no other Root but only Parts and common Gifts and Morality raised and this Root is dried up this day many fair and glorious Professors how are they this day blasted sapless dry spirits and useless in the world in this time when there is so much service required of them And by by being dried up what are they but prepared for the fire Old withered sapless Professors I say whose root is dried up they are fitted for nothing but the fire they are like those in Jude corrupt trees trees that are corrupt in the Autumn Thus it is with many Professors at the time when God expects fruit now they are sapless now they are corrupt fruit they are dried up by the root and what are they fitted for but for the fire And then God hath his time to dry up the root of Nations in Isa 5. 24. Now we might seek to understand what the Root of a Nation is but I think we need not in this place because it is sufficient only for the Metaphor to shew that God doth not only afflict a Nation but intends the utter ruin and destruction Yet a word or two thus What was the root of Ephraim The Covenant that God made with him that was his Root in the first place And when God intends to break his Covenant with them because they broke theirs then he dries up the Root and therefore in the next Chapter you shall find that God charges them with dealing falsely in making a Covenant And then The Godly among a People are as the Root of that People in Isa 6. 13. But yet it shall be a tenth and it shall return and shall be eaten as a Teyle Tree and as an Oak whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof So here the holy seed shall be the substance of it The holy seed in a Kingdom is as the root and substance of it and yet such is the wretchedness of men that what do they do but in stirring against them they would root out the very Root of the Nation And the vigor and power of the fundamental Laws in a Kingdom is as the Root of it from whence flourishes all their outward Peace and Comfort And the blessing of God upon the wisdom and faithfulness of those that are put into place that 's as the Root of the good of a Nation in these things especially consists the Roots of a Nation We hope that God will not wholly dry up our Root only let us take heed of this though there be indeed a difference between the Covenant of God with the Nation of the Jews and any Covenant that God makes with any Nation at this day yet if we be false in the Covenant that we make with God this may root us out let us look to it that the vigor and power of the Fundamental Laws of the Kingdom be maintained and that the godly be maintained let us not set our selves to root out them for in so doing we do but seek to root out our selves and let us pray that the blessing of God may abide upon those that are in place of power and while these things continue we may hope that the Lord intends though he may scatter and break us in pieces yet that there may a Root stay and there is little question I think we may make that God wil preserve our Root howsoever and that there wil be a Root of the Saints that shall flourish till Jesus Christ comes again The Root of the Righteous shall not be moved though the Righteous may be lopt from all their outward comforts yet their Root must not be moved that lies deeper than my Creature-power is able to reach unto But there is a Root Oh! that God would dry up that a Root that the Scripture speaks of a Root of Bitterness that brings forth Gall and Wormwood Oh! what bitter fruit doth that Root bring forth Oh! that God would dry up that root It follows They shall bear no fruit They would bring forth fruit to themselves and seeing they would bring forth no other fruit but to themselves they shall bring forth no fruit saith God How happy were we if God would say the root of bitterness that we speak of as he said of the Fig-tree Never fruit grow on it more Oh! that that Curse of God might be upon the root of bitterness that there is in the hearts of many that God would say we shall never hear the evil Language the evil Speeches of People and the bitter expressions as heretofore we have done Yea though they bring forth yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their Womb. The word translated Beloved fruit it is Desirable the Desires of their womb Children are the desires of the womb that is women are very strong in their desires after them Give me children or else I die saith Rachel Indeed Harlots are not they care only for their lust and would have no fruit of their womb It 's an excellent Emblem for the expression of the vanity of many Preachers that care for nothing but to satisfie their lusts and shew their wit and parts but care not for any fruit at all care not for beget-any children to God like Harlots they desire not the fruit of the womb but Wives that are faithful to their Husbands they do desire it And the same word that is here for desires and translated beloved it is likewise in other Scriptures translated beloved that in Dan. 9. 23. Oh man greatly beloved Oh man of desires And so in Dan. 10. where the Angel saith great beloved it is a man of desire And so in Prov. 31. 2. What my son and what the son of my womb and what the son of my vows You may see how Solomons Mother speaks with a great deal of affection Oh my Son the Son of my Womb and the Son of my Desires But indeed the word signifies properly the Son of my Vows Oh! I made Vows to God if God would give thee me and since I have given thee up to God and by Vows dedicated thee to God what the Son of my Vows Women therefore they should look upon their children as the children of their Vows and shew forth their love unto them in the right way that God would have them It is a strange place that we have in Titus where aged women are commanded to teach the young women to love their huâ—bands and to love their children it is a strange thing that a mother must be taught to love her children thy child is the beloved fruit of thy womb but yet thou must be taught by God taught by his People taught by his Word to love thy children to love them in a right and holy way take heed of loving them so as to provoke God to take them from you take heed that
