beloved of my soul my Glory a Royal Diadem to my self I could shew you Scripture for every one of these expressions that this people were taken by God to be his chief Treasure his peculier Treasure and his Delight Deut. 7. 6. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people to himself a special and he gives them all those Epethites Surely these are Bonds of Love And then in the fourth place If so be at any time they were in any afflictions I pitied them and looked upon them with the eye of mercie and releeved them redeemed them out of their afflictions in Isa 63. 9. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them And then fifthly I set on work all my Wisdom and my Power and my Mercy to do them good above all Nations working great wonders for them Now this we shall not need to mention any particular Scripture for the whol story of God carrying of them from Egypt along in the Wilderness to Canaan and there providing for them is a testimony for this so in Isa 63. we named before Gods redeeming of them he ads this too And carried them all the daies of old The Lord never was so glorious in his power towards any people as towards them the right hand of his Power and Excellencie was stretched out for them in Exod. 15. And then sixthly By the Bonds of Love I had a continual watchful eye over them and their Land mine eye was upon their Land where they dwelt for good above all other Lands that were upon the earth in Deut. 11. 12. A Land saith the text which the Lord thy God eareth for the eyes of the Lord thy God are alwaies upon it from the beginning of the yeer even to the end of the yeer Canaan was a Land that God cared as little for as any place of the earth before his people came into it a Land wherein God was as much dishonored as in any place of the Earth but now when his people came into it now it is a Land that mine eye is upon that the Lord takes care of from the beginning of the yeer to the end of the yeer this respect did God shew to his people Seventhly I gave them my Oracles the Revelation of my Will. This was another notable fruit of the love of God to this people In Judah was God known his Name was great in Israel in Psal 147. 19 20. He shewed his Word unto Jacob his Statutes and his Judgments unto Israel I dealt not so with any Nation And as for my Judgments they have not known them saith God This was a notable Priviledg that Israel had above all other people In Rom. 3. What advantage hath the Jew saith the Scripture or what profit is there of Circumcision Yes every way the Jew hath much advantage every way above al other people of the earth Why wherein for unto them were committed the Oracles of God Other men had the book of Nature they could see Gods Name as it were written in the Characters of the book of Nature yea but the special things of God the Counsels of God concerning the Eternal Estate of the Children of Men were not then revealed but saith he I gave to this people my Oracles they had those Counsels of mine concerning mans eternal estate revealed I opened to them my whol heart and soul all that I would have known to the children of men for that time I opened to them Oh this is a bond of love indeed to have the Oracle of God committed to a people And then the Eighth Twist as I may so say in this bond of love to make it a great Cable as it were to bind them unto God was this I set my heart so upon as to have the Messias to come from them in whom all the Nations of the earth should be blessed I rather chose this people than another to have my Son to be born of them to be of their stock And then Ninthly I gave them a Law the sum of which was nothing but love as I opened the last day That the Law of God had strength of Reason in it and so God drew them with the cords of a man his Law was rational So I drew them with bonds of love I gave them a Law the sum of which was nothing but love as thus What 's the sum of the first and second Table of the Law The sum of the first Table it is Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul And the sum of the second Table is Thou shalt LOVE thy Neighbor as thy self so that Love is the sum of the whol Law And then Tenthly I have out-bid all temptations whatsoever good pleasure delights honor they could expect in following any thing else I shewed them that they might have it and much more in my self there was nothing they could have in following after any of their false worship 〈◊〉 creature they would have any good in I made it appear that they might have as much in my Self I out bid all temptations for the encouraging of them in my waies that is in the full course of Scripture we find the Lord propounding himself to his people as a lovely object on purpose to draw their hearts away from all other things that might seem to be lovely that he might have the whol soul to himself Yea and in the Eleventh place Whensoever they were in any want if they did but cry to me I heard them What people is there so great as this people that the Lord is so nigh unto in all that they call upon him for saith Moses Yea and lastly I have done so much for them that it cannot be conceived that I should have done more What should I have done more for my Vinyard than I have done Isa 5. 4 Let any one speak what love they could conceive could be more from a God to his people than I have shewen So that put all these together and you see how God did draw this people with bands of love Now this for the Explication Now from hence our First Note is That Love it hath strong bonds Strong as strong as death Cant. 8. 6. None are so strongly bound together as friends that are bound in Love The bonds of Nature are not so strong as the bonds of Love A friend is nearer than a brother saith the Scripture The bonds of Love are the strongest bonds they are a twisted bond For First Love it is in its self a lovely thing to behold there 's an amiableness in Love to draw the eye and the heart to it In Cant. 7. 6. How fair and how pleasant art thou O Love for delights How fair and how pleasant is Love Take Love for the affection of love it is fair and pleasant for delight and when the beloved
had there it 's impossible but flesh and blood would suggest many thoughts to Abraham to keep his heart in suspence But what took Abrahams heart off from suspence to resolve fully what to do in such a case the text saith The God of Glory appeared to him it was not only God but the God of Glory My Brethren when God is calling you off from all Creature comforts from all things that may quiet your hearts in the world and you have strong temptations to keep you in the waies of sin let but the God of Glory appear to you and this will take up your hearts this will bring your hearts to a full resolution Oh! blessed blessed are those souls though they have continued long in suspence yet at length the God of Glory appears to them in the midst of their doubts and temptations and hangings off And if there be such a force in this then learn to present before thy soul that is in such a suspence the Glorie of the great God look up to this great God 't is the infinite high God that I am called to Oh! thou suspending thou wavering soul look up to this most high and answer this call of God unto himself answer it thus Oh Lord Thou art an Infinite Blessed Glorious Being the Supream Being of all I am a poor vile worm that lie under thy feet it 's mercie that thou wilt vouchsafe to look towards me thou mightest have let me gone on in base waies and perished to all eternity without giving me any call to thy self but now that thou shouldest give me a call to thy self the high and glorious blessed Lord this is mercy Lord I come and with fear and trembling fall down before thee saying Lord what wilt thou have me to do Those who have been wavering and afterwards setled they have found that this hath been the thing that hath setled them some dreadful authoritie of the high God that hath come to their hearts in some truth beyond what formerly he hath done and this hath fully taken off their souls to him And then Fifthly The true Worship of God is an elevating thing Then are they called to the most high when they are called to the true Worship of God for it raises the soul to the most high Mens inventions are low things are base and unworthy things Oh consider whether thou findest this in the Worship of God doest thou find thy soul raised up to the most high in his Worship thou doest never worship God aright except thou findest in some measure thy soul raised up to the most high in his Worship let no man look upon the Worship of God as a low mean thing know when thou art to come to worship God thou hast now to deal with the high God whom Angels worship and adore 't is that God who is far above all Creatures in Heaven and Earth thus thou art to look upon the Worship of God Oh! how far are most men from this when they are worshiping of God! very few there are that lift up their hearts to the most high even in the duties of Worship And so it follows in the words None at all would exalt him Why If God be the most high God how can he be exalted I answer He is so high as he cannot be more high than Himself God cannot be more excellent than he is in Himself God cannot make Himself better than He is nor more glorious in Himself than He is Therefore no creature can make him more than he is all that all the Creatures in Heaven and Earth can do for God can ad nothing to him In Nehem. 9. 5. He is exalted saith the text above all blessing and praise Yet then God accounts Himself to be exalted First When he is known and acknowledged for the High Supream First being of all things when we fear Him as a God when we humble our selves before him as before a God when we are sensible of the infinite distance there is between him and us when we are willing to lay down what we are or have or can do for the furtherance of his praise when his Will is made the Rule of all our waies and especially of his Worship when we make him the last end of all when 't is the great care of our souls and work of our lives to do what possibly we can that he might be magnified lifted up in the world and when we account the least sin a greater evil than can be recompenced by all the good that Heaven and Earth can afford unto us and now God accounts Himself exalted by us And this is the Work that all of us have to do to give up our selves to the exalting of the Name of this blessed God He is worthy so worthy of honor from us creatures that though ten thousand millions of Men and Angels should perish eternally for the furtherance of the least degree of his honor he is worthy of it all so high is this God and therefore know it to be our work to endeavor in our places to exalt him and blessed is that man or woman that when they are to die are able to say Oh Lord thou hast been high in my heart thy Wisdom I have adored and submitted mine unto it thy Will I have honored and yeelded mine likewise to it and it hath been the great care of my soul that I might do somthing in my place to lift up thy Name according as I have been able I say thou maiest go out of the world in peace as having done in some measure that thou camest into the world for Oh! you whom God hath exalted let it be your care to exalt this God and especially the Saints of the Lord know God hath exalted you on high and expects that you should lift up his Name he hath lifted up you out of the depth of miserie from the nethermost Hell he hath joyned you to his Son he hath made you one with his Son He hath loved you with the same love wherewith he loveth his Son he hath made you Heirs Co-heirs with his own Son he hath given his Angels to be ministring Spirits to you he hath made it his great design to honor himself in your eternal good the greatest work that God hath to do in the world it is the honoring himself in your Glory he hath prepared a Crown of glory for you Oh then do you joyn together to exalt the Name of this God who hath lifted up you who were such poor vile worms let the high praises of this God be in your hearts and mouths for ever in Psal 108. 4. Thy mercy is great above the Heavens and thy truth reacheth unto the Clouds mark what follows in the 5. verse Be thou exalted O God above the Heavens and thy Glory above all the Earth Oh Lord we see thy mercy is exalted above the Heavens and thy truth
be bowed to as well as to be kissed in taking an Oath The lifting up the hand to the High God in an Oath we find in Scripture therefore that is safe VER 3. Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud and as the early dew it passeth away as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor and as the smoke out of the chimny HERE are four Elegant similitudes to fet forth Ephraims weak vanishing condition Gods power over them the swiftness of the punishment the violence of it and his utter desolation so that his place shall not be found 1. A cloud Ephraim was risen seemed to threaten great things overcast the leaves like a cloud but upon the brightness of Gods Justice appearing all was dispelled Their righteousness chap. 6. was as a cloud and dew now they shall be so themselves 2. Dew The dew it seems to bespangle the grass but the Sun rising it is soon dried up Ephraims estate was beautiful but the heat of Gods wrath consumes all presently 3. The Chaff The word signifies the smallest of the chaff the dust of the chaff-heap and that abroad where their floors were and a whirlwind coming upon it Psal 35 5. Let them be as chaff before the wind and let the Angel of the Lord chase them Oh! Many when they begin to be unsetled to be going the Angel of God as a messenger of wrath drives them on apace to misery 4. Smoke The smoke out of the chimney it seems to darken the Heavens but presently it is scattered The words signifies a chink or hole Because in Judea there were not such chimnies as we now adaies use but as it were windows or open places in the upper part of the house or in the wall as it is this day in Norway and Swethland saith a Learned Interpreter upon the place We may note hence The vanity of proud men Here God compares them to such mean vile things persons that heretofore were so lofty So 1 King 14. 10. Jeroboam's house is threatned to be destroyed as a man takes away dung till it be gone Why should wicked men be feared who are thus before the Lord. Do not bless you selves in any prosperity never think your selves setled for when you are in the most prosperous setled way yet are ye but as the cloud yea as the dew the chaff the smoke VER 4. Yet I am the Lord thy God from the Land of Egypt and thou shalt have no gods but Me there is no other Savior besides me THIS is spoken first by way of aggravation of their sin as if he should say you have thus provoked me notwithstanding I am the Lord thy God I have done very great things for you and for your forefathers Yet It 's very evil to sin against great works of mercy wherein the hand of God hath appeared plainly When we do any thing for another wherein we think we might gain him to our selves for ever and he yet this is very grievous 2. It is spoken by way of encouragement Yet I continue to be the Lord thy God I am ready to shew thee the like mercy still This is to break their hearts and to provoke them to come in to the Lord. He speaks to an Apostate people as if he should say Were you yet what you sometimes seemed to be Oh how gracious should I be to you I am yet what ever I seemed to be to you why are you so perverse and untoward towards me Jer. 2. 2. I remember the kindness of thy youth the love of thine espousals when thou wentest after me in the wilderness in a Land that was not sowen I am the Lord thy God This should have been a strong argument to obedience When the will of God is once known saith Luther we are no further to dispose of Rights because neither Parents neither Lords and Masters have this Title I am the Lord thy God From the Land of Egypt As if he should have said what a case had you been in if I had not delivered you out of Egypt from the Iron furnace a low base imployment ye had been bond-slaves there you might have spent your daies in sorrow and trouble Consider first your low estate 2. How your strength might have been spent 3 When this anguish was upon you what crying to me and my delivering of you Hence note that Deliverance from Egypt is a great note of Gods being our God Q But how doth this concern us A. Yes There is a spiritual Egypt from which we have been delivered as the Apostle makes use 1 Cor. 57. c of the paschal Lamb in a spiritual sense The power severity and holiness of God appears in the delivery of his people from Egypt so also of us from Antichrist as Revel 15. 2 3. the Church is brought in singing the song of Moses which the children of Israel sung for their deliverance from Pharaob for its deliverance from Antichrist Pharaoh was the Dragon in the waters Psal 74. 13 14. so is Antichrist The City of Zurick engraved the yeer of their deliverance from Antichrist upon Pillars in letters of Gold Thou shall know no God but me That is Effectually acknowledg worship serve love God as a God and no other Hence note That the end of Gods great work is That he may be known to be a God A sincere gracious holy One. The knowing God to be a God is a special part of that Worship that is due to God To acknowledg God to be God is to know him in his Excellency Majesty Glory above what is known of him by the light of Nature This cannot but have a mighty operation upon the heart For To know God to be a God is 1. To know him to be the First being of all 2. The Infinit Al sufficient God 3 The Fountain of all good to his Saints 1 This must needs gain the heart to him 2 There is no worship of God where this is not 3 Where this is all follows 4 The right knowledg of God keeps from false worship Gal. 4. 9. Since you know God or rather are known of God how turn ye to the weak and beggerly elements of the world See the Jewish way of Ceremonial worship Thou shalt know no God but me This is the first Commandement of which Luther saith All flows from that great Ocean of the first Commandement and again return thither We see the Prophets to be most exercised in the use of the first Commandement Hence note It is not good to know Idolaters worship at all for this is spoken in the Text by way of opposition Thou shalt know no God but me that is Thou shalt be acquainted with no other worship according to that in Deut. 12. 30. Thou shalt not enquire how these Nations worshiped their gods Therefore for those that are not grounded And who
I remember the kindness of thy youth saith God For yong people to love God Oh! God loves that God loves the love of yong ones the love of children how sweet will old age be to thee if thou canst say thus Lord through thy mercy I have loved thee from a child and that 's an evidence that thou didest love me when I was a child How many are there now that are old whom God loved when they were yong that would give ten thousand worlds if they had them that they had known and loved God sooner than they have done Though it 's true I lived in wickedness almost all my daies and yet at length God manifested himself to me and by that I know God hath loved me from eternity but Oh! that I had loved God from a child I say those whose eyes God enlightens and hearts God converts to himself would give ten thousand thousand worlds that they could but say this Oh that I had but loved God from a child You who are children and yong ones do you begin betimes to love God that if you live to be old you may say that God loved you from a child It was an excellent speech of Austin when God pleased to work upon his heart Lord I loved thee too late And so it will be with any that do begin to love God they will say that they loved God too late and it will be the great burden to their souls that they loved God so late as they did And called my Son out of Egypt I call'd him that is by Moses and Aaron I sent them to call them out of Egypt and bring them from thence and this seems to have reference to that Scripture in Exod. 4. 22. where the Lord saith Israel is my Son even my first born Moses comes to Pharaoh in the Name of God to have Israel out of Egypt and he coms to Pharaoh after this manner and Tell him that God saith Israel is my son even my first born so in Jer. 31. 9. I am a Father to Israel and Ephraim is my first born My son The Seventy have it in the plural My sons his sons out of Egypt but in the Hebrew it is in the singular I called my son out of Egypt and although the holy-Ghost speaks of al the people in general yet he puts them in the singular number and in their very community they are cal'd the son of God The Church that 's the Note from hence is related to God as a son to the father yea the very first-born what God speaks of the people of Israel is especially intended towards his Saints which are the true Israel of God they have the priviledg to be sons unto God to be children Is it a light matter saith David to be the son in Law to to a King but then what do you think it is to be the son to the King of Heaven and Earth and the Heir of Heaven and Earth Is Ephraim my dear son Jer. 31. 20. Ephraim my dear son This is the priviledg therfore of the Saints that God deals with them as sons I 'le spare them as a Father spareth his own son that serveth him in the third Chapter of Malachy the 17. verse And the special priviledg that they have from this is that they are not under that Law that slaves are under in reference to God those that are in the state of slaverie they are under this Law Do or Die if thou doest offend but in the least thou shalt perish for ever the curse of the Law is upon thee But the Sons of God are brought into another condition not to be under that Law they indeed if they do offend may be corrected and chastized but they are never under the Law of the sentence of eternal death for their offence there 's a great deal of difference between the administration of God towards Slaves and towards Sons This is the great priviledg of Son-ship That thou art not under the Law thou art brought under another Law under the Law of Jesus Christ that though thy sin indeed of its own nature if God should deal with thee in Justice would be enough to put thee under an eternal Curse yet being a Son God puts thee under another Law and doth not deal with thee by that Law that pronounces a Curse against every sin They are Sons Secondly Let wicked men who have to deal with Gods people when any of the Saints of God are under their power let them take heed how they use them For they are Sons they are not Slaves they are the Sons of the eternal God in Jer. 2. 14. Is Israel a Servant is he a home-born Slave why is he spoiled How comes it to pass that Israel is dealt withall so as he is What is not Israel a Son When as any of the people of God are under the power of any men God looks upon them as Sons and if they deal hardly with them God will enquire and will say thus Is such a one a slave had he been a slave I would not so much have car'd for your dealings thus with him but he is a Son You find in the Acts that they were afraid when they heard that Paul was a Roman When thou knowest thou hast to deal with a Son of God know that thou hast not so much liberty to misuse him as thou hast to misuse another man though no liberty to misuse any Thirdly The Saints are not only Sons in their particular relation but in their Community they are sons too Take them joyn'd together as the members of the Church and so the whole Community of the Church now is but as one Son I called my Son out of Egypt He speaks of the whole Body of Israel Now the Lord looks upon the Community of his Church as one Son in the singular number There are many priviledges that do belong to the Church of God in their Community as well as in their particular relation And they should labor to unite themselves much together seeing God puts them altogether in the singular number Oh! the Lord loves unity in his Church Though a Son yet in Egipt That 's the Note further from thence That Gods Sons are not free from sore and grievous evils in this world though they be Sons yet they may go into Egipt In Jer. 12. 7. I have for saken mine house I have left mine heritage I have given the dearly beloved of my Soul into the hands of her enemies Though the dearly beloved of Gods Soul yet given into the hands of enemies Though Gods Son yet goes into Egypt So the Church under Antichrist for above twelve hundred years God gave up his Sons into that spiritual Egypt We must not think therefore as soon as we come under greivous afflictions that God hath cast us off from being Sons though they were in
to the Clouds then Lord be thou exalted above the Heavens that is in our hearts and in our lives Oh! that God may be exalted in an answerable way above the Heavens in what we do for Him as He hath been exalted above the Heavens in what he hath done for us let 's all exalt Gods Name he will be exalted in spight of your hearts My brethren God hath exalted Himself of late in our eyes in a glorious manner in Psal 21. 13. Be thou exalted O Lord in thine own strength Oh the Lord hath exalted Himself in His own strength but mark what follows So will we sing and praise thy Power Oh! let us sing and praise the power of God who hath exalted Himself in his own strength and for the good of his own people so of late But none would exalt him saith the text God hath little honor in the world men seek to exalt themselves but none to exalt God every man follows his own way his own lusts but the blessed and glorious God is exalted by few or none Men will appear to lift up Antichrist to exalt him the Kings of the Earth they will give their power to the Beast but none will exalt the Lord. Oh! let this grieve the hearts of the Saints to see that the blessed God so blessed in their eyes should be exalted by so few And consider every one of you how little he hath been exalted by you in all your waies And why should you vex and fret that you have not honor and respect when as the blessed God who is so infinitely worthy of honor and glory yet none almost respects Him Well let this be the Meditation from it The less glory I see God have from the children of men the more let me labor to honor him None would exalt him So the words are read in your Books and I think that is the most proper sense Yet I find Luther hath another reading and so others and that might likewise stand with the Original for if you observe the words him is not there But it may be saith Luther there is none that lifts up himself he and others turns it thus That 's thus Men are in a sleepy sullen mood that when God calls them they will not stir up themselves to listen to Gods Call and so Luther makes use of this similitude As a stuborn servant or child when the master cals him he will not stir and lift up himself to his call There 's none will lift up themselves drossie base drousie spirits that are sleepy and sink down to base low things they will not lift up themselves when they are called to the most high God It 's a great evil to give way to a dead dull and sullen heart not to lift up our selves when God calls When you come to the Ministry of the Word you come with hearts dead and sinking down with discouragements Now when God cals you should stir and lift up your hearts to close with those Truths of God that do concern you and it 's a great evil in many when they hear excellent Truths that might do them good yet they do not lift up their hearts to close with those Truths And now we come to the Eighth Verse which is a Verse very full and if in any you will give me liberty a little to enlarge in that Verse VER 8. How shall I give thee up Ephraim how shall I deliver thee Israel how shall I make thee as Admah how shall I set thee as Zeboim mine heart is turned within me my repentings are kindled together HEre according to Luther ends the Eleventh Chapter and the Twelfth begins at the next Verse For the words themselves we have not a more full expression of pathetical Affections of Mercy and Compassion in God in all the Book of 〈◊〉 than here How shall I give thee up I beseech you observe God was in the midst of his threatnings of Judgment charging of them with their sin saith he The Sword shall abide upon their Cities and consume their branches because of their own Counsels And when they were called to the most high God yet none would exalt him How not one would com in What would follow One would think Now let wrath pursue them let the curse of the Almighty overtake them one would wonder that it did not but mark a greater wonder that after the charging of them for this wickedness and in the midst of Gods threatnings of the most dreadful judgments to consume them by the Sword How shall I give thee up Ephraim c The Lord here takes upon Him as it were the person of a loving Father towards a stubborn and rebellious child the child hath gone away from the Father and hath continued in slout waies It may be the Father sends after it it will not come it will not return but goes on stubornly the Father hath many workings in his heart to cast it off he shall never be a peny the better for me let him beg his bread from door to door he is unnatural to me yea but when he is in the midst of these resolutions and hath these sad thoughts towards the child yet there comes a turning of his bowels on a sudden Oh! but how shall I give it up how shall I disinherit it how shall I do it It is my child though stuborn why may it not return why may not yet God work good upon it It 's very evil but how shall I give it up I know not how in the world to bring my heart to it Thus the Lord breaks out here Here we have in your books four How 's How shall I give thee up Ephraim How shall I deliver thee Israel How shall I make thee as Admah How shall I set thee as Zeboim I confess in the Hebrew there are but two but yet for the sense of it the Interpreters put in the other and they have the sense of four How How How How shall I do it there are four Interogations here and four Answers Four Pathetical Interogations that God asks as it were Himself First How shall I give thee up Ephraim Secondly How shall I deliver thee Israel Thirdly How shall I make thee as Admah Fourthly How shall I sâ—t thee as Zeboim God is here Interogating Himself in these four Interogatories that come from his own bowels And here are four Answers to these As thus First Mine heart is turned within me Secondly My repentings are kindled together Thirdly I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger Fourthly I will not return to destroy Ephraim These are the Four Answers and the Last Answer hath Two Arguments First I am God and not Man Secondly The holy One in the midst of thee Now what the force of the Arguments are we shall see when we come to them But first to give you the brief opening of the words in a way of paraphrase and
