Josiah The â—â—ticular judgment which God at his time had given him a prospect of â—as a Dearth as in verse 〈◊〉 dearth â—â—rough want of rain 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Hebrew â—ord signifieth and so the Text makâ—â—h it plain verse 3. The Nobles sent their 〈◊〉 ones to the water they came to the 〈◊〉 and found no water verse 4. The 〈◊〉 was chapt there was no rain on 〈◊〉 earth ver 7 8 9. The Prophet â—on the prospect of this-dreadful â—â—dgment puts up a fervent prayer to God To which the Lord returns an angry answer verse 10 11 12. 〈◊〉 short he bids Jeremiah pray no more foâ— them for he would consume them by sword famine and pestilence As there is an acceptable day a day when the Lord will be found so there is a time when his Spirit shall no longer strive with man his patience shall no longer be tired though Noah Daniel and Job pray they shall but deliver their own souls the decree is gone forth Verse 13. Jerem tells the Lord that there were a breed of Prophets sang another tune to this sinful people and told them they should have peace and neither see sword noâ— famine Thus Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses Such wretches have been in all ages when the Devil gets 〈◊〉 commission to seduce a people to ruineâ— the instruments he useth to execute 〈◊〉 are profane ignorant lying Priests Thâ—â— was the way you know Satan toâ—â— God he would seduce Ahab to go an fall at Ramoth-Gilead I will go saitâ— he and be a lying spirit in the mouth 〈◊〉 his Prophets The Lord tells Jeremy Verse 14. these Prophets were not of his sending they prophesied lies in his Name false visions divinations things of naught the deceit of their own hearts yet without doubt these were the generality of the Jewish Ministers men brought up in the Schools of the Prophets and in the orders of their Church and cloathed with an external call to their works Even under the Law God allowed his people a judgment of discretion and did not oblige them to believe what their Priests said without any examination of it It is possible regular Priests and Prophets may not be sent by God nor â—ught people to look upon them so when they find them speaking contrary â—o the Word of God But Oh! it is a â—angerous thing for the Ministers of truth to become the messengers of lies for us to corrupt the Word of God Dangerous it is to our selves Verse 15. Tell these Prophets saith the Lord By sword and â—â—mine you shall be consumed It is danâ—â—rous for the people If the trumpet â—â—ve an uncertain sound who shall prepare himself to the battel If the Ministers try All is well God is well pleased do wickedly still you do God good service in it The interpretation be to the enemies of all good men How easily are people hardened and encouraged in vile courses Verse 16. But shall their Priests words save them No. The people saith God to whom they prophesie shall be cast out in the streets of Hierusalem because of the famine and the sword and there shall be none to bury them their wives their sons and their daughters for I will pour their wickedness upon them The lie of the Prophet never justifieth the credulity of the people God expecteth that his people should search the Scriptures and examine whether those things the Minister speaks be conformable to his Word or no and yield no further assent to what they say then what they find ground for there After this Verse 17.18 God directeth the Prophet to act the person of a mourner before the people upon a prospect of his judgments to come as if they already were come Oh! how loth the Lord is to destroy a people amongst whom he hath once had a Name How shall I give thee up O Ephraim how shall I make thee as Admah how shall I set thee as Zeboiim Jeremiah knowing he had to do with a gracious God that sometimes repenteth himself of the evil he hath threatned and brings it not upon a people sets himself to prayer as the proper means if any would do to avert the vengeance of God His prayer begins with the words of my Text and holds on to the end of the Chapter In which you have 1. A servent Expostulation Hast thou utterly rejected Judah hath thy soul loathed Zion Why c. 2. A sad representation of the state of the people 1. They were smitten and there was no healing for them 2. Their expectation was frustrated We looked for peace and there is no good and for the time of healing and behold trouble 3. Here is an humble though more general confession We acknowledge our iniquities and the iniquities of our fathers for we have sinned against thee 4. An earnest supplication express'd in several terms and back'd with several arguments closely couched The Terms are 1. Do not abhor us 2. Do not disgrace