condition that God hath brought us to to have these liberties and ordinances according to his own way but within a while we may say as the Apostle to the Galatians Where is the blessednesse you spake of They would have pulled out their eyes for Paul What is become of all now All their beauty glory is quite damped let us take heed that when our hearts seem to be raised and mightily affected with mercies we do not soon loose our vigour heat It hath been so with England when they have had fresh mercies at first they rejoyced in them exceedingly I have read of the City of Berne when they were first delivered from Antichrist they wrote the day of their deliverance upon pillars with letters of gold Was it not so with us here in England I will only instance in that deliverance upon the fifth of November how mightily was both King and Parliament affected with it their hearts were exceedingly up then there was blessing God for their deliverance from Papists then there were prayers and thanksgivings set forth and in them this expression against Popery Whose faith is faction whose Religion is rebellion whose practice is murthering of soules and bodyes When the mercy was fresh how did their spirits worke then they profest against all kinde of Popery Reade but the Proclamation about the solemnity of that time and the expressions of the prayers then set forth and one would have thought verily then that Popery should never have prevailed in England again who would ever have thought it possible that a Popish Army should ever have had any countenance in England more Certainly if a Popish Army had been raised at that time when mens hearts were so up all the people of the land if it had been but with clubs would have risen and beaten them to pieces It is so with many young people when God first beginneth to worke upon their hearts O how are they for God! then their spirts are mightily up for Christ Psal 90. 14. O satisfie us early with thy mercies and then we shall be glad and rejoyce all the dayes of our lives It is a sweet thing when the latter part of that prayer followeth when God satisfieth young people with his mercy and that satisfaction abideth so as they rejoyce all the dayes of their lives afterward The Lord doth many times satisfie young ones with his mercy but they quickly grow dead and cold and their hearts are soone hardned and polluted and they doe not rejoyce all the dayes of their lives Another Observation that restored and recovered mercies are very sweet and precious mercies They shall sing as in the dayes of their youth They were once in a blessed sweet singing condition they had lost it but now God promiseth to recover them Iob 29. 2. O that I were as in months past as in the dayes when God preserved me when his candle shined upon my head and when by his light I warlked thorough darknesse as I was in the dayes of my youth when the secret of God was upon my Tabernacle Iob desireth this earnestly that he might have restored recovered mercies What a happy condition should I be in then saith he if it were now with me as in the dayes of my youth May not many in this place say so God hath been gracious to them in former dayes he hath given many sweet manifestations of his love many soule-ravishing communications of himself unto them but how have they lost them They may well say O that it were with us as in the dayes of our youth Oh that God would restore to us what mercy we once had what a blessed condition should we be in then But God here giveth a gracious promise that he will restore them that he will give them that which is the petition of David Psa 51. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation Lord I have lost it O that I might have it againe How happy should I be So Ps 132. 1. By the Rivers of Babylon there we sat down yea we wept there when we remembred Zion we hanged our harps upon the willowes They were in this sad condition but if one should have come to them and have said what will you say if you shall be restored againe and goe to Zion to Jerusalem againe and have songs there as much and as delightfull as before their hearts could not have held in them This mercy would be like that wine mentioned Cant. 7. 9. that is so sweet that it causeth the lips of those that are asleepe to speake If there be any life left such a mercy will raise and actuate it Psal 126. 1. 2. When the Lord turned againe the captivity of Zion our mouthes were filled with laughter and our tongues with singing when God granted them a recovered mercy As a poore prodigal that hath left his fathers house and afterward is come to beggery and misery and is under bondage is almost starved he sitteth down under a hedg wringing his hands falleth a lamenting the losse of his Fathers house and considering what comfort he had in his Fathers presence cryeth out of his folly and madnesse but if one should come and say to him what will you say if your Father should be reconciled to you and send for you home and promise to put you in as comfortable a condition as ever O how would this cause singing in his heart Thus God promiseth to his people that he would restore them to that singing condition they had lost They shall sing as in the dayes of their youth That which made this mercy so sweet was because it was a promised mercy Hence this Note Promised mercies are sweet mercies Luke 16. 61. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people and hath raised up a home of salvation to us in the house of his servant David as he spake by the mouth of all his Prophets And ver 77. To performe the mercy promised there is the cause of singing Blessed be the Lord God of Israel that hath performed the mercy promised Giving out of a promise is sweet to a gracious heart it can sing then much more sweet is the promise when it cometh to be fulfilled 2 Chron. 20. 17. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord there is the promise Mark now how Jehosaphat and the people were affected with the promise And Jehosaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground and all Iudah and the Inhabitants of Ierusalem fell before the Lord worshipped the Lord. And the Levites and the child en of the Koathites the children of the Korhites shall stand up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voyce on high And ver 21. He appointed singers unto the Lord that should praise the beauty of holinesse and to say Praise the Lord for his mercy endureth for ever Jehosâ—phat had not got the promise fulfilled it was only
heard him quietly till he came to that word Depart for I wil send thee far hence unto the Gentiles the Text saith they gave him audience unto this word and then they lift up their voices said Away with such a fellow from the earth for it is not fit that he should live What to disgrace us thus and to think that the Gentiles should come to have more mercie then we Away with such a fellow from the earth We have such an expression likewise in Luke 4. 26. Our Saviour Christ told the Jews of the Widow of Sarepta that Elias the Prophet was sent onely to her and that Naaman the Syrian of all the Lepers in Israel was cleansed They of the Synagogue when they heard these things the Text saith They were filled with wrath and rose up and thrust him out of the Citie and led him to the edge of the hill whereon their Citie was built that they might cast him down head-long They were so vexed at Christs Sermon there that they could have broke his neck as soon as hee had done preaching It was at this word There were many Widows in Israel in the time of Elias but unto none of them was Elias sent save unto the Widow of Sarepta many lepens were in Israel in the daies of Elisha and none of them were clensed saving Naaman the Syrian The meaning is this Christ intimated thus much that though there were many of the people of Israel yet the Lord would have mercy but upon a few of them yea that God would choose rather other people to shew mercy to then themselves at this they were inraged And certainly this wil be the aggravation of the misery of the damned in hell When a damned soul in hell shall there come to know the mercy of God to others It may be wicked parents shal see their children that came out of their loyns or out of their wombes at the right hand of Iesus Christ in glory and themselves cast down into eternal torment this will be a stinging aggravation of misery no mercy unto thee but mercy unto thy gracious child the child that thou snibbedst and rebukedst for being forward he is now at the right hand of Christ thou cast into everlasting misery So it may be a poor servant a poor boy in a family may stand at the right hand of Iesus Christ hereafter and ascend with him in glory and his rich Master that was that murmured at him would not suffer him to have the least time for to do God service in but checked him in every thing and cast it upon his conscience oh this is your preciseness perhaps he sees himself cast down into eternal misery when that poor servant of his that poor apprentise shall go up to eternal glory But yet further God saith I will have mercy upon the house of Judah Here is another note very observable much concerning our present condition too God promiseth to Judah mercy after Israels rejection yet if we search the Scriptures we shal find that after this promise both before the rejection of Israel was executed and after the execution thereof I say we shal finde that even Judah was under very sore afflictions and a sad condition she was put into after this promise was made As if you will turn but to that Scripture for we must look to one Scripture and compare it with another 2 Chron 28. 6. you shall see there the Text saith that Pekah the Son of Remaliah slew in Iudah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day We never heard of such a battel such a slaughter wee wonder when we hear of five or ten thousand slain in the field here we have 120000. slaine and this was after this promise that this slaughter was made yea further ver 8. There were besides carried captives 200000. women sons and daughters yea further ver 17 The Edomites came and had smitten some of Iudah and carried away captives And ver 18. The Philistims had invaded the Citties of the Low-country and of the south of Iudah and they dwelt there And ver 19. it is said the Lord brought Iudah low And ver 20. it is said that Tilgath-Pilneser King of Assyria whom Ahas had sent to help him he came distressed them but strengthened them not Here was Pekah the son of Remaliah slayes 120000 and carries away captive 200000. then there comes the Philistims and they invaded the countrey and then the Edomites they carried away Captives and God bringeth them low and then comes Tilgath-Pilneser and he instead of helping distressed them What a case were they in now yet this was after this promise for this promise was made to Judah in the beginning of Hosea's Prophesie for it is ver 2. The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea and it was before the rejection of Israel for it was in the reigne of Ahas that Judah was brought into this low condition which was about 22. yeers before the execution of the sentence against Israel for that was fulfilled in the sixth yeere of the reigne of Hezekiah which if you take it from the beginning of the reigne of Ahaz who reigned 16. yeers make 22. yeers Now this promise to Iudah as I told you in the beginning was made in the dayes of Vzziah King of Iudah and of Jeroboham King of Israel which was at least 76. yeeres before the rejection of Israel and yet after the making of this promise Judah you see cometh to be in this so sad a condition Yea and wee shall finde besides that presently after Israels rejection though God had said he would reject Israel and be mercifull to Judah so that a man would think now that Iudah should come into a better condition than ever yet see how Iudah was dealt with And for that marke the 2. king 18. 13. the Text saith that in the thirteenth yeer of Hezekiah Senacherib king Assyria came up against Judah and this was after the casting off of the ten Tribes for that was in the sixth yeer of Hezekiah as ver 10. and seven yeers after came Senacherib against Iudah thinking to prevaile against them as they had done before against Israel and then Hezekiah was faine to give him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the Kings house Yea the Text saith ver 16. that Hezekiah was faine to cut off all the gold from the doores of the Temple of the Lord from the pillars and to give it to the King of Assyria Now the Lord keepe our Kingdom our Parliament from giving the gold of the Temple doores in any way of compliance with any malignant party that have any evil eye at the beauty of our Sion Yea after Senacherib had gotten this not content with it he sendeth Rabshekah from Lachish with a great host against Ierusalem You may see the adversaries of the Church are never
〈◊〉 behold Jerusalem a quiet habitation then we should be will 〈…〉 hold Simeon to say Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy salvation Marke then what followes a quiet habitation a tabernacle that shall not be taken down nor one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken but there the glory of God will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streames wherein shal no galley with oare neither shal gallant Ship passe thereby The kingdoms of the world though they seem to be built upon mountaines yet God will tosse them up and down and they shall come to nothing but the Church when it is made a quiet habitation observe it though it be but a tabernacle set upon stakes yet this tabernacle shall not be taken downe nor one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed though it be tyed by lines yet not a cord thereof shal be broken Yea in this the glory of the Church doth consist for so saith the Text there when it is a quiet habitation the glory of God shall be there God shall dwell among them as a glorious God No Church more honourable then the Church of Philadelphia for that is the Church the Adversaries must come and bow before Rev. 3. 9. and that Church carryeth Brotherly love in the very name of it for so it signifies Cant. 6. 9. My dove my undefiled is but one the onely one of her mother What followeth The daughters saw her and blessed her yea the Queens and the Concubines and they praised her When Christs dove and undefiled comes once to be but one the daughters shall see her and blesse her Esay 11. 7. 8. c. There you have a promise of Judah and of Ephraims joyning together Mark what followes Chap. 12. 1. In that day thou shalt say O Lord I will praise thee Observe In that day And again ver 4. In that day shall you say Praise the Lord proclaime his Name declare his doings among the people make mention that his name is exalted Sing unto the Lord for he hath done excellent things cry out and shout thou inhabitant of Zion Then indeed God doth excellent things when he makes Ephraim and Judah come to be but one Therefore saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 12. 31. Yet shew I unto you a more excellent way What is that way In the Chapter following he falls upon the commendation of Love where you have the highest commendation of it that is in all the book of God that is the more excellent way Cant. 3. 9. There the Church is compared to the Charet of Solomon The pillars of it saith the Text were all of silver the bortome thereof gold the covering of it of purple and the middest thereof being paved with love Then indeed doth the Church ride in triumph in her Charet when there is much love and peace in the midst of it It is true my brethren considering the weakenesse and peevishnesse of mens spirits yea of good men as well as evil we may wonder how ever this shall come to passe Is it possible that this shall ever be so Indeed it must be a mighty work of God to do it We must not think to effect it by strugling one with another and to say 〈◊〉 will make them be at peace and unity or they shall smaâ—◠〈…〉 pull them together by Law This will not do it 〈…〉 for the accomplishing of this great thing Ier. 33. 3. Thus 〈…〉 Call unto me and I will answer thee and shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not What are those great and mighty things that we must call to God for Amongst others this is one principal one ver 7. I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to returne and will build them as at the first and so make them bochone And then ver 9. It shall be to me a name of joy a praise an honour before all the Nations of the earth when they shall heare of all the good that I doe unto them Marke joy praise honour yea a name of joy praise honour followes upon this blessed union and that before all the Nations of the earth For the accomplishment of this Come Lord Jesus come quickely Yet let us further observe the difference between the scattering of the wicked and the scattering of the Saints Judah Israel they were scattered but now they shall be gathered together There is a great deale of difference between the scattering of the Saints and the scattering of the wicked When God scatters the Saints he scatters them that they may be gathered when he scatters the wicked hee scatters them that he may destroy them Psal 68. 1. Let God arise and let his enemies be scattered How scattered As smoake is driven away so drive them away Smoake you know is driven away and scattered so as it comes to nothing Psal 144. 6. Cast forth lightning and scatter them shoote out thine Arrowes and destroy them This is the scattering of the wicked but as for the Saints they may be scattered but it is to spread abroad the gospell by them in the world Acts 8. 4. The Text saith They that were scattered abroad by reason of the persecution of Saul went every where preaching the word but within a while our God shall come and all his Saints with him and hee will gather together the out-casts of Israel with abundance of mercy so Micah 46. In that day saith the Lord I will gather her that is driven out her that I have afflicted and Esay 54. 7. For a time for a small moment have I forsaken thee but with great mercies I will gather thee God will gather his people with great mercyes God hath my brethren fulfilled this in a great part in our eyes even this day Many of those that were driven out of their places and Countryes those that were afflicted and those the land could not beare God hath gathered together these out-casts of Israel Let every one take heed how he hinders this worke of the Lord and how he addeth affliction to those that have been afflicted Again further They shall be gathered together in that day That is in the time of the Gospel when that shall prevail then Judah and Israel shall be gathered together Then The more the Gospel prevailes the more peace there shall be The Gospel is not the cause of divisions then of seditions of factions No It is a gospell of peace the Prince of it is a Prince of peace the Ambassage of it is an Ambassage of peace It is next unto blasphemy if not blasphemy it selfe to say that since the preaching and profession of the Gospel we had no peace but it causes act 〈…〉 and divisions among the people It is true people that are in the darke 〈…〉 and quiet together as it is said of the Egyptians
seed of God a great day 1. They are the seed of God The seed of the blessed and there is a blessing in them They are the precious seed that God preserves in the world hath done ever since the beginning of the world They are that seed that preserveth the glory of God in the world Were it not for a few gracious holy people in the world where would the glory of God be What would become of it Those that are godly however contemptible in the world they are the precious seed that God reserves in the world for great and glorious ends They are the seed to preserve the continuation of the Doctrine of the Gospell and the blessed truths of God as Isa 6. 13. The holy seed shall be the substance thereof Though they shall be under great afflictions yet there shall be a holy seed that shall be the substance thereof and there shall be his blessing Psal 72. 17. His name shall endure from generation to generation the words are read by Montanus His name shall be childed that is so continued as families are continued one generation after another one begetteth another and so shall the name of Christ continue in the world and so it hath done And though seed be but a handfull in comparison of the harvest so the Saints of God then were and yet are but as a handfull in comparison of the glorious harvest that shall be yet they are very precious before God and God will make the world hereafter know that they are the precious ones of God Isa 61. 9. All that see them shall acknowledge them that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed Seed you know a man will be carefull of that what ever becomes of his other corne In the time of dearth the husbandman wil rather pinch his own belly then have his seed-corne to be spent So in times of common calamity of common dearth yet Gods care is over his seed the Saints are as I may say Gods seed-corne to preserve his name in the world to other generations that are to come he will not therefore have them destroyed Seed is the most precious of the corne which is most winnowed and made cleane and so are the Saints the cleane ones and the most precious ones God perhaps doth winnow them and fanne them more than he doth others by the fannes and winnows of afflictions why because they are his seed Perhaps other corne that hath drosse in it the husband-man will give the fowles and the cattell that he bestoweth not much winnowing upon it but the corne that is for seed he winnows that he would not willingly have a dernell amongst it It may be thou complainest thou art more winnowed more fanned then other men perhaps thou art more precious in Gods eyes thou art to be reserved as seed as the seed of the blessed The wicked indeed they are seed too but a corrupt seed a seede of evill deers Esay 1. the grand-father was an enemy unto God yea the great grand-father and the father and the children after him continue enemies to God And God in mercy unto his Church doth many times cut downe the wicked before they do seed too much As you that have gardens if they have weeds in them and you see the weeds come up and grow to seed you think then that it is time to pull them up you will not suffer them to seed God lookes upon many families and sees wretched and sinfull men as a seed of evil doers and sees they are ready to seed and if they be not cut down suddenly there will be a wretched brood of wicked ones in such a family This is the reason of Gods suddain cutting down of many wicked families But to come to the point that is chiefly intended that is That this seed of the Lord shall have a great day Great shall be the day of Jezreel The men of the world they have their day in which they ruffle it out and they have all the doings Saint Paul seemes to speake of this in 1 Cor. 4. 3. he saith there that he did not passe for mans judgement the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for mans day Now men have the day they have all the bravery in the world well saith Saint Paul I doe not passe formans day I expect another day besides mans day I know not how it commeth to passe to be otherwise translated you translate it judgement in your books but in the Originall it is day Man hath a day As men have a day so shall Gods Saints have a day too Wee use to say many times when we see the Malignant party jocund and merry surely they hope to have a day My brethren be joyfull in the Lord God hath a day for you and a great day too Great shall be the day of Jezreel The beginning of Gods mercy to his people is called a day of small things Zach. 4. 10. and that must not be despised Let no man despise the day of small things It was the beginning of the reformation and deliverance of the people of Judah from their captivity But God hath a day of great things and certainly that day shall be honorable A day first in which the glory of God shall exceedingly appear wherein God shal be as I may so speak with holy reverence as it were in his robes As we know Princes upon great dayes put on their robes so the King of glory shall have a day for his people wherein even he himself will put on his robes Ps 102. 16. When the Lord shall build up Zion he shall appear in his glory It seemeth while the Church is in affliction while the witnesses prophesie in sack-cloath God is as it were cloathed in sack-cloath In all their afflictions he is afflicted but because God hath a day a great day to his Churches he will reserve his robes till then and when that day commeth he will put on his robes for when he shall build up Zion saith the Text then the Lord shall appeare in his glory A great day it shall be for Jezreel for the seed of the Lord. Secondly It shall be a great day for this day shall be the riches of the world Marke that place in Rom. 11. 12 speaking of the Jews If their fall saith he be the riches of the world and their diminishing the riches of the Gentiles how much more their fulness It was a rich mercy to the Gentiles when they were brought out of darknesse and called into the knowledge of Jesus Christ here was riches to the world of the Gentiles But God hath a greater day then that for it is spoken here of a day that is to come that is their fall was the riches of the Gentiles much more their calling in again So then there is such a day of calling home the people of God as shall be the riches of the Gentiles the riches of all the world
time a new world and when we speak of the other world we call it the old world so the Scripture calls it 2 Pet. 2. 5. God spared not the old world And Chap. 3. 6. The world that then was being overflowed with water perished So this world that we live in is as the old world and there is this day of Jezreel in which there shall be such a glorious change all things being put in subjection under Christ that it shall be as it were a new world God hath made an excellent world in which there is much beauty and glory and yet his enemies have the rule here what then will that world be that God intends for his Saints 8. Great shall be the day of Jezreel It shall be such a great day that all former things shall be even forgotten because of the lustre and glory of that great day As Isa 65. 17. The former heavens and the former earth shall not be remembred nor come into mind And so Jer. 3. 16. In those dayes saith the Lord they shall say no more the Arke of the Covenant of the Lord neither shall it come to minde neither shal they remember it at that time they shal call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord and all the nations shal be gathered unto it to the name of the Lord to Jerusalem neither shal they walk any more after the imagination of their evil hearts mark my brethren In those dayes the house of Judah shall walke together ver 18. It is apparent that it is spoken of this great day of Iezreel for now God saith he will gather Iudah and Israel together and here he saith that they shall walke together and that then former things shall be forgotten they shall call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord heretofore even the Temple it self the glory of Jerusalem was but as the place of Gods feet and the Arke of God was but Gods footstool 1 Chron. 28. 2. It was in mine heart saith David to build a house of rest for the Arke of the Covenant of the Lord and for the footstoole of our God and Isa 60. 13. I will make Zion the place of my feet glorious But now in this great day Jerusalem that was but Gods foot stool the place of his feet shall be Gods Throue a great day certainly this shall be when all things shall be thus forgotten In the last place a great day because it shall be a day after which there shal be no night And that you will say will be a great day indeed after which the Saints shall be raised to such a state of prosperity and happiness that shall never fall again that shall never come to be darkened any more The Churches here many times have had some little release they have had their dayes of peace for a while but it hath soone grown to be night and a dismall night of darkness But when this great day shall come it shall be a day that shall never have night for so God promiseth here to his Jezreel to make it to be an eternal excellency and to make Jerusalem an everlasting joy and Dan. 2. 44. God shall in the dayes of those Kings set up a Kingdom that shall never be destroyed that is the great day of Jezreel The first thing that shall be done in this great day of Iezreel shall be the deliverance of the Churches from wofull affliction which they shal be found to be in a little before For so the Scripture tells us Dan. 12. 1. that before this day there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time and at that time thy people shall be delivered I might tell you much how some of the Ancients have spoken of this that though it be a point that seemes to be somewhat strange to us yet it was one of the most ordinariest things that was known in the primitive times It was then so generally acknowledged that I remember Just in Martyr who was but 30. years after Saint John hath such an expression as this There is no man saith he that is of the Orthodox faith in all things but he doth acknowledge it And Lactantius in his 7. book cap. 15. 24. 28. and divers other chapters he spends in shewing the glory of this great day of Iezreel but withall he shewes that a little before there shall be most grievous times that shal fall out such times saith he as that all right shall be confounded the law shall perish no body shall know what is his own the wicked they shal have the preheminence the Saints they shall be persecuted so that saith he though in this our time wickednesse is grown to such a height that a man would think it could increase no higher yet in comparison of the time a little before that great day these times may be called Golden ages These expressions he hath So that great times of affliction will be before that great day and it is therefore called a great day because God appearing so gloriously in the deliverance of his Church at that day The Scripture speakes of wonderfull thing that God will do and shew himself marvaylous as he did in the people of Israels comming out of Egâ—â—t Who knowes but that God now sendeth abroad so much of the light of his Gospel and is so working in the hearts of men and giveth us such a time of reviving and calleth home so many young ones as he doth purposely because this great day is at hand and because before this day wee may have a day of dismall darkenesse and by this he will prepare people for those times God will have a great seed that he intends to be in the world therefore so many young people are converted and are so forward because I say God meanes to prepare them by this light that we now have for this seed for this great day And you that are young may expect to go thorow some difficulties hardship before this great day comes but be of good comfort you may hope to live to see all the glory of this great day and God gives you now time that you may lay up and be fit seed for such a glorious day as this that you may not when sufferings come be found among the number of the fearfull ones spoken of in Rev. 21. 8. that shal have their part in the lake which burneth with fire brimstone Those that through base cowardliness and complyance shall yeeld to base vile superstitious vanities shall be cast out amongst dogs when that great day comes God now gives you a day that you may see the evil of superstitious vanities that you may have truths revealed to you with more freedom then formerly I say who knowes but this may be to prepare you for that darknesse that may come a little before this great day of Jezreel Secondly a great day in subduing the adversaries
the Church set out by the Jewish way of Feasts though there be mention of the Passeover and new moones and Sabbaths and of the Feast of Tabernacles yet there is no mention of the Feast of Pentecost no mention of keeping a Feast for blessing God for these things Not but that they should doe so but that their hearts should be so carryed up with abundance of spirituall mercies that then all for Christ and for heaven and for eternity their hearts should be wholly set upon spirituall things 7. It was a great ingagement to them to use the creatures when in the first beginning they had dedicated them unto God and in the conclusion of harvest they had solemnized his mercy in giving them the creatures For God did thereby teach them that they might be further engaged to use all creatures for his service As it is a mighty engagement to any man if God give him a heart to dedicate the beginning of a mercy unto God and when he hath got the mercy fulfilled then in a solemne manner he blesseth God for it to make use of this mercy for Gods honour Certainly the reason why many are so loose in their conversations and doe not employ the creatures of God to his glory is because they do not in a solemn manner blesse God for that they enjoy As in your trading suppose you have some comfortable Incomes perhaps you take these comforts and thanke God in a slight manner for them how doe you use them afterwards onely for your selves and for the flesh But when you heare of Incomes of riches flowing in upon you if you can then presently take the first Fruits and give some part to Gods service as a testimony of thankfulnesse and in your families and closets in a solemne manner give God the glory for the good successe you have had in your estate this will be a mighty ingagement to you to use your estates for his service 8. Mark at the first in their preparation they were to bring but a sheafe but afterward Levit. 23. 17. they were to bring two loaves in the first they were to offer one he-lambe without blemish but afterward seven lambes a young bullocke and two Rams c. both burnt-offerings and sinne-offerings and peace-offerings when they had received the full harvest Thence learne though you be forward to give God glory when you are young the first fruit of your years yet when you come to be old you should flourish in the Courts of Gods house First they offered but a little unto God afterward abundance Doe you so I appeale to all old men that are here this day if God did give you any heart to give up your young years to him blesse God for it but now when you are old are you as forward as ever you were You ought to be not onely so but much more abundant in the work of the Lord. Nay cannot others witnesse against you that there was such a time wherein you were more forward and that now you begin rather to temporize The LORD forbid this should be spoke of any old men God expects more afterward then at the first fruits and though nature may decay yet their is a promise that in their old age they shall flourish in the Courts of Gods house and shall manifest the graces of his Spirit much more VVe are ready at the first Fruits to offer unto God some what when his mercy commeth first but when mercy comes afterward more fully we should be more in our offerings You will say what is the meaning of this that there is a burnt offering a sin-offering and a peace-offering in the Feast of Pentecost what is the difference of these three offerings The difference is this The burnt offering was in testimony of their high respect to God they wholly had respect to God in the burnt offering that is they tendred up something to God as a testimony of the high honoraable esteem they had of his Majesty it was wholly to be given up to him Now in the other they had respect to themselves the sin-offering was not to offer a sacrifice meerly to testifie respect to God but to be a typicall signification of Christs sacrifice for sins they were to looke through their sacrifice to Christ and their sin-offering was to be an atonement for their sin The Peace-offering was in thanksgiving for a mercy or when they would petition to God for a further mercy All this must be done in the day of Pentecost But besides this end of Pentecost to solemnize the mercies of God in their harvest there is an other that is constantly affirmed by the Jewes and I finde many Divines making no question of it but I finde it not so clearly laid down in the word They say God in this feast did solemnize the giving of the law and this is their ground because fifty dais after their coming out of Egypt was the time of Gods giving the Law and so they say Pentecost was appointed to blesse God for giving the law The Iews say that God dealt with them as a King should deale with a poor man in prison first hee releaseth him of his bondage and withall tells him that after such a time he will marry him to his daughter now say they will not this man count every day long untill this time come So when God did deliver us out of AEgypt he told us that after such a time he would give us his law and marry us to his daughter which is the law and this is the reason why wee count so disigently the very weeks nay the days as longing for that time when we are to be marryed to the law when the Lord shall grant to us such a mercy From whence we may note that we are not only to keep Gods law but to rejoyce in Gods law not only to look at what is commanded as a duty but as a high priviledg and so blesse God for the law It is a higher thing to love Gods law and rejoyce in it then to obey it Great peace shall they have that love thy law David profest that he loved the law of God more then silver and gold that it was sweeter to him then the honey and the honey combe The Iews at this day do much reioyce when the law of God is read and in their Synagogues when the law of God is brought out they lift up their bodies in a kind of exlatation reioycing that God gave this law unto them Further the time of their Pentecost was the time of the descending of the holy Ghost upon the Apostles as God at that time gave the law by Moses so the Spirit at that time came by Christ to shew that we are in the Gospel to receive the Spirit of God to inable us to fulfill the law They had the letter of the law but in comparison of what we have they had not the Spirit
and then there commeth in some darting thoughts of him but so as your conscience knowes they are very terrible to you you can never now have a thought of God but it is as a clagger at your heart and indeed it must needs be terrible to a guilty conscience that is departed from God Well take heed what thou doest O thou sinner goe not on so long in thy sinfull wayes till thou wearest out all the thoughts of God for some have done so though they had checks of conscience when they have beene in wicked company God hath come into their thoughts and troubled them but they have gone to wicked company againe and some thoughts of God have yet followed them but they have gone again and again and now they have forgot God as if there were no God at all in heaven as if God had nothing to doe with them and they nothing to doe with God O this is a sad condition indeed If any of you be declining into such a condition as this is the Lord stop you this day the Lord awaken your consciences Ordinarily the more prosperity men have the more forgetfull they are of the Lord They forgat me as Genesis 48. 20. Jacob set Ephraim before Manasses first Ephraim then Manasses Ephraim signifies fruitfulnesse and Mansses signifies forgetfulnesse thus it is with men Ephraim comes first fâ—uit fulnesse God is fruitfull to you and blesseth you in your estates then comes Manasses forgetfulness you are forgetfull of his goodnesse to you My brethren if always we had such impressions of God as we have sometimes O how happy were it It will terrifie hereafter when God shall againe so present himselfe to you and cause you to remember what impressions of his divine Majesty once you had let us hold forth our continuall remembrance of God so as all that behold our conversaions may say surely the thoughts of God are mighty upon the spirits of these men thus we should live before our brethren I will give you this one rule for your lives Live such lives as by them you may hold forth before your brethren such remembrances of God as they may conclude by that they see in your conversations Certainly there are deepe thoughts of God upon the heart of this man there was a time indeed he walked lightly vainly foolishly but now he is serious in his way he is considerate he is heavenly he walks with feare Certainly there are great impressions of the divine Majesty upon his heart if it be so with us how joyfull will it be to us hereafter when God shall appeare in his glory then to have our consciences tell us the impressions of the Majesty of this God that now I see so high and great have beene upon my soul in the whole course of my life I now see the glory of the great God shining and blessed be his name even this God that appeares so gloriously hath appeared often to my soul before and I have kept the impressions of his glory upon my heart and he was continually in my thoughts It is a wonder that God should ever thinke of us who are so forgetfull of him as we are Psalm 8. What is man that thou remembrest him saith the text what is man The word there that is translated man some would bring forth the Hebrew roote which signifies forgetfulnesse I finde Eusebius taking it thus What is man O Lord that thou shouldst remember him that is what is forgetfull man that thou shouldest remember him yet I confesse the Hebrew word that is there translated man comes from another roote that signifies weakelinesse sicklinesse what is weake man what is sick-man yet if this word come not from that roote that signifieth to forget yet I am sure there is a word that commeth from that roote that signifies to forget that is used for women because of their forgetfulnesse we would be glad to have God remember us in the day of our adversities let us remember God now all you young ones remember God remember your Creator in the dayes of your youth you old people whatsoever you forget forget not the Lord let us all remember the Lord who hath remembred us all who hath remembred England in its low estate for his mercies endure for ever We have done with the threatning part now it followes Therefore behold I will allure her bring her into the wildernesse and speake comfortably to her Therefore Beloved it is a strange therefore what they followed after their Idols they have said that all their prosperity was a reward of their Idols they have forgot the Lord they have decked themselves with their jewels to honour their Idols and marke it comes presently Therefore I will allure her and I will speake comfortably to her one would rather have thought it should have followed Therefore I will yet plague her therefore my judgements shall pursue her and cut her off but marke it followes Therefore I will allure her and speake comfort ably unto her O the rich and free grace of God to his people But of that the next day The Twelfth Lecture HOSEA 2. 14. Therefore behold I will allure her and bring her into the wildernesse and speake comfortably unto her and I will give her her Vineyards from thence HEre begins the second part of this Chapter the former was in conviction threatning pronouncing judgements this from verse 14. unto the end is the opening of the free and rich grace of God to Israel It may be said of this Chapter as Psalm 85. 10. Mercy and Peace are met together Righteousnesse and Truth kisse each other There is a blessed conjunction betweene threatning of judgement and proffering mercy but where is the copula of this conjunction What is that knits these two together Here is a conjunction but it is very wonderfull it is in the first word therefore that is the copula therefore I will allure her Wherefore This therefore hath a very strange and wonderfull wherefore if we consider of what went before the words immediately before were She went after her lovers and forgate mee saith the Lord therefore behold I will allure her there needs an Ecce be put to this therefore be hold Behold I will allure her Lyra could not see how these things could bee joyned together therefore hee thinks that this verse hath not reference to that that immediately went before but to the words in the beginning of the Chapter Say to your brethren Ammi my people and to your sisters Ruhamah shee that hath obtained mercy therefore And Cornelius à Lapide not understanding the cause of such a connection he would referre the beginning of this verse to the end of the seventh verse She shall say I will goe to my first husband for then it was better with mee then now therefore also I will allure her these two though learned men yet are Papists and therefore understand but little of the free rich grace
AN EXPOSITION Of the Prophesie of HOSEA Begun IN DIVERS LECTVRES Vpon the first three Chapters At MICHAELS Cornhill LONDON By JER BURROUGHES The Second Edition Newly corrected Inter omnia dona donum verbi Dei est amplissimum Si hoc auferas soleme mundo sustulisti Quid erit mundus sublato verbo quaminfernus Luther LONDON Printed for R. Dalwman in the Year 1652. TO THE READER YOu have these Lectures as they were taken from me in preaching Iperused the notes but I could not bring the style to that succinctnesse that I desired except I should have wrote all over again which I had no time to doe my perusall was but cursory therefore many things have slipt me You have them as I preached them without any considerable alteration I had thought to have been far briefer that which caused me to goe somewhat beyond an expository way was the meeting with so many things almost in every Lecture so neerly concerning the present times in the remaining part of the Prophesie if God give life to goe through it I shall keep my selfe more close to an expository way what here you have take it as you finde it what good you meet with receive it in This will be the encouragement of Thy friend in Christ J. B. Aug. 10. 1643. Imprimatur Ioseph Caryll AN EXPOSITION OF The Prophesie of Hosea The First LECTVRE Chap. 1. Vers 1 2. c. 1. The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea the son of Beeri in the dayes of Vzziah Iotham Ahaz and Hezekiah Kings of Iudah and in the days of Ieroboam son of Ioash King of Israel 2. The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea and the Lord said to Hosea c. The Preface To The Work THis day beginneth a Scripture Exposition Exercise which hath lost much of the honour of it by the disuse of it The best Apology for it is to set presently upon it It is ancient in the Church of God old enough to speak for itself Nehem 8. 8. we read that Ezra Ieshua Bani and the rest read in the book of the Law and gave the sense and caused the people to understand the reading You love brevity in this Exercise you shall have it in all that shall be delivered unto you I have pitched upon the Books of the small Prophets to open them unto you of whom Ierome hath this expression You cannot tell which to wonder at most either the brevtâ—y of speech or the greatness and abundance of sense And this Prophet Hosea in speciall is excellent this way of whom the same Author speaking calls him exceeding concise speaking by sentences Being the Propheticall books is the work that falls to me why I chose rather to begin with Hosea then Isaiah I shall afterward give you an account If God continue this Exerciseand life we may goe through them all both small and great In these Prophets we have most admirable divine Truths revealed to us and pity it is that the minde of God contained in them should be so little known even unto his children that such treasures of heavenly truths that are there should lie hid from so many so long a time as they have done We might preface this our work because this is the first dayes entrance into it vvith labouring to raise and sweeten your hearts with the consideration of the excellency of the Scriptures in generall Luther hath an high expression about them he calls them the highest genus that containes in it all good whatsoever Take away the Scripture and you even take away the Sun from the world What is the world without the Scriptures but hell it self We have had indeed the word of God to be as the Sun in the world but oh hovv many mists have been before this Sun We have seldome the Sun shine clearly to us It is pity seeing there is such a glorious Sun risen that there should be such a misty day Now this is the work we are called unto to dispell the mists and fogs from before this Sun that it may shine more brightly before your eyes and into your hearts Chrysost in his 29. Sermon upon Genesis exhorting his Auditors to get the Scriptures into their houses and to a diligent exercise of himselfe in them tells them that by them the soul is raised and elevated and brightned as with the beame of the Sun of righteousnesse and delivered from the snares of unclean thoughts The Scripture is that wherin the great God of heaven hath sent his mind to the children of men wherein he hath made known the counsel of his wil opened even his very heart unto Man-kind It is the Epistle that God hath sent into the world And did wee but heare of such a Book that were dictated imediatly by God himself to the end to shew the children of men what the eternall counsels of his will were for the ordering of them to their eternall estate and to open his thoughts and intentions concerning their everlasting condition what it shall be Did wee I say but heare that there were such a book in the farthest part of the Indies would we not rejoyce that the world was blest with such a mercie what strong and vehement desires should we have to enjoy but one sight of it before we dye Wee would be willing to venture upon any hazard to passe through any difficulty to be at any charges that we might have but a sight of such a booke as this My brethren you need not say Who shall goe to the farthest part of the Indies to setch this book Who shall descend into the depth or goe to the uttermost part of the earth to help us to a sight of this booke of Scripture For behold the word is nigh unto you it is in your houses and we hope in your hearts and in this exercise is to be in our mouths not only to tell you what it saith but open unto you the mind of God in it The exercising our selves in this book is sweet indeed Luther professes himselfe out of love with his own books and wished them burnt lest men spending time in them should be hindered from reading the Scriptures which saies he are the only fountain of all wisdome and I tremble saies he at the former age that was so much busied in reading of Aristotle and Averroes Wee read in that 8. of Nehem. vers 5 6. when Ezra opened the book of the Law to expound it to the people he blessed the Lord the great God and all the people answered Amen Amen And now blessed be the Lord the great and gracious God for stirring your hearts up to such a work as this is and blessed be his name for those liberties we have thus freely to exercise our selves in this service O praised be the name of the great God for this dayes entrance into so good a work as this is Yea they did not
only blesse God but the Text saith They lifted up their hands and they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground Why because the book of the Law was read to them and expounded How comes it to passe that their hearts were so taken with it now to hear the book of the Law expounded to them Surely it was because they were newly returned out of their Captivity and now they came into their owne Land and heard the Law of God opened to them they blessed his great Name bowed their faces to the ground worshipping him This day my brethren witnesseth to us our great deliverance and returne from our bondage It was not long since that wee could have either Ordinances or Truths or Religious exercises but onely according to the humors of vile men But now through Gods mercy a great deliverance is granted to us as this day witnesseth that wee may come and have free liberty to exercise our selves in the Law of our God O doe you blesse the Lord and bow your faces to the ground worshipping of him In the 12. vers of that Chap. we read that after they had heard the Law read and expounded to them they went their way to eate and to drink and to send portions and to make great mirth Why Because saith the Text they had understood the words that were declared unto them I hope if God shall please to give in assistance unto this work many of you shall goe away hereafter from this Assembly rejoycing because you will come to know more of Gods mind revealed in his word then formerly And this will be the comfort of your meat and drink and of your trading and the very spirits of all the joyes of your lives As the sweetnesse of the fruit comes from the graft rather then from the stock so your comforts and the blessings of grace in you must come from the word ingrafted in your soules rather then from any thing you have in your selves In the first vers the Text saith that all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water-gate to desire Ezra to bring the book of the law and to read it and to open it unto them Behold it is thus this day in this place here are a great company met together perhaps some to know what the businesse will be some for novelty and some for other ends howsoever come unto us you are and we hope many for this end that you might have the booke of the Law read opened unto you Now we expect that from you which is said of them ver 3. And the ears of all the people were attentiâ—e unto the book of the law when it was read opened to them And truly that attention that you now begin withal doth promise unto us that we shall have an attentive auditory But that is not all let us have further a reverential demeanor and carriage in the hearing of the Law as it becomes those that have to deale with God in it The Text saith vers 5. that when Ezra opened the book of the Law all the people stood up We doe not expect the same gesture from you but by way of Analogie we expect a reverentiall demea nour in the carriage of he whole worke as knowing we are to sanctifie Gods Name in it And as those people after the first dayes exercise were so encouraged that they came again the second day for so the Text saith vers 13. On the second day were gathered together the cheife of the fathers of all the people the Priests and the Leviâ—es unto Ezra to understand the words of the Law so I hope God will so carry on this worke that you shall find encouragement too to come again and again that you may know more of the mind of God and that this work shall not be only profitable to the younger and weaker sort but to the Fathers to the Priests and Levites too Let it be with you as it was with them according as you have any truth made known unto you submit to it yeeld to it obey it presently and then you shall know more of Gods mind He that will doe my will shall know my doctrine to be of God Thus did they for vers 14. when they found it vvritten in the book of the Law that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh moneth This was one passage of the Law that was expounded how they should keep the feast of Tabernacles and what booths they should make the people went forth presently unto the mount and fetched Olive branches and Palm branches and branches of thick trees and made themselves booths every one upon the roofe of his house In this Prophesie of Hosea you shall find many sutable truths to the times wherein we live the Lord grant you obedient hearts to what shall be delivered I must not retard the work nor your expectations any longer with large prefacing to it only somewhat have been said about the rules for interpretation of Scripture I will say no more of that but this to interpretation of Scripture a Scripture frame of heart is necessary a heart holy heavenly sutable to the holinesse heavenlinesse that is in the word as it was said of Tullies eloquence that nothing but the eloquence of Tully could set out the excellency of it So it may be said of the Scriptures spiritualness nothing but a heart filled with Scripture spiritualness can set forth the excellencies of it and because the authority of Scripture is dreadfull wee desire the prayers of you all to God for us that his feare might fall upon our hearts that seeing we are menfull of errour and full of evill yet howsoever wee may not bring any Scripture to the maintenance of any erroneous conceit of our own heads nor any evill of our own hearts This wee know to be a dreadfull evill It was a fearfull evill for Lucifer to say I will goe and ascend up be like the Highest it is as great an evill for any to seek to make the Highest to become like Lucifer for so do they that make the Scripture come down to justifie any erroneous opinion or any way of evill they goe about to make the blessed God and the holy Ghost to be the fathers of lies It is counted a great evill in a Common-wealth to put the Kings stamp upon false coine and to put the stamp of the Spirit of God upon an error upon a conceit of a mans owne is certainly a great evill before the Lord and it was for this that God did make the Priests vile and contemptible before the people because they were paâ—tiall in the Law Mal. 2. 9. And for you my brethren our prayer shall be that the feare of God may fall upon you likewise that you may come to these Exercises with Scripture-frames of heart What frame of