thing that thou pleadest mercy is pleading already and mercy carries on those arguments with a great deal more strength than thou art able to do but it takes it well at thy hand to present any to it Thou art loth to perish and God is as loth thou shouldest perish if God give thee a heart to come to him to stop wrath thou comest to him to do a work exceeding acceptable to him 't is as acceptable to God such a work as it can be acceptable unto thee when thou apprehendest Judgment ready to be executed look up to mercy it may 〈◊〉 the holy Ghost may raise an act of faith and this act of faith will set bowels on work the bowels of God are very ready to work That which is very ready to work a little thing will set it on work I say Gods bowels are very ready to work in the waies of grace and mercy towards sinners and the least act of faith in that mercy would certainly set bowels on work a main Mercy calls thee to help Mercy hath been pleading a great while and Justice pleading Mercy calls thee in to help and assist her to plead for thee and who knows but the casting voice staies for thy coming in though there hath been pleadings in Gods heart yet the dispensations of God may be such as the casting voice shall not come till thy pleadings be come in and then the business may be determined as it was here The Tenth Observation is this Oh consider the different dealings of the Father with his Son let our Meditations be raised from this Doth the bowels of God thus work towards poor sinners pleading for them when wrath is ready to be executed then we may here see the great difference between Gods dealings with his Saints and with his Son When God comes to deliver his people these that he had relation to where he had some of his Saints and for their sakes he speaks this he saith How shall I deliver thee We do not find that God said so concerning his Son God did deliver up his Son unto wrath without a How shall I do it yea the Heart of God was in it there 's no such expression of reluctancie about this work but the Scripture saith that it pleased God to bruise him It pleased him well it was an act that pleased God to bruise his Son Indeed it was for glorious ends that he had in it why so God might have ends enough for to bring forth his glory in our bruising but yet notwithstanding any ends that he might bring about he saith How shall I do it God doth not delight to grieve the children of men but God did grieve his Son he bruised him and it pleased him to bruise him You shall find such an expression in Isa 53. and in Psal 40. In the volumn of the book it is written of me that I should do thy will It was the will of God that Christ should come and suffer what he did when Ephraim was bemoaning himself Góds bowels were troubled within him he doth let the rod fall out of his hand in Jer. 31. 19 20. When Ephraim was bemoaning himself mark how Gods bowels there works but the Scripture saith That God did not spare his Son God would spare Ephraim Jesus Christ did bemoan himself when he cried out If it be possible let this Cup pass from me and Oh God my God why hast thou forsaken me Oh what a bemoaning of himself was this and yet in Rom 8. 32. God spared not his own Son he did not spare him notwithstanding all the moans that he made unto him but he delivered him up Here we reade of the repentings of God that are kindled and divers times in Scripture of Gods repenting of the execution of Justice upon sinners but when he speaks of Chist I have made him a Priest for ever that is so as he should be a Sacrifice both the Priest to offer and the Sacrifice its self in Heb. 7. 21. The Lord sware and will not repent Oh certainly it was from this work of God the delivering up of his Son that the Lord hath such working of bowels towards sinners when wrath comes to be executed to say How shall I give thee up Yet further If the heart of God doth thus work towards sinners when they are ready to be given up yea towards those that are very evil for so these were Their hearts bent to back-sliding Hence then we may learn That the State of the Saints that walk close with God must needs be very secure If the Lord deals thus with rebellious Sons what will he do with a Son that serves him that walks close with him though a Son very vile very sinful yet there is a how shall I give thee up Oh then thou whose conscience witnesses of thy sincere endeavor in walking close with God continually know that thy estate must needs be secure Yea further if this be so Surely whensoever God delivers up his own people to any judgments there 's some great matter in it some great matter in it for never doth any affliction come unto them but it breaks through many reasonings of Gods heart God intends some great matter Doth judgment begin at the house of God It is because the Lord hath some great intents to bring forth it is not because the Lord takes pleasure in the moans of his people in the sorrows and sufferings of his Servants but it is because he intends some great things for certainly these bowels of compassion would not let such sore and grievous evils pass if there were not some great ends and purposes of God to bring about And yet further hence observe The difference between the day of patience and the times of wrath for the sakes of those that were godly here Gods patience speaks thus towards the body of the People and so was patient and long-suffering towards them There is a time that God wile laugh at the destruction of sinners and he will mock when their fear cometh when he will execute his wrath and be comforted as the Scripture speaks There is a time indeed when God saith How shall I give them up but there is another time wherein God doth give forth the wine of his wrath The Wine it doth delight the Lord as Wine doth unto a man when indignation shall be as Wine to God then mercy and patience shall hold their peace for they have then their glory already they will never speak more but turn over the sinner unto Justice yea pleads unto Justice against the sinner And then lastly Seeing that God comes off thus when he is about the letting out of wrath making such stops as he doth then surely we should not hasten Judgment against our selves but let us make use of these dealings of God for the breaking of our hearts and causing them to return unto him let not us assist Justice
therefore here he names Jacob to take away that vain plea of their hearts whereas they would say Why were not we the posterity of Jacob Have not we Jacob to be our Father Well saith he I 'le punish Jacob and I 'le shew you by and by that you have no such cause to boast your selves that you have Jacob to be your Father and so I take it and most Interpreters that by Jacob he means the ten Tribes Now for the other part of the text I shall speak nothing concerning that because in Chap. 4. Ver. 9. we had the very same words there It follows VER 3. He took his brother by the heel in the womb and by his strength had power with God c. THis Prophet enveighing against the sins of these ten Tribes and threatning Judgments in these words He takes away the plea that he saw was in their hearts against what he had said We are the children of Jacob and why do you thus charge us and threaten us in the Name of God was not Jacob our Father As in Christs time they pleaded that Abraham was their Father Now in these words read unto you the Prophet takes away this plea and the scope of them comes to this as if he had said you may bless your selves in that Jacob was your Father but it will do you little good for you are a degenerate off-spring from him It 's true God was very gracious to Jacob and Jacob was very deer to God it 's otherwise with you Jacob worshiped God after another manner than you do The Prophet therefore sets before this people here in the words read Gods mercy to Jacob and Jacobs graciousness in his behavior towards God that he might upbraid those children of Jacob who walked so unworthy of such a gracious Father as Jacob was that 's the scope Now how this is set forth we shall speak to presently only for the scope of the Prophet in these three Verses read unto you we take notice only of this one instruction That it is a great upbraiding of children that are wicked to hear of the graciousness of their parents and should be a matter of much humiliation to wicked children to hear of the relation that their parents had to God and what worshipers of God their parents were children that have had gracious parents should look upon it as a shame to them when at any time the graciousness of their parents is but mentioned before them I remember I have read of a King of Poland that was wont to carry the picture of his Father in a plate of Gold about his neck that he had honorable esteem of and when he was to do any matter of great importance he would take this picture and kiss it and use these words God grant that I may do nothing now remisly that I may do nothing now unworthy of my Father because his Father was so good a man Oh! you that have had gracious Ancestors think often of them and when you are tempted to sin think this Is not this unworthy of my Ancestors would they have done thus Children should so walk as the vertues of their Fathers should not die in them but they should hold them forth As Ambrose in an Oration of his upon the Commendations of Theodotius saith he Though Theodotius be gone yet surely so long as his Son lives Theodotius will live among us He meant thus that the vertues of that vertuous Emperor would certainly live in his Son that was so hopeful Oh! it 's an excellent thing when the vertues of gracious parents do live in their Children and it is a very evil thing when the Parents are dead yea and their vertues are dead in respect of their children there 's nothing of them appears in them they love to inherit their Lands and Estates but it was a great deal better to inherit their vertues and their godliness But the people of Israel did not inherit the godliness of Jacob and did not so much take to heart the goodness of God towards their Father Jacob that the Prophet doth here now lay open before them and to that end he makes use of three Histories There is three famous Histories in the two first verses that I have read to you that the Prophet here makes use of and there 's much of the mind of God in them I shall open much Scripture in the first two verses for they refer unto three Histories that we have in the book of Genesis The First History of Jacobs taking his brother by the heel you shall find in Gen. 25. 26. He took his brother by the heel And then the Second History you shall find in Gen. 32. And the Third History partly in the 28 and partly in the 35. of Gen. The first is He took his brother by the heel You must refer to that Scripture in Gen. to know the mind of God in this there you shall find that in the womb of Rebekah there was a striving between Iacob and Esau this was before they were born and at their birth Iacob put his hand out and takes his brother by the heel from whence he had his name Iacob that signifies a heel and from thence a Supplanter And Esau he hath his name of Acting or Doing he was made a man that is because he was hairy when he was born he was as it were a man already from whence he had his name Esau he is as it were a man made in the womb Saith Luther here 's the man that will do all things famously when Esau was born and they saw him so hairy they thought he was the man that would do very great and famous things in the world and from thence he had his name Esau Now Iacob in his birth he takes this Esau that every one thought when he was born would have been a famous man and done famous things he takes him by the heel saith Luther upon the place a most wonderful History this taking his brother by the heel But what 's the meaning of this you will say why doth the Prophet instance in this to what purpose is this to the ten Tribes that Iacob took his brother by the heel what good would this do to the People that Hosea was prophesying to he tells them that their Father Iacob take his brother by the heel what did he aim at Was this story to be a means to humble the people for their sins how could it do it Therefore we must know that the scope meaning of this great work of God in taking his brother by the heel it was this First It shewed That though Esau was the first born and so in an orderly course the birthright should have descended upon him and upon his posterity for so it did the blessing did use to go along with the first-born and with their posterity in which the first-born was a type of Christ who
with in a journy or business that God set him about he had an express command of God to go and a promise of God that he would be with him in the journy it would ask some time to shew the many hard things that Jacob met withal in the journy but among other of the hard things that he met with this was a very sad one that being to go by the Land of Seer the Country of Edom where his brother Esau liv'd he sent messengers before him not being altogether without some fear that the old grudg that was in the heart of his brother still remain'd and that his brother might now have an opportunity for to satisfie his desire upon him and according as he fear'd he found it for having sent messengers to his brother they reurn again to him and bring him word that his brother was coming against him with four hundred men in a hostile way so manifesting by the manner of his coming that he did intend mischief against Iacob in Gen. 32. 6. and now upon this the heart of Iacob was much distressed so the text saith That Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed vehemently afraid and great straits was upon his spirit now being in so great straights Iacob seeks to provide for himself he did not presently conclude and say we are utterly undone but he would see what could be done so though he knew the sury of his brother yet if it were possible but to save some part of his company he would do it and so he divides them in the way of prudence as might be the best way that he conceived for the safety of any of them but though he dealt in a way of prudence for safety yet That he trusted not to but seeks unto the Lord he would go to prayer in so great a straight and extremity that he was in for so in verse 24 he had been at prayer and there he was found alone which cannot be interpreted to no purpose but that he might be waiting upon God to know his mind and to seek God And when he was alone there appeared to him in the form of a man that came out against him as an enemy and as though he would destroy him not only Esau his brother came out to destroy him but there comes out one wrastling against him as though he intended to destroy him likewise and this man that did appear as a man the truth is was no other than God himself it was Jesus Christ and so he is call'd an Angel That it was Christ appearing in the form of a man there taking humane shape it 's cleer from verse 5. for he is call'd Jehovah and the Lord of Host and you shall find in Gen. 32. that Jacob call'd the name of the place Peniel for saith he I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved so that Jacob knew before he had done he knew it was God God comes and appears against him as an enemy even at that time that this holy man Jacob was in so great straights as he was and yet Jacob though God did thus appear against him he did not sink in his heart but stir'd up all the strength that he had and wrastles even with God himself thus appearing like an enemy and prevail'd and had power at length though one would have thought that there had been enough to have sunk Jacob's spirit the distress that he was in at that time his brother coming with four hundred men ready to destroy him he left alone one comes and wrastles with him yet he had power with God This is a famous and a notable story as any we have in the old Testament And for the First that which is implied here He had power with the Angel that is with God when he came and wrastled with him in such a time of so great extremity Oh! I beseech you observe this in the first place This is Gods way with his Saints sometimes with his best and dearest Saints that when they are in the greatest dangers and in the greatest afflictions and troubles God even then comes and seems to be an enemy to them at that time for the time that God came wrastled with him and seem'd to be as an enemy to him it was in the time of the greatest extremity that one would think it's possible for a man to be in you cannot apprehend greater distresses or greater cause than there was for the distres of Jacob at this time A poor man with a few women and children and cattel and having his brother that owed him a grudg and had sought his death to come with four hundred men in an hostile way and he left alone and at this time God appears like an enemy to him this was sad a very heavie condition indeed As God did with Jacob so with Christ himself when Christ was betrayed God never appeared in outward appearance against Christ as at that time when his Disciples left him just in the night when he was to be betrayed then he was in an Agony and sweat drops of water and blood yea and when he was in the hands of his enemies and lift up to the Cross and made a decision to all the world yet then he cries My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Forsaken at that time in so great a distress Jacob in this was even a type of Gods forsaking Christ in times of such great distress And so we find in Job when he was in so great distresses yet the terrors of the Almighty were upon him And Heman with divers others that we might name 'T is a point of very great concernment to us Oh be not discouraged be not discouraged you that are the people of God if at any time you be brought into his condition for Jacob was a type of all the people of God in this case and therefore this story is of very great concernment Gods waies towards him were a resemblance of what they are like to be to others afterwards and to the end of the world namely this That the most eminent precious Saints of God must not think to be excused even from this condition but when they are brought into the greatest outward afflictions that possibly can be imagined that God even at that time should appear against them like an enemy Oh! this is the saddest condition that can be to any one that hath any acquaintance with God You shall have many poor Servants of God in affliction wil say As for these afflictions they are heavy indeed upon me my Estate gon or Husband gon or Wife gon my Friends leave me in this condition yea and it may be the hand of God is upon me in sickness and so one trouble after another Oh! but though these are heavy had I but the light of the face of God upon me it would be nothing to me had I but those comforts that once I had
mercies we have had already but when thou comest to prayer whatsoever thy condition be though in never such great straits yet acknowledg what thou hast already be willing to praise God in the lowest condition that thou art in And then he doth proceed further and looks back to his former meanness that once he was in For with my staff passed I over this Jordan and now I am become two band 〈…〉 that 's a further expression of his humility and God 〈◊〉 ther mercy And then the next thing is the great sence of what he praies for Deliver me I pray thee from the hand of my Brother from the hand of Esau for I fear him lest he will come and smite me and the mother with the children Lord I do not speak words that have expressions in them without sence of my heart for Lord as I am crying to thee for help against my Brother I do apprehend my great extremity Lord I fear him lest he come and smite me with the mother and the children When we come to prayer we must not have words that are puft-up words and have little in them but there must be as much sence of the thing that we pray for as the words that we speak do seem to import carry with them many times we have great words and little sence and that makes our prayers to be so empty And then the next thing in his prayer it was The strong arguments that he did use with God though it 's true That what we can say to God cannot move God yet it may move our own hearts and God would have us to use strong arguments in prayer And thou saidest in ver 12. I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand on the Sea which cannot be numbred for multitude As if he should say Lord how will thy promise be fulfill'd didest thou not say that my seed should be as the sand of the Sea now if the mother and children be cut off what will become of thy Promise God is so indulgent as to suffer us to plead our cause with him And these pleading prayers are strong prayers he wept and made supplication so he prevail'd with God Now labor you if you be of the seed of Jacob to pray as your Father Jacob did But so much shall suffice for that Second History about Jacob's prevailing with the Angel Now the Third History follows He found him in Bethel and there he spake with us The words in the Hebrew are He will find us in Bethel and there he spake with us As if it were an encouraging word of the Angel to Jacob that God would find him in Bethel and indeed the Gramatical sense of the words would carry such a sense but rather because the Learned know that the word is often used for the Preter tense in the Hebrew and it 's more according to the scope of the place to reade them as you have them in your books He found him in Bethel and there he spake with us That is He found Jacob in Bethel and spake to Jacob and in speaking to Jacob he spake unto us all Now for the opening of this History and the shewing how it sutes with the scope of the Prophet in this place We reade in Scripture of two Meetings that God and Jacob had together at Bethel and this Text in Hosea doth refer to them both God finds him in Bethel two times and spake with Jacob and spake to us both those times The First time for fear of danger he fled from his brother when his brother had mischievous thoughts against him after he got the blessing from him And the Second time again after his wrastling with the Angel God meets him in Bethel The First of these you have in Gen 28. 10. and the Second in Gen. 35. 1. and so on And it 's necessary to refer to those two Scriptures for the interpretation of this Scripture you will not know what it means else 1. He finds him in Bethel Gen. 28. 10. yea indeed for Jacob he lay asleep with a stone under his head he saw a vision of Angels ascending and descending from Heaven and God speak excellent things unto him But the Note is That God finds his People many times when they little think of him He comes unto his People in waies of mercy when they scarce dream of it Jacob was but in a dream at this time and yet God came in very wonderful waies of mercy towards him Oh! how often hath God found us in this way how often may many of you say that the Lord hath come unexpectedly to you in waies of mercy that you never made account of such mercies as you have met withal Oh! when unexpected mercies come we should consider that God found us whereas our sins might have found us but the mercies of God have found us out And the other time that God found Jacob it was when he was in great distress after his daughter Dinah had been defloured and his sons Simeon and Levi had committed that great outrage against the Shechemites so great an outrage as to kill the City and upon that Jacob and all his family was in great danger of being destroyed for the act was so foul that it could not but make all the people as Jacob thought to abhor him and would be a cause that they should all rise against him and utterly to cut him off therfore in Gen. 34 30. Jacob tels his sons that they had made him to stink among the inhabitants of the Land so that he was afraid they would gather together and destroy him and his house no question the distress that Jacob was in was very great that his daughter should be defloured by the uncircumcised ones and that his two sons should commit such an outrage and should endanger him to be destroyed utterly by them For who would have thought but that all the Inhabitants of the Land should have risen against him and have cut him off Now the next thing that we hear of God meets with him at Bethel and speaks very gracious things to him there and he did not only speak to him but there he spake with us That is God meeting with Jacob in Bethel that which he spake to him there concern'd us aswel as it concern'd Jacob. An expression to the same purpose we have in Psal 66. 6. He turned the Sea into dry land they went through the Floud on foot there We did rejoyce in him For indeed the mercy of God towards the Isralites at that time that did rejoyce them was a matter of Rejoycing for us Whatsoever is written is written for our learning 't is as if God spake to us That which God spake to Abraham I am God Alsufficient walk before me and be upright he spake that to us he spake that to thee and me That that God spake to Joshua
