Yea Thirdly Great shall be this day for it shall be as a day of resurrection from death to life so Dan. 12. 2. Many of them that sleepe in the dust shall awake c. It is not spoken of the great resurrection at the last day of judgement for First It is spoken but of some that shall arise Secondly The greatest glory that is here put upon the just is but to shine as the stars in the firmament but at the last day the Saints shall shine as the sunne in the firmament more and above the starres Yea Thirdly This that is here revealed to Daniel must be sealed up as a great secret till the appointed time come but for the Resurrection at the last day that is no great secret that they knew well enough it is not as a secret to be shut up and sealed from men till the time appointed come But this Resurrection here spoken of it is to be sealed up as a great secret that was not knowne in the world nor should be much knowne till the appointed time should come And then Lastly It was promised to Daniel in the 13. ver that he should stand up in his lot as a peculiar and speciall favour that God stould bestow upon him Now it is not such a peculiar and special favour for a Saint to stand up at the great day at the last day this was a favour to Daniel as an eminent Saint that he should stand up thus in his lot Therefore this Resurrection is the same with this great day of Jezreel wherein there shall be such a glorious work of God in calling Israel and Judah together the fulness of the Gentiles that it shall be as the Resurrection from death to life so the Apostle calls it likewise in that Rom. 11. 15. What shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead 4. Great shall be the day of Iezreel for this shall bring refreshing to all the Saints this is the time of the refreshing Act. 3. 19. There shall be such things then as will refresh and revive the spirits of all the Saints Yea 5. It shall be the day of restitution of all things Acts 3. 21. Vntill the times of rest it 〈◊〉 of all things come which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his Propâ—â— since the world began I know it is ordinary carryed by many another way concerning the last day but that it cannot be so it appears because that then there shall not be the restitution of all things but the annihilation of many things Further this speakes of a restitution of all things that was spoken of by the mouth of all the holy Prophets Now the holy Prophets spake but very little concerning the day of Judgment of another life to come we reade but little of it in the Prophets and therefore the Apostle in 2 Tim. 1. 10. saith that life and immortality was brought to light through the Gospel Not but that it was known somewhat before but it was very darkly known there was very little spoken of life and immortality in the Prophets But this speaks of a time that all the holy Prophets spake of as an argument that was the general theame of them all And indeed there is no argument whatsoever that is more general among the Prophets then this great argument of this great day of Jezreel Again 6. A great day for it shall be a new creation a new heaven and a new earth shall be made when this great day of Iezreel shall come Esay 66. 17. Behold I create new heavens and a new earth And in ver 18. if you observe it you shall see what this new heaven and this new earth is But be glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I create for behold I create Ierusalem are joycing and her people a joy Those are the new heavens the new earth that are to be created and this is meant of the Church plainly for the Text ver 21. speakes of building houses and inhabiting them and of planting vineyards and eating the fruit of them upon these new heavens this new earths creation And 2 Pet. 3. 13. Neverthelesse according to this promise we looke for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousnesse Now where is this promise This is usually taken for the Kingdom of heaven hereafter But where is this promise We do not finde it any where but in that place I named before Esay 65. Now it is apparent that promise doth speak of an estate of the Church here in this world and there is spoken of a new earth as well as of a new heaven if it were onely spoken of new heavens it had bin another matter but it speaks of a new earth likewise therefore meant of an estate in this world a new creation of a new heaven and earth that is there shall be such glorious things done by God as shall manifest a creating power as if God did now make new heavens and a new earth 7. Great shal be the day of Iezreel for it shall be as another world when this day cometh Heb. 2. 5. 6. 7. 8. Vnto the Angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak But one in a certain place testified this certain place is in Psa 104. saying What is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou visitest him Thou hast made him little lower then the Angels thou crownedst him with glory and honour and didst set him over the works of thy hands thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet This is clearly interpreted of Christ as vers 9. and so on that all things must be subjected to hiâ—â— man What is man that thou shouldst regard him That is that thou 〈◊〉 advance the nature of man so far as to unite it even to thy Son and piâ—â— things in subjection under his feet This the Apostle interpreteth of Christ But saith he wee see not yet all things put under him that time is yet to come for saith he We speak of things that concerne the world to come Therefore mark my brethren there must be such a time wherein all things all creatures must be put under subjection to Christ and this is in the world to come Not in that world to come where the Saints shall raign gloriously in heaven it cannot be meant of that for the heavens must depart as a scroll and many things shall then rather be annihilated and the Kingdome must then be given up by Christ to God the Father so the Apostle saith 1 Cor 15. that is when the Saints shall reigne gloriously with Christ in heaven But here this place speaks of a time when all creatures must come under subjection to Christ and it is called the world to come why because of the great change there shall be of things it shall be as it were a new world As we call this world from Noahs
we were a most rude barbarous and savage people almost as lived upon the earth Brittons had their name frome hence in the old Brittaine language Birth signifies blew coloured because those that lived here instead of brave cloathes as you have they with woade besmeared their bodies with blew they were from thence called Brittains for tania was added as it is usuall in other Languages for the signification of such a Region or Countrey as Mauritania Lusitania Aquitania c. so that Brittania is as much as to say The Region of the blew coloured people so called because they were thus painted The best food that they were wâ—nt to eate Historians tell us was barkes of trees and rootes Hollinshed in his Chronickle sayes there were old men that he knew who told of times in England that if the good man in the house had a matterres or flock-bed or a sack of chaffe to rest his head on he thought himselfe as well lodged as the Lord of the Towne for ordinarily they lay upon straw pellets covered with canvace and a round log under their heads instead of a bolster they said pillows were fit onely for women in child-bed and in a good Farmers house it was rare to finde foure pieces of pewter and it was accounted a great matter that a Farmer could shew five shillings or a noble in silver together And Camden in his Britania tells of Ailesbury a Towne in Buckinghamshire that there was in it a Mannour of the Kings and the condition of holding certain lands there was that the possessor or holder of them should find straw for litter of the Kings bed when he came there And Latimer in a Sermon before King Edward tells of his father whom he sayes kept good hospitality for his poor neighbours and found a horse for the Kings service brought him up at learning and married his sisters with five pound or twenty nobles a piece for their portions This was the poore and meane condition of these times And Jerome contra Iovinianum and Diodorus Siculus tells us concerning the people in Ireland our neighbours that the best delicates they used to eate in former times were the flesh of young children and paps of women and the ships they used to have were sallowes wreathed together and bowes twisted and covered with the hides of beasts and the wives they had were common to all their brethren and parents As for their Religion they offered to the devâ—ll mans flesh they worshipped Apollo and Jupiter and Diana And Gildas one of the ancientest Historians that relates the conditions of these Brittish people hee sayes the Idols they had were such horrible devillish monstrous things that they did even overcome the Egyptian Idols in number and no people had so many Idol-gods and so monstrous as the Egyptians and yet these went beyond them So saith he Afterward no people in the world more rent torn with Civill wars then England hath been And in the times when Popery was here profeit and establisht Oh the bondage we were under then outward and spiritual bondage Our bodyes our soules our estates our consciences were in miserable thraldome It is the most sordid miserable slavery that it is possible for a rationall creature to be under not onely to be bound to practice but to be bound to beleeve for truth the dictates and determinations of men yea and that upon paine of eternall damnation to beleeve what they say as the Articles of Faith upon which Salvation or Damnation depends for Conscience to be under them so as I must not question or scruple any thing if any man that is a rationall creature should think there is any such distance between man and man he debaseth himself beneath a man and advanceth the other above a man Better it is to be in slavery to another to scrape kennels then to be in this slavery And to have the Scriptures kept from us the Epistle that God hath sent from heaven to us that which enlightens the world revealing the great counsels of God concerning eternal life this is worse bondâ— then to be châ—â—â—ed up in dark holes all the dayes of our lives to have no Ordinances but according to the lusts and humours of vile men how great a slavery is this The manifestation of the least suspition of the falsnes of the vilest errors dislike of the basest practices was enough to confiscate estate to imprison yea to take away life Was not this a low condition a base slavery that England was in could any beare it but such as were slaves to their own lusts But now what ornaments hath God put upon us No Nation under heaven more renowned then wee have beene our renown hath gone thorough the earth England O Angliquasi Angeli and Albion from our happinesse we see now by our selves that glorious excellencies have many times low beginnings A second observation hence is when we have any excellency and beauty upon us it is Gods mercy that is all our beauty I will strip you naked and set you as in the day wherein you were born If you have any excellency it is my mercy Gods mercie is a peoples beauty and glory We have nothing belonging to us but shame and confusion but misery if we have any ornaments it is mercy free mercy therefore in the 14. ver of that 16. Ezek. Thou wert perfect in beauty How through my comlinesse which I had put upon thee saith the Lord. Let God take away but his mercy we are quickly left naked and poor and miserable like the ragged walls in the Court when the King goeth away and all the rich hangings are taken down what a difference is there in their look from what was formerly the beauty of the walls were the hangings when the King was there So if wee have any thing that makes us beautifull they are the hangings that God hath put upon us his mercies are those hangings of gold and silver and needle-work and when they are gone we are poor and ragged and miserable Thirdly Lest I strip her naked c. God had said before that she was not his wife she was guilty of whoredoms yet it seemes shee was not yet stripped naked she was left with Gods ornaments upon her notwithstanding her whoredoms Hence the third Observation is Though sinners deserve great evils to be stripped of all comforts yet God in patience and clemencie continueth them a long time They may be under fearfull threatnings and yet retaine many comforts yea the truth is it is possible for a people to be cast off from God yet to continue for a while in outward prosperity The tree that is cut up by the roots yet may have the leaves green for a while Saul who was rejected of God 1 Sam 13. 14 yet after that if you reade the Story you shall finde it that God suffered Saul to prosper exceedingly in overcomming the Phylistims the Amalekites Fourthly The
the Teraphim You may understand it as a threatning by this similitude It is as if God would threaten to bring Israel into such a desolate condition as a strumpet is brought into not only when all her friends leave her which were her kindred her true friends but when all her lovers leave her too even those who were filthy with her those who pretended the most love to her in whom she took abundance of comfort and from whom she expected protection yet now she is brought into such a condition as she sitteth desolate for lorne and helplesse So shall ye be saith God your Sacrifice and your Ephod yea and Teraphim shall leave you Or rather thus Howsoever it is a mercy for God to take away false worship from a people Images and Teraphim yet in this regard it comes in a way of threatning because it would crosse and vex them to bee deprived of these Images and Teraphim it would bee a Judgement in their apprehension As for instance what a deal of stir have we with people when they conceive that any false worship shall be taken away from them they think they are undone in it when the inventions of men in Gods worship are but questioned what a do is there men think their gods are taken away as Judges 18. when the children of Dan came to the house of Micah and took away his Ephod and his Teraphim he cryed out after them Yee have taken away the gods that I have made and what have I more what worse thing could you have done more I had rather you should have taken away all I had and yet you say unto me What aileth thee Is it not so at this day What is it that now breedeth such disturbance in England at this time but that people thinke their Teraphim shall bee taken from them whereas they have heretofore worshipped God in a false way after the inventions of men and now God is pleased to discover light and thereis an enquiring after the government of the Church in the right way and the true manner of worshipping God they are even mad upon this and would rather lose their lives and their estates then their Teraphim should be taken away let that be taken away and how shall they be able to pray what will you take away their Religion This is the language of men in many ignorant places in this Kingdome yea the very language of many even amongst us here they are verily perswaded that the Parliament are intended to take away all Religion in the Kingdome and such principles the adversaries go about to infuse into men that the Parliament are a company of Brownists meerly because they goe about to enquire after the true way of worshipping God and would have the Land purged of all superstitious vanities Thus people cry out for their Teraphim Great is Diana of the Ephesians You may read the like in the history of the life of king Edward the sixth when he had but banished the Masse there was an Army rose in Devonshire and they sent severall Articles unto the King about their grievances as causes of their rising First they said that their children were denyed to be baptized as now they cry out that none but a company of Anabaptists doe all this the Popish Priests did then infuse into the people that were in those remote Countryes that they were to have no more children baptized thinking this would exasperate the people then against King and Parliament And then they complained that their Service was taken from them meaning the Masse King Edward was fain to write to them to tell them that they were exceedingly abused that they should still enjoy what was according to the word of God that their children should be baptized and for the Masse saith he the Common-prayer Book is that Masse the same that it was before only whereas it was in Latin before now it is turned into English and so he quieted the people of that Countrey Thus it comes to be a threatning that God will take away their Image and Teraphim because the hearts of people are so vexed when their superstitious ways are taken away Now upon this confusion when they are without King Prince Sacrifice Ephod Image and Teraphim when all is come to this confusion then comes the time that they shal return and seeke tho Lord their God and David their King When Gods time is come to raise the most glorious Church that ever was in the world a little before that there is like to be the greatest confusion that ever was in the world Lactantius I have made use of before in speaking of the first Chap. Great shall be the day of Jezreel tels us that just before the glorious Church he speaks of it at large in lib. 7. c. 15. 24. 28. all right shall be confounded Laws shall perish men shall possesse all things by force good men shall be scorned contemned and though these times saith he wherein we live be naught so that one would thinke that wickednesse were grown up to the height yet in comparison of those evill dayes that shall be a little before this glorious time these days may be called the golden age God will bring all into a Chaos first as he did in the first Creation then bring a glorious building out of that Chaos We know the raising of that glorious Church that is so much prophesied of is called a creation a creating a new heaven and a new earth and it is probable enough that as the heavens and the earth were first made out of a Chaos so those new heavens and new earth that God is about to make will be raised out of a Chaos out of that which seemeth to us to be but confusion VVhat do people cry out of at this day but of confusion all things they say are brought into confusion It is true confusion is an evill thing and we are to grieve for it and to seek to prevent it yet let us not be too much troubled for you see when the greatest confusion comes upon the people of the Jewes then follows the greatest mercy then they shall return and seeke the Lord their God never return before that time Indeed till men be taken off from all they will not return to God if they have any thing to go unto they will never return to God VVhen Saul had but a witch to go to he would rather go to her then seek the face of God in way of repentance Let not this be our way because God seems to leave us for the present and letteth us be in a confusion and we know not what to do let not our hearts fiet and vex let us not go to unlawful means For mark it was just a little before Sanl was to be destroyed that he was growne to that height of evill There was a time that Saul did enquire after Gods mind and God refused to answer him but yet
Religion no God forbid yea she so promised that the story saith no man would or could misdoubt of the performance But afterward when she came to get the power in her hand the Suffolk men came to make supplication to her that she would be pleased to performe the promise she made them she answered them thus Forasmuch as you being but members desire to rule your head you shall one day well perceive that members must obey their head and not looke to beare rule over the same And not only so but to cause the more terrour a Gentleman one Master Dobs that lived about Windsor who did but in an humble request advertise her of her promise made to the Suffolke men he was three times set on the Pillory and others for the same cause were sent to prison We may see what hold hath been heretofore in the promises of those who had power to breake them you know what temptations they have to withdraw their hearts from what they have ingaged themselves unto But when this our Prince comes David our King we shall finde the sure mercies of David we shall finde nothing but faithfulnesse in all his dealings And they shall feare the Lord and his goodnesse in the latter dayes They shall feare the Lord. The words are they shall feare to the Lord pavebunt ad dominum The feare of God is much upon the heart of a sinner in his returne to God Such a sinner hath high and honourable thoughts of God They shall returne and feare the Lord. The slightnesse the vanity of his spirit the boldnesse of his heart it is taken off and the feare of God ruleth in it The Majesty the power the authority of the great God is strong upon him when he comes to worship him the feare of God makes him to worship God as a God and in all his conversation he walkes in the feare of God even all the day long you may see written upon his life the feare of the great God And this not a servile slavish feare but a holy reverenticall filâ—â—â— feare Jsaac had such a feare of God that God hath his dominion from Isaacâ— feare He is called the feare of Isaac This is a most precious feare others feare poverty feare imprisonment feare disgrace feare men but saith a true repenting heart I feare the Lord this feare is the well-spring of life to him it is the very treasure of his soul Esay 33. 6. I shall speake of the feare of God here onely as it concerns this place the intent of bringing it in here that is to shew that in the time when this glorious Church shall be when God shall call home his own people the Jewes and bring in the fulnesse of the Gentiles then shall the feare of God mightily prevayle upon the hearts of people more then ever and the greater Gods goodnesse shall be the more shall the feare of God be upon their hearts this we shall finde almost in all the Prophesies of the glorious condition of the Church which is very remarkable there is ever speaking of the feare of God that should be upon the hearts of people One would rather thinke there should be speaking of the joy that they should have that there should be nothing but mirth and triumph in those times but the Scripture speakes exceeding much of feare that shall be then and more then then at any other time Thus Revel 11. 18. a most famous Prophesie of Christs comming and taking the kingdomes of the earth and bringing his reward with him he shall come and give a reward to those that feare him And Revel 14. 7. I saw an Angel flee in the middest of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth saying with a loud voyee feare God and give glory to him Marke an Angel when he comes to preach the verlasting Gospel how doth he preach it what now cast away fear and rejoyce in this everlasting Gospel No preaching this everlasting Gospel saith with a loud voyce feare God and give glory to him So Rev. 15. 3. 4. There is the song of the Saints when they are delivered from the power of Antichrist what is it be jocund and joviall No Great and marvailous are thy workes Lord God Almighty just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints who shall not feare thee O Lord and glorifie thy name for thou onely art holy for all Nations shall come and worship before thee for thy judgements are made manifest And again Rev 19. 5. And a voyce came out of the Throne saying Praise our God all ye his servants and yee that feare him both small and great But feare the Lord now in these times why so Upon these foure grounds First Feare the Lord now because of the glory of Christ their King they shall behold their King in that glory that shal cause fear Rev 19. 12. Christ is described with his eyes as flames of fire and on his head many Crownes cloathed with a vesture dipt in blood at wo-edged sword out of his month and on his vesture and on his thigh written King of Kings and Lord of Lords Thus they shall behold Christ and therefore they shall feare Secondly in those times the feare of God will much prevaile in the hearts of people because of the great workes of God that shal be then the heavens shall depart like a scrole and the elements melt with fervent heate This is meant of the time when there shal be new heavens a new earth which referreth to the Prophesie of Esay and it is apparantly and so generally Interpreters carry it meant of the estate of the Church then the heavens shall depart like a scrole Heb. 13. 26. quoted out of Hag. 2. 6. The Lord did shake the earth once but he hath promised saying Yet once more I shaâ— not the earth onely but also heaven There shall be wonderfull workes of God in the earth when those dayes come therefore there shall be much of the feare of God Thirdly Much of the feare of God then because of the holiness of the worship of God and of his Ordinances the purity of them shall cause fear Did we see the Ordinances in the true and native purity and holinesse of them it would strike much feare in us Some have but seene the execution of that one Ordinance of Excommunication in a solemn gracious way and it hath daunted their hearts it hath struke feare in a most proud profane stubborn wicked heart the beholding then of all the Ordinances and all duties of worship in their true native purity holiness and glory cannot but cause much feare Psal 68. 35. O God thou art terrible out of thy holy places God will be terrible out of his holy places and out of all his holy Ordinances Fourthly Much feare there will be at that day because of the holiness of the Saints there shall be so much holiness that shall
and so terrible yet now behold the feete of him that bringeth good tydings that publisheth peace God abroad publisheth war yet he hath a messenger to publish life and peace to some Is it not so this day It is true the wrath of the Lord is kindled the wrath of the Lord burneth as an oven and it is hot but it is against the ungody but peace shall be upon Israel And let us sanctifie the name of God in this too for so it followes in this very Chap. of Nah. ver 15. Oh Iudah keepe thy solemne feasts performe thy vowes for the wicked shall no more passe through thee And because God revealeth such rich grace in the middest of judgement let this engage your hearts to the Lord for ever Yea a little further because it is an instraction of great use in these times and may be yet of further use in times we may live to see not onely when God threatneth judgements let us sanctifie Gods name in looking up to promises but when judgements are actually upon us Suppose we should live to have most fearful judgments of God upon us yet even then we must look up to promises and exercise our faith and have an eye to God in the way of his grace at that time this is harder then in threatnings You have an notable place for that in Esay 26. 8. In the way of thy judgements O Lord have we waited for thee the desire of our soule is to thy name Oh blessed be God my brethren the Lord calleth us to wait upon him in the wayes of mercy for the present It is true there was a time not long since that the Lord was in a way of judgement toward England and there were some of Gods people when he was in the wayes of his judgements amongst us yet would wait upon God and keepe his wayes though there were many because Gods judgements were abroad and they saw that they were like to suffer departed from God and declined his wayes Much cause of bitterness of spirit and of dread of humiliation have they that did so But others may have comfort to their soules that in the very wayes of Gods judgments they waited for him they can now with more comfort wait upon God when he is in the ways of his mercy But if God should ever come untous in the ways of his judgments let us learne even then to wait upon God keep his way And yet another Text that may seeme to be more notable than this for this purpose and that is Iere. 33. 24. Consider est thou not what this people have spoken saying the two families which the Lord hath chosen he hath even cast them off thus they have despised my people that they should be no more a nation Marke the low condition the people were in at this time Oh God hath cast them off they are despised contemptible not worthy to be accounted a nation This condition was very low but though they were brought low in a condition contemptible yet now God confirms his Covenant with them at this time For observe ver 25. Thus saith the Lord. If my Covenant be not with day night and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven earth then will I cast away the seed of Iacob ond David my servant As if God should say let them know that whatsoever their condition is now yet my love my mercy my faithfulness is toward them as sure as my covenant with day night and as the ordinances of heaven and earth An admirable Text to help not onely nations but particular persons when they are cast under contempt by wicked ungodly men yet at that time the Lord is most ready to confirm his covenant with them to be as sure as his covenant with day night and heaven earth This bringeth honour to God when at such times we can looke up to God and exercise our faith And indeed this is the glory and dignity and beauty of faith to exercise it then when Gods judgements are actually upon us But what promises are these They were not promises to any that then lived the promise that is here made was to be fulfilled in future Ages yet it is brought in by the Prophet as a comfort to the people of God living then in that time Hence this excellent note that nearly concerns us Gracious hearts are comforted with the promises of God made to the Church though not to be fulfilled in their dayes If the Church may prosper and receive mercies from God though I be dead and gone and rotten in the grave yet blessed be God When Jacob was to die saith he unto Joseph Behold I dye but God shall be with you and bring you again unto the land of your fathers he will fulfill his promises to you though I am dead Our fore-fathers that generation of the Saints that lived a while since how comfortably would they have dyed if God before their death had revealed to them that within 3. or 4. or 7. yeares so much mercy should come to England as we now have seen in these dayes Yea how comfortably should any of us have died I appeal to any gracious heart here suppose God should have taken thee away but this time two yeares and he should have said thus to thee Go and be gathered to thy fathers in peace within these two years such and such things shall be done for England as we now live to see would not we willingly have dyed would it not have been comfort enough against the fear of death but to have had revealed to us what should have been done in after time to our posterity what mercy then is it now that it is not onely revealed to us but enjoyed by us That is the second Note But thirdly What was this promise This promise was that Israel should be a multitude that the number of them shall be as the sand of the sea shore VVe shall examine the excellency of the mercy of God in this promise by and by Onely for the present enquire we a little why God would expresse himselfe in this that his grace should be manifested in this to multiply them as the sand of the sea shore If we compare Scripture with Scripture we shall finde that God therefore promiseth this because he would thereby shew that he did remember his old promise to Abraham for that was the promise made to Abraham that God would multiply his seed as the starres of heaven and as the sand which is upon the sea shore and now God along time after commeth in with renewing this promise Hence we are to observe this Note That the Lord remembers his promises though made a long time since God is ever mindful of his Covenant as it is Psal 111. 5. When we have some new and fresh manifestations of Gods mercy our hearts rejoyce in it but the impression of it is
