont to have those stirrings of thy Spirit as I was wont to have but O Lord yet for all this I will keep thy Statutes saith David I am resolved though I should never have further comforts from thee yet Lord I will keep thy Statutes do with me what thou wilt Iâ—le do what I can to honor thee and Lord forsake me not utterly So long as thy heart can close with this text and say thus as David Lord I will keep thy Statutes though I feel not thy presence with me as I was wont to do yet Lord I will do what I can to honor thee though I be in a sad condition and thou seemest to leave me yet Lord I will keep thy Statutes Oh Lord forsake me not utterly So long as thou canst make use of Davids expression as thine own it is an evidence God is not so departed as he uses to depart from Hypocrites and wicked and ungodly men And if it be so woful a thing when God departs truly then when God is about departing we had need cry mightily to him both for Kingdoms and particular souls When a Malefactor stands before the Judg and is crying for mercy if the Judg be a rising off the Bench then he lifts up his voice and then shreeks out indeed Good my Lord then he sees if the Judg be gone off from the Bench he is a lost man so when we see God going as many foot-steps of Gods departing from us there have been and are and yet still God leaves a light behind blessed be God we have a light of Gods presence and God is no further departed from us but so that he hath left so much of himself as we may know where to have him It follows VER 13. Ephraim as I saw Tyrus is planted in a pleasant place but Ephraim shall bring forth his Children to the Murderers WHAT God departed Wo to us when God departs from us Why but Ephraim might bless himself in his prosperous condition in which he was Ephraim might say What do you speak of Gods departing We are in a good condition it 's but your melancholly fears that makes you speak of such fears as these are we were never stronger nor never had better fortifications nor never prospered better than we do and as I told you this hath reference to the time of Jerohoam the second and the Prophet grants it that they were in a prosperous estate Ephraim was like Tyrus planted in a pleasant place as Tyrus was Tyrus it was a brave City an Island in the Sea much like as it 's reported that famous City in Italy Venice which is in the Sea about seven hundred paces from the Land it is built as it were upon a rock in the Sea and so indeed the word signifies it comes from a word that in the Hebrew signifies a Rock it was a very exceeding strong place Quintus Curtius in his fourth book of the Story of Alexander saith that Alexander in his conquest had more to do to conquer Tyrus than all Asia besides it was such a mighty and strong place Pliny saith the compass of it was nineteen miles It was the general Mart almost of all the world and it was a City very full of people and to this the Prophet hath reference when he saith Ephraim was like Tyrus because Ephraim did so glory in his numerous Progeny for Tyrus was a mighty populous place as Pliny saith of it that there were three other ancient Cities came out of it as Leptis Vtica and that great CARTHAGE that was but a spring out of this root that CARTHAGE that was such a famous City that did strive a long time for the Empier of Rome and the Monarchy and Dominion of the whol world Yea and Gades divided as it were from the rest of the earth were peopled from hence We need not go so much to the Authors that write about this City and the braveness of it for in Ezek. 27. you have a description of the City Tyrus as a most brave rich and glorious City Oh! thou that art situate at the entry of the Sea which art a Merchant of the people for many Isles thus saith the Lord God O Tyrus thou hast said I am of perfect beauty Thy borders are in the midst of the Seas thy builders have perfected thy beauty And then in the 33. verse When thy Wares went forth out of the Seas thou filledst many people thou didest enrich the Kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy Mercandize Now saith the Lord here Ephraim is thus she said to her self that she was so prosperous and strong and rich every way she was like to Tyrus I grant it saith the Prophet and I have seen it so Ephraim is the very same even then when I am departing from her So that from hence we may see That at the very time when God is departing from a Kingdom or a particular man or woman they may be in the greatest prosperity that ever they were in all their lives When thou art neerest eternal misery thou maiest be in the highest degree of outward prosperity that ever thou wast in all thy life Physitians say that the uttermst degree of health in the body is next unto sickness It 's true here that the highest degree of outward prosperity it 's but the forerunner of ruine Oh! let us learn never to trust in our prosperity but alwaies to walk with fear and trembling before the Lord never let us think that we are safe and well because we have outward things at our wills we may have them at our wills and yet that very night the word may come This night shall thy soul be taken away as you know it was with the rich man in the Gospel when he had his barns full and was in consultation what to do yet now shall thy soul be taken from thee And Nebuchadnezzar at that very time when he was glorying in his Magnificent Pallace that he had made now
give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts But rather according to most Interpreters I think this expression is rather an expression of Commiseration that is foreseeing the lamentable condition that the ten Tribes should be in ere long the Prophet pities their condition and would fain come in and pray for them and he begins Give them O Lord saith the prophet and then he makes a stop as if he should say but O Lord what shall I say for them Give them but Lord I know not what to ask for them I am at a stand when I consider what they are what the many mercies they have had already what warnings they have had how hardened they are in their sin and how thy word is gone forth but Lord give them shall I say Lord give them deliverance give them peace give them prosperity still Lord I dare not that I cannot ask all means have been used for to bring them unto thee and yet they stand out against the Lord thou knowest they are deer to me they are of my flesh and I should be glad that they might be saved but thy glory is dearer to me then they are and therefore for that I cannot pray and therefore the Prophet praies Give them seeing all this misery must befal them what shall the enemies be let out upon them shall they and their children be made a prey to the Murderer Lord rather let no more be born of them rather let those children that otherwise should have been born and might have lived in their own Land Lord God 〈◊〉 them not be born rather than come to live to so great misery so he doth not pray for a miscarrying womb and dry breasts absolutely but compartively From whence the Notes are First That mens sins make many times Gods Ministers and his Saints at a point that they know not what to say in prayer Truly though there hath bee a mighty Spirit of prayer through Gods mercy in the Kingdom yet considering that since God hath come to shew himself willing to deliver us and Christ hath been coming even upon his white Hors in peace to take the Kingdom to himself since that time such a spirit of Malignity hath appeared against Christ and his Saints as ever was in the Kingdom it puts many of the Ministers and Saints of God to a non-plus in their prayers and straightens their very hearts in the day of their fasting when they are to seek God that the Lord would give forth mercy The Lord knows that the condition we are in is more unfit for mercy than we were at the very first day Thus a Nation thus particular people may put the Servants of God to a stand in their prayers and straighten their hearts Oh! were it that people had gone on in the imbracing of Reformation as they seem'd to do at the first Oh! how enlarged would the herrts of the Saints have been in prayer Oh Lord give England mercy give England deliverance And then a second Note is this That the fruitfulness or the barrenness of the womb it is from God Give them give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts This is from God in Gen. 30. 2. when Rachel cried for children Give me children or else I die the text saith that Jacobs anger was kindled against Rachel and said Am I in Gods stead Paulus Phagius that learned man saith that the Hebrews have this speech that there are four keys that are in Gods hand that he gives not into the hand of any Angel 1. The Key of the Rain and that you have in Deut. 28. 12. The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure the Heaven to give thee rain unto thy Land in his season 1. There 's the Key of Food in Ps 145. The eyes of all wait upon thee and thou givest them their meat in due season thou openest thine hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing 3. There 's the Key of the Grave in Ezek. 37. 12. Behold Oh my people I will open your Graves and cause you to come up out of your Graves 4. And lastly The Key of the Womb and that is in Gen. 38. 22. These four Keys God keeps in his own hand and therefore Gods providence is to be observed in this and there ought to be a submission to his hand in it Thirdly Sin may bring such evil time upon a people as better those who live to such times had not been born or died before those times had come Give them a miscarrying womb and a dry breast if they should have children that should live to endure all the miseries of those times that are coming they had been better not to have been born or have died long before this time saith the Prophet We must take heed of wishing this upon every little affliction that doth befall us as it is the frowardness of many people even with God himself that if their children do but anger them to wish they had never been born or cold in the mouth many years ago I wish I had gone to your Grave Parents many times are ready to wish their children that they had never been born of them but this is frowardness against God himself and wickedness those that are so ready to wish their children had not been born they are the least sensible of the sin that doth cause the affliction upon which they do wish such a thing as that is Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts First There may be either such miserable slaughters as that Parents might even wish that they never had any Children Or Secondly They may live under such cruel tyranny for their souls and bodies Or thirdly They may be drawn from God by false Religion and so may be in a condition worse than if they had not been born Hence Parents to whom God denies children or takes them away they should quiet themselves in Gods dispose especially in such times as these are it may be God hath taken away your children to deliver them from greater evils as in the house of Jeroboam there was but one child that had any good in it and saith God That child shall die and gives the reason Because it had some good in it So that God takes away many that he hath the most love unto and lets others to live that he hath not so much love unto Yes some may say If I were sure that their souls were safe though God doth take them away if I were sure of their salvation then I would be content That 's true indeed If your children were saved what hurt is that to be taken away here and received to Heaven and there to live for ever with Christ not to sin or sorrow more but howsoever you may satisfie your selves in these three things First That they are under an indefinite promise though not an