thâ— throne of thy glory 3. Remember Break noâ— thy Covenant with us The Arguments are 1. For thy Names sake 2. We are the throne of thy glory 3. Thou hast made a Covenant with us 4. Thou art he alone canâ—â— give showers the vanitieâ— of the Gentiles cannot cause rain 5. Lastly here is the Prophets declared resolution to trust in God and wait oâ— him verse 22. My Text as you see contains only the two first general parts of this excellent Prayer of the Prophet The first I called his fervent expostulation Hast thou utterly rejected Judah 〈◊〉 Hath thy soul loathed Zion Why haâ—â— thou smitten us and there is no healing for us Hast thou in rejecting rejected 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in reprobating reprobated Judah Those that are critical in the Hebrew observe the word signifies to reject a thing with scorn and disdain as vile and contemptible it is used as in many other places Hos 4.6 Because thou hast reâ—ected knowledge I will also reject thee Hos 4.6 Lam. 5.22 But thou hast utterly rejected 〈◊〉 Lord saith the Prophet Lam. 5.22 hast thou â—â—terly rejected Judah what Judah the remainder of the people the seed of Abraham thy friend which was so â—â—ear to thee Judah of which it was â—aid In Judah is God known hast thou â—tterly rejected this Judah Hath thy 〈◊〉 loathed Zion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word used is much of the same signification with the other only it signifieth something more of the affection set against an object it is used Ezech. 16.45 Ezecth 16.45 to exâ—ress the alienation of a leud womans â—eart from her husband It is also used â—evit 26.44 Levit. 26.44 a place to which one would think the Prophet here hath home special respect And yet for all that when they be in the hand of their enemies I will not cast them away neither will I abhor them to destroy them utterly and to break my covenant with them for
I am the Lord their God But I will for their sake remember the covenant of their ancestors c. Very like the Prophet eyeing that promise in the Law cries out Hath thy soul loathed Zion Zion there 's a great argument couched in that word All the dwellings of Jacob were dear to the God of Jacob but the Psalmist saith God loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Zion was the name of a Mountain at the foot of which Hierusalem and in it the Temple stood thence it is called the habitation of Gods holiness his dwelling place and it is put for the Church of God Lord saith the Prophet this is Judah against which thine anger smokes hast thou utterly rejected Judah There are but two Tribes and an half left of that people whom thou chosest to draw nigh unto thee hast thou rejected them utterly rejected them In this Judah is Zion thy Temple the place which out of all the earth thou chosest for thy habitation and in which above all thou didst delight hath thy soul abhorred Zion She was as thy Spouse and thou lovedst her doth thy soul now loath her As to the form of the words you see they are by way of Interrogation Interrogations in Scripture sometimes adde force to Affirmations and Negations Hath the Lord as great a pleasure in sacrifices as in obeying his commandments that is he hath not And so some would have it here then the sense is this Lord I know thou hast not utterly rejected Judah thy soul hath not abhorred Zion which is true as to the spiritual part of his people Hath God cast off Israel saith the Apostle God forbid he hath not cast off the people whom he fore-knew But all are not Israel that are of Israel Then the words have in them the force of an argument Lord I know thou hast not utterly cast off thy people thy soul hath not abhorâ—â—â— them therefore spare them as to this judgment So he pleads from Gods certain spiritual love to a part of the people formerly for the whole But I must confess I think this not the sense Interrogations sometimes are the language of persons inquiring for further certainty and satisfaction so I take it here as if the Prophet had said Ah Lord is the decree gone forth is there no hope art thou not to be spoken to for this people hast thou utterly reprobated them If not c. It follows Why hast thou smitten us and there is no healing These words have in them an Interrogation and an Expostulation No soundness in the Hebrew Here the Prophet begins to represent unto God the state of the people 1. They were smitten already smitten with a dearth 2. And in Gods purpose smitten with an approaching sword and captivity He owns God as the primary efficient cause Thou hast smitten he addes and there is no healing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The word used in the Hebrew signifies health or soundness and healing or cure And so the complaint denotes two things 1. 