Thes 2. 3. And Rev. 1. 3. 3. All the world wandred after the beast and ver 2. The dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority and Rev. 17. 1. The whore sitteth upon many waters ver 15. these many waters are interpreted to be peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues The whore doth sit upon them that is doth use them vilely and basely sits upon the very consciences of them in a base manner as if a whore should sit upon you and keep you under And who doth she sit upon upon peoples and multitudes It is not an argument then of a true Church though they are multitudes though they be as the sand of the sea though they be gathered together for they must be gathered under one Head under Christ Secondly Neither is Unity a sufficient argument of the verity of the Church They shall be gathered together they shall be joyned together in one way with one consent yea but if it be not under one Head it is like Simeon Levi brethren in iniquity It is not enough that we be one unless we be one in Christ and that is a blessed union For a great deale of unity there shall be under Antichrist Revel 17. 13. These have one minde saith the Text and they shall give their strength power to the beast And Chap. 18. 5. Her sins reach unto heaven Their sins cleave together and so get up to heaven A union of persons and a union of sins there is amongst them The Turks have as little dissention in their Religion as any they are allunited in one But well may that garment have no seame that hath no shape And a notable place we have in Ps 83. 3. 4. 5. c. They have consulted together with one consent they are confederate against thee There are two or three things exceeding observable in this Scripture about the union of the wicked First you have ten Countreys joyn together against the Church there is the Edomites the Moabites c. And it was not by accident that they joyned but in a deliberate way They consulted together and not onely consulted together but consulted together with one consent or heartily for that which is translated there with one consent the word in the Hebrew is with heart together their very heart was in the consultation but mark it was against thy hidden ones so ver 3. Let them consult together let ten of them consult together and consult with their hearts yet the Saints are Gods hidden ones Esay 54. 15. They shall surely gather together but not my me whosoever shall gather together against thee shal fall forthy sake My brethren Peace though we should all desire it yet so as not to have it too chargeable Peace is then too chargeable when it costs us the losse of any truth Take heed of any such costly Peace There may hand joyn in hand together in wickednes yet they shal not be unpunished Pro. 16. 5. And Nah. 1. 10. While they are folded together as thorns they shal be devoured as stubble fully dry Wicked men they are as thorns to prick the people of God yea they are thorns â—â—lded together there is a peace amongst them yet though thâ—â— be folded â—â—gether they shall bedevoured they shal be 〈…〉 division that comes by truth is beter then the union that comes by 〈…〉 a noble speech of Luther Rather then any thing should fall of the Kingdome of Christ and his glory let not onely peace 〈◊〉 but let heaven and earth goe too so wee should love peace The Sixth Lecture HOSEA 1. the middle of the 11. verse And appoint themselves one head and they shall come up out of the land FRom the tenth verse to the end you have heard that God promiseth mercy to an Israel that he will in time raise up although for that Israel to whom the Prophet spake they shall go into captivity and shall not returne as Judah did Secondly Mercy to Israel and Judah both together and that first In the multitude that shall be gathered secondly In the excellency of the state of the Church at that time above that which was before before they were People but then they shall be Sons Thirdly In the unity of them Israel and Judah shall be both gathered together under one head Some time was spent in the last exercise about unity and the excellency of the unity of the Churches wherein we laboured to convince you that uniformity in judgement and practice is not necessary for unity in the Churches for unity of hearts It is a false principle that runnes in the world that all men must needs be brought to believe and doe the same thing or else there can be no peace If we would have light let in to us we must so prise it as to be willing that in the discussion of truths there should be some hazard of some differences in lesser things If a man have a house closed on every side with a thick brick-wall and he is so desirous to keepe his house safe and stronge that he will rather all his dayes sit in the darke then be at the trouble to have a hole digged or a few bricks broken to let in any light wee would accuse that man of folly It is true indeed we must not be so desirous of light as to break so much of the wall as to indanger the house we must keepe that safe but yet it is hard to let in light but there will be some bricks taken away and there must be some trouble A childe when he sees the work-man with his tooles breaking the wall and making a deale of rubbish hee thinks he is pulling down the house but a wise man knows it is but a little trouble for the present to let in light that shall be for the beauty of the house afterward Unity in the Churches is lovely But it must be under one head They shal be gathered together and appoint themselves one head Agreement in errour is farre worse then division for the sake of truth Better to be divided from men that are erroneous then to agree with them in the wayes of their arrour A company gathered without the covenant of peace without the observance of Gods law is a headlesse multitude saies Bernard it hath much of Babylon but little of Jerusalem What is this Head I finde both the Jewes and divers of the â—â—cyents Theodoret Cyrill and others that would make this head to be Zerubbabel and onely to have reference to the returne of the people from their Babylonish captivity But this certainly cannot be upon these two reasons to name no more First Because both Israel and Judah are here to joyne together and to returne out of the land there it was Judah and not the ten Tribes that were delivered from their captivity Secondly Compare this Scripture with others that are but a Comment upon it and we shall finde that
time a new world and when we speak of the other world we call it the old world so the Scripture calls it 2 Pet. 2. 5. God spared not the old world And Chap. 3. 6. The world that then was being overflowed with water perished So this world that we live in is as the old world and there is this day of Jezreel in which there shall be such a glorious change all things being put in subjection under Christ that it shall be as it were a new world God hath made an excellent world in which there is much beauty and glory and yet his enemies have the rule here what then will that world be that God intends for his Saints 8. Great shall be the day of Jezreel It shall be such a great day that all former things shall be even forgotten because of the lustre and glory of that great day As Isa 65. 17. The former heavens and the former earth shall not be remembred nor come into mind And so Jer. 3. 16. In those dayes saith the Lord they shall say no more the Arke of the Covenant of the Lord neither shall it come to minde neither shal they remember it at that time they shal call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord and all the nations shal be gathered unto it to the name of the Lord to Jerusalem neither shal they walk any more after the imagination of their evil hearts mark my brethren In those dayes the house of Judah shall walke together ver 18. It is apparent that it is spoken of this great day of Iezreel for now God saith he will gather Iudah and Israel together and here he saith that they shall walke together and that then former things shall be forgotten they shall call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord heretofore even the Temple it self the glory of Jerusalem was but as the place of Gods feet and the Arke of God was but Gods footstool 1 Chron. 28. 2. It was in mine heart saith David to build a house of rest for the Arke of the Covenant of the Lord and for the footstoole of our God and Isa 60. 13. I will make Zion the place of my feet glorious But now in this great day Jerusalem that was but Gods foot stool the place of his feet shall be Gods Throue a great day certainly this shall be when all things shall be thus forgotten In the last place a great day because it shall be a day after which there shal be no night And that you will say will be a great day indeed after which the Saints shall be raised to such a state of prosperity and happiness that shall never fall again that shall never come to be darkened any more The Churches here many times have had some little release they have had their dayes of peace for a while but it hath soone grown to be night and a dismall night of darkness But when this great day shall come it shall be a day that shall never have night for so God promiseth here to his Jezreel to make it to be an eternal excellency and to make Jerusalem an everlasting joy and Dan. 2. 44. God shall in the dayes of those Kings set up a Kingdom that shall never be destroyed that is the great day of Jezreel The first thing that shall be done in this great day of Iezreel shall be the deliverance of the Churches from wofull affliction which they shal be found to be in a little before For so the Scripture tells us Dan. 12. 1. that before this day there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time and at that time thy people shall be delivered I might tell you much how some of the Ancients have spoken of this that though it be a point that seemes to be somewhat strange to us yet it was one of the most ordinariest things that was known in the primitive times It was then so generally acknowledged that I remember Just in Martyr who was but 30. years after Saint John hath such an expression as this There is no man saith he that is of the Orthodox faith in all things but he doth acknowledge it And Lactantius in his 7. book cap. 15. 24. 28. and divers other chapters he spends in shewing the glory of this great day of Iezreel but withall he shewes that a little before there shall be most grievous times that shal fall out such times saith he as that all right shall be confounded the law shall perish no body shall know what is his own the wicked they shal have the preheminence the Saints they shall be persecuted so that saith he though in this our time wickednesse is grown to such a height that a man would think it could increase no higher yet in comparison of the time a little before that great day these times may be called Golden ages These expressions he hath So that great times of affliction will be before that great day and it is therefore called a great day because God appearing so gloriously in the deliverance of his Church at that day The Scripture speakes of wonderfull thing that God will do and shew himself marvaylous as he did in the people of Israels comming out of Egâ—â—t Who knowes but that God now sendeth abroad so much of the light of his Gospel and is so working in the hearts of men and giveth us such a time of reviving and calleth home so many young ones as he doth purposely because this great day is at hand and because before this day wee may have a day of dismall darkenesse and by this he will prepare people for those times God will have a great seed that he intends to be in the world therefore so many young people are converted and are so forward because I say God meanes to prepare them by this light that we now have for this seed for this great day And you that are young may expect to go thorow some difficulties hardship before this great day comes but be of good comfort you may hope to live to see all the glory of this great day and God gives you now time that you may lay up and be fit seed for such a glorious day as this that you may not when sufferings come be found among the number of the fearfull ones spoken of in Rev. 21. 8. that shal have their part in the lake which burneth with fire brimstone Those that through base cowardliness and complyance shall yeeld to base vile superstitious vanities shall be cast out amongst dogs when that great day comes God now gives you a day that you may see the evil of superstitious vanities that you may have truths revealed to you with more freedom then formerly I say who knowes but this may be to prepare you for that darknesse that may come a little before this great day of Jezreel Secondly a great day in subduing the adversaries
of the Church Though they shall come to have a great deale of power a little before yet when that great day of Iezreel shall come they shal be certâ—inly all subdued brought under Rev. 19. 13. Christ when he shall come in this great day he shal have his garments dipt in blood in destroying the wicked and ungodly and Rev 15. the Saints when they see the wicked destroyed as the Egyptians were in the sea the Text saith that they sung the song of Moses What was this song of Moses but the praysing of God for the destruction of their adversaries in the Sea God hath another Sea to destroy the wicked and God hath a day for his Saints to sing over the song of Moses again and especially for the destruction of Popery My brethren be not troubled to see Papists make a concourse and flock together be not troubled at it for when this day shall come God will so order things that his adversaries shall come and flock together but it shall be that they may be destroyed for God hath a great feast and a great Sacrifice and he will sacrifice them especially And therefore Lactantius that I spoke of before and is one that lived 1300. yeares since saith he speaking then of this day I have a thing to say but I even tremble to speake it but I must speake it and what was it Romanum nomen saith he de terra tolletur those are his words the Roman name shall be taken off from the earth He in those primitive times prophâ—sied of the destruction of Rome Perhaps though he did not see it so clearly yet God might so order it as though hee understood it not God might intend it for these times God will destroy the enemies of his Churches then Yea. Ezek. 28. 24. there is a promise to the Saints that there shall beno more a pricking bryar nor any grieving thorne of any that are round about them that despise them in another place God saith that he will take away the Canaanite out of the Land Further the third thing that shall be done in this great day is the glorious presence of Christ among the Saints let it be personall or what it will wee determine not but thus far we may confidently affirme that there shall be a more glorious presence of Jesus Christ among his people then ever yet was since the beginning of the world Rev. 21. 22. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb shall be the Temple of it and Chap. 22. 3. 4. The Throne of God and of the Lamb shal be in it and his servants shall serve him they shall see his face and Ezek. 48. the last words of the Chapter The name of that place shall be Jehovah-shammah that is the Lord is there Fourthly the glory that shall be put upon the Saints at that day shewes it to be a great day Glory shall be put upon them first in regard of their admirable gifts graces they shall be heightned and inlarged the weake shall be as David and they that are as David shall be as the Angel of God at that day The bowing down of their adversaries before them The high esteeme that they shall have even in the thoughts and judgments of many great ones of the world they shall be called up to heaven that is those that are in highest place and dignity shall call them up and honour them in that day yea the Text saith The Kings of the earth in that day shall came in and bring their glory to the Church Therefore it is apparent that place Rev. 21. 24. cannot be understood of heaven for it is said the Kings of the earth shal bring their glory they shall not bring their glory to the Church when the Church shall be in heaven And fiftly a great day it shall be in regard of the wonderfull change of all creatures glorious fruitfull times so I remember Lactantius speaks of that time that the rocks them selves should issue forth honey and precious things but that we cannot say yet that there shall bee a wonderfull change of all things and all creatures brought to a further happiness even the sensitive creatures as well as others then they had before the Scriptures are cleare euough in it And literally we are to understand many Scriptures that tend this way concerning the fruitfulnesse of the earth and the outward external glory that there shall be in the creatures As upon a great marriage feast or Coronation day all the servants of the Prince are in their best array so when Christ his Bridegroome shall come and meet with his wife with his Spouse all creatures shall be put into a new cresse shall have further glory And lastly that which we have here in the Text the multitudes of all nations and people that shall flock to the Church that they shall be as the sand of the sea But this I have spoken of before at large Now put all these things together and Great shall be the day of Jezreel Yea but shall these things be so shall they be so Though flesh and blood may reason against these things yet I may apply that place Zach. 2. 13. Be silent O all flesh before the Lord for he is raised up out of his holy haâ—â—â—tion Flesh may say How can these things be But let all flesh be silent for God hath made known in his Word the great things that he intends to bring to passe And Zach. 8. 6. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts if it be marvaylous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these dayes should it also be marvaylous in mine eyes saith the Lord of Hosts It may be applyed to this as well as the other These things may seeme marveilous to your eyes especially because we have been but little acquainted with them but they are not marveilons in the eyes of God Yea we find it out of the Word that these things were to be kept hidden till the appointed time should come till we draw neerer to that great day we are not to wonder why these things have not been opened unto us for God tells us Dan. 12 that they were to be sealed up even to the time appointed and Rev. 10. 11. God telleth Iohn that he must prophe sie again before the Kings of the earth that is before the time of the fulfilling of all things that booke of the Revelation shall be made out as cleere as if Iohn were come to prophesie again before men And we hope it is comming because God beginneth to let in light that way and the morning star seemeth to begin to arise In Zach. 14. 6. you have mention of a day that we may apply to the present day that we have now And it shall come to passe saith the Text there that the light shall not be cleere nor darke but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord not day nor night but
prepared to meet Christ their Bride-groom when he cometh Marke that place Ezek. 40. 4. It is spoken of the glorious times of the Gospel especially of these times I am speaking of where God saith to the Prophet Behold with thine eyes and heare with thine eares and set thine heart upon all that I shal shew thee And what did God shew him hee shewed him the measure of the Temple and all the glorious things that there should be in the Church in future times So I say to you my brethren concerning that I have spoken of the great day of Jezreel behold with your eyes look into Gods book and see what is said there for I have named but little and heare with your eares and set your hearts upon what hath been set before you So in Isa 41. 20. You have a place somewhat like this speaking of the mercies of God to his Church in latter times saith the Text That they may see know and consider and understand together that the hand of the Lord hath done this and the Holy One of Israel hath created it Mark how one word is heaped upon another that they may see know and consider understand what God would do for his people And when God came to reveale the glorious things he intended for his Churches in future times in the book of the Revelation which is the special book that declareth this unto us Mark how the Lord beginneth It is said that God gave this first to Christ secondly Christ to the Angel thirdly the Angel to Iohn and then there is pronounced a blessing to him that reads and hears the words of this prophesie and understands it What a solemne way of blessing is here There is not such an expression in all the book of God where have you a blessing so solemnly proclaimed to the reading and hearing of any of the bookes of God as to that book Therefore though they are things that seeme to be above us yet certainly God would have us to inquire into these things It is the fruit of the purchase of the blood of Christ to open these seales Rev. 5. 9. we reade that there was no man in heaven nor in earth that was able to open the book and to loose the seales thereof only the Lambe that was slaine and that hath redeemed us unto God by his blood he was onely worthy to open the seales It is a fruit I say of the slaughter of Christ of his blood and therefore cry to him for the opening these things to thee And though thou beest very weake in regard of parts and thinkest with thy self How can I understand such things as these know that it is Christ that through his blood comes to open these seales and seeing it is a fruite of his blood it is no matter whether thou art weake or strong if he come to open them to thee as Ier. 13. 2. saith God to the Prophet Call unto me and I will shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not so I say to you be a praying people call upon God and he will cause you to understand great and excellent things that you have not known And my brethren seeing these things shall be thus O what manner of persons ought wee to be how heavenly our hearts should rise up from the earth seeing God intendeth to do such great things for his people As it is Isa 60. Arise arise shake off thy dust for the light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee So I may say to the Churches now Arise arise shake of the dust of your earthly affections for the light of God is now ready to arise upon you Now sur sum corda now lift up your hearts above the things of the world VVee reade in Rev. 4. of the foure living creatures that appeared unto John the first was like a Lyon and the second like an Oxe and the third had a face as a Man and the fourth was like a flying Eagle They are according to the interpretaâ—ion that reverend Brightman gives to set out unto us the foure states conditions of the Church The Primitive times were Lyon-like for their valour the second age like an Oxe to beare the burthens of Antichrist the third had a face as a man that stood for their liberties and would not be under such slavery and they are but times and then the fourth as an Eagle that sored aloft In the state of the Church hereafter they shall be like an Eagle have heavenly hearts no such drossy base earthly hearts as we have now Labour we even now to be so that we may be fit for that day And let us all prepare for the Bride groome against his comming How shall we prepare The cloathing that then shall be shall be white linnen which is the righteousnesse of the Saints That great Doctrine of our justification by the righteousnesse of Christ shall be the great businesse of that day in which the glory of the Saints shall much consist and they shall be clothed with that it shall be clearly understood of all men they shall be ashamed to rest upon duties and ordinances as now they do Let us study the Doctrine of the righteousnesse of Christ afore-hand for that is like to be our clothing at that day that is the white linnen of the Saints which shall be their glory Let us prepare our Lamps and keepe them all burning and shining the oyle not onely of juâ—â—â—cation but sanctification active stirring in our hearts that so we may 〈◊〉 to entertaine the Bride-groom whensoever 〈◊〉 〈…〉 And all of you labour now to instruct your children in the knowledge of God and of Christ bring them up in the feare of the Lord that they may be seed for that day Acquaint them with these things for though perhaps you may be dead and gone before this great day yet they may live to see it therefore catechize them and instruct them and drop into them those Principles that may fit them for the meeting of JESUS CHRIST their Bridegroome To conclude all Let us be all praying Christians It is that which is charged upon us in Isa 62. 6. All you that make mention of the Lord keep not silence and give him no rest till he establish till he make Jerusalem apraise in the earth God hath a day to set up Jerusalem as the praise of the whole earth Oh be praying praying Christians every one of you and give God no rest till he effect this And remember God of all his promises search the Prophets search the book of God and urge God with his promises to the Church in this way And you that are the weakest be not discouraged in your prayers and you may be a meanes to further and hasten this great day of Jezreel Psal 102. 17. The Psalmist had spoken before of Gods building up Zion and certainly that Psalme is a Prophesie of the glorious times
ever he can in all lawfull things and then when he commeth to plead against an evil he is not suddain he is not rash and he pleads not against every light evil neither but when he comes he comes with a great deale of trouble in his spirit and carrieth it with all quietnesse and humility It is your rigidnesse and that spirit which doth not beseeme a Christian that is not the spirit of Christ in this thing for to judge of this to be pride For certainly under this false judge ment the cause of God hath suffered exceeding much You will say How can it be imagined that one man should see more then many more then others that are able To that I answer In a community where there are many though they should be godly yet many of them may have their spirits biased with prejudice vvith selfe-ends and so not come to see the truth though they be more able Again perhaps though they may be moreable in most things yet in some one God may leave them Yea though they may be more able at other times yet for some one time God may leave a man in a thing that he is very able in it another time And perhaps a great many of them for the present may have so much distemper of spirit as they may not speak according to what they think themselves Therefore it may be usefull for some one man to be pleading with many others I beseech you consider of this it is very usefull Men must not think that God doth dispence the knowledge of his truth alwayes according to natural 〈…〉 For want of this consideration many are led into much evill For thus they think with themselves If a man have more abilities to understand natural things then others have therefore he must needs have more abilities to understand spirituall things then others have There is a mistake in this A great learned man that hath great abilities understands the rules of nature yet a poor weake man may have the mind of Christ more then he hath For the promise is to them that feare God Psal 25. 14. The secret of the Lord is with them that feare him It may be another man hath more abilities but this spirit may be more soild may be more distempered then the poor weake mans I thanke thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes even so Father for it seemed good in thy sight If multitudes had beene an argument against the truth then in the Primitive times when Christian Religion began certainly very few should have followed JESUS CHRIST Yea and there is not more disadvantage and disproportion between one or two private members of a Church and the whole Church then there was at that time disadvantage and disproportion between the whole Church then and all the world And if we mark Saint Iohn We know saith he that we are of God and that the whole world lyeth in wickednesse We know What a singular spirit was here here was singularity indeed if you talke of singularity you are afraid you should be counted self-conceited and singular in differing from others We know that we are of God and that the whole world lyes in wickednesse Thus we see the thing a little cleared as this point had need be but we have not done with it we must not let it go so There must be some rules given for this or otherwise we should wrong the point in naming it Christians may plead private members may plead with their Mother yet they must observe these rules First They must not plead with her for every light thing For the Scripture giveth us this rule That Love covereth a multitude of infirmiâ—ies We must not stand pleading for every infirmity with our brother but rather passe by many and cover them much lesse then with the Church But if there be that which is notorious or if I be called unto it that I cannot have communion with them but in my communication with them I shall be wrapped up in the guilt except I testifie the truth Certainly then I am bound to plead The second rule is it must be orderly done that is if possibly it may bee you must make the Officers of the Church to be your mouth in pleading I say if it can be If it come to such a way of rebuking or declaring the evill to the Church it should rather if it can be be by him whom God hath appointed to be his mouth to the Church For you doe it in Gods name therefore the most orderly way to do it if it may be done is by him that is Gods mouth Thirdly It must be so as you must manifest all due respect to that society you are of to that Church shewing in your carriage that you are apprehensive and sensible even at this time of that distance that is betweene you and that whole society whereof you are a member Fourthly You must do it in a very peaceable way so as to manifest that you desire peace and not to be the least disturbance to the peace of the Church but that the peace of it is deare precious to you Therefore when you have witnessed the truth and discharged your conscience in it you must be then content to sit down quiet for so the rule is That the spirits of the Prophets must be subject to the Prophets in that case But if it should prove that the Church should continue if the evill be notorious and great as requires departing and the Church after all means used all patience should continue in it in such a case you may desire to be dismissed from it and depart But in as peaceable a way as possibly can be yet continuing in due respect unto the Church for all that though you should depart onely leaving your witnesse behind you The Papists cry out against us for pleading against them and say it is an ill bird that will defile its own nest and they tell us the curse of Cham is upon us for discovering our parents nakednesse They are to know this that there is more liberty for a member of a Church to plead with a Church then for a childe to pleade with his parent Though there be liberty for a child yet there is more liberty for the member of a Church For a parent though he should be never so evil yet hee doth not lose his right over his childe Though your parents should be very wicked yet know that their wickednesse doth not discharge you of your duty that all children should take notice of But a Church may so fall off from God as the members of it may be free from their duty to it and therefore may have more liberty to plead then a child with his parent That but onely in answer to them And certainly so far have they