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
the word comes out against him Again especially it should teach us not to trust as in no outward prosperity so not in any fortifications nor strength Tyrus was an invinceable place it seems to be so yet God could pul it down nor to trust in the multitude of Soldiers This example is as famous as any to teach men not to trust in any outwards whatsoever Calvin he carries it in somewhat a different way and truly not without some probability neither I saw Ephraim that thou wert planted in a pleasant place as in Tyrus so he carries it thus that is Thou art a plant like to the plants that were in Tyrus And the word translated pleasant place it 's a word that signifies building because they use to build the most delightful places it signifies also a secure place of habitation now saith he Tyrus it was upon a Rock and therefore they had little ground for Orchards or Gardens or Plants but only such as were made by art and with a great deal of cost and charges and saith he As men when they are striving with Nature if they mean to do any thing at all they will do it to purpose and fetch out the most curious plants and bestow a great deal of cost to cover them from the coldness of the winter as we see in places that are neer the Sea that meerly by art they fetch out a place for a Garden or Orchard they are mighty chargable So Ephraim was compared to such a plant that is God was at a great deal of charge for it and very careful he was to preserve them As you heard the last day God compar'd his love to his people to a longing woman that longed for the first ripe fruits so Gods love was towards his people and here God compares his respect to his people as a man or woman would do to a tender plant that is in a Garden or Orchard that is made with abundance of cost and charge look how careful they would be to preserve some tender plant in covering of it and keeping of it from being mixt with the frost saith he such was my care towards Ephraim howsoever they have served me Thus to aggravate their sins God doth shew his care of them thus Calvin But saith the text for all this though my care hath been thus over them yet they shall bring forth their children to the murderers God never shews so much respect to any man or woman but upon their forsaking of him wrath doth follow Yet after all this they shall bring forth their children to the murderers as if so be their children had been born for no other end but to satisfie the mouth of the sword to be objects of the fury of the murderers and those children that they shall bring forth in their war they shall send them forth just as if a man did send a company of beasts to the slaughter-house They shall bring them forth to the murderers Sometimes indeed in war men are led forth even by the treachery or the spight at least of Commanders in the war only that they might be a prey to the murderers if any wicked Officers in an Army have a spight against a man or any particular company of men ordinarily their spight is most against godly men in their Army a wicked swearing deboist Officer that hath a spight against godly men in an Army he will set them upon the most desperat service there enjoyn them upon pain of death to do service and not to stir on purpose that they might be cut off or at least hoping that they will fall into the hand of the murderer Just in this case like to David for his own ends in another way that would set Vriah in the forefront and would have others withdraw from him on purpose that he might fall by the enemy They shall bring forth children to the murderers Many children have been brought forth to the murderers even in this way But for the Observations from the words First The Curse of God stayes not upon the Parents but goes forwards to the children It 's for the sin of the parents that the children are to be brought forth to the murderers and especially it staies not upon Idolaters but goes to their children There are two branches in this Note 1. The Curse of God staies not upon the parents but goes towards the children in Deut. 28. 18. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body and especially to the children of Idolaters In Psal 137. 8. O daughter of Babylon who art to be destroyed happy shall he be that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones And in Isa 13. 