〈◊〉 universality of the judgment they had no part sound no foundness 2. The desperateness of their distemper they could find no cure no remedy no healing their State Physitians were of no value they had tried but they could no help no healing he Expostulates with God not enquiring the cause Jeremiah was not signorant of cause enough in this people to justifie God in the severity of this dispensation but he speaks like a troubled man who would gladly have had it otherwise with his people if God had pleased 2. He further represents the sadness of this peoples case in this that their expectations were frustrated We looked 〈◊〉 peace and there is no good and for the time of healing and behold trouble There is nothing difficult in the words they only signifie the disappointment which God had given them in their great expectations The words may â—e understood either of the generality of the people who might have presumptuous hopes or of Gods own people who upon that great reformation which Josiah had began look't for peace â—oth were deceived no peace no good came but more trouble more disturbance still I intend not to speak to every Proposition might be drawn from these words I shall only fix upon one and that founded upon the words in the latter part of the Verse We looked for peace and no good came for the time of healing and behold trouble Prop. It pleaseth God in the wisdom of his Providence oft times to give people great disappointments in their expectations of peace and healing as to their outward concerns You may if you will take it in these two branches 1. People are very prone in evil times and disturbed times to look for good to look for healing 2. It pleaseth God oft times to give them great disappointments in their expeciations Trouble instead of peaceâ— wounds instead of healing I say 1. It is natural to us in evil and disturbed times to look for good and to looâ— for an healing It is true this Proposition is not universally verified in the Sons of men and the thing depends though not wholly yet in a great measure upon the sutural disposition There is much truth in that Maxim of Physitians and Philosophers Mores sequuntur humores Where any persons are more enclined â—o melancholly and that humour more prevails persons so enclin'd are more disposed to fears and jealousies and suspicions Where some other humour prevails in the body the person is more enclined to hope and presume so as you shall generally find men and women thus divided Some are more naturally disposed to fear the worst to be suspicious and jealous of every thing others â—â—e naturally enclined to hope the best and to promise all good to themselves and the most of people either from this Natural cause or some Moral â—ouses for they also have some inscience on us are very prone to look â—or good for peace and healing and this â—s not only ordinary to the more ignorant and sinful sort of men but even â—o Gods own people The wicked cry â—â—ace Peace when there is no peace to â—â—e wicked saith the Lord. The Mother of Sisera looks out at the window when her Son was dead with agnail struck through his temples and cryes Why is his Chariot so long incoming Have they not sped Have they not divided the prey The false Prophets daub with untempered mortar Three hundred false Prophets spake good to Ahab and bid him go up to Ramoth-Gilead and prosper Nor are the better and wiser sort Gods own dear people exempted from this infirmity Even David saith in his prosperity I shall never be moved nor are we only vain in prosperity to promise our selves a stability in that state but in a time of adversity we are as ready to promise our selves a quick deliverance and freedom from it When the children of Israel were carried captives into Babylon they would needs believe
institutions because by it we come to the enjoyment of all other publick Ordinances How shall they hear without a preacher saith the Apostle and how shall they preach except they be sent Ordinances of publick communion with God being justly precious to gracious souls the key to them the hand which brings them must needs also be precious I say true able and faithful Ministers 1. True Ministers Every pretender is not so there were Prophets of old there are Ministers now in the world whom Christ never sent Under the Gospel there were false Apostles that brought 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 high fine words Those whom God hath sent are easily distinguished from others not so much from the particular Church that sendeth them which may disser in her external Rites and forms of mission but from their ability and