they were as a childe cast out such a one as the countenance and feature promised no good Thou wert cast out in the open field because they never hoped to have any good of thee and indeed as if God should say if I had regarded what I saw in you I might have past this judgement upon you too there was little hope of good from you But what though the child be cast out in the field yet there may come some by accidentally as Pharaohs daughter did that may pitty the child and have compassion on it No saith God thou wast not onely cast out but worse then so thou wast cast out and so cast out as no eye pityed thee You have sometimes bastards poor childred laid at your doors and left there some in baskets otherways yet when you open them see a child and a childe weeping there is some pity in you and you will take care some way or other that it may be fed brought up But saith God to Israel You were cast out in the open field no eye pityed you that is all the heathen were against you and others in the land rose up against you the Egyptians they came out to destroy you you had the sea before you and them behind you none had pitty upon you This was the condition wherein you were borne Now see what ornaments God had put upon them They were in a sorry condition you see when they were borne But marke that fore-named place of Ezek. ver 8. I took the saith God and entred into covenant with thee and then becamest mine That is the way of a peoples becomming Gods his entring into covenant with them The Lord hath begun to enter into Covenant with us and we with him in former Protestations and if any farther Covenant binding us more strictly to God be tendred to us know that God in this deals with us as he did with his own people We are as children cast out in the open field and no eye pityeth us but many plot against us and seeke our ruine If God will be pleased now to enter into Covenant with us and give all the people of the Land hearts to come close to the Covenant to renew their Covenant with him and that to more purpose then in former Covenants the Lord yet will own us The Covenant of God was the foundation of all the mercy the people of Israel had from God and we are to look upon it as the foundation of our mercy and therefore as in the presence of God willingly and cheerfully to renew it with him After Gods taking this people to himselfe as his own it followes ver 11 12. I decked thee also with ornaments I put bracelets upon thine hands and a chaine on thy necke And I put a jewell on thy fore-head and ear-rings in thine ears a beautiful crown upon thine head Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver and thy rayment of fine linnen and silk broidred worke and thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty Thus God did with the people of Israel he had added to what they had when they were born Miserable they were when they were borne but the mercies of God toward them are thus set out And nowhee cometh to threaten that he will strip them naked and set them as in the day wherein they were born Yet further for the opening of this we must know that it was the custome among the Jews when any married what they brought to their husbands and their dowry was written down in a table and if afterward he should divorce his wife except there could be proved some grosse and vile thing against the woman though she should go away yet she was to go away with her Table with her dowry and what she brought she must not goe away naked But if there could be proved some notorious villany that shee had committed then she was sent away Sine Tabulis naked without those tables wherein her dowry and other things were written and destitute of all things as being unworthy of them because she had played the harlot Thus God threatneth this people She is not my wife but unlesse she put away her whore doms from before her face and her adultery from between her breasts I will strip her naked as in the day wherein she was borne She shal be seâ—â—â—ay without any tables naked and wholly destitute And thus you have thâ—â—â—pening of the words The Observations follow The first is The beginnings of great excellencies are sometimes very low and meane This plainly riseth up from the opposition of her condition when she was borne and what she had gotten from God afterward I will strip thee naked and set thee as in the day wherein thou wert borne Therefore it is cleare she was born in a very mean condition gotten up to a very excel lent condition though now they be high glorious yet once they were very low mean God many times raises up golden pillars upon leaden Bases the most glorious works of God have had the lowest beginnings This beautifull frame of heaven earth was raised out of a Chaos of confusion darkness This is true personally or nationally and that in regard of outward conditions or spirituall How poor and low and meane have many of your beginnings beene even in the world who could ever have thought that such low beginnings could have beene raised unto such high things as some of you have beene raised unto in the world It was not long since when you came hither to this City which may be said to be the day wherein you were borne for your civill estate though not your naturall you were low enough meane enough you had but little to begin withall you came hither with your staffe and now behold two bands It is sometimes so likewise in regard of the spirituall estate You may remember not long since Oh what darkness and confusion was there in your mindes and hearts what poore low meane thoughts had you of God and the things of his Kingdome what unsavory spirits when at first God was pleased to worke upon you Oh what a poor condition were you in then though you had some light put into you yet you were as a childe new borne wrapped up in filth and blood many noysome distempers and boisterous lusts there were in your hearts as it is usuall with new converts like a fire newly kindled where there is a great deale of smother and smoke that afterwards weareth away But now behold the shining of Gods face upon your soules Oh the abilities that God hath given you to know his minde and doe his will Oh the blessed communion that you have with God the sparkling of that divine nature the glory and beauty of the divine nature is put upon you So for Nations we will not goe further then our owne How low and meane were we at first
within them sometime to see where famous Towns have stood now the places are overgrowne with nettles they are laid wast as a wildernesse Aud in this God threatneth after the manner of great Kings who when their Subjects obey them not threaten to lay their Countreys wast and to destroy their Cities as Ecclesiasticall Stories tell us of Theodosius that had layed great taxes upon the City of Antioch at which they were much grieved and imagining it seemes that the Queen had a speciall hand in it they pulled down the brazen statue of the Queene that was in the Citie in a kinde of anger upon this Theodosius threatneth to lay the Citie and Countrey wast as a fruite of his displeasure It is a fruite of the anger of a Kings according to their power to manifest it that way not onely upon particular men bnt to lay whole Countreyes wast God is the great King and he threatneth this against his people for their sinnes that he will lay them wast as aâ—wildernesse God had rather that the wilde beasts should eate up the good of the land then that wicked stubborn sinners should enjoy it God had rather have a land under his curse to have nothing but thornes and bryars brought forth of it then that wicked wretches should partake of the sweetness and fruit of it for sin doth not only pollute the sinner but the land and putteth both the sinner and the land under a curse And sâ—ay them with thirst In the 36. Psal ver 8. VVe have a full expression of the plentifull provision of Cods people that dwell in the house of the Lord. â—he Text saith They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fulnesse of thy house and thou shalt make them to drinke of the river of thy pleasures O what a sweet promise is here to those that dwell in Gods house and walke with God as beseemeth those that are in his house they shall have fatnesse and drinke of the river of his pleasures but here is threatned slaying with thirst that God will not onely take away those rivers but even drops of water they shall not have a drop to coole their tongues but shall be slaine with thirst There was a time wherein God had such pittie upon his people that hee would cause water to gush out of the rock rather then their thirst should not he satisfied But now God threatneth that hee will make the heavens as brasse and the earth as iron and though a little water might save their lives they should not have it He will slay them with thirst Oh what an alteration doth sin make in Gods administrations of his wayes towards us It is a great judgement thus to be slayn with thirst I knew my self a man once that lying in a burning feaver professed that if he had all the world at his dispose he would give it all for one draught of beer At so low a rate is the world at such a time as that is If the want of a little beer or water to satisfie thirst for a little while be so great a judgement Oh what is it then for all good to be eternally with drawn from all the faculties I have read of Darius that when he fled from his enemies and being in great thirst though those Kings had a delicate drinke that was peculiar to them which they called Coapsis and others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he met with a dirty puddle of water with carry on lying in it and he sucked in that and dranke very heartily of it and profest that it was the sweetest draught that ever he dranke in his life This meditation may be very usefull upon this evil of thirst that if a little puddle water can afford so much comfort when the faculties are in such a disposition as they are fit to draw out that comfort that is in this puddle water Oh then what comfort and goodnesse is there in an infinite God when he shall communicate to his creature all that good that is communicable and when all the faculties of soul and body shall be in a full disposition to receive all the good that is communicated and not put into a disposion by reason of want but by reason of the excellency of the faculty raised to such a height and inlarged to receive what good God himselfe hath to communicate to his creature But further it is observable Though God did bring them into a wildernesse and set them in a dry land yet if they might have some drinke though but water to refresh them in this wildernesse and in this dry land it were not so much Though they were in a scorching Countrey in the wilderness parched with heat might they have but some refreshment there the judgement were not so great but they shall be in a wildernesse in a dry land and there they shall be scorched with heat and then God shall deny them all succour all helpe He will slay them with thirst God useth thus to deale with wicked men to bring them into extremity and there to leave them destitute of all succour of all helpe VVe have an excellent Scripture for this Ezek. 22. 20. I will gather you in miâ—e anger and in my fury and what then I will leave you there and melt you saith God This may be a Comment upon this Text. I will bring into the widernesse and set them in a dry land and slay them with thirst The Saints may be brought into great extremity but God leaveth them not there God makes their extremity his opportunity for mercy he bringeth refreshing to them then they never have more sweet refreshings from God then when they are in the greatest extremities in regard of trouble and affliction God promiseth Esay 4. 6. that he will be a shadow for them in the day time from the heat and a covert from storme and from raine This is Gods peculiar mercy to the Saints perhaps they have no shelter now but when the storme commeth they have a shelter then and they have a shadow when the heat commeth in their extremity they have comfort But it is otherwise with the wicked the wicked perhaps may have many shelters before the storme commeth but when the storme commeth then they are destitute they may have many shady places before the heat cometh but when the heat commeth then they are left fuccourless then they are slain with thirst When wicked men are in prosperity then there may come one blessing after another I meane that which is in it self a blessing heaped upon them but when they come into adversity when they have most need of comfort then they are left destitute This slaying with thirst is applyed by some spiritually I will bring a spirituall famine upon them When they shall be in a wildernesse in a dry land when they shall have most need of comfort for their soules they shall be deprived of it Many men in the time of their health and prosperity
have many sweet promises of the Gospel revealed unto them many blessed manifestations of Gods free grace and goodnesse in his Christ made known unto them but they slight and disregard them But when God shall bring them into the wildernesse when God shall cause them to be under the torment of a scorching conscience when conscience shall be burning and scalding then perhaps they may long Oh that I had one drop of water one promise out of the Word to comfort me Oh that I might have but never so little refreshing Oh that I might heare againe those things I have heretofore heard and neglected But then God may deny one drop of water to coole their scorching consciences and stay them with thirst slay their soules with thirst at that time And thus many poore creatures are slain with thirst that did so little regard those rivers of consolation that in the time of their prosperity they might have had Ver. 4. And I will not have mercy upon her children for they be the children of whoredoms I confesse at the first view looking upon this verse I thought I might quickly passe it over the rather because we had some such expressions in the former Chapter where God threatned that he would have no more mercy upon them But the Scripture is a vast depth and there are many excellent treasures in it there is alwayes aliquid revisentibus something for those that come to see again and looke again and this something will appeare to be much that we shall see out of these expressions further then before hath been observed And I will not have mercy This Particle And hath much in it it is a most terrible And. This conjunction many times in Scripture is as a pleonasme and doth not serve for much use but here in this place it is of great use and it is filled with terrour as full as it is possible for such a little particle to hold I know there may be many curiosities sometimes in observatious of particles of conjunctions but we shall not meddle with any curiosity but speake of that which is plain and the intention of the Holy Ghost here I say this And is a most dreadfull And marke the conjunction you had foure And 's before saith God I will strip her naked And set her as in the day wherein she was borne And make her as a wildernesse And set her as a dry Land And slay her with thirst Is not here enough Oh no there cometh a fifth And and that is more terrible then all the former foure And I will have uo more mercy upon her children This addeth terrour to all the rest Suppose that all the other foure had beene and if this had not come there had not beene such a grievous threatning If God had said I will strip her naked set her as in the day wherein she was borne and I will make her as a wildernesse and set her as a dry land and slay her with thirst yet if there might be mercy in all this their condition had not beene so miserable but saith God I will doe all these And I will have no more mercy upon them Oh this hath that terrour in it that it is impossible for the heart of a man that apprehends it to stand under it And for the opening of this I shall shew you how that all the former foure not only may stand with Gods mercy but they have stood with Gods mercy that God had heretofore shewed mercy to them when they were in such a low condition in which they were borne when they were in the wildernesse when they were in a dry Land yea when he did slay them he shewed mercy unto them But now he saith he will do thus and thus and shew no mercy unto them So that then though this And be conjunctive in Grammar yet here in Divnity it is a disjunctive and a most dreadfull disjunctive to part them and mercy a sunder yea and to part many of them and mercie eternally asunder To shew you therefore the soure former that though they were in such a condition heretofore yet God did shew them mercie now what a condition is that God will shew them no mercie As First In the day wherein they were borne that as you may remember I shewed you out of the 16. Ezek. what a low and pittifull condition the people of Israel were in they were cast out in the field they were in their blood and not washed and the like But mark in the 8. ver I passed by thee and looked upon thee behold the time was a time of love and I spread my skirt over thee and covered thy nakednesse yea I sware unto thee and entered into covenant with thee and thou becamest mine Here are the highest and the fullest expressions of Gods grace that could be First I looked upon her and then the time was a time of love and then I spread my skirt over thee and I entered into covenant with thee and thou becamist mine Here are all these expressions of mercy even at that time when they were cast out as forlorne in the open field and no eye pittâ—ed them but now they are threatned to be cast out into the open field againe and no eye to pittie them in heaven or in earth no nor the eye of God to pittie them now God threatneth to cast them off for ever so as he will see them in their blood but it shall be no more a time of love but a time of wrath and he will no more enter into covenant with them neither shall they be his 2. When God brought them into the wildernesse God there shewed them mercy for that you have a marvellousfull Text Deut. 32. 10. Hee found them in a desart land and in the wast howling wildernesse but mark he led them about he instructed them he kept them as the apple of his eye Though they were in a wast howling wildernesse yet they were as deare to God as the apple of his eye Yea further ver 11. As an eagie stirreeth up her nost fluttereth over her young spreadeth abroad her wings taketh them beareth them on her wings so the Lord alone did lead them It is the note of Paulus Fagius citing for it Rabbi Solomon upon this as the Eagle carries her young ones not as other birds for other birds it is observed carry their young ones in their claws the Eagle bears hers upon her wings and this is the reason that is observed because the Eagle is more tender of her young ones then other birds are why for other birds carrying their young ones in their claws if any shoot at them they hit the young ones and kill them first but may misse the old one but the Eagle carries hers upon her back upon her wings that whosoever shoots at her young ones they must shoot through her first So saith God I carried you in the wildernesse as the Eagle carries her
men from their sins God usually cometh with greater and sorer I see some of them will break through the hedge I will make a wall therefore that is I will come with stronger and greater afflictions and so keep them off Levit. 26. 18. If you will not for all this saith God turne unto mee I will punish you seven times more and I will breake the pride of your power you thinke there is a power in your hand and there is pride in your power for power raiseth the heart up to pride I will break it I will never leave till I have broke your hearts in spight of you and you shall find ein that Chapter four or five times mention of seven times more This is after the hedge then there cometh a wall And they shall not find their paths Hence God is able to strike men with blindness that they shall not see their way Though there be an evill way of mischief before them yet God knows how to strike them with blindness though there be nothing to hinder them in it God can strike men with blindness one way or other that they shall not bee able to see their way before them We have this this day exceedingly fulfilled in our eyes how doth God blind and befot our adversaries that they cannot see their way the truth of that Scripture Job 5. 13. is this day before our eyes He taketh the wise in their owne craft inesse and the counsel of the froward is carried head long How hath God taken wise men in their own craftinesse the counsell of froward men their spirits are froward because they are crost they are vexed their counsell is carried headlong God takes away their understanding and doth baffle them in their own counsels A notable Text we have in Psal 75. 6. The stout-hearted are spoiled they have slept their sleep and none of the men of might have found their hands They are cast into a slumber and know not what in the world to doe they know not how to make use of that power they have in their hands It followeth further in that Psalme At thy rebuke O God of Iacob both the charet and horse are cast into a dead sleep A strange expression that a Charet should be cast into a deepe sleepe the meaning is they can no more tell how to make use of them then if they all lay for dead or asleepe Let us not be afraid of the power of adversaries suppose they had power in their hand God can strike them with blindnesse they shall grope to find the door they shall be baffled in their own waies they shall not tell how to make use of their own power Isa 29. 14. Behold saith God I will proceed to doe a marvailous worke even a marvailous work and a wonder What is it The wisedome of their wise men shall perish the understanding of their prudent men shal be hid This is a wonderfull thing that God will doe yea and he will mingle a perverse spirit in the midst of them so you have it Isa 19. 11. Surely the Princes of Zoan are fooles the counsell of the wise counsellours of Phaâ—aoh is become bruitiâ— and verse 12. Where are they where are thy wise men And againe verse 13. The Princes of Zoan are become fooles the Princes of Noph are deceived and verse 14. The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit it in the midst therof they have caused Egypt to erre in his worke as a drunken man that staggereth in his vomit Here is the judgement of God upon Men when he list he can blind them in their way that they shall erre in their worke and they shall stagger in their own counsels and designes as a drunken man in his vorâ—it they shall not finde their paths they shall not know in the world what to doe VVell Thus God dealeth with wicked men But now let us consider this in reference to the Saints to Gods own people they shall not finde their paths then the Observation is It is a good blindnesse for men not to see the way of sinne It is promised here in a way of mercy that they shall not finde their paths this darkeness it is not the shadow of death but the way of life It is rich mercy I have read of one Maris a Bishop of Calcedon a blinde man to whom Julius the Apostate giving some opproptious words and calling him blinde foole because he had rebuked Julian for his Apostacy the good man answered thus I blesse God that I have not my sight to see such an ungracious face as thine So many may blesse God for their bodily blindnesse because it may be it hath prevented abundance of sinne that might have beene let in at the casements of their eyes But especially for blindnesse not to see the way of sinne if we may call that blindnesse It is a mercy that God doth not grant to all it is a singular mercy to the Saints For you shall finde there are abundance of people exceedingly quick-sighted in the way of sinne that can finde the path there and yet are exceedingly blinded in the way of God and cannot find the path there On the other side that Saints are blinded in the way of sinne but are quick-sighted in the wayes of God How many men are wise to do evill as the Scripture saith they are able to see into the depths of Satan they are profound to damn themselves they can finde out such objections against the 〈…〉 answer such things that are said against 〈…〉 devises contrivances how to get to their sinfull wayes but when they come to the wayes of God as blind as Moles they cannot see such necessity of such strictnesse they cannot understand men of great parts great Rabbies of great understanding otherwise they have no skill in the wayes of God I thank thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth saith Christ that thou hast hid these things from the wise and learned and hast revealed them unto babes Whereas on the other side you shall find that the Saints are able when they come to Gods waies to see farre into the excellency and glory of them they have understanding there though they be but weake otherwise they can see into the great mysteries of God into the beauty of his wayes so that it dazeleth all the glory of the world in their eies they are not easily catched with temptations but can see into the subtilties of the devill that would draw them out of Gods waies but when they come to the wayes of sin there they want understanding and it is Gods mercy to them to doe so there they are but bunglers they do but grope as blinde men they are not their crafts masters they are not cunning artists in those waies but as the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 1. 1â— Wee have not received the spirit af the world wee cannot shift for our selves as the men of the
and sinning against God by them Either take them away from those vanities or their vanities from them they should not so much as suffer those things to stand to be inticements and snares for the hearts of people though they be very brave and abundance of gold and excellent artificiall work be about such things yet Deut. 7. 25. Thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them nor take it unto thee lest thou be snared therein but thou shalt utterly destroy it and thou shalt utterly abhor it for it is a cursed thing You shall not look upon the bravery of the worke of their Idols and upon the great cost that is bestowed upon them and therefore spare them because of that oh no but take them away that men may not be insnared by them So God will do Further in the fifth place They shall follow after their lovers but shall not overtake them Idolaters hearts are after their Idols when they cannot get them Though they cannot get them yet they will be following of them It is of an excellent use for us so it should be with us in the pursuing after Gods ordinances though perhaps for the present we cannot enjoy the Ordinances of God yet be sure to keep our hearts working after them Many deceive themselves in this they think we would have all the Ordinances of God but we see we cannot and so upon that we sit still mind no more seeking after them neither doe they labour to keepe their hearts in a burning desire after them and hence many times it is that the opportunities of enjoying them are let slip But now if thou canst not have the beauty of an ordinance if thou keepest thy heart in a burning desire after it in the use of all means for the attaining it know then that the want of an ordinance is an ordinance to thee You shall finde in the English Chronicle of Edward the first that he had a mighty desire to goe to the holy land and because he could not goe thither he gave charge to his sonne upon his death-bed that he should carry his heart thither and he appointed 32000. pound to defray the charges of carrying his heart to the holy land out of a superstitious respect he had to that place though hee could not attaine it his heart should Thus should our hearts worke after Ordinances And now we come to the close and that is the blessed fruit of all this she shall follow after her lovers but she shall not overtake them and shee shall seeke them but she shall not finde them VVhat followeth after all this Now commeth in the close of mercy for saith the Text Then shall shee say I will goe and returne to my first husband for then was it better with me then now Now they shall returne at length they shall bethinke themselves Hence we have likewise many sweet and excellent Observations As First In times of affliction the only rest of the soul is to return to God They keepe a rigling and a stirre and a shifting up and downe to provide for themselves yea but they could finde no rest in what they did but as a poor prisoner that is shakled keeps a stir with his chaines but instead of getting any freedom he galls his legs but when the poor soul after all shiftings and turnings and vexings comes to thinke of returning to the Lord and of humbling and repenting it selfe before him now it findes rest Returne to thy rest O my soâ—le so the words are Remember after all your afflictions here is your rest in returning to the Lord. Secondly Then they shall say that is when they are so stopped in their way that they cannot tell in the world what to do when they are hedged and walled and cannot overtake their lovers then they shall returne to the Lord. Hence the Observation is so long as men can have any thing in their sinfull way to satisfie themselves withall they will not returne to God There is that perversnesse of spirit in men Onely when men are stopped in the way oâ— sinne that they can have no satisfaction nor no hope then they begin to think of returning to God This is the vilenesse of the spirits of men they never or very rarely will come off to God till then As the Prodigall what shift did he make hee goes to the farmer to the swine to the huskes to fill his belly and it is likely if he had had his belly full of them he would never have thought of going to his father but when he came to the huskes and could not tell how to fill his belly there when he was in a desperate estate then he beginneth to thinke of returning to his father So you have it Isa 57. 10. Yet saidest thou not where is no hope thou hast found the life of thy hands therefore thou wast not grieved thou wast not brought to such a desperate stand as to say the is no hope that noteth that till men be brought to such a stand that they can say certainly there is no hope or helpe this way they will seldome thinke of returning to God Thus is God infinitely dishonoured by us It is very strange how the hearts of men will hanker after their sinne this way and that way till God take them quite off from hope of comfort by it they will never have a thought to returne unto God God is faine to be the last refuge we account our selves much dishonoured when we are the last refuge when no body will I must It seemes God is saine to yeeld to this when no body will give satisfaction to the soul then men come to God and God must But you will say will ever God accept of such a one Marke the next observation returning to God if it be in truth though it be thus after wee have sought out for all other helpes yet God is willing to accept of it This is an observation full of comfort the Lord grant it may not be abused but it is the word of the Lord and it is a certaine truth that returning after men have sought other meanes and can finde no help though they are driven to it by afflictions yet it may be accepted by God It is true man will not accept upon these termes but the thoughts of God are as sarre above the thoughts of men as the heaven is above the earth It is true indeed some time God will not nay God threatneth Pro. 1. 28. though they call upon him he will not answer though they seeâ—e him early yet shall not finde him God is not thus gracious to all therefore you must not presume upon it God some time at the very first affliction hardneth his heart against men that he will never regard them more for his mercy is his owne but those that are in covenant with him though they come to him upon such termes yet they may be