never returned I shall follow those that think it hath reference to the times of the Gospel and to all the true Israel of God that should be converted to the faith and I think it hath reference to that because we find so often in this Prophesie of Hosea things that are so far off to be interpreted to the times of the Gospel Therefore I will yet make them to dwell in Tabernacles Thus to be understood in this Spiritual Sense That the Lord hath his time though he seem'd to cast off these ten Tribes yet to bring the Jews and all the Israel of God to bring them into his Church and to build several Tabernacles for them in his Church And there in several Churches as so many several Tabernacles there they shal have the feast of sweet things of fat things of refined Wine upon the Lees as in Isa 25. the Promises of the Gospel are set out by a feast of fat things so saith God I 'le bring thee into several Churches as several Tabernacles and there shall they keep a feast and there shall their hearts rejoyce and be satisfied as with marrow and fatness My Brethren the Lord hath delivered us in great measure from Egypt all the difficultie now is about building of Tabernacles for the present there 's verie little matter to make Tabernacles of amongst us I remember Mr Ainsworth in Exod 25. 3. he tells of a Tradition of the Jews and cites Rabbi Menachem for it that observed there was no Iron stuff for the building of the Tabernacle truly our hearts are most Iron and hard one towards another and therefore notfit matter for Tabernacles in 1 King 6. 7. There was no Iron tool neither heard in the building of the Temple Oh! my brethren Iron tools will not do the work for the building of Gods Tabernacle we must have other manner of tools than these There 's no Tabernacles almost yet wherein the Saints either of one judgment or of another have much rejoycing The Glory of God hath not yet filled our Tabernacles that we have built what God intends towards this Generation whether ever to bring them into those Tabernacles that here he promises I know not but surely that God that hath brought us out of Egypt he will bring either us or the posteritie after us he will bring a Generation of his people to keep the feast of Tabernacles with rejoycing It follows VER 10. I have also spoken by the Prophets and I have multiplied visions c. THis is a further Declaration of Gods goodness to this people and upbraiding them for their wickedness they have had so much means as if God should say They have not wanted the revealing of my Will I have spoken by my Prophets and multiplied visions Heb. 1. 1. seems to have reference to this That God at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past to the Fathers by the Prophets several sorts of waies God reveal'd himself in former times I have spoken by my Prophets There is not much difficulty in the words The Notes briefly are these That it's God that speaks by his Prophets Though Prophets are mean and the messengers of God mean yet so long as they speak to you in his Name the Authoritie of what they say it is above any They may be under their Auditors many waies but the message they bring it is above them though they are weak yet there 's the power of God goes along with what they speak to make it good and therefore you shall find when Christ sent his Disciples to preach Go saith he and teach all Nations but first he saith All power is given to me in Heaven and Earth then the words that follow are Go ye therfore and teach all Nations as if he should say All the power that is given to me shall go along with your teaching it is the Lord that speaks the Lord Christ that speaks in his Word by his Messengers He that hears you hears me and he that despiseth you despiseth me The Word doth little good til men come to apprehend this That it's God that speaks by his Messengers 1 Thess 2. 13. the Apostle saith That they received the Word not as the word of Men but as it is in truth the Word of God That is observable of Samuel God called to Samuel and Samuel thought it had been Eli that spake and all that time God would not reveal his mind to him til at length Samuel gives this answer Lord speak for thy servant heareth Mark God would reveal his mind to Samuel then and not before So 't is here You come to the Word and you come to hear the gifts of such men and such a man hath excellent gifts and abilities and delivery and such kind of things God reveals nothing to you you go away and hear a sound and there 's all and no more is revealed to you than if you heard an Oration in a School but when God shall be pleased to dart this thought into your minds I am now going to hear that which is the Word of God Himself the Word of that God that is my Judg and that must be my Judg at the great day now see whether God will not make himself known to you that so you shal say Methinks I never heard Sermon before in all my life I have come and heard a Man preach but I never heard God preach before It was not as the Word of God but as the word of such a man God expects that men should tremble at his Word and therefore look upon it as his Word Secondly It is a great mercy to a People for God to grant his Prophets among them to reveal his mind to them What would all the world be but as a dungeon of darkness were it not for the Prophets and Ministers of God 〈…〉 ey are as the Light of the World and the Salt of the Earth the World would rot and be unsavorie were it not for the Ministry of the Word in the World and so we find that when God-would make a special Promise to his People he promises them that they shall have their Teachers in Isa 30. 20. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction yet shall not thy Teachers be removed into a corner any more but thine eyes shall see thy Teachers Oh! here 's a promise to a gracious heart But to another it 's nothing What Shall the Ministry of the Word countervail the loss of my estate God doth not say I 'le take away from you your afflictions Oh no but your eyes shall see your Teachers perhaps your eyes shall never see your Money and Estates again but your eyes shall see your Teachers And we know when Christ was ascended up on high in his Coronation Day Kings in their Coronation daies use to give great Gifts to shew their
will be unto them as a Lyon as a Leopard by the way will I observe them THere 's most dreadful expressions that here follows God is exceedingly provok'd with the exaltation of mens hearts and their forgetfulness of him in time of their prosperitie Is this the same God that spake so of Ephraim heretofore Is Ephraim my dear Son Ephraim my pleasant Child How shall I give thee up Ephraim my bowels are turned within me ever since I spake against him I do earnestly remember him and my bowels are troubled within me Is this the Lord that now will be a Lyon a Leopard a Bear a tearing Lyon a wild beast unto Ephraim What is this the God that heretofore carried them as Eagles do their yong upon their wings and nourished them as the Eagle nourisheth her yong ones Is this the God that was as a Hen to the Chickin that was as a gracious Father unto them to whom this people were as the dearly beloved of Gods Soul and now God a Lyon a Leopard a Bear a wild Beast to come and tear them Is this the merciful God is this that God that is love and mercie it self thus to appear Oh my Brethren how dreadful doth sin render God unto his creature But all this while there 's no change in Gods heart God is the same in himself as before the change is in the Creature The Sun that softens the Wax the same Sun hardens the Clay the same Infinite blessed Being that doth good to his Creature in one condition the same Blessed Infinite Glorious Being is dreadful to the Creature in another condition With the froward he will shew himself froward and with the upright upright Therefore above all doth God set himself out in a most terrible manner here against those men that were in prosperity whose hearts were exalted and forgot him My Brethren The Lord pities men yea sinful men in the time of their adversity but when they are at the height and forget him Oh the anger of God is against them now above any men I 'le give you one Scripture to shew how God hath regard to men in low conditions but to tho 〈…〉 that are fatted up in prosperity Gods anger is most against them Ezek 34. 16. 20. I will seek that which was lost I will bring again that which was driven away and will bind up that which was broken and will strengthen that which was sick but I will destroy the sat and the strong I will feed them with judgment saith he Those that are lost I 'le seek them those that are broken I 'le bind them up those that are sick I 'le heal but I 'le destroy the fat and the strong I will feed them with Judgment Oh here 's an excellent Scripture for the comforting of the hearts of those that are in an afflicted condition See how God regards such but God hath not such regard to fat ones and strong ones he will feed them with judgment and destroy them The care and protection of God is more over the lost ones and the broken ones and the sick ones than the fat ones and the strong ones they are to be fed with Judgment I 'le be to them as a Lyon and the reason of this is First Because their hearts are very much hardened in their sin their sin is grown to a height Secondly Because there are so many creatures that they have use of more than others that do cry against them Poor people have not so many creatures to cry against them as the rich have Further They can make friends to avoid the stroke of Justice from men but the poor people they are more punished therefore God takes them into his hands and deals with them more severely And when Judgment comes upon them it 's more observed and therefore God to them will be as a Lyon As a Lyon You have a paralel Scripture in Psal 50. 22. I held my tongue and ye thought I was like unto you but consider this ye that forget God lest I tear you in pieces and there be none to deliver their hearts were exalted they forgot God therefore will I be to them as a Lyon First A Lyon is the most terrible creature Amos 3. If the Lyon roar the Beasts tremble Oh my Brethren the threats of God should be to us as the roaring of a Lyon and our hearts should tremble at them Secondly None can take away the prey from a Lyon Mich. 5. 8. as a yong Lyon among the flocks of Sheep who if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces and none can deliver none can deliver out of Gods hand Thirdly A Lyon is strong and crushes the whol compages of a mans bones at one crush Alas man what is he In Job 4. 19. he is crushed before the Moth much more before a Lyon then Oh then much more before the Lord God when he comes to be as a Lyon Fourthly It is observed of the Lyon that she will narrowly mark any one that wounds her if there were hundreds of men together and one did but wound it or shoot at it or do any thing to it she will be sure to mark that man Oh! the Lord mark out those that sin against him and that wounds his Name they must not think to escape among others The Lords eye is upon them particularly And it is observed of the Lyon that she sleeps but little and with her eyes open so the Lord As he that keeps Israel neither slumbereth nor sleepeth so he that destroies his enemies doth not slumber nor sleep Further The Lyon will fall upon no creature except it be in hunger or be provok'd the Lord though his wrath be terrible as a Lyon yet he is not so ready to fall upon his creature it must be from some special end that he hath or some provocation that he hath but then he falls terribly indeed Again It is observed of the Lyon that if you do but fall down on the ground and submit and yeeld the Lyon doth use to pass by and will not tear and rend where there is an humble submission to him whereas other creatures will Oh thus God is a Lyon terrible but yet only to those that stand out against him And the Naturalists observe of the Lyon that it cannot endure to be look'd asquint upon by any thus it is with the Lord the Lord loves no squint-eyed Christians I mean none that have by ends of their own the Lord loves uprightness in our waies and dealings And lastly They say of the Lyon that it is a great enemy to Apes and Welves so is God to Flatterers and Tyrants Thus God is compared a Lyon Secondly To a Leopard And as a Leopard by the way will I observe them The Seventy reade the words otherwise By the way of the Assyrian say they And indeed the Hebrew word
Thirdly It 's a great aggravation of mens sins if they be called to duty after God hath called them out of misery and they do not obey it After thou comest out of an affliction whether bodily or spiritual God expects thou shouldest as diligently hearken to his call that calls thee to duty as thou doest take hold of his mercy when he held it to thee to deliver thee out of thine affliction charge thy soul thus Oh wrenched heart that I have I called to God and God hath heard my call and now God hath delivered me and calls me to a duty and shall I stop mine ears against Gods call Oh how just were it for God to leave me in misery when I turn my back to him when he cals me to a duty Fourthly For men not only to disobey Gods call but to turn away themselves from it and from those that speak to them in his Name this is very wicked a high degree of sinfulness before God In Jer. 2. 27. They have turned their back unto me but not their face and so in Jer. 32. 33. They turn their backs that 's more than not to obey Our backs that is to refuse to obey to resolve not to obey in Jer. 18. 17. God threatens them that in the day of their calamity he would shew them his back too as when a Traytor is petitioning to his Prince so long as the Prince is but willing to parly with him and reade his Petition there is hope but if the Prince turns his back and will not look upon his Petition there 's no hope then So there is hope of people that we may bring them to obedience so long as they will hearken to the Word but if once they turn their backs then there 's little hope so when God turns his back upon sinners there 's little hope then Remember you that turn your back upon calls to obedience Oh! remember that Scripture in Jer. 18. 17. that God threatens in the day of your calamity he will turn his back to you Now this wickedness men do not grow to on a sudden at first they are loth to be convinced that such a thing is a truth but at length when the evidence of truth comes cleer they in a desperate way turn their backs upon it and resolve not to hearken to it a famous instance you have of this in Jer. At first they said that Jeremiah did not speak the Word of the Lord but afterward As for the Word of the Lord that thou hast spoken we will not hear Fifhly It is yet a higher wickedness to have our corruptions irritated by the Word and provoked As they call'd so they went away When mens hearts grow as Lime that the showers of the Word shall inflame them this is a sad condition indeed when the more cleer evidence they have of the Word the more desperate wicked they grow We find it so in some places when the word comes with the greatest power this is all the effect it hath upon the hearts of men to make them the more desperate wicked You wonder sometimes that where the Word is preached with power men should grow more wicked wonder not at it for where the Word doth not convert sinners it doth harden them Sixtly From the extream perverseness and stubornness of the Jews we may learn this Lesson That Gods free Grace is very great and very strong the Lord was merciful to his people that were thus stuborn and stout but the more they were call'd to obedience the more wicked they grew and yet Gods mercy continued towards them for a long time together and indeed in that God should set his heart and love upon such a people as this it is one of the greatest helps against despair almost as any we know Do but look into the Book of God and reade of the people of the Jews what wretched froward perverse stuborn stout-hearted people they were and yet that God of all the people of the earth should chuse them to be his peculier people Oh! the free Grace of God! there 's nothing that God hath in his design more than to honor free Grace I confess I had thought to have spent some time in shewing to you the extream stubornness of the people of the Jews and all to this end to magnifie the free grace of God towards such an unworthy people you find that God doth so himself when he speaks of his Mercy to that people he doth give them this notice That he would have them to know that what he did for them was not for their own righteousness in Deut. 9. 6. Vnderstand therefore that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good I and to possess it for thy righteousness for thou art a stiff-necked people As if God should say I might magnifie free Grace whereas I might have chosen some other people that might have been more yeeldable to my hand I chose you that it might appear that all that I did was out of free Grace In Psal 78. 8. Be not stuborn as your forefathers were they are called stout-hearted stiff necked strong they seem to be of strong spirits but it is strong against the truth and though stubornness hath a kind of Glory in it yet the truth is there is nothing but weakness in it in Ezek. 16. 30. How weak is thy heart saith the Lord seeing thou doest all these things the work of an imperious whorish woman They are said to be strong-hearted stiff hearted but saith the holy Ghost how weak is thy heart and you shall find in Scripture that they are called stiff necked and Iron-â—inewed and that they walked contrary to God and that they are perverse and crooked and that they had hardened their hearts and made them like an Adamant and saith Stephen You have alwaies resisted the holy Ghost and impudent children and rebellious children It is very observable if you read those Scriptures presently after they came out of the Land of Egypt within three daies after God had shown them such a miraculous work they fell to murmuring nay they did not stay so long for it is said in Psal 106. They provoked the Lord at the Sea even at the red Sea And in Exod. 16. 2. 28. and in chap. 17. ver 2. the people did chide with Moses again so reade the story of Exodus Numbers Deuteronomy Judges and the Kings and you shall find them continually rebelling a people with an Iron sinew against God and yet for all that the Lord makes choice of this people and loves them Oh! free Grace the free Grace of God When your children are stuborn and stout against you consider of this you think it a grievous affliction to you Oh! but there is none in the world that are so crossed with stuborn children as God himself is And though you
should find your hearts to be very stuborn yet for all that do not have your hearts sink with despair for Gods Grace is free to overcome even stubornness as it did here You have a most remarkable place for that for the overcoming of stubornness in Exod. 34. 9. Let my Lord I pray thee go amongst us for it is a stiff-necked people This was no argument of despair that God should not go among them for it is a stiff-necked people But Moses makes such an argument with God Lord they are a stiff-necked people yet I pray thee let my Lord go amongst us and pardon our iniquity and our sin and take us for thine heritage Where by the way we may note how the Chaldae paraphrase renders this viz. Let the Majesty of the Lord go with us the Majesty or Divine Presence the Hebrews call it Shecinah 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they usually distinguish this from God the father and say there is no coming before the blessed high King without Shecinah So our Savior more plainly John 14. 16. But to return God holds forth by this example that he would have none sink with despair but be brought in by his free Grace notwithstanding their stuborn hearts that they have had against him Now as for the latter part of this second verse of their sacrificing to Baalim and burning incense to graven Images I shall not need to speak to that as having spoken of that heretofore VER 3. I taught Ephraim also to go taking them by their Arms But they knew not that I healed them HEre we have the third degree of Gods goodness towards Ephraim the fruit of his love he call'd them out of Egypt and he call'd upon them by his Prophets and he taught them to go God here compares himself to a Nurse or to a tender Mother or loving Father that carries along the child and guides the hand of it and the feet of it and as they are leading the children if there be any rugged foul way the Nurse or the Parent takes them up in their Arms such was my dealings towards Ephraim said God In Psal 77. 20. God there is said to lead them by the hand of Moses and Aaron like a flock of Sheep But here he is said to lead them like a Nurse or a Parent and this expression seems to have reference unto that we have in Deut. 1. 31. In the Wilderness the Lord thy God did bear thee as a man doth bear his son in all the way that ye went Look as a man leads his son by his hand and when he comes to hard way doth bear him up and take him in his arms so did the Lord thy God deal towards thee as a man to his son for so he call'd Ephraim in the former verse his Son he loved him when he was a child so he is compared to to a child and God to the parent that teaches him how to go God taught them how to go in their way out of Egypt all along in the Wilderness until they came to Canaan When they came first out of Egypt they knew not which way to go no more than a child and if God had left them when they were brought out of Egypt certainly they had perished in their way the way was very full of difficulty in which they were to go and God did seem to leade them about but the Scripture saith He led them in the right way in Psal 107. 7. though they were fourty years in the Wilderness whereas they might have gone through within a few daies yet still they were led in the right way God taught them to go From whence there are these Notes of Observation First When God calls his people out of afflictions yet they know no more how to go to guide themselves in their way than a little child doth We think if we be delivered from such and such an evil we are well but when God doth grant deliverance if he should leave us there we should quickly spoil our selves we should quickly turn the mercies that we have into misery if we be left but a while It is the pride of mens hearts that makes them venturous of them selves hence they get many a knock and bruise Oh! many stumble in their way and split themselves and perish because they will be going themselves and not depend upon Gods hand We find by experience now God hath brought us out of Egypt here in great measure we are called out of Egypt and we hope that God intends a Canaan to us yet what children are we we do not know how to step a step in our way Oh! how often have we been at a stand in our way since God hath been pleased to call us out of Egypt we have been at a maze not knowing which way to take this way or that way Oh! how often have we fallen in our way and gone astray If ever people had need to have God to teach them how to go then have we at this day our path is an untroden path and there are many stumbling blocks in our way we often stumble and fall in them Poor children have not more need to have the hand of the Parent or Nurse when they go upon the Ice in slippery waies then we have need of the hand of God upon us to leade us in our way and to guide us That 's the first Note Secondly The way that God leads people in many times may be a way of much difficulty he said he taught Ephraim to go and led him in the way If we enquire what that way is it was the way through the wilderness yea before they came into the wilderness before they came at the Sea in Exod. 14. 9. The Egyptians pursued after them all the Horses and Chariots of Pharaoh and his Horsemen and his Army and overtook them encamping by the Sea befides Pi-hahiroth before Baal-zephon Pharaoh and all his host pursued them they were in a very straight way The Sea was before them Pharaoh and all his Army was behind them and they were encamping by the Sea before Pi-hahiroth at the mouth of those Mountains that the Mountains did compass them round about and they were before Baal-zephon that is the god of watching the Egyptians God that they made accompt was the God that did watch those that went out of their Country without any leave they came before that God that was the God for their watching those that went out of their their Country and to keep them from going out and between the Mountains and the Sea before them and a great Army behind them and yet God taught them to go what a way doth God teach them to go in And then when they go further they must go through the Sea or no other way God taught them to go through the Sea and when they have gone through the Sea Is all the evil over No
is called by the Name Love it shews that Love is very amiable and very beautiful Secondly Love it hath much sweetness in it much power to insinuate its self into the heart As we know base love adultrous love it hath a great deal of power to insinuate into the heart in Eccles 7. 26. the hands of the whorish woman are called bonds If whorish love hath such power so to insinuate and to be bonds much more then hath True Love Cracious Love Thirdly Love it is generative Love hath a great generative power to beged Love Augustin saith There is no greater provocation to Love than to begin to love Love can draw iron hearts Love it is the Loadstone of Love it will draw Love and beget Love where ever it is Fourthly Where Love is got into the soul it cōmands all it commands all the Faculties and Understanding where Love is got Look what a man loves so accordingly his understanding will work It a man loves his sin his understanding will be working for his sin Oh what subtil Arguments will men have for their sin when they love it any way that a mans heart is engaged in Love he will be very subtil to argue for it So on the contrary when once the Lord hath taken the heart with Love this Love commands the understanding and then all reasonings are for God and the soul it hearkens after no reasonings that are against God or against his waies when once the heart is taken with Love If a mans heart be taken with love to a Woman he will hear nothing against her but if his love be taken off from her then every report that he hears against her he will aggravate to the uttermost he can and will soon beleeve it So it is when a mans heart is taken with the things of God and of Religion it will hear nothing against them but if a mans heart be off and do not love the waies of God then they are glad if they can hear any thing that makes against them Love commands all the Faculties of the Soul the Understanding and the Thoughts it commands the Will and Affections it commands the Body it commands the Estate it commands the Liberties it commands all that a man hath or is or can do Love hath the absolute commanding power of all Oh! Love hath strong Bonds And again Love it makes every thing that is done for the beloved to be delightful It doth not only command to do a thing but it makes it delightful I will rest in my love and rejoyce over them with singing saith God When the heart is once taken with love I say it doth not only do that which is good for that which it doth love but doth it with delight And then Love knows not any bounds it never sets its self any bounds at all but would do and do and do and do even infinitly for that it doth love so far as love prevails no bounds are set Yea and when it doth much it will not be wearie neither So far as the Soul is acted with Love it will never be wearie with what it doth Men that love their pastime all night they will sit up at it and never be tired so those that love the waies of God though the flesh may be weak yet not the spirit And then Love it is strong so as it stands out against all oppositions nothing that doth oppose can prevail against love in Cant. 8. 6 7. Love is as strong as death and many waters cannot quench the fire of love And then in the next place Love it rejoyces in suffering not only delights in doing but delights in suffering If one that loves another shall suffer for him that he doth love he will rejoyce in those sufferings And lastly Love it suffers not its self to be its self as it were to be at his own dispose Love doth wholly give its self into the possession of him that it doth love it is not his own no longer The heart that is once taken with love is no more its own but gives its self into the possession of that that it doth love so that put all these together and you may see that love it hath strong Bonds I drew them with the Bonds of Love And then a Second Note of Observation is this Let us do as God doth then that is Labor to cast the Bonds of Love upon those we have to deal with it 's Gods way to his people to bind them to himself to throw upon them Bonds of Love And then saith God I have enough I have them strong enough if I get them with the bonds of Love Oh let us do as God doth labor to draw people with bonds of Love If you would draw any to you let it be by Love do you desire to draw any to you you that are Ministers especially you are appointed to draw others to God it 's your work what should you do open the Love of God to them present the Grace of the Gospel to souls labor to work upon their hearts by all the mercies of God By the mercy of God tendered to them by the mercy of God received by them bestowed upon them There 's no such way to draw souls to God as this Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand that 's the preaching of the Gospel The first preaching of all Christs Sermons and of his Disciples was Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand As if he should say Oh! Sirs look about you Consider your waies there 's a glorious Kingdom now at hand a Kingdom of righteousness and mercy wherein the glory of the Grace of God comes to be revealed to the children of men in another way than ever formerly This is the way to bring men to repentance It 's true it 's good to use all means to shew the greatness and the justness and the holiness of God and the like But the prevailing argument above all to bring men to repentance it is That the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and indeed we would do so if we did consider that repentance it is a Gospel Grace it is not that that comes by the Law the Law takes no notice of repentance but the Gospel and therefore to present the Love of God as it is in the Gospel so there God manifests his love to the children of men and that 's the way to draw to repentance there 's a notable story that we have in the book of Martyrs not far from the beginning as also in the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius speaking of John the Apostle that did commit a yong man which was very hopeful unto a Bishop to take care of him but afterwards proved to be very wicked and got among a company of theeves and so came to be the Captain of a company of theeves and robbers
