in their sighs and groans than in all the eloquence of your empty hypocrits they not being fill'd with the Will of God in Colos 4. 12. it is in your books That you may stand compleat in all the Will of God but it is being fill'd with the will of God if thou wouldest have a fulness in what thou doest a fulness in a Prayer a fulness in thy Service in any thing thou doest be fil'd with the Will of God and not with thy self-ends You know empty vessels will break when you set them at the fire and so will selvish spirits those that are selvish they quickly grow empty You that are Merchants if you have Factors abroad that trade for themselves they seldom do any great matters for their Masters I have known Merchants that have been chary of that for their men to be trading for themselves And God doth not love to see us trading for our selves but only as we trade for him and so account that to be for our selves And here is an evident demonstration that your selvishness will make you empty for God how many are there that complain of emptiness Oh! they cannot do this and they cannot do that why because except they find comfort and that coming in which they aim at they have no mind to any duty they go to prayer and strive to pray and they come away and say Oh! the empty prayers that we make but what is the reason that you cannot pray as you would you have no heart to pray if you would have enlargement in prayer and present answer of your prayer to get what you would have Oh! then your hearts would be much let out in prayer and then you would have a mind to pray but now though it be your duty to pray because you shall tender up the worship that a creature owes to God that is no argument that puts you upon prayer so it appears that it is selvishness that appears in prayer but now trie this way trie this way but to get above your selves once and be emptied of your selves and look with a more single eye to God when you go to prayer let this be the great motive O Lord this is that Worship that I as a Creature owe to thee and the strength of my body and soul is due to thee and I let out what I can though I have not enlargements and comforts though I feel not that I get by duty to my self yet in obedience to thee and that I might lift up thy Name and that I might worship thee I am resolved to go on in such duties as thou requirest of me trie but this way and see whether you will not grow more fruitful in prayer than you did before But to pass that I find that some turn the words thus as Pareus An empty Vine he is although he treasure up fruit unto himself and so we may understand emptiness by that word that I have opened to you a spoiled Vine he is a spoiled Vine and he is emptied of all his prosperity and riches and glory that he had although he seeks to treasure up unto himself And indeed in such a kind of reading there is a very profitable Note They seek to treasure and enrich themselves to lay up and provide for themselves now that they may have store by them come what will come but this will not do saith God Israel must be a spoiled empty Vine for all this Now that 's the Note or Meditation hence That when God is spoiling and emptying a Nation it is a vain thing for men to think to provide for themselves This certainly is not the time when God is spoiling and emptying of a Nation or other parts of the Kingdom for men to have their thoughts now to scrape an estate to themselves and get even from the evils of the times to enrich themselves by Places and by Offices to enrich themselves certainly there can be little honor in such an estate or little comfort It is the frame and guize of a vile spirit to think of enriching of themselves in such times as these are certainly it must needs be a very low spirit that minds the enriching of its self in such times as these are what God may cast men in by extraordinary providence at any time we speak not of that or by some eminent service but certainly if it shall prove that God in his mercy shall put an end to such times as these are when men shall prove to be rich after this storm is over that had not some eminent providence of God to cast it upon them but only in his ordinary way I say whosoever should appear to be rich after these times it will be little honor to him or his posterity it will be the most dishonorable riches that ever was in the world In Jer. 45. 4. saith the Lord to Baruch there he was a good man and yet much over seen in this Behold that which I have built will I break down and that which I have planted will I pluck up even this whol Land And seekest thou great things for thy self seek them not I am breaking down that which I have built and plucking up what I have planted And doest thou seek great things for thy self seek them not In Acts 8. 20. saith Peter to Symon Magus Thy money perish with thee So may I say to many is this a time for men to treasure to themselves for men to have their chief care now to gain riches Oh! it is just with God to say to thee Thy riches perish with thee whosoever now will make it his chief care and think now it is a time of trouble and now I may gain thus and thus and it will not appear I say those that shall make this to be their care now to take advantage of these times to treasure up to themselves just were it with God to say of them and their riches Thy money and thy riches perish with thee It follows According to the multitude of his fruit he hath encreased the Altars according to the goodness of his Land they have made goodly Images Here you have the unthankfulness of Ephraim you have had his barrenness and selvishness in the two former expressions and now here his unthankfulness The Devil he loves to have superstitious and Idolatrous people have good Lands and good Possessions that he might be served accordingly Idolaters serve their Idols according to their Lands and Possessions that they have According to the multitude of his fruit were the multitude of his Altars And certainly it is a great reason why all the Papists are so desirous to get England and contribute so much that they might but get into England and get Possession here for there is no place that they have where they should have more goodly Images and more brave things than they should here in England the
of his people so the Curse of God is upon the wicked projects of his enemies God may seem many times to leave many a good action but God doth carry it through at length though it seems to have many things that would crush it in the very bud yet God carries good projects through many difficulties and God crushes wicked projects through much prosperity Lastly To have the satisfying of our desires to go on a while and to have them cut off before we enjoy them is a great judgment but just with God it should be so for ordinarily we are thus in our obedience that usually withers before it comes to any ripeness if it get up to the stalk it may be it comes not to a bud if to meal some strange lust or other comes in and devours it Oh how many times doth our strange lusts devour our good actions that comes forth a good way How many in their young yeers we had thought very gracious seed began to sprout forth and we had thought that the seed grew to a stalk and when they came to be for themselves we had thought they had begun to bud in gracious actions we had thought it came to be meal to their middle age but to their old age strange lusts hath come and devoured all It 's great judgment for strangers to devour our estates when we have scraped a deal together truly for strange lusts to come to devour thy hopeful beginnings it 's a greater judgment than for strangers to devour thy estate that thou hast gotten by a great deal of labor Many men have labored all their lives and taken pains and that which they have done hath seemed to come to something and the truth is in the conclusion the Devil hath had the advantage of all And God seems to be out against us in some degree even in the waies of his judgments at this day thus as many of the Adversaries projects so many of ours the Lord hath blasted before they come to a stalk and when they have been budded the Lord hath blasted them by unfaithfulness of some or others when we have had our greatest thoughts the Lord hath seem'd to blast us and what God will do with us we know not only let us make sure that our seed be good and though this doth not prosper or the other doth not yet at last God will bring the greater Harvest upon us VER 8. Israel is swallowed up now they shall be among the Gentils as a vessel wherein there is no pleasure ISRAEL they had made so many Leagues among other People til they were even swallowed up by them And truly my Brethren if there be not a great care had there is much danger in making Leagues with other Nations lest upon the need they see we have of them they should incroach upon us and at length even have Laws given to us by them It was so with the people of Israel that by their League with other people they were so incroacht upon by them as at length they gave them Laws and swallowed them up And thus many of the People of God yea of the Churches of God by mingling themselves with the world are even swallowed up so as they lose their beauty and there 's no difference appears between them and the men of the world It 's one thing for wicked men to creep into the Church unawares and certainly there 's none can expect that any Church in the world can continue but wicked men and hypocrites will mingle themselves but it 's one thing when they creep in unawares and another thing when the fence is broken down so as it is very hard to see any face of a Church among them thus it was with Israel But now shall they be among the Gentils as a vessel wherein is no pleasure By these words Vessel of no pleasure is meant a vessel that is for the carrying up and down of excrements only the Scripture when it mentions such vile things speaks in a modest way but that 's the meaning of the word as if he should say Even my people shal be in a vile contemptible condition among the Gentiles as a vessel that is fit for nothing but excrements Jehoiakim is threatned in Jer. 22. 18. though a great man yet he is threatned to be as a vessel wherein is no pleasure they had wasted their substance in seeking help from the Egyptians and Assyrians and these made a prey of them so long as they had any thing of value continued then they made much of them but their estates being once wasted and they swallowed up in their very estates they look now upon them as vile and contemptible in their eyes And this is the way of wicked men while wicked men are serving their own turns upon any they will hug them and make much of them but if that be done then they scorn them contemn them non are more scorn'd and contemn'd than Professors of Religion who have basely crouched to wicked men and sought to shelter themselves under them when their estates are once consum'd and gone they are more scorned by those that served themselves of them than any and therefore let us learn wisdom and how far we venture to make use of men and do not please our selves in this that they hug and commend us if it be but to serve their own turns when they have gotten what they would have they will then scorn you and look upon you as base people and kick you out Again A vessel wherein is no pleasure The Seventy translate it an unprofitable vessel But there is more intended certainly in this expression a vessel imployed in base and contemptible uses Israel shall be so imployed and thereby he shall know a difference between my service and the service of their enemies Oh it is a sad expression what Israel a vessel imployed and received to empty out excrements 1. Israel were a people precious and honorable in the eyes of God Isa 43. 4. 2. An holy people unto the Lord Deut. 14. 2. 3. They were Gods peculier People above all Nations in the world in the same place 4. Gods Portion Deut. 32. 9. 5. Gods Inheritance Isa 19. 25. 6. Gods pâ—â—ulier Treasure Exod. 19. 5. 7. Gods Glory Isa 46. 13 8. Gods Deligâ—â—â— Isa 62. 4. 9. Israel were the deerly Beloved of Gods Soulâ— Jer. 12. 7. and yet now Israel is become a vessel only to take in and empty out excrements Oh what a change doth sin make they were holy vessels imployed in holy services in attending upon God and His Worship so as no people were but now oh what a change hath sin made in them How doth sin vilifie men to be imployed in base services it is the most against an ingenuous spirit that any thing can be I remember I have read of a young man of Sparta that being taken by Antigonus and sold for
be look'd upon as great things the things of Gods Word That 's the first And then especially The things that concern Gods Worship are to be look'd upon as great things for so it hath reference to them but the expression aims at that which is more general the great things of my Law the honorable magnificent and glorious things Now the things of the Law are great things First Because they are from the great God and they have the stamp of the Authority of the great God upon them there is a dreadful Authority in every Truth in every thing that is written in Gods Law I say there is a dreadful Authority of the great God that binds Kings and Princes in chains that laies bonds upon the conscience that no created power can yet this doth when we come to hear the Word we come either as to a Soveraign to receive Laws from or as to a Judg to receive the sentence of death it hath the dreadful Authority of the great God in it and therefore every thing that is in the Word is to be look'd upon as a great thing a piece of Parchment and a little Wax and a few Lines in it what are they but having the Authority of the great Seal of England such a piece is to be look'd upon as a great thing The things of Gods Law are great things for they have great Authority which goes along with them And Secondly They are great things because of the lustre of the great God that shines in them Take all the Creatures that ever God made in Heaven and Earth and I say there is not so much glory of God in Sun Moon Stars Sea and Plants and al things in the world as there is in some few sentences of holy Scripture therfore they are great things Psal 138. 2. Thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name The Name of God appears in his great work of Creation and of Providence We are to look upon Gods Name as very great yet thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy Name it 's more than al Gods Names besides It may be when there are some extraordinary works of God in the world Thundring and Lightning c. we are ready to be affraid and oh the great God that doth appear in these great works Were our hearts 〈◊〉 they ought to be when we reade the WORD we would tremble at that more than at any manifestation of God since the world began in all his Works and if so be thou dost not see more glory of God in his Word than in his Works it is because thou hast little light in thee and therfore let the world think of the things of Gods Law that are written as they wil yet they are the great things of his Law Thirdly They are the great Mysteries of Gods Will the great Counsels of God about the Souls of men about his way to honor Himself and to bring Mankind to Himself to Eternal life the great Counsels great Mysteries that are contained in the Word of God such as the Angels themselves do desire to pry into as in Prov. 8. 6. it is said of Wisdom Hear and I will speak of excellent things The Word of God speaks of excellent things right excellent things such great Mysteries of Gods Wisdom as should take up our thoughts yea and doth take up the Angels and shall take up the Angels and Saints to all Eternity to be prying into the great things which are revealed in Gods Word Psal 119. 27. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts so shall I talk of thy wondrous Works Mark how these are joyned together Make me to understand the way of thy precepts so shall I talk of thy wonderous works Why David couldest not thou see the wonderous works of God in the book of the creature in Heaven and Earth Oh no Make me to understand the way of thy precepts and then shall I talk of thy wonderous Works We many times talk about vain and slight things because we have nothing else to talk of but did we understand the way of Gods precepts we should be furnished with discourse of the wondrous works of God And then It 's a great WORD because that they are of great concernment The things of Gods Law are of great concernment for all our present good or evil depends upon the things of Gods Law Prov. 3. 22. They are life unto thy soul and grace unt◠〈◊〉 neck So saith Moses in Deut. 32. 46. Set your hearts unto all the words which I testifie unto you this day for it is not a vain thing it is your life they are of great concernment there 's a curse annexed to the breach of every thing in Gods Law Cursed be every one that abideth not in every thing that is written in the book of the Law Is it not a great matter then Certainly there is nothing in the Law that is to be look'd upon as a little matter because the Curse of God is annexed to the breath of every thing that is written in Gods Law and there we have the casting of our souls for eternity and is not that a great matter Did we come to hear the Word or did we reade the Word as the Word by which we must be cast for our eternal estates we would look upon it as a great Word Again The things are great things in Gods Law in regard of the great power and efficacy that they have upon the hearts and consciences of men when God sets home the things of his Law they will bring down the proudest heart and the stoutest stomach that is they will enlighten the blindest mind and convert the hardest heart that is in the world the Law hath a mighty power upon the soul and therefore it is great Further They are great things because they make all those great that do receive them they make them great even because they have but the keeping of them much more than if they receive them in Deut. 4. 8. What Nation is there so great that hath Statutes and Judgments so righteous as all this Law that I set before you this day What Nation so great as you are why wherein are we greater than other people Wherein In this What Nation is so great that hath Statutes and Judgments so righteous as all this Law which I set before you this day This was that which made the People of Israel a great Nation beyond all the Nations in the world they were not great in multitude but in that they had the Law of God and the great things of his Law revealed to them in this they became a great Nation The Lord honors a Nation highly but to reveal the things of His Law to them But how great then doth a soul come to be that doth imbrace those things that hath all those great and good things reveal'd in the Law made to it as its own priviledg Surely that soul
is in an high and honorable condition indeed Further The things of Gods Law are great in Gods esteem they are great because the great God thinks them so That is to be accounted great that the most judicious and wise men in the world judg so to be indeed that which a child thinks to be a great thing is no great thing a child may think a bauble to be a great thing so we may think things great indeed we think the things of the world are great for a man to have an estate it 's a great matter to have riches and honors and to be some-body in the world we think these to be great things But what are these in Gods eyes God despises all these things But that which the great God will think to be a great thing certainly that 's great indeed Now mark what a high esteem God hath of his Word in that place where Christ saith Heaven and Earth shall pass away but not one jot or tittle of my Word shall pass away As if Christ should say The Lord will rather withdraw his power from the upholding of Heaven and Earth than from making good any one jot or tittle of his Law you may think it a little matter to break Gods Law but God thinks it a great matter and God would have us to make a great matter of every thing that is written in Gods Law I am the willinger to enlarge my self in this because I know it is the ground of all the wickedness in mens hearts and lives because they look upon the Law as a little matter well though they dare sin against Gods Law for the getting of a groat or six pence but God saith I will rather lose Heaven and Earth than one jot or tittle of my Law shall fall and he will make it appear one day that the things of his Law are great things in Isa 42. 21. He will magnifie the Law and make it honorable You may vilifie it a company of wanton spirits we have that consider not what they say or what they do running away with the very word of the Law they think to vilifie it What have we to do with the Law and under that word not understanding what they mean they think to cast a vile esteem upon the Law let them do what they will yet God will magnifie his Law and as it is great in the thoughts of God so it is and shall be for ever great in the thoughts of the Saints the Lord will have his people to the end of the world have high thoughts of his Law the Saints they look upon the Law of God so great as they had rather suffer all the miseries and torments that any man in the world any Tyrant can devise than willingly to break the Law in any one thing surely they account it a great matter when a man shal be willing rather to lose his estate and liberty yea and life to suffer tortures and torments and all because he will not offend the Law of God in any one thing though he might escape all if he would nay saith a gracious heart Let all go rather than I will venture to break the Law of God in any one thing surely he looks upon the Law of God as very great Men of the world think them to be fools and why will you be content to suffer so much lose all your friends what venture to lose your estates which have such a fair way of living as you have what venture a prison and venture your life the world thinks they are but little things and trifles and men are more precise than wise and they need not trouble themselves so much If God would but shew to you how great a thing his Law is and all the threatnings which are revealed therein you would account your estates and lives and all your comforts as little and poor in comparison of that Law hence in Revel 6. 9. I saw under the Altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held Wherefore were they slain Surely it was for some great matter that they would venture their lives it was for the Word of God and for the Testimony which they held And thus the Saints of God have ever accounted the Law of God a great thing I have written unto them the great things of my Law Hence from what hath been said we may have these Notes for Observation Here are Objects in the Word for men of the greatest spirits to exercise themselves about Many mens spirits are raised up and cannot endure to spend their thoughts and time about small matters and you shall have some mens spirits are so low that they think it happiness enough if they can be imployed in a gutter and get six pence or twelve pence a day to find them bread at night but others have great spirits Oh! let all those who have aspiring spirits and great spirits let them exercise themselves much in the Law of God here are objects fit for great spirits that will greaten our spirits And indeed there are no men in the world have great spirits but the Saints they have great spirits for they exercise themselves in the great counsels of God We account those men to be men of the greatest spirits that are imployed in State-affairs now the Saints they are lifted up above all things in the world and they look at all these things as little and mean and they are exercised in the great affairs of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ hence it is that the Lord would have Kings to have the book of the Law written and the Judges and it is reported of Alphonsus King of Arragon that in the midst of all his great affairs of his Kingdom he read over the Scriptures fourteen times with Commentaries upon them How many have we men of great estates and seem to be of great spirits that scarce mind the Law of God they look upon the Law of God as under them it may be if they can have a book of History and Wars they will be reading over that but for the Scripture it is a thing that hath little in it Another Note It is a special means of obedience to have high thoughts of Gods Law to convince and humble them for their disobedience for that 's the reason why the Prophet here speaks thus I have written to him the great things of my Law but they were accounted as a strange thing As if he should say If they had had the things of my Law to have been high in their thoughts they would never have done as they have done Psal 119. 129. Thy Testimonies are wonderful therefore doth my soul keep them I have high thoughts of thy Testimonies I look upon them as glorious things I see much of thy self in thy Testimonies and therefore doth my soul keep them He doth not
which the Lord brought His People into by a strong hand and outstretched arm Many Scriptures you have for that as Ezek. 20. 6. c. Fifthly It was a Land divided by Lot and so the Lords Land not only all the Land but every piece in it and the possession that any man had it was ordered by God himself by Lot Sixthly It was a Land wherein God dwelt himself a Land that God call'd his own rest Here will I rest for ever Psal 132. and God sware unto them that hardened their hearts in the wilderness that they should not enter into his Rest that is that they should not enter into the Land of Canaâ—n It was the Land wherein there was the Ordinances of God and the Worship of God and his Honor dwelt there and so it had a peculiar blessing upon it above all the Land that was upon the face of the earth Seventhly It was a Land over which Gods eye was in a more special manner there 's a most excellent Scripture for that in Deut. 11. 12. A Land which the Lord thy God â—areth for the eyes of the Lord thy God are alwaies upon it from the beginning of the yeer even to the end thereof Yea further This Land it was a Typical Land of the Church and a Typical Land of Heaven for so the Apopostle speaking of that place in the Psalms That he swore in his wrath that they should not enter in his Rest The Apostle in Heb. 3. 7. seems to apply it unto the Rest of the Church of Heaven and in 1 Chron. 16. 15. Be ye mindful alwaies of his Covenant the word which he commanded to a thousand generations even of the Covenant which he made with Abraham and of his Oath unto Isaac and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a Law and to Israel for an everlasting Covenant saying Vnto thee wil I give the land of Canaan the lot of your inheritance Mark that he would give unto them the Land of Canaan This must be remembred to a thousand generations and it must be a Law to Israel afterwards Certainly this notes that God aim'd at more by the Land of Canaan than meerly to possess them of so much ground Further Yet there are divers Titles that are given to this Land it is called an Holy Land in Zach. 2. 12. and it is called a good Land in Numb 14. 7. that which is translated in your books exceeding good is very very good it 's a pleasant Land in Ezek. 7. ult a garden of Eden in Joel 2. 3. a glorious Land in Dan. 11. 16. 41. verses and the glory of all Lands Ezek. 20. 15. and a goodly heritage Jer. 3. 19. Now saith my text They shall not abide in the Lords Land Now from all these Titles we are not only to take notice of this That it should be a great Judgment of God to drive them out of such a good Land And observe It is a great judgment of God for God through the sins of a people to drive them out of a good Land Truly some times I suppose when you travel abroad where there are fair prospects you cannot but have such a meditation Oh! how vile are the sins of this Land that should provoke God to cast us out of such a good Land as this is And most of the Titles though not all they may be given to our Land that was given to the Land of Canaan and certainly if God should proceed in his wrath to cast us out it would be a heavy judgment to consider of They laid the pleasant Land desolate Howsoever wicked men may cry out of Gods servants that they are the cause of the trouble of the Land yet certainly it is the wicked and ungodly that are false in the Worship of God they are wicked men that lay the Land desolate Also we might here observe that To be cast out of those mercies that God by an extraordinary providence hath brought to us is a sore and a grievous evil But now the main end that I name all these Epithites it is this To shew unto you the Excellency of the state of the Church of God The Rest of Canaan was a type of the Rest that God hath in his Church and all those that are Members of the true Church of God they have a share in it to rejoyce in to enjoy God in his Ordinances it is to enjoy that which is typified by all this Thou who art a Beleever hast a good Land the Garden of Eden a glorious Land and that Land which is the glory of all Lands there are abundance of excellent priviledges that do belong to the Church of God and as it is a jugment to be cast out of such a Land as this was so it sets out the great judgment to be cast out from the Church of God or for God to deny to give unto us the blessâ—â—g of his Church you know what a great affliction it was to Moses to think that he should not come into that good Land Oh! how did he pray to God that he might come into Canaan Certainly it is that which we should pray for that we might live to come into Canaan that God is a bringing his People into now let us not murmur as they did in the Wilderness and their carcasses did fall in it but let us go on and be as Caleb and Joshua of another spirit and not fear our Adversaries but go on in Gods way and the Lord will bring us into the good Land it 's true we have deserved to be cut off in the wilderness but certainly God hath a Canaan for his People a Canaan yet to come for his People the Lord hath great things to do for his Church and there are many expressions upon which some think that God even will make use of this Canaan yet for to be the place of his chief Majestie and glory that shall appear in this world but however that be yet the Lord hath a Canaan for his people that we may confide in It follows But they shall Return to Egypt and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria For the returning to that we have had before But besides that they shall be brought to that poverty and misery to eat unclean poluted bread whereas before they had abundance Peter would eat nothing that was unclean till God warned him but the Assyrians would bring them unclean meat and bid them eat they would say We cannot this is against our Religion and against our Consciences Your Consciences what do we care for them eat it or starve so they were forced to eat Whence observe That it is a great misery to be brought under those men that will have no care no regard of the consciences of men But that which is especially aimed at here God would take away all notes of distinction between them and the Heathen this was a means to keep
they come to be born there they shall perish in their birth and so at every time my curse shall follow them from the conception from the womb and from the birth Yea and Fourthly Though perhaps some may escape in the conception and in the womb and in the birth yet it follows VER 12. Though they bring up children yet will I bereave them THE Curse of God is here threatned to pursue them and over-take them though they escaped the Curse that others are under Many think that when they have escaped some Judgment that hath come upon some others then they are safe enough and all is well But thy preservation from some Judgment that hath struck others may be thy reservation to greater Judgments that God intends for thee afterwards 2. It is a judgment to be deprived of children in the womb in the birth but when you have endured much pain in bearing and bringing forth your children much labor and trouble in bringing up your children when many a thoughtful care in the education of them much sorrow and grief they have cost you and now when they come to be hopeful almost to mens and womens estate and you think to have comfort in them now for God to take them away this is very sad unto parents it goes exceeding much unto their hearts to be bereaved then yet such things as these have befallen many heretofore and Parents though the condition must be acknowledged very sad yet they must submit to Gods hand in this Perhaps some of you have in the breeding of your children endured much and through many difficulties they have been brought till they have grown up to be almost at mens and womens estates and perhaps they have been towardly and hopeful you had hoped to have had them to have been the staff of your age and yet God suddenly hath made them fly away like a bird perhaps be drowned perhaps some other way in a most uncomfortable manner the Lord hath bereaved you of them You will say The condition is sad more than ordinary Therefore God calls you to Sanctifie his Name more than ordinary to exercise grace more than ordinary and the exercise of grace in such an extraordinary stroke of God upon you may be as great a good and comfort as great a blessing unto you as the enjoyment of your child would have been If a tender mother that through all her care and pain and labor after breeding and bringing up a child should have him taken away in some untimely death as you call it she would think her condition the saddest of any living Be it known to you perhaps some may be here or know others of their friends that have had such a hand of God upon them be but convinced of this one thing which I know you cannot deny That the exercise of grace sutable to this work of God that is now upon thee or against thee conceive it as thou wilt I say the exercise of thy grace sutable to this work of God is a greater good to thee than the life of thy child could have been it could never have done thee that good as the exercise of grace may do in this condition when it is sutable to this stroke of God upon thee and this indeed is the only way to make up any losses of children or loss of any goods be it a child be it a husband or the dearest friend a wife or thy estate yet the exercise of thy grace is better than the enjoiment of them all It follows There shall not be a man left I 'le bereave them when they bring them up the words are not a man and left is not in the Original that they be not men And sometimes God lets the children of men and women live and yet they never come to be men but strikes them in their understandings that they are bereaved of them so far that they never come to be men I remember it 's reported of S r Thomas Moore that his wife was mightilie desirous of a Boy that was her word and she had one that proved a fool and saith her husband to her You were never quiet till you had a boy and now you have one that be all his life a Boy I will bereave them that there shall not be a man left But I rather think the meaning is I wil take them away that they shall not live to be men strong men of war You boasted your selves that you had so many of your children that were such valiant men of war before but I 'le bereave you of them saith the Lord. Yea wo to them when I depart from them Surely even wo to them he puts a sureness upon this Wo to them when I depart from them As if the holy Ghost should say What do I threaten this or the other evil the great evil of all the rise of al evils is Gods forsaking them Wo also to them when I depart from them God departs from a people or a particular soul when he withdraws his goodness and mercy from them and the reason why wicked men for a time do enjoy good things it is because Gods time is not yet come to depart from them but when Gods time is come to depart from them then al vanishes suddenly As the light continues so long as the Sun is in the firmament but as soon as ever it is gon it grows to be dark the darkness of the night comes suddenly A man hath strength and health so long as his vitals hold but as soon as ever the vitals are struck the craseis of the body if that be strucken the strength and health goes The general presence of God with his Creature keeps strength and health it 's God in the creature that keeps its comforts and upon Gods departing al vanishes and comes to nothing Thou hast thy prosperity now and thou thinkest thou maiest enjoy it still but how canst thou tell but God may suddenly depart and then all is gone The alteration of mans condition is not only from Natural causes but heigher from Gods departing Carnal hearts think themselves safe if they do not see how Natural causes shall work their ruin they see nothing but as they have enjoyed much good from Natural causes so they see them working still for good to them Yea but know that thy prosperity or thy adversity depends not upon Natural causes but upon a higher cause though thou hast the confluence of all Natural causes working for thee as much as ever yet if God pleases to withdraw himself thou art a lost creature And so it is with a Kingdom When God pleases to depart from a Kingdom he doth then take away Wisdome from the Wise he gives them up to their own Counsels to perverse Counsels he blinds them that they cannot forsee their danger nor see means to help them but they shall take waies as if they intended to destroy
most deadly enemy even to Faith it is dangerous to reason matter of Faith And so in the matters of the Worship of God there 's a great deal of danger Keep to the Word therefore in all your Counsels and labor for sincerity of heart in all your Counsels this is that that makes men miscarry in their Counsels their hearts are byassed with some lust or other and therefore when any thing is spoken to them that is sutable to what they have a mind to that they imbrace and if any thing be spoken to them that is otherwise that they reject Oh! it 's just with God to answer thee according to the Idol that is set up in thy own heart 5. In all thy Counsels Take heed of being put off with some fair shews When the Lord is leaving any yet he will suffer those that give evil Counsel to mix a great many good things with that which is evil As some that will put a few brass shillings into a great bag of money the other is all good currant money yea but here 's some brass shillings put amongst it So sometimes in the midst of a great deal of good Counsel there is a little mixture that may turn all therefore those that would counsel especially the publick affairs they had need have their eyes about them and poise every word and line and examine every particular or otherwise they may quickly come to be asham'd of their own Counsel There are many Rules might further be given 6. God hath promised to direct the humble therefore come with humility in your counsels and be sure in what is right to follow and then you may with the more confidence expect God should help you in other things 7. Consult with indifferent judgment 8. If the thing touch others think what we would have if we were in their case 9. Whether it may not cost too dear though good Consider whether the attaining of it though good may not occasion so much evil as it is not worth it if it be not of present necessity non deliberand de necessariis the rubs attending it may shew it is not good at this time or not thus or not for me They shall be ashamed of their own Counsels When they are come to times of affliction they shall be ashamed of their own Counsels Times of affliction makes men asham'd of what they would not be asham'd of before Jer. 2. 26. Zeph. 3. 11. I remember a notable expression that Sr. Walter Rawleigh hath in his Story When death comes saith he which hates men and destroies men when that comes that 's beleeved But God that loves men and makes men he is not regarded Oh Eloquent Oh! Mighty Death whom none could advise thou art able to perswade That 's thus men that would never be perswaded by any thing else to beleeve that they were not right yet when death appears that can perswade them now afflictions are an evil but how eloquent are afflictions what power have afflictions to perswade men that they were wrong that would not be perswaded by all the arguments in the world before Then they shall be ashamed of their own Counsels Oh! I beseech you let us take heed of this let not us go on headily in our own Counsels till God bring us into misery and then we should be forced to cry out of our own Counsels and be ashamed of them VER 7. As for Samaria her King is cut off as the foam upon the water AS for Samaria her King is cut off as the foam upon the waters Before God threatned that they should be ashamed of their Counsels and what that Counsel was I told you Asham'd of our Counsel we hope not we shall maintain it our King is for us he will venture his life his Kingdom but he will maintain us in our way Your King saith the Prophet he shall be as foam upon the water even the King of Samaria Yea but our King is in a strong Town in Samaria a great City and such a strong City as was able to hold siege for three yeers together and yet the King of Samaria though he had gotten the chief City in the Kingdom to be fully for him and so much victuals and strength as he could hold out for three yeers yet saith the Lord He shall be as the foam upon the Waters As foam The word that is translated Foam sometimes signifies the foam that is in a man that is extreamly angry so you have it in Zach. 1. 2. Oh the King when he was crost he was in a foam Your King that is crost and doth foam in anger when he is crost he shall be as foam upon the water saith God Now the Note that is from hence it is this That ungodly men in their greatest power and rage yet if God comes upon them are nothing but as foam are poor weak creatures that vanish and come to nothing The foam when the waters makes a noise is above it and hath a great shew above the waters but stay a while and it is vanish'd and comes to nothing Your King that rages and is above others and thinks he hath a great deal of power stay a while he comes to nothing The Scripture compares men in their greatest power to things of the greatest vanity there are in Scripture that I 'le mention to you a matter of 19. or 20. several particulars wherein the Scripture compares men in their greatest power unto that which hath nothing but vanity yea there are such expressions in Scripture to set out the meanness vileness and baseness of men in the greatest power that it would make Christians that understand Scripture that is of the same judgment w th their Father with God as he hath reveal'd himself in his Word never to be afraid of the power of men I 'le name them distinctly to you thus First the Scripture sometimes calls even Kings and great ones A meer noise nothing more in Jeremiah 46. 17. Pharaoh King of Aegypt is but a noise That 's the first Secondly They are but as small dust in Isa 29. 5. The multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust Yea Thirdly They are but as chaff in the same place Isa 29. 5. The terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away in an instant Who would be afraid of a noise smal dust and chaff Fourthly They are as nothing in Isa 41. 11. Behold all they that are incensed against thee shall be as nothing Fiftly They are as Tow put a little fire to Tow and it quickly comes to nothing In Isa 1. 31. Sixthly They are as dung in Psal 83. 10. As the dung of the Earth Seventhly They are as straw that is troden for dung in Isa 25. 10. As straw troden for the dunghil Eightly They are compared sometimes to a beast that hath a hook in his nostrils in Isa 37. 20 God will put a
292 Use Do not slight it 293 Obs 4 When men are violent in wickedness God will be violent in his judgments ib. Use Take heed of being violent in the wais of sin 294 Obs 5. In matters of Gods Worship we must hearken to God ib. Obs 6 It is a judgment to have an unsetled spirit 296 Obs 7 Prize the Communion of Saints 298 CHAP. X. VERS I. Obs 1 The Church is compared to a Vine 300 Reasons 1 It hath an unpromising outside ib. 2 It is the most fruitful plant that grows ib. 3 No plant requires so great care ib. 4 It is the most depending creature 301 5 If not fruitful it is most unprofitable ib. 6 It is the emblem of peace 302 Obs 2 Emptiness of professors is a very great evil 303 Reasons 1 'T is unnatural 304 2 'T is a dishonor to their root ib. 3 It frustrates the Lord of all his care ib. 4 There is no blessing upon thy soul ib. 5 If there be Grace it cannot but bear fruit ib. 6 Common gifts shal be taken away 305 7 An empty spirit is fit for the Devil to possess 306 8 God doth not let us sit empty of blessings ib. 9 The Lord hath justly made our Vine bleed for its emptiness ib. 10 The evil of emptiness is great according to the greatness of opportunities ib. Use 1 If it be evil to be empty what an evil is it to bring forth ill Grapes ib. Use 2 Let us prize fruitfulness 307 Obs 3 It is all one to be an empty Christian and to bring forth fruit to ones self 315 Obs 4 When God is spoiling a Nation it is vain for people to think to provide for themselves 317 Obs 5 To encrease our wickedness by Gods blessings is an abominable thing 319 Reasons 1 It is against the ingenuity of a Christian 320 2 Christian Principles are above estate ib. 3 It is against our prayers ib. Obs 6 The love Idolaters have to their Idols is according to that ability they have to shew their love 320 VERSE II Obs 1 Though men strive never so much to maintain what is evil God will break it 326 Obs 2 Though men be convinced of an evil yet if the temptation abide they will fall to it again 327 Obs 3 Superstitious Images and Altars are to be taken away ib. Obs 4 If we give that respect that is due to God to another thing the Lord will destroy it ib. Obs 5. If God break down what is evil let not us set it up ib. Obs 6 We must not break down Images to make up our own broken estates 328 Obs 7 Mens divisions break the neck of what they contend for ib. VERS III. Obs 1 It is a great evil for a people not to have the protection of a right Government 331 Obs 2 It is a great evil not to fear the Lord 332 Obs 3. When men have the countenance of great ones there is little fear of God amongst them ib. Obs 4. The taking away of Kingly power is a punishment for the want of the fear of God 333 Obs 5. The times of Gods wrath forceth acknowledgment from their hearts that fear not God 334 Obs 6 When the heart is humbled it will not put off the cause of evils to other men 335 Obs 7 When God forsakes a people there is nothing can do them good 337 Obs 8 It is just with God to make those things unuseful which sinful people dote upon ib. Obs 9. God can soon change the hearts of people in reference to their King 339 Obs 10 The difference between Gods people and wicked men ib. Obs 11 The stouter creature confidence is the more do they sink when they are crost in their hopes 340 Obs 12 When a carnal heart is knockt off from creature confidence then he despairs ib. VERSE IV. Expounded 361 Obs 1 Carnal hearts in their straits take shifting courses because they have no God to go to 364 Obs 2 It is an evil thing for professors to combine with wicked men 365 Obs 3 There is no trust to wicked mens Oaths and Covenants 365 Obs 4. Breaking Covenant though with wicked men is a great wickedâ—ness ib. Obs 5 Injustice and Oppression is a forerunner of Ruin 372 VERSE V. Obs 1 Those that fear God least are most afraid of any thing else 379 Obs 2 In times of danger we should be most solicitous about the Worship of God 384 Obs 3 Cities that are safe should be sensible of the miseries of others 385 Obs 4 Idolaters that dedicate themselves to Idols are the people of that Idol 387 Obs 5. Idolaters account their Idol worship glorious 391 VERSE VI. Obs 1 Our depending upon men for help is dearly bought 392 Obs 2. It is the fashion of Idolaters to rejoyce much when they get one anothers gods ib. Applied to England ib. Obs 3 Mens own counsels in matters of Religion bring them to shame 396 1 Because it is much regarded ib. 2 God leaves them to folly ib. 3 They provoke God by them 398 Use 1. What to avoid in Counsels 1 False principles ib. 2 Wicked men ib. 3 Self ends ib. 4 Pride and conceitedness ib. 5 Flesh and blood ib. 6 Passion and frowardness ib. Use 2 What we should attend in our counsels 1 Look up to Jesus Christ 399 2 Pray much ib. 3 Let the fear of God be strong 400 4 Keep to the Word of God ib. 5 Be not put off with shews of Reason 401 6 Be humble ib. 7 Consult with an indifferent judgment ib. 8 Do as you would be done by ib. 9 Whether it may not cost too dear though good ib. VERSE VII Obs 1 Vngodly men in their greatest rage are but as foam if God come against them 403 Scripture Expressions touching the vanity of great persons 404 VERS VIII Obs 1 God destroies the glorious Names of Idolatry 406 Obs 2 The nearer a thing comes to the nature of sin the viler it is ib. Obs 3 False worship is the great sinne 407 Obs 4 We may so abuse the creatures that we may turn them into sin it self ib. Obs 5 When any Ordinances of God are abused they are to be but purged but inventions of men are to be destroyed ib. Obs 6 Mans sin brings destruction upon the creatures 408 Obs 7 If it be sad that false worship is neglected how sad is it that true worship is 409 Obs 8 The ruin of Idolatrous places is more pleasing to God than their pomp 410 Obs 9 What men account highly of in matter of worship when the enemy coms in he contemns them ib. Obs 10 God can make an alteration in Cities and Kingdoms 413 Obs 11 It is a great misery to fall into the hands of ones enemies 414 Obs 12 The wrath of God is very dreadful ib. Obs 13 To live in misery is worse than present death 415 Obs 14 The misery of wicked men in affliction is wonderful 416 Obs 15 Desperation is a dreadful thing ib.