the infinite mercy of God ever to regard such a wretch as I. If they do thus take shame to themselves and acknowledg their folly this were something We read in the Primitive times of one Ecebolius who when he had revolted from the Truth he cometh to the congregation and falling down upon the threshold cryeth out Calcate Calcate insipidum salem tread upon me unsavory salt I confesse I have made my selfe unsavory salt by departing from the Truth let all tread upon me This was a signe of true returning when this went before we have done foolishly it was better with us then now Againe I will goe and returne for it was better with mee then it is now Hence Though acknowledgement must goe before yet returning must follow that It is not enough to see and acknowledg but there must be a returning For as reformation without humiliation is not enough so humiliation without reformation suffices not And I speak this the rather because these are times wherein there is a great deale of seeming humiliation and wee hope true humiliation but you shall have many in their fasting days will acknowledge how finfull how vile how passionate they have been in their families how worldly what base selfe-ends they have had and they will make such catalogues of their sins in those dayes of their humiliation as causes admiration the thing itselfe is good but I speak to this end to shew the horrible wickednesse of mens hearts that after they have ripped up all their sinnes with all aggravations acknowledged all their folly of their evill ways against God yet no returning after all this as passionate in their famâ—lies as froward as peevish as perverse as ever as earthly as ever as light and vaine in their carriage as ever They will acknowledge what they have done but they will not returne Remember humiliation must goe before reformation but Reformation must follow after Humiliation But the chiefe point of all is behind that is The sight of this how much better it was when the heart did cleave to Christ over it is now since departure from Christ it is an effectuall meanes to cause the heart to returne to him This is the way that Christ himselfe prescribed Rev. 2. 5. Remember whence thou art falne and repent Thou wert in a better condition once then now thou art oh come in and return and that thou maist returne remember whence thou art falne I will give but a little glimpse of what might be said in this point more largely The reasonings of the heart in the sight of this may briefely bee hinted thus Heretofore I was able through Gods mercy to look upon the face of God with joy When my heart did cleave to him when I did walke close with God then the glory of God shined upon mee and caused my heart to spring within me every time I thought of him But now now God knows though the world takes little notice of it the very thoughts of God are a terrour to mee the most terrible object in the world is to behold the face of God Oh it was better with me then it is now Before this my apostasie I had free accesse to the Throne of Gods grace I could come with humble and holy boldnesse unto God and poure out my soule before him such a chamber such a closet can witnesse it But now I have no heart to pray yea I must be haled to it meerely conscience pulleth me to it yea every time I goe by that very closet where I was wont to have that accesse to the throne of grace it strikes a terrour to my heart I can never come into Gods presence but it is out of slavish feare Oh it was better with me then then it is now Before Oh the sweet communion my soule enjoyed with Jesus Christ one dayes communion with him how much better was it then the enjoyment of all the world But now Jesus Christ is a stranger to mee and I a stranger to him Before oh those sweet enlargements that my soule had in the ordinances of God! when I came to the word my soule was refreshed was warmed my heart was inlightned when I came to the Sacrament oh the sweetness that was there and to prayer with the people of God it was even a heaven upon earth unto me but it is otherwise now the Ordinances of God are dead and empty things to me Oh it was better with mee then then it is now Before oh the gracious visitations of Gods Spirit that I was wont to have Yea when I awaked in the night season oh the glimpses of Gods face that were upon my soule what quicknings and refreshings and inlivenings did I finde in them I would give a world for one nights comfort I sometimes have had by the visitations of Gods Spirit but now they are gone Oh it was better then then it is now Before oh what peace of conscience had I within whatsoever the world said though they rayled and accused yet my conscience spake peace to me and was a thousand witnesses for me but now I have a grating conscience within me oh the black bosome that is in me it flieth in my face every day after I come from such and such company I could come before from the society of the Saints and my conscience smiled upon me Now I go to wicked company and when I come home and in the night Oh the gnawings of that worm it was better with me then then it is now Before the graces of Gods Spirit how were they sparkling in me active and lively I could exercise faith humility patience and the like Now I am as one bereft of all unfit for any thing even as a dead logg Before God made use of me and imployed me in honorable services now I am unfit for any service at all Oh it was better with me then then it is now Before I could take hold upon promises I could claim them as mine own I could looke up to all those blessed sweet promises that God had made in his word and look upon them as mine inheritance But now alas the promises are very little to me before I could look upon the face of all troubles and the face of death I could look upon them with joy but now the thought of affliction and of death God knows how terrible they are to me It was better with me then then it is now Before in all creatures I could enjoy God I tasted the sweetnesse and love of God even in my meat and drinke I could sit with my wife and children and see God in them and looke upon the mercies of God through them as a fruit of the Covenant of grace Oh how sweet was it with mee then But now the creature is an empty thing unto mee whether it come in love or hatred I do not know It was better with me before then now Before I was under the protection of
the Lord himselfe that supplyeth all outward good to his people he doth not onely prize the soules of his people but hee takes care of their bodies too and outward estates Psalm 34. 20. He keepeth all his bones Yea he takes care of the very haire of their heads The bodies of the Saints are very precious in the eyes of God the most precious of all corporall things in the world The Sonne and Moone and Starres are not so precious as the bodyes of the Saints how much more precious are their soules VVe have an excellent note of Austin upon Psalm 63. 1. where the Text saith My soule thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee c. Upon this he hath this Note If the flesh hath any need of bread of wine of money or cattell seeke this of God for God giveth this too for marke Those who thirst for God must thirst for him every way not only their soules â—â—rst for him but their flesh must thirst for him for saith he did God make the soul and did the devills or any idols make the flesh No he that made both soule and flesh he feedeth them both therefore all Christians must say My soule longeth after thee and my flesh also If then we can trust God for our soules and our eternall estates that hee will provide for them we must trust him for our bodies also for our flesh for our temporall estates that he will provide for them also Secondly thus All that we have all our supply that we enjoy in this world it is the free gift of God They did not know that I gave them corne and wine c. All of us live upon the meere Almes of God the greatest man in the world is bound to goe to Gods gate and beg his bread every day though he were an Emperour over all the world hee must doe it to shew his dependance upon him that he lives wholly upon almes Men thinke it hard to live upon almes and because they have maintenance so much comming in by the yeare such an estate in land they thinke they are well provided for many yeers But what ever estate thou hast though by thy trading thou hast gotten so much by the yeare coming in yet God requireth this of thee to go to his gate beg thy bread of him every day so Christ teacheth Give us this day our dayly bread And certainly if we did but understand this our dependance upon God for all outward comforts in the world we could not but feare him and seeke to make peace with him and keepe peace with him and it would be a meanes that our hearts would be inlarged to give to others who need our almes and seeing every man and woman of us is an Almes-man and an Almes-woman Thirdly It is our duty that we owe to God to know and take notice of God as the author of all our good They know not that implyeth they ought to have knowne This is a speciall duty of that worship we owe to God it is the end of Gods communicating all good to us that he may have active glory from his rational creature as well as passive glory and there is no creature else in all the world that God hath made capable of knowing any thing of the first cause but only the rational creature therefore it is the excellency of such that they do not onely enjoy the good that they have but they are able to rise up to the highest and first cause of all their good There is a great deale of excellency in this It is observed of Doves that at every pick of corne they take in their bill they cast their eyes upward and in the Canticles you shall finde the eyes of the Church are called Doves eyes because they looke so much up to heaven upon every good they receive They have not dogs eies the men of the world have dogs eies dogs you know looke up to their Masters for a bone and when they have it they presently looke downe to the ground so the men of the world they will pray to God when they want but whâ—n they enjoy what they would have they look no more upward but all downward This taking notice of God to be the Author of all our good and to give him praise is all the rent we pay to God for what we enjoy therefore it is fit we should doe that and if we doe any thing for God be sure God takes notice of that to the uttermost yea though it be himselfe that enableth us to do it yea though it be but a little good mingled with a great deale of evill God takes notice of it and will reward it surely then we should take notice of the good that he giveth out to us This sweetneth our comforts to see that they all come from God and for that observe the difference betweene the expression of Jacobs blessing and Esaus blessing when Isaac came to blesse Jacob hee expresseth himselfe thus Gen. 27. 28. God give thee of the dew of heaven and of the fatnesse of the earth and plenty of corne and wine c. Now when he commeth to blesse Esau marke his expression then verse 39. Thy dwelling shall be the fatnesse of the earth and of the dew of heaven from above but hee never mentioneth God in that It is not Esaus blessing God give thee of the dew of heaven and of the fatnesse of the earth though it is true Isaac meant so but yet he doth not mention the name of God so in Esaus as in Iacobs blessing Certainly my brethren the seed of Jacob count their blessing to be a double a treble blessing that they can see God in it carnall hearts do not much regard God if they can have what they would have if they can have their flesh satisfied in what they desire from what hand it cometh that they doe not much care but a gracious heart a child of Jacob rejoyceth more in the hand from whence it commeth then in any good he can possibly enjoy Fourthly They did not know God doth a great deale of good in the world that is little taken notice of or laid to heart Many of Gods dispensations are invisible the Angels Ezek. 1. are described with their hands under their wings God doth great things somtime so invisibly as he cannot be seene And when he doth great things that we might see yet through onr neglect stupidity and drossinesse of our hearts we doe not see them The most observing eye that is in the world that takes the exactest notice of Gods mercy and hath the greatest skill to set forth the riches of Gods goodnesse to himselfe and others yet alas it is but very little that he takes notice of no not of that he might doe It is with the quickest sighted Christians as with a skilful Mathematician a skilfull Mathematician takes notice of and understands many parts of the world
it would warme and refresh yea 〈…〉 The Text saith of Elies sonnes 1 Sam. 2. 12. that they knew not the Lord they were Priests of God yet they were sonnes of Belial and know not the Lord. Be not offended at great Schollars who have skill in the tongues Arts and Sciences do not you say these men that are great and knowing men would they do thus and thus if things were so as you speake they are not knowing men God saith that Elies sonnes did not know the Lord the things of God are hid from them I thanke thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth that thou hast hid thess things from the wise and prudent c. Sixthly They did not know that I gave them c. Affected ignorance comming thorough distemper of heart is no excuse but rather an aggravation It is a high degree of ingratitude not to prize Gods mercy but not to take notice of Gods mercies Oh what a high ingratitude is this That which shall be part of Gods charge against sinners can be no excuse of their sinne it is a part of Gods charge that they did not know therefore their ignorance cannot be their excuse God threatneth to cut people off to have no mercy upon them for want of knowing as well as for not doing They are a people of no understanding therefore he that made them will have no mercy upon them and he that formed them will shew them no favour Esay 27. 11. Ambrose hath this expression Thou doest sinne greatly if thou doest contemne the riches of Gods long suffering but thou sinnest most of all if thou doest not know it From the word for as depending upon the 5. ver for so it doth The Observation is The not taking notice and considering of Gods mercies and laying them to heart is the cause of vile and shamefull evils in mens lives Therefore they did shamefully therefore they went after their lovers because they did not know the cause of almost all the evill in the world it is from hence They that know thy name will trust in thee those who know the Lord will feare him and his goodnesse Esay 1. 4. Ah sinfull nation saith God God fetcheth a sigh under the burthen of it his spirit is laden and troubled with it Ah sinfull people c What was the matter The Oxe knoweth his owner and the Asse his masters crib but Israel doth not know my people doth not consider they were more stupid then the brute creatures Oh sinfull soul this is the cause of all thy inordinate walking of all thy profanenesse of all the ungodliness in thy wayes because thou dost not know thou dost not consider thou dost not lay to heart the wayes of God towards thee Ier. 2. 5. God chargeth his people that they were gone from him and ver 7. that they had made his heritage an abomination What is the reason that is given of both these It is in the 6. ver They did not say Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt c. They did not take notice of what the Lord had done for them therefore they were gone far from him c. If thou hadst but a heart to lay to heart what God hath done for thee it is impossible that thou shouldst goe so farre off from God as thou dost For these deductions are easie and obvious to any from such a principle 1. Justice common equity requires living to God seeing we live by and upon God 2. Common ingenuity calls for requiring good with good the Publicans and Heathens will do good to those that do good to them 3. If all be from God then all still depends upon God 4. How much good is there in God from whence all this good and mercy comes when God shall shew another day to men and Angels how hee was the fountaine of all good it will confound those who have not laid it to heart 8. She did not know that I gave her corne and wine and oyle and multiplyed her silver and her gold God is more bountifull to his people then the Idols can be The Idols by their owne confession gave them but their bread water and flax and oyle c. but God giveth them wine silver gold God gives them better pay a great deale then the Devill doth yet the Devill usually hath more servants to follow him then God hath though his wages bee lesse and worse It is usuall for men to get souldiers from adversaries by givâ—ng them more pay This is the way God takes he offereth a great deale better pay to those that will follow him then they have that follow the Devill yet God can get few to follow him This shews the vilenesse of mans heart against God 9. She did not know that I gave her c. which she prepared for Baal When men get abundance then they soon grow wanton When I gave them corn and wine and oyle and multiplyed their silver and their gold then they followed Baal This is the reason of so many solemne charges of God Take heed when thou art full that thou dost not forget the Lord. As they that are neerest the sun are the blackest so those to whom God is neerest in regard of outward mercies are many times blacker then others It is observed that the fatter mens bodies are the lesse blood and the fewer spirits they have so the fatter mens estates are many times the lesse spirit they have to any thing that is good God hath lesse spirit from them sinne hath much more We read of the sunne melting the Manna that fell downe but the same Manna was able to bear the fire so many a mans heart is able to beare affliction and the affliction doth good prepareth for much good as Manna was prepared to be eaten by fire but prosperity melteth them makes them useless Many men when they were poor and in a low condition were very usefull but when they grow high and rich they are of very little use in the places where they dwell Trajan the Emperour was wont to liken a man growing to a great estate to the Spleene in the body for as the Sâ—leene grows big the body growes lesse so when mens estates grow bigger they grow lesse usefull Euagrius noteth it as a speciall commendation of Mauritius the Emperor but notwithstanding his prosperity he retained his ancyent piety it is a very rare thing to see men advanced to high places do so 10. I gave her corne and wine and oyle and I multiplyed her silver and gold which they sacrificed to Baal Even those creatures that wicked men abuse to their lusts God gives them Though he doth not give them for that end yet those creatures that they use for such an end are given of God If thou beest a drunkard that wine or drinke that thou dost sacrifice to that lust of thine who giveth it thee Is it
cleansed that God may be pacified in regard of the filth and uncleanness that hath cleaved even to them You are not in the day of a Fast onely to confesse your notorious sins to God those that in their own nature are sinfull but you are then to examine all your holy duties and to humble your selves before God and to seek to make peace with God in regard of the uncleannesse that hath been in them This few thinke of they 〈◊〉 the day of a Fast confesse such sins as are vile in themselves but to be made sensible of the uncleannesse of holy duties that is little thought of in the day of their Fasts 4. In their day of Atonement the Priest was to lay the sins of the congregation upon the scape goat The story of the scape goat was this The Priest must come and confesse the sins of the congregation laying his hand upon the head of the goat and then he must send this goat into the wildernesse The meaning is of great use to us Jesus Christ he is the scape goat and we are in the dayes of our humiliations to come and lay our hands upon Iesus Christ and to confesse all our sins over him and look upon all our sins as laid upon him Now the scape goat was to be sent into the wildernesse What is that That is sent into a land of forgetfulness so as the Iews should never come to see that goat again that their sins were laid upon it signified to them that their sins were now so forgiven them that they should never hear of their sins againe Thus are our sins upon Christ as we shall never come to see nor heare more of them In the day of our Fasts we should thus exercise our Faith upon Christ A fift thing that was to be done was to sprinkle the blood of the slaine goat upon the mercie-seat and before it It is the blood of Christ that is upon and before Gods mercie-seat that procures mercy from thence for us The sixt thing In the 16 of Leviticus ver 12. the Priest must take a censer full of burning coales of fire from off the Altar and his hanfull of sweet incense beaten small This he must doe in the day of Atonement to teach us That in the day of our solemne Fasts we must be sure to get our hearts full of burning coales from the Altar full of affection and zeale full of mighty workings of spirit to God although you that are godly and so are Priests to God at other times come with few coales from the Altar a little affection your affections are scarce heated but in a day of Atonement you must come with your hearts full of coales and be sure it be fire from the Altar doe not satisfie your selves in naturall affections then but be sure you be full of spirituall affections and then full of incense VVhat was that it typically represented our prayer you must be sure to have your hearts full of prayer to send up abundance of incense before God the incense must be of spiceâ— beatou small what is that the prayerâ— that we are to send up to God in the day of Atonement must come from much contrition of spirit our hearts must be beaten small to powder when the hearts of men are beaten to powder then they are able to send forth such incense as is a sweet favour in the nostrills of God Many of you in the day of a fast seem to be full of prayer but is this prayer a sweet incense to God or no how shall I know that by this God hath appointed the incense upon the day of atonement to be that that must come from spices beaten if thy heart be beaten to powder and thy prayers be but the savour and the odour of thy graces that are as spices and heated by the fire of Gods spirit then here is the incense that pleases God First graces which are the spices the contrition that is the beating small then the fire of Gods Spirit to cause the incense to rise up in the nostrills of God as a sweet savour Further a seventh thing in the day of atonement was the cloud of the incense must cover the Mercy seate ver 13. and then the blood both of the bullocke and the goate must be sprinkled upon the Mercy seate and that seven times and ver 15. the blood of the goat must be sprinkled not onely â—pon the Mercy seate but before the Mercy seate what is the meaning of this must our mercy seat be clouded in the day of atonement wee had need have it appear to us and not be clouded yes in the day of atonement it must be clouded but clouded with incense the incense that was sent up was a type of the sweet perfume of the merit of Jesus Christ Now in the day of atonement we must look up to the mercy seate as clouded with the merit of Christ clouded that is the merit of Jesus Christ round about it as a cloud and covering the Mercy Seat to teach us that no man must dare to look upon the Mercy Seat of God as it is in it selfe but he must have the incense of the merit of Christ round about it the reason was given why the Lord must have the incense as a cloud to cover the Mercy Seat lest hee die if he had entered into the holy place and there looked upon the Mercy Seat and not clouded by the incense he must have died for it those men that think to come into Gods presence and look upon God out of Christ and think to receive mercy from God out of Christ they die for it this is the damnation of mens soules to look upon God as mercifull out of Christ mercy is an attribute of God but if we dare who are sinfull creatures to looke upon this attribute of mercy and not have the incense of Christ merit it is the way to destroy our souls O how many thousands are in hell for this many who are afflicted for their sins and cry to God to forgive their sins and believe he is mercifull and think to exercise their faith upon God as mercifull and yet not looking upon the mercy seat as clouded with the merit of Christ it proves the destruction of their soules In a fast when you come to look upon God you must not look upon God as the Creator of heaven and earth or as mercifull in himself barely but look upon Gods mercy in his Sonne and so exercise your faith or else you can never make an atonement but rather will procure Gods wrath It is not only dangerous but horrible once to think of God without Christ sayes 〈◊〉 Again the blood of the Bullocke and the Goate must be sprinkled seven time 〈◊〉 the mercy seate when wee come to make our atonement with God we must exercise our faith in the blood of Christ and sprinkle it seven times again and again upon the mercy seat wee
the latter dayes shall bring his Saints unto yet then they shall remember with thankfulnesse what their poor unsetled condition once was Thus you have had a view of the chiefe of the Jewish Feasts which God threatens here shall cease There are onely these three Observations to be drawn from altogether First Even those things that are appointed by God himselfe if once they be abused God will not own them but then they are accounted ours rather then Gods her sabbaths why not my sabbaths why not Gods sabbaths God did appoint them but because they had abused them God would not own them her sabbaths and her solemn Feasts The Ordinances of God though never so good in themselves if you pollute them God rejects them they are your ordinances then and not Gods looke then that all ordinances be as God would have them Secondly It is a grievous and lamentable affliction upon any people for God to deprive them of his sabbaths and ordinances his ordinances are included in their solemne Feasts nay saith God you will goe on in your wickednesse and would put me off with your sabbaths and solemne meetings and with those things that were once my ordinances you will satisfie me with them though you continue in your wickedness no you shall be deprived of them you shall have no more sabbaths no more solemne Feast dayes it is a sad affliction for a people to have no more sabbaths How many of you neglect solemne meetings of Gods people time may come when God will rend these priviledges from you and then your conscience will grate upon you O the sabbaths that once we had O the solemn meetings that once we enjoyed but our hearts were vaine and slight we did not make use of them and now they are gone now perhaps thou art cast into a goale or into a dungeon and there thou keepest thy sabbaths thinkest upon thy solemne meetings O how unworthy is this land of sabbaths how did we set our selves to persecute those that kept sabbaths there was never any such a thing in any Christian nation other places though they are somewhat loose upon their sabbaths yet they never persecute them that will keep sabbath how justly might God have taken away our sabbaths let us acknowledge Gods free grace what reproach hath it been in England to assemble to heare Sermons how justly might God have taken away these solemne Assembles from us long before this let us pray that what ever judgement God sends upon us he will not take away our Sabbaths nor our solemne assemblies but that we may still enjoy those we have and enjoy them to better purpose then ever we have done 3. God hath no need of our services If God call upon us to worship him it is for our good not for any need he hath of what we doe What do I care saith God whether I have any Sabbaths kept or no I can provide for my glory what ever becomes of your duties I need them not I can be glorious without you But these threats are but to take away things that are spirituall carnall hearts thinke if they may live and prosper in the world what care they for Sabbaths and for solemn meetings Tell them of taking away Ordinances tell them of truth of Gods worship what is that to them Let us have our peace our trading and our outward blessings and truth will follow O no a gracious heart will rather reason thus O Lord let us have thy Ordinances let us have thy Gospel and then for our Vines and Fig-trees our tradings and our outward blessings we will leave them to thy dispose if thou will give us thy Sabbaths and thy Ordinances we will trust thee for our Vines and for our Fig-trees But if the Lord be so angry to deny us his Ordinances how can we ever thinke that he will be so mercifull to us to continue our peace or our civill liberties No sure if Truth be gone Vines and Fig-trees will not stay long The next words therefore are I will destroy her Vines and her Fig-trees The Lord may suffer those places that never had Sabbaths and Ordinances to prosper in their Civill â—eace a long time but where these have and the wrath of God be so incensed as to take away these it cannot be expected that outward peace and plenty can hold long there First seeke the kingdom of heaven saith Christ and all these things shall be added unto you No say they let us first seeke the kingdome of earth and the things of heaven will be added to us which shewes the sleightnesse of their account of heavenly things As the paper and the thred in a shop is given in to the commodity it is added if a man bargaine for the paper and thred and think the commodity will be given in what a folly were it Many men have their thoughts altogether upon the things of this life and they think the Gospel will be given into the bargaine as if they have peace they shall no question have truth as if the Gospel were the paper and thred and the things of the world were the commodities It is your wisdome if you would enjoy outward peace let your hearts be for Ordinances cry to God for Ordinances and then God will take care you shall sit under your Vines and under your Fig-trees peace The Eleventh Lecture HOSEA 2. 12. 13. And I will destroy her Vines and her Fig-trees whereof shee hath said These are my rewards that my lovers have given me and I will make them a forrest and the beasts of the field shall eate them And I will visit upon her the dayes of Baalim wherein she burnt incense to them and she decked her selfe with her eare-rings and her jewels and she went after her lovers and forgat me saith the Lord. GODS threatning Israel in taking away spirituall mercies their Sabbaths and Ordinances their solemne Feasts you have in the former verse but because they might not be much sensible of such a judgement to be deprived of Sabbaths and solemnities of worship would not be so grievous to many but the destroying of the fruit of the ground the spoiling of their land the losse of those things wherein their riches and outward comforts lay would be more grievous therefore God joynes this threat with the former And I will destroy her Vines and Fig-trees In these two Vines and Fig-trees there is a Synecdoche by these are meant all her outward prosperity I will not lop their Vines I will not cut downe some branches of their Fig-trees only but destroy them If God stayes long before a judgement comes hee comes fearfully indeed he comes with destroying judgments then he strikes at the very rooâ—e of all a peoples prosperity and leaves them hopelesse of ever recoveriug themselves It concerns us to humble our selves under Gods hand when he doth but cut off some branches of our vines and fig-trees of our outward
iniquity but I will make them to be as a witnesse against them Certainly there is a truth in this Those things that you rejoyce in as got by sin the Lord will make them to rise up and witnesse against you be sure now you cast them out they will be witnesses against you another day else A man that is guilty would be glad when he knows one that would witnesse against him were dead or out of the way have you got any thing by a sinfull way have you got any thing by a sinfull course put it out of the way for otherwise it will bee a witnesse against you either upon your sick-bed or at the great day of Judgement but how can thesee-two readings be reconciled I will make them as a witnesse against you and I will make her as a forrest It is true the words in the English seem to be very wide one from another but there is an easie mistake that might cause the Seventy to read those words so as to render them thus I will put them as a witnesse for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies a forrest in the Hebrew and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies to witnesse so it is used Zach. 3. 6. Montanus reads those words Contestabatur Angelus now those that are skilful in the Hebrew know that there being no more difference in the words then in those letters which are so like one another one is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the other is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there might easily be a mistake in that regard but we take it as it is here I will make her as a forrest The Church is Gods garden hedged in with Gods protection but God here threatens to take away the hedge and let in the wild beasts Concerning the hedg of God about his Church we have spoken before The wilde Beasts are one of Gods sore judgements often threatned Those who will not be subject to the blessed holy God they shall be subject to the ravening and rage of Beasts And it is like the Seventy understood it even literally of that judgment of noysome beasts to be let in upon them for I find that they add to these words the beasts shall eate them the fowles of the Heaven and the creeping things of the earth shall devoure but though I find that in the translation of the Seventy yet I do not find it in the Hebrew Text and therefore we must let it passe and only speak of what we have here of the beasts eating Now therefore by that according to most Interpreters I incline to think and am perswaded that it is the intention of the holy Ghost to express a judgment beyond the judgment of letting in of noysome beasts namely the Assyrians the adversaries of Israel who should come upon them as ravening beasts to devour them from whence the words being so opened you have these three notes of great use concerning us The first is sin makes men like Beasts the beasts of the earth he meanes the Assyrians great ones and yet he calls them the beasts of the earth to be like a beast is worse then to be a beast for to be a beast is but to be as God made the creature it is no dishonour to it but to be like a Beast that is the corruption of a creature and the deformity of it the worst deformity that possibly can be Chrysostome shews it thus Beasts saith he have but some particular evill take the worst of all as the Swine sensuality the Tyger and the Bear cruelty the Fox subtlety c. But wicked men have all evills that all beasts in the world have in them One wicked man hath the sensuality of a Swine and cruelty of a Tyger of a Bear the subtilty of a Fox and whatsoever is set out Emblematically by any Beast a wicked man hath it all in his heart yea and farther wicked men are worse then beasts in this that they doe corrupt themselves in those things that they have common together with beasts more then beasts do As the Drunkard corrupts himself in his drink which a beast will not do a glutton corrupts himselfe in his meaâ—â—ore then ordinarily a beast will do and that I think is the 〈◊〉 〈…〉 in 〈…〉 Iude ver 〈…〉 of that they know not and what they know naturally as bruit beasts in those things they corrupt themselves As for their intellectuall parts they will be speaking evill of what they know not they will take upon them as if they knew much but the truth is they understand little and yet they will speak evill of that they know not It is a dreadfull Text against such as will be crying out against men and their ways when as in truth they know not what they are but further in that they know naturally as bruit beasts in that they corrupt themselves that is in things they do know meerly by sense as bruite beasts do they know by tasting and by smelling as bruit beasts do in those very things they corrupt themselves more then bruit beasts that is by excess in meats and drinks Would not any account it to be one of the greatest judgments that could befall him if God should turne him into the fashion of a Beast while he lives here in this world though he should still retain the mind of a man in him Suppose God should inflict this judgment upon a Drunkard he should still have his intellectuall parts as now he hath but yet his body should be turned into the form of a Swine or a rayler into the form of a dog as they say Hecuba Priamus his wife was for her rayling would not this be a fearfull judgment It is an expression of a heathen Lactantius hath it from Cicero saith he If it would be such a judgment as a man would be willing to indure any misery in the world rather then to have his body turned into the fashion of a Beast is it not as great a misery to keep the fashion of the body and to have the mind to become like a beast to keep a humane shape with the soul of a beast surely it is worse then to have the shape of a beast with the soul of man Secondly God looks upon wicked men who do great things in the world with a contemptible eye the Beasts shall devour that is the great King of Assyria and all his Courtiers about him and Cavalliers with him they shall come to devour them they are but the beasts God speaks in a contemptible manner as he doth against Senacherib that King of Assyria in Isa 37. 29. God threatens to put a hooke in his nostrils and a bridle in his lips because of his rage and of his tumult that is he would use him as a beast to hook his nose to put a bridle into his jaws Mark likewise how contemptible God speaks of the King of Babylon and his whole army Ioel 2. 20. His stinke