faithfulness the two following things 2. Able Ministers 2 Cor. 3.6 Able to what To read a Prayer or a Sermon a little ability serveth for this Able to teach able to pour out his peoples souls unto God in prayer to speak a word in season to the weary to instruct the ignorant resolve the doubting confirm the staggering Through Gods assistance to open the eyes of the blind Acts 26.18 to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God Able to open the whole counsel of God unto people To divide the word of God aright shewing themselves workmen that need not be ashamed 3. Faithful Ministers A man may be able that is not faithful that 's faithful Minister that doth the Lords work faithfully feeding the souls of people with food convenient for them not with notions and language they understand not A faithful Minister is one that considereth his end to convert build up and perfect souls to eternity and proportioneth due means and applieth them faithfully to that end He preacheth in season out of season rebuketh exborteth with all faithfulness meekness authority gravity c. that he may save his own soul and the souls of others He administreth holy institutions according to the rule his Master hath given him and durst not erre from it Now I say it is impossible but such as these should be exceeding precious to gracious souls and for the same reason others must be as vile and abominable to them As they are the cheats of immortal souls and that in things of highest importance and concernment such as instead of being means to convey the waters of life to them are the means to keep them from them and to deceive them with the puddle waters of mens fancies But I shall not dwell longer on this Thirdly 3. Br. Observe from hence That a good Christian is to be judged much from his affection to Ordinances As in other pieces of his duty so in this he is not so much to be determined from his actions as from his affections St. Paul did the things which be would not and could not do those things which he would but yet he delighted in the Law of God as to the inward man So it is here Presence at Gods Ordinance will not conclude a Christian indeed formalists and hypocrites may be present Isa 58.2 Yet they seek me daily saith God A godly man may be absent David is forcedly absent Or it may be as 1 Sam. 2.17 1 Sam. 2.17 The Priests were so vile and their administrations so irregular that Gods people may as they did there abhor the offering of the Lord. But here 's the difference A wicked man though he drinks yet doth not thirst his going to Ordinances is like the drunkards going to the ale-house more to satisfie his lust than to quench any thirst he hath a lust to appear to be something when he is nothing to give what credit he can to some particular person that administreth or to some particular way of worship or to run thwart to others The godly man though he cannot though he dare not always drink yet he always thirsts A temptation may awe him from drinking at the purest and most wholesome waters of the Sanctuary Or some mixture may make him afraid but nothing can keep him from a due thirsting after Gods holy and pure Institutions In the next place therefore Vse 2 let us take an hint from hence to try whether the true Spirit of Christians breatheth in us yea or no. Grande est Christianum esse non dici It is a small thing to be called Christians it is a great thing to be a Christian indeed If thou beest so thy soul will thirst after the institutions of God As a new-born babe thou wilt desire the milk of the Word that thou maist grow thereby And that thou maist not deceive thy self consider what thou hast heard 1. Thy thirst will be after God in the Ordinance For thee for the living God saith David If thy thirst be such as can be allaied without any thing of God I mean any influence of God upon thy soul through the conduit of the Ordinance it is no more than a formal hypocrite may have What sayest thou Christian Is this the temper of thy soul Thou longest for an hour of prayer to hear a good Sermon and when thou hast had thy desire art thou unsatisfied still unless thou hast found God coming into thy soul in Prayer and speaking to thee in the Sermon this speaks a Christian indeed if any thing less than this will satisfie thee thou wilt fetch nothing of evidence from it it is no more than hypocrites may do who take these attendances for their righteousness and have a kind of thirst to them that they may have something to glory in before God 2. Thy thirst secondly will be after divine institutions in their purest and most powerful administrations The end of a Christian in waiting upon God in holy institutions being partly that he might pay an