times doth not regard Eagles spirits those that sore aloft and fly on high but he doth receive Dove-like spirits such as are of meek and quiet spirits But he shall come as an Eagle swiftly that is upon the prey before it is aware Men flatter themselves when danger is at any distance from them if it be not just upon them then think themselves safe but God can bring evil suddenly and iresistably upon them In Isa 5. 26. He will lift up an Ensign to the Nations from far and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth and behold they shall come with speed swiftly Gualter upon this place applies it to the Turks coming into some part of Germany they were come on a sudden from the uttermost part of Europe yea from Asia and so Spain and Secily and Italy God to punish the contempt of the Gospel brought them suddenly upon them Howsoever the Lord hath delivered us hitherto from forreign Nations we think our selves secure because God hath put work enough into their hands for the present the Danes French Spaniards but how easily is it for the Lord in an instant when there is no fear of them at all to bring them swiftly Secondly All the swiftness and fierceness and quick-sightedness and spirit of an enemy is from the Lord If an enemy be swift in his course and quick-sighted and fierce and hath a strong spirit we are to attribute this from the Lord. Thirdly Wicked men in satisfying their rage and malice they are as Eagles much more should we be in our service we should not be slow if they be to satiâ—fie their rage as Eagles we should imitate them in this to be much more so in the service of God But it follows He shall come as an Eagle against the House of the Lord. Interpreters differ much about this Against the House of the Lord because Hosea prophesied against the ten Tribes therefore Luther and divers others think that this clause must be meant against Judah as if God threatning Israel should say do not you think to escape for the enemy shall come as an Eagle even against the house of the Lord. But we need not strain it so for it may be meant against the ten Tribes notwithstanding this expression upon this ground because they called that place the Eminent place where one of their Calves were set up they call'd it Bethel the House of God and so ironically here the houses of their Idols may be called the House of the Lord because they chose those Houses and Places instead of the House of the Lord. He will come against the House of the Lord that is against that which you account so But I think that is not satisfactory but rather this the Church of Israel though very corrupt yet before their actual devorce is call'd the House of the Lord so that from thence then the note is That God doth not presently cast away a Church so as to unchurch it though they may be guilty of many hainous sins Great sins do not ipso facto do not un-church a Church therefore there should be much patience before any do decline from a Church by way of renouncing it It is a high expression of the priviledg of a Church that it is the House of the Lord wheresoever there is any true Church yea though it be very corrupt But you will say What do you mean by a true Church I take it for the present nothing but this Any company of Saints in body to set up what Ordinance of God they know that 's a Church wheresoever it is and here God dwels here God keeps house and it is good keeping house with God He is worse than an Infidel that provides not for his own house certainly God will provide for his own House Moses was faithful in al the House of God that is in all the Church of God What then though thou dwellest in a poor Cottage so be it thou beest a Member of the Church of God if God give thee this blessing to dwell in his own House you are well enough In Psal 26. 8. Lord I have loved the habitation of thy House and the place where thine Honor dwelleth The Church is not only Gods House but the House wherein the Honor of God dwelleth Princes may have some houses where they may retire to for a time but they have some principal Houses to shew their magnificence and glory and such a house is the Church of God unto the Lord all then that are in the Church especially Officers must behave themselves and be faithful in the Church as in the House of God He will come against the House of the Lord. Though we be Gods House yet the enemies may be suffered to come upon us it will not serve us if we transgress the Covenant Joab was pluck'd from the horns of the Altar and so may we be pluck'd even out of the House of God Gods own House is no security to sin and wickedness It follows Because they have transgressed my Covenant God loves to cleer his Justice and to shew what the cause of the evil is that comes upon us he would have it cleerly charged upon our selves that we may not put it off to Gods Decree that we are predestinated to such and such evils but the Lord hath his time to charge all the evils that comes upon sinners upon themselves Thy destruction is of thy self the bond that is between God and his Church it is his Covenant and all the good or evil of a Church depends upon the Covenant and therefore it was the way alwaies of the people of God when they were far declined from God to return unto him by way of renewing Covenant in Psal 25. 10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to them that keep his Covenant and especially all our good now depends upon the Covenant more than formerly the good of the people of the Jews did because the Lord hath sealed the Covenant now with the blood of Jesus Christ actually which was not so then But for this expression we had it formerly and somewhat was spoken about the opening of the Covenant of the Jews and what kind of Covenant it was but yet not then fully opened and as then I said so still I look at it as a Point that will require a particular Exercise of its self And trespassed against my Law Saith Calvin upon the place further to covince them to shew that it was not through ignorance that they did transgress they could not say Lord what is thy Covenant for saith God I did make it known cleerly in my Law they had it plainly set out in my Law The Heathen can know the mind of God no otherwise but only by looking into the book of the Creature and there the mind of God is written but very darkly they can
see but little of it there I but saith God my people have my Law where my mind is written plainly and they may see it there and know what my Covenant is with them and therefore their sin is so much the greater they have transgressed against my Law The Seventy translate these words They have dealt ungodlily against my Law and the word especially hath reference to the worship of God that is commanded in the Law they have not worshiped me according to my Law for though God looks at every part of his Law yet more especially at that that requires his more immediate worship And in the Hebrew it is they have prevaricated against my Law they have made a shew that they would do what my Law requires but they do quite contrary that 's the propriety of the word in the Hebrew What people is there in the world but will make some shew that they would obey Gods Law no people but say it is fit that they should be obedient to Gods Law what variety of opinions and practices are there among men and yet all will father their opinions and practices upon Gods Law and mark but they do prevaricate in this they pretend one thing but they go quite the contrary way and this is that which God charges his people withal upon which he would send his enemies even an Eagle upon them It follows VER 2. Israel shall cry unto me My God we know thee THE words as they are in the Hebrew are somewhat different from what they are in your books for Israel in your books is in the first place but in the Hebrew it is in the last that is To me they shall cry My God we know thee Israel What difference is this yes the words thus read have more elegancy in them than otherwise and they hint some observations that would hardly be hinted to us as it is in your books as thus If you reade it as it is in your books then it is only a speech of God to them But if you reade it according to the Hebrew they shall cry to me My God we know thee Israel They here seem to put God in mind who they were as if they should say we are Israel who know thee remember we are not strangers to thee They shall cry unto me My God we know thee Israel It 's Israel that cries to thee Oh my God! Or as if they should put God in mind of their Father Israel in whom their confidence was They shall cry to me My God we know thee Israel Oh remember our Father Israel and deal graciously with us for the sake of our Father Israel Just like those in Matth. that would cry We have Abraham to our Father so here this people would cry in their cries in the time of their affliction they would cry to God that they had Israel to their Father we have reference to Israel who did so prevail as a Prince with God and therefore we hope we shall fare the better for Israel Or thus They shall cry to me My God we know thee Israel That is we know thee to be the God of Israel we have known how thy waies have been in former times for the good of thine Israel and Lord remember how thou hast wrought for thine Israel heretofore and work now for us in the same manner thus there is a great deal in this word Israel if you set it in the last place in the verse more than if you set it in the beginning From hence the Notes are these First That in affliction men see their need of God So the Chaldae paraphrase upon this place Alwaies when I bring straights upon them then they pray before me and say Now we see plainly that we have no other God besides thee Oh! redeem us because we are thy people Israel so that 's the meaning Secondly Even Hypocrites and the vilest Wretches that are in the time of their distress will claim interest in God and cry to him even those that have departed most from him will be ready to claim interest in him in their distress What an impudency was it for this people that had so grosly departed from God that had gone so against their light and yet they will come boldly and claim their interest in God in the time of their affliction Truly we see the same spirit in men at this very day the most wicked and vile ungodly man or woman that is yet will be ready in afflictions to claim interest in God My God I appeal to you in this Congregation if one should go from one end of the Congregation and speak particularly to every one and ask but this question Do you hope that God is your God Every one would be ready to say Yes we hope he is This is the impudency of mens hearts that will take liberty to go on in a way of rebellion and fighting against God all their lives and yet in the time of their distress claim interest in God Thirdly That knowledg and acknowledgment of God in an outward formal way is that which Hypocrites think will commend them much to God in time of affliction that by which they shall have favour from Him because they have made some profession of God We know thee as if they should say Lord we were not as others that had forsaken thee we continued Israel still we did not turn to be Heathens It is very hard for mens spirits to be taken off from trusting in formality in outward worship we are all Christians we are not turned Heathens so they shall call to me My God we know thee Israel we continue Israel still Oh! how sweet and comfortable is it then to have a true interest in God in the time of affliction to be able to say in truth Lord we know thee and blessed be thy Name Lord we have known thee we have had experience of thy goodness and faithfulness mercy love and tender compassion towards us we have known thee an infinite al sufficient good thou hast satisfied our souls with thy love the light of thy countenance it hath been the joy of our hearts and blessed be the time that ever we knew thee Oh blessed be the time that ever the Lord made himself known to us we can say Lord we have known thee and therefore now Lord have mercy upon us Oh let us all learn to make more of our interest in God and to labor to know Him more and more that we may have this comfort in our afflictions to be able to say in truth Oh Lord thou art our God and we have known thee If Hypocrites think it to be so great a comfort that they are Israel Oh what is it then to be a true Israelite in whose heart is no guile Fourthly Degenerate children they think to have favour for the sake of their godly parents We have known thee Israel Children should imitate
follow it is accounted by God as we brought the evil on purpose upon our selves Surely they set not up silver and gold on intention to destroy themselves but because destruction doth necessarily follow therefore God accounts it done on purpose in Jer. 7. 18. in Pro. 8. 36. All them that hate me love death Surely no man loves death but when you do cast off the instruction of wisdom you do as mnch as if you should say You love death as here that they might be cut off It follows VER 5. Thy Calf O Samaria hath cast thee off THY Calf O Samariah He calls the Idol a calf by way of contempt But why is it called the Calf of Samaria It was not set up in Samaria There is two Calves only that we reade of and yet here it is call'd the Calf of Samaria The reason is this that Samaria was the chief City and because the Calf was by the power and riches and countenance of the chief City of the Land maintained therefore it is call'd the Calf of Samaria Where that 's corrupted the whol Land wil quickly be corrupted where that stands right it goes well w th the whol Land that 's the reason why the Adversaries seek to corrupt and overthrow our chief Citie As all did depend upon what Samaria did therefore the corruption of false worship is attributed to Samaria it is thy Calf Oh Samaria And therefore if God had not moved the hearts of the People of this City but we had brought Popery in it might have been said it was the Popery of London and whereas on the other side if God please to work their spirits right to go on to the end the children not yet born may have cause to bless this Citie and say This is the Reformation that we may bless London for It hath cast thee off Hath cast thee off from me so some have it But rather as you have it in your books Thy Calf hath cast thee off Whence note That though Idolaters promise to themselves safety and protection by their Idols yet they will leave them at last All you that go on in the waies of sin know that those waies of sin of yours will leave you in the lurch at the last as they say the Devil leaves the Witches when they come to the prison when Judas went to the Scribes and Pharisees in the anguish of his spirit and cast down the money and said I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood What 's that to us say they see thou to that Therfore the best way is to cast off our sin and wickedness first But God will not do thus God will not cast off his People in the time of trouble and when our unbeleeving hearts do think that God will cast us off in the time of trouble we make God an Idol as if God would do as the Idols did cast us off We may in Gods Cause be brought into straights but God will never cast us off in them when we are ready to think our selves to be utterly forsaken in straights then God may be working the greatest good for us we have a most notable Scripture for that in Isa 49. 13 and 14. verses Sing Oh Heavens and be joyful Oh Earth and break forth into singing Oh Mountains for God hath comforted His People and will have mercy upon His afflicted But mark Zyon said the Lord hath forsaken me They were in a singing condition and God calls the Heavens to sing and the Earth to be joyful and the Mountains to break forth into singing because of so great a work that God was making for His People but Zyon said The Lord hath forsaken me And so it is with particular souls they are ready to say the Lord hath forsaken me but God will not do so Mine anger is kindled against them When wicked men are brought into the greatest straits then Gods wrath is hottest and then also Conscience belks and burns most hot as mens countenances change red and pale sometimes with anger so it is said here that even the countenance of God grow red and pale with His anger against this people Though superstitious men may think that outward pompous worshipping pleases God most yet we see here that it doth stir up the anger of God so that God grows even pale against them with anger How long will it be ere they attain to innocency Mens hearts are stubborn in their own waies they will not be taken off wicked men will be true to their own principles there is a stubborn constancy in evil as well as a gracious constancy in good How long will it be Again secondly God is very patient a long time Then Thirdly Continuence in sin is no excuse but an aggravation of sin to make it grievous to God when God chastises us we are ready to cry How long Lord Will he reretain his anger for ever Know that our continuance in sin is as great a burden to Gods Spirit he cries out when will they be made clean when shall it once be and in Jer. 4. 14. ver Oh Jerusalem wash thine heart from wickedness that thou maiest be saved how long shall thy vain thoughts lodg within thee Ere they attain to innocency The words are He cannot attain that is he is so deeply engaged that he cannot attain to innocency when men are engaged in evil waies they cannot get out Take heed of engagements in that which is evil Secondly If by custom and engagement in evil we have no power to get out this will be no excuse to us In 2 Pet. 2. 14. They have eyes full of adultry and they cannot cease to sin This is the aggravation of sin no excuse A learned man of late hath an excellent Note upon this They cannot bear innocency and indeed according to the Hebrew this may as well be added for explication for in the Hebrew there is nothing else but this They cannot innocency the word attain is not in the Hebrew and it may very well sute with the time wherein Hosea did prophesie and the meaning is this They cannot bear with those who will not joyn with them but will go to Jerusalem to worship and this provokes the Spirit of God against them because they cannot bear those that would seek to free themselves from defilements in the Worship of God there is nothing in the world wherein men cannot less bear one with another than in dissentions about the worship of God and commonly the Nocent party is the most bitter against the Innocent as the Lutherans they were worse in their waies than the Calvinists specially in the point of superstition but they were a great deal more bitter against the Calvinists than the Calvinists were against them it was an expression that Calvin hath Though Luther saith he should call me Devil yet I would honor him as a Servant of Jesus Christ The
of pains about their false worship Those that sow they must be abroad in the cold and wind Idolaters were willing to take pains and go through many difficulties for the furtherance of their false worship Let not us be sluggish then in the true Worship of our God let us be willing to pass through many difficulties to further the service of our God Secondly Sowing is a labor without any present profit coming in by it the benefit of the labor it lies in expectation for the future Idolaters are content to sow though they gain nothing by their labor yet in expectation of somewhat hereafter We are presently weary of a little labor except we find somewhat coming in presently we cannot wait for the blessing of the former and latter rain upon our endeavours we must be alwaies reaping or else we are wearied and discouraged Idolaters would work hard though they get nothing for the present how much more should we labor for God in expectation of the harvest that God hath provided Thirdly Sowing it is a work for the maintaining of the succession of provision for one Generation to another Idolaters they labor to keep up their false worship for the posterity that is coming after they are not content to enjoy it themselves all the while they live but they take a course to have those they leave behind them to enjoy it when they are gone Thus we should do and great reason we have to do thus in the true Worship of God not think it enough to enjoy it our selves but to take al waies that possibly we can that we may leave our posterity to enjoy it that we may sow for posterity as well as for our selves that we may leave a stock of provision for our children afterwards Through Gods mercy our forefathers did so and we have reapt the harvest of their seed and through their endeavors we have enjoyed much of this Worship of God and the Truths of God let us likewise sow for those that are coming after Fourthly Sowing is a work that must be done in its season or it is in vain Idolaters they will observe their seasons their fit times for the furtherance of their false worship much more should we do for the Worship of God We have had a fair season and we have seemed to be very busie the Lord grant we do not sow the wind as it follows in the next words They have sown to the wind This is a proverbial speech that signifies the taking a great deal of pains to little purpose As a man that should go abroad in the fields and spread his hands about and take pains and yet hath nothing but air in his hands The Wind is an empty creature in respect of things that are sollid therefore the Scripture doth often make use of this creature to signifie the vanity of the labors the hopes and endeavors of wicked men you shall find these several expressions in Scripture tending to this purpose as the Laboring for the wind Eccles 5. 16. Secondly to â—eed upon the wind Hos 12. 1. Thirdly to bring forth the wind Isa 26. 18. And fourthly to inherit the wind Prov. 11. 29. And fiftly here in the text sowing to the wind Many people do nothing all their lives time but sow the wind they labor and toil but what comes of it it is no good account that we can give to God of our time to say that we have taken a great deal of pains we may take pains and yet sow the wind Who are those that sow the wind First Men that spend their thoughts and strength about things no way profitable to themselves or others those sow the wind those that do with a great deal of earnestness do just nothing or what they do is but a trifle many Scholers study night and day they tire themselves with reading and musing and writing and yet they are no way useful either their studies have been in useless things â—aking among rubbish and lumber or else they know not how to make use of their reading and learning and indeed it is a pittiful object to behold to behold one that hath been all his daies a great Studient and hath beat his brains and rose early and gone to bed late grutch'd the very time of his meat and yet he is a useless man in the place where he is he hath no use at all of all his studies he is of no service to Church or Common-wealth Here 's a man that hath all his daies sown to the wind Secondly All those who take pains and are at great cost in superstitious worship all their intentions that they have to honor God they come to nothing it 's but a sowing to the wind and this is that which is here especially meant They sow the wind All Idolatrous worshippers that take much pains and are at great cost they do but sow the wind How many Papists have we that dares not for their lives but rise at their hours that they have vowed to rise at midnight to their beads or very early spend many hours every day at their beads wear out their bodies by their fasting by their watching deny themselves the use of the creatures wear sackcloath lie very hard tire their bodies by pilgrimage forsake their revenues that that their progeniters had left them vow perpetual virginity shut themselves up in Cloisters what a deal of labor and toil is here to the flesh and all this with conscienciousness all this with a desire to honor God and to afflict themselves for their sins And yet this not having warrant from God being a will-worship all this is but sowing the wind they lose al their labor cost and charge and all their thoughts and devotions they are all lost Thirdly Such as are formal in the true Worship of God as content themselves in the outward part of Gods Worship having no power nor life of godliness in their service they perform You have many that do things out of custom content themselves in the deed done dare not for their lives neglect Prayer not one morning nor evening nor at other times and are often with Gods People in fasting or coming to hear the Word but yet all this while being but formal they not having the life and power of godliness in these duties they do but sow the wind they lose all their labor and when they shall come upon their sick-beds and death-beds and desire comfort from what they have done they shall find nothing but the wind to feed upon all will be turned into wind and they will have no sollid comfort for their souls to feed upon in the day of their distress Fourthly Those men sow the wind who do all that they do out of vain glory in hypocrisie to set up themselves among others spend a long time in prayer hath admirable gifts in
irresistable evils and wil cause heart-quakes at last Great is the power of the whirlwind the Scripture sets it out as very great in 1 Kings 19. 11. A strong wind thâ—â— rent the mountains and tore in pieces the rocks overturned the mountains by the roots Job 28. 9. this it is that breaks the Ceders Sabelicos reports that upon a time Cambyse's Soldiers being at dinner in a sandy place there rises up a whirlwind and drives the sand upon them so that it covered them and choaks them al And yet what 's the wind but many vapours being put together and yet Oh the mighty strength that there is in them By the way this meditation may be raised here What shal the addition of many such weak things as vapors are come to such a mighty strength Oh then what 's the strength of the infinite God unto which nothing can be added Ad many vapors together and it causes strong winds that rends up the Mountains by the roots if many weak things put together I say come to that strength what 's the strength of an infinite God unto which no strength can be added But observe out of the words Just with God it is that those that sow the wind in all the former regards those six particulars that were named that they should reap the whirlwind should be brought into trouble and vexation miserable and unremedable distresses you that spend your time about trifles when as God sets you in the world upon work of great consequence it is just with God that you should have horror upon your spirits hereafter when God shall make you to see how you have spent that time upon which eternity depended upon sowing the wind all your daies And you that spend your time in false worship and so think to put off God in your false worship it 's just with God that you should reap the whirlwind And so you that spend your strength and time in formality of worship and never sanctifying the Name of God it were just with God that horror and distress and trouble should fill your souls And so you that aim at your own ends and vain glory when as you should set up the Name of God in your waies it 's just with God that miserable horror should possess you How many have lain upon their sick-beds and death beds and cried out Oh I have done all in hypocrisie and so horror of conscience hath been as a whirlwind unto their souls And so carnal polititians that have left God and sought to provide for themselves and others that by sinful courses have sought to deliver themselves out of straights the Lord many times brings them into most dreadful straights and the worm of conscience gnawing upon them and they have found by experience that they have reapt the whirlwind And indeed we have begun of late to corrupt the Worship of God and were carried on by wicked devilish carnal policy How did we sow the wind and the Lord hath now made us in great measure to reap the whirlwind Job saith the whirlwind comes from the South but indeed the truth is we have had whirlwinds coming from the North and West and may yet have whirlwinds coming from all parts of the Kingdom For what hath the Land done of late but sown the whirlwind Let us not wonder though God doth at this day speak unto us out of the whirlwind as once he did to Job Yea but many they say That that we have sown it hath some substance in it it is not only the wind for we see that it comes to a blade it comes forth Yea but saith God here It shall not bring forth a stalk I beseech you observe the words that follow It shall not bring forth a stalk But it may be a stalk may come forth I but saith God It shall be crushed before it comes to the bud But what if it doth bud it shall be blasted it shall not come to the meal I but what if it come to the meal Then strangers shall devour it saith God so it follows They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind it shal not grow to a stalk or to the bud or there shall be no meal or strangers shall devour it A most elegant expression it is to shew Gods watching over an apostatizing people for evil and to shew that in whatsoever they may seem to prosper for a while yet at the last the Curse of God will be their ruin Obs First Though sometimes Gods Curse is upon wicked actions so that nothing comes of them yet at other times they may be suffered to seem to prosper to have some degrees of growth God may let them come to a stalk or to the bud or to the meal this notes the possibility It may come to the stalk possibly to the bud possibly to the meal but then all shall come to nothing My brethren we have found it so by experience as it was here in this people for it was spoken of their wicked Idolatry and their carnal policy And hath it not been so with our Adversaries some of their actions God hath crush'd them presently and then they have grown up to a blade and they have seemed to have meal in them but then the Curse of God hath come upon them Oh! the uncertainty the vanity of the comforts of ungodly men When can they bless themselves in any one project When it comes up to the blade No saith God it shal not come to a stalk God watches there that it seldom comes so far Well but then will they bless themselves if it hath gotten up to a stalk No not then neither God curses them But if it bud now may they not bless themselves Oh! our projects begin to bud and they thrive bravely may they not bless themselves now No God watches them there and curses them in the very bud I but what if it comes to meal that it 's ready now to come to a full issue and ready even to come to be eaten now that they come to feed upon their projects and they think all is sure No the curse of God is upon them there strangers shall devour it Blessed be that God who hath followed our Adversaries this way How often have they blest themselves and when they have had one design this will do it Oh how finely it works and perhaps they get the very advantage that they themselves desire and think all is well and then Gods Curse comes upon them We are my brethren too unbeleeving we are ready to fear if we hear but of any thriving of any plot and project of our Adversaries if any stalk doth appear and especially if they begin to bud Oh! then we think they ripen we do not look up to the great God who doth take delight in blasting the projects of the Adversaries as the Blessing of God is upon the good actions
outwardly better than themselves Oh! this was exceeding grievous to the heart of God and thence the Note is this That it is a very great evil when wicked men seem to prosper a little in their outward condition more than Gods People for those that are the people of God to begin to think that therefore those wicked ones are in a better condition than themselves this is an evil that doth go very much to the heart of God and very ordinarily it is in some degree or other among the People of God I appeal to your consciences in this very thing though at some time your souls have had sweet refreshing from the Lord in the enjoyment of communion with him but yet when Gods hand hath been out against you when you look'd upon others though you knew them to be wicked and ungodly yet they have prospered their Ships came home safely and richly and their trading goes on Do you not sometimes find such rising of your thoughts within you as if so be that these men were in a â—etter condition than your selves Oh! if you have but the least thought rising that way know it is that which doth exceedingly grieve the Spirit of God by which you are seal'd that because they have a few loaves more than you though you have all the riches of God and Christ though you have the inheritance of Saints yet that you should think them in a better condition than you are in As a child if he sees some stranger have a bit of meat better than he hath he should think presently that his father loves the stranger better than him this the father takes ill How ordinary is it upon this ground for those that have profest themselves to be godly rather to withdraw themselves from the afflicted Saints and seek correspondence with wicked men that prosper God would have his people see an al sufficiency in himself in their sadest condition so as they need not go out from him for help but still wait upon him and keep his way the Lord by his Prophet rebukes Jehoshaphat in 2 Chron. 19. 2. for loving the ungodly and helping them that hate the Lord. And is there not as great an evil to seek the love of the wicked and ungodly and help from them that hate the the Lord certainly the evil is very great it argues very little love that we have to God it charges God of unfaithfulness as if though he hath engaged himself to his people yet he would leave them in the lurch this encourages the wicked in their wicked waies and it charges God with that which is accounted one of the most vile things among men What is accounted one of the vilest things among men that a man should set another men about his work and then leave them in the lurch when they meet with troubles in their work It is as vile a thing as any is among men and we should look upon such men as should imploy others in any service and then leave them to shift for themselves in their straights we should look upon them as vile men unworthy to be dealt withal Now what would we but charge God with this even that which makes men to be most vile And this besides is a most desperaee folly so to do for when thou art thinking to provide for thy self by correspondence with ungodly men it may be thou wert just at the very point of deliverance at that very time it is Gods usual way to come to help his people when they are in the greatest straights and therefore it is the greatest folly that when we are in straights then to think of shifting courses so that then we must forsake our own mercy in thinking of shifting courses in straights above all times Christians should take heed of thinking of shifting courses because then above all times those are the times for God to shew his mercy and just then Wilt thou then be forsaking him Oh! it is that which should lie neer to your hearts if any of you have been guilty of this let but the Word of God bring this upon your spirits this day Oh! how do I know but at that very time when I took such a shifting course that was the very time that God was about to do my soul good and of doing good for my body and yet then I deprived my self of good that goodness and mercy of God It follows yet Now will I gather them This gathering among Interpreters hath reference either to the Nations whom they sought unto or to themselves I will gather them that is That Nation or I will gather you If to the Nation then the scope is thus Notwithstanding you hire the Nations yet I will gather them against you they shall be strengthened against you with the same money that you hyre them withal I will turn it against you and now you have provided fair for your selves have you not Many times when we think to provide best for our own peace we make the greatest provision for our own ruin God many times makes people work their own wo and ruin themselves and there is no means that doth more fully and directly tend to undo them than what they do themselves and thus God over rules the counsels and thoughts of men What a vain thing is it to plot against God when God can turn mens Arrows against themselves No men are greater instruments of Gods wrath many times against us than we are our selves yea and than those are that we seek most to correspond withal and it is just with God it should be so that if we wil leave him to seek correspondence with wicked men it is just with God that of all men in the world those should be the men that should be made the Executioners of Gods wrath upon us But now if it be to Israel I will gather them among the Nations Then the word here gathered is sometimes used for gathering dead corps in an Army when they are slain in Battel You go and think to have the Nations but you shall be as a company of dead corps in an Army and lie in heaps there But I find Calvin hath a further Note upon it and takes it as having reference to the former verse This people are wild and run up and down this way and that way to shift for themselves but I will gather them that is I will keep theâ— in so the words likewise may signifie I will keep them in I will gather-in their spirits there shall be some work of prudence or other to keep them in I will keep them from those waies wherein they would presently have ruined themselves People run many times headily on in evil waies that would certainly ruin them but when Gods time for the execution of his wrath is not yet come the Lord restrains them and keeps them in from such waies though their hearts be set upon such waies