their blood but to love them so as to be willing to let out his blood for their good if it might be The maxim that some have labored to infuse into Princes I had rather be feared than be loved it is a maxim only beseeming Tyranny and no way sutable to an ingenuous spirit but to a base and sordid spirit Certainly that man be he what he will that is acted by that principle is a man of a sordid and low spirit a man of a generous spirit and of an ingenuous spirit would rather be beloved than be feared Let every man seek to gain another by love If you strive otherwise to gain any but by love First You are not likely to prevail Secondly If you do prevail there will be so much trouble before you do prevail that it will not be worth the having when you do prevail Thirdly When you have your will upon them they do the thing that you would have them they dare not do otherwise I but they hate you though What good is this for a man to have his will upon another if in the mean time he hates him Then Fourthly If you do not prevail by love They will do no more than just needs must and this is the reason indeed why Hypocrites do so little for God God hath never gained their hearts by Love but only by fear and therefore they will do no more for God than they must of necessity whereas as I said before love never propounds bounds And then Fiftly If you do not get them by Love they watch for all opportunities to fling off Now what a poor gain is this to gain one with a deal of trouble and for him to do what I would have him and yet to hate me and to do no more than needs must and then to wath for all opportunities to appear against me Where fore my Brethren for the close of this Note let us follow after Love and provoke one another to Love you will find sweetness in your own Love and sweetness that you get by Love in the very exercise of Love you will find sweetness and then the Love that you get by others you will find that sweet and you will find it so much the sweeter because you get it by Love And then further another Note is this Seeing Love hath such bonds in it Let us make use of the Love of God to bind our hearts to him You have heard that Love hath bonds And then you have heard that we should do as God doth And then Thirdly Is this Gods way Oh! let us make use of all the Love that ever God hath shewen unto us for to gain our hearts unto himself And this would be a large Theam to speak of if we should lanch into it if I should come to open unto you what the Love of God hath been to you how much Love God hath shewn to the Nation and to our selves for the gaining of our hearts Oh the many twists of this Cord 't is a strong Cord indeed to bind us to God In Deut. 11. 13. If thou shalt diligently love the Lord thy God there 's that that he requires of them after what he hath done for them If thou wilt but diligently love the Lord thy God That 's that that God seeks by al his love to work our hearts to Love Not to speak now of the Love of God to you as you are Creatures nor as you are Men But a little to speak of the Love of God to you as you are Saints I shall shew you very briefly what strong Cords of Love God hath cast upon you to gain your hearts to himself to love him As first Gods Love to you if you be Saints it is eternal Love before ever you were born the bowels of God yerned towards you as I may so speak with holy reverence God was twisting these bonds of love from all eternity that he might gain your hearts God was thinking that in such a time there shall be such and such men and women that shall live upon the earth I 'le make preparation by such bonds now as shall unite and fasten them close to my self when ever it comes to be revealed to them It was love from eternity Oh! the Transactions that were between the Father and the Son from all eternity for to manifest love to your souls the great Counsels I say that were transacted between the Father and the Son before the world was were about these Bonds of Love to you Secondly It 's choise Love when he left many thousands he set his heart upon you Mal. 1. 2. Was not Esau Jacob's brother saith God Yet I loved Jacob. So wert not thou of such a Familie and yet thou seest how God hath cast off a great part of that Familie and yet hath he loved thee Wert not thou such a ones brother such a ones sister that remained wicked and ungodly and it may be died so and yet God hath loved thee he hath past by so many great ones in the world and so many of thy kindred and rather pitcht his Love upon thee It 's choise Love and therefore this might gain thee to himself Thirdly It is free Love the Love of God is free so you have it in Hos 14. 4. I will love them freely and in Deut. 7. 7. The Lord did not set his love upon you nor chuse you because you were more in number than any people for you were the fewest of all people God there would manifest his love to his people to gain their hearts to him saith he The Lord did not set his love upon you because you were more Why then did God set his love upon us in the 8. verse but because he loved thee It 's a strange arguing The Lord did not set his love upon you because you were more but the Lord did set his love upon you because he loved you he could go no higher There can be no other reason why the Lord should love you but because he did love you We use to say it 's a womans reason to say I will do such a thing because I wil do it Now if any of you would have a reason why God loved you why thus He loved me because he loved me The Lord did not set his love upon you for this reason but he did set his love upon you because he loved you So it is a free love Oh! let the freeness of it be another Ingredient so as to bind your hearts unto him Fourthly God hath so loved you as he gave his Son for you So God loved us Sometimes it hath been in the thoughts of men whether there might not he more worlds than this world Certainly God in his infinit power he might make a thousand worlds more glorious than this such worlds as the meanest Creature in those worlds might be as high in excellencie above the
Sun as the Sun is high above a piece of earth But now this we may know let there be never such excellent Creatures made they cannot have a greater fruit of love than mankind hath from God Oh! this is the love of God to mankind this cals aloud to the children of men to love God here 's a fruit of love beyond that which is to Angels for the Lord took not upon him the Nature of Angels but the Nature of man Fifthly God so loved his people as he hath given himself too as well as his Son Not only given the Second Person in Trinity but Himself He doth not think enough to give Heaven and Earth to thee to be thy Portion but he will make Himself to be thy portion he will be thy God You would think it a great matter if God should say Well all this world I will give to be thy portion yea that I might give a testimony that I love thee I will make another world for thy sake and make thee the Emperor of it all but in that God hath given thee his Son and given thee Himself this is a greater degree of Love and the soul of man were it enlarged indeed so as it might be yea so as grace doth enlarge the hearts of the Saints such a soul would say Lord what will thou give me if thou givest me not thy Son if thou givest me not thy Self though I be less than the least of thy mercies yet except I have thy self to be my protion this is not sufficient for me Well saith God That thou maiest know that my heart is set upon thee for good I 'le give thee my Son I 'le give thee my self and my Spirit Oh! what love is this to the children of men that ever we should live to have our ears filled with this sound from Heaven that God should do such things as these are for the children of men Sixthly God doth so love his people as in comparison of his Saints he cares not what becomes of all the world in Isa 43. 4. I loved thee therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy life If thy case be so that it shall not be well with thee without great evils that shall come upon the children of men the generality of men and many people and Nations I do not so much care for them saith God my heart is upon you so as in comparison of you I care not what becomes of all the world Oh the Love of God unto his Saints Yea further God hath loved thee so as he hath pardoned all thy sins here 's another twist of Gods Love in Rev. 1. 5. Vnto him that hath loved us and washed us from our sins by his own blood For his giving himself for us that is in Gal. 2. 20. He hath loved us and washed us from our sins by his own blood here 's a fruit of Love You do not hear it said that Christ hath loved us and hath purchased great Kingdoms for us hath made you Lords and Earls and Countesses and so hath loved you no But he hath loved us and washed us from our sins by his blood Now it 's a good argument that the Love of God is upon you if you account this to be a great fruit of Love to wash you from your sins by the blood of Jesus Christ Surely if he will do so much for you as shall cost him so dear as his own blood he loves you the Love Jesus Christ broke through these difficulties for when there were such transactions between the Father and Son about redeeming the Soul saith God If thou wilt take upon thee to deliver them from their sin thou must come thy self and be made a Curse for their sins What will you undertake such a thing as that to deliver them from their sin it will cost you thus much Saith Jesus Christ Lord thy will be done in it yet let me deliver them from their sin though I lose my life though it cost me my blood though I be made a Curse whatsoever it cost me yet let their sins be washed from them He hath washed us from our sins though it cost him his blood Oh! the Love of Christ to his Saints what Bonds of Love have we here I have seen some that they may twist and bind their cords the more fast they will wet them that so they may close and bind the more Oh the Cords of the Love of Jesus Christ are wet with his own blood Again Loved thee surely his Love hath been great he hath put loveliness upon thee he hath put upon thee his own Nature If one can say any thing greater than hath been said this one would think should be very high and great tor God so love us as to put his own Nature into us to make us partaker of the Divine Nature so to love us as to put his own Life into us to enable us to live the very same life that himself doth live so to love us as to put his own Image upon us Oh! this is the Love of God to his Saints Again He loves thee with the very same Love wherewith he loves Jesus Christ himself In John 17. about the latter end That thou maiest love them with the same Love wherewith thou hast loved me saith Christ to the Father Oh! to have the same Love that the Father loves Christ withal Is not this a strong Bond to bind thy heart to God If God had loved thee only so as to give thee an estate and honors here in this world this is no other love but that the Reprobate may have and will this Love satisfie thee Oh! the difference between the Love of God to his Saints and the Love of God to other men he loves the great ones of the world that are wicked with no other love but with the love that he loves a Reprobate but he loves the Saints with the same Love wherewith he loves his Son and this Love will bring thee one day to be one with the Father and the Son and is not here a strong Bond of Love to gain thy heaâ—t to Himself And further from this it must needs be that the Lord must delight in Communion with his Saints and indeed God doth all this for his Saints puts the Divine Nature into them and the Life of God and sets so much Love upon them why that he might have a people to enjoy everlasting Communion with him saith God I would fain have some Creatures that might live with me to enjoy communion with me that might live to see my face and see all the Glory that I intend to manifest to all eternity Oh blessed God! hast not thou the Angels that are with thee to enjoy thy Glory to have communion with thee no saith God but I would have these poor creatures that are so low and mean in the
world I would have them to be raised up to enjoy communion with my self this is the end of Gods bestowing any Grace upon his Saints it is that he might raise them to enjoy communion with him and to delight in him and he to delight in them that he might have creatures to communicate the treasures of his goodness too and that thou mightest communicate what thou art able to him Surely Christ doth not account himself to be full without his Saints and therefore you find in Ephes 1. 23. that the Church is called the Fulness of Jesus Christ and therefore he praies Father let them be where I am I shall not account my self so full except they be with me and see my Glory Oh the Love of Jesus Christ to his Saints And then further This Love it sweetens and sanctifies all for good thou maiest see Love in every thing now though thou hast less of the creature than others have yet thou hast it out of Love when thou comest home it may be thou hast not so much as others have perhaps but a piece of bread and smal drink yea but I have it out of Love look upon all thy mercies and thou mayest see the eternal Love of God to thee in them They are all sanctified to me for the furtherance of eternal good the Lord from all eternity did see that such a kind of life was the best for me to further the eternal good he intended for me and therefore he hath disposed of me to this condition rather than another condition Oh! how sweet may the life of a man or woman be when as they can reason after this manner Well this condition that now I am in the Lord from eternity saw the fittest condition to work my heart to himself and therefore it is that I am in this estate rather than another And then Love thou findest daily by experience how hath the Lord helped thee in thy straights and heard thee in thy prayers and answered thy desires This I told you in the opening of the text was a fruit of Love to the people of Israel and so it hath been with thee And this love is very strange too for though the Lord did forsee all thy weakness and all thy unbeseeming carriages thy unworthines c. yea the Lord did not only foresee what thou wouldest be before he did manifest love but he did forsee how thou wouldst walk unworthy of his love after it was manifested to thee and though he forsaw all this yet still his love was not quenched towards thee but saith the Lord My love shal break thorow all this Many times you set your love upon some and they prove untoward and unworthy and you think with your selves Could I have but foreseen this untowardness they should never have had my love but now the Lord did foresee al thy il requitals and yet it did not hinder the love of God towards thee And then further In the love of God there is the love of all relations As now The love of a father towards a child the Lord takes upon him the relation of a father and the love of a husband the Lord takes upon him the relation of a husband and the love of a friend too that 's sweet And then that that crowns all it is this That it is an abiding love an everlasting love a love that shall never be quenched He that the Lord loves he loves unto the end he will rest in his love Zeph. 3. 17. Jer. 31. 3. 2 Thess 2. 16. If thou knowest that he hath loved thee in his Son thou hast hereby an everlasting consolation let Heaven and Earth meet together let there be what changes and alterations there will yet there is everlasting consolation for thee if thou knewest but this love of God Now my brethren all this I have done to that end that your hearts may be gained unto God And what wilt thou do now Wilt not thou now love the Lord thy God shal not al this love of God to thee in Christ constrain thee The love of Christ constrains me saith the Apostle Oh! love the Lord all ye Saints if the Lord hath thus loved you love ye the Lord all you his Saints Then God is Love himself he is the Element of Love And whither should love go but up to the Element Air it desires to be in its proper place and Earth will descend to its proper place the proper place of Love is God God is as it were the Element of Love for so the Scripture saith God is Love And he that dwels in God dwels in love Oh labor to be rooted and stablished in love in Ephes 3. 17. Being rooted and stablished in love you may be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the length and breadth and depth and heighth and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledg Being rooted in love thereby ye come to comprehend with all Saints the breadth and length and depth and heigth and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge It is not the strength of natural parts Learning doth not so much teach us what the length and heighth and depth of the love of Christ is as Love get but your hearts rooted in Love and you wil come to understand the glorious things of the Gospel in another manner than ever you did And mark what follows That you might be filled with all the fulness of God Had we not such an expression in Scripture we should not dare to make use of it What for a poor creature to be filled with God to be filled with the fulness of God to be filled with all the sulness of God! This is the reason why Christians are so scant in their obedience and empty in their spirits because they are not acquainted with this breadth and length and depth and heighth of the love of Christ Oh know that God prizes thy love and he is satisfied with nothing but thy love in Cant. 7. 12. There will I give thee my loves saith the Spouse When thou comest to the Ordinances to hear the Word receive Sacraments or Prayer yet if thou comest not to give the Lord Christ thy loves it is nothing There will I give thee my loves Oh! Christ prizes love at an high rate and that love that will serve for other things certainly will not serve Christ He loves thee too little saith Augustan that loves any thing besides thee who loves not that thing for thee You may love Wife and Children and Friends yea but you must love them all for God when you see any thing lovely in Husband or Wife or children or Friends yea but think this is but a beam of the loveliness of God And thus I have endeavored now to raise your hearts to God by Love the Lord hath cast Bonds of Love upon your souls On that by the Ministry of his
Word this day these Bonds may be somewhat strengthened that you may feel some strength in these Bonds that you may go away with your hearts more strongly united to the Love of God than ever I drew them with the Cords of a man With Bonds of Love and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their Jaws and I laid meat unto them Part of the last Sermon it was spent in opening unto you these Bonds of Love And shewing First What were the Bonds of Gods Love towards the people of Israel the several expressions of Gods Love to them in several particulars And shewed you how that all those that had to deal with men to draw them to God should do as God doth labor to draw them with Bonds of Love I have especially directed my self unto the Saints of God and shewed to them what bonds of of Love God hath laid upon their hearts to draw them to himself I have not applied this point generally yet for indeed one principal Bond of the Love of God towards the Nation will follow in the words after But certainly the Lord hath sought to draw this Nation to himself with Bonds of Love We may say concerning God he hath loved this Nation Loved it It was the first Nation that ever received Jesus Christ by the countenance of publick Authority of the Supream Authority in the Nation And when Antichrist had darkned the light of the Gospel here the bowels of Gods Compassions yerned towards it and God wrought wonderfully to deliver this Nation from Antichristian Tyrannie Moreover The Lord hath not sent the light and power of the Gospel to any Nation under Heaven more fully nay without prejudice to any other we may say not so fully as to this Nation though there are many of the Saints of God else where yet in no place under Heaven hath God more yea so many Saints I might almost say put all the Nations of the earth together so many that know him so fully and have that power of godliness in the worshiping of him as here in this Nation Oh! the Bonds of Love that are upon us Yea If we look upon our outward mercies those liberties that we enjoy there 's scarce any Nation that hath the Commonalty of the people that live like men in comparison of ours for the most part of all the Nations in the world the generality of people are like slaves rather than any Free-men their Governors rule over them with Tyranny but here the Common people have Liberties and God works mightily for them for the vindicating of the Liberties that they have both for their bodies and outward estates and their souls likewise and Oh! the Love that God hath shewn unto us of late in working so miraculously for us as he hath done But there is one point more observable in these Bonds of Love that God draws people unto himself by The scope of the Prophet here in mentioning these Bonds of Love it is to aggravate their sin from whence there is this That there 's nothing more aggravates sin than that it is against Love God hath Three Bonds to bind us to Obedience There 's the Bond of his Law And the Bonds of Afflictions And the Bonds of Love But now to break all these Bonds The Bonds of the Commandements and the Bonds of Afflictions and Bonds of Love too this aggravates sin very much Oh charge thy sin with this aggravation Oh thou sinner What against such a God such Love Oh what a vile heart have I Saith Augustin Oh 't is too hard a spirit that though it will not bestow Love yet it will not requite Love O! let not there be such a hardness in the Spirits of the Saints Thou didest not begin with God to love thou didest not begin to bestow Love be not so hard towards God as not to requite Love Do not we see how base Love can gain upon mens hearts adulterous love what strong bonds that love is the giving of gifts and bribes what bonds they are to tie mens harts their hands and tongues and shall not the Love of God and the fruits of that be a stronger Bond to tie thy heart unto him Nothing goes more to the heart of Man of God than the abuse of Love A man can better bear the abuse of his mony the abuse of any thing he doth or hath than the abuse of his Love Gods Spirit is grieved with his Saints we do not reade that the Spirit of God is grieved with the Wicked God may be angry with the wicked every day but not grieved but when the Saints sin against him the Spirit of God is grieved because their sins are against Love when thou sinnest against God the Lord looks upon thee as Caesar once upon Brutus What thou my Son What thou whom I have so loved What break all those bonds When we reade in the second Psal of the Kings and Princes of the Earth that said Let us break their Bonds asunder and cast away their Cords from us We think that 's great Rebellion but for thou that professest thy self to be Gods it 's a greater evil to break these bonds of Love Oh! thou my Son my Child thou whom I have bestowed so much Love upon yet thou to sin against me when thou art committing of any evil conceive with thy self as if God were looking upon thee and pleading with thee by all those fruits of his love that ever thou hast received from him and wilt thou yet sin against him for all this We reade in Mark 14. 72. when Peter had sinned Christ did but look upon him and he wept bitterly Oh! Peter saw love in the looks of Jesus Christ and therefore we know after when Christ came to him he pleaded with him with this argument of love Doest thou love me and doest thou love me Oh! when he saw the eyes of Christ so sparkling of love and then considered that he had sinned against that Christ that had so loved him broke all those bonds of love then he went out and wept bitterly the word is in Mark 14. 72. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He did break out in weeping For so it may signifie that force that there is in doing any thing to lay a force upon ones self to do a thing He did break out break out in weeping he was not able to bear it his heart burst even in sunder when he considered how he had burst asunder the bonds of Love Oh that after such manifestations of Mercy and goodness such warmings of heart in Communion with Jesus Christ what thou Oh my soul what canst thou find in any waies like Gods waies canst thou find the like love and the like sweetness in any as thou hast done in God yet for all this unkind unloving dealings God follows thee with Love his heart is yet open unto thee
