and people of the Lord that mourned for the sins of the Land Yea so exemplary they were in their outward holiness and obedience This piece of â—olicie is one of â—he chief recreâ—tions of our â—ehu's that the Prophet takes up a parable from them to condemn the house of Israel in vers 14. Now Iehu engages these holy men and of what advantage is it to him Verily it 's of exceeding great advantage to him How acceptable is it to the people when the good men of their times are countenanced nourished and exalted Yea doth it not savour of much piety that he will have the good and holy men for his Counsellors Yea they must be the men that must plead for him in case he slip or discover his nakedneses they with the credit of their words with the people must cover all they must trumpet out his excellencies and pray for him and speak of him as if he were the onely Protector and Deliverer of the Lord's people from their great oppressions Yea he is not contented to have the Lords Prophets on his side from whom he had his Commission but good man he must have all good men satisfied or he will not be satisfied not so much as a Iehonadab shall be dissatisfied if he may have his will Iehu was a good and sweet-temper'd man now it 's true he was hot and furious in the field like a Lion in God's work there but is like a Lamb in his Chamber and Palace his words are smoothe as butter and oil he will maintain all good mens liberties though of different opinions and profession they are all alike dear to him O heavenly Iehu that hast such a large heart to hold all good men in it wherewithal shall we honour thee what service shâ—â—l we do thee We will joyn our selves to thee and make thy hands stâ—ong to do whatsoever thou deâ—â—est But stay good soule Iehu will turn separatist shortly and let you know when you proceed to the taking away his golden Calves his sins â—ounded on State-polâ—cy that he can tell how to separate and divide yâ—u and keep only those in his favour that will serve his turn although he turn from God 6. And lastly Iehu's policie appears in the matter of the worshippers of Baal Jehu was now at a stand he knew not what to do to root out all the Priests and worshippers of Baal he knew well enough that he could not be secure in his Throne if they continued in the Land and he forsake Baal they would remember their old friend Ahab and avenge his death if by any means they could accomplish it and he might think too that if he performed not the chief ends of God God would remove him himself and some sparks of light of conscience might tell him it was his duty and one chief end why God had anointed him King that he might destroy Baal out of Israel But it was his corrupt and deceitful heart that drew him to play the hypocrite and dissemble Now Jehu's chief motive that carried him on in all his work being his own outward glory and security in it he thought himself not safe unless Baal and his worshippers were destroyed To take courage to himself That this is an exact embleme of this present season a little time will discover and do it openly according to the command of the Lord by the voice of his Prophets his wisdom would not suffer him no that was too dangerous a course that would ruine all but he must deal wisely forsooth use policie and beat the devil with his own staff And what was this good piece of policie but to play the hypocritical dissembler In vers 18. Ahab served Baal a little but Iehu shall serve him much Jehu was acquainted with that Princely Maxime Qui nescit dissimulare nescit regnare He that knows not how to dissemble knows not how to reign Ahab served Baal a little he gave a little encouragement to his worship priests and worshippers small gifts and riches it may be to a favourite or here and there some eminent man he would give largely But I will serve him much I will have all to taste of my fatness and feel of my warmth enjoy the benefit of my good-will to Baal they shall all be the better for me those that could not live on the short commons of their Tythes and Oblations shall now have more In this shameful business Iehu had his Jehonadabs his outwardly-holy men to assist and counsel him but not one Prophet of the Lord appeared in it they were mourning I 'll warrant you for the sins of the Land for that black cloud that was coming over them which at best did foretel no likelihood of going up to Jerusalem to worship without more earthquakes first And now he proclaims a solemn assembly of all those idolatrous worshippers of Baal and he sends thorow all Israel that none might be wanting for he would make a great feast for Baal So that by this he set them on such work as fitted them for slaughter and destruction they must offer sacrifices to Baal put on their vestments be in all their gallantry They must take to themselves their full power not suffer one of the Lords people not one against their opâ—nion to be among them Oh how zealous a King have we Ahab was not to be compared to him for zeal for our God we shall have happie days we shall see no sorrow we shall never be removed long live Jehu let thy days be as the sand of the sea for number But stay Sir Priest make not your selves drunk in the conceit of your Elysian joys your joy shall be turned into mourning there 's death in the pot though the broth seem never so pleasant your sacrifices shall be dyed in your blood and your Baal shall be buâ—ied in your ruines But Jehu did it in subtilty to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal And thus he destroyed Baal out of Israel Good God! what