heart is a Scripture-frame The holy Ghost tells you Isa 66. 1. God looks at him that trembleth at his word come with hearts trembling at the word of God come not to be Iudges of the Law but doers of it You may judge of your profiting in grace by the delight you finde in Scripture as Quintilian was wont to say of profiting in eloquence a man may know that saies hee by the delight hee findes in reading Cicero much more may this be said of the Scriptures it is a true signe of profiting in Religion to whom the Scriptures are sweeter then the honey and the honey-combe And now I shall onely tell you what the work is we have to doe and then we shall fall upon it and that is to open Scripture unto you not onely difficulties but to shew unto you what divine truths are contained in them what may come fresh and spring up from the fountain it selfe to present them unto you with adding some quickness This is our worke not to enlarge any thing with long Explication Probation or Application There are these five things to be enquired concerning this our Prophet whose Prophesie I have now pitched upon to open 1 Who he was 2 To whom he was sent 3 What his errant was 4 His Commission 5 The time of his prophesie All these you have either in the first verse where most of them are or you shall find them in the Chapter For the first then who this Prophet was I will tell you no more of him then what you have in the first verse Hosea the son of Beeri His name signifieth a Saviour one that brings salvation It is the same root that Ioshua had his name from and many saving and savory truths wee shall finde this Prophet bringing to us He was the sonne of Beeri This Beeri we doe not find who hee was in Scripture only in that he is here named as the father of the Prophet in the entrance into this Prophesie Surely it is honor is gratia to the Prophet and from it we may note thus much That so should parents live and walke as it may be an honour to their children to be called by their names that their children may neither be afraid nor ashamed to be named by them The Iews have a tradition that is generally received among them that whensoever a Prophets Father is named that Father was likewise a Prophet as well as the Son If that were so then surely it is no dishonor for any man to be the Son of a Prophet Let those that are the children of godly gracious Ministers be no dishonour to their Parents their Parents are an honour unto them But we find it by experience that many of their children are farr from being honours to their godly parents How many ancient godly Ministers who heretofore hated superstitious vanities whose sonns of late have been the greatest zealots for such things It puts me in mind of what the Scripture notes concerning Iehoiakim the sonne of Iosiah the difference betweene his father and him Iosiah when he heard the Law read his heart melted and he humbled himselfe before the Lord. But now Iehoiakim his sonne when hee came to heare the Law of God read he tooke a pen-knife and cut the roll in which it was written in peices and threw it into the fire that was on the hearth untill all the roll was consumed A great deale of difference there was between the Son and the Father and thus it is between the sons of many ancient godly Ministers and them their Fathers indeed might be an honour unto them but they are dishonour to their Fathers The sonne of Beeri This word Beeri hath its signification from a Wel that hath springing water in it freely and cleerly running So Ministers should be the children of Beeri That that they have should be springing water and not the mud and dirt and filth of their own conceits mingled with the word This only by way of allusion To whom was this Prophet Hosea sent He was sent especially to the Ten Tribes I suppose you all know the division that there was of the people of Israel in Rehoboams time tenn of the Tribes went from the house of David only Iudah and Benjamine remained with it Now these tenne Tribes renting themselves from the house of David did rent themselves likewise from the true worship of God there grew up horrible wickednesses and all manner of abominations amongst them To these ten Tribes God sent this Prophet He sent Isaiah Micah to Iudah Amos and Hosea he sent to Israel all these were contemporary If you would know what state Israel was in in Hoseas time read but 2 K. 15. 19. you shall find what their condition was Ieroboam did that which was eâ—ill but he fight of the Lord he departed not from all the sins of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat which made Israel to sinne But notwithstanding Israel was thus notoriously wicked and given up to all Idolatry yet the Lord sendeth his Prophets Hosea and Amos to Prophesie to them even at this time O the goodnesse of the Lord to follow an apostatizing people an apostatizing soule It was mercy yet while God was speaking but woe to that people to that soul to whom the Lord shall give in charge to his Prophets prophesie no more to them But what was Hosea his errand to Israel His errand was to convince them clearly oâ— this their abominable Idolatry and those other abominable wickednesses that they lived in and severely to denounce threatnings yea most fearfull destruction This was not done before by the other Prophets as wee shall afterward make it appeare but it was Hosea his errand to threaten an utter desolation to Israel more than ever was before and yet withall to promise mercy to a remnant to draw them to repentance and to Prophesie of the great things that God intended to doe for his Church and children in the latter dayes What was his Commission The words tells us plainly The word of the Lord came to Hosea It was the word of Iehovah It is a great argument to obedience to know it is the word of the Lord that is spoken When men set reason against reason and judgment against judgment and opinion against opinion it prevails not but vvhen they see the authority of God in the Word then the heart and conscience yeeldeth Therefore hovvever you may look upon the instruments that bring it or open it to you as your equalls or inferiours yet knovv there is an authority in the Word that is above you al It is the word of the Lord. And this word of the Lord it came to Hosea Mark the phrase Hosea did not goe for the word of the Lord but the word of the Lord came to him he sought it not but it came to him factum fuit verbum so are the words the word of the Lord came or
match as this The woman is the glory of the man How for so I desire not only to open the Scripture that I read here but as I go along and quote Scripture so far as may be for your edification and suteable to our argument to open there too In two respects she is so 1. because it is a glory to a man that he hath such an image for shee is from the man and as the man being the image of God sheweth the glory of God because he is the image of God and from him so the woman being from the man and as it were his image shee is the glory of the man 2. Because man hath such an excellent creature brought under subjection to him so the woman is the glory of the man Man is not only made glorious by God in that God hath put all other creatures under him but especially in this that God hath put such an excellent creature under him as the woman is so the woman is the glory of the man This could not be here in such a match as this 3. It could not be that it was a reall thing but a vision from the prophesie it selfe for then Hosea must have stayed almost a whole yeare before hee could have gone on in his prophesie For first he must take to him a wife of whoredomes and beget a child of whoredomes then he must have stayed till the child had been born before he could have come to the people and say My child is borne and his name is Iezreel and it is upon this ground that I have named him thus and then hee must have stayed almost a yeare more before he could have Locuhamah and then after that he must stay almost another yeare longer before Loammi could be born And lastly that which is noted by Polanus the expression that wee have here is that God spake in Hosea speaking and appearing to him by an inward vision as it were in an extasie saith Polanus therefore we must take it so that this wife of whoredomes that Hosea was to marry was in a way of vision it was to signifie that Israel was to God as a wife of whoredoms and as children of whoredomes should have been to the Prophet if he had been marryed to her From all these there is this result that the people of Israel were gone a whoring from God Idolatry it is as the sin of whoredome and I cannot open this Scripture except I shew you wherein idolatry is like the sin of whoredome The idolatry of the Church not the idolatry of Heathens is whoredome One that committeth adultery doth give her selfe to another The Heathens because they were never marryed to God their idolatry is not adultery but the people of GDO being marryed to the Lord their idolatry is adultery Adultery first because it breaks the marriage bond there is nothing breaks the marriage bond between God and his people but the sin of idolatry as not between man and wife Though a wife may be guilty of many faylings and be a grievous trouble and burthen to her Husband yet these doe not breake the marriage knot except she defile the marriage bed So though a people may be guilty of notorious and vile sins yet if they keep the worshp of God pure they are not guilty of whoredome but still God is marryed to them 2. Whoredome is a loath some thing though delightsome to men yet loathsome to God Idolatry is so therefore the Scripture calleth the Idols that men set up by a name that signifieth the very excrement that comes from creatures Ezek. 22. 3. Idolaters think their way of idol-worship to be very delightsome but that which they call delectable God calleth detestable so you shall find it if you compare these two Scriptures Isa 44. 9. they call their Idols delectable things but in Ezek. 5. 11. God calleth them detestable things Idolatry is a detestable loathsome thing 3. There is nothing wherein a man is so irreconcileable as in the point of the marriage bed the defiling of that by adultery causes an irreconcileable breach Jealousie is the rage of a man and he will take no ransome There is nothing wherein God is so reconcileable to a people as in the point of false worship 4. Adultery is a besotting sinne Whoredome and new wine take away the heart saith the Prophet and in that 44. Isa 19. there saith God he hath no understanding to consider and say What have I not taken one part and roasted flesh with it and with another part have baked bread upon the coales and warmed my selfe with another part and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination and fall downe to the stock of a tree Hee hath no understanding to consider this Idolatry is a besotting sin as well as adultery And therefore we need not marvail though-men of great parts and abilities continue in their superstitious way of worship for nothing besotteth mens hearts so much as that doth Againe 5. Whoredome is a most dangerous sinne Wee have a most dreadfull place for that Prov. 22. 14. The mouth of a strange woman is as a deep pit heth at is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein Oh most dreadfull place to an Adulterer if there be any Adulterer in this place this day when thou goest home turn to that Scripture and let it be as a dart to to thy heart the mouth of a strange woman is as a deep pit he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein A signe of a man abhorred of God and so is Idolatry for in 2 Thes 2. 11 12. God gave them over to believe a lye that they might be damned Those that follow the Idolatries of Antichrist are given over by God to beleive a lye That lye of Popery is altogether one lye Hence it is that the Popish party invent so many such strange lyes all to uphold that great lye What is this that they might be damned It is a dreadfull dangerous sin the sinne of Idolatry though they think they please God in and by such wayes of worship yet they are given over by God that they may be damned If this prove to be a place that concerns those that follow Antichrist if Rome proves to be so as by that place is described it is a dreadfull place to all Papists Again Whores use to deck themselves up in pompous attyre in dainty glorious rayment So idolaters use to deck up their Idols in bravery and lavish gold as the Scripture speaks upon their Idols whereas the Kings daughter is all glorious within and the simplicity of the Gospel will not permit such things And lastly as whores though they goe a whoring from their Husbands yet still they retain before the divorce the name of wives and their children though bastards retaine the name of children and beare the fathers name So Idolaters they will retain the name
of the Church the Church and those that they beget must still be called the only sons of the Church But how are his children said to be children of whoredomes for suppose his wife were a wife of whoredomes yet being marryed to her wherefore should the children be called children of whoredomes To that is answered first some think upon this ground because the children when they are grown up would â—ollow the way of the Mother as it is an usuall thing for children to doe Therefore you need to take heed how you enter into the state of marriage for your childrens sake for they will follow the way of the Mother Or rather this because though they were begotten after marriage yet they will ye under suspition as those that are illegitimate the children of one that hath been a whore are always suspected and so in repute they are the children of whoredome and fornication so saith God these people are to me as if their children were accounted the children of fornication For the whole land hath gone a whoring from the Lord. In going a whoring they goe a whoring Or as Arius Montanus reads it In going a whoring they will goe a whoring They not only Have but Will they are set upon it they are stout-hearted in the way of Idolatry and it is the land that hath done it the people of the land But why the land It is a secret check to them and upbraiding them for their unthankfulnesse that when God gave them so good a land the land of Canaan that flowed with milk and honey the land of promise that was given to them for that end to nourish up the true worship of God yet they made this land of God this land of promise to be a land to nourish up most vile Idolaters Gone a whoring from the Lord. From Jehovah The more worthy the Husband is the more vile and odious the adultery of the Wife What to goe a whoring from God the blessed God in whom is all beauty and excellency and turn to blind Idols What change the glory of the invisible God into the similitude of an Oxe that eateth grasse with what indignation doth God speak it Oh you that go a whoring after your sinfull lusts this one day will lye most dreadfully upon your consciences that it was from the Lord that you departed from that infinite glorious eternall Deity the fountain of all good to cleaye to whoring after base sinfull and unclean lusts Who is this whore and what are the children that are begotten to Hosea by her So he went saith the Text He obeyeth We must obey God in things that seem to be never so much against our reason and sense He tooke Gomer the daughter of Diblaim The word Gomer here commeth from a word that signifieth perficere and defiâ—ere perfection defection and so it may be applyed both ways Some apply it to perfection that is a harlot that was perfect and compleat both in her beauty and in her fornication and wickednesse The word likewise signifieth rottennesse corruption and consumption so indeed are all things in the world as soon as they grow to any perfection they begin to decline quickly to corruption All things but spirituall do so they indeed grow still higher and higher This Gomer we will take rather in the second acceptation of it as it signifieth rottennesse and consumption Who was this Gomer She was the daughter of Diblaim The signification of that is according to so me one that dwelleth in the desart in reference to that famous desart Diblath of which we read Ezek. 6. 14. noting the way of Idolaters that they were wont to goe into woods and desarts and there to sacrifice to their Idols But rather according to most Diblaim signifieth bunches of dryed figs that were the delicacies of those times so Oecolampadius from which hee hath this note That rottennesse and corruption proceedeth from voluptuous pleasures from delicacies and the like Though the pleasures of the flesh be very contentfull to you yet destruction is the fruit of them destruction is the daughter of sensuall pleasures and delights of all your delicacies so saith the Scripture Rom. 8. 13. If you live after the flesh you shall dye Phil. 3. ult whose God is their belly whose end is destruction But to apply it to Israel Israel was as Gomer the daughter of Diblaim that is the people of Israel were now neare to destruction and were the daughters of sensuall delights they gave over themselves to sensuall delights and pleasures It is the usuall way of Idolaters those that forsake the true worship of God to give up themselves to the pleasures of the flesh Sensuality and Idolatry doe usually goe together When the people of Israel sacrificed to the calves what did they They eate and dranke and rose up to play that was all their worke and good enough for the worshipping of such a god a calfe You know the more we began to decline in the worship of God we began to be so much the more sensuall there must be Proclamation to people to take their sports and delights upon the Lords day And indeed it is that which doth usually accompany defection in the way of Gods worship False worship doth not lay such bonds upon mens consciences for the mortifying the lusts of the flesh as the worship of God doth Therefore those men that love most to take liberty to the flesh they are those that are soonest enticed to ways of superstitious worship Jerem. 24. 9. there Jeremy setteth out the state of those naughty Jewes that were in Captivity by that similitude of a basket of rotten figs sutable to this and the more confirming this interpretation that Israel was as Gomer the daughter of Diblaim that is rottennesse the daughter of sensuality Thus for the Mother But now the son that is begotten of this mother it is Iezreel Call his name Iezreel The Prophet must give a name to his son It is that which belongeth to Parents to give names to their children Godfathers and Godmothers as they call them are of no use for this or for any thing else that I know and in such holy things as Sacraments are we must take heed of bringing in any unusefull any idle things But here we are to enquire First the signification of this name Secondly the reason why the son of Hosea must be callied by this name Iezreel You shall find a great deale in this before we have done with it For the first Iezreel signifies the scattered of the Lord. For the second there are five reasons may be given why the sonne of this Prophet must have this name put upon him Iezreel First that hereby God might shew that he did intend to avenge that blood that was shed in Iezreel Secondly to shew that Israel had lost the honour of his name and was no more Israel but Jezreel There seemeth to be much neernesse
have him take it away yet if this Magistrate should be guilty of the same sin or that which amounteth to the same sin God will avenge himselfe upon this Magistrate as upon a Murtherer as here God revengeth himselfe upon the house of Iehu as for murther yet Iehu was a Magistrate and this was commanded Iehu by God himselfe So suppose a Magistrate fine a man for any evill and that justly yet if he be guilty of the same himselfe God will deal with this Magistrate as if he robbed by the high way side and took away a mans money by violence It is apparent out of the Text. Certainely my brethren therefore great wrath and vengeance hangeth over the head of wicked Magistrates All this you learn from what is here said that God will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu upon the inquiring into the reason of it And he will doe this upon the house of Iehu that is the third Question What is the house of Iehu That is his Posterity his Family that was to succeed And indeed it was to the fourth generation till God came against him as we shall heare by and by God followeth wicked men to the 3. and 4. generation The posterity of the ungodly specially Idolaters shall suffer for their Fathers sin It is very observable what you have in the second Commandement that God in no other doth threaten the sinne of the fathers upon the children but in the second Commandement What is thereason of this That Commandement forbiddeth Images Because your superstitious worshippers of all men are strengthened by the tradition of their Fathers Oh our Fathers did thus and thus and shall we be wiser then our Fore-fathers We have now a company of up-start men and they will be wiser then their Ancestors Because superstitious worshippers harden themselves so much in that way upon their Fathers therefore it is that in that very Commandement against making and worshipping of Images God threatneth to visite the sinne of the fathers upon the children and in no other What the house of Iehu after Iehu was dead how can this be Yes as a Prince that hath to doe with two Traitors both of them have deserved death but the Prince is enclined to shew mercy and against the one there commeth this Accusation This mans Father was a Traytor and his grand-father and his great grand-father were Traytors Nay then let him dye saith the Prince But now the other that is guilty of as much as this man was yet it is told the King Sir This mans Fathers hath done a great deale of excellent fervice for the Common-wealth there were never any of his house but were loyaâ—l This man now is spared though hee deserveth death and guilty with the other of the same treason and the King is just in this And so the first man may be said to dye for his Fathers sinne that is he should not have been executed if his Fore-fathers had not been in the fault Take heed what you doe in the course of your lives if you regard not your selves yet for your childrens sake that you may not leave a curse behind you upon the off-spring of your loins and fruit of your wombs look upon them pity them Though you your selves may escape in this world yet you may leave the inheritance of your sinnes unto your children Pity your children that they may not have cause to curse the time that they were borne of such parents and wish that they had rather been of the off-spring of Dragons and a generation of Vipers then to be born of such parents that have left them a curse for an inheritance It had been better you had left them never a peny then to leave them to inherite the curse of your wickednesse Vpon the house of Jehu The house of Jehu fareth the worse for Jehu Those that desire to raise and continue the honour of their houses let them take heed of wayes of wickednesse for wickednesse will bring down any Family whatsoever But why is it The house of Jehu without any addition of Jehu the King as in others it is usual Hereby God would give a check to Jehu and bid him look back upon the meannesse of his birth for Jehu was not of the Kingly race yet how unthankfull was he who was raised from the dung-hill thus unworthily to depart from the Lord. You whom God hath raised up on high to great honours and estates look back to the meannesse of your beginning that God hath raised you from and labour to give him an answerable return of obedience Those that will not give God the glory of their honours and estates it is just their honors and estates should be taken from them But what is this Yet a little while This is to be understood in reference to Jehu or in reference to the house of Israel Yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu and will cease the Kingdome of the house of Israel It was a long while before God came upon the house ol Jehu and yet now he saith yet but a little while I will stay but a little longer ere I avenge the blood of Iezreel upon the house of Iehu It was now the third generation since Iehu committed those sins nay it will appeare that it was above an hundred years from the sinnes of Iehu to Gods avenging the blood of Iezreel upon his house for Iehu raigned 28. years his sonne Iehoahaz 17. years and Iehoash his sonne 16. years and Ieroboam his son 41. yeares and then in the days of Zachariah the son of this Ieroboam God came to avenge this blood which was above a hundred years Oh the patience of the Lord towards sinners But though he stayed long yet he saith yet a little while Here is an excellent observation from hence That God sometimes commeth upon sinners for their old sins for sins committed a long time agon Sins a long time agone committed are perhaps forgotten by you yet they are remaining filed up and recorded in heaven above a hundred years after the commission It is like these sinns of Iehu were forgotten yet God commeth now at last to avenge the sins of Iehu upon his house So he did for the sins of Manasses and for the sins of Iosephs brethren it was 22. years before they came to have their consciences troubled and then say they We are verily guilty concerning our brother therefore is this distresse come upon us and now saith Reuben behold also his blood is required Looke to your selves you that are young take heed of youthfull sinnes Youthful sins may prove to be ages terrors Perhaps you think it was a grat while agone that you when you were a young man were in fuch a Taverne or in such a journey and committed such and such sins Have you repented for them Have you made
satisfied yeeld to them gratifie them in what you will this is the first temptation what will you be so strict and rugged and yeeld to them in nothing but if they prevaile with you to begin to yeeld they will never have done they will still encroach upon you Hezekiah yeelded to Senacherib even to take away the gold of the Temple doores yea a little while after he cometh againe with a great host so that Hezekiah said it was a day of trouble and rebuke Chap. 19. Nothing will quiet them but the ruine of the Church they must needs have that Downe with it downe with it even to the ground nothing else will satisfie them To this low estate and sad condition was Iudah brought not long after Israel was taken away and yet God promiseth mercy to Iudah for all this VVhat shall we learne from this This profitable lesson for our present condition God may intend much mercy yea God may be in a way of mercy to a people yet may bring that people into very great straits difficulties The promises of Gods mercies are alwayes to be understood with condition of the crosse If we thinke that upon the promise of mercy we shall be delivered from all trouble affliction we lay more upon the promise then the promise will or can beare It is a great evil that proceedeth from much weaknes of spirit and distemper of heart for people though God hath done great things for them yet if there come any rub in the way and difficulty any trouble Oh now we are gone now vve are all lost now God hath left us we hoped that there would have come mercy we looked for light and behold darkness now the heart sinketh and all is presently given for gone Know my brethren this is an evil and an unbeleeving heart an evil and an unthankful heart God hath indeed done great things for us yet how ready are wee though God be in such a way a glorious way of mercy if we hear of any difficulty of any little rub any combining of the adversaries together we must expect nothing now but blood and bid farwel and adue to all our peace we thought to have had happy dayes but now the Lord is coming out against us and all that is done must be undone againe Why why are you so full of unbeleefe Surely this is unworthy of Christians that professe an interest in God unworthy of all the good that God hath done for us Peter though before he had walked upon the seas through the power of Christ yet when the waves came now Master save me or else I perish Hath not God made us walk upon the waves of the sea all this while wrought as great a Miracle for us in England as he did for Peter Yet when a wave doth but rise a little higher then before we are so distressed in our spirits that we can scarcely cry Oh Master save us but we look one upon another and discourage one another hearts and in stead of crying unto God wee cry out one to another in a discouraging way and so pine away in our iniquities Certainly God is exceedingly angry at such a demeanour as this and yet this is ordinary both in regard of nations and particular persons Of nations It was so high with Judah for I desire to keep as close as I can to the work I am about though God had made this promise to Judah here yet if we look into the 7. Isa Isaiah was contemporary with Hosea it was not much after the making of this promise wee shall see how they were troubled with fear saith the Text When it was told the house of David saying Syria is confederate with Ephraim the heart of the King of Judah and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the wood were moved with the winde they were afraid and shook as the very leaves of the tree shake both the king of Judah and all the people Well but God speaks to the Prophet in the 8. Chap ver 11. and it was at this time when they were so troubled because of the enemies coming against them God I say in that Chapter speaks to the Prophet saith the text he speakes with a strong hand saying say not ye a Confederacy a confederacy Oh the King of Israel the king of Syria are confederate together what shal we do we are undone we are lost for ever say not ye A confederacy neither fear ye this fear nor be afraid but sanctifie the Lord of hosts himself and let him be your fear Thus God would have his Saints do not when you hear of confederate enemies or any ill tidings abroad Oh the papists are linked together A confederacy a confederacy do not say a confederacy fear not their fear but sanctifie the Lord of hosts himself let him be your fear and let him be your dread he shal be for a sanctuary to you and mark the resolution of the Prophet afterward ver 17. I will wait upon the Lord that hideth his face from the house of Jacob and I will looke for him Oh that this were the disposition of our hearts Take that note away wiâ—h you amongst many though you cannot remember all when you hear so many rumors of fears and troubles as if all were gone and there were now no more hope Let this be your answer I will wait upon the Lord that hideth his facè from the house of Jacob for God is in a way of mercy and mercy certainly we shall have let us look for it And for particular persons how ordinary is it though God be in a wonderful gracious way of mercy towards them yet if they do but feel their corruptions stirring never so little all is gone presently I was indeed in a good way but God is gone Christ is gone and Mercie is gone all is gone surely God intendeth no thoughts of good to me Oh be not unbeleeving but beleeving For this is the way of God though he promiseth great mercie yet in the meane time he may bring into great afflictions I will not have mercy upon Israel but I will have mercy upon Judah and will save them For a people to be saved when others neare them are destroyed this is a great setting out of Gods goodnes to them as to stand upon the shore safely see others suffer shipwrack before us is a great augmentation of Gods mercy towards us When the people of Israel could stand upon the banks and see the Egyptians tumbling in the Red-sea and their dead bodies cast upon the shoare then saith the Text sang Moses and the children of Israel unto the Lord. And this kinde of mercie the Lord hath granted to us in England for while our neighbouring nations have been in a combustion and many of them spoiled we have sate under our own vines under our own fig-trees and our greatest afflictions have
a Son What is the meaning of this I told you the last day that by the second childe was noted the state of the people at that time that it grew weaker and more effeminate weaker in regard of their outward strength and more effeminate in regard of their spirits And that I made good to you out of the History of those times in the book of the Kings Well but now it is a son what doe they grow stronger then before now they are come neerer to destruction then before Yes though neerer to ruine and destruction and more heavy wrath then they were before yet they get up a little strength before that time Therefore the third childe is a sonne Concerning the strength that this people had got at this time a little before this their utter rejection upon which their spirits were raised you shall finde the History of it in 2 Kings 17. 4. where you have a declaration of the state of the ten Tribes then when Lo-ammi was borne for the Text tells us that they began to joyne in confederacy with the King of Egypt and so whereas formerly they had done homage by presents to the King of Assyria now being confederate with the King of Egypt they refused to bring any more presents to him they begin now to be a jolly people and hoped to cast off that yoke of bondage under which they were in regard of the Assyrians God sometimes letteth men and Nations and Churches to rise a little out of their affliction before their utter ruine he gives them a little reviving they have a little lightning before their death Many men think themselves in a very good condition if having been in affliction their afflictions doe begin once to abate and they begin to get a little up now they think they are safe and they are ready to say with Agag Surely the bitternesse of death is gone surely the worst is past But you may sometimes be recovered when God intendeth you should be suddenly rejected Many may be preserved from some judgements because they are reserved to greater judgments The Lord hath begun indeed to give us in England a little reviving a little strength to enable us to rise against the oppressions of our Adversaries those cruel oppressions But let us not be secure notwithstanding this for though we have some little reviving if we follow not God on in the way of humiliation and reformation this our little reviving may be but a lightning before our death And yet further it is very observable when the condition of Israel was at this time when God was about to say Lo-ammi they are not my people what it was not only in regard of their strength but what it was in regard of their sins For you shall finde if you examine the History that the people of Israel were at this time somewhat better then they had been before not only had gotten somwhat more strength but they were somewhat better in regard of their sins then they had been Imeane they had lesse sins then they had before yet now God is saying to them Lo-ammi You are not my people And for that observe 2 Kings 17. 2. if you reade that Chapâ—â— you shall finde that the very time of the utter rejection of Israel was in the dayes of Hoshea and the Text saith He did evil in the sight of the Lord the King in whose dayes they were so rejected did evil in the sight of the Lord but not as the Kings of Israel that were before him He was not so bad as the former Kings of Israel and yet in his dayes there comes utter destruction upon Israel Yea and as the King was not so bad then as others before him so it may seeme the people were not so bad as in former time for ver 9. the Text saith That the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the Lord their God Indeed they were sinful but their sinfulnes was secret they did not sin with such an open impudent face as it seemed as heretofore Yet in this Kings time and when these people were thus commeth their utter ruine What may we learne from hence This That sometimes when there are greater sinnes patience stayes judgement and yet afterward when a people seeme to be in a better condition not onely in regard of their outward strength but then in regard of their sins too yet then God cometh with his wrath upon that people Let us not flatter our selves although we can say that some things here amongst us are not so bad as heretofore they have beene Suppose there be some partial reformation this is not ground enough to secure us We cannot reason thus Why heretofore the Land was more sinful then now and the Governours were more oppressing then now there hath been thanks be to God much reformation This is not enough we may be neerer the forest misery at this time if our reformation be not a through reformation then we were before And the reason is this because God when he comes against a Nation he doth not onely come against it for the present sins that they are actually guilty of at that time but to reckon with them for their sins comited fore though the judgement falls out to be inflicted just at that time It may be a concourse of many passages of Gods providence might so fall out as might suâ—e with Gods ends that the destruction of this nation should be at this time rather then before yet the nation not more sinful then before but to fulfill other passages of providence that God intends and then he comes to reckon with them for sins that were along time ago committed for their present sinnes altogether As hee doth sometimes with particular persons perhaps they have been drunkards unclean wicked 20. yeers agone God hath spared them afterward upon some lesser sins God may take advantage to come against them for all their other sins together We use to say It is not the last blow of the axe that fells the oak perhaps the last may be a weaker blow then any of the former but the oake was a felling down all the while before the other blowes made way for the felling of it and at length a little blow comes and doth it So our former sinnes may be the things that make way for our ruine and then at length some lesser sinnes may do it You that have been guilty of grosse sins take heed of small sins for though God hath pared you when you were guilty of great sins do not say that he will spare you now you commit lesser sins but at this time of committing lesser sins you may be called to an account for grosser Did you never know a house stand out against many strong and blustring winds yet afterward some little puffe of wind hath tumbled it down So it is with Nations and people that somtimes stand out through
Gods patience when their sins are grosse and vile afterwards upon some lesser sins they are utterly undone VVhat is the name of his son The name of this son is Lo-ammi and the word signifieth as it is interpreted here by God himselfe You are not my people and I will not be your God The people to whom Hosea prophesied they might have objected against him thus What Hosea doe you say that God will not have any more mercy upon us what will not God have mercy upon his own people Is not God our God What doe you threaten such-things as these are The Prophet answers It is true God hath been your God and you have been his people but there is an end of those dayes God now degradeth you from those glorious priviledges that formerly you had he willowne you no more to be his and you shall have no further right to own him to be yours From whence First this A people that have been once a people dear to God may be so rejected as never to become a people of God more For so these did not though afterwards wee shall bear of the promise for others in other Ages God hath no need of men God is able to raise up a people what wayes he pleases even from the very stones in the street to raise up children unto Abraham Though Rome may boast that they have been a glorious Church True there hath been heretofore a glorious Church in Rome what then Those that were his people are now no more his people VVe shall meet further with this in the next Chapter Only in this Note observe but this thing The great difference betweene the estate of a Christian in communion with Christ by grace and a Church estate Men and women may loose their Church estate and that for ever but their estate in communion with Jesus Christ by grace they can never lose that And this is a great difference and affordeth abundance of comfort True our Church state I mean in regard of an instituted Church in Congregations it is a great priviledge a great mercy but our Communion with Jesus Christ is a higher priviledge and that priviledge gan never be lost we may be cut off from the one but never cut off from the other Secondly yet it is a most heavy judgemenâ— for any to have been heretofore the people of God now to be unpeopled for God to be no more theirs and for them to be no more the Lords A heavy judgement for the Lord to say Well I will be no more a God to you whatsoever I am to others no more yours in my goodnesse in my mercy in my power or whatsoever I am in my selfe The being cast off from God First takes us off from that high honour that was before upon a people for so in Esay 4. 4. Since thou wast precious in my sight thou host beene honourable The people of God gathered together in Church Communion certainly are in an honourable condition when they are dispeopled they are cast off from this their priviledge from their honour Secondly They have not the presence of God with them as before not the care of God towards them nor the protection of God over them not the delight of God in them nor the communication of God to them What should I speake of all these particulars But among other priviledges they want this namely that great priviledge of pleading with God for mercy upon this relation which was the usuall way of the Prophets to pleade with God because they were the people of God So Esay 64. 9. Be not wroth very sore O Lord neither remember iniquity for ever upon what ground Behold see we beseech thee we are all thy people This is a good Argument Againe Jer. 14. 9. Why doest thou stand as a man astonished amongst us as a mighty man that cannot save Yet thou O Lord art in the middest of us and we are called by thy name leave us not This Text is ours this day and well may we say O Lord why doest thou stand as a man astonished Oh yet if we can but take up the second part and say We are called by thy name we may make more comfortable use of the former Why doest thou stand as a man astonished How doth a man astonished stand He stands still in a place as if he knew not which way to goe he is in a kinde of destraction first he goes one way and by and by he returns again The Lord we know knoweth his purpose from eternity but the Scriptures are pleased to expresse Gods wayes towards us in the similitude Hath not God stood amongst us as a man astonished God hath beene in a way of mercy and then stood still and then gone forward a little and afterward gone back again and yet back and back still and we have prayed and cryed and God hath stood as a man astonished as if he were not yet resolved which way to goe Let us pray earnestly to God that he would not stand as a man astonished but that the way of the Lords mercy may be made cleare before him and cleare before us But this I bring in to shew that the relation that people have to God is the ground of their encouragement to pray to God and when a people is rejected they lose this priviledge Our relations to God are very sweet things though ordinarily they are exceedingly abused yea they are glorious things As it is said of other relations Relations are of the least entity but of the greatest efficacy so it is here Our relations to God are of very great efficacy whatsoever the entity be and therefore to lose our relations to God especially this relation of Gods being ours and we being his is a sore and he avy curse Again You are not my people and I will not be your God Marke here the first is you are not my people before the second commeth I will not be your God VVe first begin with God in our apostacy before God begins with us in his rejection I would not have withdrawn my self from being your God if you had not first rejected me and would not be my people When God loveth he begins first we love not him but he loveth us first But when it comes to departing it then begins on our side wee first depart before the Lord doth and this is that which will be a dreadful aggravation to wicked men another day to think with themselves This evil is come upon us God is gone mercy is gone but who began this first where is the root and principle Thy perdition is of thy selfe I begin first and therefore all the losse of that grace and mercy which is in God I may thanke this proud this distempered this base passionate wretched heart of mine owne for it Again I will not be your God He doth not say you shall not have the fruite
as usual when we are in adversity to forget all promises When wee hear of mercy to Gods people we are taken up and never thinke of Gods wrath and on the other side when we heare of his wrath on unbeleeving hearts are taken up as wel and never think of his grace and mercy We ought to sanctifie the name of God in both when God is in away of justice look up to his grace and when he is in a way of grace look upon his justice and sanctifie that name of his likewise And for that end I shall give you two notable Texts of Scripture there are many of this kinde but two I shall give you that are as famous as any I know in the book of God the one that declareth to you that when God expresseth the greatest mercy yet then hee doth expresse greatest wrath and the other when God expresseth greatest wrath he then expresseth greatest mercy And I shall shew you the name of God oughto be sanctified in both The first is in that 34. of Exod. 6. 7. The Lord there when he passed by before Moses proclaimed The Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long suffering and abundant in goodnesse and truth keeping mercy for thousands for giving iniquity transgression and sinne What abundance of mercy is here exprest Now it followes And that will by no meanes cleare the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the childrens children unto the third and fourth generation Here is an expression of great wrath And then for our sanctifying of Gods name in this it followes ver 8. And when Moses heard this he made hast and bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped before the Lord. Thus we must bow and worship before God in our sanctifying his Name in both together both his mercy and justice On the other side Nahum 1. 2. and soon God is jealous and the Lâ—rd revengeth the Lord revengeth and is furious the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries and he reserveth wrath for his enemies dreadful expressions yet ver 8. The Lord is slow to anger there is a mittigation at first Then he goeth on still in expressions of wrath But he is great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked and ver 5. The mountains quake at him and the hills melt and the earth is burnt at his presence yea the world and all that dwel therein who can stand before his indignation and who can abide the feircenesse of his anger his fury is powred out like fire and the Rocks are throwne downe by him What more terrible expressions of wrath then these that come from God here Now marke ver 7. The Lord is good and a strong hold in the day of trouble and he knoweth those that trust in him What a strong expression of grace is here observe it my brethren that in the middest of Gods anger yet God is good still a gracious heart must acknowledge God though he be provoked to anger yet to be a good God still and it is a good signe for the soul to fall downe before God when he is in the way of his wrath and to say the Lord is good As that good old man Eli did after the denuntiation of that dreadful sentence against him and his house by Samuel The word of the Lord is good let him doe what seemes him best All of you will say when God bestoweth avours upon you The Lord is good oh blessed be God he is a good God but when God revealeth his greatest wrath truely then the Lord is good Luther saith he will acknowledge God to be a good God though he should destroy all men in the world much more then is he to be acknowledged in a day of trouble when indeed he appears most graciously to his Saints The Lord is good and a strong hold in the day of trouble Is God a strong hold now when such wrath is revealed yea and specially now a strong hold to his Saints in the day of trouble and he knoweth those that trust in him for all his wrath is abroad in the world he knoweth those that trust in him Many men when they are angry they scarce know the difference betweene their foes and their friends Many when they go abroad if any displease them they come home and are angry with their wives with their servants with their children with their friends with every one about them they know not then who is a friend and who is not when they are in their passion their wives and children and servants wonder what the matter is with them Sure some body or other hath displeased my master abroad to day he is so touchie so angry upon every little thing My brethren It is a dishonour to you in the eyes of your servants and it layes low your authority in your families for them to see you come home in such a per that you know not how to be pleased though they have done nothing to displease you God doth not so though he be never so angry yet hee knowes those that trust in him Let Gods anger be never so publick and general abroad in the world if there be but a poor soul in the world that lies in a poor cottage in a hole that is gracious the Lord knowes it and takes notice of it and that soul shal know too that God doth know it It is true when the wrath of God is revealed abroad in the world seemes as if it would swallow up all those of the Saints whose spirits are weake and fearfull they are then afraid of Gods wrath that they shall be swallowed up in the common calamity be of good comfort God knowes those that trust in him even when his wrath is never so dreadful and general abroad in the world It is in this case with Gods children as it is with a childe in the mothers Armes if the father violently layes hold upon his servant and beates him and thrust him out of doores for his demerits there is such a terrible reflection from the fathers anger against the servant upon the childe that the poor childe falls a crying So it is with the children of God when they see God in a terrible way â—aying hold upon wicked men to execute wrath upon them they cry out they are afraid lest some evil should befall them too Oh no be of good comfort The Lord is good and a strong hold in the day of trouble and knoweth them that trust in him when his anger is never so great and general So it is here though this Israel be not my people yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the Sea for all that so you shall find it in the 15. ver of that first of Nahum Behold saith the Text upon the mountains the feete of him that bringeth good tidings What at this time though Gods way be in the whirl-winde