of undoing themselves yet they shall not go on in them I will pity them who cannot pity themselves But then it follows in which the greatest difficulty of the verse is And they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the King of Princes This hath more darkness in it and yet upon the searching into it we shall see it cleer and many excellent Truths cleered from it There are these Five Things to be enquired after for the opening of these words First Who is this King of Princes that is here meant Secondly What was this burden of the King of Princes Thirdly Why doth he call this the burden Or rather thirdly thus When was this threat fulfilled that they should sorrow for the burden of the King of Princes Fourthly Why doth he call it the burden of the King of Princes Fiftly What 's meant by sorrowing a little These five things will cleer the text Indeed we cannot see the full meaning of the holy Ghost without understanding somewhat of these five First Who is meant by the King of Princes We are here to understand the King of Assyria because he was a great King whose Nobles were Princes and we find this both by Scripture and likewise by humane Story in 2 King 18. 24. How then wilt thou turn away the face of one Captain of the least of my Masters Servants And in Isa 36. 13. Hear the word of the great King the King of Assyria And how wilt thou turn away the face of the Captains of the least of my Masters Servants His Captains and Nobles were as Princes And so Josephus in his 1. Book 10. Chapter as I remember saith That at the time before Sodoms destruction the Assyrians were Lords of All Asia so that the Assyrian was a great King and here called the King of Princes Thus God suffers his enemies to grow great in the world an Assyrian a dog a wicked wretch under the curse of God and yet is he the great King even the King of Princes as Luther hath such an expression concerning the Empire of Turkie it is saith he but one crum that the great Master of the family doth cast to dogs What are your estates then Certainly though you be never so great in the world what 's any of your estates to the whol Turkish Empire and if that be but a crum that the great Master of the family casts to a dog you should never then bless your selves in the enjoyment of a little of the world But though the Assyrian may be called the King of Princes in regard of his power over some great men yet most properly our Lord Jesus Christ he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in Revel 19. 16. and he hath on his Vesture and on his Thigh a name written KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS Why was it written upon his Vesture and why upon his Thigh Vpon his Vesture That is he will appear openly to be the King of Kings there was a time when Christ seem'd to be as it were a servant under the dominion of Antichrist but now his name shall be upon his Vesture openly and then upon his Thigh that is upon his lower parts his Church Militant it shall have the Kingly power among them for its good so as they shall be above the Nations according to the Prophesie in Isa 60. 13. He will make the place of his feet glorious the Church in their low condition He doth not say he will have the name upon his Crown but upon his Thigh that is upon his lower parts upon his people that were in a low condition he will make the very place of his feet to be glorious even there shall be written The King of Kings and Lord of Lords But Secondly What was this burden This burden was those Taxes that were upon the people whereby they maintained their correspondence with this King of Assyria correspondence with wicked men it is burdensom for the the more they are sought to and yeelded to ordinarily the more burdensom they are and whatsoever they do for you for a while it is indeed to serve their own ends and this they brought upon themselves for they would go to Assyria and they found the Assyrians to be burdensom to them When men will follow their own waies and think to have more ease in their own way than in Gods it is just they should find those waies to be burdensom to them I am perswaded there is not one in this Congregation but hath found the experience of this when you think your waies will bring more ease to you than Gods waies have not you found your waies burdensom But thirdly When was this fulfilled If we would know the meaning of the Prophet we must refer to the History of the Kings and in 2 Kings 15. 19. there you may find when this Prophesie was fulfil'd Phul the King of Assyria came against the Land and Menahem gave Phul a thousand talents of silver that his hand might be with him to confirm the Kingdom in his hand And Menahem exacted the money of Israel even of all the mighty men of wealth of each man fifty sheckles of silver to give to the King of Assyria There was one burden And then in the 29. ver In the daies of Pekah King of Israel came Tigâ—ath-Pileâ—er King of Assyria and took Jion and Abel-Beth maachah and Jauoah and Kedesh and Hazor and Gilead and Galilee all the Land of Nephtalie and carried them captive to Assyria There was a further burden But yet the whol Land was not it was only the other side of Jordan at these two times was this Scripture fulfil'd Fourthly Why doth the holy Ghost say The burden of the King of Princes In speaking of the burden that was upon the people he doth give the Assyrian such an Epithite Why it seems to be a dimunition of their burden rather than any aggravation for he speaks of sorrowing but a little as if it should not be so great a burden as afterwards should be upon them noâ—ing thus That they were burdened a while with Taxations from a great King but they should afterwards come under the power to be at the wils lusts of al kind of base people of the very dregs of people And it is not so great an evil to be under the power of men of rank and quality no not under their oppression as to be under the oppression of many people of people that are of very mean quality and condition the very refuse of a Nation to come to be under their power it 's a great deal worse And by the way this Note it should teach us even those that are of mean breeding and whose lives have been very low in the world of mean condition if they be put into place of any power and Authority to take heed how they behave themselves for their oppression
will be the most grievous to an ingenuous spirit that possibly can be And there is a great deal of danger in them to grow more oppressing than other men that were born to greatness and their oppression wil be so intolerable as wil bring the greatest confusion that possibly can be if that be not well lookt to And therefore here when he would lessen the burden saith he you shall sorrow a little for tht burden of the King of Princes But what is it You shall sorrow a little They complained but saith God what do you complain of this this is but a little burden to that which you are like to have there 's another manner of burden a coming for you than this and from hence the Notes are these First When sinners have brought trouble upon themselves they will complain much exceedingly troubled but when they complain they are to consider that what they feel it is but a little to what 's coming after There are burdens upon you and you are complaining of these burdens as if so be that they were the greatest that ever were upon people Oh sinner consider of this when you are complaining of your burdens know that these burdens that are upon you may prove to be but very trifles in comparison of what 's like to come upon you afterwards for that 's the scope of the holy Ghost here They shall sorrow a little for this burden as if he should say There is other manner of sorrow coming after and so it did for afterwards the Assyrians carried them all away captives and the basest of all the people came even to set their feet upon them and therefore saith the holy Ghost This is but a little I speak to those that make not up their peace with God and do not upon those burdens that are upon them return to God As the mercies of God to his Saints that which now they have is but a little they may be said to rejoyce a little for the mercy that now they have And so the burdens upon the ungodly they are but a little but if they return not to God upon what they feel God hath greater burdens than those are that they so vex and fret under Secondly Taxes and Impositions upon mens estates are but a little burden in comparison of being brought under the power of the Enemy Though there be sore Taxes upon you as here there was fifty shekels of silver laid upon every man that was able but those Taxes are but little burdens in comparison of being given up to the power of the Enemy they would lay burdens indeed upon us burdens upon our Consciences all our Estates all our Lives all our Liberties whatsoever we are or have must be under their mercy now we are troubled but then their little finger will be more heavy than the loins that now we find to be upon us although we dare not say but some may find burdens very sore upon them for the present A third Note is this That as Taxes are a burden but a little in comparison so the carrying of our Brethren into captivity Though we enjoy our Estates our selves yet if God laies his hand upon any of our Brethren though in remote parts of the Kingdom Oh we should account this to be a burden As not only their Taxations was a burden but the carrying away of their Brethren that were beyond the River If there were no other sin among us it were just with God to bring the Enemy upon us and then we should find that there were other manner of burdens But there is another burden that we are not sensible enough of and that is the captivity of our Brethren in the remote parts of this Land Oh! how little sensible are we of it because we feel it not our selves The fourth Note from hence is this That it's Gods mercy when we are running on to our utter ruin not to suffer us to plung our selves irrecoverably into misery but to bring lesser evils upon us that by them we may come to bethink our selves and if it be possible to prevent greater You shall sorrow a little I will not undo you presently but return to me or else you are utterly undone but this is my Mercy I wil bring afflictions upon you by piece-meal and if you do not return to me then you shall be utterly lost for so this people were they were carried away captive and never returned to this very day Oh! doth God come to you in your family or person or estate Oh! let us consider of this And this is the last note from it The consideration of little burdens which is upon us to what might be should cause us to turn to God it should break our hearts and cause us to seek the face of God that we may prevent greater evils that otherwise will certainly come the Lord in his dealing towards us seems as if he were loth to lose us and that this Nation should perish Oh that this might work kindly upon our hearts to prevent greater evils that we might not be made a spectacle of the wrath of God to all the Nations that are round about us And yet further The words translated They shall sorrow a little are by some translated They have begun a little for the burden of the King of Princes And so in Deut. 2. 25. there is the word that comes from the same root That that they have felt it is but the beginning of what is like to come my wrath is let out upon them in some degree already and do not you see it how it is begun to burn upon them and that which was lately before your eyes by that you may come to beleeve my threatnings Gods judgments against wicked men are the beginnings of further judgments In Deut. 32. 42. I will make my Arrows drunk with blood and my sword shall devour flesh and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives from the beginning of revenge upon the enemy All this is but from the beginning of revenges when I come so terribly upon them it is but the beginning of revenges We are ready to think if there be miserable slaughters Surely God hath been revenged enough upon this people No all this may prove but the begining of revenges I may say so concerning our selves Though the Lord many times hath made the sword drunk with blood yet it may prove to be but the beginning of revenges truly we cannot say that from the time that these Judgments have been upon us that we have begun scarce to come in to turn to God yea thâ—â—â—ate of the Kingdom is far worse than it was at the beginning of this heavy stroke that is upon us In Matth. 24. 7 8. Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars and Nation should rise against Nation and Kingdom against Kingdom and there shall be famines and pestilences and
earth-quakes all these should be but the beginning of sorrows Secondly God expects from men that though they be not sensible of his threats yet when he begins with them in way of execution of his wrath they should begin a little Oh! it were well with us if we did prevent Gods heavy wrath by our repentance Numbers 16. 46. Moses said unto Aaron Take a Censer and put fire therein from off the Altar and put on Incense and go quickly to the Congregation and make an atonement for them for there is wrath gone out from the Lord the plague is begun Oh! how should we all make hast we cannot say only the plague is begun the plague of Civil War which is the greatest of all kind of plagues but it hath gone on a great way But to proceed VER 11. Because Ephraim hath made many Altars to sin Altars shall be unto him to sin IT was the Charge of God in Scripture That there should be but one Altar for Sacrifice and there was another Altar that afterwards was made for Incense and no further in Deut. 12. 3. and 5. ver There we have the Charge of God that there should be none other made You shall overthrow their Altars and break their pillars and burn their groves with fire and you shall hew down the graven Images of their gods and destroy the names of them out of that place c. And then Take heed to thy self that thou offer not thy burnt offering in every place that thou seest but in the place which the Lord shall chuse c. And in Deut. 27. 5. Thou shalt build an Altar to the Lord thy God an Altar of stones thou shalt not lift up an Iron tool upon them And according to which Joshua did in Joshua 8. 30. and hence in Joshua 22. 11. Now for the Altar of God I shall first shew you a little the meaning of them and then the reason why God would have but this one Altar in Exod. 20. 24. there is an injunction of God for the Altar of Sacrifice An Altar of earth thou shalt make unto me and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offering c. Here observe that That when God would have an Altar made for sacrifice it must be but an Altar of earth but if it should be of stone Take heed that thou liftest not up a tool upon it Why one would think that to carve and paint the stones and do any thing to make it brave would do better than to have the stones rough No saith God whatsoever you may think that to make my Altar brave by carving of it and painting it If you do but lift up a tool upon it you polute my Altar all mans devices in the worship of God though they be never so pompous they do but polute Gods Worship And they must not go up upon steps quite contrary to our high Altars that their nakedness be not discovered therein Noting that when we come into the presence of God we should take heed of our spiritual nakedness and the pride and vanity of our spirits in prayer God would have them make an Altar so as they might not go up upon steps lest their nakedness should be discovered But now in Exod. 27. 1 2. there you shall find an Altar of Shittim wood overlaid with Brass you will say Why was the first with earth and the other with brass The reason was because that the one was to be made when they were in an unsetled condition and the other to be made afterwards when they were in a more stated condition than formerly and that it might endure a long time But mark it must be according to Gods direction except God doth reveal that it should be of Shittim wood and overlaid with brass they were not to do it And then the second Altar was the Altar of burnt Incense and that you have in Exod. 30. 1 2 3. verses and that was to be overlaid with pure Gold that of brass it was because there was sin offerings to be offered upon it but now the Altar of Incense it was the Altar that was just before the Vail against the Mercy-seat where there was only Incense offered which was to signifie the Intercession of Jesus Christ presenting his Merits and the Prayers of all his people to the Father the prayers of the Saints are compar'd to Incense and there 's many things observable about the Altar of God it is said that there should be four horns and in Revel chap. 9. ver 13. I heard a voice from the four horns of the Golden Altar which is before God Now Saint John speaks of after-times that should be he heard a voice from the four horns of the Altar that is from all the prayers of the Saints that were in the four corners of the earth there came a voice from them all and did sound and did great things in the world Certainly my Brethren the prayers of Gods Saints in all the corners of the world is that that makes the world ring It was a Speech of a learned man If there be but one sigh come from a gracious heart it fills the ears of God so that God hears nothing else nay that 's observable in Revel 8. 3. about this Altar of Incense And another Angel came and stood at the Altar having a golden Censer and there was given unto him much Incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all Saints upon the golden Altar which was before the Throne Thus we see that in our time we are to make use of this golden Altar that is before the Throne all our prayers are to be offered up upon that which was a Type of Jesus Christ and our prayers except they be mingled with the Incense which Christ did offer himself upon the golden Altar cannot be accepted and likewise that 's very observable about it that we reade in Exod. 30. 3. that there was a Crown of Gold round about it to typifie the Intercession of Christ and the prayers of the Saints you may see by this that Christs Intercession and the prayers of the Saints that came from faithful hearts are accounted the very glory of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ accounts it his dignity and glory to make Intercession for his People and to take the poor prayers of his People and present them to his Father he makes account that his Crown is set upon his head when you exercise your faith upon Jesus Christ that Christ might present your prayers with his Intercession to the Father then you set the Crown upon Jesus Christs head but when you think to be heard your selves and do not exercise your faith upon Christ you do as it were take off the Crown from the head of Jesus Christ And that 's very observable the difference between this Altar that was here enjoyn'd to be made by Moses and so was afterwards made and the Altar that we
further prove to be of great use to us never argue thus Why what hurt is there in it is it not very comely I cannot think but it may do a great deal of good these arguments are weak arguments in matters of Worship but to all these Arguments we must answer Is it written As Christ answered the Devil and his temptations it was enough to say it was written thus and thus So if you can but bring a word written against it and if you can put them unto it to shew what they would have you to do let them shew it where it is written in Exod. 39. we find in that chapter at least ten times it is said they did according to what the Lord had commanded Moses and in the conclusion of the chapter Moses blessed the people the people are blessed when in the matters of Worship they keep unto what is commanded And again As we must not make what we think the rule for worship so neither the Opinions of Learned men nor Custom nor Antâ—quity must be the rule of our Worship but what 's written I have written to them the great things of my Law they must keep to that whatsoever use we may make now of the Opinions of Antients and the like yet if the Antients themselves were alive they would abhor the use that many make of their quotations Cyprian in one of his Epistles saith We must not look what this man or that man that were before us he speaks of his predecessors what he did or what he taught but what he that was before all namely Christ who alone is the Way the Truth and the Life And so Augustin hath another Speech to the same effect speaking of the Antients of learned men saving all due respect that is due to them yet for us to think that we may not cast out even reject from their writings some things because they were learned men this must not be admitted for saith he such a one I 'le be in respect of the writings of other men and such a one would I have those that understand my writings to be to me I will not think of the writings of any other men before that there should be nothing cast out nor mended neither would I have any body think so of my writings And so Ambrose Where the Scripture is silent we must not speak Thus we see that those men for the maintaining of that which is evil they will make use of Quotationâ— and Antiquities yet we see the Antients did abhor this Christ and his Apostles they quoted none of the Learned men before them but Moses and the Prophets But you will say Though we must not take that which other men write to be the Rule yet that which other men write may help us to understand the Scripture Now I remember Luther hath such a Speech That Scripture should rather help us to understand mens writings than mens writings to understand the Scripture Many men they will make mens writings to be as a judg and to be the rule of understanding Scriptures not the Judg of Truth but the rule of understanding Scripture whereas saith he the Scripture should rather be the rule of understanding them And so Hilary saith he for the sense of Scripture and understanding them He is the best Interpreter that rather takes the sense from out of Scripture and by comparing one Scripture with another than bring any new sense therefore the understanding of Scripture is more by Scripture than by the Writings of any man living And yet still no question we may make use of the gifts of God in others but so as to keep us close to the written Word for the Rule yea and for the meaning of the Rule they may help us to see whether the Scripture will justifie this Truth or this sense for there lies the mistake Most people in the world will think this indeed That whatsoever any man writes if it be contrary to the Word we may not receive it but we must understand the Word in what sense they take it now we must not go so far For the Scripture written is not only that we might know what the Rule is but it is written that we might understand the meaning of the Rule and we must fetch out the meaning of Scriptures by Scripture Now so far as the Writings of men wil help us to fetch out the meaning of Scripture by Scripture so far we may make use of them but we cannot say this is the meaning because it is the judgment of such and such Learned men but such and such Learned men will give you Reasons and compare one Scripture with another to shew why it is the meaning of it and they will shew you the History of the time and shew you how to compare old and new Testament one with another and this is the use of Writers for understanding the Scriptures Then you wil say Why do we make use of Writers so much Why thus they shew how one Scripture looks towards another and to compare one Scripture with another and shew the coherence of things The sense of things is to be resolved in the Scripture its self and therefore we must keep our selves very close to what is written Written It was not so at first it was delivered but from hand to hand but afterwards when the Church began to multiply then the Word was written And this is a mighty blessing of God that we may have the mind of God written so as we may look into it and search to know the mind of God by reading it over and over again and taking it into our hands when we are lying upon our beds if we light a Candle in the night we may be reading and looking into the mind of God If we should only hear of such a Book that were in the world that were in China in the uttermost parts of the habitable world if we should hear that there were such a Book that God had written or that God had used men to write by an inspiration of His own Spirit a Book that was certainly indited by the holy Ghost every word of it wherein the Lord had revealed the great Counsels of his Will concerning Mans eternal estate if we should hear that there came such a Book down even from Heaven and this was in the uttermost parts of the earth Oh! what a longing desire should we have to see that Book What man or woman but would give their whol estate to have a week or a fortnights time to see and reade in such a Book as that is if one could he would be willing to travel to the end of the world to have the use of such a Book as that is No man need say Shall I go to the uâ—â—â—rmost parts of the earth for it is in your hands it is in your houses there is the Book wherein the great God hath written
say therefore do I keep them but therefore doth my soul keep them Oh my very soul is in this in keeping thy Testimonies for I look upon them as wonderful things It 's a good sign of the Spirit of the great God in a man when it doth raise him above other things to look upon the things of his Word as the only great things that are in the world All flesh is grass saith the Scripture but the Word of God endures for ever there is a vanity in all things of the world but in that which the Word reveals Oh! there is an eternity there we should therefore admire at nothing so as at the Word and we should greatly delight in Gods Commandements an ordinary admiration is not sufficient for the Commands of God for the Law of God nor an ordinary delight is not sufficient but great admiration and great de-delight there should be in the Law of God And all things that are taken from Gods Law should be great arguments to prevail with you It may be there comes such and such temptations to draw you to such and such evils and you say they are strong temptations But that which is in the Law that should be a greater argument there is that which is greater in Gods Law than there can be in any temptation whatsoever Therefore know it is a dangerous thing for men and women to look at any thing in Gods Law as a little thing so as to despise it and to think it is no great matter though we do such and such things though we should go from the rule of the Word a little what great matter is it are we not all sinners Prov. 13. 13. Who so despiseth the Word shall be destroyed That is looks upon any thing in Gods Word as a light thing It was a speech of one that should say when he was convinc'd of a thing that was evil That he must make bold with God Almighty sometimes Do not you make bold with Gods Word and secretly jeer at those that are so nice they cannot venture a little remember this text in Prov. 13. 13. Who so despiseth the Word shall be destroyed take the least thing that you think so despicable in Gods Law and you will veture upon it but God will make it a great matter for when you have broke the Law in the least thing all the Angels in Heaven and Men in the World cannot satisfie God for that wrong if they should come and say Lord here 's a poor creature that hath broken thy Law but in this one thing that he thought to be a little matter we are content to be ten thousand yeers in torments to satisfie for thy Law Nay saith God this will not do it Therefore take heed of despising Gods Law or despising any thing that is reveal'd by him for certainly it will prove a great matter and when the Law hath been broken let us not think it is a little matter that it is but a Lord have mercy upon me at the last Again The Prophet is convincing them of false worship and upon this ground Because they would venture to make Altars to worship God in another way than God revealed in his Law from thence note That the Worship of God is a great matter every thing in Gods Worship is to be look'd at as a great matter They may think it a matter of indifferency whether they do it or no at least in some things My Brethren let us learn to know that every thing in the Worship of God is a great matter God looks much upon it God doth not say that he is jealous for any thing but for his Worship Vzzah he thought it a little matter for him to go and catch the Ark and especially having a good intention It 's true the Law of God is that it should be carried upon mens shoulders but may it not as well be carried in a cart he thought it but a little matter but it proved a great matter So that which we think little in Gods Worship is a great matter So Vzziah in 2 Chron 26. No question he thought it no great matter to go into the Temple and offer sacrifice Is it not as good that a King offer it as a Priest it was in the Temple and the true Worship and Vzziah because he was a great man he thought he might venture for there you find that he had an Army of three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred Soldiers A great Captain And Nadab and Abihu no question they thought it no great matter to go and offer strange fire and it hath not been forbidden in Gods Word this fire but it was a great matter before God for God came with fire from Heaven to destroy them Hence it is that God in his Word would set out the glory of his Worship to that end that he might take off mens hearts from all false worship he would have them to think the matters of his Worship great things that so they might not have their hearts taken with any false worship Ezek. 7. 20. The beauty of his Ornament he set in Majestie and hereby God aggravates their sin of Idolatry Oh my Worship and Service I made it as beautiful and glorious as could be but they worshiped their Images their detestable things So in Jer. 17. 12. A glorious high Throne from the beginning of our Sanctuary Mark what follows All that forsake thee shall be ashamed and they that depart from thee shall be written in the Earth because they have forsaken the Lord the Fountain of living Waters As if God should say Oh vile hearts of men when there is such a glorious Worship of mine that I present unto them yet they turn even to their own vile Inventions and not regard that glorious Worship of mine I beseech you Brethren labor to look upon Gods Worship as a glorious thing But now the Reprehension that follows But they were accounted as a strange thing Here 's the wickedness of people that though God shews forth his Glory in his Word yet they look upon it as a strange thing as a thing that they shall get little good by if they do obey or little hurt by if they do disobey We should now have shewed wherein this people did account Gods Worship a strange thing and what particulars of Gods Law they accounted strange things But especially this one among the rest they did count strange viz. That God should so stand upon it that He must needs be worshiped Jerusalem at the Temple and at no other Altar whatsoever came of it Now because they thought that if the people went to Jerusalem to worship it would be very prejudicial to the State this was a strange thing that which we can see no reason for So people are ready to think if any thing be propounded for the Worship of God out of the Word Yea but
superstitious people who are forward and zealous in their own way of Worship yet they are very slight and negligent in Gods way of Worship little regard that Indeed their own Altars they were accounted great things that way which they appointed themselves they did not care what cost they were at in that way but as for Gods way that was as a strange thing unto them We have seen it very evident and do see it in great part to this day how those that are very zealous in superstitious worship are the most negligent in Gods way of Worship to instance you know in late times what a deal of stir did men make with their own forms of Worship with their own Ceremonies and Waies of Worship which they appointed how zealous were they in them and devout were they in them when they came in publick Congregations to bow and cring and for other Ceremonies that they said were only for the decency of Gods Worship how stiff were they in them that the mouths of the most Godly Ministers must be stop'd if they would not conform to them But even these men would scorn and jeer at strictness in Gods Waies and slight any man that would be consciencious in the Waies of God and they were Rebels that should not yeild to a Ceremony because it was disobedience to Magistracy For men to be consciencious for little things as they thought in Gods Law seemed strange when as they would urge men to obey to the uttermost in little things in their own so in another point that fals out as full and reasonable for the time as in the point of their own Feastivals and Holy daies those that would persecute to the uttermost men that should work but to get bread for their families on a Holy-day yet they could publish Books of Sports for the prophanation of the Lords Day And thus the great things of Gods Law they were strange things but their own things Holy-daies were great matters Surely if it were such a great matter to keep the Festival of Christs Nativity we should have some hint of it from the beginning of Matthew to the end of the Revelations but when God gives not the least hint of any such time And mark it those people that stand most upon such Festivals they stand least upon Gods Sabbaths and indeed you shall have many people which think it a strange thing for men not to have regard to such Festivals Why may not we keep the birth of our Savior Now that you might not think it a strange thing do but consider of this that when God hath set apart any thing for a holy use it is no strange thing but it should be strange in man to venture to imitate God in the things of his Worship to do that in Gods worship which God himself hath done before thus God hath set apart a holy time viz. the Sabbath it is set apart for to solemnize all the work of Redemption both the Nativity of Christ and his Life and Death and Resurrection and Ascention and the coming of the Holy Ghost all the things about mans Redemption I say God hath set the Sabbath apart to that end that we might have a Holy day to keep the remembrance of them Now when God hath set one day apart for man to dare to venture to set another apart this is presumption So because Christ hath set outward Elements and Sacraments to be a remembrance for his body and blood for man to say Christ hath set apart a piece of Bread and Wine why may not I set some other thing apart This you would all say were a great presumption Certainly the presumption is the same in the former Again it is observable in this expression They counted it as a strange thing It is a dangerous thing for men to have their hearts estranged from Gods Law and from the other Spiritual Truths that are in Gods Word from the knowledg of that Law which we have been educated in and that heretofore we have made profession of for thus it was with this people they had been educated in Gods Law and made profession of it and whatsoever God should reveal they would obey but now their hearts were estranged from what they were educated in and made profession of Oh! let men take heed of this for ever You that have had good education you have been brought up in the knowledg of Gods Law you have had gracious principles of Gods Law dropt into you in your youth you have made fair profession of Gods Law of obedience to it take heed now of being estranged from those truths that heretofore have been familiar to you that you have made profession of and therefore take heed of the several degrees of the estrangement of the heart from the Law of God I will but only name them to shew how the hearts of men do grow strangers from Gods Law First It fares with his heart as it doth with a man that grows to be a stranger from his friends A man that hath a familiar friend he doth not estrange himself suddenly but by degrees it may be visit one another less than they were wont to do and yet there is no contention between them but by degrees they grow to be strange and then at length they grow to be very enemies And thus it is with mens hearts when men grow strange from the Word that he was acquainted withal before first he begins to call things in question whether things be so or no and especially those things which most concern the mortifying of sin and the strictness of holiness Secondly He begins upon this or rather I think that 's the first he begins to abate his delight in the truths of God he was wont to take abundance of delight to meditate in the Word Oh how sweet it was when he awaked in the night season he was wont to take a great deal of delight about conferring in Gods Word and when he came into any company but now it is abated that 's the first Secondly he calls those things into question that he was very confident in before whether they be so or no. Thirdly He begins to have some hard thoughts of Gods Word Many men that heretofore did prize the Word and those Truths that were the joy of their hearts yet now they begin to have hard thoughts of them Yea fourthly He begins to wish that those things which are in the Word were otherwise than they are he cannot see enough to perswade him that the things are true but his heart coming to be estranged from the Word he doth desire they were not true as a man that comes to be estranged from another he could wish he were further off from him Fifthly He begins to listen to those things which are against the Word there was a time that he would never regard any things
and those that have oppressed us that they should have their full power over us again oh our bondage would be seven fold more than it is And yet what cause have we to have our hearts tremble and shake when we think of our abuse of the beginning of Deliverance that we had but of all judgments let us pray to be delivered from that judgment that we may never go back again to our prisons But just with God it is that those who inherit their progenitors sins they should inherit their progenitors judgments You continue in their sins you shall have their Judgements also But were they ever carried into Egypt was this threat ever fulfilled No They were not carried captive into Egypt but they fled into Egypt for Refuge and there they lived and died miserably Hence observe All places are places of misery when God forsakes a people As all places are comfortable when God is with a people Many men take their course to seek to refuge themselves to help themselves and perhaps they have what they would have in part but when they have had what they would have even the having of what they desire proves to be the executiō of the wrath of God upon them you have a mind to go to Egypt you shall return to Egypt saith God It follows in the last verse VER 14. For Israel hath forgotten his Maker THEY have forgotten their Maker but I 'le remember them saith God When men think least of God then is Gods time to come upon them for their sins when they are in the greatest security of all whereas if you would remember your sins God might forget them or if you would remember God your sins should not be remembred but you forgetting God your sins are remembred It is an abominable thing for us to forget God by whom we had our memory by whom we are remembred we should never have been thought of if God had not given us what we have and therefore for us not to think of God it is a vile sin Now God is forgotten when he is not honored minded as our confidence help refuge our only good when he is not obeyed if we do but remember sin we cannot but honor him How many forget what manifestations once they had of God they are passed by from them and other things take up their thoughts Oh! what an appearing was there of God to many of your souls heretofore and what conference between God and your souls what lustre of Gods Spirit upon you and you thought you should never forget those things but now other things are in your hearts Oh! such men and women have cause to fear that they are under much wrath that they should forget their Maker God challenges remembrance under this title Remember thy Creator in the daies of thy youth There 's no creature but the rational creature that can reflect upon the cause of their being the first cause and therefore God would not lose the honor from this creature Indeed the Ox knows his owner and the Ass his Masters crib the beasts can take notice of those that bring them good things but to reflect upon the cause of their first being I say that 's proper to the rational creature and therefore it is an honor that God expects from you and will not lose it The word here Creator their Maker it is not now meant for Gods giving them their being but Gods advancing and blessing of them so as to bring them to that happy condition that now they were in They have forgotten their Maker Oh they have forgotten that God that hath advanced them So I find the words used in 1 Sam. 12. 6. The Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron but the words in the Original are the Lord that made Moses and Aaron that is when God call'd them to the publick work God made them Indeed for a man to be call'd to publick service is a great honor that God puts upon a man God makes a man then as many times we use that Phrase our selves if a man be raised to any preferment we say such a man is made for ever Oh that man which God casts his favor upon and delights to use in publick service that man is a made-man But they have forgotten the Lord that made them That 's the Note from hence It 's Gods favor that makes a man You have an excellent Scripture for this in Isa 43. 7. I have created him saith God for my glory I have formed him yea I have made him Here 's these three words together God doth not satisfie himself in this I have given him his being or all that he hath but he makes use of of these three several words to signifie how all our good comes from God I do not know such an expression we have in Scripture I have brought him out of nothing then secondly I have formed him I have put beauty and glory upon him yea and thirdly I have made him I have raised him to the height of all God hath created us all but hath he formed us We are to look at Gods forming as well as at his creation how God forms and fashions us unto his own will They have forgotten God their Maker That should have been the other Note That the greater height of excellency God raises any man to the more vile and wicked is the sin of forgetting God when they are advanced Many men will remember God when they are low but when God hath advanced them then they forget him and that 's worse But it follows And have built Temples How is God forgotten and they build Temples to the honor of God You accuse us of forgetting God our Maker What People in the world doth rememember God so as we do when we are at such charges as we are at The word that is translated Temples it signifies Palaces The Church is indeed Gods Palace but note from hence That when God is worshiped in any way but his own then God is forgotten Papists they set up Images and they say it is to put them in mind of God but the truth is they forget God in it Again When mens hearts depart most desperatly and furthest off from God they are many times very forward in superstitious worship As we know it in the primitive times the hearts of men did close most with the power of godliness and were more sincere in their worship but afterwards when they came to have peace in and after Constantines time when they had Temples then they forgot God most and grew superstitious When the Christians worshiped God in Dens and Caves of the earth they remembred God more than when they had glorious Temples built for them Men that have departed from God and have guilty consciences they must have something to satisfie their consciences Of late our Kingdom how desperatly was it departing from