vicissitudes and changes are here how mutable and uncertain is the heart of man This little world man ruling over the greater makes false deceitful reeling work Come Lord Iesus come quickly and take away this sinful wicked mouldering tottering world and give us new heavens and new earth that thy people may live to sing Hallelujahs to thee for evermore But in the Jehu's Zeal Fourth place Let us view Iehu this mighty man in his zeal O how gloriously zealous is he full of zeal and good works his heart seems on fire for God and his glory not one tittle of the word of the Lord shall fall to the ground he will slay all that belongs to the house of Ahab not leave a man to pass against the wall and as hath been before observed he will deliver the people of God fully from their oppressions and take off every heavie yoke But let us view the particulars wherein his zeal shews it self so
ominously First against the sins and wickedness of the times When he met Joram saith the King Is it peace Jehu Peace saith he What peace so long as the whoredoms witchcrafts of thy mother Jezebel are so many Peace belongs not to thee no peace with thy abominations I will not sheath my sword until I have destroyed all those Oppressions in the State and Innovations in the Church Was not this our practice in our first motions that have provoked God to wrath against the Land and hindered the people from worshipping the true God What peace with Ahab peace with Iezebel No you shall know I am raised up and inspired by God to avenge the blood of his servants upon your heads correct your tyrannies and destroy the cause of them out of the Land I will not withdraw my hand until I have purged the Land from all those things that pollute it and Cursed be he that withholdeth his hand from shedding of blood Well said Iehu thou art hot now but thou wilt be cool enough anon when thine own turn is serv'd when thou hast done as much as is needful for thy own designes then thou wilt let Gods work go whither it will for thee they are fools and asses that mind THEN any thing more then setling the State in peace and quiet that they may enjoy the fruits of their labours Secondly his zeal puts forth it self in this He would not have one to remain alive of Baals priests he would kill them all every mothers childe yea whosoever let one of them escape his life should go for it But have a care Iehu thou art not at last as furious against the Lords own Prophets as thou art now against Baals Thirdly his zeal appears in this These things have been done visibly before our eyes That he brake down all the images of Baal and brake down the house of Baal and made it a draught house How zealous was this man for God! one would have thought that surely this man liv'd in heaven and his thoughts were always upon Jerusalem and his heart thitherward Can it be imagined how glad the hearts of the unfeigned servants of the Lord were at the sight of this Will it be counted an errour to think that their hearts heads mouths were filled with the thoughts of their going up to Jerusalem to worship and behold the glory of God in his Ordinances But alas poor hearts you are mistaken in Iehu the golden Calves in Dan and Bethel will stop you there 's no passiâ—g those ancient bounds founded upon so much State-wisdom He departed not from the sins of Ieroboam the son of Nebat Jehu's Profession In the fifth place let us view him in his profession he profest himself to be one that studyed much the minde and will of God to regulate all his actions by that model he had received from God by his Prophets Thus saith the Lord This is the word of the Lord as you may observe all along the history When he met the King what was the profession he made but that his work was the rooting out all those abominations that had provoked the Lord to anger What peace so long as the whoredoms and witchcrafts are so many When he had slain Ioram he profest he did nothing but what he was commanded of the Lord Cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Iezreelite for remember how that when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father the Lord laid this burden upon him c. He would have a Word for all his actions and nothing would he seem to do This is a true and compleat Character of some in these our reforming times but what was consonant to the minde and will of the Lord. Again when he had slain Jezebel and she was eaten by the dogs what application did he make It was the will of the Lord This is the word of the Lord which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite saying c. O heavenly man whose tongue is tipt with Scripture the experiences of the Saints and the Revelations of the Prophets When he had subtilly caused the seventy sons of Ahab to be slain what was the conclusion That the people should know that nothing of the word of the Lord should fall unto the earth which he had spoken by Elijah concerning Ahab And when he met with Iehonadab what was his profession but to be zealous for God What a profession of sincerity and plainness of heart in the cause of God did he make How curious was he of his associates and companions He would have none but such as were like himself holy men in appearance If thy heart be right as my heart come and see my zeal for the Lord be my companions otherwise not By the way observe how poor Iehu praises himself if thy heart be right as my heart he praises his own sincerity his zeal come and see my zeal there 's none like mine his grace his conformity to the will of God his performance of the Word of