you should come into the very place where your children have been murdered or wives ravished would not you have your hearts rise with indignation in this place was my child murdered in this place was my child ravished so saith God every time he looks upon Gilgal Oh! here was this wickedness committed there I hated them Hence it is that many guilty consciences dare not go into the place where they have committed sin There I hated them It follows I will drive them out of my house They shall remain no longer in a Church-State they shall remain no longer so to be in my House Those who under the colour of being under the Church of God yet live in the waies of wickedness God will unchurch them even in regard of the outward appearance of a Church Estate I 'le drive them out of my House It 's a dreadful expression this for a father to take his child or servant and drive them out of his house notes great indignation to be driven out of Gods House is a sore evil that makes all other evils indeed to be evil as abiding in Gods House is a great blessing and recompences the want of many outward blessings If any of you that have been servants to great men and should be driven out of their houses and especially for your conscience yet if God takes you into his House you are well enough and for that you have a famous Scripture in Psal 52. 8. But I saith David am like a green Olive tree in the House of God I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever Upon what occasion was this Psalm pen'd It was when David was driven out of the house of Saul by the occasion of Doeg there was a Doeg that did exasperate Saul against him and David was driven from his house so he dared not come into it but what comfort had David But I am like a green Olive tree in the House of God though I cannot be in Sauls house and enjoy the priviledges of his house yet blessed be God that I may be in His House and there thrive and prosper as a green Olive tree I will drive them out of my house God cannot endure wickedness in his house neither should we God accounts it his dishonor to have wickedness and wicked men in his house and so should we as in the Church ungodly men should be driven out of the house of God we must not make Gods house an Hogs-sty an unclean place for all Swine to come in but they should be driven out as Christ drave out the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple yea and so should all Christians drive out of their families wicked and ungodly servants Psal 101. 7. He that worketh deceit shall not dwel within my house saith David And he that telleth lyes shall not tarry in in his sight It 's a dishonor for any who make profession of Religion that though themselves be not scandalous in their own lives yet there are those in their house that live scandalously they have as wicked servants in their houses as any this is a dishonor to Religion God drives out wickedness out of his house and do you do so to yours And I will love them no more By Love here is meant the communication of outward good things for that carnal hearts account to be the only love of God Indeed if they may have but outward prosperity here in this world they make that an argument of Gods love unto them Well saith God though you have had many such kind of arguments of my love such fruits of my love yet I will love you no more I will take away all those priviledges and good things that you have enjoyed There are priviledges and good things that come from no other love but that which may be taken away Oh! let not us be satisfied with those let us be satisfied with nothing else but that which comes from everlasting love You may have your outward estates you may have comely Bodies Health Strength Success in your labors comings-in plentifully yea you may have Church Priviledges and yet all this not come from the everlasting love of God that can never be taken away these fruits of Gods love may be taken from you and God may say as concerning all these I will love you no more but there are fruits of love the sanctifying Graces of Gods Spirit the fruits of Electing love and God can never say of these I will love you no more No more After many deliverances that this people had in a way of love God resolves with himself that he will have done with them he will love them no more he wil deliver them no more God may withdraw the sence of his love from his people for a while but he manifests his love again the afflictions of the Saints they are but a little cloud that soon passes over the Sun soon breaks in again upon them and Love shines but the Sun of the wicked and ungodly sets and never rises again this is dreadful when a mans ruin or a peoples ruin is thus seal'd by God whatever mercies you have had heretofore yet now there 's an end of all Adieu mercie adieu love I had gracious manifestations of them once to my soul but they are now gon I must never enjoy them more now God hath changed his administrations towards me I must expect nothing but wrath the hand of his sore displeasure to cause ruin and to be sunk everlastingly Oh! let thy provocations of God be no more do not thou ad unto them I have dealt falsly with God dallied and trifled with the Lord many times promising fair but when I was delivered then have dealt wickedly with thee but no more Lord Oh! take heed if thou add'st any more unto thy wickedness lest that this dreadful sentence be pronounc'd in Heaven against thee I will love thee no more The words are in the Original I will add no more I have done enough already I will do good to this wretched creature no more my Goodness and Mercy hath had their turn no more Spirit strive with them no more Ordinances no more do them any good Mercy meddle no more with them I will love them no more All their Princes are revolters This is a very strange expression What all Yes even from Jeroboam to Hoshea's time every one of them thâ— Princes of Israel were wicked men for two hundred and fifty yeers space in all successions every one were naught and false and ungodly all were revolters It 's an elegant Paranomasia that in the Original Princes revolters the words have a greater elegancy in the Original than in our English the Seventy they turn it by this word Men that could not be perswaded they were all of them men that could not be perswaded they were set upon their own way their own ends and would have their own
latter end of the former Chapter he would not hearken to the Lord he would not hear the Word of the Lord the Lord threatens to cast him away because he hearkened not to him from whence Luther hath this Note The Word is like a fruitful rain there can no true fruit be without the Word those that will not hearken to the Word no mervail though they be empty it is the Word that makes fruitful it is that that is as the fruitful rain Those that leave and forsake the Word observe them how fruitless they are what empty spirits they have many that heretofore were forward in hearing the Word and loved it the Word was delightful to them Oh! then they were fruitful but since they have been taken off from the Word converse with them now and you shall find their spirits empty and their lives empty and there 's no men in the world so empty as those that would worship God in another way than the Word appoints men that would think to worship God after their own fancies and waies Oh! how empty are they in all their Worship they tender up to God But the main Note and Observation is That emptiness in those that profess themselves to be Gods People is a very great evil Oh! it is a great charge upon those that grow in Gods Vinyard that profess themselves to be Gods to be charged with this That they are empty an empty Vine When we would speak of a man contemptuously as one that hath no natural or aquisite excellency in him we say such a one is an empty or a slight fellow and that 's the meaning of the word that you have in Mat. 5. 22. Whosoever calls his Brother Racha shall be in danger of the counsel the word Racha it is empty it is as much as if he should call his Brother an empty fellow for that 's the signification of the word Empty And in Jam. 2. 20. Knowest thou not O vain man that faith without works is dead The words are Oh empty man knowest thou not O empty man that faith without works are dead There 's many that keeps a great deal of noise of Faith and of Gods free-Grace and yet are extream empty men and understand little of the true excellency of the Covenant of Grace Knowest thou not O empty man that Faith without Works is dead Speak as much as thou wilt of Faith and Gods Grace yet if there be no Works thou art an empty man Nature will not endure emptiness some of the Phylosophers have said that the world would rather be dissolved than there should be any vacuity creatures will move contrary to their nature rather than they will suffer a vacuity Certainly an emptiness in the souls of Gods people it is the worst emptiness that is in the world For First It is the most unnatural thing for a Vine to be empty And secondly For the Saints to be empty they are a dishonor to their Root that they do profess they are upon Christ he hath all the fulness of the God-head in him And of his Fulness we are to receive Grace for Grace To grow upon him upon such a root and yet to be empty Oh! what a dishonor is this to Jesus Christ Thirdly This frustrates the Lord of all the care and cost and charge that he is about if thou wert another plant that grew in the wilderness it were not much but a Vine and one in Gods Vinyard and yet fruitless Oh this is a sore evil Fourthly There 's no blessing upon thy soul if thou beest an empty Vine in Isa 65. 8. As the new Wine is found in the cluster and one saith Destroy it not for a blessing is in it If there be Wine in the cluster then a blessing is found in it but otherwise destroy it No blessing is found in those that are of empty spirits Fiftly If there be grace it is the Divine Nature its self and cannot that bear fruit It is an evil in a Vine to have but a little moisture to shoot forth in leaves and bear no fruit yea but what is that unto Grace that is the Divine Nature its self the most glorious thing in the world Therefore for Christians to be without fruit is an exceeding great evil Doest thou know what fruit is One gracious action that comes from the sap of the Root that is in Christ it is more worth than Heaven and Earth any one gracious Act I say it is more worth than Heaven and Earth Oh the fruit of the Saints is fruit to eternity and to be without this fruit must needs be a great evil those that are empty and without fruit you know they are said in John 15. to be but as branches not branches they that bear no fruit are said to be but as a branch and then such a branch as must be cut off God will cut them off cut off those branches he will cut them off from their profession and suffer them to fall so as they shal not continue in their eternal profession and they shall wither he will curse their very common gifts that they have 6. Oh! how many that heretofore seemed to flourish yet but leaves and bearing no fruit now their leaves are gon too and their common gifts are taken away from them and not only withered but shall be cast away cast away from God and out of the hearts of the Saints and men shall gather them the men of the world they shall catch them and so they shall joyn with them and they shall make use of them and they shall be cast into the fire and burnt cast into the fire not for a fiery tryal but cast into the fire that they may be burned these are the threatnings against those that bear no fruit It is the glory of Gods People to be filled with the fruits of Righteousness Phil. 1. 11. To be filled with the Spirit Ephes 5. 18. Yea to be filled with all the fulness of God Ephes 3. 19. So it is expected of the Saints that they should be filled with al the fulness of God Oh! how contrary is this to emptying And surely fil'd the Saints should be with fruit because they are the very fulness of Christ the fulness of him that fills all in all In Ephes 1. last verse the Church is said to be the fulness of Jesus Christ himself And shall the Church be an empty Vine when as it is the very fulness of Him that fils al in al 7. An empty spirit is fit for the Devil to come to possess Mat. 12. 24. he found his place empty and then he comes in where the Devil sees an empty spirit there 's a fit place for him to come It is an evil thing for you to grow upon Gods ground and to cumber it to cumber any part of Gods ground it may be if thou wert gon there
defend but by being zealous and forward for his waies they hop'd to have promoâ—ion by him they did not fear to be questioned for any thing no matter whether they went against Law or not they could shelter themselves under the power and favor of the King the Pomp and Glory of the Court that was a great thing in their eyes they were bold in their Idolatrous way and oppression because of the power and greatness of the King who should controul them in any thing that they did But now saith the Prophet You have had your day you have had your time that you could thus shelter your selves under the power of the King and do what you list and oppress and rage and no body durst meddle with you because of the power of the King but now the case is altered But now they shall say We have no King Had they no King Yes Hoshea was their King but the meaning is It 's all one as if we had no King his power is so broken that the truth is he cannot help us Saith Drusius upon the place he cannot protect us which is the property of the King and therefore it is as if we had none now they shall say We have no King Alas he is not able to save himself he can do nothing for us his Pomp his Power Bravery is in the dust he is distressed himself and we are miserably disappointed of our hopes we are undone who can help us now whither shall we go what shall we do our consciences upbraid us now for our bold presumptuous wickedness Oh! how far were our hearts from the fear of the Lord we dar'd the God of Heaven and all his Prophets we boldly ventured upon those waies which we were told yea which we knew in our very consciences were a provocation to the Lord we set up our own worship we pleased our selves we made our wills to be the rules of all our actions that we did we took liberty to satisfie our lusts we mingled our own waies with Gods Ordinances we subjected Religion to publick ends we were riged we were cruel towards those who differed from us we upheld the Authority of the King against God and his People and now God hath justly brought this distressed estate upon us that now the Kings Power that we trusted so in is now broken and in a manner gone Oh! now we see we feared not the Lord we have none to help us now we now know what it is not to fear the great God God is above us and therefore now what can a King do to us what could he do for us Suppose we had him again Alas our misery is beyond his help seeing God is provoked with us and hath forsaken us what should a King do for us And thus in this short Paraphrase you have the scope of the words as if the People should have spoken in this manner But now the question is what times doth this refer to Now they shall say We have no King c. When did they say so The times that this refers to seems to be those that we reade of in 2 King 17. If you read that Chapter you shall find the times that this hath reference to then they might well say We have no King because we feared not the Lord What then should a King do to us For the Observations from it the first is this It 's a great evil for a People not to have the Protection and the Blessing that might be enjoyed in the right Government of a King over them A great evil And they complain of it as a great evil and so far their complaint is right That they are now deprived of the Protection and good that otherwise they might have had from the right Government of a King over them And my Brethren our condition is even such in regard of the personal presence and protection of a King in those regards we may almost use the same words as here and say We have no King among us And whether it be better for a People to have no King or to have no Protection from their King But that which is contrary to Protection is a Question fitter to be discussed and determined in a Parliament than in a Pulpit and to them I shall leave it But the Church of God shall never have cause to make this Complaint That they have no King in Psal 29 10 11. The Lord sitteth King for ever The Lord will give strength unto his People the Lord will bless his People with peace In Psal 45. 6. Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever the Scepter of thy Kingdom is a right Scepter Psal 145. 13. Thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy Dominion endureth throughout all generations Psal 149. 2. Let the Children of Zion rejoyce in their King Because we feared not the Lord. It is a great evil not to fear the Lord. Fear ye not me saith the Lord who have placed the sands for the bounds of the Sea It 's an evil and a bitter thing that the fear of the Lord is not in men For God is a great God infinitly above us cloathed with Majestie and Honor trembling frames of heart becomes his presence non like unto the Lord great and mervailous are his works Oh! who would not fear him God hath infinite authority over us to save or to destroy us he hath us all at an infinite advantage by the least word of his mouth to undo us his wrath is insupportable Who among us shall dwel with the devouring fire who amongst us shall dwel with everlasting burnings Darest thou a vile wretch presume to rebel against any word of the Lord when the next word may sink soul and body into the bottomless gulf of eternal horror and despair Who art thou that doest not fear the Lord Doest thou not fear the Commanding Word of the Lord when the next word that proceeds out of his mouth may be a destroying word to undo body and soul for ever Secondly They said We feared not the Lord. And observe In times of prosperity when men have the favor and countenance of great Ones then there is little fear of God among them Now they said We feared not the Lord. Oh! those times when we had the favour and countenance of great Men there was little fear of God among us So long as men have any confidence in the Creature so long they see no need of God their hearts are swollen with pride God is not in all their thoughts they say to God Depart from us we do not desire the knowledg of thy Waies They set their hearts and tongues against the God of Heaven they can venture upon any thing then to tell them it's sin against God it 's a poor dry business it 's nothing at all with them how vile and foolish are the hearts of wicked men that the enjoyment
of such poor things as they have in the Creature should imbolden their hearts against the great God of Heaven and Earth yet thus it is men little consider but even those things that their hearts do so much rest upon they are absolutely at the dispose of this God whom their hearts do not fear But note let the Saints of God take this Note with them Shall creature confidence take mens hearts off from Gods fear Then let Gods fear take your hearts off from creature confidence Certainly there 's a great deal more reason Oh! 't is infinitely irrational that creature confidence should take the heart from Gods fear but it 's infinitely rational that Gods fear should take our hearts off from creature confidence Thirdly Now they shall say We feared not the Lord. The taking from a People the protection of and benefit they might have by Kingly Power is a punishment of the want of the fear of God in them We have no King we are deprived of the benefit of the good that we might have the protection that we might have by Kingly power it is because we feared not the Lord what evil we feel in this let us attribute it to the want of the fear of God in our selves and in the people of the Land We complain of those that are about the King and of Her that lies in the Bosom of the King and of the evil of his own heart in part but whence is it that God hath left him either to them or to any evil in his own spirit The Lord in this punishes the sins of the People 't is usual for God to punish the sins of the People in leaving Governors unto evil courses in 2 Sam. 24. 1. you have a remarkable Scripture for this saith the text there And the Anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and what then And he moved David against them to say Go number Israel and Judah The Anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he moved David against them to what God lets temptations be before David for to fall into that sin that might bring evil upon the people It was because the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel It 's because that a people fear not God therefore it is that the Lord leaves Kings leaves their Governors to those evil waies that they are left unto and therefore learn we when we hear of any evil that is done by countenance of Kings or any power learn we to lay our hands upon our own hearts and say even this is because we feared not the Lord how easie had it been with the Lord to have wrought upon his heart Oh! what prayers hath been sent up unto the Lord for the heart of one man never since the world began more prayers for the heart of one man but the Lord hath seem'd even to shut his ears against the prayers of his people now let us lay our hands upon our hearts God hath denied our prayers it is because we have not feared him now certainly there hath been but little fear of God amongst us and little fear of the great God is still to this day among us And that 's the third Observation We have no King because we feared not the Lord. And then the Fourth is this The times of Gods Wrath and Judgments forces acknowledgment from men that they did not fear God When God comes against them in waies of wrath now they can acknowledg that they feared not God should the Prophet have come to them before and told them Oh! you are a wretched vile people there is no fear of God among you Why wherein do not we fear God as in Malac. 1. they would not be convinced but Now shall they say c. Now when the wrath of God is upon men now they shall say we see now apparently we feared not the Lord. As it 's said of Cardinal Wolsie when he was in distress Oh saith he Had I but served God as well as I served the King it would have been otherwise with me than it is but I sought to please the King rather than God and now I am left in this distressed estate He would have scorned that any should have told him before that he pleased the King more than God but afflictions they will draw forth acknowledgment for in afflictions God appears dreadful to the soul it is no dallying and trifling and putting off then we see we have to deal with an infinite Glorious and dreadful God and in times of affliction now conscience will brave over men it will not be quieted and still'd so as in the times of prosperity but it will speak as we reade of Zebul in Judges 9. 38. saith Zebul Where now is thy mouth wherewith thou saidest Who is Abimelech So saith conscience in times of affliction to wretched creatures Where now is that bold and presumptuous heart of thine Thou scornest at fearing and trembling before God and slightest his Word but where now is that proud wretched heart of thine And in times of afflictions now are mens hearts abased and humbled and therefore now they are ready to say It is because they feared not the Lord. Mark here they do not when they are in afflictions and troubles say I we may thank these kind of people there were a company of factious people and they would not yield to any thing and we may thank them for all this you hear no such words Oh no but it is Because we feard not the Lord. When the heart is in any degree humbled it will not put off the cause of evils to other men or other things but will charge its self as the cause of the evils that are upon it Oh how much better my Brethren were it for us to see the want of the fear of God by his Word to us and his Spirit in us than by his wrath against us or his stroke upon us Let us every day examine our hearts How hath the fear of God been in me this day hath the fear of God acted and guided me in al my thoughts counsels and actions this day How happy were it when we ever lie down to rest to have such a short meditation Hath the fear of God been the thing that hath Acted and Governed and Guided me in my course this day But it follows What then shall a King do to us or for us Suppose we had him now he is gone but if we had him what good would he bring to us if we had him As if they should say we speak much concerning our King but now we have not the King with us as he was but if he were with us again what should he do for us what would our condition be better than it is And indeed what good had their Kings done for them The People of Israel they were very desirous of a King they must
men those who fear God can say What shal a King what shall men what Devils do against us But other men in their straights what shall they do for us We are in a distressed condition and what shall they do for us But the People of God are never in such a distressed condition but they are able to say What shall Men or Devils be able to do against us for God is our Protector Again sixtly The more stoutness and sinfulness and creature-confidence there is in any the more do their hearts sink in desperation when they come to be crost in their hopes They were very stout and full of creature confidence before they were brought into misery and now what low sordid spirits have they now they sink in desperation There 's no men and women have their hearts sink in desperation more than those that in ruff of their pride are the most bold and presumptuous against God and his Servants Again What shall a King do to us Their hearts sink in regard of any hopes that they have from their King But yet you reade nothing of their hearts being set upon God and mourning and working towards God when they are taken from the creature they say not thus Now we see our vain confidence in our King and what hopes we had of preferment in him God hath crost us well we will go and seek to make the King of Heaven to be our portion No there 's no such thing comes from them as this A Carnal heart when it is knockt off of creature confidence and sinks in desperation in regard of the creature it doth not take advantage upon this To have the heart work after God so much the more but there it lies sullen sinking it hath no interest in God and cannot go to him to make up what it wants in the creature But it is otherwise with a gracious heart that acknowledges the hand of God hath taken off my confidence in the creature yea but I hope it is in mercy to my soul that my heart might have the more confidence in God and that God might have the more glory from me and therefore I hope that this taking off my heart from the creature will for ever unite my heart more to the Lord than ever heretofore it hath been Yea this is a gracious work indeed when the heart is taken off from creature confidence and brought neerer unto the Lord. And thus much for the third Verse It follows VER 4. They have spoken words THEY are convinced of their sin that they have not feared God they cry out of their misery what shall a King do to them But mark what follows this follows upon it they were not gain'd to God ever a whit the more But they have spoken Words swearing falsly in making a Covenant When they are taken off from their hopes one way see how they set upon another Luther upon those words saith it 's an Hebraism they have anxiously consulted It 's the way of the Hebrews so to express an anxious consultation and for that he quotes that place in Isa 8. 10. Take counsel together and it shall come to naught c. So then the meaning would be this They have spoken Words That is they get together and contrive one with another what they shall do in such a case as this how they may any way help themselves As we reade sometimes of the People of God in Malac. 3. 