and so terrible yet now behold the feete of him that bringeth good tydings that publisheth peace God abroad publisheth war yet he hath a messenger to publish life and peace to some Is it not so this day It is true the wrath of the Lord is kindled the wrath of the Lord burneth as an oven and it is hot but it is against the ungody but peace shall be upon Israel And let us sanctifie the name of God in this too for so it followes in this very Chap. of Nah. ver 15. Oh Iudah keepe thy solemne feasts performe thy vowes for the wicked shall no more passe through thee And because God revealeth such rich grace in the middest of judgement let this engage your hearts to the Lord for ever Yea a little further because it is an instraction of great use in these times and may be yet of further use in times we may live to see not onely when God threatneth judgements let us sanctifie Gods name in looking up to promises but when judgements are actually upon us Suppose we should live to have most fearful judgments of God upon us yet even then we must look up to promises and exercise our faith and have an eye to God in the way of his grace at that time this is harder then in threatnings You have an notable place for that in Esay 26. 8. In the way of thy judgements O Lord have we waited for thee the desire of our soule is to thy name Oh blessed be God my brethren the Lord calleth us to wait upon him in the wayes of mercy for the present It is true there was a time not long since that the Lord was in a way of judgement toward England and there were some of Gods people when he was in the wayes of his judgements amongst us yet would wait upon God and keepe his wayes though there were many because Gods judgements were abroad and they saw that they were like to suffer departed from God and declined his wayes Much cause of bitterness of spirit and of dread of humiliation have they that did so But others may have comfort to their soules that in the very wayes of Gods judgments they waited for him they can now with more comfort wait upon God when he is in the ways of his mercy But if God should ever come untous in the ways of his judgments let us learne even then to wait upon God keep his way And yet another Text that may seeme to be more notable than this for this purpose and that is Iere. 33. 24. Consider est thou not what this people have spoken saying the two families which the Lord hath chosen he hath even cast them off thus they have despised my people that they should be no more a nation Marke the low condition the people were in at this time Oh God hath cast them off they are despised contemptible not worthy to be accounted a nation This condition was very low but though they were brought low in a condition contemptible yet now God confirms his Covenant with them at this time For observe ver 25. Thus saith the Lord. If my Covenant be not with day night and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven earth then will I cast away the seed of Iacob ond David my servant As if God should say let them know that whatsoever their condition is now yet my love my mercy my faithfulness is toward them as sure as my covenant with day night and as the ordinances of heaven and earth An admirable Text to help not onely nations but particular persons when they are cast under contempt by wicked ungodly men yet at that time the Lord is most ready to confirm his covenant with them to be as sure as his covenant with day night and heaven earth This bringeth honour to God when at such times we can looke up to God and exercise our faith And indeed this is the glory and dignity and beauty of faith to exercise it then when Gods judgements are actually upon us But what promises are these They were not promises to any that then lived the promise that is here made was to be fulfilled in future Ages yet it is brought in by the Prophet as a comfort to the people of God living then in that time Hence this excellent note that nearly concerns us Gracious hearts are comforted with the promises of God made to the Church though not to be fulfilled in their dayes If the Church may prosper and receive mercies from God though I be dead and gone and rotten in the grave yet blessed be God When Jacob was to die saith he unto Joseph Behold I dye but God shall be with you and bring you again unto the land of your fathers he will fulfill his promises to you though I am dead Our fore-fathers that generation of the Saints that lived a while since how comfortably would they have dyed if God before their death had revealed to them that within 3. or 4. or 7. yeares so much mercy should come to England as we now have seen in these dayes Yea how comfortably should any of us have died I appeal to any gracious heart here suppose God should have taken thee away but this time two yeares and he should have said thus to thee Go and be gathered to thy fathers in peace within these two years such and such things shall be done for England as we now live to see would not we willingly have dyed would it not have been comfort enough against the fear of death but to have had revealed to us what should have been done in after time to our posterity what mercy then is it now that it is not onely revealed to us but enjoyed by us That is the second Note But thirdly What was this promise This promise was that Israel should be a multitude that the number of them shall be as the sand of the sea shore VVe shall examine the excellency of the mercy of God in this promise by and by Onely for the present enquire we a little why God would expresse himselfe in this that his grace should be manifested in this to multiply them as the sand of the sea shore If we compare Scripture with Scripture we shall finde that God therefore promiseth this because he would thereby shew that he did remember his old promise to Abraham for that was the promise made to Abraham that God would multiply his seed as the starres of heaven and as the sand which is upon the sea shore and now God along time after commeth in with renewing this promise Hence we are to observe this Note That the Lord remembers his promises though made a long time since God is ever mindful of his Covenant as it is Psal 111. 5. When we have some new and fresh manifestations of Gods mercy our hearts rejoyce in it but the impression of it is
so to agree Yea that we be not sodered together by our own blood Secondly God hath a time to gather Judah and Israel both together that is to bring peace to his Church God hath a time to gather all his Churches together in a way of peace that there shall be an universall peace amongst his Churches For thought it is true it be meant here of Judah and Israel literally yet Israel and Judah is to set out to us all the Churches of God that shall bee afterwards among the Gentiles and as God will fulfill this Scripture literally so he will fulfill it in the spirituall sense to bring Judah and Israel that is all the Churches of God to be under one head Isa 11. 13. Ephraim shall not envy Iudah and Iudah shall not envy Ephraim Ephraim envyed Judah because Judah challenged to himselfe the true worship of God and Judah on the other side envyed Ephraim because hee was the greatest there was vexing spirits one against another this shall not alvvays be saith God but the envy of Ephraim shall depart I will take away this envious this vexatious spirit Those two staves the holy Ghost speaks of in Zach. 11. 10 11. 14. the staffe of beauty and the staffe of bands they were both broken but God hath a time to unite together again and for that mark that excellent prophecie in Ezek. 37. 16 17. 22. 24. There you shall find fully set out Gods bringing Judah and Israel together and joyning those sticks together again Son of man saith the Text there take thee one sticke and write upon it for Iudah and for the children of Israel his companions then take another sticke write upon it for Ioseph the sticke of Ephraim for all the house of Israel his companions and joyne them one to another into one sticke they shall become one in thy hand And then ver 19. this is interpreted of the union of them Behold I will take the stick of Ioseph which is in the hand of Ephraim will put them with the stick of Iudah make them one sticke they shal be one in mine hand And vers 22. I will make them one Nation in the land upon he mountains of Israel one King shall be King to them all And in the 24. ver that King is said to be David which we shall afterward shew more fully when we shall come to shew this head that they shall be under Now this God hath never yet fulfilled that the ten Tribes and Judah and Benjamine should come together and be set in one stick he hath never set together the staffe of bonds that was broken and yet this must be done and it is the great blessing of God upon his Churches the bringing about of this union one with another Mark that Text for this purpose Ier. 33. God having promised having promised there in the 10. ver that in the latter dayes he would bring Judah Israel together and build them up at first then in the 14. vers Behold the dayes come saith the Lord that I will perform the good thing which I have promised unto the children of Israel to the house of Judah What is that good thing that God had promised to the houses of Israel and Iudah That good thing my brethren is the building them up together as they were at first that is the good thing Behold how good pleasant a thing it is for brethren to live together in unity It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran downe upon the beard even Aarons beard that went down to the skirts of his garments as the dew of Hermon as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion for there the Lord commanded the blessing even 〈…〉 the Churches of God where there is this 〈…〉 here is God commanding blessing that 〈…〉 powerfully commeth efficaciously and blessing of life and life for evermore O who would not then love union and peace in the Churches Zach. 14. 9. The Lord shal be King over all the earth in that day shall there be one Lord his name one The Churches now they have one Lord they all acknowledg God Christ to be their Lord yea but this Lord hath not one name though they all pretend to Christ that they will honour Christ and set up Christ yet this one Lord hath many names But here it is prophefied that there shall be but one Lord and his name shall be but one neither And Zeph. 3. 9. Then will I turne to a people of a pure languag that they may all cal upon the name of the Lord serve him with one consent The word in the Originall is one shoulder all the people of God shall have but one shoulder that they shall set to the service of God O blessed time when they shall come so to be united as to have but one shoulder And the greater will this blessing be of Iudahs and Israels gathering together if you consider these two things I beseech you observe them and I goe no further then this very Scripture I am now opening to you First that they shall have this perfect union together even then when Israel shall be as the sand of the sea when there shall be such multitudes comming in and flocking to the Church yet then they shall be united into one and then there shall be peace in the Churches It is not a hard matter when there are but very few of a Church perhaps halfe a dozen or halfe a score for them then to be of one mind and to agree in one lovingly together and to have no divisions nor dissentions among themselves but when a Church grows to be a multitude and a great many then there lies the difficulty When did ever any Church though never so well constituted at first but increase in divisions and dissentions as they increased in number and multitude You see you find it very hard when you have any meeting in any society when any business concerns a great many you finde it I say a very hard thing so to agree together as to be of one and the same mind An instrument as a watch or any thing that hath many wheels is sooner out of frame then that which hath but a wheele or two So when a great many come together about any businesse it is mighty hard to bring them to be united in one There are few families that have many persons in it but quickly dissentions and brablings grow among them perhaps where there are two or three in a family they keep well enough together but where there are many where there are but seven in a family they cannot so well agree nor so long a time together as the seven Devills did in Mary Magdalen they agreed better and longer then many a seven in a family But God hath made this promise to the Church that though it shall increase as
were the worst condition in the world were worse then the condition of a heathen For the gods of a heathen would be content to have but part of the honour of the heart and life because they could help but in part If a heathen god should require the whole soulto be lifted up above all and he alone to be honoured and worshipped as a God and yet when it comes to a matter of helpe and protection he could doe nothing without some other joyned with him a heathen might well reason the ease with him as doing him wrong certainly Christ will never wrong his people so as to challenge from them that they should lift up him alone and joyne no other with him and yet when it comes to their help and succour that there should be need to call in others besides himselfe to their help Therefore as Christ doth challenge it from us to make him our head alone so we may challenge it from Christ to helpe us alone when there is no other helpe for us Thus we have finished both the head-ship of Christ and the Churches appointing him to be that head Now followes the next mercy the next blessing and that but in a word and then we come to the conclusion of this Chapter They shall come up out of the land Aterrenis affectibus So Jerome he makes it a comming up from their earthly senses earthly affections A vita miserabili so Luther upon the place makes it a comming up from their miserable life and condition But rather thus Come up out of the land that is out of their captivity Judah and Israel they shall joyne together in comming to Jerusalem and so joyne in the same kinde of worship as they were wont to come out of all parts of the countrey to worship at Jerusalem and there were united in one kinde of worship so they shall now come from all parts of the world where they are scattered and joyne in the same way of worship yea and it is very probable in their own land There was a time when the people of God did sing songs of praise in the wildernesse Exod 15. But the time shall come when they shall do it in their own land and this shall be a blessing of God upon them Isa 26. 1. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah VVe have a strong City salvation will God appoint for walls and bulworkes It shall be sung in the land of Judah Ezek. 20. 40. In the mountaines of the height of Israel saith the Lord God there shall all the house of Israel all of them in the land serve me there will I accept them and there will I require your offerings and the first fruites of your oblations with all your holy things Ezekiel 37. 21. I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen whether they begone and will gather them on every side and bring them into their own land This blessing hath God granted unto many of his servants this day who never thought to have seen their owne land their own good land but God hath bin pleased to gather them up that they are come not onely into their own land but they finde the armes and hearts of the Saints open to imbrace them and call them to publicke imployments It was not long since that the land could not beare them we hope that the time may come ere long that the Lord Christ may so rule and that in our land that it will as hardly beare wicked and ungodly men as it hath borne the Saints though it were hard to say that there should be so much violence used even to keep them from some sins as hath been used here against the Saints to keep them from their God yet time may come ere long that wicked men may be glad to flye though not forced unto it out of their owne choyce into another land because they cannot have the enjoyment of their lusts so freely here As the Saints have been forced to flye out of their land that they might serve the Lord and keep their consciences cleare But we let this passe and come now to the close of the Chapter to the Epiphonema of it all For great shall be the day of Jezreel They shall appoint themselves one head and come up out of the land for great Licet so Tremelius turnes it although the day of Jezreel be great indeed the Hebrew particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth quamvis as well as quia It may be translated although as well as for And he translating it so although the day of Iezreel be great he takes it in this sense that is although the people of Israel shall be brought into great affliction yet God will be so mercifull then when his time comes as they shall be gathered together again and appoint themselves one head and come up out of the land And from such an interpretation of the words there might be an excellent meditation raised and that is this That the greatnesse of the misery of the Church is no hinderance to the course of the freenesse and abundance of Gods mercy to it Although the day of Iezreel their day be never so calamitous never so afflictive never so grievous yet they shall come up out of the land and appoint themselves one head The greatnesse of the Churches misery is no hinderance unto the Churches delivery Why because their deliverance dependeth upon a God who doth delight not onely to manifest some power but the excellency and the glory and the choyce of his power in their deliverance For that take this Scripture Isa 62. 8. Where speaking of these very times that we shall heare of afterward of Gods being mercifull unto his people he saith The Lord hath sworne by his right hand and we have not onely mention thereof Gods right hand and swearing by it but the arme of God too Marke that The arme of God and the arme of his strength There is Gods hand Gods arme the arme of his strength God sweareth by it Surely when God delighteth to put forth such power for the deliverance of his Church it is no great matter whether the afflicted estate be great or small It makes no great matter for the hinderance of the Churches delivery no more then if you should see two bubbles of water rise up one hath a little thicker skin then the other Now there is as much difference in the difficulty that the thick skin bubble makes when a mighty Cannon or peece of Ordnance shal be shot off with a mighty Bullet to resist it from the thinner skin bubble as the greatest and forest affliction that the people of God were ever under in this world makes a difference in the difficulty of their deliverance when they have to deale with an infinite God from the least affliction that ever the Church was in The difference is no more If a childe indeed
should see the thicker skin bubble he might thinke t is harder to be broke then the thinner skin but if a Cannon should be shot off nay if it be but a Fillip it makes no difference Now the afflictions of Gods people they are to this right hand of Gods power and the arme of his strength but as a bubble of water before a mighty Cannon Yea if there be not help at all to deliver Gods people in time of affliction yet God can create helpe He will create Jerusalem a rejoycing and their people a joy Yea suppose their condition be such as yet never was the like since the beginning of the world yet Isa 64. 4. Since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the care â—either hath the eye seene what God hath prepared for them that waite for him And as the greatnesse of the Churches deliverance is no hinderance of Gods power in delivering them so it should be no hinderance to the work of our faith Common prudence and reason will go a great way to uphold us under some affliction but when the affliction comes to be sore and grievous and long prudence reason then sinketh under the burthen but then should faith lift up it selfe and cast an eye upon this right hand of Gods power this arme of his strength that he hath sworne by and exercise it self in the glorious acts of it For certainly faith is appointed for such a time as this when the Church is under grievous extremities The ordinary afflictions of the Church do not call for such a work of faith but when they come to extraordinary that requires such a power of God for their deliverance then there is called for a worke of faith proportionable as Alexander when he was in great danger Now saith he there is a danger fit for the spirit of Alexander to incounter withall So when the Church comes to be in any great danger all the members of it should say here is a danger here is a trouble fit for the spirit of Christians fit for the spirits of those that are able to exercise the most noble and glorious acts of faith This glorious exercise of faith I may even say we are scarce yet for the present put to it for reason and sense sees much help they see that the cause of God at this day hath the better of the adversary reason I say and prudence may see far this way Let us not look upon every difficulty as a thing that calleth for such a mighty glorious worke of faith whereas men by reason and prudence and may carry themselves under such difficulties much better then most of us doe But we do not know but the Lord may call us unto such difficulties and dangers as requires such a faith as hath such a kinde of work as I have spoken of Let us therefore lay up this Instruction for the time to come Again for great shall be the day of Jezreel If the words be read thus as they are in your Bibles and yet have reference to the calamitous time and grievous extremities of the day of Jezreel then there will be these two excellent meditations from thence The first is That Gods bowels of compassion do work toward his Church because of the greatnesse of their affliction When their afflictions shall be very great and the greater they are the more do Gods bowels of compassion work toward them We know the misery of Gods people in Exo. 3. was a marvailous quickning argument to the compassion of God as I may so speake I have seene I have seene saith he the affliction of my people and their sorrowes and therefore am come down to deliver them If the greatness of the affliction of the Church move the bowels of Gods compassion then let not the greatnesse of affliction hinder our faith Let not the greatnesse of trouble reason down our faith but rather let it reason up our faith for so indeed it should and so the Saints of God heretofore have done by the greatness of the trouble we must reason up our faith as thus It is â—â—me for thee O Lord to work for men have almost destroyed thy law yea the high time is come for thee to have mercy upon Zion for thy people begin to favour the dust thereof What was this a good argument Have mercy upon me and pardon my sin for it is very great to move God withall Surely then this is a good argument Deliver us in our afflictions for they are very great for sin makes a great deale more distance betweene God and us then afflictions yet if the greatness of sin shall come to be put as an argument for Gods mercy and compassion to work much more the greatness of afflictions Yet this is the grace of God in the second Covenant that even the sins that before made the creature the object of hatred those sins come now to make it an object of compassion So afflictions that before were part of the curse they come now to be arguments for the moving of the bowels of Gods tender compassion toward his people Another note if you read it so for great is their affliction is this the promise is the only support of the soul and that which carrieth it thorow the greatest affliction Afflictions are as leade to the net the promise is as the corke the promise keepes above water when the lead pulls down But I leave these meditations though I finde many interpreters run this way And I rather take it as a further expression of Gods wonderfull mercy unto his Church For great shall be the day of Jezreel That is God hath a great day of mercy for Jezreel That is the meaning they shall appoint themselves one head they shall be gathered together and be made one they shall come up out of the land why for God hath yet to come a great day of mercy to his pepole A grâ—â—â— day of Jezreel And herein therefore God makes use of the name of Jezreel in a good sense They that carry it the other way would carry the signification of the name thus for great is the day of scattering of the scattered people so Iezreel signifieth as you heard in the beginning of the Chapter But Jezreel signifieth likewise the seed of God Before God made use of their name in the worse sense that he would scatter them according to their name now he makes use of their name in the best sense they are the seed of God and there is great mercy from God for them When God is reconciled unto a people he takes all in the best sense and makes the best acception of every thing as he doth here of the name Jezreel We have onely these two things to consider of in this expression 1. That the Saints of God and the Church they are Gods Jezreel That is they are the seed of God 2. That there is for this
of the Church Though they shall come to have a great deale of power a little before yet when that great day of Iezreel shall come they shal be certâ—inly all subdued brought under Rev. 19. 13. Christ when he shall come in this great day he shal have his garments dipt in blood in destroying the wicked and ungodly and Rev 15. the Saints when they see the wicked destroyed as the Egyptians were in the sea the Text saith that they sung the song of Moses What was this song of Moses but the praysing of God for the destruction of their adversaries in the Sea God hath another Sea to destroy the wicked and God hath a day for his Saints to sing over the song of Moses again and especially for the destruction of Popery My brethren be not troubled to see Papists make a concourse and flock together be not troubled at it for when this day shall come God will so order things that his adversaries shall come and flock together but it shall be that they may be destroyed for God hath a great feast and a great Sacrifice and he will sacrifice them especially And therefore Lactantius that I spoke of before and is one that lived 1300. yeares since saith he speaking then of this day I have a thing to say but I even tremble to speake it but I must speake it and what was it Romanum nomen saith he de terra tolletur those are his words the Roman name shall be taken off from the earth He in those primitive times prophâ—sied of the destruction of Rome Perhaps though he did not see it so clearly yet God might so order it as though hee understood it not God might intend it for these times God will destroy the enemies of his Churches then Yea. Ezek. 28. 24. there is a promise to the Saints that there shall beno more a pricking bryar nor any grieving thorne of any that are round about them that despise them in another place God saith that he will take away the Canaanite out of the Land Further the third thing that shall be done in this great day is the glorious presence of Christ among the Saints let it be personall or what it will wee determine not but thus far we may confidently affirme that there shall be a more glorious presence of Jesus Christ among his people then ever yet was since the beginning of the world Rev. 21. 22. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb shall be the Temple of it and Chap. 22. 3. 4. The Throne of God and of the Lamb shal be in it and his servants shall serve him they shall see his face and Ezek. 48. the last words of the Chapter The name of that place shall be Jehovah-shammah that is the Lord is there Fourthly the glory that shall be put upon the Saints at that day shewes it to be a great day Glory shall be put upon them first in regard of their admirable gifts graces they shall be heightned and inlarged the weake shall be as David and they that are as David shall be as the Angel of God at that day The bowing down of their adversaries before them The high esteeme that they shall have even in the thoughts and judgments of many great ones of the world they shall be called up to heaven that is those that are in highest place and dignity shall call them up and honour them in that day yea the Text saith The Kings of the earth in that day shall came in and bring their glory to the Church Therefore it is apparent that place Rev. 21. 24. cannot be understood of heaven for it is said the Kings of the earth shal bring their glory they shall not bring their glory to the Church when the Church shall be in heaven And fiftly a great day it shall be in regard of the wonderfull change of all creatures glorious fruitfull times so I remember Lactantius speaks of that time that the rocks them selves should issue forth honey and precious things but that we cannot say yet that there shall bee a wonderfull change of all things and all creatures brought to a further happiness even the sensitive creatures as well as others then they had before the Scriptures are cleare euough in it And literally we are to understand many Scriptures that tend this way concerning the fruitfulnesse of the earth and the outward external glory that there shall be in the creatures As upon a great marriage feast or Coronation day all the servants of the Prince are in their best array so when Christ his Bridegroome shall come and meet with his wife with his Spouse all creatures shall be put into a new cresse shall have further glory And lastly that which we have here in the Text the multitudes of all nations and people that shall flock to the Church that they shall be as the sand of the sea But this I have spoken of before at large Now put all these things together and Great shall be the day of Jezreel Yea but shall these things be so shall they be so Though flesh and blood may reason against these things yet I may apply that place Zach. 2. 13. Be silent O all flesh before the Lord for he is raised up out of his holy haâ—â—â—tion Flesh may say How can these things be But let all flesh be silent for God hath made known in his Word the great things that he intends to bring to passe And Zach. 8. 6. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts if it be marvaylous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these dayes should it also be marvaylous in mine eyes saith the Lord of Hosts It may be applyed to this as well as the other These things may seeme marveilous to your eyes especially because we have been but little acquainted with them but they are not marveilons in the eyes of God Yea we find it out of the Word that these things were to be kept hidden till the appointed time should come till we draw neerer to that great day we are not to wonder why these things have not been opened unto us for God tells us Dan. 12 that they were to be sealed up even to the time appointed and Rev. 10. 11. God telleth Iohn that he must prophe sie again before the Kings of the earth that is before the time of the fulfilling of all things that booke of the Revelation shall be made out as cleere as if Iohn were come to prophesie again before men And we hope it is comming because God beginneth to let in light that way and the morning star seemeth to begin to arise In Zach. 14. 6. you have mention of a day that we may apply to the present day that we have now And it shall come to passe saith the Text there that the light shall not be cleere nor darke but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord not day nor night but
it shall come to passe that at evening time it shall be light Mark what shall be in that day ver 8. And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem ver 9 In that day shall there be but one Lord and his name one and then ver 20. In that day shal there be upon the bels of the horses holiness to the Lord and ver 21. In that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Hosts Certainly my brethren these Scriptures speakes of a glorious day that is a comming but yet in the beginning of it is just like such a day as we have now for the present wherein the light is neither cleere nor darke It is true not long since it was darke now this darkenesse beginneth to be a little dispelled but it is not cleere yet many things for the present darken the light and there is opposition and many dampes upon the hearts of Gods people and things go not oâ—â—s we desire but blessed be God it is not night with us though it be not 〈◊〉 day it is not darke as it was though it be not as cleere as we desire therfore this is now a day which is neither cleer nor darke but even as it were twilight Well but it shall be one day that is one special day and indeed it is our day now it is the greatest day that ever yet England had It shall be one day which shall be knowne to the Lord a day wherein the Lord hath great thoughts and purposes to do great things and certainly this our day is known to the Lord great things God is about to do for his Churches laying a foundation of glorious things for the good of his people And then mark though it be neither day nor night yet at the evening time it shall be light What a strange expression is here It shall be a duskie cloudy day all day and then a man would thinke that at evening it should be quite dark what to be cloudy at noone and to be darkish at three or foure of the clock in the afternoone what then will it be in the evening surely then it must needes be more darke No though it be not cleere now though it be a cloudy day and part of it darke yet at the evening time it shall be light When it shall be least expected to have light and when we shall most feare darknesse when wee shall be ready to conclude O our day is gone once indeed God did bring a day to England a comfortable day though it was a little darke yet there was a glorious light in comparison of what we had before but now it is grown towards evening the evening begins to shut upon us we looked for light but behold darknesse Perhaps many will be complaining if they see things go on with any difficulty and opposition they will be ready to have their hearts sink within them and to cry out now our day is gone and the evening is comming we must look for darkness yea and feare a dismall darknesse Now my brethren be of good comfort for at evening time it shall be light when we think it shall be evening when it is most unlikely to be light then shall the light of the Lord breake forth most gloriously For whensoever this day of Iezreel commeth there must be such a glorious work of God as may magnify his name before the eyes of all men and therefore at evening it shall be light And in that day living waters shall go out from Jerusalem We have had some drops of living waters in this our day but there is a day a comming wherein living waters shall even flow out of Jerusalem Now to winde up all There is a day for the Saints a rest for the people of God a day wherein God will deliver them from all afflictions I have met with one that speaking of the Sabbath that the Jewes might kindle no fire upon their Sabbath because that rest was to signifie the rest of the Saints he applyeth it thus That was saith he a type that there is such a time of rest for the Saints that they shall be delivered from all fiery tryals all their afflictions shall be gone and taken away Great shall be the day of Iezreel The consideration of this me thinks might be a strong argument to draw in all people to the wayes to the love of godlinesse and Religion to come and joyne with the Churches in appointing Christ head over them All you wicked ones that hath forsaken the Lord hitherto come in joyn now and submit unto Jesus Christ as your Head for great shall be the day of Iezreel There is a great day for the Church of God a day of glory a day of abundance of wonderfull mercy of God to the Churches They shall have their day come you in and embrace Religion that you may partake of their glory Certainly the Saints of God shall have the better of it shall have the day of all the world let the world strive against them what they can Every man desires to follow the stronger party and to cleave to that would you cleave to the stronger part Cleave to the Saints of God to the Church for certainly it is the stronger part It is a going up it is rising and will rise more and more till it be risen unto the heighth Though there be some opposition yet it is such as shall make the glory of the day so much the more Those men that 〈◊〉 shall stand to pleade for Antichrist and to oppose the work that God is about certainly they are men borne out of time borne in an ill hour Your Papists and superstitious people that heretofore stood for that way they prospered in their way because the day of God was not so neare but the day of his patience in permitting Antichrist to continue was then But doest thou come now what superstitious now what opposing the work of God now when God is comming out to fight against Popery and superstition when God is about to do such great things for his Churches as he certainly is Thou fightest against God and God will fight against thee and thou shalt be throwen upon thy backe Thou art borne in the worst time that possibly could be worse then all the adversaries of the truth in former times And if there be such a day let us be willing to suffer for a while let us be willing to mourne for the Churches a while in that way of mourning that God calls us unto for there is a recompence comming glory enough comming even in this world There is a time of triumphing let us be content with our warfare here for a while Thirdly Let us study these things These things are usefull for people in these times to look into to search into these truths of God that so they may be the better
of the Church that shall be marke what the Text saith The Lord shall regard the prayer of the destitute and shall not despise their prayer speaking of those that shall live in those times a little before this day of Iezreel shall be The Lord shall regard the prayer of the destitute the word that is translated destitute it signifieth in the Hebrew a poor shrub in the wildernesse a poor shrub that the foot of every beast is ready to tread downe and that poore shrub that perhaps is despicable in the eyes of the world and despicable in his own eyes yet saith the Text the Lord shal regard the prayer of that poor shrub Is there ever a poor shrub though never so destitute so despicable in the eyes of the world or in thine owne eyes yet be thou a praying Christian a praying soul praying for those things and God will regard thy prayer he will not despise thy prayer Perhaps thou art ready to despise thy prayers thy self but God will not despise them let all our hearts be lifted up and let us all cry with the Church Come Lord Jesus Come quickly O let this day come for great shall be the day of Jezreel HOSEA CHAP. 2. The First Lecture CHAP. 2. VER 1. 2. Say 〈◊〉 your brethren Ammi and to your sisters Ruhamah Pled with your mother plead for she is not my Wife neither am I her husband c. SOme joyne the first verse of this Chapter to the end of the former and according to a sense that may be given of the words agreeable to the scope of the latter part of the former Chapter it may seem more fit to be made the end of that then the beginning of this In the latter end of the former God was in a way of promising mercy to his people that those that were not his people should be his people and those that had not received mercy should receive mercy Now he calleth upon all whose hearts were with God to speake to one another of this great favour of God to his people foâ— their mutuall encouragement and for the praise of his Name As if he should say Well you have been under dreadfull threats of God your sins have called for dreadfull things but my grace is free and it is rich powerfull therefore you that were not my people and have deserved to be for ever cast off from being my people you that had not obtained mercy shall obtaine mercy Say to your brethren Ammi and to your sisters Ruhamah that is O you that are godly speak one to another and telâ— one another for the quickning of one anothers hearts of this great favour of God of his free grace Oh say Ammi Ammi the people of God Ruhamah Gods mercy We were not his people but now Ammi again God hath promised to make us to be his people we were rejected from mercy but mercy is come again now Ruhamah O the mercy of God O that free grace of our God that wee that have beene so vile so provoked the eyes of his glory we that have so sinned against mercy it self yet mercy should thus follow us to make us his people and to save us from his wrath It is a good thing to speake of the loving kindnesse of our God Psal 92. 1. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord and to be telling of the goodnesse of God in the morning and his faithfulnesse every night That Psalme is appointed for the Sabbath It is a work of the Sabbath to be speaking one to another of the goodnesse of God Especially in this case when a people were afraid that they should have been for ever rejected that now God should call them againe Ammi my people and say now againe that he will have mercy upon them Psal 145. 4. 5. One generation shall praiss thy name to another and shall declare thy mighty acts I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty and of thy wondrous works Mark what the wayes of God are toward his Church when he commeth in the wayes of mercy they are wondrous works of God they are the mighty acts of God they are such wherein the honor of God appears yea they are the honour of his Maâ—esty yea they are the glorious honour of his Majestyâ— There is Majesty honour of Majesty glorious honour of Majesty mighty works of God wonderfull works of God When these appeare these are to be declared indeed And for them to be able to say to one another Ammi and Ruhamah it was to declare the wonderfull works of God and the glorious honour of his Majesty Yea it followeth further in that Psalme verse 6. Men shal speake of the might of thy terrible acts and I will declaâ—e thy greatnesse And verse 7. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodnesse Eâ—uctaâ—uâ—t so Arias Mâ—ntanus renders it they shall not be able to keep it in but break â—orth in the memory of thy goodnesse Happy are those people that God gâ—ants such subjects of discourses unto that they may say one to another to their brethren and sisters Ammi and Ruhamah It was not long since that when we met with our brethren we could not have such a subject of discourse as this is but usually when Christians met together after their Salutations their first question was Oh! what shall we do what shall we doe what course shall we take All the Newes almost that was in the Kingdome and the subject of discourses specially among the Saints was this Such a Minister silenced in such a place such a one banished in another place such a one imprisoned in another place such a one High-Commissioned in another place such signes of the wrath of God upon us we are afraid that God is going if he be not quite gone already we are afraid that he will not onely reject us from being his people but reject us from being a people upon the facâ— of the earth But blessed be God he hath changed the subject of our dâ—scourses Now Gods wayes have begun to be towards us as if he intended to make us again to be his people Now we may when we meet together have plentifull subjects of discourses about Gods grace mercy to say Ammi Ruhamah O the Lord manifesteth goodnes to an unworthy Nation we have hope that yet he will owne us to be his people we have hope that yet he will shew mercy to us though never so unworthy Who would have thought ever to have seene and heard of such things as we have seene heard who would have thought ever to have seene the hearts of the adversaries so daunted their power so curbed their rage so quelled the wicked in their own workes so ensnared their hopes so disappointed who would ever have thought to have seene the Saints so rejoycing their liberties so inlarged their hearts and expectations so raised This is the free grace of God
whorish upon the breasts of the Church upon the Ordinances the Word and Sacraments Christ Jesus a bundle of myrrhe between their breasts hath been delightfull to them I finde another reading of the words in the Septuagint Translation Whereas we reade it Let her take away her whoredoms from her sight I finde that they reade it as a speech of God I will take away her whoredoms from my face And Ciryl reading the words according to the 70. hee hath an excellent note from thence God saith he threatneth that he will take away her whoredomes from his face as when a member of a body is so putrified that it cannot be cured by salves and medicynes it is cut off and so the disease commeth to be cured so God laboureth to cure the people of Israel by admonitions by exhortations by threatnings by promises of mercy and when all would not do then he threatneth to cure them by another way that is by cutting them off by the Assyrians I will send an enemy against them and he shall take them out of their owne land and carry them into a strange land then they shal be farre enough from their calves far enough from Dan and Bethel so I will take their whoredomes from before my face Thus many times doth God take away the sinnes of a people or of a particular person from before his face As for instance Thou drunkard thou unclean person thou hast had exhortations threatnings many mercifull expressions from God toward thee from thy sinnes to take away thy sinnes from thee that will not do God commeth with some noysome vile disease upon thy body that thou shalt not be able to act thy sinne any more and God takes away the act of thy sinne at least that way in such a violent manner by his judgements and so sometimes men and women that have estates and will be proud and vaine and make their estates the fuel of their lusts when the Word cannot take away their sinnes and the expression of their wickednesse God by some violent judgement takes away their estates that they shall not be able to commit those sinnes that they did before though they would never so faine This is a dreadfull taking away of sin Yea when God shall come so to take away the sinne of men and women as to take away their souls together with taking away their sinne for so it is threatned Job 27. 8. What is the hope of the hypocrite when God taketh away his soul Thou that wouldest not suffer the word to take away thy sin thou must expect that God wil take it away another way even by taking away thy soule Ezek. 21. 29. It may be said of some sinners as there God threatneth The time is come saith the Text when their iniquity shal have an end God will suffer them to live no longer to sin against him he will take away their sinnes but so as to take away their soules they shall not sinne any more against God in this world Lest I strip her naked and set her as in the day wherein she was borne There is much in these words and because they are so exceeding sutable unto us God still bringing points to hand sutable to our times so long as this is you must give me liberty to insist a while upon them and not runne over them so fast as otherwise I would doe I must not slightly passe over those truths that are so cleerly presented and so neerly concerning us Lest I strip her naked c It seems by this that Israel had once been in a very low condition when she was borne a very pittifull estate But God had put many ornaments upon her and now he threatneth to bring her again into the same condition and to strip her naked In the day wherein she was borne This I finde Interpreters to referre to divers conditions of Israel but most refer it to the time of their deliverance out of Egypt that is called here by God the day wherein she was borne We must inquire first what was the condition of Israel in the day wherein she was borne Secondly what ornaments God had put upon her afterwards and then we shall come to see the strength of the threat that God would strip her naked and set her as in the day wherein she was borne For the first two we shall not need to goe farre we have them fully and most elegantly set out unto us in Ezek. 16. That Chapter may be a Comment upon this what Israel was in the day wherein she was borne and what ornaments God had put upon her In the third verse Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan thy father was an Amorite and thy mother an Hittite ver 4. And as for thy nativity in the day thou wast borne thy â—avill was not cut c We must a little open the expression there or else wee cannot open this Text in Hosea Thy father was an Amorite and thy mother an Hittite When thou wert borne thou wert in this condition What their father an Amorite and their mother an Hittite Abraham was their father and Sarah their mother why here an Amorite and an Hittite Secondly Because there were other nations besides Amorites Hittites theâ—â— were the Jebusites the Perizites why rather an Amorite Hittite then a Jebusite and Perizite These two questions must be answered First Abraham was their father yet because they were in such a disposition so like to the Amorites and Hittites so vile and so wicked now they deserve not to have the honour of Abrahams being their father but to be called the children of the Amorite and the Hittite As John Baptist calleth the Pharisees the viperous the serpentine brood so those that are like the devil are called the Children of the Devil Secondly Why the Amorite and Hittite rather then others For the first the Amorite because the Amorite was the chiefest of those nations in Canaan that were driven out All the five were called by the name of Amorite The sinnes of the Amorites are not yet full Secondly the Hittite because they seemed to be the vilest of the five and for that there is a Text of Scripture that seemeth to infer so much Gen. 27. 46. I am weary of my life saith Rebekah because of the daughters of Heth. She onely mentioneth the daughters of Heth and those that were now called Hittites were of the daughters of Heth And saith she What good will my life doe if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth Why there were other daughters besides them but those were the vilest therefore she onely mentioneth them Yea but what was Israel at this time when they were delivered out of Egypt for that is the time wherein shee was borne that is spoken of here were they in so ill a condition as that their father was an Amorite and their mother
hand all their strength is but as tow and flaxe before the flame of fire If God be in a way of mercy none can take out of his hands Isa 43. 13. There is none can deliver out of my hand I will worke and who shall let it Wherefore it is a fearfull thing to fall into the hand of God when he is in a way of wrath and it is a blessed thing to be in his hand when he is in a way of mercy for none can deliver out of either Christ holds the stars not only Ministers but all his Elect in his hand and none can take them out I will give you a notable example in Gods preservation in times of danger In the time of the Massacre at Paris there was a poor man who for his deliverance crept into a hole and when he was there there comes a Spider and weaves a cobweb before the hole when the murtherers came to search for him saith one Certainly he is got into that hole No saith another he cannot be there for there is a cobweb over the place and by this meanes the poore man was preserved The hope of the wicked Job saith is as the Spiders Web yet if God please he can make a cobweb to deliver his people The least things shall deliver when he will and the greatest meanes of deliverance shall not deliver when he pleases The Eighth Lecture HOSEA 2. 11. I will also cause all her mirth to cease her feast dayes her New Moones and her Sabbaths and all her solemne feasts THe Lord proceeds still in his threats against Israel in this verse we have as sore a threat as any for it is in part spirituall Her mirth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so the Seventy reade it the word signifieth the right temper the right posture of the minde when the minde is in a right frame then it may be merry Whosoever is merry saith S. James let him sing there the word though not the same yet signifying the same thing who ever hath his minde in a right frame let him sing No man can be truly merry except his minde be in a right frame I will cause all her mirth God many times takes away from his Saints much of the matter of their mirth but never takes away all This is a dreadfull threat to cause all their mirth to cease I will cause it to cease I will turne it away so the Seventy I can soone have all their mirth down they shall never be able to rejoyce more if I please it is gone all with the turn of a hand It appeares that Israel though an apostatizing people though a people of Gods wrath designed to dreadfull judgements yet was a merry jocund people they went on still in their mirth and joviallity That which is here implyed is more fully exprest in Amos Chap. 6. 4. who was contemporary with Hosea and hee was the Prophet of the ten Tribes as Hosea was now see there how Amos setteth forth the mirth of this people They lye upon beds of Ivory and stretch themselves upon their couches and eate the Lambes out of the flock and the Calves out of the middst of the stall they chaunt to the sound of the Violl and invent to themselves instruments of musick like David they drinke wine in bowles and anoint themselves with the chiefe oyntment This was their condition when they were under such fearfull guilt and in such dreadfull danger Sensuall men while they prosper they looke upon themselves as above the word and blesse themselves in the satisfying of their own carnal desires as if it were but a poore low and meane thing for them to be under the power of the word to feare sin and threatnings it is too low for such brave spirits as they have But come let us sing away all care let us live merrily let us take our pleasure for the present and crowne our selves with rose-buds This is the disposition of carnall hearts under all their guilt and danger They swim delightfully in that River of Jordan and suddenly fall into the Dead Sea they spend their dayes in pleasure and in a moment go down into hell This is all the portion of their cup they receive from the Lord They have a little joy here this is all they are like to have and therefore they will take their fill of what they have But this will not hold I will cause this mirth to cease Sinne and mirth can never hold long together there must be a separation between them The union that there is betweene sinne and mirth at any time it is a forced union God never joynes them together and if you will joyne those things God never joyned your joyning cannot hold Sinne is of such a canker-fretting nature as it will soone fret out all the varnish of mirth and joy that is upon it If you will not take away sinne from your mirth God will take away mirth from your sin It is indeed the happinesse of the Saints that they shall have everlasting joy the pleasures at Gods right hand are for evermore but the pleasures of sin must cease Thirdly when afflictions come upon the wicked they are all Amort their joy their mirth is gone We say of fire it congregates things of the same kinde and separates things that are of diverse kinds So it is with the fire of affliction it congregateth things of the same nature as thus sinne and horror trouble anguish sorrow vexation accusation of conscience condemnation these are of the same kinde sin and these are Homogenall now when affliction commeth it congregateth all these Here is sinne yea but sorrow and anguish and horror of conscience seemeth now not to be together with your sinne but when the fire of affliction comes it joynes all these together On the other side sin and joy and prosperity and peace these are Heterogeneall things of another kinde now when the fire of affliction comes it separates these Heterogeneall things then the hearts of the wicked sinke as lead they lye down in sorrow the candle of the wicked is blown out all their mirth and joy it is but the light of a candle affliction makes all to be but as a stinking snuffe And indeed ungodly men when affliction comes are men of the poorest spirits of any men they quickly dye they succumb they fall downe under the least weight of affliction They seeme to have brave spirits to out-brave the word of God but they have poore meane and low spirits when they come to beare Gods hand upon them Affliction takes away all their good that they conceive and understand good There is nothing within them to support them there is nothing but darknesse and blacknesse within nothing but guilt and gnawings of the worme And they looke upon every suffering they indure but as the beginning of eternall suffering And there is the venome and curse of God goes together with their affliction