cruelties as the Chronicles of these times would have done where they have prevailed in Ireland there have beene the beginnings of such barbarismes as here would have risen to the perfection of all rage and horrible cruelties they may be faire a little while till they get more strength but certainly had they their will there would never be parallel examples of that horrible rage and cruelty as you would finde among them the Lord deliver us from being scourged with these Scorpions let us humble our soules before God that God may not humble us before such beasts that we may not say that England shall be as a forrest and these beasts shall devoure them in the meane time let us not be offended at their prevailing in some places for then we should be as beasts our selves Psal 73. 22. So ignorant was I I was as a beast before thee saith David Genesis 9. 5. God saith He will require of the beasts the blood of his people Certainly God will require of these beasts the blood that hath been shed it is precious blood that they have drunke had it beene corrupt blood God would not so much have cared for it but it hath beene the blood of his Saints let us believe that God will turne the rage of man the rage of beasts to his praise Psal 76. 10. Surely the Lord cannot possibly behold without indignation such vile beasts to worrie his Lambs who are so deare to him even such so precious in his eyes to be torne and worried by such beasts as these are the eyes of the Lord are purer then to behold such iniquity as this is we may well cry out with the Prophet Haback 1. 2. 3. How long shall we cry out of violence and wrong spoilings and violence are before me wheâ—efore lookest thou upon them that deale treacherously and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous then himselfe The higher the scum ariseth the nearer we know it is to the fire I have read of Philo when the people of the Iewes made use of him to apologize for them unto Cajus the Emperour Cajus used him very ruggedly when he came out of his presence the Iews came round about him well saith he to encourage them Surely Cajus will arme God against himselfe for us But it may be said by some surely these men are not beasts for they are skilfull warriers they are not so bruitish as you take them to bee but are skilfull enough in their wayes marke that text of Ezekiel 21. 31. I will deliver thee into the hand of bruitish men skilfull to destroy they are skilfull to destroy and yet bruitish men we have a promise from God and our prayers should hasten the fulfilling of it in Ezek. 34. 25. He will cause the evill beasts to cease out of the land and ver 28. the beasts of that land shal no more devoure them O that that time were come O that the Lord would so worke for us as to cause our beasts to cease out of our land that they might no more devoure Isaiah 35. 9. No Lyon shall be there no ravenous beast shall be found there but the redeemed shall walke there there is such a time coming let us be patient in the mean time and comfort our selves in these Scriptures though our brethren endure hard things by these cruell beasts and though God may perhaps bring some of us under the rage of them yet there is an estate of the Churches that will be ere long that they shall be troubled no more with such uncleane such outragious beasts VERSE 13. And I will visit upon her the dayes of Baalim wherein she burnt incense to them and she decked her selfe with her eare-rings and her jewels and she went after her lovers and forgat me saith the Lord. Here is the conclusion of the threatning part of the Chapter Now God will come upon them for all their sinnes together if a generation shall succeed 〈…〉 esse God may justly come upon 〈…〉 for all the suns of the former generations all the blood from Abel to Zechariah shall be required of this generation I will visit all the dayes of Baalim ever since they served Baal let men take heed of continuing in the wayes of sin who can tell what sin may put a period to the time of Gods bringing his judgement upon a Nation a family or a particular person though God hath spared heretofore upon the next sin committed there may be such a period put as God now may come upon the family not onely for that sin but for all the sins of the family that ever have been committed since it was a family and so upon a Nation for all the sins of a nation since it was a nation and all thy sins ever since thou wast a sinner Men goe on a while in the wayes of sin prosperously but when God commeth to visit what will become of them Isaiah 10. 3. What nill you doe in the day of your visitation and in the desolation which shall come from far to whom will ye flee for help and where will you leave your glory Now you are merry and laugh now you feare nothing but what will you do in the day of visitation what will become of you then whether will you flee then and where will you leave your glory I will visit upon them the dayes of Baalim in the plurall number Baalim by which some think and that not improbably that it is meant of their under Gods that they had which they called Baalims for the Heathen had their chiefe Gods and their Dii minores their lesser Gods that were unto them as mediators to their chiefe Gods and so our Papists have they have their Diiminores lesser Gods who are tutelar Gods either over Nations or over families or over particular diseases c. As they say for England S. George for Erance S. Dennis for Ireland S. Patrick for Wales S. David for Scotland S. Andrew c. These Saints they are in imitation of the Heathens Baal or in the Caldee dialect Bel was the King of Babylon after Nimrod the first that was deified and reputed as a God after death whence those men that were deified after their death and worshipped as Gods as the Papists worship their Saints they called Baalims as from Iulius Caesar the other that followed after were called Caesars This interpretation gives unto us much light to understand that Scripture that you have in the first of the Corinthians 8. 5. 6. Though there be that are called Lords whether in heaven or in earth as there be Gods many Lords many but to us there is but one God the Father and one Lord Iesus Christ If the Apostle had spoke in Hebrew it would have been thus though there be many Baalims there is to us but one God and one Baal for in Hebrew Baal is Lood there are many Gods say they there were divers
shall be much more glorious The last time this prophesie aymeth at is the great calling of the Jewes then the Scripture saith Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads they shall obtain gladnesse and joy and all sorrow and mourning shall flee away They shall so sing as never mourn more in this world in regard of any malice and rage of their adversaries This was not fulfilled at their return out of the Babylonish captivity therefore there is yet a time for the fulfilling of it and the Scripture is clear about the fulfilling it even in this world that place Rev. 21. 4. is a repetition of that prophecy he saith there God shall wipe away all teares from their eyes and there shall be no more sorrow nor crying When Jews and Gentiles shall joyne together then they shall siug indeed to purpose as they did in the dayes of their youth when they came up out of the land of Egypt First it is a great mercy for people to be delivered from outward bondage It will be found a great mercy when the world shall be delivered from their outward bondage when men shall see they were born free-men and not slaves though Subjects yet not slaves when men shall see that the world was not made for twenty or thirty to doe what they list and they to account all the rest as beasts yea dogs as if it were not so much for the lives of thousands of them to goe as for their humours and lusts not to be satisfied but when men shall know that they are men and not beasts and so shall live like men and not like beasts to be at the will of others this will be a great mercy But to be delivered from Antichristian bondage is a greater mercy then it was for the children of Israel to be delivered from their Egyptian bondage For First when they were in the Egyptian bondage we reade not that their consciences were forced that they were forced at all to any false worship Pharaoh did not this but Antichrist forced to Idolatry Secondly Though Pharaoh layed heavy taskes and burthens upon them yet he did not kill them indeed at length they killed their first borne but the people of Israel themselves might have their lives still though with hardship But Antichrist thirsts for blood Papists are bloody men Thirdly It was the affliction of Gods people to be in bondage in Egypt but it was not their sin But to be in bondage under Antichrist is not onely an affliction but it is sin and that of a high nature too 4. Though they were under Egyptian bondage yet they were delivered from Egyptian plagues but those that are under Antichristian bondage shall come under Antichristian plagues Come out of her my people lest you be partaker of her plagues You must not think to escape so as they escaped out of Egypt if you stay in that bondage you will be involved in their plagues With what an eye therefore should we look upon those who would bring us into this bondage againe when God hath begun to give us a little reviving Jer. 37. 20. O my Lord the King saith Jeremy let my supplication I pray thee be accepted before thee that thou cause me not to returne to the house of Ionathan the Scribe lest I die there So let us ery to the King of heaven and earth O Lord our King let our supplication be accepted before thee since wee are begun to be delivered from that bondage doe not cause us to returne to that house againe The second is A reconciled condition is a singing condition When there is a harmony between heaven and the soul between God and a sinner there is a sweet melody indeed there may well be singing Esay 35. 10. The raâ—somed of the Lord shall returne and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads And Esay 44. 23. Sing Oye heavens for the Lord hath dâ—ne it sâ—out yee lower parts of the earth break forth into singing ye mountains We being justified by faith having peace with God saith the Apostle we not only rejoyce in hope of glory but we even rejoyce and boast in tribulation Having peace with God though war withall the world we rejoyce Thirdly It is a great mercy when Magistrates and people shall generally joyne together in praising God when they shall sing as they did in the dayes of their youth for that is the promise How is that Moses beginneth and Miriam followeth the leaders of Israel and then all the people joyne together and answer one another in their singing When that day shall come that God shall stirr up the hearts of Magistrates and great ones that there shall be singing Hallelujahs to him that sitteth upon the throne and the Lamb for evermore and when God shall generally move the hearts of the people that they shall answer one another in their singing and so joyne in a sweet melody this will be a blessed time indeed Now perhaps in one place there is singing and blessing God for what is done in another place there is cursing and cursing those that do sing Some mens hearts are rejoycing in the great things God doth other mens hearts fret and rage when they heare of the great works of the Lord this makes no melody in heaven Perhaps now in the family the Husband singeth and the wife frets perhaps the wife singeth and the malignant husband is inraged the servant rejoyceth and the master chafeth the children sing and the parents vex this is harsh musique This is our condition at this day there are better times coming when Moses Aaron and Miriam and all the people shall joyn in singing praise to our God 4. Thankfulnesse to God for mercy cannot be without joyfulnesse A grumbling pensive sadde dumpish disposition cannot be a true thankfull heart as it ought God will not accept in this sense of the bread of mourners It is grievous to the Spirit of God that we should be pensive and sad in the midst of abundance of mercies 5. They shall sing there There where at the door of hope in the valley of Achor You may remember in the opening of that valley of Achor I gave you what might be understood by it according to the most that is that God would make the greatest trouble and affliction of his Church to be a door of hope to bring mercy to them And if you take it in that sense here rises an excellent observation When God brings into straits yet if he shall sanctifie our straits making them means of good to us we have cause to rejoyce You have an excellent Text Isa 35. 6 7. For in the wildernesse shall waters breake out and streams in the desart and the paâ—ched ground shall become a poole and the thirsty land springs of water Those things that seem to goe most contrary to you I will work good unto you out of them saith God VVell what
is the fruit of this This is set as the reason of the words immediately before Then shall the lame man leap as an Hart and the tongue of the dumb sing Because the Lord shall make the parched ground become a poole and the thirsty land springs of water this shall make the lame to leap as an Hart the tongue of the dumb to sing Though our tongues be dumb yet it should make us sing when we see God working good out of contraries when wee see things that of themselves tend to our ruin and would bring us to misery that are as the valley of Achor yet God working good out of them if wee have the hearts of men in us much more the hearts of Christians though we were dumb before this should make us sing Yea all this is brought in as an argument to strengthen the weak hands and the feeble knees and as a reason why those that have weake hearts should not feare because God workes good out of that which seemeth the greatest evill vers 4. Say to them that are of a fearefull heart be strong feare not and then followeth this in the 6. verse Are we in the valley of Achor a place of trouble and straits wee have cause to sing even in this valley of Achor for we have not yet been brought into any straits but God hath brought good out of them he hath turned the parched ground into a pool and the thirsty land into springs of water It is our great sin that when God calleth us to singing we are yet concluding of rejecting we are ready to think if we be brought into the valley of Achor we are presently cast off Oh no God calleth you to singing nothwithstanding you meet with difficulties Isa 49. 13. Sing O heavens saith the Text there he joyfull O earth breake forth into singing O mountaines for God hath comforted his people and will have mercy upon his afflicted But mark now the next words But Zion said the Lord hath forsaken me my God hath forgotten mee At that very time when the Lord was calling for singing even then they were concluding of rejecting Take we heed this be not our condition But take the words as then I told you as I conceived them to be the meaning of the spirit of God that this valley of Achor was some speciall mercy that God gave at first as a door of hope to further mercies he would give afterward and there they shall sing Then the observation is When the Lord is beginning with his Saints in the ways of mercy though they have not all that they would have yet it is a singing condition Though you be but yet brought into the valley of Achor and be but at the doore of hope and not entred into the door though you have not yet got the possession of all the mercy God intendeth for you yet God expects you should sing You must not stand grumbling whining complaining and murmuring at the door because you have not what you would have though God makes you wait at the door you must stand singing there It may be said of Gods mercy as of his word in Psal 119. 130. The entrance into thy word giveth light so the entrance of Gods works of mercy giveth light Psal 138. 5. Yea they shall sing in the wayes of the Lord for great is the glory of the Lord. In the ways of the Lord they shall sing though God be but in the wayes of his mercy and they have not what they would have yet they shall sing This is certainly one great reason why our doore of hope is not yet opened to us as we desire or at least that we have not that entrance that we would have at that door because we stand murmuring yea we stand quarrelling one with another at the doore whereas God expects that we should stand singing and praising his name there Though wee have not what wee desire yet let us blesse God that ever we lived to this day to see so much of God as we have done though we should never see more though the mercy we look for should be reserved for the generation that shall follow yet we have cause to blesse God while we live that we have seene and do see so much of God as we have done daily do Let us stand at our Fathers door singing and if we must sing at the foot of Zion what song shall we sing when we come to the height Ier. 31. 12. They shall come and sing in the height of Zion they shall flow to the bountifulnesse of the Lord. If there be any one with whom God is dealing in a way of mercy though you can see but a little light thorough the key-hole yet you should sing there There are many poor souls with vvhom God is beginning in very gracious ways yet because they have not their minds inlightned their hearts humbled as they desire power over corruptions abilities to performe duties as they expect they are presently ready to conclude against themselves surely the Lord will not have mercy we are rejected They think they have nothing because they have not what they vvould O unthankfull heart This is the very thing that keepeth thee under bondage because when the Lord is setting open a door of hope unto thee thou wilt not take notice of it but art presently murmuring and repining because thou hast not all that thou wouldest Wouldest thou enter in at this door and have God perfect the mercy he hath begun take notice of the beginnings and blesse God for what thou hast This would be an observation of marvey lous use to many a drooping soul if they would learne by this dayes coming hither to sing hereafter at the doore of hope Yet further They shall sing there as in the dayes of their youth It is the condition of Gods own people many times when first they enjoy liberty then to be in a singing condition but afterward to lose their joy At first indeed when Gods mercies were fresh to them in the dayes of their youth O how their hearts were taken how then they sung merrily and chearfully Moses and all the people but in processe of time it appeareth they had not kept up this singing this harmonious this melodious heart of theirs therefore God promiseth they should sing as in the dayes of their youth We finde it so in people when they first come to enjoy liberty out of bondage Church liberties Oh how they rejoyce in them how do they blesse God for them O how sweet are these mercies at their very hearts they rejoice that ever they lived to this time but within a while the flower of their youth is gone and they soone have the teats of their virginity bruised At first indeed O the sweetnesse but stay a while and you shall finde contention or scandoll arising amongst them or deadnesse of heart befalling them Oh the blessed
ceremony from Popish Idolatry and joyne with his own Ordinances and think to put off Christ thus we intend to make no ill use of it this will not satisfie Christ If any say why should we not retain our liberty if the things be good But why shouldst not thou manifest thy hatred to all Idolatry And why shouldst not thou tender thy brethren so as to prevent all scandall that may come by the use of such things But you will say the idolatry of Papists and the idolatry of Heathen is not the same there is a great deale of difference between the Heathens in worshipping their Idols and the Papists worshipping of God though in a false way Indeed the difference seems to be much but yet the Idolatry is even the same in both for you are mistaken if you think that many of the Heathens worshipped a false God otherwise then the Papists doe though they made stocks and stones their Idols yet they worshiped the God that was Primum Ens the first Being in and through those Idols Therefore Austin upon Ps 96. brings in one answering thus We do not worship a stone but the vertues the strength and the powers of the great God wee worship And another one Maximus Madaurensis that Austin speaks of in his 43. Epistle Who is so madde or so void of sense that will doubt whether there be more Gods then one we invocate the vertues of this one God under many names diffused through the frame of the whole world VVhat more faire answer can Papists give for their Idolatry then they did Therefore the thing continueth still cleare that with those rules and cautions that have been named such things as have been abused to Idolatry must wholly be cast away we must not retaine them and think to put off God with such distinctions To what end doe we retaine them Is there not sufficient in the worship of God it selfe to make it acceptable to him The Sixteenth Lecture HOSEA 2. 16. 17. 18. And it shall be at that day saith the Lord that thou shalt call me us more Baali For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth and they shal be no more remembred by their name c. And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowles of heaven and with the creeping things of the ground and I will break the bow and the sword and the battell out of the earth and will make them to lye down safely TO adde a word or two more about that principall Observation in these words opened the last day god would not have his people to worship him in that way that Idolaters worship him It hath alwayes beene the care of the Churches of God to distinguish themselves in wayes of worship from Idolaters The Manichees were wont to keepe their fasts upon the Lords day and upon that the Churches did utterly prohibit the keeping of Fasts upon that day because they would not doe as the Manâ—chees did Tertullian saith it is Nefas a detestable wickednesse to fast on the Lords day And Ignatius saith to fast on the Lords day is to kill Christ There is a notable and famous Tractate of Tertullians concerning a Christian souldier being in the Army of the Heathens when they in honour of their Idol gods did weare upon their heads a coronet of bayes he tooke his coronet and instead of waring it upon his head he held it in his hand upon this there was a great mutiny in the Army his fellowes storming at this that one souldier should be in a different garbe from all the rest surely this was some nice conscienced souldier that he forsooth must not doe as others did he must hold the coronet of bayes in his hand whereas others wore it on their heads The mutining of the souldiers came at length to the Officers of the Army and upon that this Christian souldier was called to question why he was in a different kinde of way from his fellowes hee gives this answer I am a Christian and therefore it doth not beseeme me to doe as these doe that we are the bayes upon their heads in honour of their Idol gods upon that they were all in a mighty rage against this souldier and not only himself but all the Christians that were neere hand were in danger of a great persecution Nay there was a great mutining amongst other Christians that this one man for such a nicety should indanger not only himself but other Christians Tertullian therefore writes a whole Tractate to defend this Souldier for this his practice and he saith of him that he was holier then his holy brethren who thought and presumed they might serve two Lords that they might comply themselves for the avoyding of persecution with the Heathens in the observation of their superstitious way of worship and he cryes out in an exclamation in commendation of this Souldier Oh most glorious souldier who would thus venture himselfe and not comply with Idolaters and whereas some would pleade against him even Christians that would rather comply then indure the hazard and say where is it written in all the word of God that we should not weare bayes upon our heads Tertullian answereth againe Where is it written that we may doe it saith he we must looke into the Scripture to see what we may doe and not thinke it enough that the Scripture doth not directly forbid this or that very particular By this we see that some to avoid trouble and persecution will as much as ever they can comply with the wayes of Idolatry yet those that are of a true Christian heroick spirit indeed will not comply with them but will rather hazard the sorest persecution Thus it should be with us we must not retaine any thing that hath been abused to Idolatry so as to keep the honourable memoriall of it wee must not comply with Idolaters that way and especially in regard of that great Idol of the Crosse which we instanced in the last day not so far to retaine it as to bring it into the Ordinances of God the very Sacrament this puts a great honour upon it yea and too too great an honour is put upon it in reserving it in the eminentest place of the City and to thinke it is an ornament unto it whereas it is indeed a great disgrace and dishonor and retaines the memory of your fore-fathers superstition which is their and your shame Augustine sayes it is better to dye with hunger then to eate that which is offered to Idols so far were these ancients from suiting themselves with Idolaters Gabriel Biel saith the Church of Rome though meet to use leavened bread lest in unleavened they should seeme to be like Ebion the Heretick and Bellarmine would not have Paul called Divus Paulus but Beatus because Divus and Diana were the words of the heathen for their
wayes as may prove fearfull unto us and make our hearts to ake and our eares to tingle VVee have a notable passage for this Ezekiel 6. 6. In all your dwelling places saith God your Cities shall be laid waste and the high places shall be desolate marke that your Altars may be laid waste and made desolate and your Idols may be broken and cease and your Images may be cut down and your works may be abolished Observe the Text In all your dwelling places your Cities shall be laid waste to what end That your Altars may be laid waste So that God will lay waste their Cities for this very end that hee may lay waste their Altars if they will not lay waste their Altars if they will not abolish their superstitions that are amongst them God will abolish their Cities lay waste their Cities that he may lay waste their Altars God hath begun to put it into the heart of our governors the Parliament to abolish many superstitious pictures and crosses in divers places there is yet one great one remaining and we hope God upon the same grounds may put into their hearts the abolishing of that It would be a dreadfull thing unto you if God now calling upon us to cast out the remainders of all Idolatry superstition to lay waste all Idolatrous Pictures Images and Crosses if we should not come off but that God should lay waste your Cities to lay waste your Altars Crosses and reliques of Idolatry You see God threatneth this here as if God did not intend so much to lay waste their Cities hee would preserve them but because he could not that we may speake according to the manner of men abolish their Altars but by laying waste their Cities saith God rather then your Altars shall stand your Cities shall downe God hath wayes and most terrible wayes too to take away the memory of superstitious vanities Oh that vve had hearts to joyne with God before he cometh in such a dreadfull manner to abolish the memory of such things Were our Prelates in their power such a speech as this could not be borne when Master Vdal a godly Preacher in Queene Elizabeths dayes was charged with such an expression If it come in that is the true government of Christ as he meaneth by that means that will make all your hearts to ake blame your selves for these words especially was he then condemned to be hanged such was the rage and potency of the Prelates in those dayes What I have said may be against the spirits of such as cleave to superstitious vanities wee have no cause to feare the exasperating of these for surely they cannot be more exasperated then they are for the present and it were a foolish thing to exasperate and provoke God for feare of further exasperation in those who are for the present exasperated even to the utmost against us And if they were not but the exasperation would arise new what is the exasperation of vile men to the abiding of the wrath of God upon us VERSE 18. And in that day I will make a Covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowles of Heaven and with the creeping things of the ground and I will break the bow and the sword the batteli out of the earth and I will make them to lye downe safely In this verse God promiseth peace and security peace in regard of their deliverance from the beasts of the field and fowles of the heaven creeping things of the ground Peace from the hostility of their adversaries he will break the bow the sword the battell out of the earth And security they shall lye down safely I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field c. Some allegorize upon these words the beasts of the field they say are meant cruell wicked men the fowles of the ayre ambitious wicked men that are lofty in their thoughts counsels the creeping things of the ground subtill adversaries God here promises they say to deliver them from all these But I desire not to fall upon Allegories but when there is a necessity therefore take the words literally The beasts of the field fowles of the ayre and creeping things of the earth But how may God be said to make a covenant for his people with the beasts of the field and the fowles of heaven and the creeping things of the earth For to speake properly no creature is capable of a Covenant with God but onely the rationall The meaning is there shall be such an establishment of Gods worke upon the beasts and fowles and creeping things for the good of his Church as if God had bound them to doe them good by way of Covenant that way of God is called making of a Covenant with them I will shew it you in another Scripture Ier. 33. 20. If you can break my covenant of the day my covenant of the night that there should not be day and night in their season c. How doth God make a Covenant with the day and a Covenant with the night Thus there is an establishment of Gods decree upon the day and upon the night that it should be in such and such a way from the Creation unto the end of the world and that establishment is called Gods Covenant so Oceolampadius upon my Text I will order inviolably and unalterably there shall be an establishing decree upon these creatures that they shall doe you no hurt but good From hence the notes are these First Sin hath caused enmity between man and the creatures that is implyed here I will saith God make a Covenant upon your reconciliation with me and your reformation with the creatures now they shall be at peace with you I will doe it noting that by our sin there is grown enmity betweene us and Gods creatures VVe have lost by sin a great part of our dominion that God gave us over his creatures that was the result from that Image of God that man was created in Therefore when you see any creature to rebell against you bee put in minde your rebellion against God It is true God hath kept a little of mans dominion over the creature still to the end that the world and humane society may be preserved Sometimes you may see a little child driving before him a hundred Oxen or kine this way or that way as he pleaseth it sheweth that God hath preserved somewhat of mans dominion over the creatures But a great part is lost by our sin If we that are the servants of God rebell against him it is just with God that the creatures that were made to be our servants should rebell against us And you who are Superiors when any of your inferiours are stubborne against you your servants your children rebellious raise your hearts up to this meditation My servant is rebellious against me how have I been rebellious against