16. those that feared God met one with another and spake together so these wicked wretches that were thus disappointed of their hopes they met together and spake one to another some such kind of word as these Our Case is very sad Oh! who would have thought such things should have befallen us We are as much crost of our hopes as ever any men were we made account we should have over run them and they would have been but as bread unto us we should have made a prey upon them and all their estates would have been ours long before this time Oh but now those Prophets that told us that God was against us those Ministers that encouraged people in the Name of God and those people that were different from us now we see that their words are fulfilled and what they thought would come is now come upon us now it 's come to pass what such precise ones among us whose consciences would not submit to our waies the way of our King said surely they cannot but look upon us as a most wretched miserable forsaken people now we are like to lose our Houses Estates Honors and all those delightful things that we hoped to have had we shall lose all those things that we hoped might have made our lives to have been brave and prosperous and merry and jocund Oh! what shall we do in such a distressed state as this We had almost as good die as to endure such a miserable life as we are like to live to be at the mercy of such men whom we know scorn us and hate us Is there no way to help our selves cannot we get some or other to joyn with us cannot we call in no help from any strangers no matter what we yield to them in Thus they toss up and down and wrig up and down not knowing what in the world to do in their conference Or thus May we not yet possibly make up some peace though we be in this distressed coudition Whatsoever propositions they shall profer to us we will rather than fail yield to them all we may perhaps get some advantage hereafter â—r be in some means in a better case to revenge our selves than now we are If they will have us take the COVENANT nothing else will satisfie them we will do it and when we have taken it perhaps they may put some of us in places of trust and so we may privately work about our own ends that way and drive on our own designs that way better than in any hostile way and if together with their Covenant they will have Oaths we will take them too and if we cannot agree to their Oaths or Covenant hereafter we will say we were forced to it and therefore they do not bind us Some such kind of communication it 's like they had And could you hear the communication of our Adversaries when they get together in those straights that God hath brought them into it 's like you would hear some such kind of stuff as this is they spake these words one to another They have spoken Words According to others thus They spake words that is those speaking words hath reference to the times of the Prophets threatning or when they saw their danger eminent and not fully upon them so some carry it and I find the Chaldee Paraphrase hath it thus They spake violent words and then the sense is thus they rage and fret they speak
proud swelling words they swear and curse for so the curse in swearing signifies cursing as well as swearing they swear and curse what our Images be broken down what shall we be brought under and made to serve our enemies We scorn it we defie all that shall have such a thought as this is we will do this and that we will have our minds we will die for it else we will enter into Leagues with such and such we will get such and such to conjure together with us I 'le warrant you we shall make our party thus and thus thus they speak great things that they will do yea that they will thus they speak words in making a Covenant with Oaths of Vanity so you may reade it And indeed if men could prevail with great Words and daring Expressions and bold Resolutions and desperate Oaths and wicked Curses then may some hope to prevail against the God of Heaven and his Saints but saith he These things shall do them no good And indeed these things should never move us though we hear our Adversaries speak proud swelling words and say what they will do threaten Monsterous things let us not be troubled at it for they do but hasten the Wrath of God against themselves In the mean time while they are swearing and cursing and making brags and boast what they will do the counsels of the Lord they work their ruin and work the good of his people they spake words such kind of Words They speak words swaring falsely in making a Covenant What hath this reference to What Covenant did they make And wherein did they swear falsely Some think it hath reference to the Covenant that the People did make with Jeroboam at the first and so with his Successors that is thus The People came to him and took their Oaths and entred into solemn League that they would stand by him in the breach that he made from the house of David that they would stand by him in opposing those that would not yeeld to him in the Alteration of Worship For their Princes would not probably have been so strongly set upon the Alteration of the waies of Worship had not the People joyned themselves freely to him by way of Oaths and Covenant now when he saw that the People came in floking and willing to yeeld to the Oath which he would give them upon this he was confirm'd in the way that he went in and so they took Oaths in Covenanting with Jeroboam which were but Oaths of vanity for so the same word that signifies False signifies Vain in the Hebrew tongue so I find Arias Montanus and Vatablus take the words as having reference to that But now others and that more probably understand this Covenant and Swearing to be the Covenant that they took with the Assyrians and with the Egyptians the story of which you have in the fornamed place in 2 King 17. Hoshea sent Messengers to So King of Egypt and brought no present to the King of Assyria as he had done year by year First he had Covenanted with the King of Assyria and that was broke and then they would Covenant with So King of Egypt and so they swore falsely in in making a Covenant with the Assyrians and the Egyptians Now the Observations are That Carnal hearts in their straights have no God to go to therefore they take shifting courses As a Dog that hath lost his Master will follow after any for relief And secondly It 's an evil thing in straights for men that profess Religion to combine with wicked men God professed he will not take the wicked by the hand neither should we it 's a sign the cause is evil when men can have no other help but by combining with wicked and ungodly men Just thus it is for all the world with our adversaries at this day to the Parliament all men generally that have any profession of Godliness they see they cannot have help that way therefore combine and bring into Covenant Irish Rebels Papists any People in the world If it were Turks or Jews or any in the world to help themselves withal this is the wickedness of mens hearts And then thirdly There is no trust to be had to wicked men in their Oaths and Covenants let their Protestations be never so solemn their Oaths their Covenants it is but only to gain time to work about some advantage that they cannot work about for the present while they have any opposition If they have not things under their power as they desire they will promise you any thing in the world but when once they come to get power in their hands then who shall require the fulfilling of their Promises their Oaths their Covenants And therefore certainly when we have to deal with those that we have had experience to be false we must ever retain this conclusion except we see an apparent change in their hearts for that 's not enough that they are willing to take Covenants that 's no new thing but till we see that God hath wrought some mighty work upon their hearts we must carry this conclusion Certainly if they can they will ruin us therefore our condition cannot be safe but to be so as they can do us no hurt That 's the third Note And then the fourth is this That Breaking Covenant though with wicked men is a very great wickedness God will be revenged for it I have heretofore spoken of falseness and falseness in Covenant and Promises and shewen you the example of Saul and Zedekiah therefore I shall not look back to those things God loves humane societies which cannot be preserved but by faithfulness Faithfulness it 's the speech of a Heathen it 's the common safety of all men I remember I have read of the Romans that they did so esteem of Faithfulness by the light of Nature in Covenants that they accounted Faithfulness to be a Godess and they built and dedicated a Temple unto fidelity as to a Godess in which Temple all their Leagues Truces Covenants and Bargains were sworn which were so Religiously observed that whosoever broke them was to be held as a cursed and damned creature unworthy to live in humane societies And the Egyptians would punish Perjury with death Among the Indians the fingers and toes of Perjured persons were cut off And I have likewise reade when Tissaphernes the Persian warred against the Grecians he broke Covenant with the Grecians Now Agesilaus when he saw that they had broke their Covenant he rejoyced at it greatly saying thus For saith he by this means he hath made the gods to be his enemy and our friend wherefore let us boldly give him battel We know how our enemies have broken their Covenants from time to time and their Conditions that they have made themselves yea even lately in that Town that we hear such good of now
be Righteousness Equity and Justice as it 's expected behold instead of this there spings up a crop of Oppression Vnrighteousness and Injustice that is bitter as Hemlock I rather think that this must be the meaning because I find that in divers Scriptures Injustice is compared to bitter things yea to Hemlock its self in Amos 5. 7. Ye turn Judgment to Wormwood and leave off Righteousness in the Earth And in Amos 6. 12. Shall Horses run upon the Rock will one plow there with Oxen I will not stand to open the former text but you see the Scripture charges the people by this expression of sinning against Judgment and Righteousness that they turned it to Hemlock Now I find three things especially recorded of this herb First It is a very venimous herb therefore I find Pliny records of it in his 25. Book 13. Chap. of Natural History that the Athenians did use to give this to malefactors that were condemn'd to die to execute them withal And Socrates that was so wise a man among them yet he because he did not yield to their gods but spake against their false gods therefore they judged him to die and he must drink a potion of Hemlock and so died And Secondly I find the same Author saith of it that the leaves are somewhat like to Coriander but that they be more tender and a strong stinking smel they have with them and the seeds like to Annis And so Justice seems to have a very fair pretence sometimes and may seem to do things that are very good under very fair pretences men are very injust the leaves when they come up one would think there should be such a fine fruit one would think to have Coriander or Annis but the truth is it comes to Hemlock at last And then the third thing is that which Hierom reports of it and it is in his Comment upon my text he saith that Hemlock grows up very stiff and full of joynts and at the joynts he saith it puts forth a stalk and that doth not only sprout upwards and bear fruit but downwards to have a root he saith that every branch If it hath but a joynt in it will serve instead of a seed yea every sprig of it will serve instead of seed yea he saith if any pieces falls to the ground It wil grow up and so grow up as that it will be very hard to rid the ground of it And truly thus it doth resemble Injustice if it be let alone but a little Oh how it multiplies one to another and spreads through the whol Land quickly And Pliny doth observe many other things too he saith that the root of it is hollow and that 's unfit for any use at all and so are the hearts of those that are injust hollow hearts and unfit for any thing And also he saith that the leaves are fit for swellings and against sore eyes And God doth turn even the injustice that is many times among a people to be medicines to his people against their swellings and to open their sore eyes And he saith That if Hemlock be drank in Wine it will certainly kill a man and there is no remedy So if men shall be Injust and take delight in it and take pleasure in it and scorn and contemn at those that they can oppress by Injustice those men are in a desperate condition indeed And then lastly he doth observe by this Herb that it kils by cold those that takes the leaves or seeds if they get the mastery of any they shall feel themselves begin to was cold in their inward parts and so die inwardly Oh! how many who have been very hot and zealous yet having gotten power into their hands they have unrighteously used their power they have grown cold in what they were formerly zealous in and still they grow colder and colder and thus their unrighteousness is like to prove to be their death In the furrows of the field Calvin puts this Question Why doth he not say it springs up in the field but in the furrows of the field And he gives this Answer to it Where there are furrows in the field there hath the plow come that hath broken up the field and it is to prepare for good seed when the field is laid in furrows and it 's less tollerable for Hemlock to spring up there than in the field that is not plowed or in other places But when a field is plowed and prepared for seed and one would hope to have much advantage by his field to have much Justice and Righteousness in a Country when we see there hath been great works of God to cast out those that were injust before and the expectation of all the people is that certainly now there will be nothing but Righteousness and Judgment but instead of that comes up Injustice and Oppression as Hemlock it springeth up in such a field that is so prepared for Justice Oh! this is that which is a sore evil that the Lord is so provoked against and so complains of that Judgment springeth up as Hemlock in the furrows of the field Thus Judgment springeth up as Hemlock in the furrows of the field What the meaning of Hemlock in the furrows of the field is you have heard already From whence the Note is this That People is in a sad condition and it is a sign the Lord hath forsaken them that they are neer ruin when those places where there is most likelihood of Justice and Equity that there should be Injustice and Oppression Oppression and Injustice in places where God expects Righteousness and Equity is a sad Omen a forerunner of great evil to places It 's Gods complaint in Isa 5. Just before he threatned the utter spoiling of his Vinyard he gives this reason I saith he looked that it should bring forth Grapes and behold it brought forth wild Grapes and he mentions among the wild Grapes Injustice there it 's call'd wild Grapes as Hemlock here for both are very sowr and bitter before the Lord Injustice in places from whence Justice may be expected is by the Lord accounted a most fearful a ruining sin In Amos 5. 