homage to God i. e. do what God hath required of him as his duty and partly that in them he may meet with God and find his presence and power His thirst must necessarily be thus circumstanced for he argueth thus with himself Hath God any where prescribed me this service or mode of Worship If not how can I think to please or do homage to him by an action which he never required of me nor did it ever come into his heart to direct me any such thing Again Wherefore should I desire Ordinances but that in them I may see the presence and power of God Can I expect either the presence or power of God in humane iffventions And as his thirst is after the most pure so it is after the most quick and lively administrations after such praying where the heart is most melted and poured out like water before the Lord. Such preaching where the Preacher comes closest to the soul and does not play off in generals only as if he were afraid to touch the sores of souls or to tell people of their sins
part of it whose sufferings may be sad enough and yet the promise not fail 3. A third errour may be as to Persons and that 1. As to persons that shall receive this mercy 2. As to persons that shall be Gods instruments in bring 〈◊〉 about the desired mercy 1. As to persons that shall receive thâ— desired mercy Promises as to outward mercies are more limited to the purity and holiness of a people than those made as to spiritual and eternal good things God hath said I will heal your back-slidings and God will save his people eternally notwithstanding their back-slidings but for outward prosperity and selicity it is no where promised to a back-sliding and impure people Supposing therefore a people that radically are good and the Lords people but a revolting back-sliding people and continuing in their revoltings without dup repentance if they build up expectations for the fulfilling of divine Promises as to outward prosperity and felicity while their soum is not taken off but bolleth into them they will most probably be disappointed 2. As to persons who shall be Gods instruments in bringing about the mercy desired And here let me only observe two things to you 1. No great expectations can be builded upon profane persons I do not say no great things for the good of Gods people may be done by them I know Cyrus was Gods servant to proclaim liberty to the Jews and oft-times God hath made the wrath of men to praise him Pharaoh shall keep the seed of Jacob alive and provide for them in a time of famine But I say expectations cannot be raised on these foundations If the Assyrian doth Gods work howbeit he meaneth not so saith God As the wife Faulkener maketh use of the ravenous quality of the Hawk to serve his turn and make it get that for him which the Bird gat for it self so the wise God will make use of an Assyrian an Egyptian a Cyrus an utter enemy to his people and make his selfish politick designs to serve his everlasting purpose but here is no ground for Gods people to build expectations 2. Nay secondly Be the persons never so holy that appear to us probable to do us good no certain expectation can be raised upon them Who would have thought that Moses and Aaron should not have been Gods instruments to have carried his people over Jordan and set their feet in Canaan yet they did not they sinned at the waters of Meribah and so died on mount Nebo holy men may fail and provoke God to cut them off So that to build expectations upon any particular persons is to lay a foundation for our disappointments 4. The fourth and last errour may be as to particular means It is true God doth most of his works by means but he wonderfully varies in the nature and kind of means he useth sometimes he doth it by what we call fair means sometimes by force and what we call foul means The people of Israel shall be delivered our of Egypt by the ruine oâ— Egypt yet not by sword and battel but by plagues and the Red-sea They shall be by the sword delivered from the Canaanites they shall by a Proclamation of Cyrus without any plague or sword be delivered from Babylon Mean which appear to us probable possibly shall not do the work what appear to us improbable and likely to work quite contrary that shall do it Oh the depth of the ways and judgments of God! how unsearchable are his judgments how are his ways past finding out Thus I have as shortly as I could opened the Proposition to you I shall now come to the application of it 1. Is not this Scripture this day fulfilled in your ears May not we in our addresses to God say O Lord hast thou utterly rejected England hath thy soul â—athed thy Church there Why are we â—itten and there is no healing We looked for peace and there is