18. Their Bowes also shall dash the young men to pieces and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb their eye shall not spare children So in the second Commandement the Lord there threatens to visit the sins of the fathers upon the children to them that hate him to the third and fourth generation You wil say Why should children suffer for their parents sins You will kill yong Vipers and Snakes though they never have stung So God sees guilt enough in the children of wicked men and of Idolaters so that in Justice he may destroy them but he doth rather take advantage to destroy them because they be the children of wicked men and of Idolaters As if a man commit TREASON he deserves death then for his own fault but if the King hear that his Father and Grandfather were Traitors he shall die the rather because of them So it 's true the children of godly people have sin and guilt in them as well as the children of wicked men Yea but the children of wicked men having guilt and so liable to Gods Justice God will take the advantage the rather to do them Justice because their parents was wicked and ungodly and this is righteous enough with God And the children of Idolaters above all shall not be spared and especially those that live to many years because there is no sin that is so much strengthened from their Ancestors and the example of their Forefathers as Superstition and Idolatry is Why should we be wiser than our Forefathers What 's the argument of our superstitious vanities but our Forefathers did thus And therefore that 's observable That there 's no Commandement in the Ten threatens Gods judgments upon the children but the second Commandement Because that there 's no Commandement broken from the example and plea of forefathers as the second Commandement and therefore let the children of Idolaters and false Worshipers look to it that they repent from the sins of their forefathers Instead of pleading for the sins of your forefathers you should fall down and humble your souls for the sins of your forefathers or
universal Secondly Suppose he should not be saved then it were better that he should be taken away than to live to sin more against God he might have lived to have done a great deal of mischief in the world if he were one that God did not intend to save and therefore quiet thy self However God sees further than thou doest either when he denies theâ— Children or takes them away in such times as these are Further In times when publick evils are threatned they are good times to die in If better not to be born in evil time then certainly it is no great evil to die in evil times Good men are taken away from the evil to come As if a woman had her breast to be launc'd or cut off would not the tender Father take the Children out of the room in the mean time Who knows but God may have the breast of his his Church our Mother even to be cut off for a time yet may suffer heavier things than ever she hath done and if God shall take away his tender Children that will not be able to bear such a sight as that what great evil is it As we reade of God towards Moses when Gods Glory was to pass by he puts Moses into the hole of a Rock and truly the graves of the Saints are but as the holes of the Rock til the Glory of Gods Justice passes by a people And thirdly If the sins of Parents may be the cause of such things to Children as better they had not been born let those that have Children take heed that they lay not up such wrath for an Inheritance for their Children as that their Children afterwards should even wish they never had been born of such Parents especially if Parents be careless in the education of their Children not to bring them up in the fear of the Lord hereafter their Children may curse the time that ever they were born of them and say Oh! that I rather had been of the off-spring of Vipers or the generation of Dragons than that I had come of such Parents Oh! that my Mother had had a miscarrying womb or that she never had had breasts to give me suck Certainly this will be the voice of many children against their Parents one day Look to it that there be never a Father nor Mother in this place that may give cause to their Children thus to wish they had never been born of such Parents And certainly if the enduring of sorrows and misery in this world may put them into such a condition what then wil sin and being the authors of miseries to others do Those Children that are abominable and wicked in their lives and are causes of mischief to others how much cause is it that it had been said that it had been been better his Mothers womb had miscarried as it was said of Judas that it had been better that he had never been born And so it may be said of abundance at this day what abundance of evil are some at this day the cause of unto others What woful disturbances distractions and calamities do some men bring upon a nation had it not been better that their Mothers wombs to have miscarried and their breasts not to have given them such And again What horrible wickedness are some guilty of How many Mother 's this day have cause â—o say Oh! that my womb had miscarried of such a Child Oh that my breasts had never given such a Child suck Oh that ever one should come out of my womb to do so much mischief to take up Arms to fight against his COUNTRY to fight against the Saints to bring in Slavery and Tyranny that ever any out of my womb should have a hand in such a mischievous way as this is Oh! these breasts of mine every time I look upon them I wish they had never given such a one suck for it may be they wil suck my blood too Certainly if ever there were a time to wish their wombs had miscarried and their breasts never given suck these are the times many may do so And this seems to have allusion to that which Christ saith in Luke 23. 