deliver you from that I will not assist you So though we have strong walls yet we must look for a cover from Heaven which is our peace with God through Jesus Christ Again They have multiplied fenced Cities For outward safety men think they have never enough to secure themselves from poverty and from their enemies but to secure themselves from Gods wrath they think they have enough In spiritual things we are content with a little but when it comes to our outward security we think we can never be too safe and indeed this will be an argument what it is that your hearts are most upon that that you endeavor to secure your selves most in that 's your chiefest good that that you would make most sure of and if any thing in the world could make you more sure you endeavor to do it a gracious heart will never say May I not go to Heaven though I do no more but can there any thing more be done doth God require any thing more of his creature God that knows all things knows my heart is ready to do all thingt that he hath reveal'd to me and if there were any thing more to do Oh that I knew it that I might fulfill even all righteousness But I 'le send a fire Saith the text They multiplied Cities but I will send a fire When we bless our selves most in our own thoughts we should consider but what are Gods thoughts we think we will do thus and thus and I 'le save my self this way or the other way poor wretch thou saiest thou wilt do thus and thus yea but think what if Gods thoughts be otherwise at the same time thou art plotting to save thy self but God is plotting to destroy thee What if there prove to be a disjunction between Gods thoughts and my thoughts Wicked men have plots and devices for themselves but God comes with his disjunctions I 'le do thus and thus And this we are to hope that God will deal graciously with us in regard our enemies they are full of plots but God hath been pleased to come in with his disjunctions Gods thoughts hath not been as their thoughts blessed be his Name But I 'le send a fire it may be that they think that their Forts are so strong that they cannot be beaten down but I 'le send a fire to burn them down But I rather think this fire is meant metaphorically I 'le send their enemies which shall be as a fire and so enemies are call'd a fire many times in Scripture And I 'le send a fire By whatsoever means fire comes Gods hand is to be look'd upon in all 〈◊〉 If there hath been a fire in your streets or houses you will enquire by what means it came look up to God whatsoever the means was it is God that sends the fire And it shall devour their Palaces Brave things they are subject to Gods devouring fire Oh let us as when the Disciples look'd upon the fair buildings of the Temple and wept saith Christ There shall not be a stone left upon a stone so when we look upon our brave Palaces Oh let us consider how quickly the fire of Gods wrath may come and not leave a stone upon a stone Let us look up to that place where Christ is gone to prepare mantions for us and to that building that is eternal in the Heavens made without hands And thus through Gods mercy and assistance we have gone through this Eighth Chapter CHAP. IX VERS 1. Rejoyce not O Israel for joy as other people for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God thou hast loved a reward upon every corn-flour HERE begins another Sermon of the Prophets Gualter thinks this to be the sixt Sermon that the Prophet HOSEA preached to these ten Tribes wherein he yet goes on in the way as he did before convincing of sin and threatning of wrath against Israel and this Sermon was preached in a prosperous time when Israel the ten Tribes seemed to be in their greatest ruff of pride jolity It refers according to Interpreters to one of these two times Either to some special time when when they prevailed against their Enemies or to the time when they made their League with the Assyrians The time when they prevailed against their Enemies and so it 's thought to refer either to the time thâ—â— we reade of in 2 King 13. 15. the time of Jehoash when he beat Benhadad three times and recovered the Cities of Israel Or that time in 1 King 14. 13. And Jehoash King of Israel took Amaziah King of Judah and came to Jerusalem and brake down the wall of Jerusalem and took all the Gold and Silver and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the Kings house and hostages and returned to Samaria This certainly was a time of great jolity and mirth among the ten Tribes or in the time of Jeroboam 2 King 14. 28. and so in the time of Pekah 2 of Chronicles the 28. that was a time of great jolity and mirth to the ten Tribes because of their prevailing the text saith They slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day all valiant men and the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand women sons and daughters and took also away much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria Now in this time their hearts did swell much for in vers 10. the Prophet Obed came to them and saith Behold because the Lord God of your fathers was wrath with Judah he hath delivered them into your bands and ye have slain him in a rage that reached up unto Heaven And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bond-men and bond women unto you But are there not with you even with you sins against the Lord your God It seems to be almost the same expression as we have here in the text as if he should say Now you purpose to keep the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bond men and bond-women and you insult and rejoyce and you think you have gotten the day and you have prevailed but are there not sins among you just as he saith here Rejoyce not O Israel for you are gone a whoring from the Lord as if he should have said though God hath given you a victory and you think you have matter of much joy yet rejoyce not O Israel as other people As other people Why First Because the conquest you have gotten it is over your Brethren therefore rejoyce not as other people do not rejoyce in your slaying your Brethren as other people the Nations about you would rejoyce in the slaying of them That 's a sad War when the Conquerer hath cause to be sad at the very Conquest It were no great matter though if other people had gotten the victory
they should triumph why not though you have gotten the day yet these Wars are Wars that you should not triumph in for by this means the Nation of the Jews is grown weaker and is in more danger to be made a prey to the common enemies and therefore do not you rejoyce as other people might rejoyce in such a Conquest And Indeed such are our Wars and Victories at this day we must not rejoyce in our Conquests as other people not so rejoyce as if French or Spaniards came among us or as if we were in a forreign Nation for our Conquests weakens our own Nation it is the destruction of our Brethren and therefore in this we are not to rejoyce as other people in their conquests Or secondly according to others it doth refer to that time when Menahem made a League w th the Assyrian 2 King 15. 9. for there 's no such way to understand the meaning of the Prophets than the reference to the time that they preached in and that they aim at we reade that Menahem made a League that was the King of the ten Tribes of Israel made a League with the Assyrian that great King that he might be with him to confirm the Kingdom in his hand Now people use when Leagues of passification and association are confirmed between them and others to triumph and rejoyce by outward expressions to manifest their great content in them Oh! now there is a peace made now we shall grow stronger than ever we were and be delivered from many troubles that were heretofore upon us Israel blessed themselves in the Assyrian in that they had got such a rich and mighty Prince to be on their side that now they had made their peace with him they thought they were safe enough now they were secure and contemn'd all threats and derided all that the Prophets should say against them now the Malignants they lift up their heads and insult over them that would say Gods Judgments would follow them if they did not joyn with Gods people in the true Worship of God they sung away care and none thought of any danger in regard of their sin they could not endure to hear of any complaining of any thing that might disturb their jolity and conceipted happiness that they promised to themselves the continuance of But now saith the Lord by the Prophet Rejoyce not wiâ—h joy as other people be not too confident with whom you have made such a sure League for they may prove to be your undoing it may prove to be the instruments of the greatest wrath of God against you that ever you had and indeed he was so the Assyrians that they made their peace withal and joyned in League with and rejoyced much in he proved to be the greatest instrument of wrath that ever the people these ten Tribes had you have made your peace with him and now you rejoyce but you have not made your Peace with God saith the Prophet What good can Passifications can Leagues made with men peace struck with them do so lokng as stil ye go a whoring from your God and break your peace and covenant with him daily Oh rejoyce not therefore For observe Though Leagues and peace made with such as have been enemies are matter of rejoycing but they may likewise be such as we may have little cause to rejoyce in they have the names of peace and union a while but suddenly they may change their names and be call'd a massacre and ruin and destruction to a Nation especially if the foundation of our peace be not laid in reformation and still a people goes a whoring from their God rejoyce in no peace that you can make with any whatsoever so long as you go a whoring from the Lord. That 's the Note from thence if it hath reference to the time when people have been worn out with Wars they are greedy of any kind of peace they care not with whom they make it Oh nothing but peace let us have that and if there be but a peace concluded once upon never such unsafe terms Oh! the Bells must ring and Bonfires must be made This seem'd to be the condition of the people at this time but saith God you are deceived this peace you have made will prove your undoing Rejoyce not therefore as other people for you have gone a whoring from your God But those Observations that we may take from either of these two times from the time that they got conquests over their enemies or secondly from the time of their peace put them both together are such as these First Carnal hearts rejoyce and bless themselves in their outward present prosperity in their Health Strength Friends as if all were wel with them although they be under much guiltiness though there be fearful breaches between God and their souls and how things are between God and them they care not so be it all may be well with them for outward things this is the guize for carnal hearts they are presently upon the merry pin and rejoyce and delight much if so be that thy may have but any prosperity though but for a while if there be no punishment of sin upon them the guilt and polution of sin never troubles them Saith Augustin in his twelfth Tract upon John The joy of the world is nothing else but their wickedness unpunished if God do not punish them presently then they have a great deal of joy And in Amos 6. 4. there you have the discription of the people of Israel more at large for Amos prophesied in the same time that Hosea did They lie upon beds of Ivory and stretch themselves upon their couches and eat the Lambs our of the flock and the Calves out of the midst of the stall that chaunt to the sound of the Viol and invent to themselves instruments of musick like David that drink Wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the chief oyntments but they are not grieved for the afflictions of Joseph Well have not you more reason you afflicted and distressed Saints to rejoyce in God without the world than they have to rejoyce in the world without God shall not all the wrath of God that hangs over the heads of wicked men and all the guilt there is upon them damp their joy when they have but meat and drink and cloath and a little outward prosperity and shall the loss of a few creature comforts such as many Reprobates have to the full damp your joy when you have an interest in all there is in God in Christ in the World in Heaven in Eternity when all this is the matter of your joy what an unreasonable thing is this A second Observation from the words Rejoyce not O Israel When men are jolly and merry they should consider Well but would God have us to rejoyce They were jolly and frolick I but the Prophet comes in the
prosperity because it is a reward of their service to their Idols So the sweetness of our comfort should be in this because they come from God as a reward of our faithfulness Shall Idolaters when they look upon their plenty and attribute it to their Idol gods shall it be so much the sweeter to them let all our comforts be so much the sweeter to us when we look upon them as coming from God as a reward of our faithfulness In Psal 119. 56. saith David This I had because I kept thy Statutes You will say Can we look upon any thing as a reward of our righteousness Free-Grace and the Gospel-reward may stand together God may reward according to our works though not for our works and God is pleased to call it so for the encouragement of his people It is very sweet to those that keep close with God when they prosper outwardly that outward prosperity if it follow our keeping close with God is very sweet as the Cypher when it doth follow the figure it doth ad to the Number though it be nothing in its self But now we come to the second Verse VER 2. The flour and the wine press shall not feed them and the new Wine shall fail in her AS when a Father sees his admonitions not regarded by a stubborn Child he doth withdraw his allowance from him and sometimes you will deal so with your little children as they shall go to bed without their suppers to shew your displeasure against them so God deals here you have had many admonitions now I will withdraw your allowance The flour and the Wine-press He doth not say the Field but the Flour I will let them bring their Corn to the flour and he doth not say the Vine but the Wine-press the Notes are these God often lets wicked men come neer the enjoyment of a mercy and them cuts it off as many times the Saints comes neer afflictions and when they are at the very brink of afflictions then deliverance comes to them Secondly God doth use to strike wicked men in those things that their hearts are most set upon They would have their flour and Wine-press to afford unto them plenty in that thing God strikes them Now observe it whether in Gods waies that are against you God doth not strike you especially in that which your hearts are most set upon if he doth know there 's the finger of God and God would have you take special notice of it The new Wine shall fail The words are in the Hebrew It shall â—e unto them The like word we have in Hab. 3. 17. The labor of the Olive shall fail in the Hebrew shall lie that is it shall not perform what it seems to promise to you We are ready to promise to our selves great matters from the creature or rather think that the creature promises much to us but we shall find all but a lye let us learn to promise nothing to us but from the Word that will never lye Whatsoever you promise to your selves I say let it be grounded upon the Word but if you promise to your selves great matters from any creature you will find a lye in the Conclusion We often lye to God in not answering our good beginnings and it 's just with God that the creature should even lye to us and not accomplish what they seem to promise to us Lastly That which men think to get in a way of sin they shall fail in at last The way of the wicked shall deceive them they shall not find what they expected in the waies of sin The Saints they shall find more than ever they expected from God but the wicked shall find less than that which they expected from the Creature But there is not much difficulty in this Verse therefore we pass it over briefly VER 3. They shall not dwell in the Lords Land BEfore God was to them as a father taking maintainance away from them leaving them to suffer want but here his anger encreases here he puts them out of his house as a Father first he withdraws allowance from his stout Son and when that will not do then he thrusts him out of his house So doth God here The wine-press the flour shall not feed them And not only so saith God but They shall not dwell in the Lords Land I will cast them out of my house cast them out of my Land I will not suffer Ephraim to dwell any longer there First God would make them to know that it was his Land and that they were but Tenants at will and that they did enjoy the Land upon conditions of obedience as appears in Levit. 18. 26. as if he had said you are Tenants and hold the Land by this Tenure we reade in Levit. 25. 23. of an Ordinance that God made there that no Land in Canaan should be sold for ever but only to the yeer of Jubile the richest man that was that bought never so much Land they could not buy it for ever he could not have such a Tenure as runs amongst us To have and to hold for ever But you will say what is the reason it is given in the 23. vers The Land shall not be sold for ever Why For the Land is mine for ye are strangers and sojourners with me I have brought you to the Land and ye are but sojourners with me in my Land God may dispose of all as he pleases It 's a good meditation for us to work upon our hearts thus That we are Gods Stewards the Lord is the great Land-Lord of all the world When you go abroad into the fields now you that are godly you may see more Land than is your own but you cannot see more Land than is your Fathers The Lords Land It may be said of all the Land in the world he that is thy Father is the great Land-Lord of the world howsoever men respect their Land-Lords and are afraid to displease them but how little respect is given to this great Land-Lord of the world The earth is the Lords and the fulness thereof well but though all the world be the Lords Land yet this Land was the Lords Land in a peculiar manner the Land of Canaan it was the Lords Land more peculiarly in many respects First It was a Land that God had espied out for his People In Ezek. 20. 6. as a special place God was over looking all the world where should I have a good Land or Country to set my People and the text saith God had espied it out Secondly It was the Land of Promise therefore the Lords Land in Heb. 11. 9. By faith he sojourned in the Land of Promise as in a strange Country No Land in Scripture is called the Land of Promise but only this Thirdly The Lords Land it was a Land given by Oath in Gen. 24. 7. Fourthly It was a Land
them from mixing with the Heathen but now saith God All is gone let them go saith God and eat unclean things as for the Covenant with me it is wholly abolished I will own them no more than the very impure Heathen they would make Leagues with the Assyrians wel they shal partake w th them and be filthy and unclean as he and they defiled Gods Worship by mixing heathenish polutions with it now God gives them up to all Heathenish uncleanness as they were like the Heathens in inward uncleanness so let them be saith God in outward uncleanness There is these two Notes First Those that will make Leagues with wicked men it is just with God that afterwards they should come and be inthrall'd in all the wickedness and abominations of those wicked men They were indeed at a distance from them before but when once the peace is made they come now to be all one with them But the main is this That when men are inwardly unclean God doth not care for their outward cleanness Thus many professors of Religion defiling their consciences and becoming like the wicked in inward sins at length God leaves them up to themselves that there should be no difference between them and the wicked in their outward abominations Have you not known some examples in this kind Lastly If it be such a judgment to eat unclean things with the Gentiles even meat to satisfie thier hunger Certainly then it is a fearful evil for any of the Saints to partake with ungodly men in unclean wicked worship There might be as much excuse for this as one could imagin why Lord they might say shall we starve True they might no question eat that which was unclean rather than starve but yet it was a great misery that they were in that they could have nothing to eat but that which was unclean but now the other is not only an affliction but sin and indeed the moral of it is to shew the great evil that there is in joyning with any way of false worship to joyn false worship it is a great evil and an argument that when God leaves us to this he disclaimes us Cyprian dehorts Christians from communicating with wicked Ministers from this place Ne sibi plebs in hoc â—â—andiatâ—r cum pro Hoseam Prophetam comminetur dicat censura Divina c. I do not speak of not joyning in Worship if there be unclean ones there Ministers or People And I am perswaded if it be throughly weighed there will no body be found to be of that mind for it is impossible that any Church in the world but in time there will be some that are wicked which will be present but this is not that that causes many to forbear not the presence of wicked men but find the uncleanness of the Worship some things that was done actually there that their consciences told them to be sin Secondly Because they could not do their duty as they should but if they can have liberty to do their duty and the Worship be not polluted I think upon serious consideration there can be no question made although there should be some that are unclean admitted yet if there be in the Church any order and government that the unclean may be cast out and libertie that every one may discharge his duty as to go and admonish and take two or three and then tell the Church and so to deliver his own soul no doubt but they may communicate VER 4. They shall not offer Wine-offerings to the Lord neither shal they be pleasing unto him THE Prophet in the Name of God proceeds to further threatning of Israel and this in the 4 th verse is a very dreadful one They shall not offer Wine offerings to the Lord neither shall they be pleasing unto him In their offerings there was wont to be Wine and Oyl to note cheerfulness in Gods service thus in Numb 15. 5. The fourth part of an Hyn of Wine for a drink offering shalt thou prepare and for a meat offering thou shalt prepare two deals of flowr mingled with the third part of an hyn of Oyl But now al joy shal be taken away there shal be nothing but sadnes and sinking of spirit under their misery no Wine offering Hence note That those who abuse their joy to their lusts when they have it it 's just with God it should be taken from them that they should have none to give to God though they would never so fain Secondly This makes an affliction to be bitter and grievous indeed That all joy and comfort in Gods service is gone for that 's the scope They shall offer no Wine offerings all their joy in the service of God shall be gone they shall not only have sorrow in their outward afflictions that are upon them but every time they come to think of any service of God their hearts shall be dejected all their joy in the service of God shall be taken away there was a time when some of you were wont to offer Wine offerings to the Lord that is to have much joy and comfort in the service of God but is not all gone where 's your Wine offerings to the Lord you can now perform duties but your hearts are heavy and dul in the performance of them there 's no sweetness there 's no enlargement of spirit in holy duties all the Worship of God is a burden now unto you Now there is no burden of affliction so great a burden as when the duties of Gods Worship comes to be a burden The Saints so long as they have a Wine offering for the Lord in holy duties so long as their spirits in holy duties can be free and joyful their afflictions are not very burdensom they are well enough this is more delightful to them than all the Wine in the world for they can say of Gods love They love is better than Wine so they can say of their love to God again That our love unto him is more comfortable to us than any Wine in the world Now though they be in afflictions their estates are gone that they have no Wine to drink themselves yet they have a Wine offering to offer unto the Lord. It 's no great matter though we have not Wine as we were wont to have at our Tables but when we go to worship God we have a Wine offering for him at any time and this makes glad the hearts of the Saints more than the hearts of all the men in the world can be glad when their Corn and Wine and Oyl encreases They shall offer no Wine offerings neither shall they be pleasing unto him they shall not be sweet to him whatsoever their offerings be Now that they offer to the Lord God will take no delight in them they will be but sowre things unto the palate of God the offerings of the Saints in Gods way they do cheer the very heart
of his children that were so eminent in office and were destroyed so with such a visible hand of God fire from Heaven when Moses was angry that the Priests had not eat of the sin offering saith Aaron If I had eaten of the sin offering to day should it have been accepted It would have been but as the bread of mourners I that have bin struck this day and am in such a dreadful condition Would God have regarded the sin offering God required joy in his services in Deut. 1â— 7. 18. verses and hence that profession was required in Deut. 26. 13 14. verses Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house and also have given them unto the Levite and unto the Stranger to the Fatherless and to the Widdow according to all the Commandements which thou hast commanded me I have not transgressed thy Commandements neither have I forgotten them And then in the 14. vers I have not eaten thereof in my mourning c. They were to profess this to God That they had not eaten thereof in their mourning this was to shew that sacrifices offered with a sinking heart in sorrow is not pleasing to God God loves a cheerful giver We must not pine away in our iniquities sullenness and dumpishness even in sorrow for sin it sowres our spirits and services and makes them unacceptable to God I say a sullen dumpishness of spirit though it be in sorrow for sin it sowres our spirits and makes our services unacceptable to God There is a groaning and a sighing one to another or rather against one another that is condemn'd in Scripture in Jam. 5. 9. the words in your books are thus Grudge nor one against another but in the Original Sigh not or groan not one against another you shall have many that in company with others have a pensive dumpish spirit sighing and groaning and making their society to be burdensom to others Saith the holy Ghost do not sigh and groan one unto another there is a sullen dumpish sighing of spirit and dejection of soul that is as unpleasing to God as it is unto men it polutes the heart and pollutes duty But you will say Is all mourning forbidden that here the holy Ghost should say Their offerings should be as the bread of Mourners Christ saith blessed are the Mourners and the Sacrifice of God is a contrite heart It 's true an evangelical sorrow is accepted but that hath sweetness in it it is not bitter that 's not a dejected spirit it 's not a mourning that causes dejection or sullenness or straightness of spirit but that mourning doth enlarge the heart and makes it active for God hence in Ezra 9. 5. although we reade before that Ezra was astonished at the sin of the people yet saith he at the 5. verse I arose from my heaviness at the evening sacrifice when the time came that I should sacrifice unto God my heaviness did not hinder me in holy duties But how many are there that sink down in their heaviness and when God calls upon them for any duty they cannot arise they are so over-burdened with heavy spirits There they sink down in a sullen way and shall God accept of such a service as this is You may please your selves in it and think it is humiliation but there may be much pride in dejection there is none so proud a spirit as the Devil is and yet no spirit so dejected as the Devil is Lead we know it melts soonest but it consumes in the melting and many times there may be such a spirit that may be ready to sorrow upon any occasion and to melt but it 's such a melting as consumes the strength of it that it is unfit for any service that God calls for now such services as you in such a mourning way tender up to God are not accepted of him Remember this text Their offering shall be as the bread of mourning Gualter hath a Note from this God would not accept of the offering of Mourners they were unclean yet saith he there are many that seek to get their greatest gain from Funeral mournings and fall of enveighing against them that get gain that way as their Priests and Officers that use to tend upon Funerals for gain he calls them Vulturâ— and Crows that do flock to dead bodies and Sepulchers Dogs those are his words that seek to get advantage by Funerals And we know heretofore what abundance of advantage there was gotten by Funerals scarce could you bury a child under three or four pounds such kind of fees there were and made them even rejoyce when others did mourn and getting a great part of of their livelihood from the bread of Mourners And Theophylact hath another Note from this place The bread of Mourners That is those things offered to God gotten by oppression as thus suppose a man or woman gets an estate and gets it in an oppressing way it may be they are at home and merry but it may be the poor children or widdow is mourning for those morsels that thou art rejoycing in but it is the first Note that is the most according to the mind of the holy Ghost the mourning that hath respect to the funerals and so especially at the dejection of spirit in holy duties It follows The bread for their soul shall not come into the House of the Lord. The bread for their soul That is When they are seeking God even for their very lives By Bread is to be understood their oblations more generally not only Bread but their Oblations As Malac. 1. 7. Ye offer polluted bread upon mine Altar it 's taken generally for all kind of offerings upon Gods Altar So The bread for their souls that is those offerings that they did offer for their very lives Now from thence the Note is this That it 's a sad thing when a creature would seek to God for his very life yet then God rejects him and his offering too Before these people they did reject the voice of the Lord at the Temple and they kept others from going to the House of the Lord they thought sacrifices elsewhere would serve the turn as well but now they shall be far enough from bringing any sactifices to the House of the Lord though they should desire to do it for their very souls Thus many who in the time of their prosperity do neglect the Worship of God and slight it and think there is no great matter in it but afterwards when they see their very lives their souls lie at the mercy of God then they would fain seek God for their lives they see they are undone if God be not merciful to them yet then God rejects them their offerings then for their souls shall not come into the House of the Lord that is will not be accepted
of God When a man is crying for an Alms but for a piece of bread to be rejected is something but when a man is crying for his soul then to be rejected and by God himself this is more grievous Secondly The bread for their soul that is The bread they have to maintain their lives withal if they would offer that to the Lord it should not come into the house of the Lord to be accepted for by bread for their souls may be meant the bread that they have to maintain their lives for so we find the Scripture cals the soul the life of a man in Mat. 6. 24. Is not the life more worth than meat the words in the original are Is not the Soul of man It is here the bread for the soul that is the very bread that they have to maintain their lives their necessary bread that they have to live on although they should be willing to offer that to the Lord it shall not come unto him Now this is as if the Prophet should say to them Now you cannot be brought to them to offer your superfluity to God but your condition shall be such as if you would offer the necessary bread you have to preserve your lives if you would offer that to God God will not accept of it As if a man were so poor that he were ready to starve and yet for all that such a man would say Wel though I starve yet I wil offer this I have to live on and I would offer this to God rather than have it my self now you would think this should be an argument of a great deal of devotion But the case shall be now that though you would seek God with such earnestness yet the heart of God shall be so hardened against you as they will not be accepted Those who in time of prosperity are loth to deny their ease and loth to lay out any thing of their superfluity for God but time may come that though they should be willing to bite off their very nails and pluck out their eyes and tear their very flesh in indignation for their sin in respect unto God any way yet this God shall not vouchsafe to have regard unto Therefore this learn by it to seek God while he may be found and not to stand upon your own terms with God in the day of your prosperity and to say I cannot spare this and that for him but if we deny God now what is his due though we would give to him hereafter that that our lives lay upon yet it shall not be accepted 3. Bread for their souls that is they shall have no more bread than will serve for their very life from hand to mouth they shall have nothing to bring to the House of the Lord they shall be so put to it when they are in captivity they shall be kept so strictly as to have nothing but bread and water nothing but from hand to mouth they shall be far enough from having any thing to offer to the Lord to be accepted of him if they should think of bringing any thing to the House of the Lord alas what have they nothing but a little bread for their soul From whence the Note is this To have no estate to offer to God in his service in the waies of his publick worship is a great affliction It follows VER 5. What will ye do in the solemn day and in the day of the feast of the Lord NOW they shall remember their solemn daies their feasts and see themselves cut off from any further enjoying of them it must needs be a great sadning unto their spirits to think what daies once they had Oh what solemn times and feasts that they did keep to God for any to sit down in times of affliction and say I remember what daies of joy in the service of God I once had but now they are gone Oh! the daies that I was wont to have how sweet were they but all is now past and we must sit down in sorrow and affliction There was a time saith God by the Prophet that you would not suffer any to go up to the feast but now you shall be far enough from Jerusalem or any other place of Worship and the very remembrance of those solemn daies shall be grievous to you Oh! what will you do in those solemn daies Those solemn daies were daies of joy in Numb 10. 10. Thus I think some carry it they make those feasts to be the feasts that they should have gone up to Jerusalem in but I take not this to be the scope of the holy Ghost here but rather thus by the solemn Daies and Feasts of the Lord is here meant the solemn day of Gods wrath and vengeance upon them now for the making out of that I shall shew first that in Scripture the day of Gods wrath is call'd the solemn day and the day of Gods feast is the day of his wrath a day wherein God feasts First The solemn day it is the day of Gods wrath in Lament 2. 22. Thou hast call'd as in a solemn day my terrors round about so that in the day of the Lords Anger none escaped So that the solemn day is the day of the Lords anger there And Secondly The day of Gods Feast that time when God doth execute his wrath upon wicked men is the day of a feast to God In Revel 19. 17 18. verses besides other texts An Angel cried with a loud voice to all the fowls that fly in the Heavens Come and gather your selves together to the supper of the great God that ye may eat the flesh of Kings and the flesh of Captains and the flesh of Mighty men and the flesh of Horses and of them that sit on them and the flesh of all men both free and bond both smal and great it is the day of the Lords feast Now 't is a solemn day a day of the execution of Gods wrath because now God executes wrath publickly and brings much wrath together Thou hast call'd as in a solemn day my terrors round about You know that in the day of a petty Sessions there may be some justice done but more privatly But in a day of solemn Assizes when there is a full Goal delivery then judgment is done publickly so God executes justice sometimes upon men particularly but God hath his solemn day to execute his judgments publickly before all and then the Lord feasts The day of execution of Gods wrath upon wicked men is a day of feast upon this ground First Because the day of their feasts were daies of slaying sacrifices so they should now be slain and God would account even their bodies that were slain to be as sacrifices for this great feast of his In Isa 34. 6. The Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the Land of Idumea And in