now I 'le work thus miraculously to deliver you from that servility that you were under and now you shall keep this Service Oh my service is a great deal better than the service under your Enemies And indeed this should be the use we were slaves to our Adversaries let us be willing now seeing we are free men to be servants of Jesus Christ and to take his yoke but the growing wanton upon the taking off our yoke is a great aggravation of Sin But further As it is a very great evil to grow wanton when we are delivered from our yokes so certainly to oppress one another after we are delivered from oppression must needs be a great evil likewise In Deut. 28. 48. but that belongs to the former Note that we should serve God with the strength that before was spent in serving our Enemies Because thou servedst not the Lord with joyfulness and gladness of heart therefore shalt thou serve thine Enemies which the Lord shall send against thee in hunger and in thirst and in nakedness and in want of all things and he shall put a yoke of Iron upon thy neck until he have destroyed thee But surely If this be a mercy that we should bless God for That we are delivered from the yokes of men and the abuse of it in our wantonness be great Then this must needs be greater That we should fall upon laying yokes one upon another If it be the mercy of God to take off your yokes we should seek to take off yokes from our Brethren and to make their waies to be as easie to them as possibly we can not to seek waies to pinch their consciences Conscience oppression of all oppâ—ssions is the worst There was heretofore a generation of men who studied what would pinch conscience most and that that they found would most pinch conscience that they would urge to the uttermost upon men this was devilish I hope we have not many so vile as these were But you should consider what though such and such opinions and waies will serve my turn will they not be burdens to others Well but though they be burdens if they be truths why should they not be urged Nay Suppose they be truths yet except they be necessary let not men be instrumental in imposing them upon them If there be a necessity then there 's no plea but some men are so happy if I may so call it as that they have a latitude in their judgements that which way soever the times turn they can find out a distinction to help themselves that so their fair necks should never come under a yoke so it fals out that alwaies their judgments sutes with the times I will not condemn these men for possibly it may be God gives them to see further than others do but yet by this they have ease but now were these men ingenuous they should consider their brethren thus I have a Latitude and I could go along with the countenance of the times as they were before the former times and now the times are changed I can go in these times too But some others whom I have reason to judge as faithful as gracious as my self they have no such latitude it falls out unhappily for them for in former times their judgments could not suffer them to do what was enjoyned them they were fain to suffer and to be deprived of estates and livings and whatsoever they had well now the times are changed it falls out so that their judgments cannot sute now neither with these times and yet surely it is not through frowardness nor through perversness for take these men in all things else I find them as consciencious as spiritual as my self Alas must they now suffer and shal I ad to their afflictions shall my hand be used to lay the yoke on them to press it hard God forbid I 'le rather study though I will not bauk any truth I 'le stand to defend what ever I am perswaded in my conscience is a truth yet I 'le study what possibly I can to ease them and to make their lives as comfortable to them as I can I know God hath given them ability and hearts to do him service and it may be as much as I Oh! why should they be hindered and discouraged in their work I 'le study what latitude there may be for them This were somewhat like Oh! this were ingenuity indeed this would savor of a good spirit indeed This would be a good testimony of your thankfulness unto God for breaking off the yokes that were upon you My brethren when our yokes are taken away or lifted up we must have regard to others as well as our selves and not think or say let them bear let their necks bear Oh no what are our necks more than theirs If God pities his people and will lift up the yoke let us do what we can to put under our hand although we bear somewhat our selves Some men they glory in imposing upon others but it is the Glory of God to take off the yoke from the Jaws of others and from their necks that 's his Glory 't is not such a glorious thing to lay yokes upon others but the glory is in lifting up the yoke from them Christ professes his yoke is easie his burden light Oh! let not ours be hard and heavy then If Christs be easie and especially in these daies of our Fasting and Prayer Oh! let us be verie careful to lift up the yoke from our brethren as much as possibly we can without sin Isa 58. 6. Is not this the Fast saith God that I have chosen To loose the bonds of wickedness to undo the heavy burdens and to let the oppressed go free and that ye break every yoke Is not this the fast that I have chosen that ye break everie yoke c. and in the 9. verse Then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answer Thou shalt cry and he shall say Here I am If thou take from the midst of thee the yoke Still mark how God urges this when you come to fast Is this the Fast that I require to do thus and thus no saith he but to undo the burden and to let the oppressed go free to break every yoke and again if you shall do so Then shalt thou call and the Lord shall answer thou shalt cry and be shall say Here I am God stands much upon this in the daies of our fasting that we lay no burdens and yokes upon our brethren but that we do possibly what we can to take off yokes that we may be able to appeal to God Lord thou knowest that I do what possibly I can and I pray that thou wouldest direct me to do any thing to make the lives of those that I beleeve to be faithful and consciencious to be comfortable to them This is not to let liberty to all licentiousness and
5. He shall not return into the Land of Egypt but the Assyrian shall be his King because they refused to return He shall not return TO give you first a short paraphrase of the words for there 's no difficulty in them and then the Notes of Observation It is As if the Prophet should say Howsoever he thinks to help himself with ease to shelter himself there yet he shall not but he shall go into Captivity into Assyria for all means that have been used would not bring him to return So then the Observations First That which hardens mens hearts against threats in their sin is some shifts that they have in their thoughts let the worst come that can be yet I have such a relief My Brethren it 's a great mercy of God to take mens spirits off from all their vain shifts and hopes so as to be throughly convinced that there 's no help in any thing in the creature in Heaven and Earth but only in my turning to God and casting my soul down before Mercy if that saves me not I am undone for ever when the heart comes to this I say God is in a gracious and merciful way working I see my sin my affliction that is upon me and feel it though my heart would be shifting this way and that way yet God hath convinc'd me nothing can do me good but I am lost and undone what ever course I take except I return to God and humble my soul before him and seek his face and obtain meroie from him Secondly He shall not return to Egypt It was a verie strange perverseness to think of this shift to go back to Egypt why was not Egypt the place of his bondage and the Egyptians still retained their cruelty and yet they thought of this help that they would turn to Egypt rather than to God From whence the Observation is A stout heart cares not whither it goes rather than it will return to God As the Prodigal will rather go to the Swine to feed upon husks than to his father like some stout children they care not what miseries they suffer rather than they will come and humble themselves to their parents They will hang themselves and drown themselves and seek their fortune as they use to say rather than be perswaded to come in and submit themselves No never as long as they live though they die yet they will not and thus their hearts are stout and while they think they are stout against their parents they are stout against God too yet God hath waies to bring mens stout hearts to yeeld Thirdly A stubborn heart though God be in any way of mercy God calling them to waies of mercy yet if any thing crosses them they will foolishly and desperately wish their return to their former condition of misery If you make any thing that God doth an argument to a stubborn heart for duty if it pleases him not he will reject all that 's done for him and say he had rather be as he was before let me go into Egypt again stubborn hearts if they meet with any cross in their way this is their unthankfulness that because they are vext and crost in some one thing they will I say foolishly and desperately wish that they were in the the condition that heretofore they have been in Oh! thus it is with many of us how foolishly how wickedly have we thought and said it was better with us heretofore then now let us return to our former condition This is thy folly and thy desperat wickedness But saith the text He shall not return though he thinks of returning as if the holy Ghost should say do not please your selves to think it is but to return to Egypt you cannot be worse than now you are for God hath worser things for you And my brethren this is our case this day let not us think of returning to our former condition certainly if we should take such a course to return to our former condition we should be far worse than we were before our danger would be far greater this is certain to the view of any men that have their eyes open that our condition in England must either be far better than it was or far worse than it was There 's many say Oh! we were thus and thus in former times and if we were but as we were we should do well enough Oh! let 's not think of that we must certainly either be far better or far worse than we were for if we think of returning it will not be to Egypt but to Assyria which will be worse The Fourth Note is this God knows how to cross wicked men of their wills to spoil them of their plots they please themselves with this and the other thing they will do thus and thus if they be put to this shift then they have a second and a third yea but there 's a God in Heaven that hath determined otherwise Never were wicked men more cross in their plots than they are at this day They have said that they would do thus and thus but God hath said they should not and they have not done it Now God in his Mercy crosses his people of their wills that are set upon sin but when the wicked are crost upon their sin it is because God hath other waies to bring about greater evils to them To bring them to Assyria Well then whatsoever any mans thoughts and desires are the Lord deliver us from turning into Egypt again And likewise the Lord grant the Assyrian may not be our King It follows The Assyrian shall be his King The Lord deliver us from both That an Assyrian may not be our King Why an Assyrian why was he threatned to be their King You shall find that he was one of a cruel stout heart an hard heart and a proud heart the Assyrians were so They were a generation of men of cruel proud stout hard-hearted men Isa 10. 5. Oh Assyrian the rod of mine anger saith God and in the 7. verse It is in his heart to destroy saith God of the King of Assyria and in the 12. verse When the Lord hath performed his whol work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the King of Assyria and the glory of his high looks Oh! 't is a sore evil to be put under the rage of a proud and a stout hearted man who will set his heart against God himself who though God fights against him yet will stand it out though his design is crost yet he will not come in he will not give glory to God though his will cost him the blood of many thousands yet he goes desperatly on he regards more his own will and lusts than the blood or lives of millions For people to have such a stout heart armed with power raised with pride enraged with
cruelty to reign over them how sad and dreadful condition are those in This is that the Lord threatens here and why Because they refused to return I beseech you observe this saith he They shall not return to Egypt but the King of Assyria shall reign over them because they refused to return From whence the Observation is this If we will not do Gods will God will cross us of our own They would have their will they would return but they shall not saith God for they will not return to me therefore they shall not return whither they will themselves God can cross us in our own wills at every turn Foolish men who will presume to cross God in his will when God hath them at such infinite advantages to cross them every way in every thing If you cross God in that he delights in you may expect God will cross you in that you most delight in Oh! when you are crost in your minds in any thing that you have set your thoughts and heart most upon reflect upon your own hearts and think thus Have not I crost God in his mind in that which God hath set his heart and mind upon It 's a good way my Brethren to take a holy revenge upon our selves if we cannot get our hearts to work for God as they ought not to suffer them to work for our selves as they would Again For they would not return saith God God is not so much displeased at our sins as at our not returning He doth not say that the Assyrian should rule over them because they had sinned but because they refused to return It is too much that thou hast sinned but as soon as ever thou hast sinned it concerns thee to think of returning God expects presently as soon as ever the sin is taken notice of that thou shouldest begin to return it is dangerous to continue in sin in the least this aggravates thy sin dreadfully and endangers thy sealing up to wrath everlasting And then Thirdly He refuses to return after all means used after all mercies tendered after all callings after thee yet to stand out this is yet worse Not to return is evil but to refuse to return notwithstanding means used mercies tendered Oh this is fearful indeed Oh! lay this to heart thou convicted sinner what offers of mercie hath God made to thee what calling unto mercie hast thou heard outward calls inward calls of the the Spirit of God Oh! how hath God called after thee Return return thou Shulamite Return return return thou wretched wilful sinner Oh come in and return what means of all sorts hast thou had to cause thy heart to return to God and yet standest out think of that Scripture in Job 9. 4. Who hath hardened himself against him and hath prospered What doest thou think to harden thy self against God and yet think to prosper Who hath hardened himself against him and hath prospered and mark what follows Which removeth the Mountains and they know not which overturneth them in his anger which shaketh the Earth out of her place and the Pillars thereof tremble And yet cannot thy heart be overturned nor tremble In this that thou refusest to return thy sin is aggravated above the sin of the Devils themselves for we do not know that ever the Devils refused to return for they were never offered mercie God did never offer the Devils mercie God never sent to preach to them either by his Ministers or Spirit and to call them to return and you shall have mercie here 's a price paid here 's a salvation for you your sins may be pardoned the Devil had never such an offer Who knows what the Devil might do if such an offer were made to him But now these offers are made to thee and thou refusest to return Oh! return therefore O thou sinful soul who art wandering from God in the waies of death and destruction give in thine answer as we reade in Jer. 3. 22. where the Lord there calls his back-sliding children Return ye back-sliding children and I will heal your back slidings Mark the answer that they give to God Behold we come unto thee for thou art the Lord our God Oh! that there might be such an answer given this day from some back-sliding soul that is turned from God! Oh poor soul whither art thou gone God calls this day to thy soul Return return and professes that he is willing to heal thy backslidings Oh! give in this answer Oh Lord behold we come for thou art the Lord our God Oh! that some soul might return and might refuse no longer to return Why wilt not thou return God is content to return to thee thou art turned from God and God in the waies of his Administrations is turned away from thee but mark the Promise in Jer. 8. 4 5. Thus saith the Lord Shall they fall and not arise shall he turn away and not return by then is this people of Jerusalem sliden back by a perpetual back-sliding they hold fast deceit they refuse to return Shall he turn away Some interpret this of God The Lord is not so turned back but he is ready to return Oh! why shouldâ—â— thou backslide with a perpetual back-sliding And then the last Note is They refuse to return The word that is translated they refused may signifie they scorned What talk to him of returning tell him of his sin against God the greatness of his sin and the greatness of the danger and the threatnings of God against his sin he despises all these things these are poor things to scare children withal Tell him of the mercies of God in pardoning his sin he slights all this humiliation now for sin this breaking off of sinful courses they deride the motions of them they scorn to return Scornful spirits when they are called upon in the bowels of mercy to return from their evil waies they do not only deny returning but they scorn and slight what is said to them Wel know there are some who admire at Gods mercies calling of them to return who admire at mercy tendred to them and prize it more than all things in the world they turn unto the Lord with all their souls nothing in all the world can stop them they bless God that ever their ears heard the call of God calling them to return and they would not for ten thousand thousand worlds but they had heard Gods call and felt the Spirit of God working their hearts to him to return howsoever thou dost scorn and contemn it Thus much for the 5th Verse It follows VER 6. And the Sword shall abide on his Cities c. THey relied upon their Cities and therefore refused to return but saith the Lord here The Sword shall abide on his Cities The old Latin hath it The Sword hath begun and Hierom in his Translation takes it so If we should take it
of this world so he way of the promoting of the Kingdom of Christ it is not by endeavoring the correspondencie of it with this world God hath laid the great work of mans salvation the greatest work that concerns the glorie of his Name in that which is foolishness to men and almost all the great works of God especially those that have a more immediate subservencie unto the Kingdom of his Son he brings those works about not by mans counsel but by waies and means that seems folly to the counsels of wise men of men carnally wise But we come now unto the Seventh Verse VER 7. My people are bent to back-sliding c. IT may be sometimes they begin to reform but they are quickly off again for there is a principle of Apostasie in them They are bent to back-sliding If they do any thing in the way of Reformation it is upon some external motive but their hearts are another way They are like a bough of a Tree that is bent contrary to the Nature of it by an external force it may be for the present yeelds such a way but there 's an inclination a propension in the Bough to go another way the way that its own nature carries it unto Thus it was often with Israel upon some extraordinary work of God they would do such and such things but they were as a deceitfâ—l bow that soon starts back My brethren let us search our hearts there was a great forwardness of Reformation in the beginning of the Parliament then how did men stir the Spirits of men did seem to be then of another way than now thy seem to be It appears that in many of them it was ony a spirit against those that had oppressed them and a 〈◊〉 umphing and rejoycing in having their wills upon them and in the novelty of change of things but their hearts remain as carnal drossie vain as ever and therefore when mens wills were a little satisfied and they saw that the godly people of the Land began to rejoyce hoping that now there should be a greater freedom for and countenance of the Religious party than ever and finding that there were some difficulties in the work of Reformation and that thereby their lusts should be curbed they should not have that licentiousness in their sinful waies as before upon this their hearts are bent to back-sliding that is they fall off from the godly people of the Land that they formerly closed with and seem'd much to rejoyce in now their hearts are against them as much as ever they were with them yea their hearts do vex and fret at any Liberties they may possibly enjoy or at any work of Reformation that is begun Thus it is in the publick mens hearts are bent to backsliding And privately for the particular mens hearts are bent to backsliding from the waies of godliness that they began to profess as thus Many yong ones and others who have had workings on their hearts and have made great profession of Religion yet not having their hearts changed First Gods waies have been unsutable to them and therefore have been hard and tedious to them Secondly Other things they have had a greater mind to only they have been kept from them by the strength of conviction and external motives But upon that they have grown wearie of the waies of God that 's a third degree weary of them Yea Fourthly They have watched all advantages how they might get off from what they have made profession of Yea Fifthly They have been sorry that they have engaged themselves so much as they did Yea Sixthly Any Objections against such waies they greedily imbrace and diligently improve Yea Seventhly They are very ready to take any offence Yea Eightly They watch for offences And Ninthly Any Opinion that will give them a liberty from that straitness they made profession of before they are willing to imbrace and entertain if there be any practice that may give them any more liberty they fall presently to it and so they come to backslide Now their actural backslidings are but a fruit of the bent of their spirits their spirits were bent to backsliding before and what they do now is but a fruit of the inward bent of their spirits Let such know that if they have no need of the waies of godliness the waies of godliness have no need of them the waies of godliness shall be justified and honored when they shal perish and be swept oft as filth and dung from the face of the earth I 'le leave only that Scripture with them in Heb. 10. 38. If any man draw back my Soul shall have no pleasure in him But I find the reading of these words bent to back-sliding very various and indeed the Hebrew doth seem to countenance divers readings and Calvin he doth reade it and Pareus and others of our later Writers Suspenst sunt they are as men in suspence hanging as it were in suspence for so the word translated Bent it is a word that signifies a propension to a thing and they turn it Men that are in suspence and so the Septuagints translation They are a people in suspence and it is very proper to the Hebrew word here to translate it thus They are a people in suspence Now then If the translation of the word be thus which is for ought I know as sutable or rather more than the other why then there are these two things mainly in it First They are in suspence that is They being in straits know not what to do I find in Deut. 28. 66. Thy life shall hang in doubt before thee The same word that here is translated Bent it is there Hanging in doubt and that makes me the rather think that this Interpretation may set out the mind of the holy Ghost in this Scripture so then the meaning must be this They see themselves in a sad condition that they know not which way to turn themselves they see their plots take not their designs prosper not they see God is out against them they would fain fal upon new plots but they see as great an unlikelihood to prosper in their new plots as in the former what the Issue of them may be they know not thus they are in suspence and in doubt not knowing which way to turn themselves And blessed be God that hath put our adversaries in suspence and doubt This is a judgment of God upon men who cannot trust God in his right and holy wayes they must have waies of their own they follow their own counsels and these counsels of their own insnares them and brings them into most miserable straights that they know not how to extricate themselves God makes the waies of the righteous plain to them But the counsels of mens hearts brings them into straights They thought to deal more wisely for themselves
God Me thinks I find all the blood as it were and my spirits so working and stir'd that I find my heart even turning up and down within me when I come to the execution of wrath And then My repentings are kindled together It is a very notable phrase Here by Repentings I take is meant those thoughts of God by which he came to do such things as men do in their repentings My repentings together That is All the thoughts that I could as it were possibly muster up that could be mustered up together for to turn my heart from the waies of Truth to the waies of Mercy they are all come up together to me saith God and being all joyned together they make a fire and have set my heart on fire As a company of brands being laid together make a great flame so all those thoughts that possibly may be any means to work my heart to good to this people they are all presented together and being come and joyned all together in one they set my heart even of a flame and mightily are stirring in my heart Oh! this is the goodness of God to his people to have all things that any way may be a motive to do good to his people to come up all together before God all in one and when they come in one there to make a fire in the very bosom of God all the reasonings as it were of my heart being joyned together for them have kindled a fire so that I cannot hold but I must needs vent my self thus How shall I give thee up Ephraim But you wil say Why doth God express himself thus God might without any more ado pardon and help or deliver why should he express himself in this manner It 's the Answer of Mr. Calvin here He doth accommodate himself saith he to our rudeness God who disdained not to take mans nature upon him disdained not to act in the person of a man who being much wronged is reasoning in himself what to do his heart is full of pity his bowels yern and he would fain find a way for mercy and when provocation of execution comes in in his mind it is as a dagger to his heart Oh! how shal I do this As if you would imagin any merciful man in the world that were put to a straight would fain have a way for mercy to save a wretched sinner God takes upon him the person as it were of this man and saith How shall I do it God doth as it were in this bring Mercy and Justice both together to plead the Case both against and for Ephraim Justice comes in and pleads Lord their Sins are great and many their Mercies have been great their Means that they have had hath been exceeding much thou hast been exceeding much thou hast been patient a long time towards them and this hath been abused their hearts are still hardened thy Name is blasphemed because of them These Arguments come up against them But now there comes up Arguments for them I but than Mercy steps up and pleads But Lord art not thou a God thou art a God These actions indeed may overcome men but shall they overcome thee And this is Ephraim Are not they thy People are they not in relation to thee are they not in Covenant with thee Spare them Lord for their for fathers sake for Abrahams sake for Israels sake who was so mighty with thee remember Lord the kindness of their youth the wonders that thou hast done heretofore for them when they were stuborn and rebellious Lord thou hast many of thine Elect among them and therefore wilt thou utterly consume them Oh! when the Lord hears these prayers of Mercy on the other hand How shall I do it I cannot do it Thus you have seen the opening of the words with the paraphrase But now for the Notes If any one of you should have any thoughts that I do not briefly pass over this Scriptur in an Expository way I may even answer you How shal I do it It were a very great burden upon one to meddle with such Scriptures as these are in an Auditory that doth desire to have something spoken to their hearts and meerly to pass it over in a meer Expository way therefore for the Notes the first Observation is this The greatness of mans sin hinders not the work of the bowels of God towards them There was none exalted him but they followed their own Counsels and did what they list yet how shall I give thee up this from the Connexion I will give you an instance and that 's a very famous one as we have in all the book of God What sins were greater than the sins of Jerusalem against Christ when he lived and yet Christ looks on Jerusalem and weeps over it weeps over it when he considered of the destruction of it Yea and mark Though Jerusalem were guilty of the Blood of Christ took away the very Life of Christ yet when Christ was risen again one of the first things that Christ doth in the 24. of Luke 47. when he was going there to Emaus Christ saith That Repentance and Remission of sins was to be preached in his Name among all Nations begining at Jerusalem Repentance and remission of sins preached to all Nations Oh! but surely Jerusalem must be left Jerusalem that did slay the Prophets and was so injurious yea Jerusalem that put Jesus Christ to death though all Nation should have Repentance and Remission of sins preached to them yet one would think Jerusalem now should be excepted No saith Christ begining at Jerusalem Jerusalem shall be the first place where I 'le have preached Repentance and Remission of sins even that Jerusalem that took away my life I 'le have preached Repentance and Remission of sins there in the very first place of all Oh! Gods mercies are beyond mans iniquities My brethren If the bowels of Gods mercies shal work toward us notwithstanding our great sins why should not the bowels of our compassions work towards our Brethren notwithstanding their infirmities why should we upon every little discontent cast off all pity and love to our Brethren What such great things in us and yet moves not God to cast us off but still How shall I cast thee off Oh! when you look upon your Brethren that once your hearts did close withal and that were as your own souls and if now you should be any instruments of evil to them you should have such reasonings as this How shall I do it I see infirmities in them I but notwithstanding my great sins God saith of me How shall I give thee up And then Secondly Why should great afflictions for God hinder your hearts working to him seeing great sins against God doth not hinder Gods heart yerning to you Why should any great afflictions for God hinder your hearts working twards him Surely if God will he merciful to us