12. I know saith the Lord your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins Now the word that is translated mighty sins it is in the Hebrew your Boney sins because the strength of a man it is in his bones and therefore he calls the strength of that sin boney it is a very strong sin it cannot easily be resisted your sins have great bones in them saith he and what are they You afflict the Just you take a Bribe that you may turn away the poor in the gate from their right that 's their great and their mighty sins In Jer. 22. 15. Did not thy Father do Judgment and Justice and then it was well with him He judged the Cause of
down but their own Counsels So that they would bite their very fingers for what they did in their Protestation God hath been pleased to deal thus graciously for us to bring our enemies into snares by their own Counsels In Job 18. 7. 't is verified of many that their own Counsels have cast them down And Psal 9. toward the latter end The wicked is snared in the work of his OWN HANDS Higgajon Selah You have not those two words put together in all the Book of God besides That is Oh! 't is a thing to be meditated on very much the wicked is snar'd in the work of his own hands Oh! think of this consider of this Oh! the work of God in bringing men down by their own Counsells saith the text And just it may be so for men provoke God by their Counsels in Psalm 106. 43. Oh! the Lord looks upon the Counsels of men and is much provoked by them and therefore just it is with him to make their Counsels to be a snare so to them as that they should be ashamed of them at the last It concerns us therefore my Brethren to look to our Counsels what they are I 'le give you a few Rules about your Counsels that you may not be ashamed of them First Keep out from your Counsels those things that would hinder you 1. Be sure to keep out of your Counsels your false Principles be not acted in your Counsels by false Principles 2. Keep out of your Counsels wicked men take heed that they do not joyn with you in your Counsels in Job 21. 16. Their good is not in their hand the counsel of the wicked is far from me and so in Job 22. 18. Oh! keep out wicked men from your Counsels 3. Keep out your Own Ends take heed how they come in If any of a mans Ends come into his Counsels they wil warp then 4. Keep out of your Counsels Conceiptedness and Pride when you come to Counsel Oh take heed of a conceited spirit in leaning to your own understanding God doth use to blast such 5. Keep out of your Counsels flesh and blood I consulted not with flesh and blood saith Paul in the first Chap. to the Galatians I did not look unto carnal excellency but laid aside all carnal kind of excellency they would have advised me to this and this and I should never have done as I did if I had consulted with flesh and blood 6. Yea keep out of your Counsels Passion and frowardness In Job 5. 13. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong If once you find in your Counsels your hearts begin to be hot rather break off take heed of such resolutions in your Counsels as are in a heat It 's a safe way for you if you would consult about business of Moment assoon as there begins to be a heat rather fall to prayer we had need of cool and quiet spirits when we are consulting As if you would weigh a thing exactly with Gold Scals as in Councels we should weigh things very exactly you would not weigh in the midst of a wind when mens passions begin to be up they weigh things as a man should weigh Gold abroad in the wind but you cannot weigh exactly Oh! take heed of passion in your Councels Divers other things there are that spoyl our Councels that we should be aware of And if we would have our Councels right then observe these further Rules in your Councels 1. Be sure to look up first to Jesus Christ that great Counsellor He is called in Isa 9. THE COVNSELLOR it 's he that is wonderful in Counsel God hath given a stile to his Son to be The Counsellor he is to be the Counsellor of thy Soul for thy Eternal Estate yea and to be thy Counsellor for all matters of Religion and the Worship of God look up to him And pray much If you would not have your Counsels miscarry pray much In Prov. 8. 14. Counsel is mine saith Wisdom It 's spoken of Christ It 's very observable that some note of the Counsel of Achitophel and the Counsel of Hushai The Counsel of Achitophel the truth is if we examine it it was the wiser Counsel of both and Absalom loved Achitophel exceedingly and his Counsel was ordinarily accounted as the Oracle of God yet at such a time because God had an intent to bring down his Counsel that was rejected and the Counsel of Hushai was imbrac'd and he did hear the prayer of David when he prayed Lord turn the Counsel of Achitophel into folly And let us pray much that God would be with our COUNSELLORS that there may be none there that may be like those that are spoken of in Ezek. 11. 2. These are they that give evil Counsel in the City and that likewise the Lord would sway Counsels and that men may yeeld to that that is the safest and the best Counsel to that that is best in the eyes of God Many times when a Company meet together there are som things that are darted in that are neglected by the Company whereas if God were with them to guide them that thing it may be would sway all their Counsels and pray much Guide me with thy Counsel and so bring me to glory Psalm 73. 24. Oh! especially in matters that concern our Souls and Religion we should pray much that God would guide us by his Counsel and so bring us to Glory 3. If you would have your Counsels right Let the fear of God be strong in your hearts when you come to counsel Oh! it 's a good thing when any are going to Counsel about matters of consequence that they would prepare their hearts before they go with the possession of the fear of the great God upon their hearts and then they will counsel well you have a notable Scripture for this in Ezra 10. 3. Come let us go to do according to the Counsel of my Lord and of those that tremble at the Commandement of our God It may be there are some that have deeper reaches than they have I but have they the fear of God in them there is hope that they are guided by the Lord and therefore let us do according to the Counsel of those that tremble at Gods Word Do you see a man whose heart is possess'd with the fear of God and his Word if his parts be but ordinary you may expect that God will be with him rather than with those that are bold and presumptuous and slight the Word of God 4. In your Counsels especially in matters of Religion be sure to look at the Word and think not thus In way of reason and prudence such a way were better and would conduce for peace As I remember Luther hath such an expression Reason is a
most deadly enemy even to Faith it is dangerous to reason matter of Faith And so in the matters of the Worship of God there 's a great deal of danger Keep to the Word therefore in all your Counsels and labor for sincerity of heart in all your Counsels this is that that makes men miscarry in their Counsels their hearts are byassed with some lust or other and therefore when any thing is spoken to them that is sutable to what they have a mind to that they imbrace and if any thing be spoken to them that is otherwise that they reject Oh! it 's just with God to answer thee according to the Idol that is set up in thy own heart 5. In all thy Counsels Take heed of being put off with some fair shews When the Lord is leaving any yet he will suffer those that give evil Counsel to mix a great many good things with that which is evil As some that will put a few brass shillings into a great bag of money the other is all good currant money yea but here 's some brass shillings put amongst it So sometimes in the midst of a great deal of good Counsel there is a little mixture that may turn all therefore those that would counsel especially the publick affairs they had need have their eyes about them and poise every word and line and examine every particular or otherwise they may quickly come to be asham'd of their own Counsel There are many Rules might further be given 6. God hath promised to direct the humble therefore come with humility in your counsels and be sure in what is right to follow and then you may with the more confidence expect God should help you in other things 7. Consult with indifferent judgment 8. If the thing touch others think what we would have if we were in their case 9. Whether it may not cost too dear though good Consider whether the attaining of it though good may not occasion so much evil as it is not worth it if it be not of present necessity non deliberand de necessariis the rubs attending it may shew it is not good at this time or not thus or not for me They shall be ashamed of their own Counsels When they are come to times of affliction they shall be ashamed of their own Counsels Times of affliction makes men asham'd of what they would not be asham'd of before Jer. 2. 26. Zeph. 3. 11. I remember a notable expression that Sr. Walter Rawleigh hath in his Story When death comes saith he which hates men and destroies men when that comes that 's beleeved But God that loves men and makes men he is not regarded Oh Eloquent Oh! Mighty Death whom none could advise thou art able to perswade That 's thus men that would never be perswaded by any thing else to beleeve that they were not right yet when death appears that can perswade them now afflictions are an evil but how eloquent are afflictions what power have afflictions to perswade men that they were wrong that would not be perswaded by all the arguments in the world before Then they shall be ashamed of their own Counsels Oh! I beseech you let us take heed of this let not us go on headily in our own Counsels till God bring us into misery and then we should be forced to cry out of our own Counsels and be ashamed of them VER 7. As for Samaria her King is cut off as the foam upon the water AS for Samaria her King is cut off as the foam upon the waters Before God threatned that they should be ashamed of their Counsels and what that Counsel was I told you Asham'd of our Counsel we hope not we shall maintain it our King is for us he will venture his life his Kingdom but he will maintain us in our way Your King saith the Prophet he shall be as foam upon the water even the King of Samaria Yea but our King is in a strong Town in Samaria a great City and such a strong City as was able to hold siege for three yeers together and yet the King of Samaria though he had gotten the chief City in the Kingdom to be fully for him and so much victuals and strength as he could hold out for three yeers yet saith the Lord He shall be as the foam upon the Waters As foam The word that is translated Foam sometimes signifies the foam that is in a man that is extreamly angry so you have it in Zach. 1. 2. Oh the King when he was crost he was in a foam Your King that is crost and doth foam in anger when he is crost he shall be as foam upon the water saith God Now the Note that is from hence it is this That ungodly men in their greatest power and rage yet if God comes upon them are nothing but as foam are poor weak creatures that vanish and come to nothing The foam when the waters makes a noise is above it and hath a great shew above the waters but stay a while and it is vanish'd and comes to nothing Your King that rages and is above others and thinks he hath a great deal of power stay a while he comes to nothing The Scripture compares men in their greatest power to things of the greatest vanity there are in Scripture that I 'le mention to you a matter of 19. or 20. several particulars wherein the Scripture compares men in their greatest power unto that which hath nothing but vanity yea there are such expressions in Scripture to set out the meanness vileness and baseness of men in the greatest power that it would make Christians that understand Scripture that is of the same judgment w th their Father with God as he hath reveal'd himself in his Word never to be afraid of the power of men I 'le name them distinctly to you thus First the Scripture sometimes calls even Kings and great ones A meer noise nothing more in Jeremiah 46. 17. Pharaoh King of Aegypt is but a noise That 's the first Secondly They are but as small dust in Isa 29. 5. The multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust Yea Thirdly They are but as chaff in the same place Isa 29. 5. The terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away in an instant Who would be afraid of a noise smal dust and chaff Fourthly They are as nothing in Isa 41. 11. Behold all they that are incensed against thee shall be as nothing Fiftly They are as Tow put a little fire to Tow and it quickly comes to nothing In Isa 1. 31. Sixthly They are as dung in Psal 83. 10. As the dung of the Earth Seventhly They are as straw that is troden for dung in Isa 25. 10. As straw troden for the dunghil Eightly They are compared sometimes to a beast that hath a hook in his nostrils in Isa 37. 20 God will put a