to the Church and I will fulfill them all unto you though you have departed from me and provoked me against you yet upon your returning you shall be so received as to have interest in all the precious gracious glorious promises I have made to the Church I will make them all good to you for I will betroth my selfe unto you in faithfulnesse as well as in mercy looke what ever I have said concerning my Church that is yours to be made good to the uttermost and there is nothing that can be for your good that concerns me as a loving husband to doe but you shall be sure to have it And as for you howsoever your hearts have been hitherto unfaithful towards me in departing from me yet now you shall have put into you a faithful spirit there shall be faithfulfulnesse on your part as well as on mine so as my heart shall confide in you you shall not deale falsely with mee as before your hearts shall confide in me that I will deale faithfully with you and my heart shall confide in you that you will deale faithfully with me so that whatsoever befalls you yet you shall be faithfull to me and faithfull one to another so as your hearts shall trust one in another I will betroth you unto me in faithfulnesse And whereas it is but little that yet you have known of me and this indeed hath been the cause of all your vile departings from mee because you have not known me the Lord therefore you shall know the Lord know him in another manner then ever yet you knew him I will shew my glory to you I will open my very heart to you the secret of the Lord shall be with you you shall all know me though your parts be but weak and meane yet you shall be taught of God perhaps you may be ignorant of other things but you shall know the Lord. And as for outward blessings you shall have your fill of them too all the creatures shall be moved towards you to comfort you to succour you Let Iezreelory to the corne the corne shall cry to the earth and the earth shall heare the corne the earth shall cry to the heavens the heavens shall heare the earth and the heavens shall cry to me and I will heare the heavens There shall be in them 1 a readinesse to help 2 a greedinesse to relieve you yea 3 a concatenation of them all 4 and I will joyn them for the good of Iezreel But yet we are a people scattered about the world and most of us are consumed but I will sow her unto me in the earth you were scattered this is a judgment but now it is turned to a mercy your scattering is as seed you shall fructifie encrease abundantly so be a blessing to the whole earth But we have lien underthe curse of God a great while and have seemed to be rejected but saith God I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy Lastly we are a proverb uuto all the world as you know the Jewes are we are a by-word a scorn a reproach amongst all people they say God had rejected us and so trample upon us No saith God I will not onely betroth you to my selfe but it shall appeare to all the world you are my people I will say to you which were not my people you are my people though you be a people scorned and vilified in the world yet I will owne you and it shall appeare so your low and miserable condition shall not hinder me from saying you are my people and as for you whatsoever you shall meet withall in my wayes whatsoever you suffer for my worship though it be scorned and despised in the world yet you shal own it before the world and you shall say Thou art my God Thus you have a short paraphrase upon this gracious expression of God to his reconciled people You have here but a flash of this mercie of the Lord to his Saints But when was all this fulfilled you will say or is it to be fulfilled to what times does this prophesie refer There is in part the making good this prophesie when ever a soule is brought into the embracing the Gospel but the height of this shall be at the calling of the Jewes then not only the spiritual estate of particular converted soules shal bee thus happy but the Church state shal bee thus the visible Church shal be betrothed unto the Lord for ever We cannot say so of any visible Church here there is no visible Church but may fall off from the visibility of it but when God shal bring in the Iewes they shall never fall off from the visibility of their Church-communion Revel 21. 2. seemeth to have reference to this prophesie And I John saw the holy City new Jerusalem coming down from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband And I heard a great voyce out of heaven saying Behold the Tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God This hath almost the same words that wee have here in this prophesie that is to be fulfilled in that glorious Church-estate that shal bee when God calls home to himselfe his own people Mark there God himself shall be with them God is always with his people but God himselfe that is a more especiall and immediate and full presence of God shall be with them But the words must have yet a more full search into them I will betroth thee The Scripture makes much mention of Espousals and of marriage to expresse the great mysterie of the grace of God to his people The holy Ghost seems to delight much in this Allegory there is none more frequent in Scripture then it which is a very great honour to a married condition And such ought to be the lives of those that are in a married condition as much as may be to resemble the blessednesse of the condition of a people reconciled unto God for in all similitudes there must be something in the thing to resemble that which it is brought for Married people should so live as all that behold the sweetnesse the happinesse of their lives may be put in mind thereby of that sweetnes happiness there is in the Churches comunion with Jesus Christ I appeale to you are your lives thus Now in a married condition there are these foure things most remarkable First There is the neerest unino that can be They two shal be made oneflesh this is the power of God in an Ordinance consider it two that not perhaps a month before were strangers one to another never saw the faces one of another did not know that there were such in the world if they come under this ordinance though it be but a civill ordinance these two shal now be neerer one to another then the child that
came out of the fathers loynes or out of the bowels of the mother the fruite of the wombe shall not be so neere now to thee nor must it love thee so much as this party that not long since it was a meere stranger unto Whence cometh this but meerly from the power of an Ordinance One would thinke that the affection of a mother to the fruite of her own bowels should be more then it were possible for her to have to a stranger she had never seen before in her life but it is not so when a woman cometh under this Ordinance she now commeth to have according to that which is her duty more affection to one that was ere while a stranger then to the child that came forth of her owne bowels so a man then to one that came out of his owne loynes Here is the power of Gods Ordinance though but civill Now then if an Ordinance of God though but civill hath such an efficacy in it what efficacy have divine Ordinances then Certainly they have mighty efficacy upon the soule when they are administred in the way of God So it is here I will betroth thee as if God should say thou wast not long since as a stranger unto me one cast off yea thou wast as an enemy unto me but now all the creatures in heaven and in earth the very Angels themselves shall not be more deare unto me in a nearer communion then you This is true of a wretched sinfull creature that hath not onely been as a stranger unto God but an enemy unto him he cometh now upon conversion and union with Christ to be in a nearer conjunction and further communion with God then the very Angels in heaven are in some regard for they are never said to be the Spouse of the Son of God so as the Saints are This is the mighty power and love of God in uniting his Saints to his Son Secondly There is in nothing in the world that full communication of one creature to another as there is in that condition of marriage so in our spiritual marriage with Christ there is an inconceiveable communion of one to another â—â—ally God hath two wayes of communication of himselfe one is infinite that is to his Son in that inconceivable mysterie of the generation of the Son he hath other wayes of communication of himself after a finite manner but of al the finite ways this is the greatest his comunication of himself to his Saints in Christ God hath no such comunication of himself to all the creatures as he hath to his Saints in his Son God in comparison communicateth little or nothing of himself to the frame of heaven earth so as he doth to any one of his Saints So far as there wants communion in a married estate so far there wants the blessing of it it should be full The communion of God to his Church is a full communion his wisdome power riches are made over to the Saints the merits the righteousnesse of Christ are made all over to them This is mutuall there is no such communication of any creature to another as there is of the hearts of the Saints to God one converted to God le ts out his heart into God in a fuller way then any creature can let out it selfe to another creature Suppose all the creatures in the world should have their beauty and excellency put together in one and present it self wholly unto thee to be an object of thy delight yet it were not possible that thou shouldst communicate thy self so fully to it as thy soul will communicate it selfe to God upon thy conversion The soul gives up it selfe to God as into an infinite ocean of goodnesse so as it would not retaine any thing of its owne as a drop of water into a tun of wine it retains not its savour or colour that it had before but it is as it were turned into wine And hereby you may know whether your conversion be right yea or no As that which is Christs cometh to be thine so that which is thine cometh again to be Christs My beloved is mine and I am his saith the Church Hence it is that the honour that Christ the Husband hath reflects upon the Saints they shine with the brightnesse of his beams Esay 43. 4. Since thou wast precious in my sight thou becamest honourable It was wont to be the custome among the Romanes in their marriages when the wife was brought home she had this speech Where you are Caâ—us I am Caja How meane soever the woman was before yet being married she partakes of the honour of her husband So the Saints whatsoever they were before they are now looked upon as honourable in the eyes of the Father in the eyes of Christ in the eyes of the holy Ghost aud in the eyes of the Angels and the rest of the Saints who are able to discerne their excellency And so on the other side for still it is mutuall as the Church hath honour from the lustre of the beams of Christs glory so even the Church is a glory unto Christ As the Scripture saith The wife is the glory of the man which place heretofore you have had opened unto you so the truth is the Church is the glory of Christ How is that you will say It is true Christ is the glory of the Church but that the Church who is a company of poore creatures should be the glory of Christ how can that be yes it is so Christ accounteth himselfe glorified before the Father that he hath such a Spouse Mark that place 2 Cor. 8. 23. Whether you inquire of Titus he is my partner or of our brethren the messengers of the Churches the glory of Christ Titus and the brethren are there called the glory of Christ And Ephes 1. 23. the Church is said to be the fulnesse of him that filleth all in all Howsoever we are to be low in our own eies yet this is certaine that it is the glory of Christ before the Father and the blessed Angels that he hath such a Spouse as he hath Hence Rev. 21. 9. Come Behold the Bride the Lambs wife The very Angels rejoice in this O come behold the Bride the Lambs wife Certainly had it not been for the glory of Christ the Angels would not in such a triumphing way have called all to behold the Bride the Lambs wife They call to behold the glory of Christ in his Bride Psalm 45. the Church is described to be brought in to the King all glorious and beautiful with araâ—ment of needle-worke c. Christ rejoyceth and his very heart even springs againe to present his Church unto his Father Father here behold my Spouse that I have married unto my selfe It is true a childe may sometimes marry against his fathers consent such a one as he may be ashamed to think of bringing to his fathers house because she will be a disgrace to
well pleased with it Esay 53. 10. Why was God pleased with it Because the Lord saw this was the way for him to communicate himself in the fulnesse of his grace unto his Church and therefore though it cost him so deare as the death of his own Son yet he was well pleased with it And as for Christ he takes delight in letting out himself to his people after he had suffered the Text saith he was satisfied when he saw of the travell of his soul As if Christ had said O let me have a Church to communicate my self unto though I see it hath cost me my blood it hath cost me all these fearfull sufferings yet I am satisfied I thinke all is well bestowed so I may have a people to partake of my love and mercy for ever Cant. 4. 9. Thou hast ravished my heart my sister my spouse thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes Then for the Saints the delight they have in communicating themselves unto Christ is unutterable Stay me with flaeggons comfort me with apples for I am sick of love saith the Church Cantic 2. 5. Psal 63. 5. My soul shall be satisfied with marrow and fatnesse and my mouth shall praise thee with joyfull lips when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate of thee in the night watches Take this note the more fully you lay out your selves for Christ the more comfort you shall have in your lives Here is the great difference between hypocrites and others in the comfort of their lives It is impossible that any hypocrite can have that comfort in his life as a gracious heart can have upon this ground because a hypocrite reserveth somewhat of himself for something else there is not a full comunication of himself unto Christ he alwayes keepes somewhat back and thereby loseth his comfort But a gracious heart fully letting out himselfe into Christ from thence cometh the comfort sweetness that he hath in the ways of Christ above all hypocrites in the world Perhaps you thinke that the onely comfort you can have is by receiving some benefit some mercy from God you are much mistaken the comfort of letting your hearts out to God is a greater comfort then any comfort you have in receiving any thing from God And now Oh how happy are they unto whom Christ is thus espoused How comfortably may you live being made sure to Christ and how comfortably may you die It is our work to seeke to draw soules to Christ to allure soules to be in love with him Gen. 24. 35. You may see what course Abrahams servant took in drawing the love of Rebekah and her friends to his Masters son he begins wiâ—h telling them that he is the servant of Abraham and that the Lord had blessed his Master greatly so that he was become great and that the Lord had given him flocks and herds and silver gold and that he had an onely soone that was to be heire of all this This is the work of Ministers to tell people what riches of mercy there are in God and that all the treasures of those infinite riches of the infinite God are in JESUS CHRIST and to be let out in him this gaines the heart Yea it is not onely the work of Ministers but it should be worke of every gracious heart thus to seek to draw souls to Christ as Rev. 22. 17. not onely the Angels there say Come but the Bride saith Come and let him that hea eth say Come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely VVere I not in such a way of explication as I am surely wee could not get off such a point as this but that which I shall say for the present is onely this Know that it is not want of any worth in you that can hinder communion with Jesus Christ doe not reason in that manner I am a poor wretched sinfull creature will ever Christ be married unto me It is not thy sinfulnesse it is not thy base condition that can hinder thee Christ never joynes himselfe to any because they are worthy but he joynes himself to them that they may be worthy hee makes them to be worthy in joyning himselfe unto them The woman is not married unto the King because she is a Queen but the King maryeth her to make her a Queene And further know if your hearts be not taken with Christ to joyne with him in his holy mariage if he be not your husband to enjoy conjugall communion with you he will be your judge to condemn you But besides this betrothing between Christ a soul there is a betrothing between Christ a visible Church especially the Church of the Jews when they shall be called God shal appeare in his glory when this maryage shall be between Christ and the Jewish Church the King will then be in his Robes if a man of estate have a sonne to marry and intends to solemnize the maryage according to his estate if he have any better cloathes then other he puts them on that day so at the calling of the Jewes the King of heaven will be in his robes God will appeare in a most glorious manner to the world then ehe did since the creation Yea and you know the Bridegroome too will be very fine upon the mariage day so Jesus Christ will then appeare whether personally or otherwise wee say not but certainly hee will gloriously appeare at that day Tit. 2. 15. We looke for the glorious appearance of the great God and our Saviour jesâ—s Christ And 2 Thes 1. 10. Christ shall come so as to be admired in all them that believe the Church likewise shall then be arrayed in her fine cloaths shee shall be then cloathed in white cleane and fine liâ—nen as it is Rev. 19. 8. all in the righteousness of Christ the great doctrine of justification by Christ shall be made out full and cleare Yea and the creatures her servants shall put on the best rayment as in a great marriage the servants in the house have new cloathes at that day there will be a change in all the creatures and another kind of face in the world then now there is Then will be the marriage supper and happy shall those be that shall then be found worthy to enter into the bed-chamber let us now love Christ let us now cleave to him let us now suffer for him we may perhaps be some of those who beside our eternal enjoyment of christ in heaven may enjoy him in this mariage upon the earth But we must leave this argument we spake something of it in the end of the first chapter And I will betroth thee unto me for ever For ever This adds to the mercy to make it glorious this for ever makes a misery though never so little an infinite misery and a mercy an infinite mercy This betrothing for ever shall be fulfilled
in a visible church communion to the Jewes and in the spirituall communion of Christ with the soule for the present Of the visible form first Isa 60. 15. I will make thee an eternall excellency a joy of many generations I thinke this is not onely meant concerning the spiritual happines of the Saints but that God hath a time to make his visible church to be an eternall excellency and a joy of many generations an excellency that shall never have an end And this their perpetuall condition their enduring happinesse shall arise from three grounds First from the precious foundation that shall be laid upon that Church when it shall be Isa 54. 8. With everlasting kindnesse will I have mercy on thee saith the Lord but mark the ground vers 11. Behold I lay the foundation with Saphires all the rubbish shal be taken away it shal not be raised upon a rubbish foundation God will lay the foundations of it with Saphires and then with everlasting mercy he will embrace that Church Secondly that Church shall be in a peaceable condition no rent no division there therefore in a perpetuall condition Esay 33. 20. A Tabernacle that shall not be taken down not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed Why the very words before shew the reason Jerusalem shall be a quiet habitation Thirdly this Church shall look wholly at Christ as their Judge and their Law-giver and their King Isa 33. 22. The Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King Churches are ready to change while they mixe other things with the worship of Christ and the lawes of men with his laws but when they can look to him I mean in that which is spirituall as their Law-giver as their Judge and as their King then the happinesse of it shall be perpetuall never to cease in this world the Lord Christ will betroth this Church unto him for ever Though I verily think the holy Ghost aymeth at this in great part yet we are to understand this betrothing for ever further of the spirituall communion the soul hath with Christ When Christ betroths himselfe unto a soule it is for ever the conjugall love of Christ with a gracious soule shal never be broken At the first mans condition was such as man laid hold upon God and let goe his hold but now God lays hold upon man and hee will never let goe his The bond of union in a believer runs through Jesus Christ it is fastned upon God and the spirit of God holds the other end of it and so it can never be broken This union is in the Father who hath laid a sure foundation 2 Tim. 2. 19. Rom. 9. 11. In the Son who loves his to the end Iohn 13. 1. In the Spirit who abides in the elect for ever John 14. 16 17. Esay 54. 10. The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed but my kindnesse shall not depart from thee neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee My loving kindnesse shall be more stable with thee and endure longer then the mountains themselves It is as sure as the ordinances of heaven Jer. 31. 35 36. Thus saith the Lord which giveth the Sun for a light by day and the ordinances of the Moon and of the Stars for a light by night if those ordinances dopart from before mee then the seed of Israel shall cease c. And Jer. 33. 20 21. Thus saith the Lord if you can break my covenant of the day and my covenant of the night that there should not be day and night in their season then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant You have these three expressions of the abiding of Gods love to his people 1. The continuance of the mountains 2. The continuance of the ordinances of heaven and earth 3. Gods covenant with night and day Here is the bottome of consolation to the Saints They shall be kept by the power of God 1 Pet. 1. 5. As if God should say the speciall power that I meane to put forth in this world shall be to uphold the spirits of my Saints to bring them to salvation certainly it is so The speciall work that God hath in this world to exercise his power about is to keep Christ and the Saints together Though it be through Gods power that the heavens and the earth be kept up yet if God must withdraw his power from one hee would rather withdraw it from upholding heaven and earth then from upholding one gracious soule that hath union with his Son The union that is between Christ and his people it is too neere an union ever to be broken I remember Luther hath a notable expression about this As it is impossible for the leaven that is in the dough to be separated from the dough after it is once mixed for it turneth the nature of the dough into it selfe so it is impossible saith he for the Saints ever to be separated from Christ For Christ is in the Saints as neerly as the leaven in the very dough so incorporated as that Christ and they are as it were one lump Christ who came to save that which was lost will never lose that which he hath saved Heb. 7. 16. it is said that Christ was made a Priest not after the law of a carnall commandement That is he was not made a Priest as the Priests in the law after a ceremonial way but after the power of a indissoluble life Coeli virture by a celestiall vertue so Calvin upon the place The argument why Christs life is indissoluble rather then the Priests in the law is because they were made by the power of a carnall commandement not by a Celestiall power So those who professe godlinesse according to a carnall comandement in a ceremoniall way may faile vanish and come to nothing in their way of worship as many have done but such as are professors of Religion by the vertue of Gods Spirit in them they have the power of a life indissoluble There are two soul-staying and soul-satisfying grounds to assure of Christs betrothing himselfe for ever First when any soul is taken in to Christ it hath not onely all the sinnes that it hath committed heretofore pardoned but there is a pardon laid in for all sin that is to come There is forgivenesse with thee Psal 130. 4. There lyes pardon with God before hand for all that is to come as well as for that which is past There is no condemnation unto them which are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8. 1. That is there is no instant of time after they are once in Christ Jesus wherein it can be said they are under the sentence of condemnation Now were it not that there were a pardon laid before-hand for all sin that is to come there might upon commission of a new sinne be said at that time that now they
ever you have done and yet you are hard-hearted this will grieve God at the heart 1 Ioh. 3. 17. He that seeth his brother hath need and shuiteth up his bowels of compassion from him how dwelleth the love of God in him If thou hast bowels and shuttest them up from thy brother surely thou never knewest what the love of God meant Mark that place 2 Cor. 9. 8. what encouraging expressions we have unto bounty and liberality toward our brethren for the opening our bowels toward them God is able to make all grace abound towards you that yee alwayes having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good worke There is no such text in all the book of God to encourage to the opening our bowels to the administring to the necessities of the Saints for that Scripture is brought to that end that part of the Chapter is spent about that argument if you believe any thing in the Scripture if you have any experience of Gods bowels towards you read over this and see if it will not open your bowels God is able to make all grace abound Grace abound that is something all grace that is more but all kinde of grace that is more then that that from Gods almighty power too but that is not enough Marke that you always having all sufficiency in all things It were enough one would think God should say you shall have all things needfull no you shall have all things If he had said thus you shall have sufficiency in that you have that is something no but you shall have all things and sufficiency in all things and all sufficiency in all things Yea but I may want before I dye No you shall have alwayes all sufficiency in all thiugs Well this may make us doe something you may thinke if I do this good work and another and another I hope I do my part no but you must abound you must doe every good work and abound in every good work But I shall draw my self dry if I be so abundant in every good work No God is able to make all grace in you to abound towards you that you alwayes having all sufficiency in all things may abound You shall never be drawn dry for you have the bowels of Gods mercy Alexander giving large gifts some asked him what will you keepe for your selfe Spes saith he I will keepe Hope for my self I will make account that still there are greater things comming for me what he had he gave away because he had a spirit that looked after and hoped for great things to come certainly Christians have that left alwayes they have hope they may expect great things why because they have the bowels of Gods mercies to be theirs One thing more to knit all together all righteousnesse all judgement all loving kindnesse all mercies comes from God through our union with Christ Though God be an infinite ocean of goodnesse yet we can expect nothing from God but through our union with Christ Man hath forfeited the title he had to all the goodness of God and now the title upon which he is to hold all his good it is the union he hath with this husband with JESUS CHRIST by vertue of this marryage Whensoever Faith goes to heaven for any good from God it goeth to heaven by vertue of this right and obtaineth all the good it gets from God by vertue of that conjugall union the soul hath with JESUS CHRIST How blessed then was the time when Christ was first revealed to the Church Cant. 3. 11. Behold King Solomon with the Crown where with his mother crowned in the day of his espousals in the day of the gladnesse of his heart These things opened in our espousals with Christ must needes make that day the day of the gladnes of our hearts O how deare should this Christ thy husband be unto thee how happy when thou shalt have full communion with him when Jsaac met Rebekka he carryed her into his mothers tent when the Lord Christ shall meet his spouse he will carry her into his Fathers pillace Behold the riches the glory of my Father whom I told you of these are all yours in my right eternally The Nineteenth Lecture HOSEA 2. 20. 21. 22. 23 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulnesse and thou shalt know the Lord. And it shall come to passe in that day I will heare saith the Lord I will heare the heavens and they shall heare the earth And the earth shall heare the corne and the wine and the oyle and they shall heare Iezreel And I will sowe her unto me in the earth and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy and I will say to them which were not my people Thou art my people and they shall say Thou art my God I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulnesse Here is a third betrothing I will betroth I will betroth I will betroth Jerome hath a note upon that and saith that it is thrice repeated to note three several times of Gods betrothing himselfe unto his people 1. VVhen he called Abraham 2. After they went out of Egypt and were in the wildernesse at Mount Sinai 3. In the time of the Gospell And of this Exposition Calvin saith it may be accounted witty but it is frivolous He giveth a better reason which I thinke to be the minde of the holy Ghost why it is thrice tepeated Because apostatizing Israel could hardly beleeve that ever God would doe such a thing as this what after the Lord had cast Israel away yea cast her to the beasts for so he threatneth in the former part of the chapter yet now betroth her to himself this was unlikely I will even betroth thee so you have it in your books now the truth is the word in the Originall is Vau the same that is translated and before but because the third time it is said and the Translators thought there was an emphasis in the third And and therefore to expresse that emphasis they put in the word even Infaithfulnesse In steadiness so the word signifieth I will betroth thee unto me in a steady way my goodness toward thee shall be stable and sirme So the word is often used in Scripture Exod. 17. 12. His hands were steady the same word that we have here for faithfulnes So Deut. 28. 59. I will make thy plagues of long continuanoe thy plagues stable and constant the same that is here for faithfulness And 1 Sam. 2. 35. I will raise me up a faithfull Priest and I will build him a sure house there the word is of the same roote a sure house a firm steady house Faithfulnes here imports Gods stability steadines in his Covenant with his people It notes not so much the perpetuity for that was before I will betroth thee unto me for ever But firmeness constancy as opposite to ficklenes uncertainty There is