been guilty of those sins that their parents have been guilty of and they are the little ones of mine own precious Servants many of them How shall I destroy this place even for their sakes Thirdly God considers that he hath but little worship in the world there are but few in the world that do worship him at all and though it 's true there are such mixtures in worship here as in respect of that I cannot accept of what they have done yet it is somewhat that I am worshiped there are very few in the world that own me to worship me at all Fourthly If ever God hath been honored in such a Kingdom by his Saints either by their doing or suffering the Lord regards all this when he is about to draw out the Sword of judgment It 's true thinks God there are but few that honor me now but there are many of my Servants that have done much and suffered much how many have I that have stood out to witness for me and my truth Certainly my Brethren the Lord in saving any Kingdom when the Kingdom is in danger if it be a place that he hath been honored in and that his people have suffered much there for his Names sake then he remembers it and there is not a louder argument next to the blood of Jesus Christ in the ears of God to save a place from ruin than the blood of his people that have been shed for him and therefore such a place is beholding to all that have suffered for God Fifthly He accounts what number of his Saints are there There are yet some of them left And would I have saved Sodom if there were but ten righteous persons Now I 'le reckon how many I have not ten or an hundred but it may be God shall find thousands of righteous persons now the blood of my Son that pleads for them and therefore how shall I give them up Sixthly I foresee the miseries they would endure Oh! the very cries are in mine ears already if I should deliver them up into the hand of their enemies Oh! the extremity they would endure how would they be plundered of all they have put into prison put to miserable torments Oh! what shreekings and cries would there be even from my people that would worship me And me thinks 〈◊〉 ears are fill'd already with their cries before-hand Many times when we speak of the sorrows and miseries of people before they come we are a little affected with them but when we are eye-witnesses of the miseries of people as if any of you have seen the woful miseries of those that have been under the power of the adversaries then your hearts would be affected indeed but now all the miseries that they should endure are present before God as if they were now in real being and therefore How shall I give them up And that 's the sixt thing that puts God thus to a stand that makes it hard for him to give up a people that are any way related to him Seventhly The Lord sees how the adversaries would insult If I should deliver them they will not honor me they will blaspheme they will scorn at their prayers and fastings and at all their trusting in God and at their good cause and what 's become of your good cause and of your pretending to God so much as you have done Now the Lord foresees these blasphemies and insultings of the proud adversaries how they will triumph and tread upon his Saints as dirt under their feet Eighthly There are many of mine elect ones that are to come out of their loyns and therefore though I do not preserve the Kingdom for their own sakes yet for those elect ones that comes out of their loyns If I should deliver them up to the rage of the enemy then the line of my election would even be cut asunder and therefore How can I give them up I shall wrong my self in this thing in cutting asunder even the very thread of election in giving them up Ninthly If my wrath and justice must be satissied let it run out upon others who will set the bryars and thorns before me that I may go through them and burn them up together Tenthly If my Saints be afflicted it will be my affliction It 's true they will suffer very much but in an their afflictions I must be afflicted too I foresee what afflictions it will be to mine own Soul Eleventhly I am bound to fetch good out of all their evils Suppose I should give them up yea but then I must work for mine own glory and fetch out good from all their snfferings And will it not be as easie for me to be patient towards them as to work good from their sufferings when they are given up God reasons in this manner Twelfthly If I destroy them what glory shall I have I shall have the glory of my Justice I but it will be but passively And will that be much to have the glory of Justice in a passive way I have enough in Hell to glorifie my Justice in a passive way Yea Lastly Why may not Mercy yet work upon their hearts Who knows but if ye I continue the Gospel amongst them and deliver them from those great straights that now they are in who knows but their hearts may be turned unto me Oh! my brethren I make no question but at this day all these reasonings have been in the heart of God concerning England When we have been at the very pits brink the Lord hath been often saying even concerning England How shall I give thee up England how shall I make thee as Admah and set thee as Zeboim mine heart it turned within me my repentings are kindled together At that time when Forces were raised before the Parliament against our Brethren of Scotland then said the Lord How shall I give thee up And then at Edge-hill and at Brainford and at Newbery and Marston-more and Nazeby-fight we were at every one of them even at the delivering up to the rage of the Enemy and then comes in these reasonings of the heart of God Oh! how shall I make them as other people as Germany and other people besides others in former times as in 88. and the Pouder-Treason I say there have been the workings of the bowels of God towards us a poor wretched and sinful people And let us now learn to acknowledg whence our preservation is It is not from this man and the other man so much as from the reasonings of the heart of God thus for good unto us Hence let us learn what to do when any temptation comes to any sin What is it thus with God doth God say when we are in danger of being destroyed how shall I do this Then when any temptation comes to us to sin against God Oh let us say How shall I do this and sin against God
As Joseph you know it was his reasoning when he had as fit an opportunity to fin as almost a man could have had with his Mistris yet presently comes there this reasoning in his heart How shal I do this and fin against God Oh! there is reason it should be so with us when God hath fit opportunities to destroy us there comes the reasoning of Gods mercy into his heart so when we have our temptations to sin there should com these reasonings into our hearts Oh! how shall I do this and sin against the Lord our God Let us present al these reasonings to our souls Men wil gather reasonings for their sin and so we should gather al the reasons that possibly we can against our sins It were well my brethren if men after they have sinned would say Oh what have I done But it 's better if men before they have sinned would say How shall I do it Oh! certainly our mind are very barren that we have not upon every occasion when a temptation comes reasonings to move us against it Indeed after a sin is committed men then can think of this reasoning and the other reasoning Oh! if God should thus deal with us First deliver us up and and destroy us and then God should think of this and that what might have been to have preserved us it would have been ill for us therfore God just when the danger comes for our ruin then he thinks of all that might keep off ruin from us And so when the temptation to a sin comes then should we think of all things that might keep us from this sin How shall I give thee up Ephraim c. The last Exercise we opened unto you this verse and made some Observations from it to proceed now The next Note is this It is not the Image of God in any man to be prone to wrath to delight in wrath to be sudden in the execution of anger when God comes to execute anger he cannot do it but he must have a how shall I do it before he doth it he must make a stop proneness to anger suddenness to let out wrath it is not the Image of God in any man or woman When any of you are about to do any thing especially against your Brethren against those that you have relation to be not over passionate reason the Case first in thine own heart How shall I do this True I think such and such they are in the wrong but what good will come of it if I do thus and thus Are they not those that I have had sweet converse with and experience of their godliness would it not be more for the honor of God if I did forbear will any good come to the publick shall not I rather serve the designs of the enemies with such sharpness and bitterness will they not laugh and scorn at Religion Oh! How shall I do this Oh! when we have workings in our own thoughts as bitter as gall if before we vent them we would but put this to our selves how shall I do this with presenting all the arguments that possibly we can to stop it much good would come of it Yea Ministers when they are to preach when they have prepared to deliver something yet if there will be any tartness in it they should think how should I do this what may come of it I may vent my self but what good may come of it what glory to God what good to the Church We should make many pauses and many stops to our anger As somtimes when you are traveling abroad in the Country you come upon some steep hill you shall find that the Country men they lay here and there in several places something to stop the Current of the water for otherwise it would gore too much if it should run down swiftly but when it hath some stop it doth not do so much hurt Oh! how doth the anger of men gore deep why because it runs headily and violently down and it hath nothing to stop it Men in anger they are very full of thoughts and resolutions and continually all the reasonings of the hearts of men and women in their anger tend to nothing else but to heat their hearts more all their thoughts work that way till their hearts are made fiery hot and so they burst out and cannot stay they muse upon nothing else but that that may further their anger and displeasure And those that are barren enough in their thoughts otherwise yet are very quick in invention and wittie for the letting out of anger and wrath But this would be your wisdom had you the Image of God prevailing in you when you find anger stirring in your bosom you would rather muster up reasons that may allay your anger that may qualifie it you would muse upon those things that may serve to be a stop to it for the present as God doth here Oh! did men but do so say How shall I do this what peace and quiet might we have among us A Ninth Observation is this you see when God though he threatned very sorely and charges deeply yet How shall I do this He reasons in his own heart for waies of mercy towards his people The Note from it is this Here we have encouragement plentiful encouragement to come to God in prayer in seeking mercy notwithstanding our wretchedness and sinfulness yea encouragement for beleeving This Scripture may be a mighty help to faith in our prayers seeking of our resting upon God as thus What doth God find it hard to him to execute wrath doth God muster up all arguments that may be to stop his anger and how he may manifest goodness and mercy why then if thou hast any arguments to plead with God for mercy thou mayest come up with boldness and freedom to him he is ready to receive it for thou bringest unto him that which is exceedingly sutable to him sutable to his very heart thou bringest matter to him that is agreeable to what his heart is set upon what doest thou apprehend the displeasure of God out against thee or against the Land where God hath any relation hast thou any arguments at all in prayer to plead with God For so God gives his Creature leave to plead with him as if he were a man Oh! come I say with a free spirit come cheerfully come with encouragement for thou comest now to do that which Gods heart is full of If so be that a man could know the thoughts of other men know what thoughts their spirits are most full of and could come at that time and suggest thoughts unto them sutable to what their thoughts are upon what entertainment would they have why surely when poor sinners if they be penitent sinners shall come to God and suggest any arguments for mercy I say thou doest suggest that which the heart of God was full of and exceedingly sutable to it The same
to our own destruction seeing Mercy pleads as it were against the execution of it let us take heed of new provocations when God is about the letting out of his wrath let not us pull it upon our own heads seeing God keeps off and forbears let not us hasten it I say and pul it upon our own heads If Sodom had but known Gods reasonings with Abraham in the behalf of it one would have thought it might have broke the very hearts of Sodom And let us consider of the reasonings of God in this and lay them to our hearts for the breaking of our hearts and think thus with our selves Lord why should it be so hard with thee to deliver me up when it is so easie with me to sin against thee there 's no pleadings hath stop'd me in the course of my sin the Word hath pleaded Conscience hath often pleaded but I have not been stop'd in the course of my sin Oh! why should any pleadings stop thee in the course of thy wrath The Lord cause such kind of workings to be in our hearts for the breaking of them Considering that indeed it is through the pleadings of Mercy that any of us are alive that we are out of the nethermost Hell And thus much for those words How shall I give thee up Ephraim how shall I deliver thee Israel It follows How shall I make thee as Admah and set thee as Zeboim I opened the words the last day what is meant by Admah and Zeboim the two Cities that were neer to Sodom and Gomorah that were destroyed in the same destruction The Notes of Observation follow First That Gods people may be in danger of as sore and great evils as the vilest and worst of men their sin may have such agravations upon them as may make them liable for the present in this world to as sore great evils as the worst of mankind For indeed the aggravations of the sins of the Saints are such as makes their sins if God should deal with them according to a Covenant of Works and not in a Covenant of Grace their condition would be sadder than the most wicked and vile In Amos 9. 7. saith God there Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me You have had indeed deliverances and so have they And are you not unto me as the children of the Ethiopians What are you better than the children of the Ethiopians unto me if I should look upon you as in your selves Therefore in Isa 1. 10. The Princes of Judah are called the Princes of Sodom and the people the people of Gomorah And in Lament 4. 6. The punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom Ezek. 16. 48. As I live saith the Lord Sodom thy sister hath not done she nor her daughters as thou hast done thou and thy daughters As I live God swears to it that Sodom was not guilty of such great sins You will say Yea but we are delivered from such evils by being under another Covenant Yea but that should not at al hinder the work of your humiliation but rather further it considering what you are in your selves Secondly When sinners are at the worst and the neerest Judgment yet bowels of mercy are working towards them when they do deserve to be as Admah and Zeboim even then This Note rises from hence but we had it also from the dependance of the words Thirdly Those that have relation to God have a great priviledge that others have not Thus As if God should say Let Admah and Zeboim perish if they will let Fire and Brimstone come from Heaven and Eternal Fire pursue them what care I for Admah and Zeboim But how shall I make thee as Admah and Zeboim Oh! I know not how to find in my heart to make thee so Those that have relation to God have a great priviledge that others have not God disposes his Mercies as he pleases It may be some of you think that your sins are not so great or not greater than the sins of others and therefore you may escape as well as they No you may mistake in that God may save some that are guilty of greater sins than you and yet damn you damn you for sins less than the other Gods mercy is his own If God wil destroy Admah and Zeboim eternally who can say against Gods dealings with them But how shall I make thee as Admah and Zeboim God knows how to make a difference between man and man Let no man presume and say Because others commit as great sins as I I may escape aswel as they No thou reckonest in this without thine Host God may make a great difference between his dealingswith them and with thee and do thee no wrong neither for the mercies of God are his own Fourthly Seeing God is loth to make his people like to others like to the wicked and reprobates in punishments let not them make themselves like to them in sin Doth God put a difference between Reprobates and his People in punishment Oh! let the Saints then labor to put a difference between themselves and such as are of the world in matter of sin let that be no argument to them Such and such do thus and why may not I do so â—oo that 's no argument with God I have destroyed such and such and why may not I destroy thee that argument wil not prevail with God Thou committest such a sin and I have some in Hell that I sent thither for the same sin but this argument prevails not with God Oh! let not such an argument prevail with thee that because such and such sin therefore I will venture too A Fifth Note is Though God be never so inclined to mercy yet this doth not hide from his eyes the sins of his own people he still sees them he sees what they are in themselves and he sees what would become of them if they were left to themselves Now I am in a way of mercy towards you yet I look upon you now as such as have deserved to be as Admah and Zeboim do not think that because my mercy works towards you that therefore your sins are not before my eyes I know your iniquities and yet am gracious and merciful And is it so Neither then should the hope or encouragement of mercy from God hide our sins from us As the thoughts of Gods mercies to us do not hide our sins from him so our hope of mercy from God should not hide our sins from our own eyes but at the same time when we think of the greatest mercy yet we should look upon our selves as the most wretched miserable forlorn Creatures in our selves It follows My heart is turned within me my Repentings are kindled together The word here translated Turned it signifies some great stirring some change into another condition
Then Secondly Let us gather as many arguments as we can to cause repentance and lay them together and never leave working them upon our hearts till we find them kindled Surely there 's all the reason for it in the world Doth the Lord gather all together that may be for our good and lay them upon his heart and there keep them to his heart till they kindle and work powerful workings upon his heart for good to us then when we would repent for there 's reason that we should repent as well as expect that God should for us we should be gathering all arguments that possibly can be and never leave till we find them kindled and warm at our hearts Oh! many of you at some times you have one argument that sticks at your hearts and at another time there 's another at such a time there was some one truth darted in and it took your hearts and you would say as those that went to Emaus Did not we find our hearts burn within us so you found Truths coming in at such a Sermon and at another and another yea but now could you get but all those arguments that ever God did dart into you to waies of repentance could you but get them together and work them upon your hearts and never leave till they be kindled and be crying to God as Elisha did till he got fire to come from Heaven to consume the Sacrifice Oh Lord my heart hath a deal of waterie stuff in it that will not kindle till the fire of the holy Ghost come to kindle these arguments and make them to burn Oh! if it were with us as David in Psal 39. 31. saith he While I was musing my heart was hot within me and the fire burned so we should go into our closets and be gathering all things together that we can to work upon our hearts and continue mufing till we find the fire burning within us Nay our hearts heat so as to break forth with our tongues and even to say from our souls Well the Lord is God it is he that is worthy for ever to be feared and honored and serv'd I have lived like a base and sinful wretched creature without a God in the world but it 's the Lord that is God that is worthy to be honored from my Bodie and Soul and Estate and Name and Liberty and Life and whatsoever I am or can do now if it would break forth in such a resolution how excellent would it be Oh! let us be humbled I beseech you for the coldness of our hearts that nothing can kindle there What a damp is there upon our spirits that when any argument is laid it goes out presently We have Truths laid upon us when we come to the Word but our dampie hearts quenches them all they do not kindle many are wittie enough to gather arguments for sin and lay them upon their hearts and so to kindle wickedness in their hearts as in Psal 41. 6. you have a notable Scripture there of wicked men that came to David They gathered iniquity in their hearts all things that might sute with their wicked hearts and for the furtherance of their ungodly waies they gathered them together for the encouraging and strengthening of them in their evil waies But it should be the care of the Saints to gather all things that might further repentance in them That 's the reason why wicked men are so hot in that that 's evil They gather arguments together and hence it is that wicked men when they have been in wicked company they come from it so hot in their resolutions to sin Why because they have gathered a great deal together for the heating of their hearts in their sin and so should the Saints when they are together in a holy communion and fellowship they should be gathering one from another every one come and afford something to lay as it were to kindle the fire But how laying their light ends together and not their dead ends together And then the Third Note is this Our mercies to others should not be cold but burning Let us be merciful as our Heavenly Father is merciful That is Not only wishing good to others but let there be kindled mercies in our bowels that we may not be able to keep them in I suppose many of you especially of estates have had many thoughts that you would do this and this for such good uses and you see some reason why it should be so yea but now have these arguments burnt in your hearts so as to cause you to break forth into resolutions Well though I have had thoughts and inclinations to make use of my estate thus and thus yet I have been kept off but now they are kindled in my heart and I am resolved upon it Thus it was with God and let it be so with you And thus much for the Eighth Verse The Ninth follows VER 9. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger I will not execute the burning of mine anger so the words are IT 's true your sins and arguments against you did lie at my heart and did even burn it but I will not execute that I will execute the kindling of my mercy but not the kindling of mine anger Mark the several phrases Bowels was kindled in way of mercy and Wrath was kindled there was burning Wrath and burning Mercy but that which prevails It is the burning Mercy that prevails I will not execute the burning of mine anger why For I have kindlings of mercy in my bowels But how was this true Was not Israel carried into captivity and continued there many yeers and never yet returned again as some think and when they were carried into captivity for three yeers together there was a siege at the City and yet God saith here He will not execute the sierceness of his anger For the Answer That which before was said will give sufficient answer to it How shall I make thee as Admah and Zeboim that is though God did suffer them to be carried away captive and their enemies prevail'd against them yet he did not make them as Admah and Zeboim though There was not the fierceness of Gods anger the Burning of the anger of God out against them And the Lord had even in their carrying into Captivity yet he had respect to his Elect Ones and hath to this very day an intention to do them good afterwards And so we shall find in the next verse that there is a promise of the returning from their Captivity and therefore though they were for a long time to continue in Captivity yet still God did not execute the fierceness of his anger Sin indeed stirs up anger and fierce anger in God The Septuagint translate the words thus I will not do according to the anger of my wrath that is in extremity I will not do thus with you