the Lord the effects of the Spirit upon his heart O none like his Surely he had forgot Solomon's counsel Let a stranger praise thee And did not that Pharisee write by this copie that said Lord I thank thee that I am not as that Publicane is c. And Iehu was a great Preacher too whether he were in the field or in the palace or in the gate of the city he was always preaching as the story mentions This is the word of the Lord Remember what the Lord said c. He seem'd as if he could speak no other language but the words of God Notwithstanding all this he walked not in the law of the Lord with all his heart Jehu's Hypocrisie Sixthly Let us view him in his hypocrisie How close a hypocrite was this seeming-heavenly Iehu Who could discern him to be counterfeit till he came to the touch He had as fair an outside as ever man had yet he was as a whited sepulchre full of dead mens bones within nothing but corruption and deceit lodging in his heart This man's hypocrisie appeared clearly in his dealing with Baal and his priests playing the counterfeit and dissembler with them Now what a case may we think the poor people of God were in in this time of temptation and trouble what could they do but make their complaints to their all-seeing God and Father who they knew would hear their sighs and groans Is not this the case now disputed in these our dissembling times and give an answer full of grace and love Well but when he had discovered himself but to dissemble with Baal and his Priests and to mean otherwise then he at that time pretended how could he shift off the guilt of hypocrisie before the people of God who knew by the experience they had of their own hearts that it could not stand with a sincere spirit with Water-men to look one way and
them to wit c. But before we come to the opening of these words which is our main intendment it 's necessary that we should see what help the whole history of Iehu will afford us to the clearing up of our work That which is requisite for us to observe as to our present business may be brought under these six Heads 1. The time that God took to have this work done in 2. The cause Iehu had committed to him to manage 3. His policy 4. His zeal 5. His profession 6. His hypocrisie First The time the opportunity or season God gave Iehu to do his work in It was as wicked a time as ever was in Israel wherein the poor people groaned under all sorts of Oppressions in their outward man as in the case of Naboth may be seen In things of a spiritual concernment in the Worship of God Baal and the Calves tell what a sad case the poor people of God were in then Prerogative and absolute Soveraignty advanc'd to the highest the Kings will and pleasure above Law as in the case of Naboth's vineyard and may be further seen in the complaint of good Obadiah What have I sinned that thou wouldst deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab to slay me The King's will was grown extreme boundless that a man so neer Ahab's person as Obadiah was Governour over his house so great and powerful a man should be so subject to the imperious fury of his Prince that he should incur the danger of death for a supposed telling of a lye that was the case if he should go and tell Ahab that Elijah was there and the Spirit of the Lord take him and carry him elsewhere and Ahab should not finde him he would slay Obadiah Surely Ahab was an absolute Soveraign had scru'd up Prerogative to the higest pin And this mans wife Iezebel was more absolute then he he rul'd the Kingdom but she rul'd the King for she made him more wicked then he was before that Ieroboam's sins could not serve his turn but he must have an Ahab's sins too She being a Sidonian brought him to worship her Idols and submit to her superstition to serve her gods and her Priests and who rul'd the King now think you Oppression and Superstition were brought up to the highest pitch and that by her means The times thus qualified gave Iehu an easie entrance into this work God order'd it so that the sense of the Oppressions and Superstitions of their Rulers wrought so upon the Souldiers hearts as made them of a willing minde to follow Iehu otherwise it would have been a difficult and hard matter for Iehu to have engaged them against their King * Who was a valiant man for he was wounded his wounds spake forth his valor which vertue is mighty ravishing and taking to the heart of a souldier He had a fit season to do his work in the harvest was ripe and he wisely thrust in his sickle How can he do amiss that hath God to direct him Now look back and behold the countenance of our late times consider our King and Queen the Prelates the Friers and Jesuitical Priests view the temper of the times the ways and courses were taken and you will presently be of my minde and say These two times though at so great a distance of time are complexion'd exceeding like each other and with Solomon thou wilt cry out There 's no new thing under the sun but the present age many times commits the same sins former ages have done and fall under the same punishment and possess the same ruine if they differ in any thing it 's but in the circumstantial aggravations of their sin and so may breed like difference in the effects Secondly for the Cause Jehu had in hand to manage It was as excellent as noble a Cause as ever man had the prosecution of What was it but the execution of God's wrath and vengeance upon his and his peoples enemies and the deliverance of his people from their bondage and oppressions that lay upon them both in matters of Worship