no good for healing and behold trouble That God dealeth with us as a people rejected and hathed is apparent Our Fathers are â—one our Prophets where are they We see not our signs nor is any Prophet to tell us how long We have â—en the Sanctuary of the Lord polited his Ordinances defiled we have â—eard our Sabbaths mocked at The Lord hath covered the Daughter of â—â—r Zion with a cloud in his anger â—nd not remembred his foot-stool in the day of his wrath As to our Civiâ— concerns How doth the City sit solitary that was full of people how is she become aâ— a widow She that was great amongst thâ— Nations and Princess amongst the Provinces May not we say Why are wâ— smitten and there is no healing Are noâ— we smitten in our spiritual things yeaâ— and with a dreadful smiting too Have we that preaching those Sacraments that communion of Saints which wâ— formerly had Have we those convictions and conversions of souls unto God those mournings under the Word of God such affected hearts as formerly I am sure I speak to those whâ— know we have not We see not thâ— Word of God go forth with that power and life to rouze up secure souls to convince and to change the hearts oâ— sinners to strengthen confirm anâ— comfort the wearied souls of Gods people as formerly We are full of deaâ—â— sapless dry unprofitable discourses 〈◊〉 Pulpits but where 's the power of thâ— Lord in his Ordinances where are thâ— weeping eyes where are the trembling souls we have formerly known where are the cries of them we have formerly heard Men and brethren what shall we do to be saved This is a smiting brethren and a dreadful smiting too it is true it is not in the most sensible part to the generality of people the Gadarenes you know came and besought our Lord to go out of their Country they have not now so many Sermons to disquiet them in their beds of lust and make their heads to ake but to them that fear God and truly understand and judge of the interest of a Nation it is I say a dreadful smiting and that in the tenderest part and possibly the cause of other smitings too But are not we smitten in our persons 〈◊〉 men will not believe they have souls â—et they know they have bodies Hath â—ot God smitten us with a dreadful Plague not parallel'd either in our days 〈◊〉 the days of our fore-fathers Hath â—â—t God smitten us both in our persons â—â—d estates with a consuming War and â—â—ce that with a dreadful Fire hardly â—o be parallel'd in any modern story And is there yet any healing for us again May we not say We looked for peace and no good for bealing and behold trouble Did not we in the year 1660 look for good for peace upon that miraculous revolution but did any good come instead of it all these dreadful judgments of God have succeeded Did not we again the last year upon the peace with our neighbours look for good did not we look for
Worship is a great sin but something lower than this Now God comparing the case betwixt him and them to the case betwixt a Man and his Wife that had dealt falsly with him tells him that in case of a â—ivorce a man doth not use to be reâ—onciled to his Wife yet Jerem 3.1 Return again unto me saith the Lord ver 5. Will he reserve his anger for ever Will he keep it to the end Again v. 12. Go and proclaim these words to the North and say Return thou back sliding Israel â—ith the Lord and I will not cause mine â—nger to fall on you for I am merciful â—aith the Lord and I will not keep anger for ever Only acknowledge thine iniquiâ—y that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God and hast scattered thy wayes to strangers under every green trâ—â— and you have not obeyed my Voice saith tâ—â— Lord Turn O back sliding children saâ—â—â— the Lord for I am married unto you aâ—â— I will take you one of a City and two 〈◊〉 a Tribe and bring you to Zion Anâ— again ver 22. Return you backslidiâ—â— children and I will heal your back sliding Oh that I could hear you saying as iâ— the next words of that Text Behâ—â—â— we come unto thee for thou art the Lâ—â—â— our God Truly in vain is Salvatin hoped for from the hills and from 〈◊〉 multitude of Mountains truly in the Lâ—â—â— our God is the salvation of Israel 〈◊〉 vain is salvation hoped for from course of profaneness formality or superstitiâ— or from any righteousness of your own In vain is peace of conscience in vaâ—â— is any good thing hoped for from them in vain is any blessing of Goâ— in this life hoped for from them 〈◊〉 the Lord is the salvation of people 〈◊〉 the faith of Christ In the Love 〈◊〉 Christ In a strict obedience to thâ— Gospel of Christ In a close walkiâ—â— with God In these things is the hopâ— the salvation of people the true peaâ—â— and tranquility of conscience