and desperately inflameth wicked resolutions of ungodly men When a company of ungodly men met together in a Tavern and there have drunk and eat liberally how desperately are they set against the ways of godlines then they scorn and jeer godly Ministers and Parliament and Christians they are then as if they were above God their tongues are their owne and who shall controule them and all when their lusts are heated with wine and good cheer Mark that Scripture Ps 35. 16. With hypocriticall mockers at feasts they gnashed upon me with their teeth Here is scorning and violence gnashing upon the Psalmist with their teeth and this at their feasts Hos 7. 5. In the daye of our King the Princes have made him sick with bottles of wine he stretched out his hand with scorners They brought bottles of wine and when his lusts were heated with wine and good cheere then hee joyned with them in scorning the wayes and worship of GOD they scorned at all those that would goe up to Jerusalem to worship according to the institution these must be so precise that they will not joyne with us as if wee had not the worship of GOD among us they tel tales to Jeroboam and the other Princes of the godly who would not yeeld to their idolatrous wayes of worship they scorned at their precisenesse Now saith the Text The King stretched out his hand with scorners takes them by the hand and encourageth them in that way and tells them he will take a course with them not one of them shall be suffered to live in his dominions Their hearts were put all agog with their feasts but God hath a time to take away feasting times from a people a time when those who have delighted themselves so in the use of the creatures shall have all those merry meetings and brave times cease never feast more never meet with such merry company more As that Pope Adrian said when he was a dying O my soule whither art thou going thou shalt never be more merry For Kingdomes also though there be times for feasting yet there is a time of mourning and God seems this day to be comming to us to take away our feasts to call upon us to spend our times in another way It were good for us to do what we can to prevent God by humbling our selves in a voluntary way to take away our owne Feasts and to change our Festivities into Humiliations The times call for fasting now rather then feasting and it is a most dreadfull sin then for men to give liberty to themselves for feasting when God calls for mourning and fasting It is not at your liberty to feast when you will Isa 22. 12. is a most dreadfull place that might make the hearts of those who are guilty in this kinde tremble Vers 12. And in that day did the Lord of hosts call to mourning and to girding with sackcloath and behold joy and gladness slaying oxen killing sheep drinking wine Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till you die saith the Lord God of Hosts While the bread is taken away from our brethren and the land is so miserably spoyled and when such a black cloud hangeth over our heads here is no time for Festivities Whatsoever your customes have been at this time now coming I mean that which you call your Christmas Festivity you are certainely bound now to turne it into a time of mourning For if wee should grant it lawfull for men to appoint Holy-days that way for feasting of which more by and by yet certainly it cannot be but a sinfull thing so to set those dayes apart as whatsoever providence of God falls out yet they will continue what they themselves have set You will all grant this that if it be lawfull to keep this time of Festivity yet this not that that God himselfe hath set apart and enjoyned We never have it required by Christ or by his Apostles that at such a time just when the yeer cometh about that wee should have solemn dayes of Festivity Well then at the most if we suppose it lawfull it is but the institution of man if it be mans institution then certainly it must give way to Gods work to providence For man to put so much upon his institution because hee hath appointed such a day when the yeer cometh about to rejoyce in that whatsoever worke of God falls out in the mean time that calls for humiliation and fasting yet hee will hold to his own institution what is this my brethren but to make the commandements of God to be of none effect through mans tradition It is apparent breach of that Scripture For this is certaine now that it is the commandement of God that you should mourne and fast if then because of mans institution you will put by the command of God and now spend time in feasting and rejoycing which ought not to be but in such times when God shines upon a Kingdom in wayes of mercy know this is sin unto you If you can say that God shines upon us now in present extraordinary mercies then we may feast I confess they are extraordinary mercies in regard of what wee may hope to be the event and effect of them but for the administrations of God towards us they are such as if ever they called for fasting they call for it at this day Therefore here by Gods works amongst us wee know we have Gods will revealed to us namely to fast the other at most is but mans institution and tradition Now the traditions of man must yeeld to the commandements of God With what conscience now can you take such a plentifull use of the creature and suffer your brethren to want cloaths and bread If God have yet granted to you such a comfortable estate that you have so much to spare as to feast know you are bound in conscience then to lay out that in relieving your brethren who have been so cruelly used therefore God brings them to you to be objects of your compassion It would be very acceptable to God if so much as any of you have usually spent in feastings or intended to spend in these twelve dayes you would set it now apart for the reliefe of those who want bread and set the time apart also for mourning in your families that God would pardon the sinne of these times formerly committed And now not only feasts in private Families should cease but the feasts of Companies in your publique Halls likewise What abundance of poor plundered people might be relieved if all that were spent in one yeere in the feasts of your companies were laid aside for their use These are times for mercy not for festivity if wee will not cease our feastings let us know God hath thousands of wayes to take away feasts from a kingdome and to bring cleanness of teeth among us I will take away their feasts saith the Lord. The main thing in
if I shall thus set it a part so devote it for such a businesse as it may not without sin to me whatsoever falleth out be used to any other occasion And secondly when I have set it apart I shall put so much in it as if the same holy actions be performed to another time they shall not be accounted so holy as at this time although that time hath as much natural fitnesse in it now I sanctifie time to my selfe but thus I cannot doe without sin You shall finde that there are these two things in all holy feasts and indeed in all things that are accounted holy First it was a sinne for them to make use of that time for any other thing or any other wayes then God had appointed Secondly the actions that they did at that time were such as were more acceptable to God then if they had done the same thing at another time Yea it was so in their very days of humiliation that were once a yeere a day of Expiation this day must not be used for any thing else and if they humbled themselves or fasted upon another day that would not have beene so acceptable to God as upon this day So wee shall see it in all superstitions of men when they set apart either dayes or places or things they put these two upon them As for places They say we appoint a place for people to meet in a religious way yes but when comes it to be superstitious Thus first when it comes so to be set apart so as I shall make conscience of using it to any other use but this Secondly when I shall be perswaded in my conscience that God accepts of service done him in this place better then in any other though as decent as this So for superstitious garments You will say may not Ministers be decent I have heard a great Doctor give this argument for a surplice somtime saith he I ride abroad to preach and my cloake is dirty is it fit for me to come into a Pulpit with a dirty garment and therefore there is alwayes appointed somewhat to cover it it is decent Suppose it be so but if it be so that this garment must be made use of for nothing but such a holy exercise and secondly if I thinke the wearing of it doth honour the service and that God accepts of the service performed in such a garment rather then in another this is superstition as in one place in Suffolke when that garment was lost there was a strict injunction to the poore countrey men that there might not be any service or sermon till they had got another for which they were appointed ten dayes and this being upon a friday there were two Sabbaths without any service therefore it is apparent they put the acceptation of the duty upon it So for days for any man to set apart a day so that it shall be a sin that a mans conscience shall condemne him before Ged as sinning against him if he doe any thing upon that day but such holy duties Secondly That though the same holy duties be done upon another day they shall not be accounted so acceptable to God as done upon that day this is superstitious Yer certainly of this nature have many of our dayes been for if you opened your shops what a deale of disturbance was there in the city It was a profaning of the day every Proctor and such fellowes had power given them to molest you 2. did not they account it a greater honour to God for to have service read that day then to have it read upon an ordinary teusday or thursday yea preaching upon a Lecture day that was not one of their holy dayes they accounted not so acceptable unto God as service upon that day Here comes their institution their institution puts upon it more then God puts upon it so it cometh to be sinfull So if you should set apart this time you call Christmas so as you should make conscience of doing any other service or worke that day and besides you should think that to remember Christ and to blesse God for Christ upon another day is not so acceptable to God as to doe it upon that day here comes in the evill of thus putting mans institution upon dayes Well but this is not cleareâ— except we answer another objection But doth not the King and Parliament command dayes of fasting and dayes of thanksgiving and are not they of the same nature Will not you say it is sin for us to open shops upon these dayes I answer our dayes for fasting and thanksgiving have not those two ingredients in them for first if God by his providence call any particular man to any particular businesse in his family then let this man take heed he doe not appeare in a way of contempt he need not have his conscience condemn him though he spend all that day in that businesse They may set apart a day to be spent publickly yet with this limitation not to enjoyne every particular man that whatsoever Gods providence calls him to in particular businesses he must leave off all make as much conscience of doing this as upon the Lords day You will say upon the Lords day if we have any extraordinary thing fall out we may go a journey or doe businesse as a Physitian may ride up and down workes of mercy may be done therefore this makes no difference betweene Gods day and these of mans appointment I answer Though a Physitian doe a worke of mercy upon the Sabbath day yet he is bound to doe it with a Sabbath dayes heart as a work of mercy whatsoever calls him off from those services that are Gods imediate worship he must doe that thing with a Sabbath dayes frame of heart he is bound in conscience to doe it so and he sinneth against God if he rides up and down to Patients with such a heart as he may doe it upon another day he may follow it as a businesse of his calling upon another day but not so now but if he do it with a Sabbath dayes frame of heart as a worke of mercy he keeps the Sabbath in that But if there were a necessity upon a Fast day to ride a mans conscience need not to condemne him before God if he went about that worke as the worke of his calling at that time It is not therefore so dedicated but Gods providence may take us off to doe other civill actions and that as the works of our calling Secondly Neither is it so sanctified as if the same works done at another day were not so acceptable to God as done upon this day As our fast dayes set upon the last wednesday of the Moneth to thinke that the worke done upon another day were not so acceptable to God as done upon that day this is a sanctification of the day and such a sanctification is sinne The same answer may be given for dayes of
is Hath God at any time brought darknesse upon a Kingdome or upon a Family or upon a particular soul doth he begin to bring light He must be acknowledged and praised for it 3. God would teach them this also that the beginnings of all mercies are to be dedicated to him when God reneweth a mercy at the very first before it comes to perfection it is to be given up unto God they were to celebrate this Feast upon the beginning of the light of the Moon And lastly which is more this aymed at Christ as all other Ceremonies of the Law did It pointed out our condition in our depending upon Christ for our light must be renewed by our conjunction with Jesus Christ who is the Sun of righteousnesse as the light of the Moone is renewed by her conjunction with the Sun that gives the great light to the world And as the light of the Moon increaseth as it takes it from the Sunne so doth our light increase as we take it from the Sun of Righteousnesse Thus this feast was typicall and thus we see these feasts were of speciall use But when they come to abuse these Feasts saith God I will take them away you shall have no more and therefore Isa 1. God professeth a loathing of their feasts and amongst others of their New Moones Not but that they were holy in themselves but when they came to abuse them by adding their owne superstitious vanities or else had not the due end for which God appointed them then God is offended Now saith God you acknowledg darknesse to be from me and light to be from me and change of time to be from me but what use do you make of your time You seeme to give up the mercies you receive unto me but you do not honour me with them nor for them You seem to think of the Messias in these things but your hearts are not with him but all your wayes are after your lusts I loath your feasts Just as if a man comes to God and prays devoutly Lord lead me not into temptation and assoon as he has done he presently goes into wicked company God loatheth you for going quite crosse to your prayers you pray Lord give us this day our daily bread as if you should say Lord I depend upon thee every day for my bread and for a blessing upon all my outward estate and assoon as you have done you cozen and cheat and goe presently to the Devill for your bread God loatheth these prayers of yours as God loatheth their New Moons because when he appointed such a worship for those and those ends yet they went quite contrary Yet there are two thâ—ngs exceeding observable about these New Moones We often read of these things but we passe them over and do but little mind them First God will have the glory of his creature of the New Moone and that solemnly yet it must be at that time when the Moon is very little scarce any at all it must not be at the full when the Moon is most glorious God doth not call to be glorified in that creature when it is fullest of glory but when that creature is as wee may say in the meanest condition when it hath but a little light beginning scarce any at all then God will be glorified This is the instruction and morall lesson from hence which is no strained one but I think intended by God himselfe in appointing this feast in that God will have the glory due to him from this creature in the beginning of its light rather then at any other time We are taught in this That there is a great deale of danger when we are giving God the glory of the creature of sticking in the creature and not passing through the creature speedily enough and going from it to God God is very jealous of his glory this way God hath made many glorious creatures indeed he would have his glory from all his creatures he would have us give due esteeme to his creature but when we esteem it for any excellency there is in it God is jealous lest any of his glory should stick in the creature therefore he cals for it at that time when the creature is most meane That is the reason that Gods Ordinances are so plain we have but plaine bread and plain wine and a plaintable and no brave pompous attire because God saw that when wee are to deale with him spiritually if we had pompous things we would sticke there and we see men that are taken so with pompous things they give not God that glory that is due to him but they stick much in the creature and honour it rather then God It seems that the Heathens making the Moone to be their goddesse especially looked at it when it was most light as appears Iob 31. therefore Iob to cleare himselfe from that idolatry saith If I beheld the Sunne when it shined or the Moone walking in brightnesse They used to worship the Moon thus when they saw it walke in brightnes because they could not reach the Moon they kist their hand and so bowed to the Moon in acknowledgment of a Deity therefore Job would free himselfe from that If I beheld the Moone walking in brightnesse or if my mouth have kissed my hand that is saith he I have not worshipped this creature This is it I note it for that when the creature is most glorious there is danger of giving God the lesse It is thus with us many times God hath many times more glory from us when our estates are little then when they are very great there is many a man who when hee hath beene in full light of prosperity never minded God bus when God hath brought him into darknesse then he hath given God glory and then it hath been indeed most acceptable because then he sees Gods hand helping him without the creature Further God had most glory from the Moon when it had the least light so God may have glory from us though our light be extinguished it is no great matter There is yet another thing that is remarkable concerning this Feast You shal observe what difference there is between the Feasts of the new Moones by Gods appointment under the Law and the Feasts of the new Moones as they are set forth to us in Ezek. I lay this for a ground that those Chapters in Ezek. from the fourth so on though they seem to speak of the Iews ceremonies and Temple and Feasts yet the scope of those texts is to set out the glorious condition of the Church of God in the time of the Gospel As in Isa 66. 22. Then they shal worship me from Sabbath to Sabbath and from Moon to Moone that is their constant worship shal be in comparison as a Sabbath and they shal not only worship me at the beginning of the Moon but all times their worship shal be so full so constant Therefore though
in that place of Ezek. there be speaking of new Moons other Feasts yet it is to set out the condition and blessed estate of the times of the Gospel under those shadows types the Prophet speaking according to the Jewish language in that way This being granted let us compare the institution of the Feast of the new Moon In Num. 28. with what is laid in Ezek. 46. in Num. 28. they were to offer for a burnt offering two Bulloks one Ramme seven Lambs but in Ezek. 46. 6 In the daies of the new Moon there should be but one bullock six lambs God himself had said that in their new Moons they should offer two Bullocks seven Lambs yet when the Prophet would set out a more glorious condition of the church he saith they should not offer so much as they did before they should offer but one Bullock and six Lambs What are we taught from this We are taught by this two excellent lessons which are the reason of the difference First that there is such a blessed estate of the Gospel coming that shall not be subject to such changes as hath been heretofore but a more setled condition of peace and rest so that they shall not have such occasion to blesse God for his providence in the changes of times as before they had Their solemnity of the new Moon that is of doing that spirituall thing that was done in a ceremonious way that was to give God the glory for the change of times now in the times of the Gospel they shall not have so many Sacrifices to make it such a solemn business as it was then Why because the Church shall be in another condition of more rest safety and more constancy in their wayes not hurried up and down by mens humors and lusts and wills as before Secondly that the state of the Gospel shall not be so subject to danger neither as it was before there shall not be that occasion to blesse God for bringing of light presently after darkness for that is one end of the Feast of the new Moon that when they could not see the Moone a great while and it was darke as if that creature had been lost out of Heaven now they see it againe they were to blesse God for it But in the time of the Gospel that is comming there shall be no such darknesse this time is not yet come we yet had need to have our seven lambs and two bullocks for we have much darkness those places in Ezek aime at some speciall time more then other there is a glorious time of the state of the Church when there shall not be such occasion of blessing God for delivering us from darknesse as there hath beene The Ninth Lecture HOSEA 2. 11. I will cause all her mirth to cease her feast dayes her new moones and her sabbaths and all her solemne feasts OF the Jewish new moons the last day God threatens likewise to take away her Sabbaths Sabbaths Plutarch thought that the Sabbath of the Jews was from Sabbos a name of Bacchus that signifies to live jocundly and bravely and merrily Indeed the Sabbaths that many keep have such a derivation their Sabbaths are sabbaths of Bacchus to be merry and to eate and drinke and play is the end of all their Sabbaths But the word hath a better root God would have us upon the Sabbath rest from all other works that we may be free to converse with him therefore it is so much the more inexcusable if when we have nothing else to doe we shall deny to converse with God as he requireth of us If a friend should come to your house to converse with you and he should know you have no businesse to take you up yet you will scarce see him or spend a little time with him will hee not take it ill If indeed you could have such an excuse that your businesse is extraordinary though your time be lesse you spend with him it would not be so ill taken but when he knows you have nothing to do and yet you deny time to converse with him will not this be taken for a slighting him Thus you deale with God Had you indeed great occasions and businesses to doe upon that day though you did not so converse with God in holy duties it were another matter God might accept of mercy rather then sacrifice But when hee shall appoint you a day to rest wherein you have nothing to doe but to converse with him yet then to deny it this is a sleighting of the Majesty of God Now the Jews had diverse Sabbaths amongst others these were principall ones The Sabbaths of dayes and the Sabbaths of yeers The Sabbath of dayes every seventh day they had a Sabbath and it was kept unto the Lord. Now this Feast of theirs had so me what in it Memorative somewhat Significative and somewhat Figurative It was a Memorial a Signe and a Figure A Memoriall of two things 1. Of the works of Gods Creation After God had finished his works of Creation then he rested and sanctified the seventh day and Psalm 92. being appointed for the Sabbath the Argument of it is the celebrating the Memoriall of Gods great works 2. Of the deliverance out of Egypt in remembrance of the rest that God did give them from their bondage So you have it Deut 5. 15. Remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arme Therefore he commanded thee to keepe the Sabbath day Secondly it was Significative a Signe Exod 31. 17. It is a signe betweene me and the children of Israel for ever And verse 13. It is a signe betweeue me you that I an the Lord that doe sanctifie you God made it a signe that as this day was by his command to be sanctified set apart from other dayes so God had set apart this nation of the Jewes from other nations Thirdly It was Figurative it did figure out or typific the rest that did remaine for the people of God Heb. 4. There remaineth a rest to the people of God both here in the time of the Gospel and in heaven eternally Now we are to know there was some speciality in this day of rest in this sabbath of the Jews more then in any other sabbath As First in the Antiquity of it It was the most ancient of all the dayes set apart for an holy use being from the time of the Creation Secondly it was written with Gods owne finger in the Tables Thirdly God rained no Manna upon this day and that even before the Law was given in Mount Sinai for the honour of this day 4. The whole weeke doth take denomination from the Sabbath Luke 18. 12. I fast twice in the weeke twice a Sabbath so the words are in the Greek So Marke 16. 2. The first day of the
weeke the first of Sabbaths so the words 5. This Sabbath is called an everlasting Covenant by way of eminency as if nothing of Gods Covenant were kept if this were not Exod. 31. 16. Ye shall keepe the Sabbath for a perpetuall Covenant Yea 6. God puts a remembrance upon this day and not upon any other sabbath If a friend who would faine converse with you send to you three or four dayes or a wecke beforehand I pray think of that day I will come to you then and converse with you wee will enjoy communion together now if when he doth come he shall finde you emplyed in unnecessary businesses will he take it well God doth so with you saith God I desire to converse with your soules and I appoint you such a day think of it remember that day that you and I may be together and converse sweetly one with another if God finde you then occupied in unnecessary businesses he will not take it well This Sabbath the Jewes rejoyced much in and blessed God for it Nehem. 9. 14. as a great mercy And Philo Iudaeus speaking of the fourth Commandement saith It is a famous precept and profitable to excite all kinde of vertue and piety And the Hebrews say we must sanctifie the Sabbath at the comming in and going out and blesse God that hath given us this Sabbath Yea it is called by some of the Hebrews the very desire of dayes And Drusius telleth of a Jew who when the Sabbath dâ—y approached was wontto put on his best cloathes saying Come my Spouse c. as being glad of tharday as a Bride-groome of his Spouse It is not my worke to handle the point of the Sabbath-day or Lords-day now but to open it as we have it here in the Text to shew what kinde of Sabbath the Jews had onely observe this one thing about this Sabbath If you compare Numb 28. 9. with Ezek. 46. 4. you shall finde that the offerings in the time of the Gospel prophesied of were more then those were in the time of the Law In Numb you finde but two Lambes but in Ezekiel you finde six Lambs and a Ram for the Sabbath This by way of type shewes that in the setled times of the Gospell Gods worship upon the Christian Sabbath should be solemnized more fully then it was in the time of the Law The next is the Sabbath of yeeres and they were of two sorts There was one to be kept every seven yeeres and another every seven times seven every fiftieth yeere Every seventh yeer there was a rest of the land as every seventh day there was a rest of the labour of their bodies so every seventh yeere there was a rest of the land Exod. 23 10. Six yeeres thou shalt sow thy land and gather in the fruits thereof but in the seventh yeere thou shalt let it rest analye still rhey must not prune their Vines nor gather their vintage one yeere in seven The Sabbath of dayes signified that they themselves were the Lords therefore they ceast from their own labours But the Sabbath of yeeres the resting of the land signified that the land was the Lords at Gods dispose and that they were to depend upon the providence of God for their food in the land God would dispose of the land when they should plow and when they should sow and gather in the fruits thereof as he pleased We must acknowledge that is the morall of it to our selves that all lands are the Lords the fruit that we enjoy from the land it is at his disposing If any man should aske what should we eate that seventh yeere seeing they might not plow nor sow nor reape neither have vintage nor harvest The Lord answers them Levit. 25. 20. 21. I will command my blessing upon thee in the sixth yeere and it shall bring forth fruit for three yeeres God you see will not have any to be losers by his service Let us trust God then though perhaps you have now one yeer in which you have no trading People cry out Oh this twelve-month we have had no trading in the City we can get no rent out of the Country neither Do not murmure trust God It may be God hath beene beforehand with many of you you have had full trading formerly that may preserve you comfortably now If not before trust God for the next the Jews were faine to trust God every seventh yeer they had nothing comming in for one yeere in seven If once in all your life time God take away your trading upon extraordinary occasion do not murmure do not give lesse to the poore now I speak to those whom God hath blessed in former yeers so as that they are not only able to subsist but to give too See for this Deut 5. 9. Beware thou sayest not in thine heart the seventh yeere is at hand and thine eye be evill against thy poor brother and thou givest him â—ought and he cry unto the Lord against thee and it be sinne unto thee If now because you have not such a full Income as you were wont to have in your trading if a company of poore distressed plundered people come among you and desire your helpe if you deny to relieve them if they cry unto God against you it will be sin unto you Now this rest of the land was to put them in minde that there was a time comming when God will free them from labour Now they were faine to eate their bread in the sweat of their browes but God would supply them once in seven yeeres without the sweat of their browes in â—illing the land shewing that there was a time where in God would bring his people to such a rest that they should have full supply of all things without labour But further besides this there was a second thing in this seventh yeere all debts that their brethren owed to them were to be released Deut. 7. 15. it is called there the Lords release the Lord is mercifull to those that are in debt God knowes what a grievous burthen it is for his people to bee in debt it is indeed an inconceivable burthen rich men who are full-handed do not understand what a burthen it is for men to hang upon every bush to be in debt to every man they deale with they cannot sleep quietly they can have but a little joy and comfort in their lives the burthen is so grievous Now God in mercy to his people that they might not all their dayes goe under such a burthen and so have little joy of their lives therefore he granted this favour to them that once in seven yeeres their debts were to be released But it was the debt of an Hebrew Deut. 15. 30. Forraigners debts they were not bound to release By that wee are to learne this instruction that there should be more pity and commiseration shewen to those that are our brethren in the flesh or our brethren in
liberty they have now more then servants had in former times It was so likewise with the Romans the word servant cometh à Servando because the Romans used to have such for servants as were preserved in time of war that should otherwise have bin put to death whether they were those or others yet the condition of all was very servile both amongst Iews and Romans which may justly rebuke the pride of servants now if they be but crost in their minds in the least thing they make such a complaint as if they were exceedingly wronged Let servants rather bless God for their condition then murmur at a little hardship they indure for the hardship of servants in former times was another manner of hardship then any you can indure who have the hardest masters Hence it is that in the day of Iubile the servants did so rejoyce Iewish antiquities tell us that nine days before their release the servants feasted and made merry and wore garlands because of their freedom approaching The second thing extraordinary in the day of Jubile was that not onely debts but lands were released Lev. 25. 22. The land shall not be sold for ever And there were divers reasons for this why the land must not be sold for ever but must return to the first possessors in the year of Jubile One reason is in the Text Lev. 25. 23. For the land is mine saith God for yee were strangers and sojourners with me God would hereby teach them that they must not account themselves absolute lords of the land the land is mine and you that are the greatest land-lords of all are but as strangers and sojourners with God the land is still Gods And vers 28. If a man bee not able to redeeme his land nor his kinsman for him it shall remain unto the yeer of Iubile and in the Iubile it shall goe out and hee shall return unto his possession If he could redeem his land himself or a kinsman for him he was to redeeme it before but if a man should be so poor as he could not give any thing to redeem it yet in the year of Iubile it should return unto him God would not have his people too greedy to bring the possession of the Countrey in to themselves to have a perpetuall inheritance to themselves and their posterity This is the greediness of many covetous and ambitious men oh that we could lay land to land and house to house to get a perpetuall inheritance for our selves and posterity God would not have his people be of so greedy dispositions for a few of them to get the whole Countrey into their own possession therefore he would have no man that ever had any possession but once in fifty years that possession must return to that familie again The land was to return to the first owner that the distinction of Tribes might be continued which was known much by the continuance of their possessions that belonged to every tribe family God had great care before Christs time to keep the distinction of tribes that so it might be cleare out of which tribe Christ came But further this year of Iubile aymed at a higher thing it was a type of Christ to set out the blessed redemption that we have by Christ The trumpet of the Gospel which the Ministers blow is a trumpet of Iubile That place Isa 61. 1 2. seems to have reference to a Iubile there the Text saith that Christ was appointed to proclaim liberty to the captives the opening of the prison to them that are bound to proclaim the acceptable yeer of the Lord now that acceptable year was the year of Iubile there was the opening of the prison and the releasing of them that were bound Psal 89. 15. saith the text Blessed are the people that heare the joyfull sound that hear the Jubile Oh blessed are our ears who live to such a time as we do to heare the trumpet of Iubile blowing in one congregation or other almost every day now we have a release of our debts bondage this is the joyfull sound We are all by nature in debt sins you know are called debts in the Lords prayer every soul is bound over to Gods eternall justice to answer to the law for not obeying the law now cometh this Iubile and releaseth all debts And we are all bond-slaves in bondage to sin to the law and to the devil now cometh the Gospel this Iubile and releaseth our bondage sets us at liberty 3. We have forfeited our right to the crea ure yea to heaven it self now the Gospel comes and restores all we have right now to the comforts of this world and to heaven Canaan was a type of heaven and the loss of their inheritance there was a type of the loss of heaven and the bringing them again to the possession of it a type of the restoring of right to heaven Oh happy are they then who hear this joyfull sound not only with the eares of the body but who have it sounding in their hearts and that by the work of the spirit of God in them In this year of Iubile there is one thing further very remarkable and that is the time when this trumpet that was to proclaim this yeer was to blow Lev. 25. 9. the trumpet was to blow upon the tenth day of the seventh moneth What remarkable thing is there in this that the trumpet must be blown the tenth day of the seventh month yes there is this remarkable in it the tenth day of the seventh month was their day of expiation the day of their atonement their publique fast This day appointed every year for all Israel to afflict their souls before God to humble themselves for their sins and to seek for mercy from God as we shal shew you more largely when we come to open the solemnity of that day I only mention it now to shew that the trumpet of Iubile was to be sounded upon that day It is a strange thing that upon that day wherein they were to afflict their soules before God and to mourn for their sins the trumpet of Iubile was to sound that was to proclaim joy and mirth things of a contrary nature to humbling and mourning Yea but this affords us divers excellent instructions As First God would have his people so to mourn as to know their joy is coming In the darkest day they had wherein they were bound to afflict their souls most yet they were so to mourn as to know there was a Iubile at hand We are not to mourn as those without hope in our most grievous sorest mournings we must have our hearts sink in desperation wee must so mourne as to expect a Iubile Yea further the Saints mourning is a preparation to a Iubile o◠joy Ioy then is neer at hand when the Saints must mourn in a godly manner Did not the Lord deal graciously with us the last fast day when
we were mourning before him There was amongst our brethren in other parts a kind of trumpet of Iubile blown the Lord was then working for us what great deliverance did God grant that very day at Chichester God shews that the mourning of his people doth make way for joy Yea further then indeed is the sound of the trumpet of Iubile sweetest when we are most afflicted for our sins When we are most apprehensive and sensible of the evill of sin then the joy of God the comforts of the Gospel are sweetest to the soul When the trumpet of Iubile is blown in congregations if it meets not with hearts afflicted sensible of sinne they are not delighted with the sweet sound of this trumpet it is not melody in their ears it rejoy ceth not their hearts But let a poore soul be brought down and made sensible of the evill of sinne and Gods wrath then let but one promise of the Gospel be sounded forth how sweet how joyfull is it Again pardon of sin is the only foundation of all Jubiles For this tenth day of the seventh month wherein the trumpet of Jubile was to be sounded was a day of Atonement What is that A day of covering for so the word is of pardon of sin to the people of God Many men keep a continuall Jubile live merrily and bravely doe nothing but eate and drink and play and dance and laugh and cannot endure these fadde melancholy people What is the foundation of this thy Jubile Art thou sure there is an Atonement made between God and thy soule Art thou sure thy sin is pardoned Is this the foundation of thy rejoycing Know it will not last it is not Gods but the Devils Jubile except there be an atonement made between God and thee as the foundation of it Yet further in that the sound of the Jubile was at that time when the day of Atonement was Note this When God hath pardoned us then our hearts are in a fit frame to pardon others Now comes the Jubile and now you must release your lands your debts and forgive those that owe you any thing This is the day wherein God testifieth his mercy in pardoning your sinnes and they might well say Now Lord command us what thou wilt in shewing mercy to our brethren we are ready to pardon to release them to extend the bowels of our compassion towards them for thou hast pardoned our sins The reason of the rigidnesse of the cruelty the hardness of the hearts of men and straitnesse of their spirits to their brethren is this because God hath not witnessed to their souls the pardon of their own sinns an atonement between God and them Their solemn feasts Among their feasts they had three that were especially very solemn feasts more then others And they were The Feast of The Passeover Pentecost Tabernacles These three were very solemn especially in this one regard wherein they are all three united in one thing that is upon these three Feasts all the Males were to ascend up to Jerusalem to worship to the place which God did choose and so you have it Deut. 16. 16. Three times in a yeere shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shal choose in the feast of unleavened bread that was the Passeover and in the feast weeks that was Pentecost and in the feast of Tabernacles But how could the ten Tribes then keep these Feasts for they went not to the Temple You may as well say how had they an Ephod of which Chap. 3. Jeroboam was wise enough to keep the feasts though not in that way God appointed he could tell them the going to the Temple was but circumstance of place From this connection of these three together in this solemnity upon which these three were especially called their solemn feasts there are divers things to be noted First we may see a reason why there were sometimes so many beleevers at Ierusalem An argument is brought by some from that place Acts 21. 20. to prove that there may be in one Church more then can possibly assemble together in one Congregation for the Text saith there Thou seest how many thousands of Iews there are which beleeve how many millions it is in the Originall now say they there could not be so many millions to joyn in one Congregation The answer to this is cleare that the time of which this place speaketh was when the people of the Jews were all assembled together at Jerusalem to keep the feast of Pentecost for Chap. 20. vers 16. the Text saith that the Apostle hastned if it were possible for him to be at Ierusalem the day of Pentecost now reading the story on it plainely appears that in that journey in which he did so hasten he did get to Ierusalem at the day of Pentecost and being there at that time no marvail that they said Dost thou not see how many thousands of Iews there are that beleeve For all the males of the people of the Iewes were got together at Ierusalem according to the institution so that they were there by reason of that Law that as yet they submitted to they were not in a Church state at Ierusalem therefore there is no strength in that objection against congregationall Churches Secondly where there is a nationall Church there must be an uniting of them in some way of Nationall worship There is this Nationall worship that the Iews by institution from God were united in three times in a yeare to go up to the Temple to worship And except there shonld be some such kind of individuall worship not in the same species that is as others are praying so are we and as others are hearing so are we for so all the Churches in the world may be joyned but to joyne in one act of worship together as that was of going up to the Temple there must be such a thing And that made the Iews a Nationall Church because we have no such institution now no Nation in the world can in a proper sense be said to be a Nationall Church as theirs was in some figurative sense we may so call it but not in that proper sense as it was among the Iews Thirdly there are some Ordinances that cannot be enjoyed but in the way of Church-fellowship The Iews could not enjoy these feasts as they ought indeed it may be Israel the ten Tribes would make a kind of patched up feast but they could not feast so as they ought unlesse they went to Ierusalem in that way God appointed As among the Iews there were some Ordinances they might enjoy in their Synagogues and private houses but some which they could not enjoy but in the Temple so there are some Ordinances we may enjoy in our families but others wee cannot enjoy but in Church-communion which Ierusalem is a type of A fourth thing observable is these three times wherein they were to go up to Ierusalem
this was to note their hasty going out of Egypt We should not when God offereth us mercy of deliverance goe forth slowly This is our misery at this day the Lord offereth deliverance and we lye slugging on our beds and are like that foolish child the Prophet speakes of that sticks in the birth We have stuck these two yeers in the birth whereas we might have beene delivered long before this It concerns us all to consider what the cause is and to lament it before the Lord that we may make our peace with him But further In thanksgiving for a mercy we are ever to remember what we were before that mercy They must eate unleavened bread at this Feast the bread of affliction they must remember the afflictions they were in before they had this mercy whereof this Feast was a Memoriall when wee blesse God for a deliverance we must really present before our souls the sad condition we were in before we were delivered Further The speciall thing that is aimed at in the Passeover was that it should be a type of Christ who was that paschall lamb that was to take away the sinnes of the world he that was rosted in the fire of Gods wrath for our sinnes as that Lambe that was to be eaten in the Passe-over was rosted in the fire And if ever the Angell of Gods vengeance do passe over us it is thorough the blood of that Lambe sprinkled upon our hearts which was signified by the sprinkling the blood of the Lambe upon the posts of their houses In the Lords Supper we celebrate in effect the same Feast of the Passe-over they did and by this we may learne this excellent note There is little comfort in the remembrance of outward deliverances except we can see them all in Christ They were in this Feast to remember their deliverance out of Egypt but withall they were in it to have a figure and type of Christ that sweetned their remembrance that made the Feast a joyfull Feast when they could see their deliverance out of Egypt as a fruit of Christs sufferings when this Lambe that was to put them in minde of it did put them in minde likewise of Christ the paschal Lambe In all deliverances from any kinde of affliction if you would have the remembrance of them sweet unto you you must looke upon them all in the blood of Christ and so remember them and then your hearts will be inlarged to blesse God This was the Ordinance of God in the Passe-over but besides Gods Ordinance the Jews added divers other things The first thing observable that they added was earnest prayer to God for the building of the Temple which many of them observe to this day Those who writ of the customes of the Jews tell us that because the Temple is destroyed where they were to goe up thrice in the yeere to solemnize these Feasts therefore they pray so earnestly and mightily for the Temple in this manner They cry altogether to God Lord build thy temple shortly very quickly very quickly most quickly in our dayes then they go over it again Mercifull God great God kind God high God sweet God with divers other epithets Now build thy Temple quickly very quickly c. Now now now five times together â—o Euxtorfius tells us They teach us how much the Temple doth concern us Here is onely their mistake they rested in the materiall Temple they did not consider that This Temple was a type of Christ therefore as earnestly as they prayed for the building of their materiall Temple so we are to pray for the building up of the mysticall body of Christ now Lord build quickly doe not defer it even in our dayes do it A second thing they added was the manner of casting out of unleavened bread in this they observed three things their inquisition their extermination their execration first with a candle they would narrowly search every corner of the house to see if they had the least crumme of leaven if any were found they cast it out with solemnity and then they used to wish a curse upon themselves if there were any left in their houses that was not cast out This morall Observation wee may be taught from it it should be our care when we are to receive the Sacrament to make narrow inquisition to get the candle of the word and to search every corner of our hearts every faculty of the soule to see if there be no leaven in it 2. Whatsover we see to cast it out of doores And 3. to be so much set against sinne as to be willing to take a curse upon our selves if we should willingly let any knowne sin be in our hearts and to acknowledge that God might justly curse us in his Ordinance if we be false in this Thirdly they used to shew forth all their brave rich things if they had any bravery in cloathes in furniture in any good thing they would shew all at this Feast By their superstition we may learne this note that in the time of our comming before God it is fit for us to manifest his graces to exercise all those beautifull graces that the Lord hath endowed us with by the work of his Spirit for there is the riches of a Christian there is his brave cloathes and his plate all his excellencies are his graces The fourth thing they did was after the Passe-over was at an end they would fast three dayes to humble themselves for their faylings in keeping that Feast This was not Gods Institution but it was their custome and we may learne this from it though not to binde our selves to that they did too looke back to our receiving the Sacrament and to bewayle all our miscarriages I beleeve if things were examined to the quick in our receiving the Sacrament you would finde matter enough to fast and pray for the humbling your soules from your miscarriages Lastly in the Passe-over they used to reade the book of the Canticles because that booke treats especially of the conjunction of the soule with the Messiah which is sealed up especially in the Passe-over And that indeed is a speciall meditation for us when we come to the Lords Supper to meditate of our conjunction with Christ The next is the Feast of Pentecost This Feast is called also the Feast of Weekes because there were seven weekes to be reckoned and then at the end of them it was solemnly to be kept you shall finde it Levit. 23. 15. There you have the Feast of the Passe-over and in that the first day of seven and the last day of seven was solemnly kept now they were to count from the morrow after the first Sabbath seven Sabbaths that is seven weekes compleate the first Sabbath of the Passe-over was the fifteenth day of the month Abib and then the next day from that they were to count seven weeks and at the end of seven weeks was the
but now the holy Ghost is come in a full measure as hee then came upon the Disciples so he comes now in the time of the Gospel in a fuller way then formerly there is a continuall Pentecost But the works of God do not of themselves sanctifie any time except we take that note with us we may run into a thousand absurdities if we argue thus because the Iews had such a time vve may have such a time or because there vvere such blessings at that time therefore vve may sanctifie that day No the vvorks of God do not sanctifie any time of themselves it must be the Word some institution or other either the VVord vvritten or some immediate dictate of the Spirit that must sanctifie any day Certainly the vvork of our redemption it self is not enough to change the Sabbath if vve had not sâ— me footing for a nevv institution VVee usually give this ground for a change of the day because of the greatnesse of the worke but though the works of God be great though never so great it is not for us to sanctifie a day it must be an institution of God or else wee sinne in sanctifying any set and stated time for any such work for Christs resurrection or sending of the Spirit except there come an institution though the work be as great as any thing God ever did for the Iewes it will be but will-worship in us and God will not be put off with this What is not this as great a worke as that the Iewes had and may not we celebrate the memory of it as they did but God will say Who required these things at your hands Thus far you may do that is blesse God for those works all the dayes of your lives but to sanctifie any particular day for them certainly that cannot be done without sin we have our warrant for the Lords day as well as the greatnesse of the work because of the practise of the Apostles who were inspired by the holy Ghost The next is the feast of Trumpets onely one particular about it at this time because providence makes it so seasonable In the seventh moneth which was the first moneth of their Annus Civilis there were three feasts Festum Tubarum Expiationis Tabernaculorum The first was the feast of Trumpets now there was a three-fold use of Trumpets among the Iewes 1. For the calling of the congregation together as we use to doe with bells 2. The calling of them to warre 3. For the solemnizing of their feasts This feast of trumpets you have Numb 17. There are four ends given by Divines of the feast of Trumpets some I confesse are very improbable but there are two very probable The one is this feast was to celebrate the New-yeer with them as upon every new moneth that was called the feast of the new Moon to celebrate the beginning of the moneth so in the beginning of the yeare they had a feast to celebrate the beginning of the year that was this feast for it was on the first day of their civill yeare so that it is very probable that feast was appointed to blesse God for the new yeere as well as they had one to celebrate the new moneth It was Gods instiâ—ution for that time to have the New-year consecrated by that feast yet this can be no ground for us now to consecrate the beginning of every new yeer unto God that was Iewish and it is ceast if we will have any consecration of a new yeer it must be by vertue of some institution or other let who can shew the institution we must not thinke because it hath a shew of wisdome and it seemes to bee reasonable to us therefore it may be this is not enough in matter of worship you must strictly tye your selves to an institution in matters of worship in consecrating of times As it is Iewish so it is Heathenish the Heathens consecrated their new yeer to the honour of their god Ianus and we read in Concilium Antisiodorense in France in the yeer 614. it was the judgement of that Councell that it is not lawfull to observe the festivities of the Gentiles to keep their worship and observation of their Calends that is the beginning of their months to adorn houses with lawrel bayes for all these practises saith the Councell savour of paganisme And likewise an ancient writer saith that the Kalends of Ianuary are rather to be taken heed of then to be accounted Kalends and so to be sanctified And further hee saith the Church hath appointed a solemn feast to be upon that very day because oâ— the notorious abuses there were wont to be upon that day And Polydore Virgil saith that these solemnities of Lawrell and Bayes and masques and mummings and such vanities they all come from the Heathens Bachanalia and Saturnalia that were wont to be at that time of the year However therefore we put them upon Christ and think we honour him and call it the Circumcision day of Christ yet by those customes we dishonour him for they are rather Heathenish then Christian To doe it I say because we think to consecrate â—ine though there may be some naturall reason of rejoycing yet no ground for consecration Let no man object and say these solemnities have beene a long time in the Church It is true these are ancient but from whence comes the antiquity It comes from hence because Christians being newly converted out of Paganisme they would keepe as much as possibly they might of the Pagan customes only they would give them a turn turn them to Christian solemnities but the rise was from their Pagan customes therefore all the argument of antiquity either for these or Ceremonies or Prelaticall government it comes from this ground because their pagan customes were so and they lived among pagans and having been lately pagans they savored and smelt of Heathenisme still So now many plead that such things were in the first Reformation no marvail they retained them for they were but newly come out of popery and they savoured and smelt of popery Indeed to plead the antiquity of these things which men must shew when they are put to it is one of the greatest arguments against them Thus was they Feast of All-Saints turned from the Feast Pantheon and so the Feast of the Virgin Mary which they call Candlemas the Heathens had the festivity of their goddesse Febru who was the Mother of Mars upon that day from whence the name of our moneth February cometh they did then celebrate that time with Candles and such things as papists doe now This antiquity have you for celebrating of Candlemas The like may be said for the argument of antiquity for the Prelates O say some such a kind of government hath been ever since Christian Religion hath been in England Grant that there hath been some kind of Bishops ever since but from whence came they We find in Histories that when