19. Blessed are the wombs that never bear and the paps that never gave suck I say concerning many particulars in the Kingdom in this time it might have been said Oh! blessed had the womb been that such men were in had they never been born and the paps that they suckt that they had never given suck This would not have been an interpretation but a good prayer if it could have been foreseen if any Prophet could have forseen this that thou shouldst have been a Child and he should have been an Actor in so much mischief as hath been done in this Kingdom of late if any Prophet could have forseen this thou wouldst have said Amen to his prayer Lord give this woman a miscarrying womb and dry breasts that she might never have born nor given suck to such an one It follows VER 15. All their wickedness is in Gilgal for there I hated them WHAT this Gilgal was I opened in the 4 th Chapter at the 15. Verse it was a very famous place for many remarkable things Stones were set up in remembrance of so great a mercy in coming over Jordan and there was the first Passeover that ever they had and there they were circumcised and the Lord said unto Joshua This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you from whence it had the name they were not circumcised in all that time in the Wilderness from whence it was called Gilgal because the reproach was rolled away I shewed abundance of mercy to them in Gilgal there they eat the fruit of the Land and there the reproach was rol'd away and the monument of my great mercy in bringing them over Jordan but now they have turned this place to the most abominable place in the Country for because there were such great things done in Gilgal they thought that it was a holy place and therefore they might justifie their superstitious waies though God afterwards did chuse another place for his Worship yet they thought to sacrifice and worship in Gilgal they thought it might be justified because it was a place where such great things were done Now saith God I never intended that all their wickedness is in Gilgal Superstitious men are proud to put holiness upon places that have had remarkable things done in them in reference to Religion This phrase we have had occasion to meet with before and therefore I pass it All their wickedness That is Their chief wickedness as if God should say there is a great deal of wickedness among them there are Murders and Thefts and abundance of other evils the breaches of the second Table but yet above all their wickedness is at Gilgal they think to make use of that
men those who fear God can say What shal a King what shall men what Devils do against us But other men in their straights what shall they do for us We are in a distressed condition and what shall they do for us But the People of God are never in such a distressed condition but they are able to say What shall Men or Devils be able to do against us for God is our Protector Again sixtly The more stoutness and sinfulness and creature-confidence there is in any the more do their hearts sink in desperation when they come to be crost in their hopes They were very stout and full of creature confidence before they were brought into misery and now what low sordid spirits have they now they sink in desperation There 's no men and women have their hearts sink in desperation more than those that in ruff of their pride are the most bold and presumptuous against God and his Servants Again What shall a King do to us Their hearts sink in regard of any hopes that they have from their King But yet you reade nothing of their hearts being set upon God and mourning and working towards God when they are taken from the creature they say not thus Now we see our vain confidence in our King and what hopes we had of preferment in him God hath crost us well we will go and seek to make the King of Heaven to be our portion No there 's no such thing comes from them as this A Carnal heart when it is knockt off of creature confidence and sinks in desperation in regard of the creature it doth not take advantage upon this To have the heart work after God so much the more but there it lies sullen sinking it hath no interest in God and cannot go to him to make up what it wants in the creature But it is otherwise with a gracious heart that acknowledges the hand of God hath taken off my confidence in the creature yea but I hope it is in mercy to my soul that my heart might have the more confidence in God and that God might have the more glory from me and therefore I hope that this taking off my heart from the creature will for ever unite my heart more to the Lord than ever heretofore it hath been Yea this is a gracious work indeed when the heart is taken off from creature confidence and brought neerer unto the Lord. And thus much for the third Verse It follows VER 4. They have spoken words THEY are convinced of their sin that they have not feared God they cry out of their misery what shall a King do to them But mark what follows this follows upon it they were not gain'd to God ever a whit the more But they have spoken Words swearing falsly in making a Covenant When they are taken off from their hopes one way see how they set upon another Luther upon those words saith it 's an Hebraism they have anxiously consulted It 's the way of the Hebrews so to express an anxious consultation and for that he quotes that place in Isa 8. 