and their outward concernments The people of Israel groan'd under the hand of their oppressors as you may read in the story of Naboth and they were compel'd to worship idols in stead of the true God the best whereof were Jeroboams calves characteristically called his sins and the more gross were Baal and other the gods of the heathens Now the Prophet gives Iehu full commission to execute the vengeance of God upon these Tyrants the enemies of God nad his people as you may read in 2 Kings 9.7 8 9 10. The other part of the Cause to wit deliverance and liberty for the people of God to worship the true God is plainly intimated in Chap. 10. vers 31. But Iehu took no heed c. God expected he should walk uprightly before him as David did wherefore did God give him commission to make the house of Ahab like to the house of Ieroboam but to let him know that he expected his turning from Ieroboam's sins as well as Ahab's and that he should take away the peoples oppressions and bondage in matters of Worship as well as in their outward estate Yea one reason why God would have Ahab thus dealt with is that he might avenge the blood of the prophets which blood was shed in defence of the true Worship of God And what was it that made God so wroth with Ieroboam and Baasha but because they made Israel to sin by compelling them to forsake the true God and his Worship 1 King 14.9 10. and 16.2.3 So that it 's clear that the cause Iehu had the managing of was the execution of God's wrath and deliverance of his people from all bondage and oppressions What a neer affinity there is between this Cause of God in these times of Israel and the Cause this present generation have had the managing of for these many yeers last past yea that it 's one and the same is so obvious to every serious eye that it would be but time lost to bring arguments to prove it Thirdly Let us consider the policie of the man view his intellectuals a little and we shall see that according to the received opinion of our times that grace is but a secondary qualification in Rulers and Magistrates natural gifts and accomplishments to be sought after in the first place he was as fit for the Magistracie as any man of that Judgement would fix upon A very embleme of our times This Policie of his discovers it self in divers particulars 1. By a faigned humility his companions without question read something in his countenance whereby they conceived that the matter which was communicated to him was of some importance upon which one of them demands Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee He answers The man you know and his communication you know As much as to say It 's no matter let it alone the thing shall die
row another Why he had his Iehonadabs with him that had a great reputation and esteem for their holiness and sanctity among the people to plead his cause and tell them His meaning and end was good and that it was a wise course for by this means he prevented further opposition that in all likelihood would be made for many of the people without question did cleave to them and he knew he should finde it a more difficult thing to root out Baal and his Priests then Ahab's posterity Superstition makes the heart more stout and sets upon more hazardous and desperate attempts then love to a King or Prince will and so in the quarrel the blood of some others of the people might be shed which were not appointed to destruction It 's a good and commendable thing to prevent shedding of innocent blood and it 's a course of quick dispatch too drawing them into a snare altogether doing that at once which would otherwise take up a great deal of time trouble and difficulty to do and so in stead of furthering the work of God prevent it and make it longer in the birth by creating new troubles and new disturbances among the people and if there were a failing in the way to the accomplishing that good end why failings are incident to the best of men and nothing can be expected perfect here in this world to come from men Excellently pleaded Iehonadab thou shalt have two Crowns or a flap with a Fox tail when Iehu is setled in his kingdom for thy great and faithful services Thus they skin over the sore that it appears not to every eye Well Iehu but this will not serve thy turn thy hypocrisie will be made evident by and by and God will discover thy nakedness and thou shalt know what it is to sin against and provoke the God of heaven and earth to great jealousie and wrath who hath done so much for thee and exalted thee from the dust to govern his people A full discovery of this man's hypocrisie and apostatizing heart we have in the words we have chosen mainly to insist upon and that by undeniable demonstrations When the peoples expectations were full and high and there wanted nothing but a command or license for their going up to Jerusalem to worship behold the golden Calves stood in the way and hindered Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin Jehu departed not from after them to wit the golden Calves that were in Bethel and that were in Dan. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the Law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam which made Israel to sin Poor Jehu could go no further in stead of going to the true God he runs to his golden Calves and takes up his resting-place there Why because that notwithstanding all his glorious outward appearance he had not the root of the matter in him and his heart not being of a heavenly nature what should he do there or in the ways that lead effectually to it Therefore it was most sutable to him to abide here belowe amidst the vanities of a depraved world Jeroboam's sins that Jehu departed not from That so we may be acquainted with the minde of God in this Scripture it 's necessary for us to enquire and consider First What these sins of Jeroboam are that Jehu departs not from Secondly The aggravations of this mans sins beyond those that went before him Thirdly The reason why Jeroboam and this Jehu would not depart from their sin For the first What those sins of Jeroboam are that Jehu answered not the expectation of God in departing from We shall consider them 1. More generally 2. More particularly First more generally which relate to Jehu more particularly then to Jeroboam â—s not this sin â—ritten in large â—haracters in â—ur foreheads 1. Cleaving to the sins of his fore-fathers He departed not from the sins of Ieroboam the son of Nebat yea though they were such as became national sins through their imposition upon the people yet from them he would not turn and this became a sin c. because his predecessor Ieroboam had set up Political bounds of his kingdom beyond which the people should not go to worship at Jerusalem that so he might secure the kingdom to himself and because there was so much reason of State for it therefore he would run the hazard of the hot displeasure and wrath of God against him rather then venture the loss of his kingdom in his carnal and unbelieving apprehensions Saith he If the Calves be taken away those ancient Political bounds and fortresses of the kingdom then shall the kingdom return to the house of David and I what shall I do How then shall I reap the fruit of my labours and enjoy the purchase of my hardships and dangers that I have run into and blood that I have shed No all will be lost if once I go over this bank and pull down this hedge Indeed Iehu went as far as can be expected for a hypocrite to do he went to the very borders of heaven there was but one thing wanting he could not overcome his worldly interest and live by faith upon God for the disposal of that and so he made this world his god all that provok'd God should go down but that Baasha's and Ahab's sins too but when once Ieroboam's sin came to be medled with that touch'd him to the quick it was of so neer concernment as he thought to his kingdom Do any thing but that I would please God and do his will but I must not lose my kingdome My outward worldly interest is very dear to me I pray spare that Unbelief will carry a man though he be never so outwardly glorious in profession to the greatest precipices of apostatizing danger And is not this the very picture of our times How zealous were we many years for God! and pull'd down all before us that stood in our way we pull'd down and utterly destroyed Ahab and his whole house and left none remaining but now we are gotten to the Calves and alas they are golden ones have a great deal of good gold in them it 's pity to destroy them We pull'd down King and House of Lords yea and Commons too and pull'd down many gross Tyrannies in Worship and Commonwealth yet now how is our heat and zeal cool'd with Iehu's We can go no further Oh if we do we shall bring all things into confusion we say The kingdom will be lost presently And I could wish this gall of bitterness were not at the bottom of many glorious professors hearts saying Lest the son of David come to reign over us The sins of the generation before us we explode but the old sins of the Ancients Ieroboam's sins those inventions they made to maintain their kingdom those foundations that they laid for their children to
build upon and which were so notably built upon as had not an Almighty providence prevented the seed of the Serpent had utterly destroyed and devoured the seed of the woman in our Land these are the darlings these would some in our days have pull'd up by the roots and so have made thorow-work of it but they are not permitted and that upon strong reasons of State too You will then bring all into confusion presently we must go prudently and wisely to work and do things more gradually otherwise we shall lose all If you pull up the foundation will not the building necessarily fall to pieces But doth not this dilemma say You would not have the son of David to reign And is not this â—ur darling Secondly Iehu's sin was cleaving to rules of State-policie and he obeyed not the minde and will of God in his present generation It was policie of State that set up those golden Calves to secure the kingdom and he made it appear it was his opinion That all the Laws of God and men were to stoop to Reason of State and that Princes have a latitude beyond all men given them by God that as gods they may by the implicite Laws of their own brest do their will and pleasure and although they break all the Laws of God and Nature yet they are righteous still And why Why forsooth they will tell you it's reason of State to prevent an extraordinary unpresidented evil that hangs over our heads ready to fall upon us and such must have extraordinary and unusual remedies otherwise the Ant will be too hard for the Lion and his power majestie and great glory will be tumbled into the dust But what became of all this policie what was the fruit of it why it brought ruine upon him and his house as the story evidences He that seeks his life shall lose it by the very same evil ways that men take to secure themselves in their state their ruine shall inevitably come all their craft and cunning shall not be able to prevent it Iehu kept his kingdom