Gods care saith Bernard which is beyond providence such as is out of faithfulnes as well as out of love Christ here condescends to his Spouse as a man is willing to give satisfaction to his wife her friends though the truth is he would doe any thing in the world out of love to his wife yet in regard of her weaknesse and to satisfie some friends he is content to enter into bond to do any thing that is fitting it is good to make all things sure before-hand say her friends he presently yeilds for it is no other but what he is willing to doe without bonds onely to satisfie her and their minds Thus it is between Christ and his Spouse The truth is the love of Christ is enough to make a supply of any of our wants but wee are weake and would faine have things made sure therefore saith Christ to helpe our weakeness I will even enter into bond and you may be sure I will be faithfull then I will binde my faithfulnes to you for all the good you would have And this faithfulnesse of Christ is either in regard of the great Marriage-Covenant there hee will be sure to be faithfull to his Spouse Or in regard of all particular promises that are under things as it were There is the great marriage-covenant about reconciling God and paying all debts that are owing and satisfying Gods justice and bringing to eternall life but there are many under-promises and Christ will be faithfull in them all Ps 25. 10. you have a promise worth a kingdome All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth not onely mercy but mercy and truth mercy ingaged VVicked men may have mercy from God from the generall bounty and goodnesse and mercifull disposition of God but what the Saints have is from â—ruth as well as from mercy it is bound to them God stands much upon this that the hearts of his Saints should confide in him He accounts not himselfe honoured except we confide in him therefore marke how Christ suiteth himselfe unto our weaknesse that wee may confide in his faithfulnesse What is it saith he that you poore creatures do one to another when you would make things sure betweene you Wee answer thus Lord we ingage our selves by promise one to another I will do so saith Christ you shall have my promise my faithfull promise Acts 2. 39. Peter invites to Baptisme upon this ground because the promise is made to you and to your children and to as many as the Lord our God shal call The first he speakes to the Jews the other to the Gentiles As if he should say Come in and receive Baptisme for to you and to your children the promise is made to you that are Jews and to your children and to the Gentiles they have the promise that you have they come under the same Covenant for the maine the promise is to them and to their children too And this promise that Christ hatâ—ing aged himself in is no other then a draught of that which was before the world began from all eternity and therefore it is so much the more sure Tit. 1. 2. the Gospell is called a promise before the world began All promises in the Scripture are but a draught of that grand promise that God the Father made to his Son before the world began As if Christ should say Will you have engagement by promise This is past long agoe my Father hath engaged himself to me from all eternity if you have any promise it is but a draught of that first copie of that great promise my Father hath made me from all eternity VVhat doe you doe more when you would make things sure one to another VVe answer we doe not onely make a verball promise by word of mouth but we write it God hath therefore given us his Scripture and the chiefe thing in Scripture is the promise God hath set to his hand to his promise in Scripture Hence Luther hath a notable expression The whole Scripture doth especially aim at this that we should not doubt but believe confide hope that God is mercifull kind patient VVhat do you more Here you have my promise and my hand is there any thing else you use to do to make things sure VVe answer Lord wee take witnesses I will do so too saith God VVhen we would make things sure indeed we take not only two but three or four but half a dozen witnesses sometimes You shall have witnesses saith God as many as you will witnesses of all sorts witnesses in heaven witnesses in earth In heaven I Iohn 5. 7. The Father the Word and the holy Ghost witnesses authenticall of credit enough the three Persons in the Trinity upon earth the spirit the water and the blood What do you more to make a thing sure Lord we set to our seales too you shall have that too saith God you shall have seals of all sorts you shall have the broad seale of Heaven the Sacraments the seals of the Covenant and you shall have my privie seale I will take my Ring off my finger I will give you even the seale of the spirit and do but shew this seale it is authenticall enough Is there any thing more Yes we answer there is one thing more we take an oath I will do that too saith God that you may be sure and confide in my faithfulnesse Heb. 6. 17. God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his councell consirmed it by his oath As if he should say there is no such need of an oath but I will be abundant to you because I would have you trust mee And mark this is for the sake of the heirs of promise God would never have done this for other men it is for your sakes onely who are the heirs of promise in regard of your weaknesse he conrfims all with an oath And if wee would have things sure wee will not have the oath of such as are of no great credit Mark therefore it is that God sweareth and that by the greatest oath ver 13. Because he could sweare by no greater saith the text he sware by himselfe Is there any thing more saith God that you use to do among your selves to make things sure Yes Lord we use to take a pawn too You shall have that too saith he I will give you a pawn and such a pawn as if you never had any thing more you would be happie what is that 2 Cor. 1. 22. Who hath sealed us and given us the earnest of his spirit in our hearts I will send my spirit to be an earnest of all the good that I intend to do for you everlastingly Is there any thing else you would require of me that you may confide in me Yes if God would doe some great notable work as a beginning as an ingagement of that which is to come after this is yet more then a
must not onely feare God but trust in his faithfulness Mat. 13. 58. Christ did no mighty works there because of their unbelief And Maâ—k 6 5. He could not doe no works because of their unbelief One says he did not and the other sayes he could not When we have a promise let us put on to get the goodnesse of God to work which is by believing For that I will give you as notable an example as any I know you have in the book of God of a believing heart catching hold upon a promise upon Gods faithfulnesse to work it out 1 Chron. 17. 23. and so on In the former part of the Chapter you shall finde God had promised David to establish his house to build him a sure house Well as soone as David had got the word mark how hee improves it how hee works upon Gods word As if he had said Seeing I have got his word I will hold to it he shall not goe from it saith he Therefore O Lord let the things thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever and doe as thou hast said Thou hast spoken do as thou hast said Ver. 24. Let it even be established I expect it seeing thou hast been pleased in such a gracious way to promise me thus I will relye upon it let it be even established that thy name may be magnifyed for ever I will plead thy name in it if there be any thing to be pleaded more then other I will plead it before thee but is not this enough Vers 25. Thou O Lord God hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee He had said before that God had spoken it here he goes over it again as making much of Gods word thou hast told me and I pray for nothing but what thou hast told me Nay yet still David encroacheth more upon God Ver. 26. Now O Lord thou art God thou hast promised this goodnesse unto thy servant I have not to deal with a man that will be fickle and inconstant wavering and unfaithfull but thou art God and I will trust in thee as a God thou art God and thou hast promised this goodnesse it is thine owne goodnesse now therefore do it See how he followeth God upon his promise And mark what admirable effects followed upon this Chap. 18. ver 1. After this saith the Text he prospered when his enemies came against him he took a thousand charets and seven thousand horsemen and twenty thousand footmen from Hadarezer and when the Syrians came to help that Hadarezer he slew of the Syrians two and twenty thousand men After this mark the connexion of that Chapter and this after David had improved the promise hee might have what he would thus the loving kindnesse of God was laid up in a promise but wrought out by Davids faith This is our evill that we do not improve this faithfulnesse of God wee lose abundance by it It is an argument that wee have base spirits It is a great evill between man and wife when they cannot confide one in another but are jealous how can such live comfortably together So we are jealous of God we lose our comfort in him Jealousie comes oftentimes from much basenesse of spirit and selfe-guiltinesse because we are of such base hearts our selves that is the reason we are so jealous of God Where there is much love between man and wife there cannot be much jealousie and if there were intire love in the Spouse of Christ there would not be jealousie You have an excellent passage for that John 5. 40. You will not come unto me that you might have life you will not believe in me that is the meaning then ver 42. I know you have not the love of God in you Is there any thing in the world more tedious to a Husband then that the Wife should be jealous of him think of it the same tediousnesse it is unto the Spirit of Jesus Christ that thou shouldst be jealous of him and not confide in his faithfulnesse Surely if we did trust in Gods faithfulnesse wee would not think to compound with him so as we do but wee would improve his promise to the utter most As you that are Merchants and have much owing you all the while you confide in your debtors you will not compound with them for less then your debt if you should come to one that ows you money and say I pray Sir pay in my money and I shall be content to take ten or fifteen in the hundred the party would think himselfe disgâ—aced what do you distrust me Do you think I will break No I will pay you every penny he stands upon his credit The truth is we poor wretches because we have not Gods promises presently fulfilled we would compound with God that is if God would give us any little comfort for the present we would be satisfied rather then waite for that which is to come though it be infinitely more this is a great dishonour to God and an argument of our unfaithfulnesse It is an argument of little faith if thou canst be satisued should God give thee tenne thousand worlds for the present if God should say what will yon have would you have your enemies destroyed would you have your peace and your trading in the world your ease and quietnesse Is this all This is to compound with God for twelve pence in the pound as it were No saith a gracious heart Lord thou hast promised mercy I expect it to the full I wil not abate the least farthing of it God loveth we should stand with him for his promise unto the uttermost farthing No but I hope God give me Heaven at last yet I doubt hee will leave mee here in the world This is to compound with God another way there are some who perhaps will pay eighteene or fifteen shillings in the pound but it is a dishonour to God to abate one shilling in the pound therefore we must not onely believe in God for heaven but for earth and for safety and comfort and that in times of greatest trouble God is well pleased with such kind of holy impudence as we may say that is to follow him for the uttermost and to urge him upon his word again and again to pay what he is ingaged for Again had we faith in God we would set upon great things though we see but little meanes Many of you who have but little stockes yet if you have rich friends that have given you encouragement and that you know will be faithfull to you you will trade for great things with your little stock because you know you have those friends will stand by you So though we have but little strength if God call us we should be willing to set upon great things because God hath stock enough and he hath
coming in at a grate others have somewhat more light they have common gifts which is like the light in the next story somewhat more clear but the light of the Saints is higher then all these they know God as their God great is the excellency of his knowledge the soul hath blessed satisfaction in it let us see the Father and it sufficeth us the fulnesse of glory that is let out into the soul the sanctification of the heart by the presence of the beams of the glory of God being transformed into the same Image it is the very beginning of eternall life Take onely this note about our knowledge of God by Christ what a different way have we to know God by from that which Heathens had If you reade the Hystories of the Romanes you shal find the poor mean ways of those wise men had to know God as thus they would look into the intrails of beasts thereby to finde out the mind of their gods they would observe how the beasts came to the slaughter whether willingly or not willingly whether haled or not haled they guessed somewhat at the minde of their Gods by that then they would looke into the colour of the bowels of the beasts then observe whether the entrals were sound or not then they would observe the fire of their sacrifices whether the flame ascended right or not thus they came to know the mind of their Gods What poor wayes are these we have JESUS CHRIST God blessed for ever the eternal Son of the Father who is come from the bosome of the Father to make all known to us the mind of God his and our Father We know the truth as it is in Jesus not onely as it is in the works of nature some know much of God in the works of creation and providence wee may know much of God in those great things the Lord hath of late done amongst us but to know the truth as it is in Jesus to know God in Christ this is another manner of knowledge then to know God in the way of his works here we see the truth really indeed when wee see it in CHRIST JESUS Certainly then none united unto Christ in a conjugall union can be an ignorant sot for Christ ingageth himselfe in his faithfulnesse upon this marryage of a soul with himselfe to reveale himselfe and the Father unto it Joh 8. 54. Of whom ye say he is your God but mark the next words yet ye have not knowne him A likely matter that he should be your God and you not know him a likely matter that Christ should be your Saviour and you not know him seeing he hath ingaged himselfe in his faithfulnesse that if you bee married to him you shall know him and his Father Ver. 21. And it shall come to passe in that day I will heare saith the Lord I will heare the heavens c. Now come in temporall promises after the assurance of mercy in the Covenant then come promises for corn and wine and oyle God would teach us this lesson by it that all our outward things at the least the sweetness and comfort of them depend upon the covenant in Christ I will heare The word is Respondebo I will answer so it may be rendred as well God will so hear as that he will answer Many times a poor man cryes to the rich he hears him but he will not answer but saith God I will hear so as I wil answer This is a most elegant expression I wil hear the heavens and they shall heare the earth and the earth shall hear the corne and the wine and the oyle and they shal heare Iezreel Miraorationis sublimit as a wonderfull sublimity of speech saith one Expositor of it hyperbolica metaphora a hyperbolica metaphor saith another pulcherrima prosopopoeia a most beautifull and delightful prosopopoeia saith another these creatures being put as it were in the person of a man as if they understood what they did As if the Lord should say thus My people you indeed through your sinnes have been brought into great straits you have wanted corne and wine and oyle you have been scattered in your banishment but when I shall betroth my self unto you and enter into a covenant with you then when you shall cry O that we might have these outward comforts presently the corne and the wine and the oyle as if they heard your complaints shall say Oh Lord we would help Jezreel and satisfie these thy servants the corne shall cry to the earth O earth let me come into your bowels I will rot there that so I may bring forth fruit for this people the vines and the olive shall desire the earth to receive them to give juice and nourishment to them that they may refresh these reconciled ones to God the earth shall say O that I could entertaine the corne and wine and oyle that I may be fruitfull in my kinde but O heavens I can doe nothing except I have your influences and the shine of the sun to warme mee to make mee fructifie therefore O heavens come in and assist me that I may fructifie for Jezreel and the heavens they shall cry Lord we would faine help the earth that the earth may helpe the corne and wine and oyle that they may supply Jezreel but we can doe nothing without thine hand therefore doe thou heare us do thou give us leave to raine upon the earth that it may be fruitfull Thus the creatures are brought in crying to help Jezreel Take these Observations First See our condition in this world though reconciled to God yet while we are here we must be beholden to the corne and wine to the earth and heavens we know not how to doe without them Secondly VVhen we are reconciled to God then the creatures will be serviceable to us yea they will be greedy to do us good they will cry for it Let us take heed of provoking God the creatures then will be against us I have read of Cordius a martyr giving this answer to those who would have had him deny the truth if deny it saith he the Sun Moon starres will deny me light If we serve God the creatures will account it their happines to serve us Thirdly God useth to work good for his people by second causes He doth not send these things immediately from heaven but the heavens heare the earth and the earth hears the corne and the wine We must looke to second causes but take heed of resting upon second causes It hath been Gods work amongst us of late in finding out treacheries giving successes to manifest himself very strangly when the means have been very poor Nay indeed God hath made as much use of mens weaknesse as of their strength but let not us therefore be slack in the use of means let us do the best we can though God sometimes work beyond means and contrary to means
yet ordinarily he makes use of second causes not only to work ad praesent iam as Biel the Schoolman and others say that is only together with the creature but there is say they no efficacie at all of them issuing into the effect but the truth is God doth make use of second causes otherwise so that there is some vertue and efficacy in them to work the thing that God intends Fourthly there is a concatenation of second causes not onely an use of them but every one in their order supplyes the other the heavens heare the earth and the earth hears the corne one after another If we could see the comely order of the creatures wee should see them all hang together in a golden chaine as it is in the joynts of the body one bone supplyeth another one place is hollow to take in another so one cause in nature supplyeth and cometh in to the other As in our salvation there is a golden chain which we have Rom. 8. So in the creatures there is a golden chain of comely order and mutuall supplyance Fiftly God is at the higher end of the chaine and nothing can be done by any link of the chaine of second causes but by Gods being at the uppermost link Jezreel must cry to the corn and wine and oyle and they must cry to the earth and the earth must cry to the heavens he must be the highest cause Sixtly It is most comely and a great blessing when the right order and chaine of second causes hold As it is in Nature so in any Society in a Common-wealth in a City when all keep their due subordination as when the Trades-man works in his way the Magistrate in his way the Minister in his way and every Officer in his place every one keeping his order But when it is otherwise when they are out of order it is a great misery upon a City or Kingdom As it was once among the Athenians Themistocles saith of his son a bolâ— youth This boy can do more then any man in all Greece Why For saith he the Athenians command the Grecians and I command the Athenians and my wife commands me and my son commands my wife here was the concatenation of that government God deliver all societies from such a concatenation that the beginning of any publick work I meane the lower link of the chain should be perhaps in a whoremaster he should command one and that one another and so one after another This is a fearfull judgment where soever it is 7. God is the giver of all plenty hee accounts it his glory to give raine Ier. 5. 24. God there wonders that men will not feare him because of that Neither saith he doe they say in their hearts Let us feare God that giveth raine As if hee should say It is a strange impudence in men what will they not say in their hearts Let us feare God seeing he gives us raine Thus God gloryeth in this great work when hee heareth the heavens and the heavens heare the earth the heavens will be as brasse over us and the earth as iron unlesse GOD heare them and send raine Therefore let God be acknowledged in that rain we have had of late the creatures wanted grasse and the grasse cryed to the heavens and the heavens cryed unto God and God hath heard the heavens and sent downe raine and so we see the earth hath been refreshed abundance of good hath come to us by those showers Give God the glory of this 8. All plenty is given for the sake of the Saints How God heares the heavens and the heavens hear the earth and the earth hears the corn and the wine and the oyle and they hear Jezreel It is for Jezreels sake that the earth heares the corne and the heavens hear the earth and God hears the heavens Were it not for the Saints the earth wauld soon come to a confusion They are the blessing of the earth Isa 18. 24. 9. If the creatures work so graciously for us how should wee then worke for God and one for another What shall the creatures cry one to another and heare one another for our good and shall God cry to us and wee not heare God The senseless corn cries to the earth O earth help me that I may help Iezreel and the earth cryes to the heavens O heavens send down your influences and the heavens say We will heare and the earth saith I will heare Shall the earth heare and the heavens heare for our good and shall not we hear when God cryes for help God cries to you many times to helpe in his cause and wilt not thou hear to work for him O vile creature how unreasonable are thy ways before the Lord Again how should we hear the cries of the poor When wee are in want the corn cries to the earth and the earth cries to the heavens and the heavens cry to God for us VVhen the poore I mean Gods poore whom Gods hand hath made poore cry will not you heare VVill you be more hard-hearted then the earth and the heavens are seeing they heare you doe you hear the cry of your poor brethren Further if God will hear the creatures when they cry for us how much more will he hear Jesus Christ when hee cries for us It is our happinesse in part that we have all the creatures cry to God for our good but the top of our happinesse is this that wee have Iesus Christ the Mediatour of the new Covenant making intercession at the right hand of God continually for us Lastly Gods mercies go through when they work for the Saints the corn beginneth to cry to the earth that stays not here but the earth goes on and cryes to the heavens the heavens go on and cry to God Gods mercies to his Saints never leave till the thing be done And I will sow her unto me in the earth VVhat great mercy is this for God to grant plenty if he destroy his people Our Country is plentifull but if God should consume us out of the land what good wouâ—d our plenty do us Therefore saith God I will sow her unto me in the earth Indeed she is now a poor contemptible people there are but few of them remaining upon the earth but I will make them a seede and a seed that the Lord hath blessed I will sow her Here the Lord alludeth to the name Iezreel which signifies the seed of the Lord the sowen of the Lord. It was used in the first Chapter in an opprobtious way and in the latter end of that Chapter in a way of mercy I speak of it there therefore I shall not need say much now only this God makes use of the word here to put her in mind of what shee deserved as if he should say though thou beest a Jezreel and deservest to be scattered yet I will be mercifull to thee out of free grace
I will sow thee there shall come a blessing upon thee and though thou beest scattered up and down in the earth yet in all places thou shalt be as seed from whence my Church shall spring Hence the notes are First that Gods people are the seed of the earth But of that before in the latter end of the first Chapter onely I will adde a note of Ribera about it The seed saith he lies under the clods and at length fructifies so should the Saints be content to lie under the clods and though they may seem in regard of their afflicted condition to be dead to be rotten yet they shall be glorious and fructifie afterward Before the time of the Churches glory times of great calamity and distresse come which this rotting of the seed before the fructifying sets out unto us Secondly every godly man should so live as either in life or death hee should be as a seed from whence many may spring he should be a meanes that many should be begotten to God It is reported of Cicilia in the history of the Church a poore Virgin that by her gracious behaviour in her mattyrdome she was the means of converting four hundred to Christ As in the Indies one corn bringeth forth divers hundreds so we should labour to convert as many as wee can that some that live after may continue to beare up the name of Christ and the profession of his truth Especially be carefull of your children leave them as seed to hold up the name of God in thy family when thou art dead and gone And further I will sow her to my selfe The Saints are sowen unto Christ they are seed for Christ therefore all their fruit must be given up unto Christ Christ must have all the fruit we bear who should have the fruit but he that soweth it Therefore Cant. 7. 13. All manner of pleasant fruits new old which I have laid up for thee O my beloved Are we able to bear any fruit Let us lay it up all for Jesus Christ for it is he that soweth us unto himselfe we must not sow to our selves not to the flesh for then wee shall reap corruption but all for Christ And I will shew mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy Divers things about Gods shewing mercy after rejection were spoken of in the first Chap. Only these notes for the present There are none so rejected as that they can conclude that they shall never have mercy those that have committed the sinne against the holy Ghost excepted though Israel had not obtained mercy though they were cast out yea cast out to the beasts to be devoured yea saith God I will shew mercy upon her 2. Children of wicked parents may at length obtain mercy from God Though Israel be cast off yet her children shall have mercy A comfort to us in regard of the Idolatry of our fore fathers yea a comfort in the regard of the children that are to come Our fore fathers have broken the Covenant why may not we obtaine mercy But suppose we should be the generation of Gods wrath and not obtaine mercy yet we may have hope that the posterity following shall have mercy Thirdly Mercy after it is thought to be past if then it come Oh it is sweet mercy indeed when she seemed to be utterly rejected then to have mercy shewed this is sweet Fourthly Mercy is the cause of all the good the Saints have One Scripture for it Psal 57. 3. Send from heaven saith David David was in the Cave in a poor condition hunted for his life persecuted by Saul I see little hope from earth saith he therefore O Lord send from heaven What shall God send Angels from heaven to deliver thee David No but mark what followeth God shal send forth his mercy his truth as if he should say Lord though I have no help in earth though I see no Angels from heaven to helpe me yet let me have thy mercy and truth and that is enough This satisfies a gracous heart if he may have Gods mercy and his truth that is Gods mercy revealed in a promise Lastly God hath a speciall day of mercy for his people for his Churches I will have mercy upon her that hath not obtained mercy Let us cry to God for the hastening of this day let us open the miseries of our own Kingdome and of Ireland Oh when shall this day come that thou wilt shew mercy to thy owne people which thou hast told us of Oh that that day may hasten Come Lord Jesus come quickly And I will say to them which were not my people This is that we had in the first Chapter onely with some differences there it is In the place where it was said yee are not my people And I shewed you when I opened that place both out of the Romanes and out of Peter how the Apostle makes use both of that in the first Chapter and this here in the second onely take a hint of the truths in it First God hath a special interest in his people they are his people they are called his peculiar people Tit. 2. 14. The word hath this emphasis in it God lookes upon all other things as accidents in comparison and his substance is his people they are his very portion as Deut. 33. 19. and Exod. 19. 5. they are his peculiar treasure above all people in the world and Esay 19. 25. Assyria the worke of my hands and Israel mine inheritance I have made all people but Israel is mine inheritance This is the happines of the Saints therefore they are not as other people are Num. 23. 9. This people shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the Nations this is a great ground of prayer Lord leave us not we are thy people called by thy name we have an interest in thee Againe This is an argument to walke so as God may not be dishonored by us for we are his people If those in a mans family walke disorderly it is a dishonour to the Master of the family it is no dishonour to him for a stranger or one who hath little reference to him to walke disorderly It is not so much dishonour to God for the wicked to walke disorderly as for the Saints in regard of their neerenesse to God And besides their light is as I told you three story high and if they sin they sin against a greater light then others doe their sin is greater then the sinne of the wicked in that regard Further I will say to them which were not my people thou art my people I will own them before all the world It is a great mercy for God to make it knowne to the world that his people are his people The world will not beleeve it they think they are a poor contemptible people but there shall come a day that I will make it knowne they are