10. Take counsel together and it shall come to naught c. So then the meaning would be this They have spoken Words That is they get together and contrive one with another what they shall do in such a case as this how they may any way help themselves As we reade sometimes of the People of God in Malac. 3. 16. those that feared God met one with another and spake together so these wicked wretches that were thus disappointed of their hopes they met together and spake one to another some such kind of word as these Our Case is very sad Oh! who would have thought such things should have befallen us We are as much crost of our hopes as ever any men were we made account we should have over run them and they would have been but as bread unto us we should have made a prey upon them and all their estates would have been ours long before this time Oh but now those Prophets that told us that God was against us those Ministers that encouraged people in the Name of God and those people that were different from us now we see that their words are fulfilled and what they thought would come is now come upon us now it 's come to pass what such precise ones among us whose consciences would not submit to our waies the way of our King said surely they cannot but look upon us as a most wretched miserable forsaken people now we are like to lose our Houses Estates Honors and all those delightful things that we hoped to have had we shall lose all those things that we hoped might have made our lives to have been brave and prosperous and merry and jocund Oh! what shall we do in such a distressed state as this We had almost as good die as to endure such a miserable life as we are like to live to be at the mercy of such men whom we know scorn us and hate us Is there no way to help our selves cannot we get some or other to joyn with us cannot we call in no help from any strangers no matter what we yield to them in Thus they toss up and down and wrig up and down not knowing what in the world to do in their conference Or thus May we not yet possibly make up some peace though we be in this distressed coudition Whatsoever propositions they shall profer to us we will rather than fail yield to them all we may perhaps get some advantage hereafter â—r be in some means in a better case to revenge our selves than now we are If they will have us take the COVENANT nothing else will satisfie them we will do it and when we have taken it perhaps they may put some of us in places of trust and so we may privately work about our own ends that way and drive on our own designs that way better than in any hostile way and if together with their Covenant they will have Oaths we will take them too and if we cannot agree to their Oaths or Covenant hereafter we will say we were forced to it and therefore they do not bind us Some such kind of communication it 's like they had And could you hear the communication of our Adversaries when they get together in those straights that God hath brought them into it 's like you would hear some such kind of stuff as this is they spake these words one to another They have spoken Words According to others thus They spake words that is those speaking words hath reference to the times of the Prophets threatning or when they saw their danger eminent and not fully upon them so some carry it and I find the Chaldee Paraphrase hath it thus They spake violent words and then the sense is thus they rage and fret they speak
deal according to the proportion of infinite Grace Take this one Meditation That where there is any uprightness when thou shalt come to reap from God thou shalt reap so much from God as must manifest to all Angels and Saints to all eternity what the infinite Mercy of an infinite God can do and that'â— enough one would think the poorest Christian that doth but the least for God when he comes to reap shall have an Harvest that must manifest the infinite riches of the infinite mercy of God and what he is able to do for the raising up of a Creature to glory Comfort thy self in this in thy poor low condition in which thou art and in the performing of thy poor services Thus for the manner of the Phrase Break your fallow ground for it is time to seek the Lord till he come and rain Righteousness upon you Break up your fallow ground c. The Prophet exhorted them in the words before to sow in Righteousness that they might reap Mercy But you must not sow without plowing that were a preposterous way therefore though the words come after yet the thing is to be done before Look that you plow up the fallow ground you have been sinful and ungodly in your way It will not be enough for you now to set upon some good actions we will do better we will do such and such good things that God requires of us No that 's not the first work you must fal upon but it must be to plow to plow up your fallow grounds In this expression you have here implyed first That the hearts of men naturally are as follow grounds nothing but thorns and bryars grows upon them they are unfit for the Seed of the Word And by this word is here meant these three things when he bids them plow up their fallow grounds First The work of humiliation the Truths of God both