the latter dayes shall bring his Saints unto yet then they shall remember with thankfulnesse what their poor unsetled condition once was Thus you have had a view of the chiefe of the Jewish Feasts which God threatens here shall cease There are onely these three Observations to be drawn from altogether First Even those things that are appointed by God himselfe if once they be abused God will not own them but then they are accounted ours rather then Gods her sabbaths why not my sabbaths why not Gods sabbaths God did appoint them but because they had abused them God would not own them her sabbaths and her solemn Feasts The Ordinances of God though never so good in themselves if you pollute them God rejects them they are your ordinances then and not Gods looke then that all ordinances be as God would have them Secondly It is a grievous and lamentable affliction upon any people for God to deprive them of his sabbaths and ordinances his ordinances are included in their solemne Feasts nay saith God you will goe on in your wickednesse and would put me off with your sabbaths and solemne meetings and with those things that were once my ordinances you will satisfie me with them though you continue in your wickedness no you shall be deprived of them you shall have no more sabbaths no more solemne Feast dayes it is a sad affliction for a people to have no more sabbaths How many of you neglect solemne meetings of Gods people time may come when God will rend these priviledges from you and then your conscience will grate upon you O the sabbaths that once we had O the solemn meetings that once we enjoyed but our hearts were vaine and slight we did not make use of them and now they are gone now perhaps thou art cast into a goale or into a dungeon and there thou keepest thy sabbaths thinkest upon thy solemne meetings O how unworthy is this land of sabbaths how did we set our selves to persecute those that kept sabbaths there was never any such a thing in any Christian nation other places though they are somewhat loose upon their sabbaths yet they never persecute them that will keep sabbath how justly might God have taken away our sabbaths let us acknowledge Gods free grace what reproach hath it been in England to assemble to heare Sermons how justly might God have taken away these solemne Assembles from us long before this let us pray that what ever judgement God sends upon us he will not take away our Sabbaths nor our solemne assemblies but that we may still enjoy those we have and enjoy them to better purpose then ever we have done 3. God hath no need of our services If God call upon us to worship him it is for our good not for any need he hath of what we doe What do I care saith God whether I have any Sabbaths kept or no I can provide for my glory what ever becomes of your duties I need them not I can be glorious without you But these threats are but to take away things that are spirituall carnall hearts thinke if they may live and prosper in the world what care they for Sabbaths and for solemn meetings Tell them of taking away Ordinances tell them of truth of Gods worship what is that to them Let us have our peace our trading and our outward blessings and truth will follow O no a gracious heart will rather reason thus O Lord let us have thy Ordinances let us have thy Gospel and then for our Vines and Fig-trees our tradings and our outward blessings we will leave them to thy dispose if thou will give us thy Sabbaths and thy Ordinances we will trust thee for our Vines and for our Fig-trees But if the Lord be so angry to deny us his Ordinances how can we ever thinke that he will be so mercifull to us to continue our peace or our civill liberties No sure if Truth be gone Vines and Fig-trees will not stay long The next words therefore are I will destroy her Vines and her Fig-trees The Lord may suffer those places that never had Sabbaths and Ordinances to prosper in their Civill â—eace a long time but where these have and the wrath of God be so incensed as to take away these it cannot be expected that outward peace and plenty can hold long there First seeke the kingdom of heaven saith Christ and all these things shall be added unto you No say they let us first seeke the kingdome of earth and the things of heaven will be added to us which shewes the sleightnesse of their account of heavenly things As the paper and the thred in a shop is given in to the commodity it is added if a man bargaine for the paper and thred and think the commodity will be given in what a folly were it Many men have their thoughts altogether upon the things of this life and they think the Gospel will be given into the bargaine as if they have peace they shall no question have truth as if the Gospel were the paper and thred and the things of the world were the commodities It is your wisdome if you would enjoy outward peace let your hearts be for Ordinances cry to God for Ordinances and then God will take care you shall sit under your Vines and under your Fig-trees peace The Eleventh Lecture HOSEA 2. 12. 13. And I will destroy her Vines and her Fig-trees whereof shee hath said These are my rewards that my lovers have given me and I will make them a forrest and the beasts of the field shall eate them And I will visit upon her the dayes of Baalim wherein she burnt incense to them and she decked her selfe with her eare-rings and her jewels and she went after her lovers and forgat me saith the Lord. GODS threatning Israel in taking away spirituall mercies their Sabbaths and Ordinances their solemne Feasts you have in the former verse but because they might not be much sensible of such a judgement to be deprived of Sabbaths and solemnities of worship would not be so grievous to many but the destroying of the fruit of the ground the spoiling of their land the losse of those things wherein their riches and outward comforts lay would be more grievous therefore God joynes this threat with the former And I will destroy her Vines and Fig-trees In these two Vines and Fig-trees there is a Synecdoche by these are meant all her outward prosperity I will not lop their Vines I will not cut downe some branches of their Fig-trees only but destroy them If God stayes long before a judgement comes hee comes fearfully indeed he comes with destroying judgments then he strikes at the very rooâ—e of all a peoples prosperity and leaves them hopelesse of ever recoveriug themselves It concerns us to humble our selves under Gods hand when he doth but cut off some branches of our vines and fig-trees of our outward
cruelties as the Chronicles of these times would have done where they have prevailed in Ireland there have beene the beginnings of such barbarismes as here would have risen to the perfection of all rage and horrible cruelties they may be faire a little while till they get more strength but certainly had they their will there would never be parallel examples of that horrible rage and cruelty as you would finde among them the Lord deliver us from being scourged with these Scorpions let us humble our soules before God that God may not humble us before such beasts that we may not say that England shall be as a forrest and these beasts shall devoure them in the meane time let us not be offended at their prevailing in some places for then we should be as beasts our selves Psal 73. 22. So ignorant was I I was as a beast before thee saith David Genesis 9. 5. God saith He will require of the beasts the blood of his people Certainly God will require of these beasts the blood that hath been shed it is precious blood that they have drunke had it beene corrupt blood God would not so much have cared for it but it hath beene the blood of his Saints let us believe that God will turne the rage of man the rage of beasts to his praise Psal 76. 10. Surely the Lord cannot possibly behold without indignation such vile beasts to worrie his Lambs who are so deare to him even such so precious in his eyes to be torne and worried by such beasts as these are the eyes of the Lord are purer then to behold such iniquity as this is we may well cry out with the Prophet Haback 1. 2. 3. How long shall we cry out of violence and wrong spoilings and violence are before me wheâ—efore lookest thou upon them that deale treacherously and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous then himselfe The higher the scum ariseth the nearer we know it is to the fire I have read of Philo when the people of the Iewes made use of him to apologize for them unto Cajus the Emperour Cajus used him very ruggedly when he came out of his presence the Iews came round about him well saith he to encourage them Surely Cajus will arme God against himselfe for us But it may be said by some surely these men are not beasts for they are skilfull warriers they are not so bruitish as you take them to bee but are skilfull enough in their wayes marke that text of Ezekiel 21. 31. I will deliver thee into the hand of bruitish men skilfull to destroy they are skilfull to destroy and yet bruitish men we have a promise from God and our prayers should hasten the fulfilling of it in Ezek. 34. 25. He will cause the evill beasts to cease out of the land and ver 28. the beasts of that land shal no more devoure them O that that time were come O that the Lord would so worke for us as to cause our beasts to cease out of our land that they might no more devoure Isaiah 35. 9. No Lyon shall be there no ravenous beast shall be found there but the redeemed shall walke there there is such a time coming let us be patient in the mean time and comfort our selves in these Scriptures though our brethren endure hard things by these cruell beasts and though God may perhaps bring some of us under the rage of them yet there is an estate of the Churches that will be ere long that they shall be troubled no more with such uncleane such outragious beasts VERSE 13. And I will visit upon her the dayes of Baalim wherein she burnt incense to them and she decked her selfe with her eare-rings and her jewels and she went after her lovers and forgat me saith the Lord. Here is the conclusion of the threatning part of the Chapter Now God will come upon them for all their sinnes together if a generation shall succeed 〈…〉 esse God may justly come upon 〈…〉 for all the suns of the former generations all the blood from Abel to Zechariah shall be required of this generation I will visit all the dayes of Baalim ever since they served Baal let men take heed of continuing in the wayes of sin who can tell what sin may put a period to the time of Gods bringing his judgement upon a Nation a family or a particular person though God hath spared heretofore upon the next sin committed there may be such a period put as God now may come upon the family not onely for that sin but for all the sins of the family that ever have been committed since it was a family and so upon a Nation for all the sins of a nation since it was a nation and all thy sins ever since thou wast a sinner Men goe on a while in the wayes of sin prosperously but when God commeth to visit what will become of them Isaiah 10. 3. What nill you doe in the day of your visitation and in the desolation which shall come from far to whom will ye flee for help and where will you leave your glory Now you are merry and laugh now you feare nothing but what will you do in the day of visitation what will become of you then whether will you flee then and where will you leave your glory I will visit upon them the dayes of Baalim in the plurall number Baalim by which some think and that not improbably that it is meant of their under Gods that they had which they called Baalims for the Heathen had their chiefe Gods and their Dii minores their lesser Gods that were unto them as mediators to their chiefe Gods and so our Papists have they have their Diiminores lesser Gods who are tutelar Gods either over Nations or over families or over particular diseases c. As they say for England S. George for Erance S. Dennis for Ireland S. Patrick for Wales S. David for Scotland S. Andrew c. These Saints they are in imitation of the Heathens Baal or in the Caldee dialect Bel was the King of Babylon after Nimrod the first that was deified and reputed as a God after death whence those men that were deified after their death and worshipped as Gods as the Papists worship their Saints they called Baalims as from Iulius Caesar the other that followed after were called Caesars This interpretation gives unto us much light to understand that Scripture that you have in the first of the Corinthians 8. 5. 6. Though there be that are called Lords whether in heaven or in earth as there be Gods many Lords many but to us there is but one God the Father and one Lord Iesus Christ If the Apostle had spoke in Hebrew it would have been thus though there be many Baalims there is to us but one God and one Baal for in Hebrew Baal is Lood there are many Gods say they there were divers
Secondly that which is translated comming up out of the land of Aegypt For the word singing the Septuagint have it thus She shall be â—â—mbled A strange translation you will say how much different is it from this in our books She shall sing I find divers translate the word so she shall be humbled Cyril Theodoret and he caryeth it thus that she shall be humbled by the Assyrians as she was before humbled by the Egypâ—ians But certainly the words cannot be carryed so for it is spoken of ascending of coming up out of the land of Egypt But they might easily mistake in translating the words because the Hebrew word signifieth both humiliavit and it signifieth likewise ceâ—init and contavit both to be humble and to sing The Hebrews divers times by the same word set forth contrary things As 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth both to blesse and to curse many there might be named in the same kind This word likewise that is translated singing signifieth and so it is translated by some Respondebit she shall answer and I finde a very excellent note from it in Cyril and some others Shee shall answer as in the dayes of her youth What answer did shee make Thus God in the dayes of her youth when she came out of Egypt did bring her to his Covenant and gave his land to her as Exod. 19. 5 6. Now therefore saith God if you 〈◊〉 obey my voyce indeed and keepe my Covenant then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people A sweet promise to all in Covenant with God that they shall be a peculiar treasure unto him above all people Now vers 8. All the people answered to gether and said all that the Lord hath spoken we will doe Thus they answered him in the days of their youth so some would carry it they should answer as in the dayes of their youth when they came up out of the land of Egypt as if the meaning should be thus whereas God in the dayes of their youth did tell them that if they woulâ— keepe his Covenant they should be a peculiar treasure unto him above all people of the earth they all with one consent answered All that the Lord hath spoken that will we doe So saith God when I shall againe convert them to my selfe I will renew my Covenant with them and upon the declaration of my Covenant to them they shall freely readily and wilâ—ingly answer Lord we accept of thy Covenant Thus it is carryed by some and the exposition is very sweet But we shall joyne both the significations of this word together both â—â—ing and to answer And that I take indeed to be the meaning of the Spirit of God they shal sing by way of answering Thus they were wont to sing â—lternis choris they were wont in their joyfull songs to answer one another his praecinentibus aliis succinentibus some singing before and some answering So that it was not a bare singing but a singing of a Canticum dramaticum or such a kind of song as they did answer one another in their singing And thus saith God shall be the melody of my people when I am again reconciled to them upon their repentance there shall be mutuall singing one singing to another and the others answering in a joyfull way The other word to be opened is that which is translated coming up out of the land of Egypt The word you have in your books came up it is ascended as in the day when they ascended up out of the land of Egypt And wee are to take notice of the manner of the expression because it will afford to us a profitable note anon They ascended out of the land of Egypt partly because Egypt was a Countrey that lay very low and in that respect they may be said to ascend But that is not the chiefe they were in a low condition they were in a state of bondage and in that regard they were said to ascend The second thing to be shewed is the scope what the Spirit of God aymeth at They shall sing as in the dayes of their youth when they ascended out of the land of Egypt Read it so and It is a further expression of the nuptiall solemnity that there should be between God and his people in the time of their reconciliation for so I have told you formerly that God goeth along in this second part of the Chapter in that continued Allegory to shew his bringing of his people to him in a way of marriage in a betrothing way which afterward is exprest more fully and all the way God expresseth it is in the manner of Nuptiall solemnities As if he should say Marriage is an ordinance I have appointed for mutuall joy and delight that the man and wife should have one in the other so I will bring you and marry you to my self and there shall be a great deale of joy that I will have in you and you shall have in me there shall be the singing of the Epithilamium the Nuptiall long between us there shall be a time of abundance of rejoycing between us when I shall take you again to my selfe Doe you think with your selves when was the greatest time of joy that ever you had in your lives Know I will bring you to as much joy as ever yet you had Looke what mercy you had when you came out of the land of Egypt and rejoyced in it you shall hereafter have mercies as great as that Did I then appear in a miraculous way to you I will do so again Had you mercies that were promised long before and rejoyced in them you shall have the like again Had you mercies that you a long time prayed for before you shall have the like againe Did Moses and Miriam goe before you in singing and you followed after there shall be the like time again when both Governours and people shall joyne together in singing and praysing the name of the Lord. This is the scope The third thing is what is meant by the dayes of their youth The dayes of their youth is the same that after wards is exprest and the day when they came up out of the land of Egypt that is the time when they were delivered out of bondage after they had passed through the Red-sea and had seen the great works of God in their deliverance then was the day of their youth Jer. 2. 2. I will remember the kindnesse of thy youth when thou followedst me in the wildernesse The time that this people were delivered from Pharoah and saw the great works of God in the wildernesse is the time of their youth in the time of their bondage they did not outwardly appear to be the Lords but when God manifested himself so gloriously in their deliverance then God did as it were take them again to be his people and they did seem as it were then to be born againe and the time of their
being in the wildernesse was Gods training them up as it were in their youth For a people that are under bondage can scarce be said to be born they are but as the Enbryo at least in the womb in that prison They cannot be said to be a people when they are under bondage at least they are not a living people Hence Chap. 13. of this Prophesie when they were in bondage under Jeroboams wicked commands the Text saith vers 1. that they died When Ephraim spake trembling in Israel he exalted himselfe but when he offended in Baal hee dyed A people under bondage are as a dead people before they have their liberty they are to be accounted as not born and if they lose their liberty they are to be esteemed as if they lost their lives But here a question ariseth How can God have reference to this time and tell them they shall sing as then whereas in the beginning of the Chapter we find that when God threatneth them he telleth them he will set them as in the day wherein they were born so that to be brought to the same condition they were in is a threatning How then is it here a promise The answer to that is it is true the time when they came up out of Egypt was indeed a time of much mercy but they were in great straits in regard of externall helps as a succourlesse helplesse and shiftlesse people when therefore God threatneth to set them as in the day wherein they were born he only aymeth at that that is to bring them into a succourless helplesse and shiftlesse condition in regard of creature-helps as formerly they were But when God promises mercy and telleth them he will bring them into that condition they were in their youth hee doth not consider of their succourlesse shiftlesse condition but rather looks at all the mercie they had in their deliverance out of Egypt As it is a great affliction for a people to be brought into the same condition that once they were in that is to have all the sowr bitter without any of the sweet so it is a great priviledge for a people to be brought into a former condition when they shall have all the sweet without the sowr when God shal take away all the branne give them only the flowr strain out all that is evil give them all that is good that is a comfortable condition but when God shall strain out what is good and give them what is evill that is a sad condition and that is the threatning before and this is the promise now The fourth thing for explication is what the song was that they did then sing in the daies of their youth when they came up out of the land of Egypt That song of theirs you shall find Exod. 15. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord c. And afterwards you shall reade that Miriam and all the women sang likewise In this song of theirs there are these five things Observable First this song o Moses Exod. 15. was the most ancyent the first song that ever was in the world that we know of Orpheus Musaeus and Linus the most ancyent of the Poets were 500 yeares after this time Secondly It was a triumphing song Then sang Moses and the children of Israel the Lord hath triumphed gloriously c. When they saw Gods judgements upon the adversaries then they sang in a triumphing way But you will say how could they sing thus when they saw such a dreadfull spectacle before their eyes What sing at such a lamentable object when the Egyptians were so miserably destroyed when they were sprawling up and down in the water and it is like they heard their shriekings their dolefull cryes and saw their bodyes how they were cast upon the shore And then shall Moses and the people of Israel sing O cruell hearted people that should sing at such a lamentable object as this What to triumph over their adversaries thus fearfully perishing To that we answer We must not be more pittifull then God is Psa 58. 10. The righteous shall rejoyce when he seeth the vengeance he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked But you will say this is austerity they are cruell hearted people that shall doe so Not so neither Moses was the meekest man that ever lived upon the face of the earth the lovingst man except Christ that ever was yet Moses sang thus when he saw the Egyptians destroyed so that to rejoyce in Gods judgements against the ungodly may stand with meeknesse quietnesse of spirit with a loving and sweet disposition as Moses had It is true we ought not to insult over wicked men in way of revenge in respect of our selves but when we consider the righteous judgments of God upon his adversaries we may be swallowed up in the consideration of Gods justice and rejoyce in it But so as not altogether to be without some pitty and commiseration of the persons perishing As Titus Vespation is said to weep when he saw the destruction of Jerusalem though his enemies But there is a time comming when all the Saints shall be so swallowed up with God so as they shall rejoyce in the destruction yea in the eternall damnation of the wicked without the least pitty commiseration of them they shall wholly mind God and his glory without pitying of them yea though they were the fruit of their own bodies and came out of their owne loyns But for the present though wee are to rejoyce and triumph in the works of God and his judgements upon the wicked yet with some mixture of pitty and compassion towards their persons And mark by the way some difference between Gods affection toward his people and toward wicked men It is very observable that when Gods people come to be in an afflicted condition if there shall be any that dare to be so wicked as to rejoyce in that God will avenge himself on them yea if they doe but looke upon his servants that are in affliction with any kind of contentment the Lord will be avenged on them for it But when the wicked are destroyed God doth not onely give us leave to look at them but to rejoyce and sing praises to God for their destruction I will give you a Text for this Obad verse 12. Thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother neither shouldest thou haeve rejoyced over the children of Iudah in the day of their destruction Mark God hath a quarell against them that did but look upon the day of their brothers distress and rejoyce But when destruction commeth upon the enemies of God then the people of God may look and rejoyce and triumph Thirdly It is a song most excellent in regard of the elegancy of the expressions and variety of the matter For verse 1. He hath triumphed gloriously or thus He is become gloriously glorious or in
that Wherefore when they were freed from these three things they sung and they had cause so to doe Secondly they sung when they came out of the land of Egypt because they were not only in bondage in Egypt but in bondage under such a King as they were For consider who it was they were in bondage unto and then to be delivered from such a one you will see a great deale of cause of singing First They were bondslaves to a King of another Nation Sometimes Country and kindred sake moves compassion but being they are another people to whom I have no relation but only to serve my own turn of them it is no matter what becomes of them let become of them what will I will have my will satisfied Secondly They were bondslaves to a King that ruled by an arbitrary government there was but only his will for the Law he would impose what work and taskes he pleased how many bricks they should make and when he pleased take away their straw and yet tye them to the making of so many He governed them not by Law but by Will Thirdly They were in bondage under a cruell King for the King of Egypt in the Scripture is called a Dragon for his cruelty Ezek. 23. 3. I am against thee Pharaoh King of Egypt the great Dragon Fourthly They were in bondage to a King that was an unnaturall King unnaturall in this that whereas the predecessors of the Israelites had saved Egypt from perishing saved the King and his family from destruction yet now without any regard to what was done in former times by their predecessors having this power over them he oppresses them in such an unnaturall way so as not to care what becomes of them Fiftly they were in bondage under a King that extreamly hated them that is a sad thing The text saith Gen 43. 32. The Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews for that is abomination to to the Egyptians Sixtly They were in bondage under a wilfull King under one who was extreamly set upon his will we scarce read of any one that ever was so set upon his will as this King was therefore they expresse this in their song which they sung when they came out of Egypt Exod. 15. 9. blessing God that they were delivered from such a wilfull Prince as he was In the 9. ver four times he saith I will I will pursue I will overtake I will divide the spoile I will draw my sword and the 5. time my lust shall be satisfied upon them but of this before to be slaves to such a one so wilfull was a very hard condition the like wilfulnesse hath beene already noted of the King of Babylon and none the like to these two the Text speakes from their deliverance in part from under the King of Babylon also as if he should say you did sing when you came up out of Egypt merrily and joyfully because you were delivered from such a cruell wilfull King you shall sing so again for you shall be delivered again from as cruell and wilfull a King as he was for though not all the ten Tribes came back yet it was in part fulfilled by many of them Lastly They were in bondage under a suspicious and jealous King lest they should grow to a head and so rise against him one that thought he could not confide in them It is a sad thing when there are such suspitions between King and people or people and King that they cannot tell how to confide and trust one in another VVell might they sing therefore in the dayes of their youth when they came up out of the land of Egypt Thirdly They sang when they came up out of the land of Egypt because they were freed from what hindered them in the exercise of Religion Hence Moses told Pharaoh that they must goe three dayes journey in the wildernesse to sacrifice unto the Lord their God they could not sacrifie in Egypt therefore when they got freedome to sacrifice to God this being a great mercy they sang praises Fourthly They sang because their deliverance out of Egypt was wrought with a mighty hand The Lord hath triumphed gloriously hath been gloriously glorious so the words are And ver 6. 7. marke what the Text saith Thy right hand O Lord is become glorious in power The hand of God is God strength but the hand of God in power is a greater expression Thirdly Gods right hand in power Fourthly the right hand of God is glorious in power this is a mighty expression surely great was the work of God in their deliverance Yea and further ver 16. it is said by the greatnesse of his arme not onely Gods hand but his arme and the greatres of his arme was in this work And ver 7. In the greatnesse of thine excellency Mulititudine celsitudinis excellentiae superbiae elationis in the greatness of thine excellency in the multitude of thy height of thy elation of the lifting up of thy self in a kind of pride for the word that is translated excellency there signifies pride too Now God did this in the multitude of his excellency that is he did such a work toward his people as had a multitude of glorious works in it which if you could analyse anatomize you should find a multitude of glorious excellencies in it Well might they sing when God did manifest himself thus All these will afford us excellent and sweet observations by and by Further they sang when they came up out of the land of Egypt because this mercy was the fulfilling of a promise made long before Therefore the Scripture telleth us That at the end of 430. years even the selfe same day the hoasts of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt which hath reference to a promise and sheweth us that God kept his word to a very day Hence in vers 2. of that 15. of Exod. He is my God I will prepare him an habitation my fathers God and I will exalt him As if hee should have said O Lord thou didst make promises to our forefathers now thou hast fulfilled those promises thou art our God and our Fathers God This made them sing so merrily 6. It was a mercy that was got by much prayer for Exo. 3. 7. it is said they cryed unto God by reason of their afflictions there were many cries sent up to God before their deliverance and now being delivered this made them sing 7. It was a mercy that came after a sore and long bondage Lastly It was a mercy that they had in order to that great mercy of leading them into Canaan therefore this they mention as the especiall cause of the joy of their hearts in the 13. vers Thou hast guided thy people in thy strength to thy holy habitation and ver 17. thou shalt bring them in and plant them in the mountaine of thine inheritance The holy Ghost speaks here as if the thing were done already
shall be much more glorious The last time this prophesie aymeth at is the great calling of the Jewes then the Scripture saith Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads they shall obtain gladnesse and joy and all sorrow and mourning shall flee away They shall so sing as never mourn more in this world in regard of any malice and rage of their adversaries This was not fulfilled at their return out of the Babylonish captivity therefore there is yet a time for the fulfilling of it and the Scripture is clear about the fulfilling it even in this world that place Rev. 21. 4. is a repetition of that prophecy he saith there God shall wipe away all teares from their eyes and there shall be no more sorrow nor crying When Jews and Gentiles shall joyne together then they shall siug indeed to purpose as they did in the dayes of their youth when they came up out of the land of Egypt First it is a great mercy for people to be delivered from outward bondage It will be found a great mercy when the world shall be delivered from their outward bondage when men shall see they were born free-men and not slaves though Subjects yet not slaves when men shall see that the world was not made for twenty or thirty to doe what they list and they to account all the rest as beasts yea dogs as if it were not so much for the lives of thousands of them to goe as for their humours and lusts not to be satisfied but when men shall know that they are men and not beasts and so shall live like men and not like beasts to be at the will of others this will be a great mercy But to be delivered from Antichristian bondage is a greater mercy then it was for the children of Israel to be delivered from their Egyptian bondage For First when they were in the Egyptian bondage we reade not that their consciences were forced that they were forced at all to any false worship Pharaoh did not this but Antichrist forced to Idolatry Secondly Though Pharaoh layed heavy taskes and burthens upon them yet he did not kill them indeed at length they killed their first borne but the people of Israel themselves might have their lives still though with hardship But Antichrist thirsts for blood Papists are bloody men Thirdly It was the affliction of Gods people to be in bondage in Egypt but it was not their sin But to be in bondage under Antichrist is not onely an affliction but it is sin and that of a high nature too 4. Though they were under Egyptian bondage yet they were delivered from Egyptian plagues but those that are under Antichristian bondage shall come under Antichristian plagues Come out of her my people lest you be partaker of her plagues You must not think to escape so as they escaped out of Egypt if you stay in that bondage you will be involved in their plagues With what an eye therefore should we look upon those who would bring us into this bondage againe when God hath begun to give us a little reviving Jer. 37. 20. O my Lord the King saith Jeremy let my supplication I pray thee be accepted before thee that thou cause me not to returne to the house of Ionathan the Scribe lest I die there So let us ery to the King of heaven and earth O Lord our King let our supplication be accepted before thee since wee are begun to be delivered from that bondage doe not cause us to returne to that house againe The second is A reconciled condition is a singing condition When there is a harmony between heaven and the soul between God and a sinner there is a sweet melody indeed there may well be singing Esay 35. 10. The raâ—somed of the Lord shall returne and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads And Esay 44. 23. Sing Oye heavens for the Lord hath dâ—ne it sâ—out yee lower parts of the earth break forth into singing ye mountains We being justified by faith having peace with God saith the Apostle we not only rejoyce in hope of glory but we even rejoyce and boast in tribulation Having peace with God though war withall the world we rejoyce Thirdly It is a great mercy when Magistrates and people shall generally joyne together in praising God when they shall sing as they did in the dayes of their youth for that is the promise How is that Moses beginneth and Miriam followeth the leaders of Israel and then all the people joyne together and answer one another in their singing When that day shall come that God shall stirr up the hearts of Magistrates and great ones that there shall be singing Hallelujahs to him that sitteth upon the throne and the Lamb for evermore and when God shall generally move the hearts of the people that they shall answer one another in their singing and so joyne in a sweet melody this will be a blessed time indeed Now perhaps in one place there is singing and blessing God for what is done in another place there is cursing and cursing those that do sing Some mens hearts are rejoycing in the great things God doth other mens hearts fret and rage when they heare of the great works of the Lord this makes no melody in heaven Perhaps now in the family the Husband singeth and the wife frets perhaps the wife singeth and the malignant husband is inraged the servant rejoyceth and the master chafeth the children sing and the parents vex this is harsh musique This is our condition at this day there are better times coming when Moses Aaron and Miriam and all the people shall joyn in singing praise to our God 4. Thankfulnesse to God for mercy cannot be without joyfulnesse A grumbling pensive sadde dumpish disposition cannot be a true thankfull heart as it ought God will not accept in this sense of the bread of mourners It is grievous to the Spirit of God that we should be pensive and sad in the midst of abundance of mercies 5. They shall sing there There where at the door of hope in the valley of Achor You may remember in the opening of that valley of Achor I gave you what might be understood by it according to the most that is that God would make the greatest trouble and affliction of his Church to be a door of hope to bring mercy to them And if you take it in that sense here rises an excellent observation When God brings into straits yet if he shall sanctifie our straits making them means of good to us we have cause to rejoyce You have an excellent Text Isa 35. 6 7. For in the wildernesse shall waters breake out and streams in the desart and the paâ—ched ground shall become a poole and the thirsty land springs of water Those things that seem to goe most contrary to you I will work good unto you out of them saith God VVell what
made they had not got the victory over their enemies but onely a promise that God would be with them presently Jehosaphat all the people fell a singing A gracious heart seeth cause enough to sing if he have got but a promise but much more when he hath got the performance If the promise of a mercy hath such sweetnesse in it what sweetnesse then hath the mercy of the promise But the promise was not only barely fulfilled but fulfilled with a high hand and that made them sing This may be another Observation When God appeareth remarkably with a high hand in delivering his people then the mercy is to be accounted a precious mercy indeed and all the people of the Lord should sing and praise him Esay 43. 19. 20. mark there when God had told of an extraordinary hand of his in a way of mercy saith he I will plant them in the wildernesse and so goeth on Then saith he shal this be that they may see and know understand consider that the hand of the Lord hath done this and the Holy One of Israel hath created it When Gods imediate hand doth a thing when it helps a people in an extraordinary way he expects that they should see and know and consider and understand together All these expressions are heaped one upon another And if any people be called to this we are at this day God hath appeared extraordinarily to us Oh that we had eyes to see Oh that we had hearts to consider and understand that we might give God the glory that is due to him The Fifteenth Lecture HOSEA 2. 15. 16. And she shall sing there as in the dayes of her youth and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt And it shall be at that day saith the Lord that thou shalt call me Ishi and shalt call me no more Baali SOme few Observations are to be added to the 15. verse Mercies that have been much sought for that have had many cryes sent up to God to obtaine when once they are granted should cause singing forth the praises of God The people of Israel cryed much before God granted them deliverance from Egypt Exodus 3. 7. I have heard their cryes saith God And God sayes here They shall sing as they did when they came out of Egypt Psal 22. 26. They shall praise the Lord that seek him The more we seek God for any mercy the more we shall praise God when we have obtained that mercy Psal 28. 6. 7. Blessed be the Lord because he hath heard the voyce of my supplication my heart trusted in him and I am helped What followeth Therefore my heart greatly rejoyceth and with my song will I praise him Because God had heard the voyce of his supplication therefore with his song he would praise him Those mercies that we get by crying unto God those are singing mercies indeed Such mercies as come to us only through a generall providence without seeking to God they are not such sweet mercies as Hannah said to Eli concerning her son whom she had got by prayer and therefore named him Samuel Sought of God As thy soul liveth this is the son this is the child that I was here praying for and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him This she spake triumphing in Gods goodnesse Mercies got by prayer may be triumphed in When you want a mercy pray much for it the more you pray for it the more you will sing when you have it and the lesse prayer went before the lesse singing will follow after Further Mercies that make way for the enjoyment of Ordinances are very sweet mercies singing mercies They shall sing as they did when they came up out of the land of Egypt Why did they sing when they came up out of the land of Egypt Because that mercy that deliverance from Egypt made way to that rich mercy of the injoyment of Gods worship in his Ordinances How doth that appear Thus Exod. 15. where they sung when they came out of Egypt ver 2. I will build him an habitation saith Moses together with the people they rejoyced in that that now they were going on in the way to build God an habitation but more ver 13. Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation as if Moses and the Israeliâ—es should say this indeed is a great deliverance that we are delivered out of bondage but what is this but in order to a higher mercy that we looke at yet further that is guiding of thy people in thy strength to thy habitation we looke upon this present mercy of our deliverance for which we doe now sing and give thee praise but in order to the guiding of thy people to thy habitation and that in thy strength as if Moses should say Lord there will be a great many difficulties between this and our comming to enjoy thy habitation but thou wilt guide us in thy strength thy strength shall carry thy people along till it bring them to thy habitation this was that which made them sing so chearfully as they did And again v. 17. Thou shalt bring them in and plant them in the mountaine of thine inheritance in the place O Lord which thou hast made for thee to dwell in in the sanctuary O Lord which thy hands have established This was that that made them so sing So David Psa 27. 4. One thing have I desired of the Lord that I will seeke after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the dayes of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord to enquire in his Temple That is a choice mercy therefore all mercies that make way for that mercy are indeed sweet mercies So we should looke upon all our deliverances from outward troubles and whatsoever peace God giveth us to enjoy as sweet and comfortable in order to this mercy of enjoying Gods mountaine of living in Godâ— habitation that we may dwell there all the dayes of our life A third Observation is New mercies should renew the memory of old They shall sing as in the day when they came up out of the land of Egypt that is I will grant to them yet further mercies and that mercy that I shall grant shall renew the memory of all the former mercies they have enjoyed from me As new guilt renews the memory of former guilt so new mercies the memory of former Hath God delivered you from any danger now were you never delivered before if but when you were a childe those deliverances you now have should bring into your memory what then were So in a nation doth God grant to a nation any new mercy this new mercy should bring into the memory of that nation all the former mercies that ever that nation hath received Psal 68. 26. Blesse ye God in the congregatations even the Lord from the fountaine of Israel Not only
Altars this was when their hearts were warmed with joy in blessing the name of God VVhen God once warmeth the hearts of people it is much what they will doe for God then They will not stand examining every nicety but they will fall upon the work directly the joy of the Lord was the strength of their hearts at this time as it is with the lusts of wicked men when they get into company at feasts in Taverns and there they are drinking while their lusts are warmed then what desperate resolutions have they to doe wickednesse So when Gods Saints are exercised in Gods Ordinances and are refreshed with the sweet love of God when that lies glowing at their hearts what strong resolutions have they for God! then they can doe any thing for God Now the very name of Baalim must be taken away VERSE 16. And it shall be in that day saith the Lord that thou call me Ishi and shalt call me no more Baali 17. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth they shall be no more remembred by their name Here we have as full a Prophesie and promise of as thorough reformation of the Church as any I know we have in Scripture God hath a time to reforme his Church thorowly the very names of their Idols the very remembrance of them shall be taken away This reformation is â—ods worke I will doe it saith God I will take away the names of Baalim They shall call me Ishi and no more Baali Why what great difference is there betweene these two names Ishi and Baali that God will have one but not the other The truth is both of them signifie even almost the same thing Both of them are names very fit for a wife to call her husband by Ishi is my husband and Baali is my husband too But the word Ishi cometh from a word that signifieth strength the woman being the weaker vessel therefore shee calls her husband Ishi my strength for the husband should be strength to the wife he should live with her as a man of knowledge he should be a protection to her he should help her in all her weaknesses afflictions Baali signifieth my Lord as well as my husband it is a word that moteth rule and authority Ishi is a word that hath more love and familiarity in it Baali is a word that noteth the inferiority of the wife to the husband Now God saith he will be called Ishi but not Baali why there is no hurt in the word Baali it selfe the word Baali is a very good word and hath a good signification it is proper to God as any word that can be given to him by the Church but that God did forbid it here for it is no more when the church cals God Baali then if the Church should say O God that art my Lord my husband who art to rule govern me Yea and we find that God gives to himself this name Isa 54. 5. Thy Maker is thy husband so it is in your books but the word in the Hebrew is the same that we have here Thy Maker is thy Baali so that husband and Baal is the very same But now because they had abused this word Baal and given into their Idols therefore God would have no more of it though it was a good word a significant word and as proper to God as any was As the word Tyrannus was a name once for a King Kings were called Tyrants without any such ill signification as now it carries with it but because they had gotten the sole power into their hands they did so oppress abuse their power therefore oppressors were called Tyrants So the Latine word fur which is for a thiefe it was once the ordinary word for a servant Fures and Servi were wont to be the same and without any ill signification but because afterward many servants grew to be false to steale from their Masters therefore fures was altogether taken in the worst part onely for theeves So Sophista a Sophister was one that studied wisdome but because they did so much degenerate many under the colour of the study of wisdome deceived others therefore the name Sophister was used in the worst part I might instance in many other For further opening this May not the name Baal be mentioned God tells them that he would take away the name of Baalim out of their mouths VVhy may not we use this word Baali in our mouths To this I answer Yes it is not unlawfull for us to mention the word notwithstanding this for the holy Ghost a long time after this mentions the word in an historicall way Rom. 11. 4. hee speaks there of those that had not bowed their knees to Baal the word you see is mentioned remembred by the spirit of God therefore it was not a sin nay not only the word Baal bâ—r it is not unlawfull to mention the names of any Idols of the heathen for the holy Ghost doth so likewise Acts 18. 11. speaking of the ship that they sayled in he saith there whose signe was Castor and Pollux the names of two heathen Idols And you may observe that here in the text the remembring is as much forbidden as the mentioning Now if it were a finne meerly to mention the names of the heathen gods it were a sin to remember them Therefore God means the mentioning of them Honoris gratia any way for their honour or without detestation of them The words being thus opened you have many excellent observations out of them very usefull and seasonable for our times First There is a great deale of danger in words and names You shall call me Ishi I will not have you call me Baali I will not have that word used the Devill hath got much by words and names heretofore by the word Puritane though 〈◊〉 knew not what it meant now by this new name that he hath of late invented the devill hath alwayes some words some names for distinction of men in which he sees advantage is to be had The speakiâ—â—â—f the ways of 〈…〉 the language of superstition doth much hurt 〈…〉 a notabl◠〈◊〉 â—etion from the Papists themselves concerning that it is in the Rhemists Testament in their notes upon that place 1 Tim. 6. 20. Keep that which is committed to thy trust avoyding prophane and vaine bablings so we translate it they translate it prophane novelties this is their note upon it Let us say they keep our fore-fathers words and we shall easily keepe our old faith you shall see that wee had not long since the very spirit of these men breathing in many amongst us The Hereticks call repentance amendment but let us say they keep the old word Penance they say the Lords Supper but we will keep the old word Masse they say Communion Table but let us keep the old word Altar Was it not just thus with us the call Elders and Ministers