deal according to the proportion of infinite Grace Take this one Meditation That where there is any uprightness when thou shalt come to reap from God thou shalt reap so much from God as must manifest to all Angels and Saints to all eternity what the infinite Mercy of an infinite God can do and that'â— enough one would think the poorest Christian that doth but the least for God when he comes to reap shall have an Harvest that must manifest the infinite riches of the infinite mercy of God and what he is able to do for the raising up of a Creature to glory Comfort thy self in this in thy poor low condition in which thou art and in the performing of thy poor services Thus for the manner of the Phrase Break your fallow ground for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and rain Righteousness upon you Break up your fallow ground c. The Prophet exhorted them in the words before to sow in Righteousness that they might reap Mercy But you must not sow without plowing that were a preposterous way therefore though the words come after yet the thing is to be done before Look that you plow up the fallow ground you have been sinful and ungodly in your way It will not be enough for you now to set upon some good actions we will do better we will do such and such good things that God requires of us No that 's not the first work you must fal upon but it must be to plow to plow up your fallow grounds In this expression you have here implyed first That the hearts of men naturally are as follow grounds nothing but thorns and bryars grows upon them they are unfit for the Seed of the Word And by this word is here meant these three things when he bids them plow up their fallow grounds First The work of humiliation the Truths of God both of the Law and of the Gospel must get into their hearts and rend up their hearts even rend it up as the plow doth rend up the ground And secondly That weeds thorns and bryars must be turned up by the roots the heart must be cleer'd of them It is not enough to weed out a weed here and there and to pluck out a thorn here and there but plow up the ground turn all upside down and get up al the baggagely stuff and thorns that was in your hearts heretofore And then thirdly Get a softness to be in your hearts as when the ground is plowed that which was before hard on the outside and bak'd by the heat of the Sun being now turned up there is a soft mould of the ground and so by the softness of the mould of the ground it is prepared to receive seed There are many evils in us that we would reform but we have not been humbled for them for our ceremonies and subjection to false Government of the Church Who hath bin humbled for these things as sin We reform them as things inconvenient but not being humbled for them as sin the very roots of these things are in the hearts of many so as if times should change a distinction would serve their turn to come and submit to them again so that we sow before we plow I find in Jer. 4. 3. you have this exhortation even in termiminis That They must plow up the fallow-ground of their hearts only exprest a little further They must not sow among thorns They must not think to mingle that which is good with that which is evil it may be a few good seeds are brought into a business yea but there is a great deal of evil My Brethren take heed of being deceived that way many though they do not intend to deceive you yet they may deceive you by mixing some good things with a great many evil and therefore examin things But I note this place in Jeremiah the rather from the consideration of the time of Jeremiahs Prophesie You shall find that the time of Jeremiahs Prophesie was in Josiahs time Now the time of Josiah was a time of great reformation there was very much reformation in his time yea but saith Jeremiaâ— What though you did reform what though you do many things you sow among thorns you do not plow up the ground you are not humbled the roots of your sin are not got out of you and therefore though there be a great deal of ill stuff that seems to be cast out and many good things are set upon in the Worship of God that was not formerly yet you must plow plow up your fallow grounds The holy Gost joyning of them together Sow Righteousness and plow up your fallow ground This Note I would have you observe That there are some that do Sow and not Plow and there are others that do Plow and not Sow but we must joyn both together There are that do Plow and not Sow that is They it may be are troubled for their sin it may be much humbled for their sin but they do not reform after their Humiliation there doth not follow Reformation Now as Reformation where Humiliation hath not gone before usually comes to little purpose so Humiliation where Reformation follows not after comes likewise to little purpose In Isa 28. 24. Doth the Husbandman plow all day to sow The text is brought to note thus much That God observes his times and that is the scope of the text that we must not be offended because that the Lord doth not do things as we would have him alwaies that is he lets wicked men prosper sometimes and the godly suffer afflictions but as if the holy Ghost should say here let God alone with his work God observes his times and seasons as the Plow-man doth he doth not alwaies plow so God hath his times and seasons and knows when to relieve his Church and afflict his Church and when the wicked shall prosper and be brought into adversity God instructs the Plow-man to know his season and so doth he and therefore be not offended And so should we know our seasons we should observe our times to be humbled and reform to reform and be humbled But this for the Reformation of a State But the plowing of the heart that 's the thing that is here especially intended and I desire to apply it particularly to every man and woman Those who have such sore necks who cannot bear the yoke yet you must be Plow-men and Plow-women for Alice Driver that I told you of her father brought her up to plow and both men and women the daintiest Ladies of all must hold this plow that is here spoken of Now for this plowing of humbling your hearts it is for the getting in of Truths into your spirits that may rend up your hearts I 'le name some few Truths that are as it were the Plow-share that you must not only know them but labor to get
Righteousness is meant The fruit of Gods faithfulness in the fulfilling of all those promises of his for good unto them wherein the Lord doth stile himself Righteous Saith he If you will now plow up your fallow ground and seek the Lord the Lord will deliver you from oppression and the Lord will make good all his faithfulness to you according to all that good word that he hath promised And this Righteousness it shall be Rain that is First to note that all their good and help it must come from Heaven as the Rain doth as if the Prophet should say If you look to men yea to men in publick place you have little hopes that there should be such righteous dealings or to expect that the good Word of God in all his Promises to his People should be fulfilled yea but look to Heaven saith God I 'le rain it shall come down from Heaven by waies that are above nature that are above the power of man I 'le rain Righteousness seek him therefore till he rain Righteousness be not discouraged though you should see those in publick glace to carry things never so unrighteously yet seek the Lord till he rain Righteousness Secondly By raining Righteousness is meant the plenty of Righteousness that Righteousness shall come in abundance It may be now some men may meet with some Righteous dealings and be encouraged when things are at the best among men but this Righteousness comes but by drops yea but seek the Lord till He Rain Righteousness What is it to have a few drops of water You may go into your Garden and with a little pot of Water water the Herbs yea but when it rains down water then the earth is refreshed And so saith the Lord here Seek me till I come with a shower of Righteousness and rain it down upon you Thirdly Till he rain Righteousness That is Till I work so graciously in the works of my Righteousness to you as shall make the Seeds that you have sown to be fruitful to grow up to the honor of my Name and to your good Now there are many godly amongst you and they sow Righteousness they do many good Actions but alas it is kept down still by the scorching heat of the Oppressors in places where Oppression prevails many godly truly godly men and women they sow much seed of Righteousness but there is little good comes of it and all is kept down yea but saith the Lord Seek me till I rain Righteousness I 'le rain from Heaven such showers that shall be the fulfilling of my Promises to you that shall make all your righteous actions grow up to the praise of my Name and the good of your Brethren Oh! what a blessed time is this when there shall be nothing but righteous dealings and all the faithfulness of God shall be fulfilled and there shall be plenty The Notes are First That God will come to sow Righteousness in time Those that plow and sow in Righteousness God will come in way of Grace and Goodness to them Prov. 11. 18. To him that soweth Righteousness shall be a sure reward Be not discouraged you that sow Righteous seed for it is not with the seed of Righteousness as with the seed that is sown in the earth for if that do not come up in such a certain time it will never come up but you cannot say so of the seed of Righteousness it will come up Secondly God sometimes comes not presently in raining Righteousness upon his people that do sow Righteousness Seek the Lord till he comes and rains Righteousness As if the Prophet should say You have hearts to seek the Lord to be humbled and reform to sow in Righteousnesse well be not discouraged continue seeking stay till he doth rain Righteousness After the seed is sown you would fain have a shower the next morning but may be it will not be the next morning stay till Gods time God doth not alwaies hear the prayers of his people so as to answer them when they would It is very observable concerning Elijah at one time when he cried for fire to come down upon the Sacrifice it came down presently but when he cried for rain he was fain to send his servant seven times Elijah did not get Rain from Heaven so soon as Fire from Heaven The Third Note is this That those that seek aright will continue seeking God till he comes and rains Righteousness There is an excellent Scripture in Psalm 101. 2. saith David I will behave my self wisely in a perfect way O when wilt thou come unto me I will walk in my house with a perfect heart As if the Prophet should say Why Lord 't is thy presence I desire more than a thousand worlds and I 'le endeavor to behave my self in my house in my family not only in the presence of others but in my family in the most perfect way I can Lord when wilt thou come It seems God did not come and manifest Himself presently though David did behave himself in a perfect way in his house yet David professes he would wait still There 's many Scriptures may be given for this and many arguments why a gracious heart will not leave over seeking till the Lord comes 'T is the Lord I seek and he is a great God and is fit to be waited on though he doth not come presently We think it is a matter of State because of the distance that there is between one and another to make them stay Why should we think much that we should wait upon the great and Infinite God And perhaps you pray and find no benefit it is fit for you to wait upon God There is an infinite distance between God and you Seek till he comes If you do not get that that you seek for yet you are doing your duty and that is enough This is a very great evil among many They are praying and seeking God but they only have their eyes upon what they shall get by seeking God and if nothing comes of it then they are discontented whereas meerly the consideration of that that thou art doing thy duty should be enough to quiet thy heart And then further Thou canst not be better certainly than seeking God Whither wilt thou go If thou leavest seeking God thou turnest from thy own mercy to vanity And hast thou a temptation to leave off seeking God shalt thou get any thing by it Certainly thou canst not do better and therefore seek the Lord seek the Lord Till he comes Isa 30. 18. is a most excellent Scripture to uphold the heart in seeking God though God do not seem to come The Lord is a God of Judgment blessed are they that wait for him You are not a man or woman of Judgment you know not when it is a fit time that things should be done But God is a God of Judgment he knows how to do things in Judgment and