of the Law and of the Gospel must get into their hearts and rend up their hearts even rend it up as the plow doth rend up the ground And secondly That weeds thorns and bryars must be turned up by the roots the heart must be cleer'd of them It is not enough to weed out a weed here and there and to pluck out a thorn here and there but plow up the ground turn all upside down and get up al the baggagely stuff and thorns that was in your hearts heretofore And then thirdly Get a softness to be in your hearts as when the ground is plowed that which was before hard on the outside and bak'd by the heat of the Sun being now turned up there is a soft mould of the ground and so by the softness of the mould of the ground it is prepared to receive seed There are many evils in us that we would reform but we have not been humbled for them for our ceremonies and subjection to false Government of the Church Who hath bin humbled for these things as sin We reform them as things inconvenient but not being humbled for them as sin the very roots of these things are in the hearts of many so as if times should change a distinction would serve their turn to come and submit to them again so that we sow before we plow I find in Jer. 4. 3. you have this exhortation even in termiminis That They must plow up the fallow-ground of their hearts only exprest a little further They must not sow among thorns They must not think to mingle that which is good with that which is evil it may be a few good seeds are brought into a business yea but there is a great deal of evil My Brethren take heed of being deceived that way many though they do not intend to deceive you yet they may deceive you by mixing some good things with a great many evil and therefore examin things But I note this place in Jeremiah the rather from the consideration of the time of Jeremiahs Prophesie You shall find that the time of Jeremiahs Prophesie was in Josiahs time Now the time of Josiah was a time of great reformation there was very much reformation in his time yea but saith Jeremiaâ— What though you did reform what though you do many things you sow among thorns you do not plow up the ground you are not humbled the roots of your sin are not got out of you and therefore though there be a great deal of ill stuff that seems to be cast out and many good things are set upon in the Worship of God that was not formerly yet you must plow plow up your fallow grounds The holy Gost joyning of them together Sow Righteousness and plow up your fallow ground This Note I would have you observe That there are some that do Sow and not Plow and there are others that do Plow and not Sow but we must joyn both together There are that do Plow and not Sow that is They it may be are troubled for their sin it may be much humbled for their sin but they do not reform after their Humiliation there doth not follow Reformation Now as Reformation where Humiliation hath not gone before usually comes to little purpose so Humiliation where Reformation follows not after comes likewise to little purpose In Isa 28. 24. Doth the Husbandman plow all day to sow The text is brought to note thus much That God observes his times and that is the scope of the text that we must not be offended because that the Lord doth not do things as we would have him alwaies that is he lets wicked men prosper sometimes and the godly suffer afflictions but as if the holy Ghost should say here let God alone with his work God observes his times and seasons as the Plow-man doth he doth not alwaies plow so God hath his times and seasons and knows when to relieve his Church and afflict his Church and when the wicked shall prosper and be brought into adversity God instructs the Plow-man to know his season and so doth he and therefore be not offended And so should we know our seasons we should observe our times to be humbled and reform to reform and be humbled But this for the Reformation of a State But the plowing of the heart that 's the thing that is here especially intended and I desire to apply it particularly to every man and woman Those who have such sore necks who cannot bear the yoke yet you must be Plow-men and Plow-women for Alice Driver that I told you of her father brought her up to plow and both men and women the daintiest Ladies of all must hold this plow that is here spoken of Now for this plowing of humbling your hearts it is for the getting in of Truths into your spirits that may rend up your hearts I 'le name some few Truths that are as it were the Plow-share that you must not only know them but labor to get
them into your hearts As first That such is the vileness of every sin as it seperates the soul from God and puts it under an eternal Curse This one Truth you must get this into your hearts and get it deep into your hearts it will help to unloosen the roots of the thorns and bryars that are there the setled apprehension of this Truth And then secondly This Truth That there is such a breach between God and my soul by sin that all the power in all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth is not able to make up this breach here is a sharp plow-share to get into the heart And then thirdly This Truth that by nature I am full of this sin my heart is full of it all the faculties of my soul are filled with sin that is of such an hainous nature Here is a sharp plow-share to get into the heart And