this is that now I am naming that thou shouldest have such mercie as an infinite God should therefore manifest to that end that he might shew to Men and Angels to all eternitie what the power of his infinite Mercy can do would not this mercie serve thy turn such a mercie as this is I 'le name it again abuse it at your peril Suppose thy condition so low yet would not this serve thy turn such mercy as an infinit God should shew to that end that he might appear to men and Angels to all eternity what he is able to do in the infinitness of his mercy Would not this serve thee and help thee and heal thee Now this is tendred to thee in the Gospel even this mercy is tendred to thee in Christ to be an object of thy faith and the very presenting of this is a work of the Ministry of the Gospel that it might draw acts of faith for it hath a power to draw forth faith yea to beget faith the very presenting such a thing as this is hath a quickness in it It 's true if you look upon God only as a merciful man this is no such glory as the shining of it upon the soul will ad life As now the shining of the Moon or a hundred Torches wil never beget life in a Garden but the shining of the Sun wil do it so the apprehending of the mercy of God any other way but as a God as a God in Christ will never beget life in the soul but look upon him in the infinitness of his mercy whose thoughts of mercy are beyond ours as high as the Heavens are above the Earth this is the way to beget faith And therefore those that cannot beleeve they take very il courses for themselves only to have their thoughts upon such things as may discourage them and they think that this is as pleasing to God but certainly the way to beget or raise faith in thy heart is to look upon God as a God in the waies of his mercy Yea but you will say The truth is this that you speak of that God is a God and not a man is rather a discouragement to my heart 't is a God that I have sinned against and not a man as one way it may encourage me so another way it may discourage me Against thee against thee only have I sinned saith David Psal 51. And indeed this is the most piercing thought in a true penitent heart My sin is against God I have lived so long a time without a God in the course of my life and I have struck at God himself in my sinful waies Oh wretch that I have been I have been guilty of the darkening of the glory of the great God in the world Now I 'le answer thee this in a word And is this that which doth aggravate thy sin in thy heart does this work upon thy heart most that thou canst appeal to God that of all the considerations of sin that ever thou hadest in thy life there is nothing grieves thee so much as that it is against God Because God is so glorious so infinitely worthy of honor from all his creatures be of good comfort and take encouragement from this point and mark what I am saying and with that I shall close all If the confideration of the glory of God above a man doth thus aggravate thy sin to thy humiliation then it will aggravate the mercy of God to thy consolation as well If thou workest this thought upon thy heart Oh my sin is against a God and not a man and therefore my heart is humbled then the Lord would have thee to make use of the consideration of his glory as a God for thy comfort God is a God and not a man in the way of mercy The Holy one in the midst of thee God glories much in his Holiness and that in the midest of his people Gods Holiness is He is here said to be the Holy One. 1. To shew that the anger He would let out should be such as should have no mixture of evil But what considerations might be to order and guide it should not be wanting Mens angers are very unclean there is much smoke and fil thy stuff together in their fire But here in Exod. 15. 11. God is said to be Glorious in Holiness Gods vials of wrath are golden Revel 15. 7. Let us labor to be holy in our anger This is a rare thing if there be any corruption in mans heart it usualappears in his anger 2. Because of his gracious carriage toward them in regard of his Covenant to make that good to them he would remember his faithfulness to Abraham Obs 1. God delights to shew the glory of his Holiness in mercy and in pardoning of sin rather than in revenging for sin Obs 2. Gods faithfulness is a special part of the glory of his Holiness Use 1. Hence see how Holiness will help our faith Use 2. Let us manifest our holiness in our faithfulness I am holy to make them holy to sanctifie them to my self In the midst of thee Casting the beams of his Glory on every fide of him But how in the midst when they so vile and cast off from being his people a sink of Idolatry and wickedness In respect of some of his Elect Saints Obs God continues among a people for his Saints his Elects sake The Saints should consider of God a holy God in the midst of them and accordingly behave themselves Levit. 26. 12. I will walk among you and I will be your God But 2 Cor. 16. 16. I will dwell among them and walk in them Obs Men of Place and Government should be in the midst of those that are under them carrying themselves holily though they should be froward pettish sinful yet they should carry themselves according to rule in all holiness gravity wisdom moderation c. Rivit Tarnovius with some others thinks that here is Enallage Numeri a change of the number Sanctus for Sancti Holy for Holy Ones or Saints and so hath reference to the destruction of Sodom because there were no righteons here are Obs The Saints are of great use in the places where they live They are the cause of mitigation of Judgments I will not enter into the City Luther thus God would signifie himself to be merciful to scattered Israeh among the Gentiles Vt tamen non redeant ad Politiam Mosaicam but so that they should not return to the Mosaical Law But rather it is to be taken in reference to the manner of Gods proceedings in the destruction of Sodom after he had done conferring with Abraham he entred into the City and destroyed it by fire and brimstone Obs God many times stands at the gates of a City ready to enter in and destroy it but humiliation in prayer and reformation keeps him out God
hath not entred in here thus yet Oh! let not our sin cause a meroiful God to go out and a provoked God to enter in VER 10. They shall walk after the Lord He shall roar like a Liyon THey shall not walk after their own inventions any more nor after the lusts of their own hearts nor after the examples or the counsels of men but after the Lord they shall see God before them their hearts shall be drawn after him as they shall see God in his various administrations so they shall turn this way or that way which way soever God leads them though in paths they have not known before yet now they shall walk after him though in paths that few others walk in yet Through fire and water though in difficult paths never so dangerous to outward appearance though God should lead them from their dearest comforts sweetest contents though it did not appear to them whither the way tended what God meant to do with them yet seeing God before them they shall be willing to walk after him they shall account that way God is in the best way the safest way the most comfortable way Revel 14. 4. These shall follow the Lamb whither soever he goeth these were redeemed from among men being the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. They shall walk in a constant steady course of obedience after the Lord. It is the Lord the blessed glorious God whom their souls love whom they desire to honor to whom they have given up souls bodies lives liberties names estates whatsoever they are have or are able to do When Peter heard it was the Lord he threw himself into the Sea that he might walk after him there Thus the soul converted to God loves to walk after him But this is spoken of the Church as walking after the Lord in times of Reformation especially that famous time of the restitution of all things when God shall call home his people the ten Tribes who yet are scattered up and down wandring and groping in darkness They shall walk after the Lord the Lord shall be a Captain to them leading them along as his redeemed ones working by them glorious things in the earth and bringing them through all opposition to places of rest and fulness of all good God shall appear in such visible administrations of his so as they shall say Lo this is our God this is the Captain of the host of the Lord yea it is even the Lord himself we will joyn together and follow him whose wisdom faithfulness and courage is infinite we will follow no other but him and in subordination to him The sight of such a Captain going before them shall put life courage and magnanimity into them whatsoever they were before Hence note Obs It is the infinite goodness of the Lord to be the Captain of his people Obs It is the honor safety happiness of the Saints to have God before them to be walking after him He shall roar like a Lyon If God appears thus it will make them fly from him No they shal notwithstanding this walk after him Obs That the majesty and terribleness of God in his wonderful and dreadful works causes the wicked guilty conscience to fly from him But the Saints shall follow after him and cling unto him Isa 33. 14. The sinners in Syon are afraid fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites Who amongst us shall dwell with devouring fire who amongst us shall dwel with everlasting burnings He that worketh righteously and speaketh uprightly Act. 5. 13 14. Of the rest durst no man joyn himself to them And Beleevers were the more added to the Lord multitudes both of men and women Psa 46. Luthers Psalm 2. We will not fear though the Earth be moved though the Mountains be carried into the midst of the Sea though the waves thereof roar though the Mountains shake Vers 6. The Heathen raged the Kingdoms were moved be uttered his voice the Earth melted The Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our Refuge Nahum 1. 2. The Lord revengeth the Lord revengeth and is furious the Lord will take vengeance of his adversaries Vers 3. The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm Vers 5. The Mountains quake at him the Hills melt and the Earth is burnt at his presence Who can stand before his indignation who can abide the fierceness of his anger his fury is powred out like fire and the Rocks are thrown down by him Vers 7. The Lord is good a strong hold in the day of trouble and he knoweth them that trust in him Joel 3. 15 16. The Sun and the Moon shall be darkened and the Stars shal withdraw their shining the Lord shall roar out of Syon and utter his voice from Jerusalem The Heavens and the Earth shall shake but the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel Hab. 3. 17 18. Although the Figtree shall not blossem c. yet will I rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation Oh! the blessing of a clean Conscience it looks on th 〈…〉 Terror of the Law and of God with comfort Where there is neighing of Horses beating of Drums ratling of Pikes foaring of Cannons yet if a friend be the General we fear not Al the terror there is in God is comfort to the Saints the wicked have the dark side of the Cloud the Saints the bright Deut. 33. 2. From his right hand went a fiery Law Vers 4. Moses commanded us a Law even the inheritance of the Congregation of Jacob. Nehem. 9. 32. The great mighty and terrible God will keep Covenant and Mercy Psal 47. 1 2. Shout unto God with the voice of Triumph for the most high is Terrible Be godly and keep Conscience clean in these latter times train up your Children in waies of godliness Shall roar like a Lyon The roaring of the Lyon invites the rest of the beasts there is something for them Quest But when was this Answ Many think when the Babylonian Monarchy was broken by Cyrus then Belshazzars knees beat together and then the Captivity returned and that divers of the ten Tribes joyned in the return But this is spoken of the Body of them and if any such remarkable return had been Ezra would not have left out their Genealogyes Others refer it to the times of the Gospel Heb. 12. 26. Yet once more I shake not the Earth only but also Heaven The voice of the Gospel Repent and he that beleeves shall be saved but he that beleeves not shall be damned was a Terrible voice When secure minds saith Luther hear that salvation belongs to none but those that are baptized and that beleeve in the Name of Christ they indeéd tremble and are solicitous concerning their salvation Junius when he read the first Chapter of the
Gospel of John was terrified But I take this rather to be meant of some notable work of Reformation and calling in these ten Tribes to joyn with the Church The Lord will roar to terrifâ— the hearts of their Adversaries that they shall not be abâ—â— to hinder their return Hence note That when Gods time is come for a through Reformation and bringing in his people he will roar terribly in the world he will appear in such Majesty Glory and Justice that he will make the earth tremble Psal 102. 16. When the Lord shall build up Sion he will appear in his Glory It hath been his way in his appearing for his Church Psal 76. 1. Thou even thou art to be feared and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry Thou didest cause Judgment to be heard from Heaven the Earth feared and was still 〈…〉 God arose to Judgment to save the meek of the Earth 〈…〉 12. He shall cut off the spirit of Princes he is 〈…〉 Kings of the Earth Isa 34. 4. All the host of 〈…〉 be dissolved and the Heavens shall be rolled together as 〈…〉 and all the host shall fall down as a leaf for my Sword shall be bathed in Heaven Ver. 6. The Sword of the Lord is filled with blood it is made fat with fatness Ver. 7. The Land shall be soaked with blood Ver. 8. For it is the day of the Lords vengance and the yeer of the recompences for the controversie of Sion Ezek 17. 10. Shall it not wither when the East wind toucheth it At the raising of Christs Kingdom Psal 45. 4. Thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things Revel 6. 15. The Kings of the earth and the great Men the rich men the chief Captains the Mighty men hid themselves in the dens the rocks of the Mountains and said to the Mountains and Rocks Fâ—lâ— on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the Thron and from the wrath of the Lamb. Dan. 12. 1. There shall 〈◊〉 a time of trouble such as was never since there was a Nation all that time thy people shall be delivered Lactantius Lib. Cap. 15. as then Egypt imitten so now all places as then signs and prodiges so now admirable wonders in all the Elements of the World Earth Sea Air. 1. Because the ungodly have been cruel against the Saints Psal 74. 4. Thine Enemies roar in the midst of the Congregation 2. The wicked will be secure yea his own people and will stand in need of roaring to awaken them 3. The Adversary will be stout and proud Consundetur omne jus Leges perilunt All right will be overturned and Laws perish 4. The difficulties will be great so as when Christ comes shall he find saith on the earth namely that ever his work shall be brought about Luke 18. 8. There will 〈…〉 ighty changes of things Hence observe 〈…〉 ir not though wicked men strengthen themselves 〈…〉 uch God can soon make mighty alterations 〈…〉 14. Be not afraid remember the Lord which is ve 〈…〉 and terrible Deut. 7. 21. Thoushalt not be afrighted at them for the Lord thy God is amongst you a mighty God and a terrible Again Hence learn to prepare for thosetimes When he shall roar the children shall tremble from the west Amos 3. 8. The Lyon hath roared who will not tremble There shal be mighty stirrings of heart Mens hearts shal shake within them so as there shall be way made for people whose hearts are awakened to come into the Church There is a trembling of the Enemies they shall be struck with such astonishment that they shall not hinder Their violence and rage shall be abated They shall say 〈◊〉 once the Egyptians Let us take heed what we do the Lord 〈…〉 t s for them And the hearts of those that God intends to call shall 〈…〉 wakened the slightness and vanity of their spirits shall be taken off The fear upon their hearts shall make them fear they shall be roused from their sluggishness they shall make hast to come in to joyn with the people of God Fear causes hast so the word here signifies and is rendered by some Men delay and trifle till God strikes their hearts with fear Spiritus sanctus nescit tarda molimma The holy Ghost likes not lazy laboring Isa 49. 17. Thy children shall make hast The children shall tremble from the west Those afar off which were most unlikely Isa 42. 4. Legem expect abunt Insulae The Isles shall wait for my Law The Mediterranean the Mid land Sea is in the west Isa 49. 1. 12. Hence note that There are like to be great stirrings in the Western parts VER 11. They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt and as 〈…〉 out of the Land of Assyria BEing strucken with fear they shall hasten so the word advolabunt they shall fly This some think to be fulfilled when divers of the ten Tribes joyned with Judah in the return of their captivity for the Monarcy of the Assyrians was subdued by the Persians whose King was Cyrus Therefore it is thought that the fame liberty was given in Assyria for the ten Tribes as in Babylon for Judah And not long after Cambyses the son of Cyrus overcame the Egyptians as Herodotus Lib. 8. Justinae Lib. 〈◊〉 saies And it 's like he would be favorable to the ten Tribes as his father had been to Judah But Ezra as was noted above in likelihood would not then have omitted their Genealogies Howso 〈…〉 in the great Restauration of things this will be fulfill 〈…〉 The Jews were strongly set to go to Egypt now they shall as strongly desire to get out to joyn with the Churches Fly as a bird not come as a snail get over all difficulties having their spirits elevated raising them from earthly drossie things they have no consideration of them Now all their desire is to joyn with the Saints that they together with them may follow after the Lord. And as a Dove out of the Land of Assyria 1. Doves are sacred there Euseb Preparat Evang. Lib. 8. 5. 2. They are terrified with the least noise Terretur minimo penae stridore Columba 3. Doves fly swiftly Oh! that I had the wings of a Dove saith the Psalmist Psal 55. 6. 4. They fly by flocks Isa 60. 8. Who are those that fly as a cloud and as the Doves to their windows 5. It may be from those Countries Doves come at certain times of the yeer as several sorts of Fowls do to to us in their seasons And I will place them in their houses saith the Lord. i. e. I will provide lockers for them he followeth the the former metaphor of Doves Gods people have been tossed up and down they have had no abiding in their houses But God hath his time to place them in their houses in rest quietness and safety to
been wrastling a great while and I can get nothing from God but that it 's likely here I must die and perish yea and that God should leave me thus as he doth that God should appear a greater enemy to me than my Brother Esau and lame me Oh! now might not this be a sign that God intends to destroy me yea God would be gone too when I am in such a strait as this is Oh! this makes him weep As a poor child when it is in straits and is crying to the mother the mother beats it and strikes it yea the mother will be gone and leave it in those straits Can you blame the child though it cry So it was here Jacob was in straits and was seeking God and God beats him and makes him cry and would be gon Oh! this doth press tears out of the eyes of Jacob Oh! what will become of me now As if Jacob should have said Were it that I should perish alone it were not so much but my Wives perish and how can mine eyes be able to see their destruction yea it may be they will be ravished before mine eyes by these rude Soldiers These kind of workings in Jacob's spirit you cannot but conceive that it must draw tears he wept before the Angel considering this his sore distressed condition And on the other side there were thoughts would make him weep too The thoughts of his Misery and the reasoning of his Faith when he considered I but surely I am in the way of God though I be in a great deal of danger I have the Promise of God I have his Covenant with me I have to deal with the Holy Blessed and Gracious God in all my waies Who knows but that my extremity may be Gods opportunity The heart of my brother it is certainly in the hand of God and all Creatures are in Gods hands too Now the actings of Faith would make one to weep aswel as of Fear and Trouble and it were well if we could weep on both sides Sometimes you roul in your thoughts all the aggravations of your afflictions and they make you weep Now can you roul in your thoughts the aggravations of Gods Goodness and Mercy and can that make you weep The end why God brought Jacob into this condition to fal a weeping before the Angel it was That he might humble him and break his heart before he gives him deliverance for it was one of the greatest honors as we intimated before that God did for Jacob that ever he did to man therfore God would bring him very low before he would raise him so high and make him fall a weeping aswel as praying before he should have the Mercy Oh! this is Gods way He will bring men very low to humble them before they shall have mercy therefore when mens hearts are high and lofty stout and hard they are not in a way of Mercy from God but when mens hearts begin to break thaw and melt and are tender then they are in a way of mercy as here So we find it often in Scripture that God intending mercy first breaks the heart and melts it by mourning and sorrowing as Josiah you know that was his condition his heart melted when he heard the Law and God sends presently a Promise of Mercy to him and in Ieremiah there the Lord promises his People That he will bring them with weeping and with supplications that shall be the way One Note or two more It becomes the most generous and magnanimous spirit to have his heart breaking and to express his heart breaking with tears before God It is an excellent thing to see a man of a brave spirit strong and ful of courage in any service of God and yet when he comes to have to deal with God to have a melting tender and soft spirit in his dealings with God If you should see now a great Captain or General that were brave and magnanimous when he was abroad in the field about any difficult work but when he comes before God in Prayer there he can weep like a child there he can mourn and lament and his heart break assoon as a child this is an excellent spirit now spirits that can turn according to what God cals them to this way or that way can be stout and hardy in a work that requires stoutness and can be soft tender and yeelding in such a work that requires such things Thus was our father Jacob Oh! to have tender hearted Captains and Generals to have couragious spirits yet broken hearted spirits to mix the work of Grace thus it is most excellent and it becomes the most bravest spirit in the world not only to fall down to prayer but to weep before the Lord some men think it 's too low a thing to fall a weeping in prayer as if it were a womanish and a childish thing Oh! it 's an argument that thy heart is carnal and base to think that it 's for want of understanding I say this is evil and it comes from much corruption in the heart for to think it either beneath a brave spirit or beneath a prudent spirit I 'le give you one example that weeping is not beneath a brave spirit this is enough and also that of David no man did shed more tears in the presence of God than David that brave Captain but to put both together I 'le set before you the example of Jesus Christ in Heb. 5. 7. the text saith That in the daies of his flesh he offered up prayers and supplications how with strong cries and tears even Jesus Christ the Son of God God blessed for ever he that was equal with the Father the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah he that had all strength and power and had all the treasures of wisdom hid in him and the fulness of the God head dwelt bodily in him and yet when he had to deal with the Father he offers up prayers with strong cries and tears Doth it become the Captain of our salvation in his seeking of God to weep know then it is not unbecoming any man or woman Are you of the seed of Jacob then when you would prevail with God labor to work your hearts even so as you may express your affections outwardly labor to do it in prayer it will help to break thy heart As a broken heart will cause outward expressions so outward expressions will be a further cause to break the heart And work thy heart by all arguments thou canst to come to that tenderness and softness that thou mayest be like the Captain of thy Salvation when thou art crying to God to cry even with tears before him and when thy heart is so broken with tears then exercise thy faith upon the prayer of Jesus Christ Now it is through the Spirit of Jesus Christ that my heart doth thus break but I do not rest upon these God forbid that I should rest upon my enlargements