Zeph. 1. 7. The day of the Lord is at hand the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice he hath bid his guests And then it shall come to pass in the day of the Lords sacrifice that I will punish the Princes and the Kings Children c. He hath bid his guests so here 's the feast of God and the slaughter of great men are here the dishes as it were of sacrifice that God would have at this his feast the Executioners of Gods wrath are now his Priests to kill his sacrifices Soldiers and Executioners they are turned the Priests of God for to kill his sacrifice for this his feast Hence in Jer. 6. 4. Prepare ye War against her it is in the Original Sanctifie the War and in another Scripture those that were the executioners of Gods wrath were call'd Gods Sanctified ones And then further A day of Feasting is a day of Rejoycing this day of the execution of Gods wrath upon sinners especially great sinners that do escape mens hands it is a day of Rejoycing to God as in a day of Feast And this word that is translated Feast it signifies Dancing it is a day wherein the Lords heart doth as it were leap within him because of joy God rejoyces in the execution of his righteous judgments upon them therefore Gods wrath in Scripture is call'd Wine They shall drink of the Wine of his wrath the Lord at length when sinners continue impenitent is as much delighted in the execution of his Justice as men can be in drinking of Wine In Deut. 28. 63. As the Lord rejoyced over you to do you good so the Lord will rejoyce over you for evil And in Ezek. 5. 13. Thus shall mine anger be accomplished and I will cause my fury to rest upon them and I will be comforted It 's a very strange expression Oh! let us my Brethren take heed how we rejoyce in sin God may rejoyce in the execution of his Judgments upon us due to our sin Men have their daies in joy and mirth in sin and God hath his daies of joy and mirth in the execution of his wrath Oh! how sad is the condition of a creature when the infinite merciful God shall rejoyce in his ruin Surely then if God doth so rejoyce in the exceution of his wrath upon wicked men then the Saints also may rejoyce in Psal 58. 10. The righteous shall rejoyce when he seeth the vengeance he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked Taken from the custom of those Countries that were wont after their travels to wash their feet with cold water and that did refesh them so the blood of the wicked should be refreshment to the righteous Now this is not an insulting joy over them but rejoycing in the honor that God hath and in the good that doth come to the Church by the execution of such men both unto God and to his people So that it follows in Psal 58. 11. Verily there is a reward for the righteous verily there is a God that Judgeth in the earth The Saints may look upon wicked men when they see them executed and pitty them as men but they may rejoyce in this because they see such a spectacle before them as makes this Scripture to be good Verily there a reward for the righteous verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth And in Psal 52. 6. The Righteous shall see and fear and laugh Mark though he may rejoyce yet he must have fear mixed with it he shall see and fear and laugh And note that Scripture is spoken of a great Courtier of Doeg one that was a most desperate enemy to Gods people one that watch'd all the waies he could to do mischief and especially to do mischief to David and he was the man that came and stir'd up the King against David this 52. Psalm is made concerning this Doeg and a Prophesie of his destruction saith the Spirit of God The Righteous shall see and fear and laugh If a man can keep his heart spiritiual sanctifying Gods Name in the beholding such an object those that are eminent wicked men brought to execution he may Lawfully according to the mind of God feast his eyes in the beholding of it such a day is call'd the Feast of the Lord. And the Lord doth not use to feast himself but he calls his Saints to feast with him in Prov. 11. 10. When it goeth well with the righteous the City rejoyceth and when the wicked perish there is shouting And this is according to Gods mind it should be so And therefore Christians above all men should be far from a proud insulting even over these men but yet when God laies an object before them wherein they may see the answer of so many prayers and the fruit of the cries of so many thousands that were oppressed yea of so many thousand conscience oppressed ones that have cried against such a one if at the stroke of God they with hearts lift up to him shall give a shout that shall come up to the Heavens this pleases God and the holy Angels and it is musick fit for the day of the feast of the Lord thus the Saints may do in the day of the feasts of the Lord. Yea but saith the holy Ghost here by the Prophet But what will you do the Saints may do thus when God makes this his feast in the execution of such eminent wicked men he calls you to it to rejoyce and bless his Name he bids you look here and see is it not good waiting upon me the Saints may do so and bless God But what will YOV do in the day of the feast of the Lord What will wicked men do in that day what will become of all your jolity what will become of all your stoutness and wilfulness of all your pride of all your scorning of all your vain hopes when this solemn day comes and when the feast of the Lord comes In Isa 10. 3. we have a Scripture paralel to this What will you do in the day of visitation what will you do and to whom will you fly for help and where will you leave your glory Can you tell what in the world to do You can tell what to do now you have your wills and pride it and stout it out now but what will you do in the day of visitation when Gods solemn day and this feast comes Oh! what can they do but as the great and mighty men Revelations 6. they cry to the hills to fall upon them and to the mountains to cover them for the great day of the Lambs wrath is come Those that are the most bold and presumptuous in their sins when this day of the Lord comes they shall be in the most miserable perplexity not knowing what to do they know not how to bear that which is
so as you shall acknowledg a special hand of God even in their going But here specially the Jews did account it a great misery to die out of their own Land Buxtorfious in his book called the Jewish Synagogue relates such a Tradition that the Jews have They do beleeve that the Resurrection at the great day shall be at Jerusalem of the Jews that wheresoever any of the Jews have lived and died yet they shall rise up at Jerusalem therefore when many of them that lived a great way off did begin to grow old they would leave their station and go as neer to Jerusalem as they could for this is their Tradition that their bodies shall come through passages of the earth all along to Jerusalem and that they may prevent the trouble of coming so far under the ground therefore they remove their dwelling to dwell neer Jerusalem And this is the vanity of spirit that they are left unto But though that be a vanitie yet certainlie it 's an affliction to anie to be out of their own Countrie and there to live and die but if it be a great evil to flie from ones own Countrie for fear of destruction and to have the place they fly 〈◊〉 be made as their grave what a great evil is it then for men meerlie out of love for advantage to leave places where before they did or might enjoy communion with the Saints to leave the Ordinances of God to go into other places among Papists and Heatheâ—s where they cannot have the freedom of Gods Worship Now such as these are should find these places to be labyrinths of miserable perplexity to them it is just with God it should be so seeing they out of love to gain would thus venture themselves and therefore let men take heed of this how they go upon any private respects from places were Gods Worship may be had to places where they cannot enjoy it It follows The pleasant places for their Silver Nettles shall possess them Thornes shall be in their Tabernacles The word that is translated pleasant places for Silver it is the desire of their silver First It may have reference to this to their furniture of silver that nettles shall grow where they wear their fine silver things their fine Cupbords of plate and houshold stuff that they did take so much delight in as in Lament 1. 7. Jerusalem remembred in the daies of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the daies of old Mark but these two things from this text Jerusalem in the daies of her affliction and miserie My Brethren there may be daies of affliction and yet no daies of miserie the Saints may meet with daies of afflictions but not of misery the wicked when they meet with daies of affliction they meet with daies of misery but the thing I note that text for is this They shall remember all the pleasant things that they had Oh! they shall think then what fine Cupbords of plate they were wont to have and all their fine things so here here 's a threatning that there should nettles grow in the very place where their fine houshold stuff stood such a place of the house where such a fine Cupbord of plate was all shall be so demolished that perhaps Nettles and Thorns shall grow there And then secondly The places where they hid their Silver as you know in times of War men will hide their Silver and they think they may come back again and have them but saith God you shall go far enough from them and I make no question but another Generation may find treasures of silver in the Countries in the midst of Nettle bushes and Thorn bushes Thirdly It is their delightful houses adorned with silver that were so glorious to their eyes al now is gone saith God and Nettles and Thorns shall grow up they shall Inherit so the word is you hope to leave these brave houses to your children to inherit but now saith God I have other Heirs for your houses than your children I have Thorns and Nettles to inherit them for so the word is in the Hebrew They shall inherit It 's a lamentable spectacle to see places where fair buildings have been that now Nettles and Thorns should grow as it is like to be if these Wars hold in divers places of this Kingdom that was the complaint heretofore of Troy There was Corn grew where once Troy was it was made a plowed field but to have Nettles grow it is worse for where the plow goes there are inhabitants but where Nettles and Thorns are that 's a desolate wilderness Travellers tell us that in manie places of Germany when they go by where brave buildings were there 's nothing now but bushes and nettles the Lord deliver us from such a heavy stroke as this is this is threatned in Isa 32. 13. Vpon the Land of my people shall come up bryâ—rs and thorns yea upon all the houses of joy in the joyous City Would it not be a sad spectacle to see such a City as this to have the buildings overthrown and to have Nettles and thorns in your fairest streets come up yet sin is such a ruinous thing as this And then in Isa 34. 13. Thorns shall come up in her Palaces Nettles and Brambles in the Fortresses thereof and it shall be a habitation for Dragons and a Court for Owls the Owls they shal keep Court there In our Courts we know what abundance of sin was there now the Owls shall keep Court there instead of these Courtiers that lived so bravely there formerly Oh my Brethren sin is a leprosie that infects the doors of our houses there 's a notable story in 2 King 25. 9. it said of Nebuchadnezzar That he burnt the House of the Lord and the Kings house and all the houses of Jerusalem and every gâ—eat mans house burnt be with fire There is a great deal of sin committed in great mens houses and at this day how have the great men of the Land almost in all places shewed a spirit of Malignity against the work of Reformation Oh how just with God is it that the houses of these great men should sâ—ffer this that here is threatned in my text and manie of them have been spoiled already and if God give them not hearts speedily to see the evil of their waies it 's very probable that within a few years this text of mine may be fulfilled upon them They shall possess them It may be they think though the War did keep us from our houses a while nay though they should be broken down yet our Lands will hold they cannot take away them Nay saith God flatter not your selves with thinking to come to it again for you shall never come to them for Nettles and Thorns shall possess it And thus we have done with the sixth Verse but
his appearing Oh! that I could tell how to sweeten these times I speak unto you of God by providence hath cast me upon this Scripture I know not how to give you the mind of God in this Prophesie by being thus plain The watchman of Ephraim was with my God and their hatred in the house of his God Only one Note by the way that Arias Montanus hath upon the words saith he This Phrase Hatred in the house of his God it 's taken from such men as live in some great families and seem'd to have a great deal of power with their Lords and abuse the power they have with their Lord being continually by his table bed side they are a means to cause a great deal of hatred and at length to undo others and themselves So these Prophets are just like these men they are in the house of God and seem to have much intimacie with God in his House but the truth is they abuse this their intimacie to the hurt of themselves and to the hurt of others And thus much for the Explication of the Eighth Verse It follows VER 9. They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the daies of GIBEAH THeir wickedness hath deeply rooted its self so the word here signifies there 's little hope to prevail with them labor what you can their superstitious and Idolatrous waies have gotten such deep root in their hearts that there is no getting of it out Sin and especially that sin of superstion so deeply roots its self in the hearts of men if it be let alone but a little time that there is no getting of it out And indeed there is little hope of the Reformation that is now in hand that ever we should see it come to the full beauty and perfection of it until even God himself either by some extraordinary hand of his should root out those superstitious principles that there are in many men or at least by his own hand root out those that have such superstitious and Idolatrous principles rooted in them We wonder that men cannot be taken off from superstitious waies Oh! they are deeply rooted it 's not an easie matter to eraditate those waies and vile words of theirs it 's a blessed thing to take sin betimes and you that are young that have not other wickedness and especially superstition rooted in you you are those that it's like God will make use of for the bringing this Reformation to perfection you shall see the glory of it it may be when others are gone and dead you shall come to see what God intended in all these stirs that have been among us we find by experience the fruit of this in the hearts of men what a deal of stir was there to take them off at first Oh! but the root abides still in mens hearts and there 's this experiment of it of the depth and root that superstition take in mens hearts That though men be content not to practice those superstitious waies that they did before because now the times do not favor them yet this we find that men cannot be brought to leave off those things as sinful but as inconvenient they will be content to forbear the practice of them but you have but few men I had almost said but few Ministers but so far I may be bold to say that many Ministers but especially those who were any thing forward in superstitious waies such as did not before account them a burden those though they do leave them off at this time yet not as things that are sinful they never could be brought to that to acknowledg them to be sinful and so to charge themselves in sinning against God but they are content to leave them off as things that are inconvenient and as may be burdensom to other men but the leaving them off after such a way is no other but if the times should favor them again there is a principle retained in their hearts so as they would be in readiness to submit to them again and to do them as formerly this bitter root of Superstition abides in their hearts that 's the meaning of this phrase they are deeply rooted that is their superstition and false worship is deeply rooted in their hearts Well let their superstition be rooted as deep as it will yet as Christ saith in Mat. 15. Every plant that my Father hath not planted shall be rooted out God will either root thee out or the superstition of thy heart out of thee And seeing the false worshipers have superstition so rooted in their hearts Oh! how should the true worshipers of God have the truth rooted in their hearts never to be rooted out so Saint Paul in Col. 2. 7. Rooted and built up in him and stablished in the faith c. They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the daies of Gibeah This must cost us a little further time for the opening of it fully Rooted in their evil waies as in the daies of Gibeah What hath this reference to the Scripture doth note the City Gibeah for two notable things one that it was the City of Saul and so then upon that some carry it thus That as heretofore they cast off my Government when they chose Saul to be their King over them so now they cast me off as then formerly they did But I think that 's not the scope but rather As in the daies of Gibeah This hath reference to that notable story that you have in the 19. and 20. chapters of Judges there you shall find what was done in the daies of Gibeah You shall find the story of a Levite that had his Concubine gone from him and playing the whore he went to fetch her again and as he was returning home the substance of the story is this as he was coming home he would not go by no means as his servant would have had him to Jebus because those that lived there were not of the Children of Israel but he would be sure to lodg in a City that did belong to the Children of Israel and when he comes to Gibeah there expecting to have protection from that City being they were of the Children of Israel yet he found it quite otherwise the people of the City were notorious abominable wicked people and they came by violence in the night to break open the doors where he lodged that they might commit sodomy and filthiness with him but they obtaining him not get his Concubine and abuse her all night together one after another till with a long abuse of her they kill'd her and she lay dead at the door upon which horrid thing this being committed in a City that did belong to the People of God this Levite takes a knife and cuts his Concubine being dead into twelve pieces and sends them all abroad throughout the coasts of Israel and bad them think upon it and consider what should be
themselves If God do but leave them whatsoever their wisdom was before all their endeavors they shall be blasted and come to nothing in this it is we should sanctifie Gods Name and acknowledge it acknowledge our immediate dependance upon God for all our outward good we enjoy whatsoever second causes we have to help our selves Wicked men will not take notice of him in their Comforts they cry out of this and the other cause of their evil but it 's Gods departing from them that is the great thing they should take to heart Particular evils must not be taken so much to heart as this of Gods departing Whatsoever our condition be yet if God be not departing we are well enough though in the fire though in the water I will be with thee saith the Lord. Mark the ground of the confidence of the Saints in the time of affliction in Psalm 46. Luther's Psalm it 's called that is a Psalm that Luther was wont to call to his friends to sing when he heard of any danger that they were in or any sad thing fallen out Come saith he let us sing the 46. Psalm And mark the confidence of the Saints We will not fear though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea Though the waters thereof rore and be troubled though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof though the heathen rage and the Kingdoms be removed yet al shal not trouble us Why what 's the ground The Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge And it 's twice repeated in the same words in the Psalm God is not gone God is not departed therefore no great matter what men can do unto us But if one be in misery and have God departed Oh! how dreadful is that condition It was a dreadful speech of Saul in 1 Sam. 28. 15. I am sore distressed for the Philistins make war against me and God is departed from me Oh! when the Philistins make war upon a people when there is enemies at our gates and then our consciences shall tell us that God is departed from us this is a sad condition It was a woful speech of Saul God is now departed when I have most need of him Wo to them then For First The root of all evil is very deep that is upon us when God is departed It doth not lie in this particular or that particular we might make shift to get over them the spirit of a man might sustain his infirmity but the root of the evil it lies in the departing of God And what can the Creature do when God is departed As the King of Israel when the women said Help O King Saith he If the Lord doth not help thee whence shall I help thee And as all creatures say If God be departed we cannot help nay the very Devil cannot help if God be gone In 1 Sam. 28. when Saul was sore distressed and he would raise up Samuel and the Devil came in the likeness of Samuel saith he Wherefore doest thou ask of me seeing the Lord is departed from thee No Creatures in the world nor Devils can do good when God is departed then the evil is only evil when God is gone An evil may have much good in it and God may sanctifie it for abundance of blessings to his People so long as he continues with them but if he be gone then the evil is only evil And if God be gon all protection is gon and therfore thou liest liable to all kind of evils whatsoever And however for the present things do seem to be good that are remaining yet the blessing of it is gone if God be not with thee And this evil that is upon thee it is no other but the forerunner of eternal evil and the creature certainly then must needs sink when God is thus departed Oh! If so be that it is so woful a thing for God to depart from a people here in this world in regard of the withdrawing of outward things and mercies from them what is it then for the Lord to depart for ever from the soul What an alteration doth the departing of the Sun make Take a delightful Sunshine Summers day and how beautiful is it Now compare that with a winters dark dismal night What makes the difference between these two The presence of the Sun in the one and the Sun is departed from the other It is but the presence or the departing of one creature Oh! if the presence or the departing of one creature makes such a difference in the world what doth the presence or the departing of the infinite God do to the soul Let the Saints who enjoy Gods presence prize it and pray as the Prophet did Lord leave us not Oh! how vain is the heart of man that will depart from God If thou depart from him he departs from thee too and wo to thee whatsoever thou hast when the Lord is gone and departed from thee The Lord departs from particular men and women as well as from Kingdoms and Nations and wo to them also when God departs from a particular man or woman he doth withdraw his common gifts and graces and comforts that they were wont to have he doth curse all means for good unto them and he gives them up unto temptations those are the three special things that God doth in departing from any particular soul he withdraws the common gifts and graces that they had and the comforts that follows and curses the means that may do them good and gives them up to the strength and power of temptation You will say it may be Many a soul that doth desire further presence of God may be afraid out of this that God is departed Now though God no question may in some degree withdraw himself even from his Saints so as they may be afraid that God is gone and departed from them yet there 's this one evidence to thee let thy condition be never so sad yet if thou beest a Saint I say this is one evidence that God is not wholly gone if he leaves any kind of shine behind him so far as makes thy heart to be longing after him God doth not so depart from his Saints but he leaves some luster some little glimmering of himself behind so much as the soul sees which way God is gone so much as serves to draw the heart of a poor sinner after himself and makes it restless and unquiet till it comes to be in Gods presence again As when a Candle is taken out of a room the room is darker than it was yet there 's a glimmering left behind in that if you go quickly you may follow When God departs from hypocrites he departs so as he leaves nothing behind him and they have not so much of God as makes them make after God and so they
give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts But rather according to most Interpreters I think this expression is rather an expression of Commiseration that is foreseeing the lamentable condition that the ten Tribes should be in ere long the Prophet pities their condition and would fain come in and pray for them and he begins Give them O Lord saith the prophet and then he makes a stop as if he should say but O Lord what shall I say for them Give them but Lord I know not what to ask for them I am at a stand when I consider what they are what the many mercies they have had already what warnings they have had how hardened they are in their sin and how thy word is gone forth but Lord give them shall I say Lord give them deliverance give them peace give them prosperity still Lord I dare not that I cannot ask all means have been used for to bring them unto thee and yet they stand out against the Lord thou knowest they are deer to me they are of my flesh and I should be glad that they might be saved but thy glory is dearer to me then they are and therefore for that I cannot pray and therefore the Prophet praies Give them seeing all this misery must befal them what shall the enemies be let out upon them shall they and their children be made a prey to the Murderer Lord rather let no more be born of them rather let those children that otherwise should have been born and might have lived in their own Land Lord God 〈◊〉 them not be born rather than come to live to so great misery so he doth not pray for a miscarrying womb and dry breasts absolutely but compartively From whence the Notes are First That mens sins make many times Gods Ministers and his Saints at a point that they know not what to say in prayer Truly though there hath bee a mighty Spirit of prayer through Gods mercy in the Kingdom yet considering that since God hath come to shew himself willing to deliver us and Christ hath been coming even upon his white Hors in peace to take the Kingdom to himself since that time such a spirit of Malignity hath appeared against Christ and his Saints as ever was in the Kingdom it puts many of the Ministers and Saints of God to a non-plus in their prayers and straightens their very hearts in the day of their fasting when they are to seek God that the Lord would give forth mercy The Lord knows that the condition we are in is more unfit for mercy than we were at the very first day Thus a Nation thus particular people may put the Servants of God to a stand in their prayers and straighten their hearts Oh! were it that people had gone on in the imbracing of Reformation as they seem'd to do at the first Oh! how enlarged would the herrts of the Saints have been in prayer Oh Lord give England mercy give England deliverance And then a second Note is this That the fruitfulness or the barrenness of the womb it is from God Give them give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts This is from God in Gen. 30. 2. when Rachel cried for children Give me children or else I die the text saith that Jacobs anger was kindled against Rachel and said Am I in Gods stead Paulus Phagius that learned man saith that the Hebrews have this speech that there are four keys that are in Gods hand that he gives not into the hand of any Angel 1. The Key of the Rain and that you have in Deut. 28. 12. The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure the Heaven to give thee rain unto thy Land in his season 1. There 's the Key of Food in Ps 145. The eyes of all wait upon thee and thou givest them their meat in due season thou openest thine hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing 3. There 's the Key of the Grave in Ezek. 37. 12. Behold Oh my people I will open your Graves and cause you to come up out of your Graves 4. And lastly The Key of the Womb and that is in Gen. 38. 22. These four Keys God keeps in his own hand and therefore Gods providence is to be observed in this and there ought to be a submission to his hand in it Thirdly Sin may bring such evil time upon a people as better those who live to such times had not been born or died before those times had come Give them a miscarrying womb and a dry breast if they should have children that should live to endure all the miseries of those times that are coming they had been better not to have been born or have died long before this time saith the Prophet We must take heed of wishing this upon every little affliction that doth befall us as it is the frowardness of many people even with God himself that if their children do but anger them to wish they had never been born or cold in the mouth many years ago I wish I had gone to your Grave Parents many times are ready to wish their children that they had never been born of them but this is frowardness against God himself and wickedness those that are so ready to wish their children had not been born they are the least sensible of the sin that doth cause the affliction upon which they do wish such a thing as that is Give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts First There may be either such miserable slaughters as that Parents might even wish that they never had any Children Or Secondly They may live under such cruel tyranny for their souls and bodies Or thirdly They may be drawn from God by false Religion and so may be in a condition worse than if they had not been born Hence Parents to whom God denies children or takes them away they should quiet themselves in Gods dispose especially in such times as these are it may be God hath taken away your children to deliver them from greater evils as in the house of Jeroboam there was but one child that had any good in it and saith God That child shall die and gives the reason Because it had some good in it So that God takes away many that he hath the most love unto and lets others to live that he hath not so much love unto Yes some may say If I were sure that their souls were safe though God doth take them away if I were sure of their salvation then I would be content That 's true indeed If your children were saved what hurt is that to be taken away here and received to Heaven and there to live for ever with Christ not to sin or sorrow more but howsoever you may satisfie your selves in these three things First That they are under an indefinite promise though not an
place where I shewed so much mercy to them they think to justifie their superstitious worship but I 'le have them know that I hate this There I hated them saith God I abhor this that they think to be justified by So that the Notes are Above all sins the sin of Idolatry is that that God looks upon as the great wickedness for which he doth hate and abhor a people Because in that sin men think by their own waies of worship to make God amends for their wicked waies and present their own waies of worship to justifie themselves in all other kind of wickedness And again For men to abuse that wherein God shews mercy For them to take advantage or occasion by that to turn it into sin against God this is that which God hates For there was much mercy they met withal at Gilgal and they made Gods mercy an occasion to their wickedness To make that which should engage us to God to be an occasion of wickedness against God this is abominable in Gods eyes As you reade in the Law that you must not seath a Kid in his mothers milk that which is the milk to preserve the Kid that must not be a means for a second death to seath or boyl it in saith God that 's unnatural and but cruelty so for us to deal with God to take those things that should be a means to engage our hearts further to God to be occasion of further sinning against God that 's abominable there saith God I hated them Concerning Gilgal Their Idolatrous Priests told them as 't is propable that that place was a holy place and surely God that had appeared so to them there would accept of their services in that place rather than any other and so though God had after chose another place yet still they doted upon this place Gilgal and that which was so famous for Gods Worship became as infamous for superstition and wickedness Polanus upon the text compares that Town in Germany Wittenberg to this Gilgal Those places where the Lord hath been more gracious to people the Devil seeks to corrupt those places most of all as in Wittenberg was the beginning of Reformation by the means of Luther and now saith he the Devil hath made it the Theater of divers Heresies and still makes it more and more that very place which was a place of Gods mercy to the Country so here that place that was the greatest place of mercy is here the greatest place of wickedness the Devil envies it so much the more and all their wickedness is here All their wickedness That is the chief wickedness their Superstition and Idolatry is the chief and the great wickedness that provokes God against a people not only because of the presumption in it but because it 's an Inlet to all other kind of wickedness Hence observe 1. Where there is false worship in any place all manner of wickedness follows And people do most stick unto their superstitious waies more than to any thing and therefore that 's the chief wickedness yea and they think to satisfie God with those waies for their other sins All their wickedness is there A further Note from hence is That to sin in face of mercies where there are the Testimony of Gods abundant mercies that is very abominable to God That 's a great aggravation of sin to sin in the face of the testimonies of the mercies of God what where so much mercy yet here wicked and abominable Doth God fill thy family thy chamber thy closet thy bed thy shop with the Testimonies of his mercy Take heed how thou sinnest there where there are abundant Testimonies of Gods mercy to witness against thee and to aggravate thy sin But I find some Interpreters and that not one or two but many and that makes me speak of this Interpretation that refer this wickedness to the casting off the Government that God had appointed and the bringing in of a new Government at Gilgal was the place where they would have Saul to be their King and cast off the Government by Judges that God had appointed among them Gilgal was the place now this was the ground of all their other obstinate wickedness and God remembers this a long time after and saith All their wickedness is in Gilgal and there I hated them From hence the Note is this That it 's a hateful thing to cast off the Government that God would have us under it is hateful to God the Jews had both their Civil and Ecclesiastical Government by Divine Institution they were both mixt in one there And though now we have not our Civil Government by Divine Institution but it 's left to the Creation of man according as in prudence men in several Countries shall think best but Ecclesiastical Governmâ—â—t certainly is as much by Divine Institution now as ever it was and it must be so because it is spiritual and nothing can work in a spiritual way upon the inward man but that that is by Divine Institution therefore whatever the Government be I will not meddle with the particulars yet we must take heed how we cast off that which is appointed by God for that 's hateful there I hated them we had need therefore search and examin to find what that is and if we think it be not so cleer as their Government was to them we must take so much the more pains to examin and not think it long that there is so much time spent iâ— seeking to find out what the Government should be do not think it a light matter many people they think it but a circumstance and things that we need not trouble our selves so much about and why should there be so much time spent in searching it out Learn from hence to look upon it as a great matter as a matter upon which the welfare or the evil of a Kingdom doth much depend for so it was here saith God because they cast off the Government that I would have there I hated them Thus you may take in both the meanings both the Testimonies of Gods mercies in Gilgal at first and the place where they cast off my Government and would have another I hated them there saith God Again There I hated them There are some sins that provoke God to anger and some to grief but some to hatred and that 's dreadful when our sins shall provoke hatred the Lord hates the works of iniquity This is the great difference between the sins of the Saints and others the sins of the Saints may anger God may grieve God but the sin of others they provoke God to hatred I hated them Again There I hated them There Sometimes God manifests his hatred in the very places where men do sin against him As a mans spirit will rise if he comes to a place where he hath been wronged by any If