for a while but he was not beholden one jot to his wicked policie for it but to the abundant mercy of God who would not let him go unrewarded for his so great service in destroying the house of Ahab and Baal out of Israel Because thou hast done that which is right in mine eyes c. he should have the kingdom to the fourth generation a little while and what comes then nothing but utter ruine and destruction And the Lord said unto him Hos 1.4 Call his name Jezreel for yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu Consider this O England's Princes and tremble lest God make you a by-word and a hissing to the Nations round about you State-policie reason of State ruin'd this when time was Saint-like Iehu Give God your whole hearts and he will give you the whole possessions of the Lord Jesus purchased by his blood But Secondly more particularly to set down what those sins of Ieroboam are that Iehu would not depart from We have a full description of them in 1 King 12. vers 28. to the end of the Chapter and they were First Idolatry withdrawing the people from the true God telling them that the golden calves were their Gods that brought them out of the land of Egypt Secondly Putting the true Priests from their service and making Priests or Ministers of the lowest of the people Thirdly Devising a new worship for these calves their golden Gods For the first IDOLATRY A sin so provoking unto God as that it had cost the Israelites their utter ruine at their first commission of it had they not had a faithful Mediator to plead their cause with God Exod. 32.10 11. a sin that deprived them of the presence of God Exod. 33.3 a sin against which there is so much wrath of God pronounced by all the Prophets and of which God had much complained how it grieved his holy Spirit and provok'd him to anger yet nothing would warn Jeroboam nor Jehu but for the love of this world the honours vanities thereof they would stick by it no perswasion would move them to depart from it Behold saith Jeroboam thy Gods O Israel c. as if he had said and Jehu's actions spake the same language these Calves had wrought those wonderful revolutions as had then happened to Israel that there was no more of a deity manifested in them then was in these calves a prophane speech making it evident Ieroboam's God was the God of this world the Devil having shewn him the glory of this world he falls down worships him that so it may be his portion to enjoy it thus Ieroboam and so Iehu drew the people from their God by preaching to them when their expectations were raised high great after their going up to Jerusalem to worship and that upon apprehensions of an Almighty and extraordinary providence of God bringing things so marvelously about giving such extraordinary success to their proceedings that this apprehension of theirs was but a fancy as great things had been done for by others as these and as great revolutions had been made in the world in times of old and yet all things remain as you see as at the beginning and by such-like Arguments as these perswade the people from their belief of the Omnipotency and faithfulness of God in performing his promises and so bring them by this means to submit to their innovations and usurpations being thus blinded not being able to see by faith God's making bare his arm bending his bow sharpening his arrows and whetting his sword to fulfil his promises made to his chosen ones And surely it 's too too evident that we are after these mens example running to our old Idolatry onely new gilded over with specious pretences and under another form the serpent the old dragon having furnished us with a new mold to cast our Image in and helping us by his wisdom to bring our old calves into the new fashion If we have done all that God hath commanded what means this bleating of the sheep and lowing of the oxen no but in stead of pulling down and taking away the remainders of Idolatry we are setting up new Idols under other and more specious pretences every way of our own invention though it be never so good in it self to never so righteous an end yet if it be not of Gods appointment it 's Idolatry it 's superstition will-worship and it may justly be asked Who required this at your hands surely God did not but your Idolatrous calvish hearts that are full of many inventions Secondly Taking away the true Ministers of God in his worship and making other Priests of the lowest of the people this was another of Jeroboams heinous sins that Jehu departed not from having taken away the worship of God he takes away his Ministers
he made Solomons prayer he should have had Solomons return and had been a ruler after Gods own heart as David was and so have been made partaker of Davids full enjoyments of God in his Ordinances But 2. To be a ruler over the Lords people it 's of great advantage for what was he not able to do by their mighty power and force in faith and prayer If we look into the Scripture and see what wonderful things have been done by the faith and prayers of the Lords people we cannot but say of a truth Iehu had as great an advantage to become a second Solomon for wisdom not State-policy a second David for valour and might in conquering enemies as ever man had It 's more to be ruler over the Lords people then to be Emperor of the whole world besides to be ruler over the Lords people that have the mighty and faithful God so neerly and strongly tied and bound to them by so many great irrevocable and infallible promises as he hath made to them in his word and hath so often sworn