for doing so And in another place he tells that the Citizens suffered more by them than when the Enemies took it so that when the enemies took it they thought that it was rather a relieving of their miserie than bringing evil upon them because the evil of the Tumults was so great among them My Brethren we should rather bear much than be any fomenters of the raising of Tumults take heed of that you know not what the end of such things will be A Tumult shall arise among them In Amos 2. 2. Moab shall die with Tumult When God intends the sorest scourge of all utterly to destroy a people he suffers Tumults to be among them I find some take this word Tumult A Tumult shall arise that is only meant the Confusion of the hearts of people when the enemies should come upon them that they should be all in a Confusion not knowing what to do through fear and terror altogether As suppose on a sudden an Army should come against a Citie people would be wringing of their hands and running up and down from place to place and paleness in their countenances and not knowing what in the world to do all in perplexity and tumult Thus God threatens it should be with them As if he should say You are jolly and brave now but when the Assyrians come out upon you then your hearts shall fail and you shall all run together and not know what to do the women and children shall cry not knowing how to help your selves and so shall be brought into a confused Tumult This is the sense that some carries it in But the sense may very well go either of these waies It is a mercy that God hath not tried us this way We live in our houses and follow our tradings and lie down and sleep in quietness and rise again but we cannot imagin what woful distractions there would be in the spirits of people in the Citie if there were a considerable Army encamped round about it Perhaps some of you here have been in places where the enemies have come suddenly so that you know what this Tumult in the spirits of men and women means Bless God I say that the Lord hath delivered us from such Tumults as these And the Power and Providence of God in Government of the World by a few in keeping people from Tumulting and so bringing all to Confusion it is to be acknowledged and his Name to be sanctified The word that is translated Tumult it doth indeed seem to import this The crying of fearful creatures those that are terrified and scar'd it signifies the crying out of them Oh! 't is a great mercie for the heart of a man to be so stablished that when all dangers shall be apprehended yet they can find their hearts fixed in God and not in a tumultuousness presently A righteous man it 's said of him in Psalm 112. 7. That when he hears ill tydings his heart is fixed but it is a greater blessing that when we see the Armies before us and hear the neighings of Horses and clattering of the Speers then to be fixed Oh! we should labor in the time of peace to make our calling and election sure In Psalm 57. 7. My heart is fixed O God my heart is fixed I will sing and give praise Awake my Glory awake Psaltry and Harp I my self will awake early I will praise thee O God c. When was this that David cries to awake and to give Glorie to God and sing praise and that his heart was fixed It was when Saul persecuted him it was when he was in danger of his life when Saul pursued him to take away his life yet My heart is fixed my heart is fixed I will sing and give praise saith David even at that time So in Psal 46. 2 3. We will not fear though the earth be removed though the mountains be carried into the midst of the Sea though the waters thereof roar and be troubled though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof Selah This Psalm was wont to be called Luthers Psalm for in times of trouble he would say Come and let us sing the 46. Psalm Many Scriptures we might have to this purpose I remember the storie of Archimedes that when the Citie of Siracuse was taken and the enemies came in with their drawn swords and hack'd and slew whom they pleased and abundant of blood-shed there was yet he was so setled upon the drawing of his Lines being a Mathematition that when the Soldiers came in with their swords drawn he was drawing his Lines about his Art Which of you could if you were at prayer or any serious duty if you should hear of the breaking in of Adversaries Could you have your hearts fixed in a setled constant way fixed upon God in such a time as this is As outward Tumults in Cities and Countries are very great evils so are likewise Spiritual Tumults in the heart when God seems to come against the Souls as an enemy I have a place for spiritual Tumults that is the trouble and destraction of the heart in the time of the apprehension of Gods absence in Psal 40. 2. He brought me up saith the Psalmist out of an horrible pit Now the word is in the Original the very same word we have here From the pit of Tumultuousness Oh! it 's true as if he should say my heart was fixed indeed yet at other times I found my heart in a tumultuous condition when I apprehended God not coming in according as I expected yea but the Lord did bring me up out of the pit of tumultuousness Oh! hath not this been the condition of some of you in time of trouble of your spirit when you have apprehended the absence of God from you Your hearts have been all in a tumult hath the Lord delivered you Remember the Psalm The Lord hath delivered me out of the pit of tumultuousness I was in a tumultuous condition my heart was even overwhelmed but the Lord hath delivered me out of the pit of tumultuousness And then in Psal 61. 2. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee when my heart is overwhelmed Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Remember that Scripture likewise And all thy fortresses shall he spoiled What are strong holds for the safeguard of a people when the strong God is against them You have made Lines and Fortifications Oh! but the strong God is against you In Nahum 3. 12. All thy strong holds shall be like Fig trees with the first ripe figs if they be shaken they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater And now my Brethren blessed be God we know this Scripture to be true in a way of mercy God hath made our enemies so to us and not in a way of Judgment God might have made our strong holds so to them this
then it were another matter but now considering they have enough in them to make them subjects of Gods wrath God may take advantage the rather because of thy sin and therefore take heed ane especially take heed to Gods Worship for we do not find in Scripture where any children are so threatned as the children of Idolaters are And then a further Note is this That the Judgments of God neer to us should awaken us we should think Why may it not be upon our selves This was a heavy Judgment of God upon some City neer and God would awaken them Oh! what have we heard hath been upon our Brethren in other parts and we have been sottish and not sensible of it because iâ— hath not just come upon our Gates the Lord expects when we hear of any dreadful evil upon others that we should tremble and fear before him And then one thing further note from hence As Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel The word that is here Shalman it signifies the name of one that is peaceable one that is peaceable and yet he shall exercise his cruelty so as to dash the Mother upon her Children this is not one that bears cruelty in his name not a Tyger but a Shalman a peaceable man as his name carries it and yet thus cruel when he comes to have power Oh! men who have peace in their names and peace in their mouths and peace in 〈◊〉 yet when they come to have power often times are very cruel We were like to have found it so if our adversaries should have prevailed especially this Citie might have been made a Beth-arbel Mothers dashed upon their Children It 's true when the adversaries did prevail in any place they did not do so but it was not through any ingenuity or pity but out of fear but had they gotten the day then we might have expected even dashing of the Mother against the children VER 15. So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness SO shall Bethel What shall Bethel rise up against the rest of the ten Tribes and come and destroy Mother and Children together That 's not the meaning But Bethel shall do it that is Bethel is the Cause of this that dreadful slaughter that is like to be among you it shall come from Bethel Who would ever have thought that Oh my Brethren Miserable Judgments do many times arise from causes we 〈◊〉 think of that 's the Note from thence I say miserable Judgments do many times arise from causes we little think of From Bethel there should come this slaughter and dreadful blood-shed And as that Note more generally so more particularly this That from places of Idolatry comes the greatest evils to Kingdoms As 't is very observable on the contrary from the places of Gods Worship comes the greatest good so from places of Idolatry the greatest evil In Psal 76. 2 3. In Salem is his Tabernacle and his dwelling place iâ— Zion There brake he the Arrows of the Bâ—◠〈◊〉 Shield and the Sword and the Battel Did God break them there Was there a Fight in Zion and in Salem No that 's not the meaning but in Zion and Salem where Gods Tabernacle was those Servants of God that were worshiping of God in Jerusalem and in Zion and praying to God they got the Victory so we may say that such a place that was fasting and praying in the time of our battels there God brake the Arrow and the Bow in that place where they were praying and seeking God it was in Salem and Zion Where the true worship of God is from thence comes the good of a Kingdom And so in Isa 31. 9. Whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem The Lord is there threatning the Enemies of his people and he saith That his fire is in Zion and his furnace is in Jerusalem there God hath his furnace and from thence it shall go to destroy the adversaries And so on the contrary where Idolatry is set up and false worship maintained from thence comes evils and miseries upon us Because of your great wickedness The word is Because of the wickedness of your wickedness so the Hebrews express the suparlative degree by a genetive case the evil of the evil the wickedness of the wickedness From whence observe Other sins are great sins but this of false worship indeed is THE great sin that God is provoked against a people for Whence let us not make light account of the Worship of God for how little soever Gods Worship is in our eyes yet it is a great matter in Gods eyes and though you think that the sins against God in the matter of his Worship be but small yet God saith it is the great wickedness it is the wickedness of wickedness And great wickedness it may be call'd not only in respect of the nature of it but from many aggravations and long continuance in it notwithstanding all their means You may Note further from hence God takes notice not only of mens sins but of the aggravation of their sins Oh! let us do thus do not only look upon your sins and acknowledg your selves to be sinners but look upon the Aggravations of your sins Oh! this sin committed against so many Mercies so many Prayers and Resolutions and Vows and Covenants and so many Deliverances that I have had labor to lay the Aggravations of your sins upon your hearts and this is the way to humble your hearts before the Lord. Indeed the Saints of God they need not seek to excuse their sins be not afraid to lay the aggravations of sin upon your own hearts according to what great aggravations there may be Greaten your wickedness before the Lord do not so as ordinarily people do to extenuate your sins for if there be any extenuation that possibly can be Jesus Christ will find out that in his pleading Christ is your advocate who sits at the right hand of the Father and it is his work to plead your cause and therefore if there can be any thing to extenuate a sin he will do it you know that when he was here in this world when his Disciples did offend very much in that sleepiness of theirs that when Christ was to suffer they could not watch with him one hour that sin might have been aggravated with abundance of circumstances but saith Christ The flesh is weak but the spirit is willing he falls to extenuate and excuse Now that which Christ did there he wil be ready to do in Heaven for thou that art a Saint And then further According to greatness of sins so is the greatness of wrath great wickedness and great wrath they go together and therefore according to the greatness of sins should the greatness of our humiliation be For so it is said of Manasses That he humbled himself greatly and in Lament 1. 20. where the