smite upon his thigh Oh! that we may smite upon our own hearts But it follows Their Princes are Revolters and Ephraim is smitten Only a word more from the connexion of these two All their Princes are revolters and Ephraim is smitten From thence the Note is If God leaves those who have the chief Government in their hands to revolt the people then will be smitten Oh! pray much for them and let not them that have the chief Government in their hand think much that people enquire into their way and that they use all means that they can to keep them upright for if they should revolt they would not only undo themselves but undo us it concerns us to enquire how it is with them and to be solicitous about them and they must not bid us that are beneath them to let them alone and meddle with our own business and follow that which concerns us certainly it concerns us much what they do were it indeed that if they miscarried they only should be smitten then we had less to do to look after them but if they revolt we are smitten If a child should in all humility and reverence beseech his father to leave off such and such a sinful way or to take heed of it that he be not carried by such and such counsels if his father should say Meddle you with what you have to do the child might well answer Oh father I hear in the Word of God that God doth visit the sins of the fathers upon the children and I may feel of these sins of yours when you are dead and gone therefore I beseech you Oh father consider what you do I say the same might be answered if we should Petition and labor with our Governors in all humility to take heed of any evil Counsel and if they should bid us lock to what concerns us we may well answer We have heard in the Word that when the Princes are Revolters the People are smitten that if Governors should any way revolt from any former Protestations the People is like to be smitten it is we know from the revolting of many of our Lords and Members of that High Court that we have been smitten so as we have been Now many of them have revolted to the Enemy and these that have been the Members of that Court I say their revolting have been the cause of such a sore smiting which we have had Further It cannot free Ephraim from being smitten smitten because their Governors are evil they cannot excuse their sin by that Perhaps the People would plead thus What could we do we could not help it those that were in Government they enjoyn such things and if we did not obey them they would undo us we were not able to bear their smiting of us therefore we were forced to yield Oh! better endure the smiting of man than the smiting of God it is a fearful thing to fall into the Hand of the Living God The apprehension of Gods hand smiting is that which should humble the hearts of sinners very much It 's a notable Scrip-which you have in 2 Chron. 26. 20. of Vzziah that when he saw that he was smitten though he were stout and proud before yet when he was smitten he made hast out of the Temple It 's no longer standing out for the Lord hath smitten So when we apprehend God smiting it is no standing out against the great God but we had need make hast to reform And thus much for this expression It follows Their Root is dried up But though we be smitten we hope we may grow we may lose our leaves and some of our boughs but we hope that we shall spring again perhaps these are the vain apprehensions of some men but never look to making their peace with God no saith God I 'le not only smite to take off your leaves and branches but I will smite the very root that shall be dried up There 's difference between the pruning and lopping off a tree and the drying up of the root of it there may be help so long as the root remains alive I will never trouble my self any further saith God with them I have already smote off their boughs and that doth no good I will dry up the very root now It 's a great aggravation of Gods smiting when he smites at the root every smiting it is not a drying up of the root it is the base unbelief of our hearts the discontentedness frowardness fullenness of our vile spirits that makes us thus to conclude almost upon every stroke of God that he intends our undoing if he doth but smite us so as a few leaves are but shaken off or that our branches are but shak'd we are presently ready to conclude that God intends to blast us and to dry up the very root and ruin us utterly how often in our unbelief when by temptations we have been shaken and the leaves of our comforts have been shaken off our enlargements and the like how often we conclude Oh! the Lord is coming against me and he will certainly blast all all that I seem to have the very root of all my hopes and comforts will presently be blasted Oh! this I say is the evil of our hearts it comes from our fullenness frowardness and unbelief ever so to conclude it may be God intends only to prune thee and to take away superfluities that so the sap may go down more at the root that thou maiest have more Humility and Self-denial and Faith that thou maiest have more exercise of the Root-Graces Humility Patience Faith Self-denial and God perhaps smites only to make the sap go down more to the Root-Graces though thou concludest that he will dry up the Root presently In this smiting wherewithal the Lord hath smote us we hope that he intends not to dry up the root but we may say of it as in Isa 27. Hath be smitten him as he smote those that smote him or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him The godly party may suffer much but I make no question but the ungodly party hath suffered as much and by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged and this is all the fruit to take away his sin and in the 4. verse God tells us that fury is not in him God is fain to make an Apolegie to his people when he is a smiting though I smite you yet not so as those that smite you but in the day of the East wind I stay the rough wind and fury is not in me but by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged and this is all the fruit thereof to take away his sin But God hath his time to dry up the roots of sinners and the roots of Nations 1. God dries up the roots of many that have made fair profession in former times they have had
tough and stought spirits and therefore he still strikes with sharp rebukes and severe threats Israel is an empty Vine The Church is often in Scripture compared to a Vine in Psal 80. 8. Thou hast brought a Vine out of Egypt thou hast cast out the Heathen and planted it And in that known place Isa 5. 1. Now will I sing unto my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his Vinyard The Church is compared to a Vine First There 's no plant hath a more unpromising outside than the Vine hath the outside of it how mean is it looks as if it were weathered rugged grisled weak and hollow the stalk of it and this is the Church the out-side of it is very unpromising little beauty and comliness as Christ himself had little beauty and excellency in his outside But yet secondly The Vine is the most fruitful plant that grows out of the earth Pliny that great Naturalist tells of very strange fruitfulness of some kind of Vines in his 14. Book and 4. Chapter he tells of ten Culei that 's his word that an Acre of Vines brought forth in a year which comes to a matter of eighteen hundred gallons nay in the 1. Chapter of his 14. Book he tells of one stock one single Vine that was planted by Livia the Empress that yeelded an hundred and eight gallons of good Wine yeerly The Vine is a very fruitful thing though unpromising in the out-side And what fruit indeed is there brought forth to God in the world but by his Churches and God expects much fruitfulness among his people how ever as you shall hear they are charged with being empty Thirdly No plant requires so great care as the Vine What a deal of do is there in dressing the Vine and underpropping of it and pruning of it looking to it continually and the Lord hath the greatest care of his people of his Church himself accounts it no dishonor to be the Husbandman as he is said to be in John 15. and in Isa 27. 3. you have a most admirable expression of Gods taking care of his Church as his Vine I the Lord do keep it I will water it every moment lest any hurt it I will keep it night and day I will keep it and I will water it and every moment lest any hurt it I will keep it again night and day And this is the Vinyard that he speaks of in the beginning of this Chapter and it was the Vinyard that brought out red Wine the best sort of Wine Those that bring forth the best sort of Wine shall have the best of Gods care and charge and protection over them Fourthly The Vine it is the most depending creature in the world it is not able to under-prop its self but must have props more than other Plants and therefore Nature hath given unto it strings by which it catches hold upon any thing next it And so the Church the Church is weak in its self and is the most depending thing in the world depends upon its props that God affords unto it you have an excellent place to set out that in Isa 27. 2 3. ver there the holy Ghost speaks of a Vinyard of red Wine and in the 4. verse Fury is not in me which shews that there should come a kind of great storm and tempest but he would not have his People to be discouraged Fury is not in me And then in the 5. verse Let him take hold of my strength that he may make peace with me and he shall make his peace with me Let him take hold of my strength that is speaking to his Church as a Vine in the time when my fury is abroad yet do you like the Vine which catches hold upon a pole and there under-props its self so let him take hold of my power let him act faith upon my power in time of storms and tempests and he shall make peace though he hath never so much trouble abroad in the world with others yet he may he shall have peace with me That 's the nature of the Vine to catch hold upon that which is next it and especially in time of storms when the strongest Oaks are rent in pieces yet the Vine catching hold upon the props it hath rests there Fifthly If it be not fruitful it is the most unprofitablest thing in the world I suppose you know that place in Ezek. 15. 2. What is the Vine-tree more than any tree or than a branch which is among the trees of the Forrest Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon Behold it shall be cast into the fire for fewel It is not meet for any work the Vine is meet for nothing not to make a pin if it be not fruitful And no people in the world are so unprofitable as Professors of Religion if they bring not forth the fruit of godliness and the world may be rid of them better than any people else if they bring not forth their fruit unto God And then further in the sixt place A Vine is the most spreading plant that is that spreads larger than other plants and fills a great deal of room with the spreading of the branches of it and so you have the Promise of the Church in Isa 27. 6. Israel shall blossom and bud and fill the face of the world with fruit And then lastly The Vine is the most tender soft plant and it is the Emblem of peace the sitting under our Vines it is to set forth Peace And so the People of God they should be of tender soft spirits not like the Bramble nor the Thorn full of pricks if we sit under Thorns and Brambles we may be prick'd with them but sitting under the Vine there is nothing but sweetness and delightfulness there Israel is a Vine yea but he is an empty Vine The word in the Original is a Participle an emptying Vine and yet the sense will come much to one an Empty Vine or an Emptying Vine that is Though there be much cost bestowed upon Ephraim so as he might be fruitful yet he makes himself empty This shews how he comes to be an empty Vine not because Gods mercy is scant to him but he makes himself so by his sin what juyce moisture he hath he doth empty it forth into other things and so is empty Israel was a Vine full of clusters refreshing God himself as you heard in the ninth Chapter that he was to the Lord as Grapes in the Wilderness as a Vine that did bring forth Grapes in the Wilderness that was so sweet to a weary and thirsty traveller Israel was once such a one yea but now he is come to be an empty Vine though he grows in the Vinyard of God and not in the Wilderness Empty and no mervail for as you have heard in the
defend but by being zealous and forward for his waies they hop'd to have promoâ—ion by him they did not fear to be questioned for any thing no matter whether they went against Law or not they could shelter themselves under the power and favor of the King the Pomp and Glory of the Court that was a great thing in their eyes they were bold in their Idolatrous way and oppression because of the power and greatness of the King who should controul them in any thing that they did But now saith the Prophet You have had your day you have had your time that you could thus shelter your selves under the power of the King and do what you list and oppress and rage and no body durst meddle with you because of the power of the King but now the case is altered But now they shall say We have no King Had they no King Yes Hoshea was their King but the meaning is It 's all one as if we had no King his power is so broken that the truth is he cannot help us Saith Drusius upon the place he cannot protect us which is the property of the King and therefore it is as if we had none now they shall say We have no King Alas he is not able to save himself he can do nothing for us his Pomp his Power Bravery is in the dust he is distressed himself and we are miserably disappointed of our hopes we are undone who can help us now whither shall we go what shall we do our consciences upbraid us now for our bold presumptuous wickedness Oh! how far were our hearts from the fear of the Lord we dar'd the God of Heaven and all his Prophets we boldly ventured upon those waies which we were told yea which we knew in our very consciences were a provocation to the Lord we set up our own worship we pleased our selves we made our wills to be the rules of all our actions that we did we took liberty to satisfie our lusts we mingled our own waies with Gods Ordinances we subjected Religion to publick ends we were riged we were cruel towards those who differed from us we upheld the Authority of the King against God and his People and now God hath justly brought this distressed estate upon us that now the Kings Power that we trusted so in is now broken and in a manner gone Oh! now we see we feared not the Lord we have none to help us now we now know what it is not to fear the great God God is above us and therefore now what can a King do to us what could he do for us Suppose we had him again Alas our misery is beyond his help seeing God is provoked with us and hath forsaken us what should a King do for us And thus in this short Paraphrase you have the scope of the words as if the People should have spoken in this manner But now the question is what times doth this refer to Now they shall say We have no King c. When did they say so The times that this refers to seems to be those that we reade of in 2 King 17. If you read that Chapter you shall find the times that this hath reference to then they might well say We have no King because we feared not the Lord What then should a King do to us For the Observations from it the first is this It 's a great evil for a People not to have the Protection and the Blessing that might be enjoyed in the right Government of a King over them A great evil And they complain of it as a great evil and so far their complaint is right That they are now deprived of the Protection and good that otherwise they might have had from the right Government of a King over them And my Brethren our condition is even such in regard of the personal presence and protection of a King in those regards we may almost use the same words as here and say We have no King among us And whether it be better for a People to have no King or to have no Protection from their King But that which is contrary to Protection is a Question fitter to be discussed and determined in a Parliament than in a Pulpit and to them I shall leave it But the Church of God shall never have cause to make this Complaint That they have no King in Psal 29 10 11. The Lord sitteth King for ever The Lord will give strength unto his People the Lord will bless his People with peace In Psal 45. 6. Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever the Scepter of thy Kingdom is a right Scepter Psal 145. 13. Thy Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and thy Dominion endureth throughout all generations Psal 149. 2. Let the Children of Zion rejoyce in their King Because we feared not the Lord. It is a great evil not to fear the Lord. Fear ye not me saith the Lord who have placed the sands for the bounds of the Sea It 's an evil and a bitter thing that the fear of the Lord is not in men For God is a great God infinitly above us cloathed with Majestie and Honor trembling frames of heart becomes his presence non like unto the Lord great and mervailous are his works Oh! who would not fear him God hath infinite authority over us to save or to destroy us he hath us all at an infinite advantage by the least word of his mouth to undo us his wrath is insupportable Who among us shall dwel with the devouring fire who amongst us shall dwel with everlasting burnings Darest thou a vile wretch presume to rebel against any word of the Lord when the next word may sink soul and body into the bottomless gulf of eternal horror and despair Who art thou that doest not fear the Lord Doest thou not fear the Commanding Word of the Lord when the next word that proceeds out of his mouth may be a destroying word to undo body and soul for ever Secondly They said We feared not the Lord. And observe In times of prosperity when men have the favor and countenance of great Ones then there is little fear of God among them Now they said We feared not the Lord. Oh! those times when we had the favour and countenance of great Men there was little fear of God among us So long as men have any confidence in the Creature so long they see no need of God their hearts are swollen with pride God is not in all their thoughts they say to God Depart from us we do not desire the knowledg of thy Waies They set their hearts and tongues against the God of Heaven they can venture upon any thing then to tell them it's sin against God it 's a poor dry business it 's nothing at all with them how vile and foolish are the hearts of wicked men that the enjoyment
needs have a King God granted to their desires in giving them Saul then afterwards they must have a King again so they had Jeroboam and he must be the King of the ten Tribes Their first King they had it was in Gods wrath and every one of the Kings of Israel was a plague to them what had they done for them All the time they had Judges they were in a better case Israel was in a far better case when they were rul'd by the Government of God And Peter Martyr in his Preface to the Book of Judges observes three things wherein Israel was better when they were under Judges than Kings For first saith he All the time they had Judges they were not let Captive out of their own Country so as afterwards Secondly When ever they were oppressed and God raised them up a Judg he did alwaies prevail so as to deliver them from their oppression before he had done he delivered them from their oppression that 's to be observed in the story of the Judges but their Kings did not so And thirdly We find not any one of their Judges are charged or condemn'd by God for evil that they were evil Judges among them as the Kings are such a one did evil in the sight of the Lord and such a one did evil and every one of the Kings of Israel did so God doth not charge the Judges so it was otherwise therefore with them after they had Kings And the truth is that Christ hath been but little beholding to I may say almost to most of our Kings yea little beholding to most of the Kings that have lived upon the earth and he hath taketh as little care of the greater part of them As they have taken little care of his Honor so he hath taken little care of the Greater part of them of all the Roman Emperors that were declared by the Senate in Number sixty three Historians agree that there was but six of al them that had such protection from God as to die a natural death but six of three score and three there were twenty nine of the Emperors that did not reign above twenty five years and od months yea there were twelve of them that did reign but three yeers and od months see what havock was made of them they regarded not the Honor of Jesus Christ but were enemies unto him and he regarded as little their safety What then should a King do to us From hence the Notes are these First When God forsakes a People there 's nothing can do them good For they did most dote upon a King that should do them good and help them When God forsakes a People nothing then can do them good Psalm 127. at the begining Except the Lord build the house c. Secondly It 's just with God to make those things unuseful to men which they sinfully dote upon and put their confidence in They sinfully doted upon Kings and put their confidence in them God doth now justly make the power of Kings unuseful to them What shall a King do to us If we dote upon them it 's just with God to make them unuseful to us Or if we dote upon our Credit and Names and so upon Kings and Princes If men expect preferment from them it 's just with God to blast all their hopes that they should be forced to say Now I see God fights against him as wel as against me Thus the people spake in respect of their Kings This Scripture may well be a Comment upon that Text we have in Psalm 146. 3. Put not your trust in Princes c. Do not put your trust in Princes have no confidence in them If you put your trust in them they wil be unuseful to you And Chrysostom upon that very Psalm hath this Note Whereas they would say Oh! he is a Prince Saith Chrysostom Let me tell you that which you perhaps will wonder at Because he is a Prince therefore put not your trust in him saith Chrysostom And he gives this reason Because saith he who is in a more unsafe condition than they Are not they fain to have their Guards go about them to protect them They in times of peace when they are in a City that is ruled by good Laws yet they are fain to have the Instruments of War round about them to protect them and therefore put not your confidence in them because they are Princes but then in the Psalm they are call'd to put their confidence in the Lord who made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that therein is which keepeth truth for ever Alas you may put confidence in Princes but they will not keep truth they wil make fair promises to you that you shall have some great matters by them but they use you for to serve their own turns but put your trust in the Lord and the Lord shall reign for ever as it is in the 10. verse Kings do not reign for ever they are the children of men the breath is in their Nostrils but the Lord shall reign for ever And again thirdly What shall a King do for us How great an evil is it to a people then whose complaints are what doth a King not do against us Musculus upon the forenamed Psalm those that reade his Coment shall find that Note in it saith he You are not to put your trust in Princes that are the children of men they are but men yea but what shall we say to those that are cruel oporessors that are rather like Tygers and such kind of wild beasts among men that seem not to be children of men how shall we put our trust in them Oh! it 's a sad condition indeed that a people is in when they have this cause to complain when they shall have cause to cry out and complain Oh how how doth he run from place to place plundering spoiling breaking tearing destroying wheresoever he comes That people is in a sad condition what shall he do for us Nay what doth he not do against us continually and all this because we have not feared the Lord. That 's the third Note The fourth is And what shall a King do to us See here the alteration of the spirits of these men towards their King King not long ago they put their confidence in their King and gloried in their King and now what shall a King do to us Hence the Note is God can soon make a great change in the hearts of people in reference to their Kings that even those that did dote and admire him and own no other God but their King shall even turn their hearts and say What can a King do for us the least turn of God upon the hearts of people will make such a change as this is Again here observe The difference between the blessed estate of Gods People and the wretched estate of wicked
that we hope the Lord is even revenging himself upon them for breaking Covenant even in that very place Now my Brethren that even Heathens themselves are convinc'd of this great evil that is so dreadful an evil what cause have we to lay our hands upon our hearts this day in respect of that part of our Covenant that concerns one another for certainly since the time of our solemn Covenant there was never more treachery than there hath been in England and in Scotland too there hath been as much treachery since that time as ever yet was since either of them were a Nation we have been false one to another so far as it relates to our selves But I find that Calvin in his Notes upon this Scripture understands this Oath and Covenant not to be a Covenant to men but their Covenant with God in promising repentance and new obedience and so they spake only words Swearing falsly they did but deceive him in swearing and making a Covenant and this indeed is a sore and dreadful evil to swear to the high God and to Covenant with him to draw so nigh to him and yet to be false God threatens in Levit. 26. 25. That he will send a sword to avenge the quarrel of his Covenant and when we see the sword rageth so as it doth we may have cause to fear that the Lord hath a quarrel against us in avenging the late Covenant that hath been made I mean our falseness in it and that we may see further our guiltiness and evil in swearing falsly in making a Covenant we must know that many waies our hearts may be false in our Covenants with God It is a dreadful evil to be false any way in Covenant with God any of you that upon your sick beds have been solemnly promising to God reformation if God restor'd you if you be false Oh know that the Lord hath a quarrel against you and he hath a dreadful evil to charge upon your souls How many of you have been false in your private Covenants But to be false in publick Covenants that 's most dreadful But our hearts may be false divers waies As First If we take our Covenant meerly upon politick grounds we make the solemn Worship of God wherein we express our fidelity for Reformation of Religion to be meerly subserviant to politick grounds here 's a falsness of heart we are false in swearing thus and making a Covenant we do not sanctifie the Name of God as we ought Or Secondly If we put false Interpretations we are false when we shall make our Covenant a meer 〈◊〉 to our Brethren let us consider how far any of us are guilty of this and let the Lord judge between us I say when we seek to make it a snare even to our Brethren How have those been accused for the breach of this Oath which have not accorded in things that are in Controversie with our Brethren as if this Oath were put upon all men to determin most abstruse and difficult points of Controversie to bring men to submit to things as are very abstruse and difficult to understand this were to make an Oath a Snare and to take the Name of God in vain in a fearful manner Certainly the Lord never would have Oaths put to men to this end that men that are of different waies and opinions in Controversal things for to be forced by way of an Oath to be of the same judgement and to do the same things this is a great abuse of this Oath wheresoever it is urged so far Certainly there 's no man guilty of the breach of this Oath and Covenant that shall but endeavor what he can to understand what the mind of God is and then to practice according as he understands though he should mistake as in the point of Schism in that point of the Covenant the thing its self being a sin we may as well swear against it as David did to keep Gods Commandements but now if David did labor to understand Gods Commandements and do as far as he did understand suppose he did not understand all things aright it might be his weakness but not his perjury So let us be in point of Schism or any other point of the Covenant if men do endeavor to understand what is Schism by the Scripture and accordingly do in their several places by what means their consciences tels them is lawful endeavor to oppose it though they should not think that to be Schism that their Brethren do think or perhaps is so yet they are not forsworn this is evil to make a Covenant to be a snare unto us and our hearts so far are false in it And then thirdly Then is the he heart false in making a Covenant when it doth not fulfill it according to the nature of it when it goes quite opposite against it As since our Covenant hath been made When was there ever greater divisions Our Covenant is for unity When more ungodliness our Covenant is against it when more injustice Our Covenant is against all these and yet since England was a Nation there was never stronger cries came to Heaven for these sins than there hath been since our Covenant And therefore certainly there 's a great breach between God and us in this regard And then fourthly When men make their Covenant to be a cloak for Malignity that is Though they have Malignant and vile wicked spirits yet they can but take the Covenant and then all is well Here they swear falsely in making a Covenant Thus Judgment springeth up as Hemlock in the furrows of the field After this their Covenant there is a great deal of injustice among them Judgment By Judgment some understand the Judgments of God and then the sense is Those wicked waies of yours are the seeds that brings up Gods Judgments that is as Hemlock bitter and deadly there 's a truth in this Interpretation though I think it is not the full scope of the words here but it may be the holy Ghost would hint some such thing unto us in it That our actions are as seeds and what they are sown here they will bring forth according to the nature of them Wicked actions when they are sown will bring forth bitter fruit will bring forth Hemlock It may be saith he you look for peace and prosperity but contrary to your expectation behold Hemlock and bitterness I beseech you take heed of preparing your selves a potion of Hemlock against you lie sick and are cast upon your death bed a man hath sown his field he thinks to have a good crop of Corn but Judgment the Judgment of God comes up and there 's Hemlock instead of it But because I think this not to be the scope of the place therefore I pass it by and rather think that by Judgment is here meant Righteousness Equity and Justice That whereas there should
be Righteousness Equity and Justice as it 's expected behold instead of this there spings up a crop of Oppression Vnrighteousness and Injustice that is bitter as Hemlock I rather think that this must be the meaning because I find that in divers Scriptures Injustice is compared to bitter things yea to Hemlock its self in Amos 5. 7. Ye turn Judgment to Wormwood and leave off Righteousness in the Earth And in Amos 6. 12. Shall Horses run upon the Rock will one plow there with Oxen I will not stand to open the former text but you see the Scripture charges the people by this expression of sinning against Judgment and Righteousness that they turned it to Hemlock Now I find three things especially recorded of this herb First It is a very venimous herb therefore I find Pliny records of it in his 25. Book 13. Chap. of Natural History that the Athenians did use to give this to malefactors that were condemn'd to die to execute them withal And Socrates that was so wise a man among them yet he because he did not yield to their gods but spake against their false gods therefore they judged him to die and he must drink a potion of Hemlock and so died And Secondly I find the same Author saith of it that the leaves are somewhat like to Coriander but that they be more tender and a strong stinking smel they have with them and the seeds like to Annis And so Justice seems to have a very fair pretence sometimes and may seem to do things that are very good under very fair pretences men are very injust the leaves when they come up one would think there should be such a fine fruit one would think to have Coriander or Annis but the truth is it comes to Hemlock at last And then the third thing is that which Hierom reports of it and it is in his Comment upon my text he saith that Hemlock grows up very stiff and full of joynts and at the joynts he saith it puts forth a stalk and that doth not only sprout upwards and bear fruit but downwards to have a root he saith that every branch If it hath but a joynt in it will serve instead of a seed yea every sprig of it will serve instead of seed yea he saith if any pieces falls to the ground It wil grow up and so grow up as that it will be very hard to rid the ground of it And truly thus it doth resemble Injustice if it be let alone but a little Oh how it multiplies one to another and spreads through the whol Land quickly And Pliny doth observe many other things too he saith that the root of it is hollow and that 's unfit for any use at all and so are the hearts of those that are injust hollow hearts and unfit for any thing And also he saith that the leaves are fit for swellings and against sore eyes And God doth turn even the injustice that is many times among a people to be medicines to his people against their swellings and to open their sore eyes And he saith That if Hemlock be drank in Wine it will certainly kill a man and there is no remedy So if men shall be Injust and take delight in it and take pleasure in it and scorn and contemn at those that they can oppress by Injustice those men are in a desperate condition indeed And then lastly he doth observe by this Herb that it kils by cold those that takes the leaves or seeds if they get the mastery of any they shall feel themselves begin to was cold in their inward parts and so die inwardly Oh! how many who have been very hot and zealous yet having gotten power into their hands they have unrighteously used their power they have grown cold in what they were formerly zealous in and still they grow colder and colder and thus their unrighteousness is like to prove to be their death In the furrows of the field Calvin puts this Question Why doth he not say it springs up in the field but in the furrows of the field And he gives this Answer to it Where there are furrows in the field there hath the plow come that hath broken up the field and it is to prepare for good seed when the field is laid in furrows and it 's less tollerable for Hemlock to spring up there than in the field that is not plowed or in other places But when a field is plowed and prepared for seed and one would hope to have much advantage by his field to have much Justice and Righteousness in a Country when we see there hath been great works of God to cast out those that were injust before and the expectation of all the people is that certainly now there will be nothing but Righteousness and Judgment but instead of that comes up Injustice and Oppression as Hemlock it springeth up in such a field that is so prepared for Justice Oh! this is that which is a sore evil that the Lord is so provoked against and so complains of that Judgment springeth up as Hemlock in the furrows of the field Thus Judgment springeth up as Hemlock in the furrows of the field What the meaning of Hemlock in the furrows of the field is you have heard already From whence the Note is this That People is in a sad condition and it is a sign the Lord hath forsaken them that they are neer ruin when those places where there is most likelihood of Justice and Equity that there should be Injustice and Oppression Oppression and Injustice in places where God expects Righteousness and Equity is a sad Omen a forerunner of great evil to places It 's Gods complaint in Isa 5. Just before he threatned the utter spoiling of his Vinyard he gives this reason I saith he looked that it should bring forth Grapes and behold it brought forth wild Grapes and he mentions among the wild Grapes Injustice there it 's call'd wild Grapes as Hemlock here for both are very sowr and bitter before the Lord Injustice in places from whence Justice may be expected is by the Lord accounted a most fearful a ruining sin In Amos 5. 12. I know saith the Lord your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins Now the word that is translated mighty sins it is in the Hebrew your Boney sins because the strength of a man it is in his bones and therefore he calls the strength of that sin boney it is a very strong sin it cannot easily be resisted your sins have great bones in them saith he and what are they You afflict the Just you take a Bribe that you may turn away the poor in the gate from their right that 's their great and their mighty sins In Jer. 22. 15. Did not thy Father do Judgment and Justice and then it was well with him He judged the Cause of
the fruit be in the Vine the labor of the Olive shall fail and the field shall yield no meat the flock shall be cut off from the fold and there shall be no herd in the stalls when things shall be brought into the most sad condition that men shall be at their wits end and know not what in the world to do then saith he I will rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my Salvation When God spake Then my belly trembled and my lips quivered at the voice Yea but when men came in the greatest rage and when all things were dark and dismal and black abroad yet then did I rejoyce in the Lord and joy in the God of my Salvation all fear was gone then Men can rejoyce in the time of their prosperity but in times of afflictions then they fear Whereas those that fear the Lord in their prosperity in the times of their affliction then they most rejoyce It 's a notable speech I remember I have read in Nazianzen in his 12. Oration saith he This is our care That we are afraid of nothing more than that we should fear any thing more than God That 's his expression Here 's an excellent fear here 's fear rightly set Would you fear fear to fear any thing more than God and then your fear is set right but if you do not c. Though men that have no fear of God they may seem to have bold spirits and it seems to come through the greatness of their spirits that they will not fear God yet these men in the time of danger are the most base cowardly men in the world I 'le give you a notable instance for this Manasses he was as proud an insolent man that seem'd to be fearless of any threatning of God scorn'd his Prophets But mark when he came into danger in 2 Chron. 33. 11. where did they find Manasses he was run into the bushes this brave bold spirited man that dar'd God and his Prophets and car'd not for what was said yet when he came into any danger what a base low spirit he had he runs and hides himself in a company of Bushes and Bryars This is the temper and guize of the spirits of men that will not fear God They shall fear because of the Calves of Beth-aven You know what they were those that Jeroboam set up in Dan and Bethel the golden Calves Luther upon the place moves a Question What a wonderful thing is it saith he that Jeroboam should be so bold to set up Calves to worship when there 's that eminent story of Gods revenging himself for the peoples worshiping a Calf that Aaron set up that at one time cost the lives of twenty three thousand men which were slain and yet that Jeroboam should presume to set up Calves again to worship It was a strange bold attempt saith Luther it was a wonderful thing that he should be so bold and that he should prevail with the people Luther gives the Answer to this Question thus The truth is there is nothing so horrible and vile but people in a little time will be brought to yield to it if great ones by their example and by their endeavor labor to set it up it will be set up be it never so vile never so abominable yet people will be brought to it that is his Answer And truly we find it so that set people seem to abhor things never so much yet if they find it be the sway of great ones and if it be once set up in a way of power they yeeld to it One would think it an impossible thing that now God having cast so much odium upon our Prelates one would think it impossible for the People of England ever to be brought to yeeld to them and I make no question but many of you say so when you meet together but do not deceive your selves if so be that those had prevailed that sought to prevail against us we should quickly have the spirits of people turned in a moment and as much for Prelates and Ceremonies and Altars for the generality of the People I mean as here they did to these Calves again though they had that sad story in their ears continually of so many thousands that were slain for Calves before They shall fear because of the Calves of Beth-aven Why were there many Calves at Beth-aven Indeed there were Calves at Dan and Bethel but there was but one at each of them Here Beth-aven and Bethel was all one Jeroboam was so subtil to set up the Calf at Bethel because the place took its name from God but here the holy Ghost calls it a House of Beth-aven because it signifies a house of Vanity or Iniquity God calls it by another name We may call things by names that may hold up some honor and respect but God will give another name to these things that we would fain put an honor upon He cals it Beth-aven and the Calves of Beth-aven Why was there many Calves at Beth-aven Now the Answer that some give is this There was but one at Bethel indeed but both Bethel and Dan may have the name Bath-aven for they are both houses of vanity and so called Calves in respect of them both Or others thus The Calves of Beth-aven As if the Prophet should say Set up as many Calves as you will they shall not help you if you had a thousand of them Or rather as I find som Arias Montanus with others They are called the Calves of Beth-aven because according to the example of the Calf that was set up at Beth-aven their workmen did make other little ones to be in their houses like as Demetrius that was the Silver-Smith for Diana made Shrines for Diana's Temple it was Demetrius's trade to make little kind of Temples in Silver either to hang about their necks or to be in their houses or ornaments So it was probable that the Calf that was set up at Bethaven had so much honor put upon it as to have little things made with Silver or Gold according to their estates perhaps for mean men little things made with Wood and Gentlemen with Silver and others with Gold like to those Calves and so had them in their families and therefore they are called Calves in the plural number And if this were so we might have a good Note from that That the true Worshipers of God should labor to bring the true Worship of God into their families They would bring the Calf into their families or houses so should we bring the Ordinances of God into our families bring the Worship of God into our families and not content our selves with publick Worship but have private Worship too they did not content themselves with a Calf abroad but had them at home in their houses or families And further there is a Note from it They are called the Calves