then fourthly That every action that ever I have done in all my life in my unregenerate estate it is nothing else but sin nothing else but sin that hath such a vile nature Yea further That if any sin be pardoned to me it is by vertue of a price paid that is more worth than ten thousand worlds This Truth Now here 's the Gospel as well as the Law for the plowing is but the spiritualness of the Law the Truths of the Law in a Gospel way for you must take notice that the Law as Law accepts of no humiliation for sin it is as it is reveal'd in a Gospel way in a Gospel way it doth tend to humiliation for let men be humbled never so much the Law never accepts of them for their humiliation but the Law in a Gospel way so it comes to humble the soul so as to do it good Now therefore the Consideration of the Truths that the Law requires having reference to the Gospel they serve for the humbling of the soul Now get in these truths and see what they will do in thy Soul you must work them in And let conscience be put on to draw this plow These are as the Plow-share and the working of Conscience is the drawing of this plow while the plow stops as when it meets with a thorn and bryar now a strong Conscience will draw it on and will make the thorns and bryars to be rent up by the roots if the Conscience be put upon with strength to draw these Truths in the soul and though they put you to pain yet you must be content to draw them on in the soul And if these and the like Truths be got into thy soul and thou beest at plow and thy Conscience be drawing This is that I shall say God speed the Plow yea God speed these Truths that Conscience is drawing on in the soul for it may tend to a great deal of good to prepare thee for the seed that may bring forth Righteousness and Mercy to thy soul for ever I confess it is a hard work to be thus plowing Indeed for men and women only to hear Sermons and be talking and conferring of good things these things are pretty easie but to go to plow to plow with such Truths as these are to get up the thorns and bryars by the roots this is a very hard task but we must be willing to do it and to continue plowing as the fallow ground must not only be plowed once but it may be it may stand in need of plowing the second and third time before it may be fit for the seed to be cast in and so it must be with our hearts It may be some of you have got in some Truths and you have been plowing yea but since that time you have had many weeds and thorns grown up and you must to plowing again it may be it is divers yeers ago since you have been thus plowing and your hearts have lain fallow all this while do not think it enough that once you have been humbled but be often plowing up this fallow ground you were as good have the plow get into your hearts though it be sharp as to have the Sword of Gods Justice be upon you We have in these times a wanton generation that have risen up that cannot endure to go to plow they would be doing nothing but taking in the sweet as I told you before in a former Exercise Treading â—ut the Corn. But this plowing they cry out of meerly through a wantonness and tenderness of their spirits a sinful tenderness because they would have nothing but jolity and licentiousness in their hearts and waies yet the Scripture in Luke 9. 62. compares the Ministers of the Gospel to the plow He that puts his haud to the plow and looketh back is not fit for the Kingdom of God not fit to be imployed in the administration of the Gospel Though these men cry out so much of humiliation for sin which is as strange a Generation as ever have risen up that should cry out of that when there 's nothing more humbles for sin than the price that was paid for sin in the blood of Jesus Christ and there is no such sharp plow-share as that If I were to preach one Sermon in all my life for the humbling of men for sin I would take a text that might shew the great price that was paid for it and therein open the breach that sin hath made between God and mans soul But they will not make use of the Gospel neither so much as to be a plow to plow the heart for the work of humiliation Well God hath prospered this work heretofore and notwithstanding al the wantoness of mens spirits this way yet I say still God speed the plow God speed this way of plowing the hearts of men and getting in those Truths that do humble the hearts of men for their sins these were the Truths that God hath blest in former times and there 's none that ever did live to the honor of the Gospel so much for this generation that is come up they talk of the Gospel but they live not to the honor of it the Gospel hath not honor by them nor Jesus Christ hath not honor by them But the former generation of men though in some things they might fail yet certainly God blest them in their way so far as it was according to Truth No mervail though these men bring forth such little fruit of Righteousness it is because they sow among thorns presently they are up at the top and so confident presently in their way their seed is among thorns and therefore it doth not prosper And thus much for this expression about the plowing up of fallow grounds both in reference to general Reformation and Humiliation and concerning mens Souls in particular It follows For it is time to seek the Lord. It is time First Yet you have time to seek the Lord 'T is well for you that you have