Return â—hen with the Prophets words in your â—outh with which I shall conclude We lye down in our shame Jer. 3.25 and our conâ—sion covereth us for we have sinned gainst the Lord our God and have not â—eyed the voice of the Lord our God FINIS Psalm 42.1 2. As the Hart panteth after the water brooks so panteth my soul after thee O God My soul thirsteth for God for the 〈◊〉 ving God when shall I come and appear before God THE Title of this Psalm is To the chief Musitiâ— for the Sons of Corah 〈◊〉 remember Justine Maâ—tyr answering the Jewish Question Why wâ— use not Musick in our Gospel Service as the Jewes did sayes it was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the Church in her infantil estate Just Mart. Quest Resp. 107. though singing be not so anâ— therefore still continued However that Musick was in David's time though since ceased a Divine Institution not meerly introduced by the discretion of the chief Magistrate we are assured by 1 Chron. 28.11.19 which speaks it no president for Humane Inventions in Acts or Modes of Divine Worship Korah was a Levite he perished in his gainsaying against Moses as you read Num. 16. But his children died not Nu. 16.1 To these it seems by holy David according to the Pattern he had from the Spirit of God 1 Chron. 28.12.13 The charge of the Musick was committed 1 Chron. 6.37 Who was the Author of this Psalm some question judging it one of the Sons of Corah and so interpreting it by the Genitive Case V. de Muci ad loc a Psalm of Instruction 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thinking it composed in the time of the Captivity of Babylon But the Spirit that breatheth in it is so like the Spirit breathing â—salm 63. and Psalm 84. That I rather judge holy David the Author of it V. Mollerum ad loc c. and that it was composed by him in the time when Saul hunted him out of Judea so as he could not as formerly enjoy the Institutions of God which is the great business he lamenteth in this Psalm expressing his earnest longings for them and raising up hiâ— soul to an hope and confidence iâ— God that he would one day change his estate It is termed Maschil a Psalm of Instruction and may generally serve to instruct us in the frame of a gracious Spirit what it will be and our duty what we ought to doe under such a dispensation when either by any natural or moral causes we are hindered from a communion with God in hiâ— publick Institutions for Worship for of such it is apparent David speaketh both from ver 2. When shall I come and appear before God and ver 4. where with sadness he remembers how he 〈◊〉 wont to go to the House of God with thâ— multitude The Proposition I shall insist on iâ— this Prop. Vnder the severest dispensation of God to gracious souls Doctrine there will 〈◊〉 found in them a singular thirst after Gâ—â— in his Institutions of publick Worship Who ever was the Author of this Psalm the Language of it speaks a godly gracious heart if it was not the man it was certainly a man according to Gods heart The dispensation he was under was sad enough if he were in the captivity of Babylon as de Muci and others think or if it was David separated from the Tabernacle by the Violence of Saul The dispensation was every way sad enough Yet under these circumstances see the temper of this gracious person he cannot enjoy publick Institutions but he can look after them and long he can with Daniel open his window towards Jerusalem and pray He cannot drink but of the Wells of Salvation but he can thirst for the waters of them he cannot appear before God but he can say unto God When shall I come and appear In fine his Enemies have taken away his food but they have not taken away his stomach In the prosecution of this point I shall 1. Open the Metaphor of thirsting panting breathing 2. Shew you the singularity of the gracious souls thirst 3. Thirdly give you the causes of if and prove the point 4. Lastly Make some short appliction 1. Thirst is a natural affection caused through the want of some liquâ—â— thing to cool and refresh our naturâ—â— parts alwayes attended with a deâ—â—â— of the thing thirsted for so it implieth 1. An apprehended suitableness 〈◊〉 some object to the creaturâ— wants that is thus affected to iâ— 2. A sensible want of it we thiâ—â— not for drink when our 〈◊〉 mach and mouth is filleâ— with it 3. A desire and endeavour after iâ— 1. Every gracious soul apprehendeth 〈◊〉 suitableness in Gods Institutions to 〈◊〉 wants That there is such a suitableness I shall demonstrate anon this 〈◊〉 not apprehended by every soul but 〈◊〉 every gracious soul it is which preceedeth from his spiritual illumination and sense of his condition to which 〈◊〉 unregenerate soul is