Church is humbling its self before God for the great wickedness and the great wrath that was upon them Behold Oh Lord for I am in distress my bowels are troubled mine heart is turned within me for I have grevously rebelled Mark here you have these two points together The Church aggravates her sin I have grievously rebelled and what then Oh Lord I am in distress my bowels are troubled my heart is turned within me Oh! remember this text you whose consciences do tell you of grievous Rebellions The last words follow In a morning shall the King of Israel be utterly cut off Now for the understanding of this we must consider to what this refers what King of Israel this was and when this was fulfilled For that if you reade 2 King 17. it hath reference to the story there and this King of Israel that is here spoken of is Hoshea that was the last King of Israel and therefore it 's said That he shall be utterly cut off For he and all his family was utterly cut off there was an end of the Kingdom of Israel that had continued so long provoking God saith he I have forborn the Kings of Israel a long time but now they shall be utterly cut off in Hâ—shea This King of Israel his spirit was stout enough against God and his Prophets and he would and he would My Brethren It is not the stoutness of the greatest men upon earth to say They will and they will and they will venture their Lives and Kingdoms Why if they Will God Will too he hath a Will as well as they at length Gods Will grows as strong as theirs and proceeds against them and against their very families The King of Israel shall be utterly cut off Kings of the Earth they suffer little from men What a brave business iâ— it for a man that he shall be able to go up and down in Countries and rend and tear and oppress and bring thousands into woful miseries and extremities and yet be afraid to suffer nothing at all Himself therfore it is fit for God to take in hand those men that are above the power of men when men cannot deal with them it is the Lord himself he takes them into hand and they are so much the more under the imediate Justice of the Infinite God Shall be utterly cut off But when shall this be In a morning There is a sad morning coming But I find Cyril carries it thus God in his Patience is compared to a man asleep and in the execution of Judgment is said to awake God brings his Righteous Judgements to light every morning But that 's a little too forced But Secondly In a morning that is Early betimes so in Jer. 21. 12. O house of David thus saith the Lord Execute Judgment in the Morning So the King of Israel shall be early cut off And indeed this King of Israel he was early cut off he did not reign above eight or nine yeers at most God doth take some in the morning of their time in their youth when their day is but as it were dawning he takes some sinners sooner than others In the morning he shall be cut off But Thirdly In the morning which comes yet neerer and more full to the sense and the scope of the Spirit of God here that is even when the light comes when they have hopes of further good then he shall be cut off And so you shal find if you reade the story in the book of Kings at this time when Hoshea was to be cut off that it was when he had entred into League with the King of EGYPT and now Hoshea thought a morning would arise and he should have a brave day and live many merry daies now and when he thought the light began to come in a morning doth God come to cut him off Oh! so it is many times my Brethren That at that time when people have some enlightening and they think that now light is breaking out when after a long night of darkness then Gods displeasure breaks forth upon them We cannot but acknowledge that the Lord hath granted us a morning light but let us fear and tremble for the time of Gods displeasure somtime it is in the morning when we think we have light breaking forth God may have other waies to bring darkness upon us than we are aware of we know how dreadful a day it was with Sodom after a Sun-shine morning It 's very observable the difference of Gods dealing with his own People and with those that are carnal and of the world compare this Scripture with Zach. 14. 7. Here In a morning shall he be utterly cut off But in Zach. 14. 7. where God is speaking of mercy to his People he speaks of a day that should be known to God and saith he At evening time it shall be light He comforts his People thus But when he threatens the wicked saith he When the morning comes it shall be darkness The Lord doth use to turn the darkness of the Saints into light and to turn the light of the wicked and ungodly into darkness Oh! let us learn to fear that God then that is able to turn light into darkness and darkness into light Amos 5. 8. Seek him saith the text that turneth the shadow of death into the morning and maketh the day dark with night He can turn the shadow of death into morning Suppose there be the greatest darkness upon you God can make that a morning of light and suppose there be a morning of light God can turn that into darkness Many men they set upon some waies and because they have a morning they bless themselves and think all must needs go on according to their way it is a very ordinary thing in the hearts of men especially that are compassing some notable design of their own if it doth prosper in the begining they think al wil go on Oh! thou maiest be utterly deceived thy designs may have a morning and then God may cut thee off and thy designs and all thy thoughts may then perish We reade that Saul had many Victories after that God had pronounced that he should be rejected And therefore we had need fear that God that can turn the morning into darkness and darkness into light Fourthly God did not discomfit the Host of the Egyptians until the morning God loves to draw forth great sinners to the light not to come upon them in the dark but to bring forth his judgments in the morning openly and cleerly And lastly In the morning he shall be cut off That is Suddenly God will be quick at his work They thought by their power to hold it out No saith God I will not make a daies work of it it shal be in the morning so the old Latin turns it It shall pass as the morning as the light of the morning quickly passes
shame to their children 222 Parents must give their children good education 266 Passions Disordered passions cause sad conclusions 284 Peace see Leagues People People give power to Kings 16 Common people follow the great Ones 381 Peace Many while they provide for peace provide for ruin 60 Perplexed Why the wicked are perplexed in the day of the Lords wrath 177 Persevere We ought to persevere in duties though we have no present comfort 428 Plow Wee should plow in hope all our lives 428 Wee must continue plowing 471 Plow-men see Ministers Policy see Reason Pomp see Superstition Popery Popery almost brought in at London 25 Pride There is much pride in dejection 169 Pride is the root of not hearing 295 See Stubborness Prayer Weak prayer may be strong 315 Preservation Gods preservation of us all our daies shewed 245 Princes Princes when they come first to the Crown promise faire 276 Princes are not to be trusted in 338 None so perfidious as Princes 338 Prophane see Idolaters Prosper We may prosper and yet have no cause to joy in it 141 Prosperity Take heed in prosperity 250 Professors Yong Professors should be kept down 308 Why Professors are empty 314 See Yong Question Q Question A Question answered by a Professor 180 Quick-sightedness The quick-sightedness of the enemy comes from the Lord. 20 R Racha The word Racha explained 303 Religion When Arms may be taken for Religion 21 Good acts in Religion may be evil in the doer 77 Religion is a Saints recreation 165 Reason Reason Pollicy and Experience may go one way and yet Gods Word another 85 Redemption see Sabbath Recreation see Religion Reformation Reformation cannot prosper except Justice be established 379 Revelations Revelations besides the Word are dangerous 91 Riches Riches in goods work is the best wealth 321 Righteousness What Righteousness is 479 Rod We must not chuse our sin and rod too 427 Romans see Crucifying Ruin Gods mercy prevents our ruin 67 False worship is the ruin of a Land 159 See Peace Rule A Rule to teach common people how to judge of their Ministers 197 Cautions to the same RULE 198 See Scripture S Sabbath The Sabbath was appointed for Commemoration of our Redemption 110 Saints The Saints prize the Law of God 100 The Saints should sorrow most for sin 151 How the Saints rejoyce in Gods vengeance 175 Saints admonished 219 The Saints should prize the enjoyment of God 251 Satan What Satans great design is 200 Scripture The Scripture is the Rule and the Expositor to understand the Rule 87 The Scripture should be looked upon as particular to our selves 92 Self People stick much at what comes from self 30 Self-denial God requirs self-denial in temporal things 119 Servants Great is the danger of servants at their own hand 54 Servants to great men exhorted 277 Service To be employed in publick Service is the making of a man 123 Service-book Service-book and Altars all some mens Religion 387 Sin God knows how to make use of mens sins 22 A man may commit the sin against the holy Ghost and yet continue in Duties 115 God remembers the sin of wicked men when they perform holy duties and why 122 See Altars Rod. Signs Signs of much wrath 126 Sound see Threatning Smiting Smiting with the Pen is worse than smiting with the Sword 281 Sinner God may damn a lesser sinner and save a greater sinner 152 Soul The Excellency of the Soulâ—â— 33 Soldiers Soldiers are Gods Priests 174 Sorrow see Lumpish Spirit The Spirit of God forsaw this generation 114 States States may judg of the right of a Kingdom 2â— Stubborness Stubborness is the fruit of pride 53 Strong Strong places are not to be trusted in 132 Success Sometimes God gives success in judgment 421 Succession Succession ads to Idolatry 80 Superstition How it was superstition in the Israelites to build temples 130 Who mourns most for superstition 391 Why carnal men contend for superstition 490 Superstitious Superstitious men regard outward pomp 27 A note to the Superstitious 204 Superstitious children admonished 258 Sword see Smiting T Taxes Taxes upon mens estates are but mean burdens 66 Teachers Teachers establish worship 84 Temple see Superstition Threatning The threatning of God is a terrible sound 3 Men should be sensible of the threatnings of God 68 Distance of time in commandements and threatnings is not to be heeded 80 Trumpet see Luther Themistocles The saying of Themistocles at his death Thoughts The shifting thoughts of carnal hearts in time of danger 181 Time Evil timâ— are good times to die in 265 Time for England to seek God 477 See Threatning V Vanity Scripture expressions of the vanity of great persons 403 Vessels Gods grace to the vessels of mercy 49 Vile Vile things are many times hid under glorious titles 191 Vileness see Diffidence Villany The villany of malicious Commanders against the Godly 257 Vine The fruitfulness of Vines 300 The Church compared to a Vine ibid. See Emptiness Unclean Why Mourners for the dead were so long uncleane 167 Use Use for the afflicted 440 W Waies see Follow Wealth Wealth is wicked mens glory 223 Wicked men Wicked men are as Eagles in their rage 5 Wicked men first serve their turns of the godly and then scorn them 47 Wicked men are wild upon their lusts 52 Wicked men are contemptible 53 See Perplexity Wind Who they are that sow the wind 37 Ministers must beware they sow not the wind 41 Rules how ib. See God Wine Wine in sacrifices what it signified 162 Wil-worship Will-worship an empty thing 303 Work see Ministers Works see Good Word It is a singular blessing to have the written Word 88 By whom the Word is counted strange 105 World see Christ Worship Gods Worship is an excellent thing 12 Gods Worship is cast off by carnal hearts ibid. Gods Worship must not be imitated 110 The Worship of God is a great matter 104 True Worship must be mourned after 388 See False and Invention Wrath The wrath of God is many times executed in answering our desires 150 The wrath of God called Wine and why 174 See Signs Writers see Men Y Yoke Christ's yoke easier than the yoke of the enemy 436 Young Young Professors their danger 45 Young Professors should be kept down 308 See Vine Young ones Young ones exhorted 214 Young ones the hope of a Nation Youth Youths sins are Ages terrors 121 FINIS 1. Text. 2. Apptic by paraphrase Obs 1 Luther called the trumpet of rebellion simile Pliny Why crucifying on a tree was so hateful to the Romans Expos 3. Obser 2. The paraphrase Obs 3. Luther Author The Assyrians Army why an Eagle Why the Eagle was unclean under the Law Obs Goâ— accepts not Eagles but Doves Obs 1. Gualt Applied to England Obs 2 Obs 3. Luther Author Obs 1. Obs 2. A true Church Use 'T is good dwelling in Gods house Ps 26. 8. explained Officers of the Church Obs 3. The good of Christians depends upon the Covenant