the certainty and truth of them with the highest and greatest oath a people that have done and are still able to do such mighty and wonderful things by faith and prayer yea had done such great wonders before this Iehu's eyes witness the acts of Elijah Elisha and many other of the Lords Prophets in those dayes to be ruler over such a people what greater thing could be done for a man on earth what greater advantage over the world could be given to him Yet against all this Jehu sins though God made him ruler over his people to these and these ends and purposes and thereby gives him so many and great advantages yet he steers a contrary course in stead of leading the people to Jerusalem to worship he leads them to his calves at Dan and Bethel instead of pulling down all those inventions of their own which provoked God to so great wrath he pulls down onely those new more gross inventions which he could with no credit nor any the least shadow of conscience keep up but the old ancient fundamental bounds and limits of an Idolatrous kingdom Jeroboam's sins they must stand still and keep the people of God from going up to Jerusalem to worship from behaving themselves like the Lords people when God had carried himself so like a gracious God towards them they must stand still for the same reason and upon the same account they were first invented All that God had done for Jehu did not convince his dark minde nor his hard Idolatrous heart of the folly of those things and the reason on which they were founded nor of the equity safety happiness honour and glory that there was in and to be found in obeying the will of the Lord in leading his people up to Jerusalem to worship in Gods own appointments Now truely we need not Diogenes lantern and candle to finde out that man whom God hath made taller by the head and shoulders then the rest of his brethren and made leader of his people in this our day who hath led the people of the Lord on prosperously to the destruction of our Ahabs c. on whom the eyes of the Lords people have been fixed even to high and great expectations of the performance of many vows and promises and when we have found him shall we not see him taking up his station among the calves those antient inventions that our fore-Fathers found out to maintain an Idolatrous-kingdom and making them his own and if so will he not make that great wrath and punishment God hath so often entail'd upon them his own too shall we not behold him leading the people back again into those wayes to redeem his people out of which God hath made bare such a mighty arm of power and providence and it 's my prayer that our eager marching back towards Egypt may not hurry us to the brink of the red-sea ere we make a stand A sixth aggravation of Jehu's sin was His deceiving Gods expectations But Jehu took no heed to walk in the way of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart Saith God I have done thus and thus for Jehu anointed him King over Israel honoured him in executing my judgements upon mine enemies by him and because he hath done all that was in my heart against the house of Ahab mine and my peoples enemies I have given him the kingdom and now I expected he should have brought forth fruit answerable to my kindness with all his heart But Jehu took no heed to that Will not the loving kindness of thy God work upon thee O Jehu what will then Love in its effects is like the Sun it either softens or hardens one of these two are the inseparable effects of its influences Whether wilt thou be hardened with Pharaoh and drowned in the Red-sea or softened with Hezekiah and have thy dayes prolonged canst thou remember the goodness of God to thee and bring forth no hearty fruit answerable to his expectations but deceive him totally Well Jehu thou wilt repent of this when it is too late I fear How have we in our dayes been guilty of this deceiving the expectations of our God in not in any measure answering the mercies of our God What returnes have we made to him for his mercy at Naseby Dunbar Worcester and many other places Yea such is the deceit and hypocrisie of our hearts that we cannot tell how to perform those LITTLE VOWES that the glory of those mercies extorted from us in the present ravishment of our hearts with their glorious beauty The Seventh and last aggravation of Jehu's sin is necessarily implied in the words that it was against all the faith and prayers of the people of God Can it be supposed that such a man as Jehu was so full of holy profession so outwardly zealous for God and the performance of his word who would not have one tittle of it fall to the ground should not such a man as this have a large-share in the hearts of Gods people and so in their faith and prayer and yet to deceive them and sin against these What mighty sins were these sins of Jehu's guilty of such aggravations surely the sins of Corah Dathan and Abiram were but Pigmies to these Giants if their sins opened the earth to the swallowing them up alive certainly the head of these reach heaven it self and cry aloud for veangeance and wrath And may not our Jehu's cry guilty here too what faith what confidence of Gods performing his promises now to the latter ages of the world what a spirit of prayer hath been amongst the people of God in these dayes by beholding the glorious out-goings of God in his providences and his beginning to execute his wrath upon Babylon the kingdom of the Beast and have not you sinned against these consider it have not you frustated and deceived the expectations of the people of