First they should be in a contemptible condition they should be valued but at halfe the price of a slave Secondly they should be fed but meanly and basely even as slaves or rather as beasts this homer and half of barley should be for their sustenance in which they should be used very hardly for along time And that you may see how this hath been fulfilled for it did not only refer to the time of their Captivity before Christ but to all the Captivity they have been in ever since Christs time to this day and shall be in untill their calling the mean condition they were in before in the time of their first Captivity you may see Lament 4. 5. Those that were clothed in scarlet embraced the dung-hill they either lay in filthy places that had dung in them like beasts or else they were imployed in carrying dung up and down And to this day Histories tell us that generally the Jews have a most stinking savour and we know that they are the vilest people in the esteeme of others that are upon the face of the earth An Historian tells us of an Emperour travelling into Egypt there meeting with some Jews he was so annoyed with the stink of them that he cryes out O Marco-mani O Quadi c. At length saith he I have met with worse with viler men then such and such reckoning up divers of the basest people that were upon the face of the earth And to this day the Turks will admit of no Jew to turne to the Mahumetan Religion unlesse he first turne Christian they have much more honorable esteeme of the Christians they think that Jesus Christ though he was not God yet he was a great Prophet but for the Jews they have such vile thoughts of them that they think it a dishonour to the Turkish Religion that any of them should turne Turk unlesse be first turned Christian And we reade of the Romanes that when they conquered other Nations they would permit them to call themselves Romanes after they had conquered them but they would never permit the Jews to call themselves Romanes though the Jews would comply never so much with them and be their servants Augustine hath it upon Psalme 58. lest there should be some blot stick to the glory of the Romanes by that odious people Thus we see what shame hath God cast upon that nation even unto this day that they are counted as the very off-scouring of all nations Suetonius tels us that in the exactions that the Romanes require of people they put upon the Jews more then upon all people This that we reade of in histories that which we finde by experience of the base condition these people are in is the fulfilling this Scripture that I am now opening unto you she shal be bought for fifteen pieces of silver and fed with barly she shall be in a very low base and meane condition untill Christ shall come and marry her to himself Notes from hence are First A people who have been high in outward glory when they depart from God make themselves vile and contemptible God casts contempt upon wicked men especially upon wicked men who corrupt his worship Do we not see it at this day Mal. 2. 9. It is threatned that the Priests who departed from the law corrupted their waies should be base and contemptible before the people Hath not the Lord done thus at this day even those that not long since gave themselves the title of the triumphant Clergy and the triumphant Church and went up and downe jetting as if they would out-face heaven it self They feared all men with the High Commission Court But what shame hath God cast upon this generation the people loath them and we hope in time the Lord will sweepe away the proud and haughty of them as the reffuse of the earth Yea our whole nation hath been a proud nation what vaunting hath there been of what a glorious Church we had never such a one upon the earth we sate as a Queen amongst the nations we have been a haughty people and God may justly cast contempt upon us The Jewes were so the Temple of the Lord the temple of the Lord but God hath now made them the vilest nation upon the earth And the truth is God hath begun to cast much shame upon this nation The time was when the Kingdom of England was a terror to other people of late they have been the scorne and contempt of other nations When Ephraius spake there was trembling he exalted himselfe in Israel but sinning it Baal he died he became as a dead poor vile contemptible people Hos 13. 1. The Lord loveth to name the pride of men How many have you known who have been proud and lofty and the Lord hath cast shame and contempt in their saces even before those whom they looked upon heretofore with contempt they have now been made objects of contempt Secondly Though a people be under contempt yet Gods heart may be towards them to doe them good at the latter end There is the love of Gods election still to this people God remembers them and intends good unto them for all this VVho knowes what contempt God may cast upon us Perhaps he may let our proud adversaries trample us under their feet but we hope he will not because he sees their hearts so proud as they are But if he should we should not despaire we must not conclude God hath quite cast off England though he should bring all his people under contempt so as to betrampled under the foot of pride And if there be any of you whom God hath so humbled as he hath made you contemptible doe you humble your selves before God but do not despaire the Lord may yet have a love to you though you are now under shame and contempt who knowes but that this was the only way that God had to humble your hearts God putteth his ovvn people under contempt and yet it is all out of love unto them and vvithan intent to do them good at last Thirdly which is the most especial note hence After many promises of Gods mercy and of a glorious condition which he intendeth his people he may yet hold a very hard hand over them a great while God having promised so much mercy in the former Chapter Israel might quickly grow vvanton and say it is no great matter though we be vile and wicked yet God will marry us to himself and we shall be a glorious people and what need we take care Nay saith God stay here though my heart be toward you yet this generation shall suffer and the next generation the next generation after that shall suffer hard things you shal be brought into the most vile condition that ever any people was brought into yet my promise shall be fulfilled at the last Here we see what care God taketh that people should not grow wanton
and make us look up to free grace not take us off from the practise of any but from relying upon any onely to rely upon free grace in Christ As this is the supernaturall seeking God so it is the most powerfull way of seeking him It is not enough to seeke God by vertue of a promise except vve seek him by vertue of Christ who is the foundation of all the promises VVe seek him because he is mercifull that is one way yea we seek him because he hath promised mercy this is a higher degree but we must go higher yet we must look to his Son in whom all the promises are Yea Amen otherwise though we seek him never so earnestly though we chalenge his promises and cry to him to remember his promises yet if we do not act our faith upon his Son wee may misse in all And herein we sanctifie that great name of God in that which is the great work of his his master-piece as we may say or the great designe hee hath to honour himself in the world here and everlastingly hereafter Certainely though God hath made the creature for his own glory expects we should honour him in beholding him in the creature yet the great design God hath to honour himselfe in and by is in that glory of his that is manifested in his Son to have the children of men behold this his glory and reflect it upon his own face except you give God his glory in this he cares not much for what soever glory you can give him otherwise You must not therfore expect when you seek God that you must have good things from him meerly because he is mercifull you must not thinke that the mercy of God serveth to eike out our righteousnesse Perhaps some will say it is true we are poor sinfull creatures and what can wee expect from God being fin full but we hope that God will pardon our sin and so will accept of the poor services that we perform This is the way that most goe they do as it were imploy Gods mercy in such a worke that God never intended it for that is they would make the mercy of God to eike out their owne righteousnesse and so both put together they think they will serve to be a means of atonement No you mistake Gods mercy the worke of Gods mercy is not this but it is to shew us our unrighteousnesse our misery our unclearnesse to shew us Jesus Christ to draw our hearts to him to emptie us of our selves that wee may wholly rely upon that righteousnesse that is by faith in him and tender up that to the Father for sanctification and attonement that is the work of Gods mercy when it hath this work then it hath the true genuine work indeed The fifth is why here added King True wee must seeke the Lord and Christ but why Christ the King The reason is because Christ in the latter dayes shall be fully honoured in his Kingly power they shall looke upon him not only as Prophet and Priest but as King Hitherto Christ hath bin much honoured in his Propheticall and Priestly office but not so much in his Kingly but in the latter dayes when God shall call home his people the Jewes then Christ shall be fully honoured in his Kingly office The Tabernacle of Christ was raised in the Primitive times according to that speech of St. James we had before Acts 15. 16. God shall raise the tabernacle of David hee puts it as fulfilled then but there is a time when God shall not only raife the tabernacle of David but the throne of David Christ the King shall appeare in glory Ezek. 37 24 25. And David my servant shall be King over them It was spoken upon the union that there should be between Judah and Israel then David my servant shall be King over them David was dead a great while before there is a time that David must again be King that is Christ upon the union of all the Tribes together And againe David shall be Prince for ever when they are brought againe into their owne land David shall be Prince over them for ever saith the Text surely this prophesie is yet to be fulfilled And Luke 1. 32. The Lord shall give him the throne of his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and of his kingdome there shall be no end I know we usually think that this is meant only of his spirituall reign but there is a mistake in it certainly there is to be a fulfilling of this prophesie in a reign that shall outwardly appeare before the children of men which will appea more in comparing this with other Scriptures Revel 11. 15. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of the Lord his Christ and so he shall reign for ever and ever VVhy in a spirituall sense the kingdoms of this world are always the kingdomes of the Lord and of Christ but there is spoken of some famous notable time when the kingdomes of this world shall appeare to be the Lord and his Christs and then he shall reigne for ever and ever after another manner then now he doth Revel 3. 21. To him that overcometh will I give to sit with me in my throne as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne Mark this Text as one of the most notable of any wee have That kingly rule that Christ hath for the present is upon his Fathers throne he is not yet upon his own in comparison of what he shall be the kingdome that Christ hath now is the joynt reigne of him with the Father but there is a time for Christ to have a Throne himselfe Now that Throne of Christ it may be you will thinke it is in heaven at the day of judgement but we finde 1 Cor. 15. 24. that at that day he comes to refigne the kingdome the words do not seeme to import as if hee came to take it but that then hee doth give up the kingdome unto God the Father therefore there is a time for Christ himself to have a Throne with whom the Saints shall reign Matth. 21. 9. The children cryed out Hosanna to the sonne of David because they looked upon the sonne of David as one who was to reign In these latter dayes CHRIST shall breake the Kings of the earth who stand against him as indeed many yea most of the Kings of the earth have ever stood out to hinder this kingdome of his There will be a mighty shaking of the kingdoms of the earth when this shall be Heb. 12. 26. Whose voyce then shook the earth but now he hath promised saying yet once more I shake not the earth onely but also the heaven quoted out of Hag. 2. 6. 7. God in giving the law shooke the earth but he will shake the earth and the heavenâ— which some Interpreters expounds thus not only the meaner power of
people but the powers of Kings and Emperours the highest powers in the world whatsoever is lofty in the world shall be shaken when Christ comes to take the kingdom to himself the Father will set him King upon his holy hill Though the Kings of the earth set themselves and the Rulers take counsell together against the Lord against his Anoynted saying Let us break their bonds asunder and cast away their cords from us he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision then shall he speake to them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion yet have I done it though the kings of the earth and great ones of the world fret vex and rage and gather power together though they blaspheme and say he shall not raigne the Lord sitteth in heaven and laugheth at them let them do what they can and gather what strength they can oppose to the uttermost they can Yet will I set my King upon my holy hill This is acceptable news it is the joyfull voyce of the Gospel to tell you of Christs comming to raigne in the world Esay 52. 7. How beautifull upon the mountaines are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings What are those good tidings this tidings that saith unto Zion Thy Godraigneth This is the triumph of the Church Esay 33. 22. The Lord is our judge the Lord is our law-giver the Lord is our King for then shall the Churches be delivered from the oppression of all Tyrants in the world And this Kingdom of Christs shall indeed be like Davids kingdome Christ shal be David the King I might shew you the parallels in many things but I will only parallel the kingdome of Christ and of David in these two particulars First David of all the Princes that ever were was one of the most gentle he was exceeding loving and sweet unto his subjects that you shal finde 1 Chron. 28. 2. Then David the King stood up upon his feet said he are me my brethren and my people Marke how a King speaks speaking to his people he stood upon his feet and said heare me my brethren and my people Thus the kingdome of Christ is set out to us Psal 45. 4. In thy Majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meeknesse Christ shall be a most meeke King hee shall not be a bloody King to his people he shall not be a King â—â—â—ing in viòlence and harshness so as not to care for the love of his people his singer shall not be heavier then the loynes of others but he shall rule his people with all gentleness Therefore the government of Christ is set out 〈◊〉 a sheâ—he 〈…〉 leading those that are with young 〈◊〉 â—his David David and CHRIST are parallel Psal 78. 70. 71. He chose David his servant tooke him from the sheep-folds from following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people and Israel his inheritance So the Kingdome of Christ Esay 40. having spoken ver 9. of the glad tidings of the Kingdome it followeth He shall feed his flocke like a shepheard he shall gather the lambs with his arme and carry them in his bosome and shall gently leade those that are with young When Christ shal raigne he shal have great respect to the good and comfort of his people over whom heraigneth he shall not raigne over them without regard to their liberties and what may be for the comfort of their lives the good of his people and his own glory shall be put both in one Secondly David their King in regard of faithfulnesse David was exceeding faithfull to his people and therefore the mercies of God in Christ are called the sure mercies of David because David was found faithfull before the Lord. Psal 45. 4. is the Prophesie of Christs Kingdom the Text saith In thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousnesse there shall be righteousness in the Kingdome of Christ This is a blessed thing when we may confide and fully venture our estates liberties and our lives upon the promises of those who are above us VVe know how many there are about great personages to take them off from those things that they have promised though never so seriously and with never such solemne protestations to performe them I will give you a story or two remarkable for this to shew what danger people have been in when they have confided upon the promises of Princes when there have beene those about them that endeavoured to take of their hearts from performing what they had ingaged themselves to You shall finde in the life of Edward the sixth this story The King sends his Letters to London in the behalfe of the Duke of Somerset the then Protector there were divers of the Lords rose up against him thinking he did oppresse the people and they sent the same time their Letters to London for their aide and assistance hereupon there was a Common Counsell called in the City and amongst them there was one that the story saith was a wise and an honest man one George Stadlowe and he speakes thus to the Counsell I remember saith he a story written in Fabians Chronicle of the wars between Henry the third and his Barons at which time the Baronsdemanded aide of the City of London as our Lords do now and that in a rightfull cause for the good of the Common-wealth for the execution of divers good lawes against the King who would not suffer those lawes to be put in execution and the City did aide them and it came unto an open bartell and the Lords prevailed against the King and tooke the King and his sonne prisoners and upon certaine conditions the Lords restored the King his son again to their liberties amongst other conditions this was one that the King should not only grant his pardon to the Lords but also to the Citizens of London which was granted and the condition of their accommodation of peace were ratifâ—ed by act of Parliament but saith the story what followed of it was it forgotten no surely nor forgiven neither during the Kingslife the libeties of the Cities were taken away strangers were appointed to be our head governours the Citizens their bodies and goods were given away and so from one persecution to another they were most miserably afflicted Again in the history of Queen Maries time we find that Qeene Mary because there was some dispute about her comming to the Crowne at that time she went down into Suffolke to the place where the Duke that then rose up for another was most hated and she being at Framingham Castle the Suffolke men came to her and promised their â—ide upon condition that she would not attemp the alteration of Religion which her brother King Edward before had established she promised them there should be no innovation of
of God This is to be wanton not to fear the goodnes of God The goodnes of God in the gospell telleth us that the grace of God is strong that the Saints shall persevere that those that are once in Christ shall never fall away therefore let us take liberty to our selves what need we be carefull of our wayes seeing the grace of God will carry us through Oh to abuse this goodnes of God thus is wicked the heavens may blush to behold it and the earth tremble under it But we have not so learned Christ the more of the goodnes of God in Christ is made known to us the more should we fear him The goodnesse of God in the Gospel is so rich that the truth is because the hearts of men are so vile and so ready to abuse it we are almost afraid to preach it Oh is this the fruit of the preaching of the Gospel Never was the Gospel so cleare as in England and in no Age so as in this Age and is this the fruit of all that men should draw such absurd consequences from this goodnesse of God that men should goe away harder from that which is the softning word VVhen we come to preach the Gospell the goodnesse of it we come I say with feare with what feare trembling lest it should cost the damnation of some soule The preaching the goodnes of God in the Gospel doth certainly cause ex accidente the damnation of many a soul Therefore in the mean time you who are Gods Saints know how dearly God tendereth you God will have the goodnesse of the Gospell preache◠to you though it cost the damnation of 〈◊〉 a soul you had need it therefore make a good use of it Let this meditation cause you to improve to the uttermost what you hear of all the goodness of the Lord. That which I hear is costly to some it costs the perishing of many a soule that I may have it though God sees that many souls will be hardned by it well saith God let them be hardned these my servants shall not want it though they perish for ever When a man hath a thing in his house and he hears that it cost dear even the lives of many men he hath other thoughts of it then before David had a reverent respect to the water of the well of Bethlem because it cost the hazard of the mens lives learne then to feare God and his goodnesse 4. Fearing God and his goodnesse is this in all rejoycing in and praysing God for his goodnesse there shall be a mixture of feare They shall be well skilled in this mystery of godlinesse when they enjoy so much of Gods goodness and are called upon to sing and rejoyce they shal sing with a mixture of feare Their hearts shall be very serious and spirituall in all their joy It is very hard for us to rejoyce in Gods goodness and not to have our hearts grow slight and vain it is a hard thing to keepe a day of thankesgiving with a serious spirit joy commonly causeth vanity in the hearts of men But now the goodnesse of God shall be so strong in their hearts that though they shall seek Gods goodness and rejoyce abundantly in it yet with a mixture of abundance of feare their hearts shall be kept very serious holy and spirituall in the service of God I will give you a text or two for this Exod. 15. 11. when Moses was blessing God for that goodness in delivering his people out of Egypt which was a typicall song as appeareth in the Revelation that bondage typifying Antichristian bondage mark the expression Who is like unto thee O Lord among the gods who is like unto thee glorious in holiness fearful in praises God is to be praysed but so praysed as his name must be fearfull in prayses Consider this in all your joyfull celebrating the memoriall of Gods goodness you must so rejoyce and blesse God as you must hold forth this before all you converse with that the name of God is fearfull in these praises you tender to him this a slight heart cannot doe So Psal 52. 6. The righteous also shall see and feare and shall langh at him Mark what a mixture here is the righteous shall see and feare and laugh he shall rejoyce but with trembling Psalm 2. 11. God much delights to have the glory of his goodnesse thus We have much goodnesse of God at this day and God calleth us to feare him and his goodnesse if we give him not his glory in this God may soone call us to feare him and his greatnesse to feare him and his justice to feare him and his wrath This is the argument now there is forgivenesse with thee that thou maist be feared But how soon may God justly turn this argument there is wrath with thee vengeance with thee there is sword fire blood storm an horrible tempest with thee therefore shalt thou be feared Our consciences are ready to misgive us when wee have any evill tidings for wee have much guilt upon our spirits we 〈◊〉 had much goodnesse indeed from God who ever thought to have lived to see that goodnesse you have seen but because you have not feared God and his goodnesse here is the reason of those misgiving thoughts when you heare of any ill newes oh now God is coming against us with his wrath that he may be feared Something might be said to open a little the difference betweene fearing God and his goodnesse and fearing God and his wrath and justice in a legall way Only thus in a word The fearing God and his goodnesse is such a feare as enlargeth the heart Other feare contracts the heart We have an excellent text for this Isa 60. 1. compared with ver 5. Arise shine for thy light is come the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee and so he goeth on describing Gods goodnesse that referreth to these times that we are speaking of then vers 5. Thou shalt see and flow together and thy heart shall feare upon that and be inlarged When the heart so feareth as it is inlarged unto God this is the fearing God and his goodnesse aright Again It is such a feare as yet the heart clings to God for ever It drives not from God but makes the heart cleave closer to him that is the phrase in the Text in the Hebrew They shall feare to God and to his goodnesse I will put my fear in their hearts that they shal not depart from me This keeps the heart to God Further This fearing God and his goodnesse workes the heart to a high degree of sanctification 2 Cor. 7. 1. Seeing we have such precious promises let us perfect holiness in the feare of God And Heb. 12. 28. Wherefore we receiving a Kingdome that cannot be moved let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverent and godly feare Lastly It is a feare that is joyned with love whereas the
and then you shall have this voyce from heaven The kingdoms of the earth are become the kingdomes of the Lord and of his Christ and hee shall reign for ever and then shall ye together with the Jews seeke the Lord and David your King and fear the Lord and his goodnesse Now through Gods goodnesse wee have gone through these three Chapters Tertullian hath this expression of the fulness of the Scriptures Adorâ— plenitu dâ—nem Scripturarum I adore the fulnesse of the Scriptures By searching thus into the Scriptures we may come to see rich treasures in them and so adore the fulnesse of them how do we read over texts as if there were nothing in them but certainly God hath revealed much more of his mind in Scripture then wee are aware of let us all be in love with the study of the Scriptures May 8. 1642. a Nesco utrum brevitatem sermonum an magnie tudiuem sensuum admirari debeas b Commaticum qua si persentias loquen tem c Geâ—â—s generalissimum omnium benorum Si hoc auferas solâ—m e mundo sustulisli quid mundus sublate verbo quam infernus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Quid est Scriptura sacra nisi quaedam epistola emnipotentis Dei ad creaturam suam Greg. 1. Ep. â—0 ad Gregorium Theodorum Medicum Sacrae scripturae expositio est emnium quae ad culâ—â—m Dei fiunt â—pus maximum utilitates humano generi max 〈◊〉 efferens Lect. 1. Wolfius in loc Luther in Gen. c. 19. Ego adi lie beos meâ—s saepe opto eos interire quod metuo nemorentur lectores abducant lectione ipsias scripturae quae sola omnis sapientiae fons est c. Ioh. 7. 17. â—um debere scire se aliquid profecisse cui Ciceronis lectio eft valde iucunda 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Hiphil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Salvavit Obs â— King â— 2. 19. Ier. 36. 23. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Puteus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Magna semper facerunt qui Deo vocaute docuerunt Luther Euseb de Prapar Euan. l. 20. c. ult Ab hec tempore Graeca de temporibus historia vera creditur Obs 1. Obs 2. Obser 3. Obser 4. Obser 5. Obser 6. Obser 7. Obs 1. Obs 2. Obser 3 Obser 4 Obser 5 Obser 6. Obser Obsec Ch. 13. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quanto 〈…〉 dius 〈◊〉 em loâ—â—itur 〈◊〉 into opetoâ—ius peneâ—â—ratur Aug. de Hosea l. 18. deciu. Iam. 1. 20. May 23. 1642. The scope of the Chapter Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem Quamqua sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus quae Ipse sibi tradit spectator Lect. 2. * Such a one as Thais was among the Athenians Vir sanguinum Aug. cont Faust l. 22 c. 80. Quid adversura clementiae veritatis quid fidei Christianae si meretrix relicta forâ—â—catiane 〈◊〉 castum conjugium commutetur c. Eorum audaciam mirari satis nequeo qui non verentur dicere verba haec esse rebus destituta Theod. in Hos enaâ— c. 1. Obser Gods command takes away the offence not he comâ—mand of the Magistrate Ans 2. Obser Obser Reasons why Hoseas marrying a whore was but only in a vision 1. 2. How the woman is the glory of the man 3. Apparens loquens ei per vifiouem interiorem ecstafi Obs Adulterium committenâ— quasi ad alterium se 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 conferens Wherein is Idolatry like to the sinne of Adultery 1. 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3. 4. Hos 4. 11. 5. 6. 7. Filii Ecclesiae Quest Answ 1. Fornicando fornicatur or as Arius Montanus Fornicando fornicabitur Obser Obsec 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obs 5. Reasons of the name of Hoseas son Obser 3. Obser A twofold scattering of a People 4. 5. Obser Obser God will avenge 〈◊〉 blood Answ 1. Three reasons why God avenged the blood of Iezreel upon the house of Iehu 3. Obser 1. Obser 2 Obedience so farre as serves a mans owne turn Obser 3. God makes use of mens parts Obser 4 God makes 〈◊〉 use of menâ— sins Obser 5 God rewards here those works that must be answered for he easter Obser 6 A dangerous thing to subiect publique works to our own ends Obser 7. GOD curseth partiall obedience 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obser 8. Reformers must not be more carefull of Policy then of religion 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist Pol. l 7. cap. 8. Mâ—n can see the evill of sin in others rather then in themselves Obser 10 Oser 11. Magistrats must take heed of livâ—ng in the same sinnes they punish Quest Ans Obs Why a threat against posterity in the second Command rather then in any â—ther Theequâ—ty of childrens suffering for their Parents Observ Question Answer Observ Question Answer 2 King 10. 36. 13. 1 13. 10. 13 23. Obser Sin punished a long time after the commission Gen. 42. 22 Isa 65. 20. Observ Quest Answ Observ Many years are but of little while in Gods account Obser Present things affect not Omnis actie fit per contactum Obser Obser 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quiescere faciam Obser Observ Observ No weapons can prosper against the Church Observ Fortified places are nothing where the wrath of God is out against a people 2. Obser God punishes men in that they most glory in Lect. 3. Hoseas 3. children shews the 3 estats of 〈◊〉 Observ Base effeminatenes of spirit in a people yeelding to what shall be imposed upon them a signe of ruine Purity in the Church cannot stand long with slavery in the â—eate Viri fortâ—â— est aut pul chrevivere aut fartiter mori After base yeelding to slavery follows ruine Quae suâ—â—u abjecturi in altum tolimus ut majori ruina decidant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Oblitus fuit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Abâ—â—ulit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obser 1 Encouragement from gracious youth in England Obser 2. 〈◊〉 2. 1. The feares of the Saints that heretofore mercy was departed from us iustified Luk. 14. 14. Rev. 22. 1â— Gen. 6. 3 God must not be dallyed withall in the offers of his grace Obser 3 Obser 4. Obser 5 Obser 6 Lesse judgments forerunners of greater Obser 7 Obser 8 Amos 3. 2. 1 Kings 13. 4. Exod. 33. 5 A dangerous thing to reiect an offer of mercy after reiection of former offers 2. Obser The ground of civill Churh government different Answ How farre mans authoritybindes Obser 1 Obser 2 Obser 3 Obser Object 5. Obser Poor afflicted ones finde mercy when the rich are rejected 6. Obser Ministers must be Impartial Obser 7 Mercy to the saints are aggravation of judgement to the wicked Dives magis uritur gloria Lazari quam suo incendio Chrysologus After promise of mercy yet great afflictions may follow No advantage in yeelding to wicked men Obser A great evill to be discouraged at some difficulties when God is in