if they have not mercy if they have not a Righteousness beyond their own If mercy comes not in to plead for them wo to Abraham Isaac and Jacob if mercy comes not in to plead for them if at the great day if they have nothing to tender up to God but their own righteousness they are certainly lost and undone for ever Al that we can do is infinitely unworthy of the Majesty of God Oh! the text that you have in 1 Chron. 29. 14. when the people did offer so much to God for the building of his Tabernacle Mark how David was affected with it Who am I saith David and what is my people that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort for all things came of thee and of thine own have we given thee And when David in 1 Chron. 22. 14. when David had provided a thousand thousand Talents of silver and an hundred thousand talents of gold for the building of the Temple of God besides brass and iron without weight yet when all comes to all Out of my poverty have I offered this so Arias Montanus turns it In your books it is In my trouble have I done this but the same word that signifies trouble and affliction signifies poverty likewise and saith David after al this yet in my poverty have I done this whereas this was a mighty thing that was offered I remember Sir Walter Rawleghâ— it is in the 17. Chap. of his 2 d Part and 9 th Sect. he reckons up the sum of what David did there prepare for the Temple of the Lord he makes it more than any King in the world is worth he makes it to come to three thousand three hundred and thirty and three Cart-load of Silver allowing two thousand weight of Silver or six thousand pound sterling to every Cartload besides threescore and seventeen Millions of French Crowns and yet when he had done all Out of my poverty have I done this As if he should say Lord what is this in respect of thee who art the great God If thou wilt but accept of this I shall be infinitly bound to thee Oh my brethren let us learn for ever after all our duties not to be proud keep your hearts low and humble before God Hath God enabled thee to sow in Righteousness our hearts are puft up presently Oh no thou must keep thy heart still under Alas such is the proudness of our spirits if we be but enlarged a little in Prayer we are ready to be puft up presently Oh! what 's this to the service that a creature owes to the blessed and eternal God hadst thou spent all thy daies since thou hadst any understanding night and day in the work and service of God hadst thou been the greatest Instrument of Gods service that ever was in the world yet thou hast cause to lie down at Gods Mercy-seat and cry Mercy Lord Mercy for a poor wretched vile Creature after thou hast done al we are so unable to do any thing our selves It 's an expression of Luther The very Act of Thanksgiving is from God And therefore be humbled and cry Grace grace to al that hath been And let all Publick Instruments not take too much upon them but lie low And there 's a man that 's worth his weight in Gold that can be an Instrument of great and publick work and yet lie low before the Lord. Oh! did we but know God we would be so after our duties we would be low There 's a notable story I find concerning Cyprian when he came to suffer martyrdom and you will say that was a great service to lay down his life for God In his last prayer he had these two expressions which are remarkable in it The first expression was this Lord saith he I am prepared to powr forth the very sacrifice of my blood for thy Name sake yea Lord I am prepared here to suffer any torment whatsoever These two expressions he had You will say Now surely this man might stand upon his terms with God But he goes on But when thou doest lift up thy self to shake the Earth Lord saith he under what clift of the rock shall I hide my self to what mountain shall I speak even to fall upon me As if he should say Lord though I be here ready to give up my body to be massacred for thee to give up my blood to be an offering and to suffer any torment yet when I consider what a God I have to do withal if thou shouldest deal with me as I am in my self Oh! I must cry to the Rocks to cover me and the Hils to fall upon me Oh! this should teach us to keep our hearts low and humble after we have done the greatest work whatsoever I remember one of the Germane Devines when he was full of fears and doubts when he was to die say some to him You have been so imployed and have been so faithful why should you fear Oh! he gives this Answer The Judgements of man and the Judgments of God are different I am to go before the great and Al-seeing God though it 's true God would not have us daunted with any terrible apprehensions of him but yet he would have us be possest with reverence so as to be humbled when we think what a God it is we have to do withal you must reap in mercy Oh! this shall be the song of the Saints to all eternity Mercy Mercy Not unto us Lord not unto us but unto thy Name be the praise And then the other Note from that expression that we have there is That God will give abundantly above our works Oh! it 's a point that hath very much encouragement to poor troubled sinners that are low raise up thy faith it 's not what thy work is though it be low and mean and though there be many failings in thy work yet is there uprightness are they seeds of Righteousness that thou hast sown thou shalt reap according to what shall honor the mercy of an infinite God at last I remember Alexander when he was giving a gift to a poor man Oh! the poor man dar'd not receive it it was too great yea but saith he though that be too great for thee to receive yet it is not too great for me to give So I may say to poor souls when they hear of the glorious promises to poor people Oh! their hearts are ready to think this is too good news to be true it is too great a mercy for thee to receive as thou art in thy self but if God will give according to the proportion of his mercy it is not too great for him to give Now that 's the way that God will deal with those that are in Covenant with him that have all their fruit to come from the seed of righteousness Christ in the heart I say there the Lord will
time to seek the Lord It is mercy that there is any time at al to seek the Lord. It might have been past time with you for seeking the Lord God might have forc'd his honor from you in another way have fech't out his glory from you in your eternal ruin Oh! 't is mercy that God will be sought of you and therefore plow up your fallow ground and sow in Righteousness for it is time to seek the Lord. Oh! you that are the oldest and wickedest and yet live still Oh! remember this Scripture yet you have time to seek the Lord It is mercy that you have any time to seek the Lord If you did but understand what this mercy were ye would fal down with your faces upon the ground and bless the Lord that you have yet time to seek him What do you think those damned creatures in Hell would now give if it might be said of them That they have time to seek the Lord if they might have but one hour more to seek the Lord with any hope to obtain mercy from him What you are now they were not long since Oh! do you fear and tremble lest if you not seeking the Lord you ere long be as now they are that it shall be said of you Time is gon time to seek the Lord is past I will not now be sought of you Seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near It was a speech once of a woman in terror of Conscience when divers came to her it was in Cambridge divers Ministers and others coming to her in way of comforting of her she looks with a gastly countenance upon them and gives them only this Answer Call time again If you can call time again than there may be hope for me but time is gone Oh! that we had hearts to prize our time to seek the Lord therefore while he may be found And when thou goest home fall down upon thy face before the Lord and bless him that yet it is time to seek the Lord. It is time for the publick through Gods mercy it is time yet for us to seek the Lord. It might have been past time and who almost that did desire to know any thing of Gods mind for seven or eight yeers ago or more but did think that Englands time was even gone of seeking God But the Lord hath been pleased to lengthen out our time to seek Him and this we should prize and make use of Secondly It is high time to seek the Lord. For first God hath been long time patient towards you He hath been long suffering there is a time that the Lord saith He will be weary with forbearing and therefore the Lord having suffered so long it is high time for you to seek him for you to look about you lest the Lord should say That he would be weary in forbearing and forbear no more It is fit you should seek the Lord at all times but now it is high time when God hath been so long suffering towards you how do you know but that the time for the end of patience is at an end And that is the second consideration God hath been long patient And 2. Mercy it is even going for Judgments are now threatned by the Prophet as if the Prophet should say if ever you will seek him seek him now God is going and Judgments are at hand and therefore it is high time for you to seek the Lord. As a Prisoner when he is at the Bar he is pleading a great while when the Judg is at the Bench but if he sees the Judges ready to rise off the Bench and if they be gone then he is gone and undone for ever then he lifts up his voice and cries out Mercy mercy So it is high time to seek the Lord high time Mercy is going Judgment is at hand God as the Judg is going off the Bench now cry crie out for your lives or you are undone for ever Oh! this may well be applied to us both in the general and in the particular it is high time God hath shewn himself to be going and departing from us only there hath a company of his Saints been crying and as the Lord hath been going from us yet they have lifted up their voice and cried to the Lord so yet he grants us time And then thirdly It is an acceptable time because now God calls upon you and he holds forth the Scepter of his Grace towards you therefore it is now acceptable to seek God seek him now and he will be found 2 Cor. 6. Now is the accepted time the day of salvation while you do enjoy the means of Grace while God is offering mercy in the Gospel it is the accepted time therefore now is the time to seek the Lord The misery of man is great upon him for not knowing his time in Eccles 8. 6. There the wise man saith There is a time for all things but therefore is the misery of man great because he knoweth not his time Oh! 't is true in this regard we know not our time and therefore is our misery great upon us O that thou hadest known at least in this thy day those things that concern thy peace missing of time is a dangerous thing That may be done at one time with ease that cannot be done at another time with all the labor that possibly may be Thou canst not tell what may depend upon one day upon one minute perhaps even eternity may depend upon this moment upon this day A man goes abroad from his family and gets into company perhaps into an Ale-house or Tavern to drink and there spends the day in wickedness thou doest not know but upon that time the day of thy eternitie may depend it may be cast upon that day as Saul was cast upon that act of his saith Samuel to him The Lord had thought to have established thy Kingdom but now he will not so God may say Well notwithstanding all thy former sins I would have been content to have past by them if thou hadest sought me upon this day The consideration of this would make us take heed how we spend our time how one spends any day in ones life A Marriner may do that at one time that he cannot possibly do at another He hath a gale of wind and now he may quickly get over Sea but if he staies till another time if he would give his heart blood to get over he cannot and so sometimes thou hast such gales of the Spirit of God as may do good to thy soul for ever take heed thou doest not lose them if thou losest them thou maiest be undone for ever Oh! 't is fit to wait upon God for our time and if God gives us time take heed we do not trifle and say we shall have time hereafter therefore in Phil. 2. 12.
the Apostle saith Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling and it follows for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do What a connexion is there If God work the will and the deed what need I work at all Nay the connexion is thus Do you work out your salvation with fear and trembling take all opportunities you can let the fear of God be upon you so as to omit no opportunity for you do absolutely depend upon God that if he doth withdraw himself from you you are undone for ever for you can do nothing of your selves for it is God that worketh the Will and the Deed. As if we should say to a Marriner Be careful take your wind and sail for al your Voyage depends upon God if you neglect your opportunity you are gone It is time for the youngest of all to seek the Lord As soon as ever you begin to have the dawning of reason it is time for you then to seek the Lord Oh! that you did but know your time Oh! but what time is it for old ones for those that have neglected seeking the Lord the most part of their lives Is it not high time for you to seek the Lord who have spent so much of the time of your lives in vanity and folly as you have done The remainer of the time you have is uncertain and yet suppose you should have so long a time as in the course of nature you are like to live yet many of you cannot have so much time to seek the Lord as you have had in departing from God you cannot have so much time to honor God as you have had to dishonor him and therefore is it not time for you to seek the Lord I remember it is said of Themistocles that he died about an hundred and seven years of age and when he was to die he was grieved upon this ground Now I am to die saith he when I begin to be wise And certainly it cannot but be a grief to a man or woman though they should be godly to think Why through Gods mercy the Lord hath begun to work Grace I hope in my heart yea but assoon as I begin to know God and have any heart to serve him in this world I must be taken out of this world It was a proverbial speech once Weighty things to morrow you shall find it in Plutarchs lives Oh! take heed this proverb be not fulfill'd concerning you Weighty things to morrow take weighty things things of infinite consequence while you have time Let weighty things be regarded then It is time to seek the Lord. Time Certainly our time is now for the publick as much as ever to seek the Lord for never did God give us such an opportunity for honoring him as of late Never any Nation in the world had a greater opportunity for seeking God and honoring of him than we have had we were like to have been befool'd of our opportunity of getting mercy from God but the Lord hath given it us again and betrusted us with an opportunity again after it was got even out of our hands Oh! let us then catch hold of it now and bless God that we have it even restor'd to us again and let it be a strong argument upon us now to seek the Lord seeing we have an opportunity yet to do it we have the liberty of his Ordinances more fully than ever let us not be befool'd of it And certainly it is time in a more special manner now for us because that things are in so great a confusion that every body is at their wits end almost alas our wise Counsel that is at the stern yet they are fain to depend upon meer providences and casualties and the truth is there is such a confusion of things that if God should say to the wisest man in the Land Well do you contrive which way you think things should be best and I 'le do according to your contrivance they could scarce tell what to say or what to determine of if God should leave it to them such a confusion there is that in a rational way you could not tell how to determine of things Is it not time to seek the Lord then We thought it was time to seek the Lord when we were in great danger of the Adversaries that they would come to our gates Surely it is as great time to seek the Lord now to seek the Lord that when he hath delivered us from our enemies that we may not devour one another And when God hath given us some rest from them and said Well all that before you were afraid of was That the Enemies would prevail and then you could do nothing but I have queld their power in a great measure and now set upon the work of Reformation Oh! we are now at a stand and know not what to do and we go on in such craftie waies one against another that every one is at a stand Oh then it is time for us to fall down upon our faces to seek God to direct us to regard the great opportunity that God hath put into our hands We only now want light to know what to do and therefore whereas heretofore we have sought God for power that we might be able now we are to seek God for light that we may know how to improve our ability seeking God To labor to put our selves into such a disposition as God doth use to communicate mercy to his People in besides praying to God There 's those two things in seeking God Praying to him and laboring to put our selves into such a way and disposition wherein God doth use to meet with his people and communicate himself to his People Till I come and rain Righteousness upon you The word that is here translated Rain it doth sometime signifie to Teach it is of the same root and the Scripture makes use of that similitude of Rain for Doctrine because of the likeness of Doctrines distilling as the Rain therefore one word in the Hebrew is used for both And therefore I find divers in Interpreters go that way Ply the work until he teaches Righteousness and so it is a Prophesie of the Messias do you Sow Righteousness and plow up your fallow ground for it is time to seek the Lord till the Messias shall come and teach you the Righteousness of God So they carry it But take it is it is here Vntil he rain Righteousnes And then there is these things in it First I 'le open what is meant by Righteousness and then Rain By Righteousness is meant First That God will deliver them from oppression that though they have unrighteous dealing with men yet they shall have righteous dealing with him And this is a great mercy to a people that God shall undertake that there shall be nothing but righteous dealings betwixt them and himself Secondly By
Righteousness is meant The fruit of Gods faithfulness in the fulfilling of all those promises of his for good unto them wherein the Lord doth stile himself Righteous Saith he If you will now plow up your fallow ground and seek the Lord the Lord will deliver you from oppression and the Lord will make good all his faithfulness to you according to all that good word that he hath promised And this Righteousness it shall be Rain that is First to note that all their good and help it must come from Heaven as the Rain doth as if the Prophet should say If you look to men yea to men in publick place you have little hopes that there should be such righteous dealings or to expect that the good Word of God in all his Promises to his People should be fulfilled yea but look to Heaven saith God I 'le rain it shall come down from Heaven by waies that are above nature that are above the power of man I 'le rain Righteousness seek him therefore till he rain Righteousness be not discouraged though you should see those in publick glace to carry things never so unrighteously yet seek the Lord till he rain Righteousness Secondly By raining Righteousness is meant the plenty of Righteousness that Righteousness shall come in abundance It may be now some men may meet with some Righteous dealings and be encouraged when things are at the best among men but this Righteousness comes but by drops yea but seek the Lord till He Rain Righteousness What is it to have a few drops of water You may go into your Garden and with a little pot of Water water the Herbs yea but when it rains down water then the earth is refreshed And so saith the Lord here Seek me till I come with a shower of Righteousness and rain it down upon you Thirdly Till he rain Righteousness That is Till I work so graciously in the works of my Righteousness to you as shall make the Seeds that you have sown to be fruitful to grow up to the honor of my Name and to your good Now there are many godly amongst you and they sow Righteousness they do many good Actions but alas it is kept down still by the scorching heat of the Oppressors in places where Oppression prevails many godly truly godly men and women they sow much seed of Righteousness but there is little good comes of it and all is kept down yea but saith the Lord Seek me till I rain Righteousness I 'le rain from Heaven such showers that shall be the fulfilling of my Promises to you that shall make all your righteous actions grow up to the praise of my Name and the good of your Brethren Oh! what a blessed time is this when there shall be nothing but righteous dealings and all the faithfulness of God shall be fulfilled and there shall be plenty The Notes are First That God will come to sow Righteousness in time Those that plow and sow in Righteousness God will come in way of Grace and Goodness to them Prov. 11. 18. To him that soweth Righteousness shall be a sure reward Be not discouraged you that sow Righteous seed for it is not with the seed of Righteousness as with the seed that is sown in the earth for if that do not come up in such a certain time it will never come up but you cannot say so of the seed of Righteousness it will come up Secondly God sometimes comes not presently in raining Righteousness upon his people that do sow Righteousness Seek the Lord till he comes and rains Righteousness As if the Prophet should say You have hearts to seek the Lord to be humbled and reform to sow in Righteousnesse well be not discouraged continue seeking stay till he doth rain Righteousness After the seed is sown you would fain have a shower the next morning but may be it will not be the next morning stay till Gods time God doth not alwaies hear the prayers of his people so as to answer them when they would It is very observable concerning Elijah at one time when he cried for fire to come down upon the Sacrifice it came down presently but when he cried for rain he was fain to send his servant seven times Elijah did not get Rain from Heaven so soon as Fire from Heaven The Third Note is this That those that seek aright will continue seeking God till he comes and rains Righteousness There is an excellent Scripture in Psalm 101. 2. saith David I will behave my self wisely in a perfect way O when wilt thou come unto me I will walk in my house with a perfect heart As if the Prophet should say Why Lord 't is thy presence I desire more than a thousand worlds and I 'le endeavor to behave my self in my house in my family not only in the presence of others but in my family in the most perfect way I can Lord when wilt thou come It seems God did not come and manifest Himself presently though David did behave himself in a perfect way in his house yet David professes he would wait still There 's many Scriptures may be given for this and many arguments why a gracious heart will not leave over seeking till the Lord comes 'T is the Lord I seek and he is a great God and is fit to be waited on though he doth not come presently We think it is a matter of State because of the distance that there is between one and another to make them stay Why should we think much that we should wait upon the great and Infinite God And perhaps you pray and find no benefit it is fit for you to wait upon God There is an infinite distance between God and you Seek till he comes If you do not get that that you seek for yet you are doing your duty and that is enough This is a very great evil among many They are praying and seeking God but they only have their eyes upon what they shall get by seeking God and if nothing comes of it then they are discontented whereas meerly the consideration of that that thou art doing thy duty should be enough to quiet thy heart And then further Thou canst not be better certainly than seeking God Whither wilt thou go If thou leavest seeking God thou turnest from thy own mercy to vanity And hast thou a temptation to leave off seeking God shalt thou get any thing by it Certainly thou canst not do better and therefore seek the Lord seek the Lord Till he comes Isa 30. 18. is a most excellent Scripture to uphold the heart in seeking God though God do not seem to come The Lord is a God of Judgment blessed are they that wait for him You are not a man or woman of Judgment you know not when it is a fit time that things should be done But God is a God of Judgment he knows how to do things in Judgment and
therefore blessed are they that wait for him Think of this and deny your own Judgments and your own thoughts and know that you are waiting upon God that is a God of Judgment that is infinitely wise to come to his People in a fit season and to come so that at last you would not wish that he had come sooner And know That all the while you are waiting God is working good We are waiting upon mens doors and they take no notice of it but if we knew that all the time we are a waiting our Petition were a reading and they in consultation about it and we only waited for the issue of the consultation it would satisfie us And so a gracious heart may be assured of this Hast thou sought the Lord in the truth of thy heart The thing is not come yet but ever since thou hast sought the Lord the heart of God hath been thinking of that thing which thou soughtest him for and wilt not thou be seeking God still till He doth come And then While thou art seeking God thou art not altogether without some dews Indeed God doth not come and rain in showers that Righteousness that he will hereafter but surely thou hast dews thou hast some encouragements and do not slight those dews of Gods Grace that thou hast for then thou maiest stay the longer before the showers of Righteousness come prize the dews of Gods Grace and the showers of Righteousness they will come the sooner Many Christians though they have many dews of Gods Grace upon their hearts to refresh them yet because they have not showers they think it is nothing what hast thou no dews of Grace What is it that keeps thy heart so tender as it is Thou wouldest not for a thousand worlds wilfully sin against God certainly if thy heart were hardened the Truths of God would not get into thy heart so as they do Indeed the rain comes in a visible way yea but there are dews of Grace that come in a secret way Thou doest not indeed see the comings in of those dews of Grace upon thy heart yea but others may see the effect of those dews And then lastly Seek the Lord till he comes why Because when he comes he will come more fully a great deal It was a notable speech of Mr. Glover the Martyr when he had been seeking God for the raining of Righteousness he was willing to give his life for God and yet God had absented himself from him Oh! God was not come he complain'd to his fellow Austin that God was not come well but saith his friend he will come and give me a sign before you die if you feel the Spirit of God come to your heart well the poor man continued all night when he was to be burnt the next day and yet he was not come yea the Sheriff came to carry him to the Stake and yet his heart was dead But he goes on till he came within the sight of the stake and then the holy Ghost came into his heart and fil'd him with joy so that he lifts up his hands and voice and cries He is come he is come Now there came a shower of Righteousness upon his heart he was content to seek the Lord till he came And that may be a fourth Note That those that are content to seek God till he comes when he comes he will come with plentiful showers in raining Righteousness Oh! how many how many cursed Apostates are there that will curse themselves one day for not continuing seeking of God till he comes Perhaps there are some that have had some convictions of conscience and because they have not had encouragement presently they were discouraged and so thou hast basely gone back and now God hath left thee and thou art become a base useless Hypocrite and art a dishonor and disgrace to Religion and all because thou wouldest not stay till God came Oh! but others staied till God came and God came at length so fully that now they bless his Name that they did stay I remember I have read of Columâ—us that was the first that found out the West Indies and the story saith of him that his men were even weary he was so long in sailing so they were resolved they would come back again that they would so that then all their labor had been lost But Columbus he came to them with all intreaties to go on a little time and at length prevail'd with them to go on but three daies longer So they were content to venture three daies and within that three daies they came to see Land and so discovered those parts of the world that were so little known to these parts Now what a miserable thing had it been if they had come back and lost all their Voyage Thus it is with many a soul sailing towards Heaven and eternal life Thou hast been a long time tost up and down in the waves of the Sea the waves of Temptation and of Trouble and thou thinkest it's best to come back again Oh! stay a while do not limit three daies but go on yet it may be said of some that had they proceeded in their voiage but three daies more they might have come and seen whereas now they have lost all Oh! seek the Lord then till he comes and rains Righteousness And then the fifth is this The help of those that seek God it is from Heaven Till HE Rain They do not so much expect help from Creatures as from Heaven they look up to Heaven for their help when all comforts in creatures fail they look upwards and there see their help And then the sixt Note is this That the fruit of Gods coming to his People after seeking it is To make them fruitful that 's the end of Gods coming the end of the Mercy of God in coming to people it is to make their seeds to grow up and be fruitful It may be you would have God come but wherefore to bring comfort to you No the end of Gods coming to his Saints it is To make them fruitful and this would be an Argument of the sincerity of your hearts in seeking God When you are seeking him what do you seek him for only for comfort and peace and to ease you from troubles Yea but do you seek God that you may be fruitful The Hypocrits seek to have Grace that they may have Comfort and the godly seeks Comfort that they may have grace so it is That God may rain Righteousness I am as a dry ground Oh! that God would come with the influence of his Grace to make me fruitful in the works of holiness Many of you would have comfort as now in these daies mens ears are altogether set upon comfort but is your comfort the showers of God doth it make the seeds of Righteousness fructifie in your hearts Certainly you can have little comfort of that comfort that
them to maintain that way of theirs they had countenance from men of Power they had strength enough to crush any that should oppose them That 's the Note that lies plainly before us When the outward strength of a Kingdom goes along with a way of Religion then men think it must needs be right and that all men are but weak men that appears against it Mark the connexion They trusted in their way that is as I find generally Interpreters go The way of Religion And then their Mighty Men these two are put together so that you see the Note is very evident before you that 's the way that generally men will trust in and men will go that way were the scale turn'd and the strength of the mighty men went another way As now Suppose that the strength of the Kingdom of the ten Tribes had been bent to go up to Jerusalem to worship and not to worship at Dan Bethel Do you think there would have been almost any considerable party that would not have gone up to Jerusalem but worshiped at Dan Bethel but when the strength of the Kingdom held the other way when the mighty Men and the way of Religion went both in one the generality of the people went that way that the mighty men went This is the vanity and the exceeding evil of mens hearts that which way soever the mighty men go that way they will trust in There are very few that will deliberatly say so I will go that way that I see the mightie men go in But this is a secret byass poise upon the spirits of men w ch inclins them to harken to what may be said for that way not willingly to what may be said for another And secondly It is such a poise upon their spirits as makes them to be willing and ready to let in any probability if there be but the least probability for the way that the mighty men go on in they take in that and when they have taken in one probability that makes way for another and another and so they drink in more and more so com to be strengthned for that way so as to put off the strength of any thing that can be said against the way except it be so apparent as whether they will nor no they must be forced to sin against their consciences directly if they go another way I say when the spirits of men are byassed by seeing the strength of the Kingdom go in a way though perhaps they may have some good lie at their hearts yet there is that corruption in mans heart that except we can make the other way so cleer that notwithstanding all shifts and all kind af reasonings that may be they shal be self-condemned in their own consciences that their consciences shall tell them they go directly against their light I say except we can come thus we cannot prevail with mens hearts when the sway of a Kingdom goes another way And there are many Truths of God that concerns his Worship that cannot be made so cleer but that a man may have such a diversion to satisfie his conscience in this That I in going another way do not go against my conscience God would have us that what is most likely to be his mind that way to go without any consideration of any outward respects Now if there be a temptation for outward respects that they will come into the ballance do but turn the ballance and suppose in your own heart that all outward respects were in the other ballance that all the mightie men were of the other way what would your hearts think In Revel 13. 3. That when Power and Authority was given unto Antichrist The whol World wondred after her So it is ordinary that way that the mighty men go that way mens hearts will generally go Oh! the little honor that Jesus Christ hath by us Our hearts are swayed for the most part by carnal Arguments and carnal Motives Again They trust in their way and in the multitude of their Mighty Men. Great Armies are the things that are the Confidence of Carnal hearts when they can get a great Army up of a multitude of Mighty Men let there be never such threats in the Word yet if they think they have strength enough to bear them out they bless themselves in that Oh! let us take heed of this Carnal Confidence Through Gods Mercie the Lord hath given us now that we have the multitude of Mightie Men on our side let us take heed that our Faith do not eb and flow as our Armies do and I wil give you one Scripture that shews how far a gracious heart is from making flesh his Arm Cursed is that man you know the Scripture that maketh flesh his Arm. But an example of a godly man to shew how far he was from trusting in an Armie of mighty men in 2 Chron. 14. 11. It is nothing saith Asa with thee to help with many or with them that have no power Why Lord though we have no power yet thou canst help us Why did Asa speak thus Had he no power You shall find in the Chapter a little before that Asa had five hundred and fourscore thousand valiant fighting men Almost six hundred thousand valiant men that he had at that time when he is pleading with God Lord thou canst save where there is no power We account it a great Army if we have twentie or thirtie or fourty thousand men he hath almost six hundred thousand men and yet goes to God and praies Lord thou canst help where there is no power And yet further from the connexion of these two Their way in which they trusted That is The way of Religion they thought that was good But had they had nothing else to trust in but that their trust would not have been very sure From thence the Note is this That those who trust to any way of their own had need of creature strengths to uphold them It 's a Note of very great use they had need of bladders to be under their arm-holes if they trust in a way of their own But now if the Way be the Way of God that a man hath confidence in why then though all outward helps should fail him though all encouragements should fail in this world though we should see the creatures at never so great a distance yet the heart that hath confidence in Gods way hath enough to uphold it here 's the difference between men trusting in their own way and in Gods way Indeed when men trust in their own way so long as the Sun shines upon their way that they have external helps they can go on confident but let outward helps fail and their hearts sink within them But now when the heart is upright with God and trusts in the Word and Promises then it is able to say with Habakkuk in Chap. 3. 17.