let us say Priests they say superintendents but let us keep the word Bishop it is a Scripture word indeed but not in that sense they call it for in the Scripture sense every Presbyter is a Bishop they say Sacrament let us keep the word Sacrifice and Host they say Congregation let us keep the word Church they morning evening prayer let us keep the words Mattens even-song and so Oblation Lent and Palmsunday and Christmas day c. This was the policy of Papists and it hath been the policy of many of us to bring in popery by Let us take heed of this for the Devill is subtile in this for though these words have some kind of good sense in the Originall yet there is danger in the use of them Augustine in his preface to his narration upon the Psalms hath this expression It is a better thing in the mouths of Christians to speak according to the manner of the Church so we may well say it had been better that in the mouths of Protestants there had been the ordinary language of Protestants not the language of Papists Certainly if God had not been very mercifull unto us the very language of Papists that began to be amongst us would have done abundance of mischief take heed as long as you live of the language of Papists whatsoever pretence they may have for their words In that place of the Rhemists Testament quoted they say Let us take heed of the words of hereticks they there confess that heretiques as they call us use many words that have no great hurt in them but because they are the words of heretiques let us not say they use them They are wise enough they will not use our words though they confesse the words themselves have no harme in them yet because they are our proper language as they make them distinct from themselves therefore no Catholiques should use them why should not we be as wise as they The second Observation Idolatry is a most loathsome and abominable thing Why Surely that is most loath some that we may not so much as mention that we may not so much as remember We must seek to abolish the very name the very remembrance of Idolatry as much as possibly we can First one that we hate we do not love his presence we do like his company Secondly if we hate him very much we doe not love so much as to see him and if perhaps we doe see him afar off out hearts rise that is a second degree But thirdly if our hatred be so great thee wee cannot endurâ—â—â— name him that is a greater degree of hatred But fourthly if wee cannot endure to remember him that is more then to name him Yet thus should it be in our manifestation of our hatred to Idolatry we should not admit it into our company much lesse then to joyn in the Ordinances of God We should not admit no not the very sight of it no not the name of it no not the memory of it without a great deale of indignation Jer. 44. 4. Oh doe not this abominable thing saith the Lord there The Lord cryes out with a shriek as it were Oh! doe not this abominable thing as if any of you should see one ready to murther your child or to cut the throat of your father you would shrick out Oh! what mean you to doe do not such a horrible villany as this so God cries out as it were with a shriek do not this abominable thing It is observable in the second commandement that God saith hee will visite the sinn upon the third generation of them that hate him none seem to love God more then wil-worshippers they will not only worship God as he hath appointed but will devise ways of their owne and yet God charges the breakers of no commandement with hatred of him but onely these As if God should say you pretend love to me in that you will finde out new wayes to worship me by you pretend decency and reverence but I account it hating me you can provoke me in nothing more Tertullian in his book De Idololatria hath this expression Idolatry is the principall hey nous crime of mankind it is the chief guilt of the world and the onely cause of judgment in the world It were good therefore seeing God hates it and loaths it so much that we should hate and loath it and therefore even cast out the name and the memory of it it were a happy thing if this could be obtained that now the names as of Popish so of heathenish Idols could be got out from the Church But I know not how it comes to passe that we Christians do still retaine the use of their names the very dayes of the week amâ—â—g us are called by the names of Planets or Heathen Gods Not that I think it a sin when it is the ordinary language of the world so to speak as may be understood for the Apostle as I said afore mentioneth the name of Castor and Pollux but if there could be an alteration by a generall consent it were a thing desireable as our brethren in New-England doe and it were very desireable likewise that our children might not be educated in the use of heathen Poems where the names of heathen Idols are kept up fresh amongst us The Papists themselves acknowledge so much in their notes upon the Rhemists Testament Rev. 1. 10. where they say the name Sunday is Heathenish as all other of the week dayes some imposed after the name of Planets by the Romans some by the name of certaine Idols that the Saxons worshipped to which they dedicated their days before they were Christians which names the Church used not but hath appointed to call the first day Dominike the Lords the other by the name of Feries untill the last day of the week which she calleth by 〈…〉 name Sabbath because that was of God and 〈…〉 imposition of 〈◊〉 â—eathen And in their Annotations upon Luke 24. 1. The first day of the Sabbath that is first after the Sabbath which is our Lords day And the Apostle 1 Cor. 16. 2. commanded a collection to be made on the first of the Sabbath whereby wee learn say they both the keeping that day the Churches count of days 2 3 4. of the Sabbath that is the second day the third day of the week and so on to be Apostolicall which S. Sylvister afterward named 2. 3. 4. Feriam Thus you have the Papists acknowledging the Lords day to be Apostolicall and the calling the days of the week the 2. the 3. the 4. c. to bee likewise Apostolicall The Heathenish Roman names of the days were from the seven Planets 1. Sol from thence Dies solis Sunday dedicated to the Sun 2. Luna Monday dedicated to the Moon 3. Mars Tuesday dedicated to Mars Our English Tuesday is a Saxon name from Tuisco who they say was chiefe leader and
ceremony from Popish Idolatry and joyne with his own Ordinances and think to put off Christ thus we intend to make no ill use of it this will not satisfie Christ If any say why should we not retain our liberty if the things be good But why shouldst not thou manifest thy hatred to all Idolatry And why shouldst not thou tender thy brethren so as to prevent all scandall that may come by the use of such things But you will say the idolatry of Papists and the idolatry of Heathen is not the same there is a great deale of difference between the Heathens in worshipping their Idols and the Papists worshipping of God though in a false way Indeed the difference seems to be much but yet the Idolatry is even the same in both for you are mistaken if you think that many of the Heathens worshipped a false God otherwise then the Papists doe though they made stocks and stones their Idols yet they worshiped the God that was Primum Ens the first Being in and through those Idols Therefore Austin upon Ps 96. brings in one answering thus We do not worship a stone but the vertues the strength and the powers of the great God wee worship And another one Maximus Madaurensis that Austin speaks of in his 43. Epistle Who is so madde or so void of sense that will doubt whether there be more Gods then one we invocate the vertues of this one God under many names diffused through the frame of the whole world VVhat more faire answer can Papists give for their Idolatry then they did Therefore the thing continueth still cleare that with those rules and cautions that have been named such things as have been abused to Idolatry must wholly be cast away we must not retaine them and think to put off God with such distinctions To what end doe we retaine them Is there not sufficient in the worship of God it selfe to make it acceptable to him The Sixteenth Lecture HOSEA 2. 16. 17. 18. And it shall be at that day saith the Lord that thou shalt call me us more Baali For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth and they shal be no more remembred by their name c. And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowles of heaven and with the creeping things of the ground and I will break the bow and the sword and the battell out of the earth and will make them to lye down safely TO adde a word or two more about that principall Observation in these words opened the last day god would not have his people to worship him in that way that Idolaters worship him It hath alwayes beene the care of the Churches of God to distinguish themselves in wayes of worship from Idolaters The Manichees were wont to keepe their fasts upon the Lords day and upon that the Churches did utterly prohibit the keeping of Fasts upon that day because they would not doe as the Manâ—chees did Tertullian saith it is Nefas a detestable wickednesse to fast on the Lords day And Ignatius saith to fast on the Lords day is to kill Christ There is a notable and famous Tractate of Tertullians concerning a Christian souldier being in the Army of the Heathens when they in honour of their Idol gods did weare upon their heads a coronet of bayes he tooke his coronet and instead of waring it upon his head he held it in his hand upon this there was a great mutiny in the Army his fellowes storming at this that one souldier should be in a different garbe from all the rest surely this was some nice conscienced souldier that he forsooth must not doe as others did he must hold the coronet of bayes in his hand whereas others wore it on their heads The mutining of the souldiers came at length to the Officers of the Army and upon that this Christian souldier was called to question why he was in a different kinde of way from his fellowes hee gives this answer I am a Christian and therefore it doth not beseeme me to doe as these doe that we are the bayes upon their heads in honour of their Idol gods upon that they were all in a mighty rage against this souldier and not only himself but all the Christians that were neere hand were in danger of a great persecution Nay there was a great mutining amongst other Christians that this one man for such a nicety should indanger not only himself but other Christians Tertullian therefore writes a whole Tractate to defend this Souldier for this his practice and he saith of him that he was holier then his holy brethren who thought and presumed they might serve two Lords that they might comply themselves for the avoyding of persecution with the Heathens in the observation of their superstitious way of worship and he cryes out in an exclamation in commendation of this Souldier Oh most glorious souldier who would thus venture himselfe and not comply with Idolaters and whereas some would pleade against him even Christians that would rather comply then indure the hazard and say where is it written in all the word of God that we should not weare bayes upon our heads Tertullian answereth againe Where is it written that we may doe it saith he we must looke into the Scripture to see what we may doe and not thinke it enough that the Scripture doth not directly forbid this or that very particular By this we see that some to avoid trouble and persecution will as much as ever they can comply with the wayes of Idolatry yet those that are of a true Christian heroick spirit indeed will not comply with them but will rather hazard the sorest persecution Thus it should be with us we must not retaine any thing that hath been abused to Idolatry so as to keep the honourable memoriall of it wee must not comply with Idolaters that way and especially in regard of that great Idol of the Crosse which we instanced in the last day not so far to retaine it as to bring it into the Ordinances of God the very Sacrament this puts a great honour upon it yea and too too great an honour is put upon it in reserving it in the eminentest place of the City and to thinke it is an ornament unto it whereas it is indeed a great disgrace and dishonor and retaines the memory of your fore-fathers superstition which is their and your shame Augustine sayes it is better to dye with hunger then to eate that which is offered to Idols so far were these ancients from suiting themselves with Idolaters Gabriel Biel saith the Church of Rome though meet to use leavened bread lest in unleavened they should seeme to be like Ebion the Heretick and Bellarmine would not have Paul called Divus Paulus but Beatus because Divus and Diana were the words of the heathen for their
between Gods wrath and your former sins Further They shal not so much as be remembred by their name they shal not thinke of them The note from hence is all superstitious vanities though they may seem for the present never so glorious yet in time they will vanish and come to nothing God hath a time to make them so to vanish as they shall not so much as be thought off Col. 2. 22. it is said of the rudiments of the world that are according to the Doctrine of men they perish in the use in the present use that is they effect nothing that they seeme to be appointed for there is no good cometh of them for the present but in the very use they come to nothing but time shall be that God will cause them all to perish utterly and the very remembrance of them shall be taken away It is true for the present while mens hearts are set upon superstitious wayes O how glorious are they in their eyes but these glorious things will come to nothing whereas those Ordinances of God that seeme to be but meane things wherein the simplicity of the Gospel appeareth they shall appeare full of beauty though for the present they seeme to be darkened they shall be glorious in the eyes of the Saints to the end of the world Not long since what a stirre was there about the more then decent even superstitious adorning of Temples and building of Altars and brave Canopies what sumptuous things and fine knacks had they and all to set out a pompous superstitious way of worship this altogether prevailed as for the purity and simplicity of Gods wayes and worship how was it trampled under feet as an unworthy contemptible thing but these things that for a while seemed so glorious begin to vanish and wee hope ere long will come to nothing the very memory of them shall perish the purity of Gods worship and the simplicity of the Gospell in Gods Ordinances shall recover their beauty and glory when those braveries shall be no more 7. A true penitent cannot remember former sinnes without indignation for so is the meaning of the phrase they shall not remember Some of us may remember how we have beene intangled with wayes of false worship and how we have fullyed and wrung our consciences that way we said we would yeeld as far as we could but indeed we yeelded further then wee could for id possumus qnod jure possumus we have cause to remember it with shame and confusion of face Ye old men may remember the sins of your youth but how can you remember them and speake of them with joy and meryment that is an evil yea almost a desperate signe do you so remember the sinnes of your youth as to tell tales of the pranckes of your younger dayes with joy you are in a high degree left of God and given up to hardnesse you shall remember them with shame and indignation the sweet morsells of former sinnes coming up into remembrance should be bitter and sower unto you The last note is the taking off mens hearts from Idolatrous wayes is a speciall worke of God I will do it saith God I will take away the names of Baalim out of their mouthes Certainly the people in these times hung much upon their false ways of worship they had many arguments for their way no question but they had many distinctions to uphold it but there shall come a day saith the Lord when I will take away the names out of their mouths I will stop your mouthes I will take off your hearts from all those Objections and reasonings you have had to maintaine such ways as those were I will silence all then you shal see evidently convincingly to your shame that you have been gulled by such vaine false distinctions I will take off all those ingagements your hearts were bound in those being taken off I will soon take you off from all What a deale of stir hath God that we may speake with holy reverence to take mens hearts from wayes of false worship What a company of distinctions and objections have men their hearts clinging to them being very unwilling to be taken off now then their consciences are wrung yet they hold fast and then conscience hath another wring and then they another objection and another distinction and yet perhaps true grace lyes at the bottome after all this But God having a love unto them by some way or other takes off their hearts if he doth it not by settling truths upon the heart by his Spirit he will doe it by some notable works oâ— providence we finde it by experience so long as mens engagements hold that they cannot enjoy their estates liberties and comforts without yeelding to such wayes of superstition they will not be taken off from them they please themselves in this and perhaps they speake what they thinke that they doe nothing against the light of their consciences for why their ingagements keepe off the strength of truth that it comes not to a full conviction of conscience But when God shall by any worke of his providence take off their hearts from ingagements and then come and set before them the same truths that formerly he did they come to see now a convincing evidence in those truths they stand admiring that they saw it not before wonder what the matter was they read such bookes before that had the same arguments against their wayes and for the truth but they could not see the strength of them before now they see it apparently and they are ashamed of themselves every time they goe into the presence of God they are confounded in their owne thoughts to thinke that though truths were so clear before they did not see them now they see them with such cleareness as they thinke they could lay downe their lives for them whatsoever they suffer for time to come they can never yield to what they have yeilded to heretofore What is the matter God hath come in with power God hath taken off their hearts God attributeth this to himself I will take the names of Baalim out of their mouthes whatsoever they have to say for the keeping of such names and reliques of Idolatry yet I will come with power upon their hearts and take them out of their mouths Then indeed when God thus commeth the thing will be done And let us take heed we doe not stand out too long lest God come to take off our hearts by some dreadfull way of judgement or other It were better our mouths were stopped our objections silenced and so all the reliques and remainders of false worship were taken from us thorough the word and Spirit of God If that will not doe God will come in some other way and take the name of Baalim out of our mouths And if wee will keepe the memory of superstitious wayes God may extirpate the memory of them by such
the Lord my child is stout and stubborn against me how hath my heart been stout stubborn against the Lord my Father Againe peace with God brings peace with the creatures I will make a covenant with the beasts of the field with the fowles of the ayre c. Job 5. 23. you have a strange kind of promise Thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field and the beasts of the earth shall be at peace with thee This goes somewhat deeper then that which is here promised there shall be a league not only with the beasts but with the stones of the field How in league with the stones of the field It is more easie to be understood to be in league with the beasts of the field for they are many times hurtfull unto us But how with the stones of the field There are many interpretations given of that place Only thus much for the present It was wont to be the way and so it is still in many places in setting the bounds of their fields they took stones which they set up for land-marks and engraved upon their stones to note to whom this or the other parcell of ground belonged Now this is the promise that the Lord would be so gracious to his people that they should enjoy the bounds of their own habitations securely they should not be wronged their land-marks should not be taken away The stones of the field shal be in league with thee that is the stones of the field that stand for your land-marks shall abide and none shall take them away I will preserve your bounds as if you were in league with the stones that are your land-marks as if they had agreed with you and were in covenant that they would undertake to stand and to set out the bounds of your fields for ever And the beasts of the field also shall bee usefull to you and do you no hurt But you will say sometimes the beasts of the field doe hurt the Saints how doth God make a covenant with them Many things might be answered to that vers 17. of that place of Job he speaks of a time when God corrects and men despise not the chastning of the Almighty now this in vers 23. hath reference unto that time that is when any do make use of Gods correction doe not despise it but in a reverent way submit unto Gods hand of correction then God will make this league with the stones of the field and with the beasts of the earth If God hath corrected you with any sicknesse and you doe not profit by that sickenesse it is just with God that a beast of the field that some or other creature should meet you and be more terrible unto you then ever your sicknesse was And the promise here in Hosea is to those that are reconciled to God who have cast off their superstitious vanities And because wee are not here perfectly reconciled therefore this promise is not perfectly fulfilled But I make no question but the holy Ghost here aymeth at the tâ—me of the call of the Jews and then I believe that this promise shall be literally fulfilled and those other promises in Esay and other places where God sayes he will make the Lion to eate straw with the Oxe and the like and that no venomous creature shall doe them hurt When the calling of the Jews shall be the creatures shall be brought into such a kind of excellency in a manner as they were in Adam in Paradise they shall come to the primitive institution the Lion was not at the first creation wont to live upon prey the creatures were not made to prey one upon another therefore the promise is that the Lion shall live in that kind of quietnesse as it was to do in Paradise if man had not sinned And at the calling of the Jewes it is very like there shall be such a restitution of all things as it is called Acts 3. 21. the creatures shall be restored to such a knd of excellency as it had at the first in the Creation And though in part this may be fulfilled to Gods people so as the beasts of the field shall do them no hurt that is if they prevail against them it shall be for some gracious ends that God aymsat yet for the literall fulfilling of it it is reserved for that day Thirdly VVhen God is reconciled to his people shall the beasts of the field and the fowles of the ayre and the creeping things of the earth be at peace with the Saints what a wicked and ungodly thing is it then in men that the more any are reconciled unto God the greater enemies are they unto them God promiseth when his people be reconciled to him the creature shal be reconciled unto them yet thou a vile wretch when thou seest one grow up in the wayes of reconciliation with God thy enmity increases towards him what a horrible wickedness is this it is more then bruitish by farre it is desperate wickednesse as it was with those Kings of Canaan Iosh 10. 5. assoone as the Gibeonites had made peace with Ioshua and were in coveuant the five Kings conspired against them they lived quietly enough before with them but when they heard that they had made a covenant with Ioshua they presently conspired against them Thus it is with many at this day when you had your companions who would drink swear and break the Sabbath and be unclean and scorn with you they were good fellowes then how would you hug and embrace them and delight in them but so soone as God hath wrought upon their hearts and they are brought from enemies to be reconciled unto God now your hearts are opposite to them now you look upon them as your enemies now you hate them now your spirits rise against them O horrible desperate wickedness the Lord rebuke you this day the Lord strike upon such a heart Before Saul was converted hewas a man of repute but assoone as he turned Christian he was a pestilent a seditious fellow Away with such a man from the earth he is not worthy to live the next newes wee heare forty of them conspired together and bound themselves with an oath that they would neither eate nor drinke till they had killed him Fourthly I will make a Covenant saith God you shall have this mercy and have it by covenant Mercy that commeth by Covenant is excellent mercy indeed The same mercy that cometh in by a worke of generall providence is nothing so sweet nothing so firme as that mercy that cometh in by Covenant When the Saints enjoy a mercy though it be outward they are not so taken with the mercy for the outward part of it because they have some comfort and contentment to the outward man by it but they are taken with it upon this ground they see even this outward mercy cometh to them by vertue of Gods Covenant
books should be made spears This peace is a most amiable thing and lovely in all our eyes every man desireth it and God promiseth it unto his people in many places as a most speciall fruite of his love unto them Esay 33. 10. Jerusalem shall be a quiet habitation a tabernacle that shal not be taken down And Num. 6. 25 26. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace the shining of Gods face appeareth in giving of peace to a Nation therefore Jer 16. 5. where God threatneth the taking away of peace marke the expression I have taken away my peace from this people saith the the Lord even loving kindnesse and mercies He doth not say I have taken away peace but I have taken away My peace and then when My peace is taken away I will even take away loving kindnesse and mercies how easie were it to let out ones selfe in large discourses in the high commendations of peace God teaches us in these days to set a high price upon it We have had a peace a long time and the Lord knowes we have not priced that mercy now we know what a sad thing it is to have war in our Gates And if this be a fruite of Gods Covenant to have peace we have cause to bewayle the breach of our Covenant Surely there is a great displeasure of God out against us this cup of blood that is prepared and powred forth and drunke in a great measure is a most dreadfull one our brethren have drunke deepe of it we have been afraid of it long since we have heard of rumours of wars and when the Cup was abroad we prayed that if it were possible it might passe from us this Cup did passe and went to our brethren in Ireland and now it is come unto us the sword hath had its circuite and now it is come amongst us and that which is come is exceeding dreadfull because our wars are not with forreign enemies but Civill wars the worst of all I have read in the Romane Chronicles that in a battell between Sylla and Marius there was a souldier by accident killed one not knowing who it was but after he was slaine he saw it was his brother presently in anguish of spirit he ran his sword into his owne bowels This we finde to be ordinary among us even brother to be against brother yea son against father of each side at this time Certainly therefore it is time for us to fall upon our knees and to be humbled before the Lord for the breach of our peace Peace is a sweet mercy therefore pitty it is that it should not be improved pitty is it that it should be abused Oh how have we abused our former peace God gave us peace before to what end That we might be edifyed and so built up in the feare of God and comfort of the holy Ghost as Acts 9. 31. it is said the Churches had rest were edifyed and did walk in the feare of God and the comforts of the holy Ghost We have not made this use of the rest God hath been pleased to afford us but we have growne wanton with our peace with this precious jewell and just it is with God to take it from us And now we doe desire peace but to what end Still ayming at this especially at this that we might have more freedome to satisfie our lusts and to make provision for the flesh that is the very ground of most mens desire of peace whereas if we did understand the true worth of peace indeed we would thinke it a very low end to desire peace onely to attaine this Ezek. 37. 26. Marke the promise that is there I will make a Covenant of peace with them it shall be an everlasting Covenant with them and I will place them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary in the middest of them for evermore Yea that is a comfortable peace to be desired indeed when God by peace shall make way to set his sanctuary amongst us If we did desire peace upon these termes we might have peace sooner then we are like to have it Againe Peace is sweet therefore pitty it is that it should be falsifyed Ps 28. 3. there are some that speake peace to their neighbours but mischiefe is in their hearts It is pitty that such a precious thing as peace should be serviceable to mens lusts that it should be pretended only to drive on a mischievous designe Peace is too good to be serviceable to mens base ends Yet further Peace is a great blessing therefore pitty it is that it should not be endeavoured for to the uttermost Yea cursed be that warre that hath not peace for the end of it it is that which ought to be as the Embleme of every souldier to have it written upon his sword Sic quaerimus Pacem even thus doe we seek peace It is a great deale better to have a war that aymes at and works peace then to have a peace that aymeâ— at and works war It is true war produceth very dreadfull effects but war that shall bring forth peace is better then peace that produceth war and the more we do commend peace the more doe wee still commend that war that tends to the bringing forth true peace rather then to seeke for a false peace that will produce most dreadfull war afterwards Peace is a great blessing from God but we must take heed we buy it not too deare we may say of this as we use to say of Gold we may buy gold toodear You will say how is it possible to buy peace at too deare a rate Yes if you give these three things for it you have but a deare bargain of it First if you sell truth for it selling any truth for peace you buy peace too deare for the least truth is better then all the kingdomes of the earth It first cost the blood of Christ and since hath beene watered by the blood of thousands of Martyrs Secondly if you shall betray those that have beene most active for the publique good onely that you may be way of complyance provide for your own particular peace this peace costs you too deare Thirdly if you for love of peace shall subject your selves to tyranny or slavery This is peace at too deare a rate and the posterity that comes after may curse that basenesse of spirit and cowardlynesse of the generation that went before that should buy peace for themselves so deare as to bring not onely themselves but their posterity under the bondage of miserable tyranny and woefull slavery It is true it is a great deale easier for a man that is striving and fighting with his enemy to lie downe then to spend his strength with fighting and striving he shal not spend so many of his spirits in the act of lying down why will he
is a choyce mercy it is a fruite of the Covenant This mercy the Lord promiseth Pro. 3. 23. Then shalt thou walke in thy way safely thy foot shall not stumble Mark the 24 ver When thou lyest down thou shalt not be afraid yea thou shalt lye down and thy sleepe shall be sweet be not afraid of sudden feare for the Lord shall be thy confidence c. This made good to one in these dayes is a Text worth gold indeed So Ps 107. 3. So doth the Lord give his beloved rest others they labour and toyle and they eate the bread of carefulnes and are mightily perplexed but so doth the Lord give his beloved rest that is the Lord takes away care and thought from his beloved and gives them rest so that they can lye downe quietly as it were in his bosome There is a false â—est and security of the wicked when they make a covenant with death and with hell as Esay 28. 16. Ye have said we have made a covenant with death with hel when the overflowing scourge shal passe through it shall not come unto us for we have made lyes our refuge and under falshood have we hid our selves This text is as proper a text to our adversaries as any I know in the Scripture they promise to themselves all security and safety they make a Covenant with hell death but how they make lyes their refuge and under falshood have they hid themselves Here is a security and it is by a covenant with hell death but this Text holds forth a lying down safely by vertue of another Covenant even the Covenant of God therefore it followes ver 16. Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone a tryed stone aprocious corner stone a sure foundation he that believeth shall not make haste It is an Observable Text concerning our times there is a security upon that ground the overflowing scourge will breake down all but saith God I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone a tryed stone a precious corner stone a sure foundation he that believeth shal not make haste you may be secure though your enemies doe vaunt themselves and will boast in their own wayes they have made a covenant with hell death yet for you I lay in Zion a stone a sure foundation he that believeth shall not make haste Although God doth not come with his deliverance for the present yet you who believe quiet your selves lye downe safely and do not make haste A horse saith the Scripture Psal 33. 17. is a vaine thing for safety they trust in the creature ver 18. but behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that feare him they have a greater safety then if they had Troopes of horses lye about them to defend them and ver 20. Our soule waiteth for the Lord he is our help our shield so Pro. 21. 31. The horse is prepared against the day of battel but safety is of the Lord. Let us the resore cry with the Psalmist Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance vpon us then will we lye down in peace sleep for thou only makest us dwell in safety Would you have quiet sleepe in these troublesome times make your peace with God if there be peace within then you may lye downe safely notwithstanding all the rumors and tumults of war abroad but if there be no peace in the heart though you should live to see outward peace your sins would dog you they would pursue you the terrours of the Almighty would be upon you and you should not have one nights rest But Lord what is all this except we may have communion with thy selfe except we may have communion with JESUS CHRIST This is the voice of a gracious heart therefore follows that blessed promise as a further fruite of the Covenant that God would make with his people saith the Lord I will betroth thee unto my selfe I will be yours too there shall be a most blessed union and conjugall communion between you and me you shall enjoy me in all the sweetnesse and love that the wife enjoyeth the husband in though you have most wretchedly departed from me yet behold I will betroth you unto me in righteousnesse and in judgement in loving kindnesse and iu mercies The Seventeenth Lecture HOSEA 2. 19. 20. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever yea I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness and in judgement in loving kindnes in mercies I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness thou shalt know the Lord. BUt how betroth this phrase seems to be very strange she had been the wife of God before and was gone a whoring from him though God should be reconciled to her one would have thought it should rather have been I will receive you againe No but I will betroth you The reason of the phrase is to note that God would receive her with that love as if she had been a pure virgin and he would never upbraid her former departing from him you have beene an adulteresse beare your shame but for my own Names sake I will be content to receive you again No but I will beâ—roth you unto me you shall be as now taken to me and your sins shall be no more remembred they shall be as if they had never been committed When God pardoneth sin he will remember it no more the Lord will never charge upon sinners their former sins And if God will not remember the sins of his people of his repenting people to charge them upon them we should not remember them to up brayd them for them what ever they have been before if now converted it is too much boldnesse in any of us to upbraid them for any of their former sins I remember Beza tells of himselfe that the Papists upbraided him much for the sinnes of his youth for his lascivious Poems he made before his conversion but Beza answers them thus Hi homines invident mihi graciam divinam these men envy me the grace of God I will betroth thee unto mee yea I will betroth thee unto me I will even betroth thee unto me The repenting Church might say How is it possible that such an adulteresse who hath been so vile who hath been so impudent in her wayes of forsaking the blessed God her glorious husband who hath so long continued in filthy whordoms should yet expect to receive mercy What this mercy to be betrothed to God to be taken as if she were a chast Spouse before him Yes saith God I will do it and therefore it is repeated three times for the assurance of the humbled repenting Church that God will again betroth himselfe unto her and that with some Emphasis I will betroth yea I will betroth even I will betroth there is betrething and betrothing and betrothing and I and I and I shewing how much the heart of God is in this thing As if God
in a visible church communion to the Jewes and in the spirituall communion of Christ with the soule for the present Of the visible form first Isa 60. 15. I will make thee an eternall excellency a joy of many generations I thinke this is not onely meant concerning the spiritual happines of the Saints but that God hath a time to make his visible church to be an eternall excellency and a joy of many generations an excellency that shall never have an end And this their perpetuall condition their enduring happinesse shall arise from three grounds First from the precious foundation that shall be laid upon that Church when it shall be Isa 54. 8. With everlasting kindnesse will I have mercy on thee saith the Lord but mark the ground vers 11. Behold I lay the foundation with Saphires all the rubbish shal be taken away it shal not be raised upon a rubbish foundation God will lay the foundations of it with Saphires and then with everlasting mercy he will embrace that Church Secondly that Church shall be in a peaceable condition no rent no division there therefore in a perpetuall condition Esay 33. 20. A Tabernacle that shall not be taken down not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed Why the very words before shew the reason Jerusalem shall be a quiet habitation Thirdly this Church shall look wholly at Christ as their Judge and their Law-giver and their King Isa 33. 22. The Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King Churches are ready to change while they mixe other things with the worship of Christ and the lawes of men with his laws but when they can look to him I mean in that which is spirituall as their Law-giver as their Judge and as their King then the happinesse of it shall be perpetuall never to cease in this world the Lord Christ will betroth this Church unto him for ever Though I verily think the holy Ghost aymeth at this in great part yet we are to understand this betrothing for ever further of the spirituall communion the soul hath with Christ When Christ betroths himselfe unto a soule it is for ever the conjugall love of Christ with a gracious soule shal never be broken At the first mans condition was such as man laid hold upon God and let goe his hold but now God lays hold upon man and hee will never let goe his The bond of union in a believer runs through Jesus Christ it is fastned upon God and the spirit of God holds the other end of it and so it can never be broken This union is in the Father who hath laid a sure foundation 2 Tim. 2. 19. Rom. 9. 11. In the Son who loves his to the end Iohn 13. 1. In the Spirit who abides in the elect for ever John 14. 16 17. Esay 54. 10. The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed but my kindnesse shall not depart from thee neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee My loving kindnesse shall be more stable with thee and endure longer then the mountains themselves It is as sure as the ordinances of heaven Jer. 31. 35 36. Thus saith the Lord which giveth the Sun for a light by day and the ordinances of the Moon and of the Stars for a light by night if those ordinances dopart from before mee then the seed of Israel shall cease c. And Jer. 33. 20 21. Thus saith the Lord if you can break my covenant of the day and my covenant of the night that there should not be day and night in their season then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant You have these three expressions of the abiding of Gods love to his people 1. The continuance of the mountains 2. The continuance of the ordinances of heaven and earth 3. Gods covenant with night and day Here is the bottome of consolation to the Saints They shall be kept by the power of God 1 Pet. 1. 5. As if God should say the speciall power that I meane to put forth in this world shall be to uphold the spirits of my Saints to bring them to salvation certainly it is so The speciall work that God hath in this world to exercise his power about is to keep Christ and the Saints together Though it be through Gods power that the heavens and the earth be kept up yet if God must withdraw his power from one hee would rather withdraw it from upholding heaven and earth then from upholding one gracious soule that hath union with his Son The union that is between Christ and his people it is too neere an union ever to be broken I remember Luther hath a notable expression about this As it is impossible for the leaven that is in the dough to be separated from the dough after it is once mixed for it turneth the nature of the dough into it selfe so it is impossible saith he for the Saints ever to be separated from Christ For Christ is in the Saints as neerly as the leaven in the very dough so incorporated as that Christ and they are as it were one lump Christ who came to save that which was lost will never lose that which he hath saved Heb. 7. 16. it is said that Christ was made a Priest not after the law of a carnall commandement That is he was not made a Priest as the Priests in the law after a ceremonial way but after the power of a indissoluble life Coeli virture by a celestiall vertue so Calvin upon the place The argument why Christs life is indissoluble rather then the Priests in the law is because they were made by the power of a carnall commandement not by a Celestiall power So those who professe godlinesse according to a carnall comandement in a ceremoniall way may faile vanish and come to nothing in their way of worship as many have done but such as are professors of Religion by the vertue of Gods Spirit in them they have the power of a life indissoluble There are two soul-staying and soul-satisfying grounds to assure of Christs betrothing himselfe for ever First when any soul is taken in to Christ it hath not onely all the sinnes that it hath committed heretofore pardoned but there is a pardon laid in for all sin that is to come There is forgivenesse with thee Psal 130. 4. There lyes pardon with God before hand for all that is to come as well as for that which is past There is no condemnation unto them which are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8. 1. That is there is no instant of time after they are once in Christ Jesus wherein it can be said they are under the sentence of condemnation Now were it not that there were a pardon laid before-hand for all sin that is to come there might upon commission of a new sinne be said at that time that now they
to justifie it before men and Angels that you had reason for what you did that it was out of judgement There is nothing wherein there is more need of judgement then in marriages contracts therefore the heathens were wont to set Mercury there god of wisdome by Venus their goddesse of maryage to note that there was need of judgement there yet there is nothing usually in the world undertaken with lesse judgement with more rashness and inconsideratness then contracts and maryages which is the reason of the trouble of their lives ever after But though there be many contracts between men and women that are not out of judgement yet saith God I will betroth you out of judgment Christs match with his Church is a match of judgment Christ considereth of our meanness before he marryeth with us hee knoweth us fully what we are he knowes our sinfulness our wretchedness he knows we are in debt before he maryeth us and whatsoever else we can think might be any hinderance he knowes as perfectly as ever he shall know it yet he goes on Yea the match between Christ and his Church is that which hath been plotting in Heaven from all eternity it is not a sudden rash match it hath been plotting between the Father and the Son from everlasting God the Father giveth consent to this match God the Holy Ghost is sent to draw the hearts of his people to come in and consent to this match it is a match out of the deepest judgement that ever thing was done Though it be true that God can see no reason in us why we should be thus united to his Sonne yet he can see abundance of reason in himself therefore the conversion and salvation of a soul is not only out of Gods mercy but it is from Gods wisedome too Hence the Scripture attributes our prâ—destination and our calling unto his wisdome as well as unto the freeness of his grace as Ephe. 1. 11. Being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsell of his own will Mark it is not only because God will I will have mercy because I will have mercy I will choose such and I will refuse such I will do it no but it is after the Couâ—sell of his will We indeed are set upon our wills many times to do a thing there is no reason for it there is no counsel of our will but God even in this thing that we can see no reason for at all hee workes according to the counsell of his will and Ephe. 3. 10. the Apostle having said before vers 8. that he was to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ he saith he was to preach it to the intent that now might be made known the manifold wisdome of God In all things in the Gospel there is a great deale of wisdome Vocation is one of the mysteries of the Gospel and 1 Cor. 1. 24. the Gospel is said to be the power of God and the wisdome of God the Apostle there instances in one thing which one would thinke hath as little reason in it as any thing in the Gospel that is the leaving of the rich wise and noble the great ones of the world and calling the poore but herein is not onely the power but the wisdome of God God doth even this in judgement And although we can now understand little or nothing of any reason that there can be of Gods choosing us unto himselfe yet this will be made known at the great day of judgement It will be a great part of the glory of that day for the Lord to make known the counsell of his will we now know his will but we shall then know the counsell of his will and praise him to all eternity for it this shall be the glory of the Saints that they shall see into the counselâ— of Gods will in choosing and calling them and letting others goe Gods betrothing himselfe thus to his people in judgement is an especiall reason of the perpetuity of this betrothing I will betroth thee unto me for ever Why First it is in righteousnesse therefore it will hold Secondly it is in judgement therefore it will hold too Things that are done rashly will seldome hold but though we are set upon them for the present we quickly undoe them afterward but that which is done in judgment holds the calling of a sinner and uniting him unto Christ is done in judgement therefore it will hold that is the ground of the perseverance of a sinner If a man before marryage knoweth perfectly all the faults his wife hath or ever shall have and knowes perfectly her estate all the incumbrances he shall have with her yet loveth her out of judgement surely this love will hold It is so between Christ and his Church Christ before he betrotheth his Church perfectly knowes all the faults the Church hath or shall have all the sins that ever she shall commit and all the incumbrances dishonor she shal have yet out of judgement he betroths her to himselfe therefore surely this will hold Comfort yourselves with this Christians though there be many faylings after your comming to Christ Christ knew them all before you were united to him yet out of judgement he betrothed himselfe unto you There must also be judgement on our parts I will put into you a judicious heart to choose me out of judgement The Saints who choose Christ know what they doe They shall be all taught of God every one therefore that hath heard and learned of the Father commeth unto me None cometh unto me but such as are taught of God who heare learne of the Father they come to me out of judgement I know whom I have loved saith Paul and so may every Christian say They doe not come to imbrace Christ and his wayes out of novelty because they are new things â—o not any truth of Christ out of meer novelty as many doe and so vanish to nothing though it is true there is alwayes some new excellency in Christ I meane newly revealed Christ hath alwayes something that is further revealed more then we knew before and delightful I he is in that regard if we love novelty It is not a sufficient plea against any truth because it is now revealed and was not known before 2 Pet. 1. 12. Be established in the present truth though truths be from the beginning yet there are present truths in regard of manifestation But the Saints must not therefore receive them meerly because they are new to them neither must any reject them because they are but now cleared whereas before they lay in the darke but all out of judgement we must examine them when any truth is presented though it seems new because you heard not of it before reject it not upon that neither imbrace it upon that but try it and when you are convinced then out of judgement imbrace it
of God VVould you be so Learne then to exercise faith much about the infinite riches of the mercy of God in Christ this will fill you with all the fulness of God you complain of barrennes and emptines in your hearts and lives it is because you exercise so little Faith in these mercies of God in Christ God betrotheth his Church unto himselfe in mercies in bowels Let us learne to pleade these mercies before the Lord to pleade them when we are in any strait to pleade with God for bowels Esay 63. 15. Looke downe from heaven and behold from the habitation of thy holi esse and thy glory where is thy zeale and thy strength the sounding of the bowels and of thy mercies towards us are they restrained Lord hast thou not said that thou wilt betroth thy Church unto thy self in bowels Where is the sounding of thy bowels Lord let us have these bowels of thine in which thou hast betrothed us through Christ Oh what confusion will there be one day unto those that shall misse of all these mercies of God in which the Lord hath betrothed himselfe unto his Church VVhat will you content your selves now with crums that God casteth to dogs with the fruits of Gods generall bounty and patience when you heare of such glorious mercies as are in Jesus Christ These things should so raise our hearts that wee should protest as Luther did I protest saith hee God shall not put mee off with these things of the world with my portion here Oh no the Lord hath shewed me greater riches though I be unworthy of any yet I know his mercy is free why then should not I have my portion in these glorious things Come in then come in oh sinfull soule be in love with Jesus Christ the ways of godlinesse know that all these mercies are tendred unto thy soule this day to break thy heart even that hard heart of thine and they are as free for thee as for any There is nothing more pleasing unto God then for thee to be taken with the glory of the riches of his mercy Thou canst perform no duty so acceptable unto God as this to have thy heart break upon the codsideration of his bowels to have thy bowels yern again and to come in and close with this infinite rich and glorious grace of his Which if thou dost know that the first moment thou art united to Christ thou dost lanch into the infinite Ocean of mercy now thou breathest in the element of mercy now thou livest upon nothing but mercy Is it so Then know God expects a mercifull disposition from thee too God betrotheth thee in righteousnesse and putteth righteousnesse into thee in judgment and gives thee judgment too in loving kindnesse and makes thee loving and kind likewise in mercies and putteth mercies into thee bowels into thee also First toward himself Why can we be mercifull unto God what good can wee doe to God God expects you should have bowels toward him How Thus Dost thou see the name of this blessed God thy husband to be dishonoured in the world Oh thy bowels should yern thou shouldst have bowels working now What doth God look upon thee in thy blood in thy misery and doth his bowels yern toward thee Canst thou look upon God in his dishonour and his cause trampled under foot and do not thy bowels yern toward him It should pitie thy soule to see this blessed God to be so much dishonoured in the world as he is to see that there are so few in the world that love and feare this God who is thy God and hath done thee so much good VVhat is there any good cause up wherein the name of God should be honoured Thy bowels should work presently toward it Cant. 5. 4. My beloved put his hand by the hole of the doore and my bowels were moved for him VVhen Christ did but begin to open a door put but in his hand when there was any good but beginning to be done Oh my bowels were moved saith the Church and I could never be at quiet untill I had enquired after yea and found my beloved Is there any beginning to let in Christ into the Kingdome in his government amongst us Dowe feele him putting in his hand at the door certainly if we be skilled in the way of Christ we may seele him putting his hand in at the door Oh that our bowels would yern and cause our hearts to flow to the boâ—ntisulnesse of the Lord and joyn with Christ in that blessed work of his that he is about Our bowels must also be toward the Saints It is extreamely against the spirit of Christ for a Christian to be hard-hearted toward his brethren Christ expects bowels And as you would account it â—grievous misery to have your bowels rotten to have diseases in your bowels know it is as great an evill to have your hearts unmercifull that is to have a disease in your bowels so the Scripture phrase is Amos 1. 11. He cast off all pitie his anger did tear perpetually so it is in your bookes but the words in the Originall are And corrupted his bowels their bowels were corrupted when they were not pittiful toward their brethren in misery It was a grievous condition that Iehoram was in 2 Chron. 21. 15. when his bowels came forth by reason of his disease An unmercifull heart is a worse disease then this What are wee and who are we that Gods mercies should be shewen towards us why not our mercies toward our brethren then The Scripture calleth exceedingly for mercy in the Saints toward one another Col. 3. 17. Put on as the Elect of God bowels of mercy and kindness VVould you have an argument unto your selves that you are Gods Elect put on bowels then Never was there time since you lived or your forefathers lived wherein God called for bowels more then now Do you hear of the miseries of your brethren their goods spoiled houses burnt wives children ravished themselves imprisoned their bodies wounded and yet no bowels all this while what you hard-hearted in the meane time Are you the elect of God why I pray you what is your flesh more then the flesh of others what are your comforts more then the comforts of others why should you lie soft and safe more then others Is there any such difference betwixt you and your brethren that they should be in misery and you must be pampered and scarce feele the very wind to blow on you and yet in the meane time your hearts hardned towards them It is true God it is that hath made the difference you will say and God may make a difference where he pleaseth I grant it and it would not grieve God to make such a difference betweene you and them if he saw your bowels yern towards them But if God layes such afflictions upon your brethren who are better then you and have done more for him then