then it were another matter but now considering they have enough in them to make them subjects of Gods wrath God may take advantage the rather because of thy sin and therefore take heed ane especially take heed to Gods Worship for we do not find in Scripture where any children are so threatned as the children of Idolaters are And then a further Note is this That the Judgments of God neer to us should awaken us we should think Why may it not be upon our selves This was a heavy Judgment of God upon some City neer and God would awaken them Oh! what have we heard hath been upon our Brethren in other parts and we have been sottish and not sensible of it because iâ— hath not just come upon our Gates the Lord expects when we hear of any dreadful evil upon others that we should tremble and fear before him And then one thing further note from hence As Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel The word that is here Shalman it signifies the name of one that is peaceable one that is peaceable and yet he shall exercise his cruelty so as to dash the Mother upon her Children this is not one that bears cruelty in his name not a Tyger but a Shalman a peaceable man as his name carries it and yet thus cruel when he comes to have power Oh! men who have peace in their names and peace in their mouths and peace in 〈◊〉 yet when they come to have power often times are very cruel We were like to have found it so if our adversaries should have prevailed especially this Citie might have been made a Beth-arbel Mothers dashed upon their Children It 's true when the adversaries did prevail in any place they did not do so but it was not through any ingenuity or pity but out of fear but had they gotten the day then we might have expected even dashing of the Mother against the children VER 15. So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness SO shall Bethel What shall Bethel rise up against the rest of the ten Tribes and come and destroy Mother and Children together That 's not the meaning But Bethel shall do it that is Bethel is the Cause of this that dreadful slaughter that is like to be among you it shall come from Bethel Who would ever have thought that Oh my Brethren Miserable Judgments do many times arise from causes we 〈◊〉 think of that 's the Note from thence I say miserable Judgments do many times arise from causes we little think of From Bethel there should come this slaughter and dreadful blood-shed And as that Note more generally so more particularly this That from places of Idolatry comes the greatest evils to Kingdoms As 't is very observable on the contrary from the places of Gods Worship comes the greatest good so from places of Idolatry the greatest evil In Psal 76. 2 3. In Salem is his Tabernacle and his dwelling place iâ— Zion There brake he the Arrows of the Bâ—◠〈◊〉 Shield and the Sword and the Battel Did God break them there Was there a Fight in Zion and in Salem No that 's not the meaning but in Zion and Salem where Gods Tabernacle was those Servants of God that were worshiping of God in Jerusalem and in Zion and praying to God they got the Victory so we may say that such a place that was fasting and praying in the time of our battels there God brake the Arrow and the Bow in that place where they were praying and seeking God it was in Salem and Zion Where the true worship of God is from thence comes the good of a Kingdom And so in Isa 31. 9. Whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem The Lord is there threatning the Enemies of his people and he saith That his fire is in Zion and his furnace is in Jerusalem there God hath his furnace and from thence it shall go to destroy the adversaries And so on the contrary where Idolatry is set up and false worship maintained from thence comes evils and miseries upon us Because of your great wickedness The word is Because of the wickedness of your wickedness so the Hebrews express the suparlative degree by a genetive case the evil of the evil the wickedness of the wickedness From whence observe Other sins are great sins but this of false worship indeed is THE great sin that God is provoked against a people for Whence let us not make light account of the Worship of God for how little soever Gods Worship is in our eyes yet it is a great matter in Gods eyes and though you think that the sins against God in the matter of his Worship be but small yet God saith it is the great wickedness it is the wickedness of wickedness And great wickedness it may be call'd not only in respect of the nature of it but from many aggravations and long continuance in it notwithstanding all their means You may Note further from hence God takes notice not only of mens sins but of the aggravation of their sins Oh! let us do thus do not only look upon your sins and acknowledg your selves to be sinners but look upon the Aggravations of your sins Oh! this sin committed against so many Mercies so many Prayers and Resolutions and Vows and Covenants and so many Deliverances that I have had labor to lay the Aggravations of your sins upon your hearts and this is the way to humble your hearts before the Lord. Indeed the Saints of God they need not seek to excuse their sins be not afraid to lay the aggravations of sin upon your own hearts according to what great aggravations there may be Greaten your wickedness before the Lord do not so as ordinarily people do to extenuate your sins for if there be any extenuation that possibly can be Jesus Christ will find out that in his pleading Christ is your advocate who sits at the right hand of the Father and it is his work to plead your cause and therefore if there can be any thing to extenuate a sin he will do it you know that when he was here in this world when his Disciples did offend very much in that sleepiness of theirs that when Christ was to suffer they could not watch with him one hour that sin might have been aggravated with abundance of circumstances but saith Christ The flesh is weak but the spirit is willing he falls to extenuate and excuse Now that which Christ did there he wil be ready to do in Heaven for thou that art a Saint And then further According to greatness of sins so is the greatness of wrath great wickedness and great wrath they go together and therefore according to the greatness of sins should the greatness of our humiliation be For so it is said of Manasses That he humbled himself greatly and in Lament 1. 20. where the
over as you heard before as the King of Israel is compared to the foam so he is here compared to the morning Now my brethren to close this Chapter Oh! what alteration of things God is able to make in a morning They it may be the day before and over night were jolly and merry and blest themselves in their way they had confidence in their way and multitude of their mighty men but in a morning all is spoiled God can make mighty alterations in a Kingdom in a morning and in Cities and Families and particular Persons mighty alterations in a morning My Brethren Who knows what a day may bring forth who knows what a morning may bring forth Ezek. 7. 5 6 7. Thus saith the Lord God An evil an only evil behold is come An end is come the end is come it watches for thee behold it is come The Morning is come unto thee O thou that dwellest in the Land the time is come the day of trouble is near As if God should say Al this while that thou hast bin in the act of the pride of thy heart and vanity of thy spirit I did determin that such a morning such an evil should come and it 's come it is come it is come saith God Again again and again the morning is come O! think when you lie down at night think what thou hast done this day do not dare to lie down but first make thy peace with God thou knowest not what may be in the morning and when thou risest up in the morning look up to God and seek blessing and mercy from the Lord for though thine eyes be opened and thou come to see the morning light yet before the morning be quite gone thou knowest not what may befal thee and therefore seek to make thy peace with God both in the night and in the morning for great changes may come to thee both in the night and in the morning that thou never thoughtest of in all thy life And thus through Gods blessing we have finished the Tenth Chapter FINIS An Alphabetical TABLE of the Eighth Ninth and Tenth Chapters of the Prophesie of HOSEA Page A Acceptance NO acceptance but by Jesus Christ 74 Admonition Admonition to Saints 59 Admonition to England 66 Admonitions both to Popish and Godly Wives 219 Admonition to those that sin wilfully 425 Affliction In Affliction men see their need of God 9 Affliction teacheth men and what it teacheth them 189 In Affliction God is dreadful 335 Age Every age ads to Idolatry 81 Aggravate The sins of parents aggravate the sins of the children 209 Agreement All Government comes by Agreement 17 Altars Why there were no steps on Altars nor tools lifted up upon them 70 The Altar of Insence explained 71 Why there was but one Altar 74 The Altar typified out Christs sacrifice 74 Why it was sin to errect Altars 76 Altars and Images to be removed by Saints 327 See Christ Service-book Alphonsus The diligence of Alphonsus King of Aragon in searching the Scripture 101 Allegory A fit Allegory of a good Preacher 288 Alteration God can make a speedy alteration in Cities 413 Ambition We should have an holy ambition in Religion 82 Ancestors There is more expected of us then of our Ancestors and why 82 Antinomians Antinomians confuted 100 Antinomians reproved 114 Antiquity Antiquity is no rule for Religion 86 Apis What manner of Idol the Egyptian Apis was 29 Apes An Apes tooth worshiped in the Indies 388 Application Application to the Court 365 Argument There is no argument for the holiness of a Church 130 Arms see Religion Assyrian Why the Asâ—yrian Army was called an Eagle 4 Authority Compulsion of Authority is no excuse for sin 283 B Backsliding Backsliding is dangerous 13 Bare Necks The evil of Bare Necks 433 Bassil A custom at Bassil 34 Black Patches The evil of Black Patches 433 Brethren Brethren admonished 207 Beleevers The happy state of Beleevers shewed 159 Breeding see Men Burden see Kingdom C Calf The Calf of Samaria why it was so called 25 Caution see Kings Canaan Canaan was the Lords Land in an especial manner and why 157 Cause The Cause of God prospers at last alwaies 206 Children Children should beseech their parents to repent 260 See Parents and Mothers Christ Christ is our Altar in the time of the Gospel 72 Christ is little beholding to most Kings 337 Chemarims What the word Chemarim signifieth and its diverse acceptations 388 Christian Good Christians depend upon the Covenant they have made 7 It is a very dangerous thing for Christians to be without Ordinances 54 Christians should not endure wickednesse in their families 273 Why Christians complain of emptiness 317 A Christian Principle 320 Church God doth not cast off his Church though guilty of many sins 5 Church Officers are to be chosen with great care 18 It is dangerous for the Church to mix with the world 47 The Church is Gods pallace 128 The Church is compared to a Vine and why 300 See National and Vine Christmass Why Christmass was wont to be so zealously kept 118 Cleaness God regards not outward cleaness where there is inward uncleaness 161 Commandement The second Commandement expounded 78 The second Commandement illustrated 258 Comfort see Grace Commanders see Villany Compulsion see Authority Communion To neglect the communion of Saints is dangerous 298 Controversie The Controversie between us and the Papists 78 Confidence see Fear Consideration A dreadful consideration 416 Consideration for men of quality 440 Custom Custom is no rule for Gods worship 186 Continue We must continue seeking God and why 482 Covetous see Idolaters Covenant Breach of Covenant is punished by the sword 365 In what cases men may be false in a Covenant made 366 Counsels Mens own counsels oft deceive them 397 What ought to be avoided in our counsels 398 What ought to be attended in our counsels 399 Creature Better the Creature perish than be abused 412 Crown see Princes Crosness The crosness of mens spirits in England 279 Crucifying Why crucifying was so hateful to the Romans 〈◊〉 Curse A dreadful curse lies upon the Jews to this day 298 Cyprian Cyprian's Prayer at his Martyrdom 454 D Dead Dead bodies why they defiled 166 Death Some wicked men put a good face upon the matter even at death 177 Delight see God Deering Deerings speech in his Sermon before Queen ELIZABETH 278 Depart When God begins to depart we should cry mightily 253 Despairing The sad speech of a despairing woman 473 Destruction Destruction is the fruit of not hearing the Word 293 Devil A sinner is a creature the Devil empties his excrements into 49 Diffidence The vileness of diffidence in God 50 Distance see Time Displeasure see God Distress see Hypocrites Divine The speech of a German Divine at his death 189 Divinity Man cannot put Divinity upon a creature 31 Dove Why God accepts not the Eagle but the Dove 4 Duty Good Duties being
cast off bring punishment 14 Fulness of Duty what it is 315 See Sin Enlargement E Eagle Why the Eagle was unclean under the Law 4 See Assyrian Dove Wicked men Effigies An Effigies of the last times 339 Eli Eli's example urged 384 Emptiness Emptines is unatural to a Vine and why 304 Encouragement Encouragements to fight 385 Encouragements for men in mean employments 450 Encouragements for poor souls in mean endeavors 465 Engagement We must take heed of Engagements in evil 28 England England another Canaan 159 England more unfit for mercie now than at the first and why 263 England smitten as Sodom 281 See Admonition and Crosness Enlargements How we should use our enlargements in duties 312 Estrangement The degrees of mans estrangement from God 111 Eternity see Life Exhortation Exhortation to young ones 214 Exhortation to the Godlie 56 Excellency see Soul Excrements see Devil Experience An Experience worth the tryal 316 See Heason F Faces see Painted Faithful Faithful men discouraged and how 280 False worship False worship must be cast off 13 It is just with God to let False worship alone till it come to the full 82 See Ruin Feast Why a day is called a Feast to God 172 Faith How to encrease Faith for pardon in holy duties 120 Fly When a man may fly 182 Forms see Hypocrits Forraign Forraign Leagues are dangerous 46 Followed Our own waies are not to be followed 64 Fear Gods fear drives out carnal confidence 333 Forefathers We are subject to imitate our Forefathers in evil 79 Fulness see Duty Funeral Funeral mournings are hateful to God 166 See Gain Fruitfulness see Vines Furious Furious men do the least service 329 G Gain Gain at Funerals makes some rejoyce whilst others mourn 169 German The speech of a German Divine at his death 454 God Gods power shewed 42 Gods justice over such as sow the wind 43 God takes it ill we should go to Nations for help 58 God should be our delight 211 Gods delight is in young ones 213 God is the Saints glory 223 Gods departing is the cause of wo and why 250 We should labor to do what we can for God though he seem to leave us 253 God manifests his displeasure in the places where men sin 272 God cannot endure wickedness in his house 300 See Church House Worship Mercy Preservation Depart Generation see Spirit Gentry Gentry admonished 208 Good works Good works are excellent and why 30 Gospel Gospel-Righteousness is a most excellent thing 451 Government The danger of setting up new Government 23 Goverment is a thing of great consequence 271 See Agreement Pains Governors Governors are subject to establish false worship 44 Grace Hypocrits seek Grace for Comfort but Saints seek Comfort for Grace 485 Gregory Gregories speech to Theodorus 89 H Happinss see Beleevers Heart We ought to search our hearts 292 Help Helps against Injustice 377 See God Hemlock Injustice compared to Hemlock 370 Hemlock stalks springing up in England 375 House It is good dwelling in Gods house 272 Humiliation The benefit of humiliation 308 How humiliation should be preached 308 Hypocrits When hypocrits are in distress they see their need of God 9 Hypocrites stand much upon formal waies 10 Hypocrites think to fare the better for their parents 11 I Idolaters Idolaters are prophane but covetous men are worse 24 Idolaters promise themselves safety in their Idols 26 Idolaters are laborious in their Idol worship 35 Idolaters sow in hope 36 Idolaters lay a ground for sucession 36 Idolaters observe their season ibid. Idolaters love outward prosperity 153 We ought to do as much for God as Idolaters do for their Images 324 Idolatry Idolatry drives men against principles of reason 31 Idolatry is an hereditary sin 30 Idolatry continues in succession 80 Idolatry depends much upon Ancestors 258 See Succession Jeroboam What Jeroboam's sinne was 19 Jews The Jews custom in time of danger 412 Ignorance The miseries attending Ignorance 18 Images see Altars Invention There ought to be no invention of Man in Gods Worship 77 Injustice Injustice is sometimes like to Justice 370 See Hemlock Help Justice see Reformation Joy Means how to regulate our joy 142 See Prosperity Josephus Josephus his lamentable story 414 Israel Israel's Prerogatives 48 See Nation K Keep Examin principles wel first and then keep to them 292 Keys Four keys in Gods hand only and what they be 263 Kings Caution in imitating the Jewes Kings 15 Kings were made by men 31 The burden Kings are under 65 See People Kingdom see States L Labor Every one bound to LABOR 434 Lady Work for Ladies 436 Land see Ruin Lapsed The evil of lapsed Ministers 48 Latimer The speech of Bishop Latimer before Queen ELIZABETH 278 Latimer's notable story 178 Law What the Law of God is 95 The Law of God is great and why 96 The Law of God moves to obedience 102 See Saints Leagues Leagues of peace may prove occasions of sorrow 138 Leagues must not be made with wicked men 161 Learned see Opinion Life Life is the seâ—d-time for eteruity 39 Liberty Liberty is exceeding dangerous in yong professors 309 London see Popery Love Love is not to be bought 55 Lord It is a great mercy to have time to seek the Lord 472 See Quick-sightedness Luther Luther called by the Papists the Trumpet of Rebellion and Sedition 2 Lumpish Sorrow for sin must not be lumpish 168 M Mass The abominableness of the Mass 33 Malignants Malignants may have great Victories 206 Meditation Meditations for such as are weak in the fields 156 Meditations for parents 260 288 Meditations for Rich men 322 Meditations at going to bed 336 Men Men of mean breeding shold take heed how they behave themselvs when they come into Authority 66 Mens writings how they help to understand the Scripture 88 Mercy All mercies must be improved for God 20 See Free Grace Misery see Ignorance Ministers Ministers must not be weary of their work 3 Ministers that count such things as are laid aside only inconvenient will take them up again 203 Ministers must gain the Peoples love 220 What Ministers should rejoyce in 394 Ministers are Plow men 471 See Lapsed Wind Rule Motives Motives to continue seeking God 482 Mothers Tender-hearted Mothers admonished 259 Mothers fond love sâ—ayes their children 288 N Nation No Nation but Israel forsook their Gods 〈◊〉 148 Our Nation to be helped not to be fled from 182 See God National No National Church now 75 Nobility Nobility admonished 208 O Officers see Church Opinion The Opinions of the Learned are no rule for Religion 86 Opression Our Opressions are not to be removed but renewed 282 Ordinances see Christian Oyl What the Oyl in sacrifices signified 162 P Pains Pains must be taken about Government 271 Some take more pains to perish than others do to be saved 488 Painted Faces The evil of Painted Faces 433 Particular Particular persons must suffer not resist 18 Pardon see Faith Parents Parents must not be a
Expos Obs 1. Ps 78. 38 Zach. 1. 6. simile Calvin in loc pro 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 à A communi regula discedit fortasse voluit inusitatum inuere castigationis modum insolitâ verbi forma Tremel * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In desiderio meo castigabo eos Valde cupidè eos castigabo So Luther See Buxtorf Lexic Heh in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isa 1. Ezek. 5. 13. 15. Prov. 1. Rev. 14. 10. explicated Reas 1. Use Use of admonition to those in whose will it is to sin 1 Pet. 1. 6. Expos 1. Expos 2. of the former part of the Verse * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 70. Iuxta desiderium meum corripiam eos vulg Oecolampad in loc Obs We may not chuse our sin and our rod too The Text very difficult 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In vincire eos in duobus aut succis aut pecatis aut occulis aut fontibus scribetur per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 legitur à masorethis per 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sulci 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 iniquitates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 oculi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fontes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vid. Buxtoriâ— Lexicon Heb. in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arias Montanus In corripere eos propter duas iniquitatis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 70. Vincire 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Catigare 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But in some Moods and Tenses they are hardly differenced Propter geminum peccatum ipsorum Luther * Qui erant ut 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 oculi eoruÌ„ seu amasij Buxtorâ— in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ier. 2. 13. Hier. in loc See Diod. in loc Expos 2. Polanus in loc Expos 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Expos 4. Calvin As Engl. and Scotl. in the late war Obs Hooper Ridley Applied to professors now Expos Deut. 25. 4. Applied to the ten Tribes Obs 1. Obs 2. Vbi non vident quaestuÌ„ rident Christum ubi datur ut edant adduci possunt ut credant Ternov in loc Obs 3. All our life we should plow in hope In Duties we should persevere thouh there be no present coÌ„fort This â—1th Verse of special use 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Expos Obs The evil of Bare necks and breasts Black Patches And painted faces Great Estates ill used Every one bound to labor Fair Skins foul Souls oftimes Alice Drivers Neck-kercher Act. and Monum Hard breeding fittest for Christian suffering Expos 1. * Quando à Deo dicetur semper plagas adversa significat 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obs A caution Examples in our time of the truth of the text Isa 47. 1. 2 Vers 3. Tender ears Christs yoke easier than the yoke of the Enemy Ladies-work Tender spirits Isa 58. 14. Iob 30. 21 22. Expos Vide Pagnin Thesaur Majoâ— in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obs Expos 2 King 18. 3-9 with 2 Ch. 28. 6. 2 Chr. 28. 6. a strang Scripture Expos 1. Obs 1. Use for workers Expos 2. Obs 2. Us for the afflicted The sufferings in the West A Consideration for men of quality Object against the ObservatioÌ„ Answered Expos 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Occabit ei Iacob 70. Expos 2. Obs Obs The Exposition of Hierom too much on the left hand Seminent in justitia i.e. in lege metant in misericordia id est in gratia Evangelij Luther too much on the right The genuine meaning The Text paraphrased Caution Quest Answ Obs 1. Obs 2. Plinie Obs 3. Obs 4. Obs 5. * Preached in October Obs 6. Obs 7. Use Levit. 27. 16. Applied Obs 8. Ps 126. 6. Prov. 6. 14. 19. Chap. 16. 28. This time most unfit to sow the tares of discord Expos 1. Expos 2. Opened 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad os misericordiae Levit. 27. 16. Exod. 16. 16. Men that are in mean imploymeÌ„ts encouraged Obs 1. Gal. 6. 7. Ps 126. 6. Gospel-Righteousnesse the most precious thing in the world The Reason Use Eccl. 11. 6 Pro. 20. 4. Object Answ 1 Chron. 29. 14. Chap. 22. 14. Arias Mont. translated 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in paupertate afflictione meaâ— Rawleighs Hist of the World part 2. C. 17. § 9. The quaÌ„tity of treasure that David offered 1 Chron. 22. 14. interpreted Use Ipsa gratiarum actio Luth. Cyprian's prayer at his Martyrdom * Paratus sum propter nomen tuum victimam sanguinis fundere quodcunque tormentum sustinere Cum elâ—vavâ—ris confringere terraÌ„ sub qua fissura terrarâ—Ì„ me absconsurus sum cui monti dicturus sum eadit super me cui collâ— tege me A German Ministers speech at his death Obs 2. Alexander An encoraging meditatioÌ„ to poor souls in their mean endeavors Expos The Coherence Obs 1. See Nath. Rogers's letter out of New-England concerning this point * Subjection is either passive and involuntary or active and willing Again Government may be false essentially and of it self or per accidents and by reason of some adjuncts Lastly some things are such as the corruptions of them may be sooner discerned by a consciencious eye others such as by reason of their similitude to Divine Institution or practice and their Antiquity and Prescription cannot so soon if at all be certainly concluded evil see Mr. John Cottons Letter in New-England to Mr. Williams printed London 1643. for Benjamin Allen in Popes-head-Alley Printed in Lond. for Christoph Meredith in Pauls-yard Jer. 4. 3. Isa 28. 24. explained We must continue plowing els weeds wil grow again though many years after Luk. 9. 62 Ministers are the ylowmen The probatum est of preaching the Law and pressing humiliation The Reason This whol discourse is opposite to that whereby some would comfort beleevers in their sins and sorrows The sum is that of our Lord Christ Repent and beleeve the Gospel and of the Apostle Repentance from dead works and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ Mark 1. 15. Act. 20. 21. Heb. 6. 1. Rom. 7. 24. 1 Cor. 11. 31. 2 Cor. 7. 9. 10. Chap. 12. 21. Expos 1. To have time to seek the Lord a great mercy Use The saying of a dispaiâ—ing woman in Cambridge Obs 2. Reas 1. Reas 2. simile Applicat Obs 3. 2 Cor. 6. Eccl. 8. 6 Luk. 19. 24. ex hoc momento Aeternitas An apt simile Phil. 2. 12 opened illustrated by a simile Themistocles saying at his death Graviora eras Plut. Time for England to seek God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 jacere docere Expos 1. 2 preferred Righteousness what Rain what Obâ— 1. Prov. 11. 18. Obs 2. Obs 3. Ps 101. 2. illustrated simile Motive to continue seeking God Isa 30. 18 explained Mr Glover the Martyr Obs 4 Christoph Columbus Obs 5. Obs 6. Hypocrits seek Grace for Comfort chiefly Saints seek Comfort for Grace Obs 7. 1 Joh. 1. 9. Obs 8. Expos in general Prov. 21. 4. Job 4. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Micah 7. 3. Vt benefaciant Munster 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vel nitunter ut mala sua bonafaciunt i.e. justificent Some take more pains to perish than others to be saved yet complain of any difficulty in Gods waies Cardinal Wolsey See the Book of Martyrs Who cannot die in peace without serious repentance Expos in partiâ— Expos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What is here meaÌ„t by inniquity Obs Why carnal men contend for superstition Lyes here what 1. Reasons for it 2. Comforts from it 3. Hopes by it 4. Interpretation of Gods blessings in it 5. Reports of the coÌ„trary party Expos 1. Partie Obs Judg. 2. 19. Prov. 12. 15. Jer. 2. 10. 11. opened simile A note of one conceited of his own way Prov. 21. 2. Use Expos Obs That way the mighty men go that shall be troden Rev. 13. 1 2 3. Obs 3. Applic. to Engl. 2 Chron. 14 11. observed Obs 4. Hab. 3. 17 The confidence of a gracious heart Use Examin John Baptist when men suffer for a way then they begin to question it Expos Obs Tumults a token of the great wrath of God The Causes The multitude not to be engaged in matters controversal An apt simile None so cruel aâ— the vilest of the people when they get power Pro. 28. 3 The evil of Tumults greater theÌ„ the evil of Tyranny Joseph de bell Iudic. l. 2. c. 11. Lib. 6. Cap. 11. Take heed of being occasion of tumults Amos 2. 2 Expos 2. Clamor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 meticulosorum territorum Ps 112. 7. Ps 57. 7. illustrated Ps 46. Archimedes A Fixed heart in prayer Spiritual Tumults Ps 40. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Foveâ tumultus Ps 61. 2. Nah. 3. 12. Applied Bristol Expos 1. Sicut vastatus est Salmana à domo ejus qui vindicavit Baal in die prelij c. vulg Sic fere Graec. Ps 83. 11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Expos 2. Luther 1 Macca 9. 6. At Bethel Alexander overthrew Darius As if it were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dei incidiatoris The god of subtilty Obs 1. Use Obs 2. Psa 137. Isa 13. 16. Ursin in Isa Ps 137. ult expounded Calvin Obs 3. Object Answ Obs 4. Applic. to Engl. Pacificus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 paceÌ„ colere Expos Obs 1. Obs 2. Psa 76. 2 3. opened Applied Isa 31. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obs 1. Obs 2. Matth. 26. 41. illustrated Obs 3. Lam. 1. 20. 2 King 17. Expos Hoshea the last King of Israel a wilful man Expos 1. The ExpositioÌ„ of this part of this Verse as of many other particulars in these Exercises appears to have been very Prophesies Expos 3. Obs Use for England Zach. 4. 7. compared with the text explained Amos 5. 8. Obs 4 Obs 5. sicut mane transit sic pertransit Rex Israel Ezek. 7. 5 6 7. Make our peace at night And seek God wheÌ„ we rise