ever you have done and yet you are hard-hearted this will grieve God at the heart 1 Ioh. 3. 17. He that seeth his brother hath need and shuiteth up his bowels of compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him If thou hast bowels and shuttest them up from thy brother surely thou never knewest what the love of God meant Mark that place 2 Cor. 9. 8. what encouraging expressions we have unto bounty and liberality toward our brethren for the opening our bowels toward them God is able to make all grace abound towards you that yee alwayes having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good worke There is no such text in all the book of God to encourage to the opening our bowels to the administring to the necessities of the Saints for that Scripture is brought to that end that part of the Chapter is spent about that argument if you believe any thing in the Scripture if you have any experience of Gods bowels towards you read over this and see if it will not open your bowels God is able to make all grace abound Grace abound that is something all grace that is more but all kinde of grace that is more then that that from Gods almighty power too but that is not enough Marke that you always having all sufficiency in all things It were enough one would think God should say you shall have all things needfull no you shall have all things If he had said thus you shall have sufficiency in that you have that is something no but you shall have all things and sufficiency in all things and all sufficiency in all things Yea but I may want before I dye No you shall have alwayes all sufficiency in all thiugs Well this may make us doe something you may thinke if I do this good work and another and another I hope I do my part no but you must abound you must doe every good work and abound in every good work But I shall draw my self dry if I be so abundant in every good work No God is able to make all grace in you to abound towards you that you alwayes having all sufficiency in all things may abound You shall never be drawn dry for you have the bowels of Gods mercy Alexander giving large gifts some asked him what will you keepe for your selfe Spes saith he I will keepe Hope for my self I will make account that still there are greater things comming for me what he had he gave away because he had a spirit that looked after and hoped for great things to come certainly Christians have that left alwayes they have hope they may expect great things why because they have the bowels of Gods mercies to be theirs One thing more to knit all together all righteousnesse all judgement all loving kindnesse all mercies comes from God through our union with Christ Though God be an infinite ocean of goodnesse yet we can expect nothing from God but through our union with Christ Man hath forfeited the title he had to all the goodness of God and now the title upon which he is to hold all his good it is the union he hath with this husband with JESUS CHRIST by vertue of this marryage Whensoever Faith goes to heaven for any good from God it goeth to heaven by vertue of this right and obtaineth all the good it gets from God by vertue of that conjugall union the soul hath with JESUS CHRIST How blessed then was the time when Christ was first revealed to the Church Cant. 3. 11. Behold King Solomon with the Crown where with his mother crowned in the day of his espousals in the day of the gladnesse of his heart These things opened in our espousals with Christ must needes make that day the day of the gladnes of our hearts O how deare should this Christ thy husband be unto thee how happy when thou shalt have full communion with him when Jsaac met Rebekka he carryed her into his mothers tent when the Lord Christ shall meet his spouse he will carry her into his Fathers pillace Behold the riches the glory of my Father whom I told you of these are all yours in my right eternally The Nineteenth Lecture HOSEA 2. 20. 21. 22. 23 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulnesse and thou shalt know the Lord. And it shall come to passe in that day I will heare saith the Lord I will heare the heavens and they shall heare the earth And the earth shall heare the corne and the wine and the oyle and they shall heare Iezreel And I will sowe her unto me in the earth and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy and I will say to them which were not my people Thou art my people and they shall say Thou art my God I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulnesse Here is a third betrothing I will betroth I will betroth I will betroth Jerome hath a note upon that and saith that it is thrice repeated to note three several times of Gods betrothing himselfe unto his people 1. VVhen he called Abraham 2. After they went out of Egypt and were in the wildernesse at Mount Sinai 3. In the time of the Gospell And of this Exposition Calvin saith it may be accounted witty but it is frivolous He giveth a better reason which I thinke to be the minde of the holy Ghost why it is thrice tepeated Because apostatizing Israel could hardly beleeve that ever God would doe such a thing as this what after the Lord had cast Israel away yea cast her to the beasts for so he threatneth in the former part of the chapter yet now betroth her to himself this was unlikely I will even betroth thee so you have it in your books now the truth is the word in the Originall is Vau the same that is translated and before but because the third time it is said and the Translators thought there was an emphasis in the third And and therefore to expresse that emphasis they put in the word even Infaithfulnesse In steadiness so the word signifieth I will betroth thee unto me in a steady way my goodness toward thee shall be stable and sirme So the word is often used in Scripture Exod. 17. 12. His hands were steady the same word that we have here for faithfulnes So Deut. 28. 59. I will make thy plagues of long continuanoe thy plagues stable and constant the same that is here for faithfulness And 1 Sam. 2. 35. I will raise me up a faithfull Priest and I will build him a sure house there the word is of the same roote a sure house a firm steady house Faithfulnes here imports Gods stability steadines in his Covenant with his people It notes not so much the perpetuity for that was before I will betroth thee unto me for ever But firmeness constancy as opposite to ficklenes uncertainty There is
coming in at a grate others have somewhat more light they have common gifts which is like the light in the next story somewhat more clear but the light of the Saints is higher then all these they know God as their God great is the excellency of his knowledge the soul hath blessed satisfaction in it let us see the Father and it sufficeth us the fulnesse of glory that is let out into the soul the sanctification of the heart by the presence of the beams of the glory of God being transformed into the same Image it is the very beginning of eternall life Take onely this note about our knowledge of God by Christ what a different way have we to know God by from that which Heathens had If you reade the Hystories of the Romanes you shal find the poor mean ways of those wise men had to know God as thus they would look into the intrails of beasts thereby to finde out the mind of their gods they would observe how the beasts came to the slaughter whether willingly or not willingly whether haled or not haled they guessed somewhat at the minde of their Gods by that then they would looke into the colour of the bowels of the beasts then observe whether the entrals were sound or not then they would observe the fire of their sacrifices whether the flame ascended right or not thus they came to know the mind of their Gods What poor wayes are these we have JESUS CHRIST God blessed for ever the eternal Son of the Father who is come from the bosome of the Father to make all known to us the mind of God his and our Father We know the truth as it is in Jesus not onely as it is in the works of nature some know much of God in the works of creation and providence wee may know much of God in those great things the Lord hath of late done amongst us but to know the truth as it is in Jesus to know God in Christ this is another manner of knowledge then to know God in the way of his works here we see the truth really indeed when wee see it in CHRIST JESUS Certainly then none united unto Christ in a conjugall union can be an ignorant sot for Christ ingageth himselfe in his faithfulnesse upon this marryage of a soul with himselfe to reveale himselfe and the Father unto it Joh 8. 54. Of whom ye say he is your God but mark the next words yet ye have not knowne him A likely matter that he should be your God and you not know him a likely matter that Christ should be your Saviour and you not know him seeing he hath ingaged himselfe in his faithfulnesse that if you bee married to him you shall know him and his Father Ver. 21. And it shall come to passe in that day I will heare saith the Lord I will heare the heavens c. Now come in temporall promises after the assurance of mercy in the Covenant then come promises for corn and wine and oyle God would teach us this lesson by it that all our outward things at the least the sweetness and comfort of them depend upon the covenant in Christ I will heare The word is Respondebo I will answer so it may be rendred as well God will so hear as that he will answer Many times a poor man cryes to the rich he hears him but he will not answer but saith God I will hear so as I wil answer This is a most elegant expression I wil hear the heavens and they shall heare the earth and the earth shall hear the corne and the wine and the oyle and they shal heare Iezreel Miraorationis sublimit as a wonderfull sublimity of speech saith one Expositor of it hyperbolica metaphora a hyperbolica metaphor saith another pulcherrima prosopopoeia a most beautifull and delightful prosopopoeia saith another these creatures being put as it were in the person of a man as if they understood what they did As if the Lord should say thus My people you indeed through your sinnes have been brought into great straits you have wanted corne and wine and oyle you have been scattered in your banishment but when I shall betroth my self unto you and enter into a covenant with you then when you shall cry O that we might have these outward comforts presently the corne and the wine and the oyle as if they heard your complaints shall say Oh Lord we would help Jezreel and satisfie these thy servants the corne shall cry to the earth O earth let me come into your bowels I will rot there that so I may bring forth fruit for this people the vines and the olive shall desire the earth to receive them to give juice and nourishment to them that they may refresh these reconciled ones to God the earth shall say O that I could entertaine the corne and wine and oyle that I may be fruitfull in my kinde but O heavens I can doe nothing except I have your influences and the shine of the sun to warme mee to make mee fructifie therefore O heavens come in and assist me that I may fructifie for Jezreel and the heavens they shall cry Lord we would faine help the earth that the earth may helpe the corne and wine and oyle that they may supply Jezreel but we can doe nothing without thine hand therefore doe thou heare us do thou give us leave to raine upon the earth that it may be fruitfull Thus the creatures are brought in crying to help Jezreel Take these Observations First See our condition in this world though reconciled to God yet while we are here we must be beholden to the corne and wine to the earth and heavens we know not how to doe without them Secondly VVhen we are reconciled to God then the creatures will be serviceable to us yea they will be greedy to do us good they will cry for it Let us take heed of provoking God the creatures then will be against us I have read of Cordius a martyr giving this answer to those who would have had him deny the truth if deny it saith he the Sun Moon starres will deny me light If we serve God the creatures will account it their happines to serve us Thirdly God useth to work good for his people by second causes He doth not send these things immediately from heaven but the heavens heare the earth and the earth hears the corne and the wine We must looke to second causes but take heed of resting upon second causes It hath been Gods work amongst us of late in finding out treacheries giving successes to manifest himself very strangly when the means have been very poor Nay indeed God hath made as much use of mens weaknesse as of their strength but let not us therefore be slack in the use of means let us do the best we can though God sometimes work beyond means and contrary to means
I will sow thee there shall come a blessing upon thee and though thou beest scattered up and down in the earth yet in all places thou shalt be as seed from whence my Church shall spring Hence the notes are First that Gods people are the seed of the earth But of that before in the latter end of the first Chapter onely I will adde a note of Ribera about it The seed saith he lies under the clods and at length fructifies so should the Saints be content to lie under the clods and though they may seem in regard of their afflicted condition to be dead to be rotten yet they shall be glorious and fructifie afterward Before the time of the Churches glory times of great calamity and distresse come which this rotting of the seed before the fructifying sets out unto us Secondly every godly man should so live as either in life or death hee should be as a seed from whence many may spring he should be a meanes that many should be begotten to God It is reported of Cicilia in the history of the Church a poore Virgin that by her gracious behaviour in her mattyrdome she was the means of converting four hundred to Christ As in the Indies one corn bringeth forth divers hundreds so we should labour to convert as many as wee can that some that live after may continue to beare up the name of Christ and the profession of his truth Especially be carefull of your children leave them as seed to hold up the name of God in thy family when thou art dead and gone And further I will sow her to my selfe The Saints are sowen unto Christ they are seed for Christ therefore all their fruit must be given up unto Christ Christ must have all the fruit we bear who should have the fruit but he that soweth it Therefore Cant. 7. 13. All manner of pleasant fruits new old which I have laid up for thee O my beloved Are we able to bear any fruit Let us lay it up all for Jesus Christ for it is he that soweth us unto himselfe we must not sow to our selves not to the flesh for then wee shall reap corruption but all for Christ And I will shew mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy Divers things about Gods shewing mercy after rejection were spoken of in the first Chap. Only these notes for the present There are none so rejected as that they can conclude that they shall never have mercy those that have committed the sinne against the holy Ghost excepted though Israel had not obtained mercy though they were cast out yea cast out to the beasts to be devoured yea saith God I will shew mercy upon her 2. Children of wicked parents may at length obtain mercy from God Though Israel be cast off yet her children shall have mercy A comfort to us in regard of the Idolatry of our fore fathers yea a comfort in the regard of the children that are to come Our fore fathers have broken the Covenant why may not we obtaine mercy But suppose we should be the generation of Gods wrath and not obtaine mercy yet we may have hope that the posterity following shall have mercy Thirdly Mercy after it is thought to be past if then it come Oh it is sweet mercy indeed when she seemed to be utterly rejected then to have mercy shewed this is sweet Fourthly Mercy is the cause of all the good the Saints have One Scripture for it Psal 57. 3. Send from heaven saith David David was in the Cave in a poor condition hunted for his life persecuted by Saul I see little hope from earth saith he therefore O Lord send from heaven What shall God send Angels from heaven to deliver thee David No but mark what followeth God shal send forth his mercy his truth as if he should say Lord though I have no help in earth though I see no Angels from heaven to helpe me yet let me have thy mercy and truth and that is enough This satisfies a gracous heart if he may have Gods mercy and his truth that is Gods mercy revealed in a promise Lastly God hath a speciall day of mercy for his people for his Churches I will have mercy upon her that hath not obtained mercy Let us cry to God for the hastening of this day let us open the miseries of our own Kingdome and of Ireland Oh when shall this day come that thou wilt shew mercy to thy owne people which thou hast told us of Oh that that day may hasten Come Lord Jesus come quickly And I will say to them which were not my people This is that we had in the first Chapter onely with some differences there it is In the place where it was said yee are not my people And I shewed you when I opened that place both out of the Romanes and out of Peter how the Apostle makes use both of that in the first Chapter and this here in the second onely take a hint of the truths in it First God hath a special interest in his people they are his people they are called his peculiar people Tit. 2. 14. The word hath this emphasis in it God lookes upon all other things as accidents in comparison and his substance is his people they are his very portion as Deut. 33. 19. and Exod. 19. 5. they are his peculiar treasure above all people in the world and Esay 19. 25. Assyria the worke of my hands and Israel mine inheritance I have made all people but Israel is mine inheritance This is the happines of the Saints therefore they are not as other people are Num. 23. 9. This people shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the Nations this is a great ground of prayer Lord leave us not we are thy people called by thy name we have an interest in thee Againe This is an argument to walke so as God may not be dishonored by us for we are his people If those in a mans family walke disorderly it is a dishonour to the Master of the family it is no dishonour to him for a stranger or one who hath little reference to him to walke disorderly It is not so much dishonour to God for the wicked to walke disorderly as for the Saints in regard of their neerenesse to God And besides their light is as I told you three story high and if they sin they sin against a greater light then others doe their sin is greater then the sinne of the wicked in that regard Further I will say to them which were not my people thou art my people I will own them before all the world It is a great mercy for God to make it knowne to the world that his people are his people The world will not beleeve it they think they are a poor contemptible people but there shall come a day that I will make it knowne they are
mine And amongst other things by which God will make all the world to know that his people are his this is one in sâ—tting up the beauty of his Ordinances amongst them Ezek. 37. 27. My Tabernacle also shall be with them yea I will be their God and they shall be my people and the Heathen shall know that I the Lord doe sanctifie Israel when my Sanctuary shall be in the midst of them Thus they shall know saith God that they are my people and that I am their God when I have set my Sanctuary in the midst of them for ever Were it that the Ordinances of God might be set up in their purity amongst us in England were Reformation perfected and the Saints walked humbly peaceably as they should the whole world will be convinced that these are indeed the people of the Lord and that God is amongst them And they shall say thou art my God God must begin withus we cannot begin and say Lord thou art my God but God must begin with us first and say You are my people There are a great many who say God is their God but God never said they are his people Joh. 1. 12. it is said of those who beleeved in Christ that God gave them power to be the Sonnes of God the word signifies authority that they might with authority acknowledge themselves to be the sons of God and call God Father they had the broad Seale for it Will you call God Father where is your 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 your authority if God call you children if he say you are my people you may give the Ecchoto Gods mercy and say thou art our God Secondly When God speakes mercy to us we must answer according to it Doth God say you are my people we must answer Lord thou art our God This is a great fault amongst Christians God manifests himselfe to many a gracious heart in abundance of love and mercy they give an answer to God in a way of dispaiting and discouragement Gods ways toward thee speake thus and say thou art one of my people but thy heart works as if God were none of thy God Hath not God done much for thee thou thinkest it is all in hypocrifie that thou dost whereas the truth is it is the fruit of his love and kindnes to thee He speakes aloud in what he hath done for thee that thou art one of his people and yet thy heart thinks that he is thy enemy that he haâ—â—s thee and will cast thee off at last The wayes of God are full of mercy to thee and he hath set his stampe upon thee by his ways of love he tels thee that thou belongest unto him O unbeleeving soul answer Lord thou art my God! lay aside these discouraging sinking thoughts of thine O that thou wouldst goe away with such an answer in thy mouth Doe not answer Gods loving kindnesse and his gracious dealings towards thee with discouragement and sinking of heart this is dishonorable to him and tedious to his Spirit Thirdly God works an answerable disposition in the hearts of his people unto him This is thy duty but God will work it in time if thou belongest to him As thus doth God chuse us to be his people then the hearts of the Saints chuse him to be their God Doth God say you are my people the Saints say Lord thou art our God Doth God say I will dwell with them they answer Lord thou art our habitation Doth God say I delight in them they say Lord our delight is in thee Doth God say I will rest in them for ever the Church saith O my soule returne unto thy rest Here is a sweet answer a rebound of all Gods loving kindnes Lastly the Saints must professe God to be theirs It is not enough to beleeve with the heart but thou must confesse with the mouth professe it outwardly of this before Further This is the highest happinesse of the Saints that God is their God when they can say this they have enough If we could say this house is mine this street this Lordship this City this Kingdome this World is mine What is all this A Christian comes at length and saith this God that made all is mine As it is reported of the French Ambassador and the Spanish meeting together saith the Spanish Ambassadour my Master is King of Spaine my Master replyed the French is King of France my Master said the Spaniard againe is King of Naples and my Master said the French is King of France my Master is King of Portugal and my Master is King of France still he answered with that my Master is King of France as being enough to answer all the several Kingdomes of the Spaniard So one saith I have this house this land this stock this estate this trade yea but saith a Christian I have God God is mine Surely having him thou hast enough And if God be thy God he will be a God to thee 1 Chron. 17. 24. The Lord of hosts is God of Israel even a God to Israel So it must be with thee if thou beest a Saint of God be a Saint to God Are we a people of God then we must be a people to God Blessed are the people that are in such a case yea happy are the people whose God is the Lord. Thus we had opened the gracious manifestation of God to his Church in part fulfilled spiritually to spiritual Israel here but more sensibly to be made good at the great day of Jezreel that is when the Jews shall be called then the Spouse of Christ in a visible way shall be thus married unto him and the Lord will be their God Jerome saith upon the Text All these things that are here promised to the Church the Jewes expect it at the end of the world after the time of Antichrist And I make no question though in a spiritual sence this Scripture is made good for the present unto the Saints yet in a more visible and sensible way all this Scripture will be made good to the people of the Jews the Gentiles then joyning with them even literally the glory of the Church shall be visible and apparant More whereof in the next Chapter HOSEA CHAP. 3. The First Lecture CHAP. 3. VER 1. 2. 3. Then said the Lord unto me go yet love a woman beloved of her friend yet an adulteresse according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel who looke to other gods and love flaggons of wine So I bought her â—o me for fifteen pieces of silver and for an homer of barley and an halfe homer of barley And I said unto her thou shalt abide for me many dayes thou shalt not play the harlot and thou shalt not be for another man so will I also be for thee THe close of the former Chapter had much mercy in it and this Chapter containes the
expression of much love also to Israel but yet withall God tells them of that meane and low estate they are like to be in before that time comes for the fulfilling of all that good that God intends to them God purposes great mercy for them his heart is much set upon them but they must for a long time beare their iniquity they must be brought into a vile and desolate condition in their captivity even untill a second appearing of Christ But in all this time the heart of God would be toward them his intentions would be strong for good to that people above all the people upon the face of the earth though they might seeme to be utterly rejected of the Lord and that for many yeers yet hee would look toward them as a people that he intended yet to marry unto himself in time mercy should breake forth gloriously upon them and his name should be magnified in their returning unto him so as their hearts should melt toward his goodnesse they should not abuse it any more as formerly they had done but they should returne and seeke the Lord their God and David their King and feare the Lord and his goodnesse in the latter dayes This is the scope of the Chapter In which you have three things 1. Gods love continued unto an adulteresse Israel 2. The low and mean condition of this adulteresse for a long time 3. The returne of God in infinite mercy toward them at the latter day together with their returne unto him And the Lord said unto me goe yet love a woman beloved of her friend yet an adulter esse We have here a new injunction to the Prophet and that somewhat harder then his former In the first Chapter God commanded him to goe and take awife of whoredomes but here God commanded him to love an adulteresse which is somewhat more then to take her unto himself What that was of taking a wife of whoredomes hath been opened in the former Chapter and may spare some labour in this It is here a vision as it was there As if God should say unto Hosea Hosea it is just with me as it would be with thee if thou shouldst goe and have a wife an Adulteresse notwithstanding all the love she hath found yet still an Adulteresse thine heart should be upon her so as thou couldest not take thy heart from her but thou must needs love this Adulteresse still This people whom I have loved for whom I have done so much good yet they have gone a whoring from me they are an Adulteresse yet for all that my heart cannot be taken off from them but is still toward them yet I love them This is through the strength of the Covenant that Gods love is so permanent Others who are not in covenant with him God casts out for lesser sins for any sins but as for his people who are in Covenant with him no not their adulteries their idolatries takes not the heart of God wholly from them Surely then if thou canst appeale to God O Lord thou knowest all things knowest that there is nothing of thy mind revealed to me but my heart is ready to do it and if I faile in any thing thou knowest it is the greatest burden of my soul O that I knew more of thy minde and that I had power to doe more surely God will love thee you heare he loves his people though an adulteresse as before so now take this lesson thy sinnes cannot over come Gods goodnesse let Gods goodnesse overcome thy sinfulnesse An adulteresse beloved of her friend This is as some carry it Calvin Vatablus and many others beloved of her husband as if God should say had they any such excuse for their departings from me that I have been a bitter husband to them that I have used them hardly and rigidly then indeed they might have some plea but I have loved them dearly I have done much for them they were beloved of me I have carried my selfe to them in the most friendly way that possibly could be yet they are gone a whoring from me The wife that followes other lovers thinks if she have but this to say her husband is hard to her hee cares not for her he loves her not it excuses in part her adulteries and so the husband a company keeper an adulterer if he can say what will you have me to doe I never come home but my wife is alwayes bâ—awling and she loves other men he thinks this is plea enough for him But Israel could not have this excuse for her selfe for she was an Adulteresse yet beloved of the Lord. If we take the words thus the notes briefly would be these First The husband should be a friend to his wife There should be nothing but friendly carriage betweene man and wife Yea the love of the husband to the wife should farr surmount the love of any friend in the world but a friend at least to comfort her to cherrish her in time of sorrowes to beare the burthen of affliction with her and so the wife towards the husband Secondly A base heart will be base against all bonds of love beloved of her friend yet an adultoresse if you should ask who is he or where is he that is so base Lay thy hand upon thine owne heart and consider what the love of God hath been towards thee all the dayes of thy life and how thou hast carried thy selfe toward him what love thou hast had from God that might breake the heart of a devill yet when any temptation comes to draw thee from God thy base heart listens to it Thirdly It is a great aggravation of sin to sinne against much love We ought to doe our duties to those that we stand in relation unto though they doe not their duty to us if a wife hath a froward husband a bitter churlish rugged wicked ungodly husband yet she is bound to doe her duty to him she is bound to love him to obey him to be observant of him in what may give him all lawfull content So if servants have froward churlish cruel Masters or Mastresses yet they are bound to be obedient to them 1 Pet. 2. 18. Be subject to your masters not onely to those that rae good and gentle but to the froward It is no sufficient excuse for the wife to say My husband is froward and unquiet and therefore what shall I doe Nor for the servant to say My Master or Mistresse are unreasonable they are cruell what can I doe You must doe your duty to them though they doe not theirs to you But if you have a loving husband tender over you then love is required much more Love above all things should draw the heart the knowledge that it is duty may force obedience but it is love that draws the heart most kindly So if a servant have a godly Master and Mistresse who respects and tenders his good if
that is I look to God why because the place where the Temple was to be built it was not onely upon one hill but upon hils and so this expression hath reference to those two hills it was built upon the hill of Moriah and the hill of Zion which were rather but two ridges of the same as 2 Chron. 3. 1. Solomon began to build the house of the Lord upon mount Moriah and Psal 2. 6. I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion I look saith David unto God my Faith hath reference to that place that God hath chosen for himself that this is the meaning will appeare if we compare this with Psal 87. 1. His foundation is in the holy hils not hill but hils The respect Idolaters had to their Idols being manifested by lifting up their eyes to them therefore God commanded them that they must not so much as lift up their eyes to their idols And indeed we had need take heed in what we doe in this so much as to lift up our eyes to look upon the inticements of the flesh many will not commit their former sins but they love to be looking that way I have read of a Lady a loving wife who being at the maryage of Cyrus she was askt how she liked the Bridgeroom how saith she I know not I saw no body but my Husband Love and respect drawes the eye either to God or to the creature According as our hearts are so our eyes will be And love flaggons of wine The word comes from a word that signifies fundavit The old Latin turns it vivacia uvarum the leaves skinnes and stones of the grape that remaines after pressing that sinke down into the bottome of the vessell Noting thereby how saplesse and savourlesse and unworthy Idolatrous worship is in comparison of the true worship of God True worship of God is sweet and savoury lovely and excellent but mans institutions how saplesse are they The spirits of such men as pleade for and delight in superstitious vanities the devises of men how saplesse and unsavoury do they quickly grow though heretofore they have had some quicknesse and livelinesse in their wayes yet if once they delight themselves in the inventions of men in Gods worship their spirits grow very unsavory to those with whom they converse But take the traslation as it is in your books flaggons of wine called by this name in the Hebrew because that vessell the flaggon is broad in the bottome That is as some carry it thus They are as drunkards that call for one flaggon after another Superstitious and idolatrous people when they have one way of superstition they call for another and when they have got that they will have another and are still greedy of more they are never satisfied as drunkards are greedy of their flaggons Or rather to note the sensuality of the wayes of their Idolatrous worship their flaggons of wine are joyned to their gods The Seventy translate the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bellaria fine Cates and junkets delicate things made with wine and grapes together by all the art they can devise for the pleasing the appetite From thence the note is cleare Spirituall adultery and carnall sensuality goe together They used flaggons of wine in their idolatrous solemnities that made them love their Idols so much the rather In the true worship of God there is abundance of sweetness to satisfie the hearts of the Saints they need not have sensual pleasures to make up their delight but in superstitious worship there is no such sweetness to satisfie the spirits therefore they are saine to call for flaggons of wine and other sensuall things to make up a full delight to themselves Superstitious and idolatrous Rites bring with them pleasure to the flesh hence how are they loved and followed by people they can hardly ever be taken off from them In their Idolatrous solemnities they were wont to have Feasts to pamper the flesh Judg. 9. 27. They went out into the field and gathered their vineyards and trod the grapes and were merry went into the house of their God and did eate and drinke and cursed Abimelech So Amos. 2. 8. They drinke the wine of the condemned in the house of their God What is that By oppression and violence they would rend the estates of men from them and when they had gotten them then they made merry yea they would come into the house of their gods and drinke bowles of wine that they had gotten from the estates of such men whom they had wrongfully condemned Let Idolaters have their lusts satisfied and they care not what God they serve 2 Cor. 8. 10. If any see them sit at meate in the Idols temple at meate they had their flesh satisfied in the Idols temple Thus God complaines of his people here As if he had said Let all bemoane my condition for though I have loved Israel dearly she hath gone a whoring from me and she loveth flaggons of wine because she hath more pleasure to the flesh in serving Idols she will serve them What an abominable thing it is to forsake the blessed God meerly for the love of wine How many are there in the world who forsake all that good that is in God in Christ in heaven in eternity meerely for flaggons of wine Calvin hath a note from the word that carries some-what more with it flaggons of grapes so the words are in the Hebrew not flagons of wine and of grapes rather then wine saith he because there were artificiall wayes used by them to make their superstitious ways to be more pleasant to them As when drunkards have drunk even ad nauseam that they begin to loath what they delighted in then they will use some artificiall way or other of mixture of grapes or some other thing with the wine to make it have a new tast that they may have still delight in drinking So saith he because their old superstitions have nothing in them to satisfie the heart therefore they are fain to invent new kinds of artificiall wayes to please themselves withall although saith he they brag of their antiquity yet the truth is they are fain to invent new things every day to give a new lustre and pomp to their worship they are alwayes devising some new ceremony or other or else it would grow loathsome to themselves This wee have seene in our owne experience the wantonnesse of mens hearts in superstitious ways is very great they invent new ways to uphold their old moth-eaten vanities So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver The Prophet obeyeth God in this other hard command God many times sends his Prophets upon very hard businesses yet they must be willing to serve the Lord in the hardest work and bought her to himselfe for fifteen pieces of silver The word that is here translated bought signifies to digg it is taken as some think from the
First they should be in a contemptible condition they should be valued but at halfe the price of a slave Secondly they should be fed but meanly and basely even as slaves or rather as beasts this homer and half of barley should be for their sustenance in which they should be used very hardly for along time And that you may see how this hath been fulfilled for it did not only refer to the time of their Captivity before Christ but to all the Captivity they have been in ever since Christs time to this day and shall be in untill their calling the mean condition they were in before in the time of their first Captivity you may see Lament 4. 5. Those that were clothed in scarlet embraced the dung-hill they either lay in filthy places that had dung in them like beasts or else they were imployed in carrying dung up and down And to this day Histories tell us that generally the Jews have a most stinking savour and we know that they are the vilest people in the esteeme of others that are upon the face of the earth An Historian tells us of an Emperour travelling into Egypt there meeting with some Jews he was so annoyed with the stink of them that he cryes out O Marco-mani O Quadi c. At length saith he I have met with worse with viler men then such and such reckoning up divers of the basest people that were upon the face of the earth And to this day the Turks will admit of no Jew to turne to the Mahumetan Religion unlesse he first turne Christian they have much more honorable esteeme of the Christians they think that Jesus Christ though he was not God yet he was a great Prophet but for the Jews they have such vile thoughts of them that they think it a dishonour to the Turkish Religion that any of them should turne Turk unlesse be first turned Christian And we reade of the Romanes that when they conquered other Nations they would permit them to call themselves Romanes after they had conquered them but they would never permit the Jews to call themselves Romanes though the Jews would comply never so much with them and be their servants Augustine hath it upon Psalme 58. lest there should be some blot stick to the glory of the Romanes by that odious people Thus we see what shame hath God cast upon that nation even unto this day that they are counted as the very off-scouring of all nations Suetonius tels us that in the exactions that the Romanes require of people they put upon the Jews more then upon all people This that we reade of in histories that which we finde by experience of the base condition these people are in is the fulfilling this Scripture that I am now opening unto you she shal be bought for fifteen pieces of silver and fed with barly she shall be in a very low base and meane condition untill Christ shall come and marry her to himself Notes from hence are First A people who have been high in outward glory when they depart from God make themselves vile and contemptible God casts contempt upon wicked men especially upon wicked men who corrupt his worship Do we not see it at this day Mal. 2. 9. It is threatned that the Priests who departed from the law corrupted their waies should be base and contemptible before the people Hath not the Lord done thus at this day even those that not long since gave themselves the title of the triumphant Clergy and the triumphant Church and went up and downe jetting as if they would out-face heaven it self They feared all men with the High Commission Court But what shame hath God cast upon this generation the people loath them and we hope in time the Lord will sweepe away the proud and haughty of them as the reffuse of the earth Yea our whole nation hath been a proud nation what vaunting hath there been of what a glorious Church we had never such a one upon the earth we sate as a Queen amongst the nations we have been a haughty people and God may justly cast contempt upon us The Jewes were so the Temple of the Lord the temple of the Lord but God hath now made them the vilest nation upon the earth And the truth is God hath begun to cast much shame upon this nation The time was when the Kingdom of England was a terror to other people of late they have been the scorne and contempt of other nations When Ephraius spake there was trembling he exalted himselfe in Israel but sinning it Baal he died he became as a dead poor vile contemptible people Hos 13. 1. The Lord loveth to name the pride of men How many have you known who have been proud and lofty and the Lord hath cast shame and contempt in their saces even before those whom they looked upon heretofore with contempt they have now been made objects of contempt Secondly Though a people be under contempt yet Gods heart may be towards them to doe them good at the latter end There is the love of Gods election still to this people God remembers them and intends good unto them for all this VVho knowes what contempt God may cast upon us Perhaps he may let our proud adversaries trample us under their feet but we hope he will not because he sees their hearts so proud as they are But if he should we should not despaire we must not conclude God hath quite cast off England though he should bring all his people under contempt so as to betrampled under the foot of pride And if there be any of you whom God hath so humbled as he hath made you contemptible doe you humble your selves before God but do not despaire the Lord may yet have a love to you though you are now under shame and contempt who knowes but that this was the only way that God had to humble your hearts God putteth his ovvn people under contempt and yet it is all out of love unto them and vvithan intent to do them good at last Thirdly which is the most especial note hence After many promises of Gods mercy and of a glorious condition which he intendeth his people he may yet hold a very hard hand over them a great while God having promised so much mercy in the former Chapter Israel might quickly grow vvanton and say it is no great matter though we be vile and wicked yet God will marry us to himself and we shall be a glorious people and what need we take care Nay saith God stay here though my heart be toward you yet this generation shall suffer and the next generation the next generation after that shall suffer hard things you shal be brought into the most vile condition that ever any people was brought into yet my promise shall be fulfilled at the last Here we see what care God taketh that people should not grow wanton
with his mercy and think Oh we are in covenant with God and God hath pardoned our sins what need we care take heed of growing want on thou maist suffer fearfull things in this world Though God may save your souls yet you may be brought into as wofull a condition in your ovvn apprehensions as ever any creature was upon the earth And for England though it is true we have as many arguments of the love of God to 〈◊〉 as ever any nation had but yet who knows what this generation may suffer that hath so sullied it self with superstitious vanities We may be brought into vvefullslavery and then God may raise up unto himself another generation upon whom he will be stow the mercy intended Fourthly Those who will take their fill of delight to the flesh in a sensual use of the creature it is just with God they should be cut short be made to live meanly and basely to be made to feed with course fare with barley The Jews had their delicates before they fared deliciously now they must be sed worse then their servants and eare that which was meate for beasts How many hath God thus dealt withall who not long since had their tables furnished with the choysest sare with variety of dishes now perhaps are glad of a harley loafe for themselves and their children Again If God will not utterly destroy a people as he might but reserve mercy for them at last though they have never such a meane subsistence for the present yet they have cause to blesse God Though this here be a threatning yet there is a promise in it The people of Israel if they knew all had no cause to murmur at Gods dealing but to admire at his mercy though they had but a little barley to sustaine them And suppose God should bring us in England into a low condition so as we may be glad of a barley loafe we know famine commonly followes warre it was wont to be a phrase browne bread and the gospell is good fare and God may bring that upon us in another way then ever yet we or our fore-fathers were acquainted with but yet if the Lord do not cast us off utterly from being his people though he feed us with brown bread though we have never so mean a subsistance for the present we shall have cause to blesse his name Lastly It is the way of God to humble those he intendeth good unto to prepare them for mercy by cutting them short of these outward comforts If the Lord hath dealt so with any of you you have lived full-handed perhaps wives have brought good portions to their husbands and now they are broke and all is lost perhaps you had good friends in the Countrey many of them are plundered in their estates now you are faine to fare meanly and if you have bread for your children you think it well but consider this Is not God now humbling me and thereby preparing my heart for himself Oh blessed be God for this my condition this bread is sweeter to me then all the dishes I have had in my life VVhen you sit in your houses with your wives and children and have nothing but barley bread to feed upon have these thoughts I hope God doth this in love mercy he is making this my condition the best condition I was ever in the greatest blessing to me Verse 3. And I said unto her thou halt abide for me many dayes thou shalt not play the harlot and thou shalt not be for another man so will I also be for thee You shall not only be in such a low condition as a slave and worse then a maid servant and be sed with barley but you shall abide thus abide thus many dayes Thus they have abode these sixteene hundred yeares since Christs time besides their former captivity The Lord would have a full experience of Israel that their hearts were throroughly humbled before he would take them to mercy again There was never any people dealt more falsely with God in their humiliations then they had done before How often when they were in misery did they come with their seeming humiliation cryed for mercy and God â—â—â—wed them mercy and assoone as they were delivered they fell off againe and went after their Idols and then being in misery again they cryed to God and he delivered them and then presently to their Idols again Well saith God I will not deale so with you hereafter I will not trust you so as I have done you have beene in misery and I have delivered you when you cryed to me and then you have fallen to your sins againe but now you shall be humbled to purpose you shâ—l be â—ow many yeers in this low and meane condition and then your hearts â—â—ll be thâ—rowly broken so that when you shall returne to me againe you shall never fall from me God hath dealt so with many of you you have been in affliction God hath delivered you you have gone to your sinnes again you have been in affliction againe and he hath delivered you you have fell to your sins again and thus you have dallyed with the great God God may bring a fore long affliction upon you that you shall be so thorowly humbled that you shall never goe back againe to your sins as you have done This is the meaning abide many dayes When we would scoure purge a filthy garment thorowly we do not onely wash it but wee lay it a soaking a great while and a frosting many nights the Jews have lyne a soaking frostning many hundred yeeres this is the hardnesse of mans heart afflictions wil not work presently though many wedges be put into many blows struck upon knotty wood it stirs not some metals are long in melting yea though the fire be very hot Againe Here we see it is Gods ordinary way when he promiseth mercy to seeme to goe quite contrary to a people to seem as if he would quite destory them I will marry my self unto them in loving kindness and in mercies but yet I will let this people be above sixteen hundred yeers in this forlorne condition And so it hath been in all Gods administrations since the beginning of the world When God comes to humble sinners they must be content to be humbled Gods own time they must not out of a sudden furious humor say Lord how long I have been thus long in a sad condition I have prayed thus long Is your sadness affliction eternal Oh no a yeer or two perhaps but you have deserved eternity of misery Thou shalt abide for me many dayes thou shalt not play the harlot thou shalt not be for another man so will I also be for thee That is in all this time you must have a care of your self that you do not seek after other lovers let me have experience that you will now worship the
gone and I have cause to fear lest he should reject me but become of mee what wil yet I wil never have any other husband never any other comfort but God comfort no other peace but the peace of God and I am resolved that if I 〈◊〉 I wil perish crying for it if thou beest in this frame waiting for GOD GOD is waiting for thee in wayâ—â— of his mercy and at 〈…〉 bowels of GODS mercy will yerne towards that as the bowels of Joseph yerned towards his brethren so that he could hold no longer You know Joseph for a long time used his brethren hardly but his brethren yet behaved themseves humbly and submissively toward him and at length he could not refraine so it may be God useth thee some what hardly for a while yet do thou keep in an humble and submissive frame of spirit unto him do that which beseemeth a creature to do whatsoever God doth to thee it is fit God should exercise his absolute power over me and that I should do my duty to him do this and be sure thou art a soul that God will marry himself unto in the end Fourthly So farre as we are willing to be for God God is willing to be for us God requires that you should seek him with your whole heart Jer. 29. 13. Mark how God answereth I will rejoyce over them to doe them good yea I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soule Will you seeke God with your whole heart I will do you good saith God with my whole heart God is as willing to doe for you as you are to do for him if all the faculties of your souls work toward God all the attributes in God shall worke for your good If thy estate be wholly given up for God Gods riches shall be wholly for thee VVouldest thou know how Gods heart works toward thee do but lay thine hand upon thy own heart according to the beatings of thine heart towards God so are the workings of the heart of God toward thee thou mayest determine it thus thou canst not goe up to heaven to know it but go into thine owne heart and there thou mayest know As a man may know by the working of an engine within how the workings are abroad That is the reason that the Saints when they have had their hearts enlarged in prayer they have come to be resolved what God will do for them or for his Church as it is said of Luther when he was in prayer one time more then ordinarily earnest with God he comes down to his frinds and saith well it shall goe well with Germany all my dayes look ye to it afterward he knew what was done in heaven by what was done in his own heart We may know in a great measure what God meaneth to doe with his Churches according to the inward beatings of our own hearts Further See here the happy advantage of the Saints beyond the men of the world thus Be you for me saith God I will be for you The men of the world can say I am for the world the world is for me I am for my honour and my honor is for me I am for my whore and my whore is for me this is all their happines but now a Saint can say I am for God and God is for me Oh the goodness of God toward us that he is willing to be for us as we are for him for him alas what can we be for him we are poor worms vile creatures in our selves what can we do he hath no need of us we are bound to do all that we do It is all one as if a king should come to a poor beggar say thus poor man thou hast but little yet do what you can for me I will do what I can for you this were a mighty disproportion Alas what can the beggar do for the King If you will but use your staffe or what you have for me I will use my riches glory and all for your good saith the King to the beggar So saith God to a poore creature Be you for me and I will be for you stand for me and I will stand for you use any thing you have forme and I will use what I have for you Oh the blessed condition of the Saints who would not be for God Do not now say alas I am a poore vile and unworthy creature so were the Jews do not say I am gone a whoring from God and dealt falsely with him the Jews did so yet saith God whensoever you will be for me I will be for you It is now the great question amongst us who are you for I will put the question to you all who are you for Are your hearts wholly given up to God or are you for your lusts for the creature certainly the creature will deceive you ere long you will have no good from the creature that now you are so much for if you be not for God now hee will send you to the creature in the time of your distresse There is a time comming that every one of us shall see the need we have that God be for us let us be for God now that God may be for us then when we come to cry to him and say Oh Lord let thy mercy and goodnesse be for us he will say who were you for you were for your lusts now goe to your lusts you would have none of me before I will have none of you now Pro. 1. 26. 27. You would have none of my reproofe I also will laugh at your calamity and mock when your feare commeth Marke They would have none of Gods reproofe hee doth not say they would have none of my mercy they would have none of my grace therefore I will laugh at their destruction but they would have none of my reproofe why the reproofes of God are the bitterest the harshest things of all yet because they would have none of Gods reproofes he laughes at their destruction What shall become of them then who will have none of the riches of Gods grace offered to them in Christ The Second Lecture HOSEA 3. 4. 5. For the children of Israel shal abide many dayes without a King and without a Prince and without a sacrifice and without an image and without an Ephod and without a Teraphim Afterward shall the children of Israel returne and seek the Lord their God HEre is much privation six withouts 1. without a King 2. without a Prince 3. without a sacrifice 4. without an image 5. without an Ephod 6. without a Teraphim but the last verse makes all up They shall return and seeke the Lord their God and David their King These withouts shew the wofull confused estate that Israel was to be in for many dayes many years both in regard of their Civill and of their Church state The Civill State without a
hee would not take such an unlawfull course then but he searched to see whatsin was amongst the people that caused God to refuse to give him an answer so you have it in the case of Jonathan 1 Sam. 14. 33. when he took the honey he enquired of God and God answered not and Saul said draw neere and see wherein this sin hath beene this day But afterward he grew to a greate◠height of evill when he was in a strait and God answered him not presently he goeth to the witch but it was when he was near destruction The note from thence is VVicked men neare destruction as Saul was finding things in a confusion and God not shewing them what is to be done presently are in a rage against God then they frer and seeke after unlawfull means to help them The Lord forbid that this should b◠our condition Let not us say things are now in such a confusion that we know not how to find out the mind of God we consult with Ministers and they know not what to say they have cast out such a government and they know not what to bring in and therefore it were better we were as before If this should be our teasoning it is a signe we are like Saul nigh to destruction Let us be content to wayte they shall be many dayes without a King c. and then they shal return this shall be the fruite of being without a King and Prince Ephod and Sacrifice not vexing and raging but returning to God and repenting It things be worse we be brought into greater straits then ever we thought of let us not murmur but let us repent Every one is complaining but who is repenting If there were as much repenting as there is murmuring then we should soone know the minde of God Then they shall returne Here is the use of sanctified affliction it is to cause returning to God Jerome expresses the life of an impenitent sinner by a line stretched out he goes saith he from the center in a right line and so goes in infinitum from it but a penitent sinner is like a line bent and turning back to the center though by sin he goes from it yet by repentance he turnes to it again they are gone from me a great way saith God but I will give them a turne they shal bend back again and return to me They shall returne Repentance is set out by this vvord to note the folly of sinne In sin thou goest out of the way and the truth is though you thinke you choose a good way for your self yet you must either come back again or perish It is just like a man travelling in a rode and he sees a dirty lane before him which he is told is the way he must goe there but on the other side of the hedg he seeth a green and pleasant vvay and he gets over into that way and so perhaps rides on a mile or two at length he is compast about with ditches and rivers so that he must either return back or else lie there starve he returnes back with shame and if any one that before told him of the other way see him he tells him now of his folly I told you that the other was the way and that if you went over the hedge you must come back again So it is with sinners there are wayes of God that go directly to heaven but because those wayes are rugged and they meet with trouble and persecution in them they see by-ways that leade to hell that are more plaine smooth they get over they will transgresse for that is the word for sinne they are got over now they are merry sriske up and down for a while in this fine way but friend you must come backe again and if ever you mean to be saved you must goe in the way that you have refused Further they shal return and seeke the Lord their God Here is an encouragement for old sinners The Jews have been above 1600. years in this wofull condition for saking God but in their latter dayes they shall returne and seeke the Lord and God shall be mercifull to them Hast thou been forty fifty sixty years going from God there is hope for thy soul Oh returne return you old sinners But further 〈◊〉 shall return to Jehovah and seeke him Jer. 4. 1. If thou wilt returne O Israel saith the Lord return unto me They shal not return from one false way of worship to another but from the false way to the true they shall return to God It is that we had now need look unto We must not think it enough to cast one false way of government out of the Church and turn to another though not so ill yet not Gods if out of any politicke pretence we reject the way of God it will prove a sore evil unto us it is one thing not to be able to bring in the way of Christ and another to reject it They shall seek Jehovah not their Idols but God himself The word signifies conatu ac studio quaerere to seek with endeavouring with study rather then meerly to ask and enquire they shall be studious in asking after God They shall seek the Lord that is First They shall seeke his face and favour for the pardon of all their evill wayes they shall come and acknowledge their false wayes and their doings which have not been good and seek mercy for pardon Secondly They shall seek the Lord that is they shall seeke the true worship of the Lord. Calvin in a Sermon upon that place Seeke ye my face interprets it to be seeking the Ordinances of God the true worship of God so Psal 105. 4. Seeke the Lord his strength what is meant by the strength of God there It is the Arke for that Psalme was made at the bringing in of the Arke into the place that David had prepared as you may see by comparing that Psalme with the 1 Chron 16. the Arke of God is called the strength of God Psal 78. 61. He gave his strength into captivity Surely if the true worship of God be the strength of God it is our strength too a people are then strong when they entertaine the Arke of God the true worship of God and then indeed we seeke God aright when we seeke to know the way of his worship Lastly They shal seek the Lord that is they shall seeke to know his will in all their wayes and to do it It is not enough for them to be content to do just that which shall be put upon them but they shall seek to know what his minde his worship is Some yeeld thus far to God if any come to them and convince them that this is to be done then they will do it they dare not then but yeeld to it but when the heart is in a true repenting frame it is then in a seeking
frame it is laborious and industrious to know the mind of God Whereas the heart of a sinner heretofore lay dead dull never stirred after God now it is in a stirting in an inquiring in a seeking way this is a signe of much good though thou hast not what thou seekest for yet be comforted in this that thou art in a seeking way Their hearts shal reâ—oyce that seeke the Lord. If thou beest seeking God in his ways though thou complainest I have beene seeking a long time but I know not the minde of God I cannot apprehend the love of God the pardon of my sins yea but the hearts of those shall rejoyce that seek the Lord if thou beest in a seeking way thou art in a saving way there is cause thou shouldst rejoyce in this that God hath brought thee into such a way They shall seeke the Lord and that not saintly but to purpose auxiously Jer. 50. 4. 5. They the children of Israel and the children of Judah when they shall be both together shall goe weeping and seeke the Lord their God and they shall aske the way to Zion with their faces thitherward Many of you come to aske questions but your hearts are not right your faces the strength of your spirits are not set to yeeld to the will of God when it is revealed to you And mark how it appeares that their faces are thitherward Come say they let us joyne our selves to the Lord in a perpetual Covenant that shall not be forgotten This is to seeke God it is not meerly to goe to a Minister and aske him a question but it is to goe with our faces with the strength of our spirits set to know the minde of God above any thing in the world and so to resolve to obey what shall be revealed to be Gods mind as to be willing to enter into a perpetual Covenant to binde our selves to yeeld to whatsoever God shal reveale When you come to a Sermon you must not come to get a little notional knowledge but come with your faces towards Christ and his truth before you come you should get alone if you be a true seeker and enter into Covenant with God that whatsoever God revealeth to be his minde you will yeeld to it obey it though you have heretofore gone against many truths revealed to be the minde of God but Lord no more now here I am ready and willing to enter into an everlasting covenant to be under the command of every truth Here is the right seeking of God They shall seeke the Lord their God their God this hath two references either to what is past or to what is to come To what is past their God that is the God who was once the God of the Jews the God of their forefathers the God of Abraham of Isaac and of Jacob. And secondly their God that is that God that is yet ready and willing to be reconciled to them not withstanding all their sinnes Thus they shal seek the Lord their God These two references afford two excellent Observations First This prevailes much with the heart of an Apostate when he can but think what God was once unto him before he did Apostatize and what he was unto his godly parents and predecessors There was a time that I enjoyed God sweetly when I went to prayer I had blessed communion with him it is otherwise with me now I have apostatized Let this consideration catch hâ—ld upon thy heart and turn it this day Oh turne turn thou apostate soul God who was once thy God in a gracious manner is that God that thou hast vilely forsaken yea thy fathers God also Thou hast a godly father a godly grand-father remember what a blessed God he was unto them and return Secondly Their God that God that yet they may have hope to enjoy notvvithstanding all their departings from him Hence the note is this The apprehension oâ— a possibilty to obtaine mercie from the Lord is a strong means to draw the heart to returne to him when they look upon God as a God in covenant with them yet and there is nothing to the contrary but he may be their God Let this be an argument to catch hold upon the spirits of all sinners who are departed from God thou hast departed from God in a soule and vile manner but Men and Angels know nothing to the contrary but that he may be thy God for all this Let me speake to the vilest sinner that is in this place before the Lord this day thou hast indeed most desperately and wickedly sinned against God the Jews have done so Hast thou crucified Christ they have done so hast thou denied the truth and followed false waies they have done so Notwithstanding all thy wicked and evil waies seeing thou art yet alive I doe this day yet once more pronounce thee in the name of the great God that there is nothing to the contrary that either Angels or Men can possibly know but that God may be thy God and that this day God may enter into covenant with thee thou with him this night he may come in and sup with thee and thou with him there may be a blessed reconciliation between God and thee return return thou sinful soul The Third Lecture HOSEA 3. 5. And David their King and shall feare the Lord and his goodnesse in the latter dayes THat the Jews shall returne and believe in Christ is most ordinary and famous both in the words and hearts of those that are faithfull saies Augustine In this their returne and seeking God they shall seek David their King For the opening this there are these five things to be inquired into 1. Who this David was 2. Why David is rather named then any other 3. Why he is mentioned in this place 4. Why joyned with seeking Jehovah 5. Why this Epithet is added to David here David their King For the first David clearly is meant JESUS CHRIST Nothing is more manifest then that Christ is meant by the name of David sayes Augustine The Scripture is cleare in this it is usuall in the Gospel to call Christ by the name of David Compare Esay 55. 3. with Acts 13. 34. Esay 55. I will give you the sure mercies of David what are those Act. 13. that place in Isaiah is quoted and there the word is Sancta Davidis the holy things of David the holy Ghost there going according to the Translation of the Septuagint as it is usuall in the New Testament And that Psalm 16. 9. 10. where David seemes to speake in his owne person Thou wilt not leave my soul in grave nor suffer thy holy One to see corruption this is interpreted of Christ Act. 13. 36. 37. Act. 15. 16. In the Assembly the Church of Jerusalem together with messengers of the Church of Antioch James makes a speech to the Assembly tels them of a prophesie that God would raise the
people but the powers of Kings and Emperours the highest powers in the world whatsoever is lofty in the world shall be shaken when Christ comes to take the kingdom to himself the Father will set him King upon his holy hill Though the Kings of the earth set themselves and the Rulers take counsell together against the Lord against his Anoynted saying Let us break their bonds asunder and cast away their cords from us he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision then shall he speake to them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion yet have I done it though the kings of the earth and great ones of the world fret vex and rage and gather power together though they blaspheme and say he shall not raigne the Lord sitteth in heaven and laugheth at them let them do what they can and gather what strength they can oppose to the uttermost they can Yet will I set my King upon my holy hill This is acceptable news it is the joyfull voyce of the Gospel to tell you of Christs comming to raigne in the world Esay 52. 7. How beautifull upon the mountaines are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings What are those good tidings this tidings that saith unto Zion Thy Godraigneth This is the triumph of the Church Esay 33. 22. The Lord is our judge the Lord is our law-giver the Lord is our King for then shall the Churches be delivered from the oppression of all Tyrants in the world And this Kingdom of Christs shall indeed be like Davids kingdome Christ shal be David the King I might shew you the parallels in many things but I will only parallel the kingdome of Christ and of David in these two particulars First David of all the Princes that ever were was one of the most gentle he was exceeding loving and sweet unto his subjects that you shal finde 1 Chron. 28. 2. Then David the King stood up upon his feet said he are me my brethren and my people Marke how a King speaks speaking to his people he stood upon his feet and said heare me my brethren and my people Thus the kingdome of Christ is set out to us Psal 45. 4. In thy Majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meeknesse Christ shall be a most meeke King hee shall not be a bloody King to his people he shall not be a King â—â—â—ing in viòlence and harshness so as not to care for the love of his people his singer shall not be heavier then the loynes of others but he shall rule his people with all gentleness Therefore the government of Christ is set out 〈◊〉 a sheâ—he 〈…〉 leading those that are with young 〈◊〉 â—his David David and CHRIST are parallel Psal 78. 70. 71. He chose David his servant tooke him from the sheep-folds from following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people and Israel his inheritance So the Kingdome of Christ Esay 40. having spoken ver 9. of the glad tidings of the Kingdome it followeth He shall feed his flocke like a shepheard he shall gather the lambs with his arme and carry them in his bosome and shall gently leade those that are with young When Christ shal raigne he shal have great respect to the good and comfort of his people over whom heraigneth he shall not raigne over them without regard to their liberties and what may be for the comfort of their lives the good of his people and his own glory shall be put both in one Secondly David their King in regard of faithfulnesse David was exceeding faithfull to his people and therefore the mercies of God in Christ are called the sure mercies of David because David was found faithfull before the Lord. Psal 45. 4. is the Prophesie of Christs Kingdom the Text saith In thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousnesse there shall be righteousness in the Kingdome of Christ This is a blessed thing when we may confide and fully venture our estates liberties and our lives upon the promises of those who are above us VVe know how many there are about great personages to take them off from those things that they have promised though never so seriously and with never such solemne protestations to performe them I will give you a story or two remarkable for this to shew what danger people have been in when they have confided upon the promises of Princes when there have beene those about them that endeavoured to take of their hearts from performing what they had ingaged themselves to You shall finde in the life of Edward the sixth this story The King sends his Letters to London in the behalfe of the Duke of Somerset the then Protector there were divers of the Lords rose up against him thinking he did oppresse the people and they sent the same time their Letters to London for their aide and assistance hereupon there was a Common Counsell called in the City and amongst them there was one that the story saith was a wise and an honest man one George Stadlowe and he speakes thus to the Counsell I remember saith he a story written in Fabians Chronicle of the wars between Henry the third and his Barons at which time the Baronsdemanded aide of the City of London as our Lords do now and that in a rightfull cause for the good of the Common-wealth for the execution of divers good lawes against the King who would not suffer those lawes to be put in execution and the City did aide them and it came unto an open bartell and the Lords prevailed against the King and tooke the King and his sonne prisoners and upon certaine conditions the Lords restored the King his son again to their liberties amongst other conditions this was one that the King should not only grant his pardon to the Lords but also to the Citizens of London which was granted and the condition of their accommodation of peace were ratifâ—ed by act of Parliament but saith the story what followed of it was it forgotten no surely nor forgiven neither during the Kingslife the libeties of the Cities were taken away strangers were appointed to be our head governours the Citizens their bodies and goods were given away and so from one persecution to another they were most miserably afflicted Again in the history of Queen Maries time we find that Qeene Mary because there was some dispute about her comming to the Crowne at that time she went down into Suffolke to the place where the Duke that then rose up for another was most hated and she being at Framingham Castle the Suffolke men came to her and promised their â—ide upon condition that she would not attemp the alteration of Religion which her brother King Edward before had established she promised them there should be no innovation of
Religion no God forbid yea she so promised that the story saith no man would or could misdoubt of the performance But afterward when she came to get the power in her hand the Suffolk men came to make supplication to her that she would be pleased to performe the promise she made them she answered them thus Forasmuch as you being but members desire to rule your head you shall one day well perceive that members must obey their head and not looke to beare rule over the same And not only so but to cause the more terrour a Gentleman one Master Dobs that lived about Windsor who did but in an humble request advertise her of her promise made to the Suffolke men he was three times set on the Pillory and others for the same cause were sent to prison We may see what hold hath been heretofore in the promises of those who had power to breake them you know what temptations they have to withdraw their hearts from what they have ingaged themselves unto But when this our Prince comes David our King we shall finde the sure mercies of David we shall finde nothing but faithfulnesse in all his dealings And they shall feare the Lord and his goodnesse in the latter dayes They shall feare the Lord. The words are they shall feare to the Lord pavebunt ad dominum The feare of God is much upon the heart of a sinner in his returne to God Such a sinner hath high and honourable thoughts of God They shall returne and feare the Lord. The slightnesse the vanity of his spirit the boldnesse of his heart it is taken off and the feare of God ruleth in it The Majesty the power the authority of the great God is strong upon him when he comes to worship him the feare of God makes him to worship God as a God and in all his conversation he walkes in the feare of God even all the day long you may see written upon his life the feare of the great God And this not a servile slavish feare but a holy reverenticall filâ—â—â— feare Jsaac had such a feare of God that God hath his dominion from Isaacâ— feare He is called the feare of Isaac This is a most precious feare others feare poverty feare imprisonment feare disgrace feare men but saith a true repenting heart I feare the Lord this feare is the well-spring of life to him it is the very treasure of his soul Esay 33. 6. I shall speake of the feare of God here onely as it concerns this place the intent of bringing it in here that is to shew that in the time when this glorious Church shall be when God shall call home his own people the Jewes and bring in the fulnesse of the Gentiles then shall the feare of God mightily prevayle upon the hearts of people more then ever and the greater Gods goodnesse shall be the more shall the feare of God be upon their hearts this we shall finde almost in all the Prophesies of the glorious condition of the Church which is very remarkable there is ever speaking of the feare of God that should be upon the hearts of people One would rather thinke there should be speaking of the joy that they should have that there should be nothing but mirth and triumph in those times but the Scripture speakes exceeding much of feare that shall be then and more then then at any other time Thus Revel 11. 18. a most famous Prophesie of Christs comming and taking the kingdomes of the earth and bringing his reward with him he shall come and give a reward to those that feare him And Revel 14. 7. I saw an Angel flee in the middest of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth saying with a loud voyee feare God and give glory to him Marke an Angel when he comes to preach the verlasting Gospel how doth he preach it what now cast away fear and rejoyce in this everlasting Gospel No preaching this everlasting Gospel saith with a loud voyce feare God and give glory to him So Rev. 15. 3. 4. There is the song of the Saints when they are delivered from the power of Antichrist what is it be jocund and joviall No Great and marvailous are thy workes Lord God Almighty just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints who shall not feare thee O Lord and glorifie thy name for thou onely art holy for all Nations shall come and worship before thee for thy judgements are made manifest And again Rev 19. 5. And a voyce came out of the Throne saying Praise our God all ye his servants and yee that feare him both small and great But feare the Lord now in these times why so Upon these foure grounds First Feare the Lord now because of the glory of Christ their King they shall behold their King in that glory that shal cause fear Rev 19. 12. Christ is described with his eyes as flames of fire and on his head many Crownes cloathed with a vesture dipt in blood at wo-edged sword out of his month and on his vesture and on his thigh written King of Kings and Lord of Lords Thus they shall behold Christ and therefore they shall feare Secondly in those times the feare of God will much prevaile in the hearts of people because of the great workes of God that shal be then the heavens shall depart like a scrole and the elements melt with fervent heate This is meant of the time when there shal be new heavens a new earth which referreth to the Prophesie of Esay and it is apparantly and so generally Interpreters carry it meant of the estate of the Church then the heavens shall depart like a scrole Heb. 13. 26. quoted out of Hag. 2. 6. The Lord did shake the earth once but he hath promised saying Yet once more I shaâ— not the earth onely but also heaven There shall be wonderfull workes of God in the earth when those dayes come therefore there shall be much of the feare of God Thirdly Much of the feare of God then because of the holiness of the worship of God and of his Ordinances the purity of them shall cause fear Did we see the Ordinances in the true and native purity and holinesse of them it would strike much feare in us Some have but seene the execution of that one Ordinance of Excommunication in a solemn gracious way and it hath daunted their hearts it hath struke feare in a most proud profane stubborn wicked heart the beholding then of all the Ordinances and all duties of worship in their true native purity holiness and glory cannot but cause much feare Psal 68. 35. O God thou art terrible out of thy holy places God will be terrible out of his holy places and out of all his holy Ordinances Fourthly Much feare there will be at that day because of the holiness of the Saints there shall be so much holiness that shall
appeare bright in the very faces and conversations of the Saints that shal strike great feare Holy reverent is thy nâ—me you know it is said of God and so it shall be said of the Saints in that day their graces shall be much raised they shall sparkle with abundance of the graces of Gods Spirit in them their wisdome holiness shall make their faces shine holy and reverent shall be their names Psal 89. 7. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the Saints those Saints of his who walke close with him have a daunting power in their appearance I appeale to guilty consciences to apostates to professors who have secret haunts of wickedness sometime when you come but into the presence of one who is a truly gracious godly man or woman whom your conscience tels you walkes close with God doth not even the very sight of such a one terrifie you the very lustre of that holiness you see in such a one strikes upon your conscience then you thinke such an one walkes close with God indeed but I have basely forsaken the Lord and have had such a haunt of wickednesse I have brought dreadfull guilt upon my soul since I saw him last Ecclesiasticall stories tell us of Basil when the officers came to apprehend him he being then exercised in holy duties that there was such a majesty lustre came from his countenance that the officers fell down backward as they did who came to apprehend Christ they were not able to lay hold of him Surely when the Saints shall be raised in their holiness when every one of them shall have their hearts filled with holinesse it will cause abundance of fear even in all the hearts of those that converse with them But wicked ones shall feare too as well as the Saints Luke 21. 26. Mens hearts shall faile them for feare it shal be true in these dayes as it was in the destruction of Jerusalem The Saints shall feare the Lord and his goodness the words in the original are they shall feare ad Dominum to the Lord ad bonum to his good It is all one in effect that good that God shall manifest shall cause this feare to be in their hearts You will say what goodnesse what shall that goodness of God be that shall move the hearts of this people with so much feare I will tell you briefly I need not spend much time in it for I have spent a whole Sermon about it when I spake of the last words of the first Chapter of this Prophesiâ— great shall be the day of Jezreel I shal now adde to what I had then This shall be the goodness of God in that day that they shall feare First The goodnesse of God that ever he should regard such a wretched people as we are and pardon all our sins What Israel the ten Tribes who had most wretchedly forsaken God who had crucified Jesus Christ crucified David their King yet that blood they have shed is applyed to them for the pardon of their sin Oh the goodness of God! they shall feare this goodness in being mercifull to such a hard-hearted such a stubborne such a stiffe-necked people as they have been this goodnes of God will break their hearts Secondly then God shal make the difference between him that feareth God and him that feareth him not Then shall God take away all the reproach of his Saints What bitter reproach hath been upon the Saints since the beginning of the world especially since the times of the Gospelâ— Reproach first because they are meane people of the lower sort 2. Reproach because they suffer much and God lets his adversaries prevaile over them 3 Reproach because they waite upon God and God seems not to come the adversaries say where is your God No marvaile you pray and Fast what is become of all Here will be the goodness of God at that day to wipe off all this reproach They shall have so much mercy so much honour from God that it shall appeare before all the world that it was good to waite upon him so much as shall countervaile abundantly all their sufferings they shall blesse God that ever it was put into their hearts to suffer for him to waite upon him And because God foreseeth this what goodness he hath laid up for his people that they shall enjoy ere long and we know a thousand years with him are as one day that is the reason why he suffereth his people to be so under for the present he knows he hath that goodness for them hereafter yea in this world that all the world shal say that God hath dealt well with them that he was not a hard Master to them to make them waite so long and to let them suffer so much as they do I will give you for this one excellent Scripture perhaps you have not considered of the emphasis of the argument that is in it It is Heb 11. 16. They desired a better Countrey that is an heavenly wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he hath prepared for them a City The poor persecuted Saints wandred up down they were content to leave their own Country their estates here and sought another Country an heavenly but they had it not their enemies prevailed over them as if God had forsaken them but God is not ashamed to be called their God what is the argument For he hath prepared for them a City Marke the force of the argument for he hath prepared for them 〈◊〉 City This City is this text I am now speaking of sometimes it is described as a Tabernacle The Tabernacle of God shall come downe from Heaven sometime a City sometime a Countrey sometime a Kingdome sometime an Inheritance Here God hath prepared for them a City that is there is a glorious time for Gods people when they shall have the new Jerusalem come down from heaven unto them Now then saith God though my people be in a suffering condition I am not ashamed to be called their God I am not ashamed to own this people for I have glory enough for them as if God should be ashamed that he should ever professe such an interest in his people and this people professe such an interest in him if there were nothing to come for them if there were not a time to recompence all their suffering As if a Master should own a servant or a Prince a subject if this servant or subject suffer extreamely and hath no help but still when he expects help there comes none and when he thinketh surely now it will come still it fayls him yet if you know that at such a day you shall recompence all this you shall advance him and bring him to such honour that he will blesse God that ever he was in your service you will not be ashamed to owne this servant But if this servant shall suffer in your cause and you
other fear makes the heart to have hard thoughts of God take heed for ever of that feare of God that makes you to have hard thoughts of him In times of danger many begin to feare then presently they wish they had never ingaged themselves so much in these wayes that have such ill successe they now cry out of others you would needs do thus you see what is become of it But feare of God and his goodnesse is joyned with blessing God that ever you knew his waâ—es and were ingaged in them This shall be in the latter dayes God is content to stay for his glory untill the latter dayes that which is indeed his chiefe glory for though in these former dayes God hath had glory yet hee hath had but very little God is content to stay for that which is his chief glory untill the latter dayes Let this be an argument for our patience though we have sufferings now let us wait as God waiteth But the latter dayes when are these The times of the Gospell are generally called the latter dayes but this though it referreth indeed to the whole time of the Gospel yet especially unto the latter times of those latter dayes If you would know what these latter dayes are though I will not take upon me to give you the day or 〈…〉 I will shew you that it is like these latter dayes are at hand For giving light unto this that is a good help to us that we have in Daniel concerning the four Kingdoms there we have a propheticall Chronologie from the Captivity of the Jews unto the time when the counsell of God shall be fulfilled You have a description there of four severall Monarchies the Babylonian Assyrian Grecian and Roman Now in the last of these Daniel saith Chap. 2. 44. The God of heaven shall set up a Kingdome which shall never be destroyed but it shall breake in pieces and consume all the other Kingdomes and it shall stand for ever In this latter namely the Roman hath the Kingdom of Christ begun to appear already but God telleth Daniel chap. 12. 13. Thou shalt stand in thy lot at the end of the dayes Now observe the chiefe Prophesies wee have about the time of these latter dayes when they shall be set out in that expression of time and times and halfe a time 1260. dayes or 42. months all comes to the same three years and a halfe reckoning every day in those yeares for a yeare compare these prophesies Dan. 7. 25. And they shall be given into his hand untill a time and times and dividing of time Rev. 11. 2. The holy City shall they tread under foote forty and two moneths Vers 3. The witnesses shall prophesie 1260. dayes Now 1260. days are the days of three years and a halfe so the dayes of 42. moneths Then the woman in the wildernesse Rev. 12. 6. She shall be fed there 1260. dayes still the same number the witnesses shall prophesie 1260. dayes the holy Citie that shall be trodden under foote 42. months and the woman in the wildernesse shall be there 1260. dayes And againe Dan. 12. 11. From the time of the abomination that making desolate there shall be 1290. days there are a few days more not many but about this time you see the Scripture prophesieth of some great things to be done at the end of this time are these latter dayes But all the difficulty is to know the beginning when the three years and a halfe or 42. moneths or 1260. dayes begun then we may know when these latter dayes shall be Brightman makes the beginning of the 1290. days from Julians time when he would have set up the abomination that is set up the Jewish worship again by re-edifying the Temple that is sayes he the abomination of desolation reckoning 1290. dayes for 1290. years hiâ— time by computation will come out about the year 1650. The other wee have in the Revelation and that in Daniel likewise refers to the same notes the time that the Churches shall be under the persecution of Antichrist for a thousand two hundred and sixty years so long the Beast shall prevail and the witnesses shall so long prophesie in sackcloath and the woman shall be in the wildernesse for so long a time But when did Antichrist begin to reign For that take this rule It must be at that time when the Roman Emperour was broken and when the Dragon giveth up his power to the Beast when the power of the Dragon that persecuted the Christians under the Roman Empire is given to Antichrist so that now they come to be persecuted under him here is the beginning of the 1260. dayes That the Roman Empire must be given up first appeareth 2 Thes 2. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already worke only he who now letteth will let untill he be taken out of the way that is as generally Expositors carry it the power of the Roman Empire when that is taken out of the way then shall that wicked one be revealed theâ—e were many Antichrists before but then that wicked one that shall exalt himselfe above all that is called God shall have power to persecure the Church Hence it is observable that the custome of the Church was to pray for the continuing the Roman Empire upon this ground because they knew when that was broken Antichrist would come Now the breaking of the Roman Empire was at the raising up of those ten severall sorts of governmens called in the Revel tenn Kings and the raising up of those Kings was 400. yeares and something more after Christ as Chronologers tell us between the 400. and 500. years It is hard to reckon to a year there is so much difference in Chronologers computations after that time there must be 1260. days that is 1260. years Make this computation and compare all these Scriptures one with another it cannot be long but in this century that is now currant these latter dayes are here meant when the people of God and the Jews shal return to Jehovah and Davidâ— heir King and fear the Lord his goodnesse The nearer the time comes the more will these things be cleared Dan. 12. 9. Goe thy way Daniel for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end and none of the wicked shall understand but the wise shall understand Take but one note and we have done why the Scripture sets â—â—is out rather by many dayes then by so many yeares The reason is because God would have his people think that time untill his goodnes should be revealed but a short time if he had said they should be 1260. years under Antichrists persecution this founds harder No saith he it shall be but so many dayes though flesh and blood may think this time long yet look upon it as dayes it is but a short time to me it will be but a short time to you within 1260. days you shall be delivered from his tyranny
prepared to meet Christ their Bride-groom when he cometh Marke that place Ezek. 40. 4. It is spoken of the glorious times of the Gospel especially of these times I am speaking of where God saith to the Prophet Behold with thine eyes and heare with thine eares and set thine heart upon all that I shal shew thee And what did God shew him hee shewed him the measure of the Temple and all the glorious things that there should be in the Church in future times So I say to you my brethren concerning that I have spoken of the great day of Jezreel behold with your eyes look into Gods book and see what is said there for I have named but little and heare with your eares and set your hearts upon what hath been set before you So in Isa 41. 20. You have a place somewhat like this speaking of the mercies of God to his Church in latter times saith the Text That they may see know and consider and understand together that the hand of the Lord hath done this and the Holy One of Israel hath created it Mark how one word is heaped upon another that they may see know and consider understand what God would do for his people And when God came to reveale the glorious things he intended for his Churches in future times in the book of the Revelation which is the special book that declareth this unto us Mark how the Lord beginneth It is said that God gave this first to Christ secondly Christ to the Angel thirdly the Angel to Iohn and then there is pronounced a blessing to him that reads and hears the words of this prophesie and understands it What a solemne way of blessing is here There is not such an expression in all the book of God where have you a blessing so solemnly proclaimed to the reading and hearing of any of the bookes of God as to that book Therefore though they are things that seeme to be above us yet certainly God would have us to inquire into these things It is the fruit of the purchase of the blood of Christ to open these seales Rev. 5. 9. we reade that there was no man in heaven nor in earth that was able to open the book and to loose the seales thereof only the Lambe that was slaine and that hath redeemed us unto God by his blood he was onely worthy to open the seales It is a fruit I say of the slaughter of Christ of his blood and therefore cry to him for the opening these things to thee And though thou beest very weake in regard of parts and thinkest with thy self How can I understand such things as these know that it is Christ that through his blood comes to open these seales and seeing it is a fruite of his blood it is no matter whether thou art weake or strong if he come to open them to thee as Ier. 13. 2. saith God to the Prophet Call unto me and I will shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not so I say to you be a praying people call upon God and he will cause you to understand great and excellent things that you have not known And my brethren seeing these things shall be thus O what manner of persons ought wee to be how heavenly our hearts should rise up from the earth seeing God intendeth to do such great things for his people As it is Isa 60. Arise arise shake off thy dust for the light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee So I may say to the Churches now Arise arise shake of the dust of your earthly affections for the light of God is now ready to arise upon you Now sur sum corda now lift up your hearts above the things of the world VVee reade in Rev. 4. of the foure living creatures that appeared unto John the first was like a Lyon and the second like an Oxe and the third had a face as a Man and the fourth was like a flying Eagle They are according to the interpretaâ—ion that reverend Brightman gives to set out unto us the foure states conditions of the Church The Primitive times were Lyon-like for their valour the second age like an Oxe to beare the burthens of Antichrist the third had a face as a man that stood for their liberties and would not be under such slavery and they are but times and then the fourth as an Eagle that sored aloft In the state of the Church hereafter they shall be like an Eagle have heavenly hearts no such drossy base earthly hearts as we have now Labour we even now to be so that we may be fit for that day And let us all prepare for the Bride groome against his comming How shall we prepare The cloathing that then shall be shall be white linnen which is the righteousnesse of the Saints That great Doctrine of our justification by the righteousnesse of Christ shall be the great businesse of that day in which the glory of the Saints shall much consist and they shall be clothed with that it shall be clearly understood of all men they shall be ashamed to rest upon duties and ordinances as now they do Let us study the Doctrine of the righteousnesse of Christ afore-hand for that is like to be our clothing at that day that is the white linnen of the Saints which shall be their glory Let us prepare our Lamps and keepe them all burning and shining the oyle not onely of juâ—â—â—cation but sanctification active stirring in our hearts that so we may 〈◊〉 to entertaine the Bride-groom whensoever 〈◊〉 〈…〉 And all of you labour now to instruct your children in the knowledge of God and of Christ bring them up in the feare of the Lord that they may be seed for that day Acquaint them with these things for though perhaps you may be dead and gone before this great day yet they may live to see it therefore catechize them and instruct them and drop into them those Principles that may fit them for the meeting of JESUS CHRIST their Bridegroome To conclude all Let us be all praying Christians It is that which is charged upon us in Isa 62. 6. All you that make mention of the Lord keep not silence and give him no rest till he establish till he make Jerusalem apraise in the earth God hath a day to set up Jerusalem as the praise of the whole earth Oh be praying praying Christians every one of you and give God no rest till he effect this And remember God of all his promises search the Prophets search the book of God and urge God with his promises to the Church in this way And you that are the weakest be not discouraged in your prayers and you may be a meanes to further and hasten this great day of Jezreel Psal 102. 17. The Psalmist had spoken before of Gods building up Zion and certainly that Psalme is a Prophesie of the glorious times
and then you shall have this voyce from heaven The kingdoms of the earth are become the kingdomes of the Lord and of his Christ and hee shall reign for ever and then shall ye together with the Jews seeke the Lord and David your King and fear the Lord and his goodnesse Now through Gods goodnesse wee have gone through these three Chapters Tertullian hath this expression of the fulness of the Scriptures Adorâ— plenitu dâ—nem Scripturarum I adore the fulnesse of the Scriptures By searching thus into the Scriptures we may come to see rich treasures in them and so adore the fulnesse of them how do we read over texts as if there were nothing in them but certainly God hath revealed much more of his mind in Scripture then wee are aware of let us all be in love with the study of the Scriptures May 8. 1642. a Nesco utrum brevitatem sermonum an magnie tudiuem sensuum admirari debeas b Commaticum qua si persentias loquen tem c Geâ—â—s generalissimum omnium benorum Si hoc auferas solâ—m e mundo sustulisli quid mundus sublate verbo quam infernus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Quid est Scriptura sacra nisi quaedam epistola emnipotentis Dei ad creaturam suam Greg. 1. Ep. â—0 ad Gregorium Theodorum Medicum Sacrae scripturae expositio est emnium quae ad culâ—â—m Dei fiunt â—pus maximum utilitates humano generi max 〈◊〉 efferens Lect. 1. Wolfius in loc Luther in Gen. c. 19. Ego adi lie beos meâ—s saepe opto eos interire quod metuo nemorentur lectores abducant lectione ipsias scripturae quae sola omnis sapientiae fons est c. Ioh. 7. 17. â—um debere scire se aliquid profecisse cui Ciceronis lectio eft valde iucunda 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Hiphil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Salvavit Obs â— King â— 2. 19. Ier. 36. 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Puteus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Magna semper facerunt qui Deo vocaute docuerunt Luther Euseb de Prapar Euan. l. 20. c. ult Ab hec tempore Graeca de temporibus historia vera creditur Obs 1. Obs 2. Obser 3. Obser 4. Obser 5. Obser 6. Obser 7. Obs 1. Obs 2. Obser 3 Obser 4 Obser 5 Obser 6. Obser Obsec Ch. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quanto 〈…〉 dius 〈◊〉 em loâ—â—itur 〈◊〉 into opetoâ—ius peneâ—â—ratur Aug. de Hosea l. 18. deciu. Iam. 1. 20. May 23. 1642. The scope of the Chapter Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem Quamqua sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus quae Ipse sibi tradit spectator Lect. 2. * Such a one as Thais was among the Athenians Vir sanguinum Aug. cont Faust l. 22 c. 80. Quid adversura clementiae veritatis quid fidei Christianae si meretrix relicta forâ—â—catiane 〈◊〉 castum conjugium commutetur c. Eorum audaciam mirari satis nequeo qui non verentur dicere verba haec esse rebus destituta Theod. in Hos enaâ— c. 1. Obser Gods command takes away the offence not he comâ—mand of the Magistrate Ans 2. Obser Obser Reasons why Hoseas marrying a whore was but only in a vision 1. 2. How the woman is the glory of the man 3. Apparens loquens ei per vifiouem interiorem ecstafi Obs Adulterium committenâ— quasi ad alterium se 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 conferens Wherein is Idolatry like to the sinne of Adultery 1. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3. 4. Hos 4. 11. 5. 6. 7. Filii Ecclesiae Quest Answ 1. Fornicando fornicatur or as Arius Montanus Fornicando fornicabitur Obser Obsec 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obs 5. Reasons of the name of Hoseas son Obser 3. Obser A twofold scattering of a People 4. 5. Obser Obser God will avenge 〈◊〉 blood Answ 1. Three reasons why God avenged the blood of Iezreel upon the house of Iehu 3. Obser 1. Obser 2 Obedience so farre as serves a mans owne turn Obser 3. God makes use of mens parts Obser 4 God makes 〈◊〉 use of menâ— sins Obser 5 God rewards here those works that must be answered for he easter Obser 6 A dangerous thing to subiect publique works to our own ends Obser 7. GOD curseth partiall obedience 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obser 8. Reformers must not be more carefull of Policy then of religion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist Pol. l 7. cap. 8. Mâ—n can see the evill of sin in others rather then in themselves Obser 10 Oser 11. Magistrats must take heed of livâ—ng in the same sinnes they punish Quest Ans Obs Why a threat against posterity in the second Command rather then in any â—ther Theequâ—ty of childrens suffering for their Parents Observ Question Answer Observ Question Answer 2 King 10. 36. 13. 1 13. 10. 13 23. Obser Sin punished a long time after the commission Gen. 42. 22 Isa 65. 20. Observ Quest Answ Observ Many years are but of little while in Gods account Obser Present things affect not Omnis actie fit per contactum Obser Obser 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quiescere faciam Obser Observ Observ No weapons can prosper against the Church Observ Fortified places are nothing where the wrath of God is out against a people 2. Obser God punishes men in that they most glory in Lect. 3. Hoseas 3. children shews the 3 estats of 〈◊〉 Observ Base effeminatenes of spirit in a people yeelding to what shall be imposed upon them a signe of ruine Purity in the Church cannot stand long with slavery in the â—eate Viri fortâ—â— est aut pul chrevivere aut fartiter mori After base yeelding to slavery follows ruine Quae suâ—â—u abjecturi in altum tolimus ut majori ruina decidant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oblitus fuit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abâ—â—ulit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obser 1 Encouragement from gracious youth in England Obser 2. 〈◊〉 2. 1. The feares of the Saints that heretofore mercy was departed from us iustified Luk. 14. 14. Rev. 22. 1â— Gen. 6. 3 God must not be dallyed withall in the offers of his grace Obser 3 Obser 4. Obser 5 Obser 6 Lesse judgments forerunners of greater Obser 7 Obser 8 Amos 3. 2. 1 Kings 13. 4. Exod. 33. 5 A dangerous thing to reiect an offer of mercy after reiection of former offers 2. Obser The ground of civill Churh government different Answ How farre mans authoritybindes Obser 1 Obser 2 Obser 3 Obser Object 5. Obser Poor afflicted ones finde mercy when the rich are rejected 6. Obser Ministers must be Impartial Obser 7 Mercy to the saints are aggravation of judgement to the wicked Dives magis uritur gloria Lazari quam suo incendio Chrysologus After promise of mercy yet great afflictions may follow No advantage in yeelding to wicked men Obser A great evill to be discouraged at some difficulties when God is in