upon my breakings No but I will rest upon the breakings of Jesus Christ who in the daies of his flesh did send up mighty cries with tears to God and was heard he prevail'd He made supplication Supplieation or prayer it is the great prevailing Ordinance with God that 's the Note It hath been the great Engin that hath carried things on in the world Prayer in Revel 8. 4. The prayers of the Saints were offered up and voices of Thunder and Lightening and Earthquakes followed when they were offered Prayers of the Saints can move Heaven and Earth they can prevail with the God of Heaven and Earth The Praying Legion was called the Thundering Legion And Luther saith of prayers they are our Guns our Cannons our Prayers can prevail more than Cannons The Saints have alwaies put their great strength upon Prayer It 's a very observable Scripture Psal 109. 4. For my love they are my adversaries but what then But I pray it is in your books But I give my self to prayer but the words Give my self you may observe printed in another distinct Character which is to note that those words are not in the Original but added by the Translators and in that they dealt faithfully but if you reade it as it is in the Hebrew it is For my love they are my adversaries but I pray as if he should say that 's my refuge I account prayer to be the great help that I have when they are my adversaries and rail upon me I will not rail upon them again when they oppose me I will not oppose them again but I pray I 'le pray to my God and I make account I have help enough there to resist my enemies that I have Jacob prevailed over the Angel by suppication It 's a good sign of a gracious heart to lay the weight of business upon pra 〈…〉 But I will not enter into this common place of the excellency or power of Prayer and Supplication but only this It 's not every prayer that will prevail so with God What prayer will then Such a prayer as Jacob's was in Gen. 32. 9. there 〈◊〉 shall find how your Father Jacob prayed and there 〈◊〉 excellent Ingredients saith the text And Jacob said O God of my Father Abraham and God of my Father Isaac c. That 's the First Ingredient to Prayer Faith in the Covenant of God upon that the strength of any prayr most depends Indeed to have strong Expressions and Affections in prayer are good but Strength of Faith in the Covenant of God is the greatest strength of prayer and it was with this strength that Jacob did prevail Oh! God of my Father Abraham and God of my Father Isaac as if he should say Oh! thou God that hast entred into Covenant with my Father Abraham and Isaac O God remember thy COVENANT O God I rest upon 〈◊〉 COVENANT the COVENANT of Grace that 〈◊〉 hast made with them for so certainly that with 〈◊〉 hans and Isaac was the same for it 's said That Circum 〈…〉 sion was the sign and seal of the righteousness that he had 〈◊〉 Faith And in Thee shall all the Nations of the Earth be bl 〈…〉 There was the Covenant of Grace Now O Lord 〈◊〉 it is the Covenant of Grace that I rest upon in the 〈◊〉 straits When you are in any strait and go to Go 〈…〉 prayer if you can have recourse to the Covenant 〈◊〉 Grace and act your saith upon Gods Covenant with you Oh! that will be a strong prayer When there are but words in prayer they vanish as the wind but when there is much saith in prayer that makes it to prevail the prayer of faith that 's prevalent saith the Apostle James that 's the first ingredient in his prayer he made supplication and exercises faith in the Covenant And then the second was His appeal to God that he was 〈◊〉 the way that he had set him He could appeal thus to God which saidst unto me Return unto thy Country and to thy Kindred Why Lord am I out of my way am I not in the way that thou hast set me I met with difficul 〈…〉 in my way but Lord thou saidest to me Return 〈…〉 to thy Country thou bidest me return so that 's an excellent ingredient in prayer and ads much strength when the soul in prayer can come to God and say O Lord there is this and this difficulty befallen me but Lord I am in the way that thou hast set me I am doing thy work I am not out of my way For any man or woman to be out of their way that God hath set them in will mightily damp their hearts in prayer And it 's a mighty encouragement to prayer and carries it on with mighty strength when the soul can appeal to God Lord whatsoever straits I meet withal yet I am in thy way Then the Third thing in prayer It is the pleading of â—particular Promise And I will deal well with thee God 〈…〉 de a Promise to Jacob in particular that he would deal 〈◊〉 with him in his journy that he went And the 〈◊〉 faith we have to take hold upon particular promises that concerns the particular business we pray about 〈◊〉 we pray about any business though it 's true the 〈◊〉 strength is in the great Promise the Covenant of 〈…〉 But then it ads much strength likewise to have 〈…〉 f particular Promises that concerns the very business we are about and it 's a very good thing when we go about a business that hath difficulty in it to search the Word and to see what Promises there are that doth more particularly concern the business we go about The Fourth Ingredient it was his Acknowledgment and Sence of his own unworthiness and vileness in ver 10. I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies and of all the truth which thou hast shewn unto thy Servant When the soul comes with humility before God in Prayer and is truly sensible of its unworthiness of any mercy Lord I am not worthy of the least crum of bread but rather worthy to be cast out from thy presence for ever it 's an easie matter for men and women to have such words in their mouths but to have this indeed in their hearts in prayer ads very much strength to prayer The Fifth Ingredient in his prayer it was The acknowledgment of the mercy that he had received and of the truth of God in fulfilling Promises and both ads much strength to prayer to take notice of what God hath done for us to take notice how God hath fulfil'd his Word in great measure for us when we are praying we many times are sensible only of what we would have but not of what we receive and the vehemencie of our desires after what we would have doth take away our apprehensions and hinders our acknowledgment of the
he did to Jacob if you forsake him not Oh! wretches that you should forsake this God whom you might have to be the Lord of Hosts and Jehovah to you Oh! Let 's learn this That when we reade in Scripture or hear from our forefathers how God hath appeared heretofore for his Saints for our Forefathers let us make this use of it God is the same God still and we may come to have as much good from this God as ever any had since the world began there 's no shortning of his Power there 's no darkning of his Glory but whatsoever Power hath wrought whatsoever Glory of God hath appeared in former times we may come to have it appear to us now it 's a mighty argument for people to keep close to God and be faithful with him even because of this Fourthly There 's no need of Images to keep Gods remembrance the glorious Titles of God and his Attributes and the Manifestation of Himself in his Works is the best Memorial of God that 's our way the way of man to make to himself Memorials God hath made himself a Memorial When you reade in the Word this glorious Title of God Jehovah it 's a better Memorial of God than all the Images in the world are and we may better Sanctifie Gods Name and have our hearts better wrought upon by such Titles of God than by all kind of Images whatsoever The Fifth Note When God manifests himself in his Glory it 's not only for the present that men now might see his Glory but it is that he may be remembred from Generation to Generation from one to another from one time of our life to another and so from one Age to another so here the Lord of Hosts Jehovah is his memorial as if he should say the Lord manifests himself Jehovah thus and thus and he would be remembred in other Ages to be so what God doth to his people in one Age he doth not expect only to have his Name sanctified for that present but he would have it laid up from Age to Age and would be honored in all Generations from those great manifestations of himself in some one Age. My Brethren Oh! that we had hearts to do this Oh! that we could make this God his Memorial that we could lay up what God hath manifested of himself in this Age for the benefit of another Age I hope God wil one way or other provide means for the recording of the famous things that God hath done in this Age that it may be a Memorial to the posterity afterwards for certainly our Age cannot give God the glory that is due unto his Name for what he hath done we had need labor to continue it to posterity that the Ages to come may remember what God hath done to give glory to him it is his Memorial And then the last Note is this When we would have a holy Memorial of God the meditation of the Name JEHOVAH is very useful for us You that say you cannot meditate your meditations are barren Would you help your selves in meditation to have a holy Memorial of God think much of the Name Jehovah remember what hath been hinted to you from that Name and what is contained in it And thus much for the Fifth Verse VER 6. Therefore turn thou to thy God keep Mercy and Judgment and wait on thy God continually THerefore Here comes the Use now all the other seem'd to be the Doctrine and this is the Use therefore turn unto thy God so that this Therefore it hath reference unto all that the Prophet had said concerning Jacob and to these Titles of God as if he should say thus 1. You had such a gracious Father that did thus prevail with God to whom God did so appear therefore turn to God 2. It is the Lord of Hosts therefore turn to him 3. Iehovah is his Memorial therefore turn to him For the First The reference it hath to their father Jacob affords us this Note That the consideration of our gracious Predecessors of our Forefathers that were godly to whom God appear'd in Mercy is a great argument to turn us to God Oh! you that are Children that have had Parents that were wrastlers with God Are you wicked now Consider what Parents you had and turn you therefore unto God In. 2 Tim. 1. 3. I thank God saith St Paul whom I serve with a pure conscience from my forefathers Oh! 't is a great comfort unto a man or woman if they can be able to say thus I thank God whom I serve with a pure conscience from my Forefathers my Forefathers served God my Grandfather or Grandmother or Father or Mother they were godly and I thank God even from them that I serve God God is my God and my Fathers God Exod. 15. 2. The Second is this That the consideration of God to be the LORD of Hosts is a mighty motive to cause us to turn to God Wilt thou go on in waies of enmity against the Lord of Hosts the Lord of Hosts who hath Angels and all Creatures to fight for him Wilt thou a poor worm stand out against this God thou that goest on in a way of wickedness know thou fightest against the great LORD of Hosts What were it for a drunken fellow to come and think to oppose but such an Army as we have that goes out of the City at this time but for a poor wretched worm to think to stand against the Infinit GOD the Lord of Hosts Oh! 't is infinit boldness and presumption and desperate madness in that man therefore turn to the Lord All the while thou art going on in waies of wickedness thou art fighting against the Lord of Hosts And on the other side If thou hadst but an heart to turn unto the Lord Oh how joyful would this Title be to thee that that God which is thy God is the Lord of Hosts is the Lord of all the Hosts in the World We are not afraid now to see Soldiers and hear the beating of Drums and shooting of Guns when we know that all are our Friends but if we should have heard the beating of Drums and neigbing of Horses and shooting of Guns of our Enemies that would have struck fear So one that hath turned to God need not fear any Army any Creatures Why for all is commanded by God their Father and Oh! the joy peace and security that a heart may have that is turned to God I 'le give you one notable Scripture in Act. 27. 23. saith Paul There stood by me this night the Angel of God whose I am and whom I serve saying Fear not Paul Mark There stood before me the Angel of God Did not that terrifie him The Angel that is but one of the Members of the Hosts of God any one Angel hath a great deal of terror in him sometimes for there is much of the glory
of God in Angels and we know that the appearing of Angels hath struck terror into many men But now saith Paul The Angel said Fear not If it be the Angel of God whose I am and whom I serve then I need not fear yea let God muster up all his Hosts and appear to one that hath turned to him if he can say thus Whose I am and whom I serve these Hosts will say Fear not Therefore turn unto the Lord because he is the Lord of Hosts Thirdly Because God is JEHOVAH therefore turn unto the Lord. There 's a great deal of force in this Name to cause sinners to turn to him because he is Jehovah for this Name JEHOVAH hath as much terror in it to a guilty ungodly soul as we reade of in all the Book of God I say put all together that we reade in the Book of God yet if we did but throughly understand the Name Jehovah we should see as much terror in it to a guilty conscience and a sinful soul that goes on in the waies of wickedness as almost all that is mentioned of God that might be terrible As thus JEHOVAH If he be Jehovah he hath power over every thing that hath a being to torment thee with it for he hath all being in Himself al being is from him and the dispose of all therefore whatsoever thing hath any being in it this God hath the power over it to make use of it to torment thee withal Do but consider how some little creature if it be in some part of a mans body what power it hath to bring torment a little gravel in the kidneys or stone in the bladder that 's but a poor weak creature in its self but being in that place what tortor doth it bring now if a little gravel or stone hath that power to torment thee then what power hath all things in the Earth and the infinite God that hath all essence and all being and can dispose of all things as he pleases to bring pain misery and torment to a sinner It 's a very humbling consideration to a sinner And on the other side If there be any power in any thing that hath a being to bring any comfort to a man or woman it 's all in God for God hath all in him eminently As now one Creature hath power to torment in one way another in another way and so one Creature hath power to comfort us one way another another but all this is eminently in God the gravel torments one way the humor in the veins in the gout that torments another way and fire torments another way and the Sword torments after another manner and burning feaver torments in the body fire without and burning feaver within the stinging of Serpents torments after another way now all power of all things is in God Eminently the quintessence of all things is in God and therefore the power of God is able to bring all sorts of torments at one time in one thing As now suppose several herbs that have several vertues one hath a vertue in one kind another in another but if these herbs were all distill'd into one water then a drop of that water hath the same vertue and efficacy that it may be forty several herbs hath so now all creatures that have their several kind of efficacies and vertues distilled into one If I may compare this distillation unto God he hath all kind of power in himself and is able to put it forth in one instant all the power and efficacie that there is in all creatures in Heaven and Earth either to torment or to comfort us If one herb hath one sweetness and a second another and the third another the distillation of them all together how sweet will that be Now all these being in God eminently Oh what comfort is there in God than to the soul So that look either way to the Name Jehovah we may see an argument to humble us for sin the dreadfulness of the wrath of God appears in this more than in any one meditation that I know of Neither do I know any meditation that may stick upon the heart to comfort and encourage the heart to turn to God and to rejoyce in God so much as this That there 's all being in God eminently and all depending absolutely upon him therefore turn to God because he is Jehovah Thus you see the connexion of these two Further When the excellency of the Saints or glory of God is set before us we should make it an argument to turn to the Lord when both together the Exccellency of Jacob and the Excellency of God this is set as an argument to turn to the Lord Turn to me But they might say Do not we turn to God we do serve God That may be another Note That whatsoever Services men do perform to God yet if they be not in Gods way they do in the midest of them all depart from God and do not turn to him They did worship God after a fashion but God did not account that worshiping of him but departing from him therefore turn to God But turn Thou to God That is Every one of you do not stand objecting and cavelling against what I say but turn to God every one of you turn Thou to God Thou art Israel Thou art the posterity of that great prevailer with God therefore turn Thou to God That 's the Note of Observation from hence and if you lay it to heart you will find it of very great use Every one should consider what peculier arguments there are that concern him in particular to turn to God Therefore Turn thou to God O Israel There 's a great deal more reason why thou shouldest turn to God than others Oh that every one of us here in this place would but in our meditations labor to recal all those particular arguments that concern our selves that might turn us to God do not take it in the general Turn to God because he is your Creator turn to God that you may be saved this concerns all but consider what special arguments thou hast as thus Consider what special manifestations of God there hath been to thee Consider what special offers of Grace there hath been to thee Consider what special workings of the holy Ghost there hath been upon thy heart Consider what special illuminations of Gods Spirit there hath been in thee Consider of what special dangers thou hast been in Consider what special Vows and Covenants thou hast made to God and yet hast departed from him afterwards Consider what special engagements thou hast had These are but the hints that men and women may lay to heart all the arguments that may concern them especially to turn to God Turn Thou to God therefore Do not thou look upon others and think thus I do as others do yea but thou hast more reason to
among men Judgment That is Righteous Judgment among men thou canst not turn to God from thy Unrighteousness and to a Righteous God and yet still not be Righteous towards men Certainly if thou beest turn'd to God from thy Unrighteousness towards a Righteous God then thou will be turn'd likewise from thy unrighteousnes towards men and will be righteous towards them Many texts of Scripture I might have shewn you that commend this Grace of Righteousness and it 's made the great Promise to the Glorious Church when that shall be That Righteousness shall prevail there that the People shall be a Righteous People And Judgment Not only Judgment in doing no man any wrong and being righteous in dealing But thus Judgment Execute Justice against Sin manifest thy hatred against Sin by the Execution of Judgment This is the Note from thence That those who turn to God will manifest their hatred against sin by the Execution of Judgment if they be in place of Power Though in thine own cause thou maiest forbear yea thou shouldest be merciful but when Publick Manifestation of hatred against Sin requires Justice then there 's no place for Sparing when God calls thee in any Publick Place to manifest hatred against Sin then I say thou maiest not think of Sparing But you will say Oh! I must pity and shew Mercy Well If you would be merciful be merciful in your own cause Many men that will pleade for Indulgence to Malefactors yet in their own business they have no Indulgence to those that offend them It beseems a Judg to be very pitiful when he is wronged himself but it beseems him to be very righteous and just when the Publick calls him Keep MERCY and JVDGMENT Mercy is first and Judgment afterwards The Scripture makes a difference between our respect to Mercy Judgment that place in Micah The Lord hath shewen thee O man what he would have thee to do LOVE MERCY and DO JVSTICE There should be a Preheminency in Mercy Mercy must not only be shown but loved and Justice must be done And then Keep MERCY and JVDGMENT The mixture of Mercy and Judgment is very comely The Scripture doth mix them very often Psal 101. 1. I will sing of Mercy and Iudgment and Prov. 21. 21. He that followeth after Righteousness and Mercy findeth Life Righteousness and Honor. Psal 112. 4. The upright man he is full of Compassion and Righteousness Jer. 9. 24. The Lord there doth seem to glory in this in his Righteousness aswel as Mercy saith the Lord Let no man glory in the flesh but let him glory in this That he knoweth Me that I am the LORD which exercise loving kindness Iudgment and Righteousness in the Earth Let him glory in this That he knows that I am such a God this is my glory That I am both Righteous and Merciful Now for the several Rules when Mercy should be Shown and when Judgment should be Executed that would be the Use here How men should be directed to mix both these together Mercy when men offend by Infirmity when I see it 's but a weakness it is not through wilfulness Mercy then should be shown Oh that we would consider of this our brethren that sometime differ from us in Judgment in practice consider Do they appear in any of their carriages any waies to be wilful in their way can you take it upon your consciences that it is through obstinacy and through any wicked principles that they have that they go against conscience doth it not appear in all their other waies that they walk humbly and conscionably that if they be in the wrong yet it is through meer weakness that they cannot see the Truth that thou thinkest thou doest see Now thou shouldest be merciful towards them and carry not thy self in a ridged severe bitter and harsh way towards them but in a Merciful way Mercy when the offence is by infirmity And then when the offender is already sensible of his offence then Mercy Or when there may be as much good done in a fair gentle merciful carriage as in a harsh ridged carriage And then especially at that time when any man or woman begins to feel passion arise in their hearts and a spirit of revenge to stir in them above all times then is the time for mercy examin thine heart thou hast to deal with thy brother now see whether there doth not begin to arise passion and revenge in thy spirit towards him now is the time for Mercy it 's not the fit time for Judgment it 's not a fit time to give Judgment nor for thee to execute Judgment but now is the time for Mercy And then there 's the time for judgment When thou art call'd to manifest hatred against sin when the publick good requires it when you cannot be merciful to one but you must be cruel to another As in many things wherein men would be merciful the truth is the Mercy they shew to some is cruelty to others and when thou hast the least interest in a business then there 's the most like to be the time for Judgment Well Keep Mercy and Judgment Keep it not only do some acts of Mercy and Judgment but keep it Many men in some good moods observe it Oh how pitiful are they how merciful are they but come to them at another time and Oh! how ridged are they then Oh! how sowr are they how bitter how cruel how harsh are they We have found it so by experience you can say such a man Oh! what sweet converse had we together and what a sweet temper'd man he was how loving how meek how gentle how pitiful But come to him now how harsh and how rugged in his expressions and extream bitter mightily turned as if he were not the man keep Mercy keep it Doth God at any time melt thy heart and make thee apprehensive of thy need of mercy doth thy heart begin to bleed towards thy Brethen Oh! keep it keep this temper the Lord keep this in the thoughts and purposes of thy heart for ever Oh take heed of change of heart It should be the care of Christians not only to do that that is good but to keep their hearts in such a constant frame Oh that some of you would but call to mind the dales of old Was there not a time that your hearts did melt towards your brethren and had sweet converse and communion with them what 's become of those spirits now Oh! turn to that gracious sweet temper again and if ever God bring you to that temper again keep it Consider what is it that hath changed my heart what hath brought me to it now if God doth discover how thou hast lost that sweetness of thy heart Oh! labor to repent and turn to God and resolve if ever God bring me to that temper again as sometimes
through his mercy I have felt I hope through his Grace that I shall keep my self in that temper Oh how happy were it with us if when God brings our hearts into a good temper if we had but hearts to keep them in that temper keep Mercy And keep Judgment too In some acts you shall find men very just and take them in other acts and there they will be false enough But now It should be our care to be as it 's said of God in Jer. 50. 6 7. God is said there to be the habitation of Justice so it should be in the Courts of Justice there should be the habitation of Justice Perhaps sometimes in some one Cause a man may have Justice in a Court yea but if it be not so in all Causes at all times there is not the keeping of Justice Justice should be alwaies at home sometimes you may come to a Court and not find Justice at home but it 's gone abroad but it should be alwaies the habitation of Judgment And so it should be in Families and in particular Persons It may be at some times thou wert just in thy waies yea but then thou hadest not a temptation the tempration came not for unjust dealing There are some men that by a temptation are brought to such unjust dealing that if a man should have said some divers yeers ago that thou wouldest have done such things you would have been ready to think Am I a dog that I should do such things but now when a man is once engaged in any unjust way then he must go on and therefore keep Judgment It follows Keep Judgment and wait on thy God continually That 's thus Do not satisfie your selves in duties of Mercy and Judgment only but worship God For by waiting on God is meant the exercise of spiritual Graces wherein the Worship of God consists wherein we come to make God to be our God As it is not enough for men to think they worship God and yet make no conscience of the Second Table so neither is it enough for men to make conscience of the Second Table and not to worship God It may be there is som of you that are very just yea but what worship of God is there in your Families and in your own hearts Do your souls worship God and sanctifie the Name of God in all your waies Therefore this is added Turn to the Lord thy God and keep Mercy and Judgment and wait on thy God continually Wait on God The bases or foundation of waiting is Faith Beleeve there is good in God help supply here and that in God alone however things seem to be contrary let things go how they will I beleeve there is help in God alone and not in those former base waies that I have taken before that my corrupt heart hath led me into here 's help and not in the other way Secondly Waiting on God is To attend God in the use of what means God hath appointed for the attaining of such a thing that I expect from him Thirdly A looking out for Mercy I beleeve here is Mercy and no where else I attend on God for it in the use of these means and I look out for mercy Fourthly I quietly submit in the mean time though God staies long that 's to wait so as not to be discontent not to have my heart sink though God staies long Fifthly I keep in the way of seeking of God all the while That soul that doth this may be said to wait on God A turning heart to God is a heart that is a waiting heart the heart that turns truly to God is taken off from all Creature contentments so as to rest in them and looks up to God for all help and for all supply And this waiting is of very great use to those that are turning to God Consider of it Is any of you about the work of turning to God hath God begun to make a turn to any of your hearts Know that when you are turning to God you are very like to meet with a great many things that may discourage you many suggestions of the Devil and your own hearts Why should not I go back again what good have I gotten by reading and praying I get nothing by it and all will come to nothing at last Temptations are like to come thick and three-fold upon the heart of a sinner turning to God I am confident I am speaking in this to the hearts of all that knows what it is to turn unto God there was a time that thou wert departing from God and then thou wentest on quietly but ever since the time that God hath begun to turn thy heart Oh! the thick and three fold temptations of the Devil that come to thee Now this is a very seasonable exhortation turn to God and wait upon him be not discouraged not withstanding all difficulties fears temptations and discouragements from Men and Devils and thine own heart yet wait upon God and keep in his way Oh! it had been happy that this exhortation had been set home upon the spirits of many that the Lord was beginning to give a turn to their hearts not long since the Lord was beginning to turn thy heart to himself and thou mettest with some things that discouraged thee which hath turned thee quite off again Oh! had but this exhortation come seasonably then Turn to the Lord and wait upon him Oh! it had been happy for thee The Lord make it seasonable now to thee Oh! remember this text Turn to God and wait upon him Wait. Oh! there 's reason that thou shouldest wait upon God Oh! thou saiest if I had comfort and if I were sure I should be saved at last though I have discouragements from men yet if I had but comfort from God then I could be content yea but wait wait for comfort wait for peace wait for assurance God is a great God and is worthy to be waited on Men that are above others will take state upon them and they will be waited on God is great and therefore wait upon him And we are vile creatures and unworthy and therfore let us wait Beggers if they should rap and rap and you come and see it to be a begger your heart rises upon him if he beg he must wait if you be busie We are Beggers and therefore it is fit for us to wait And Thirdly God hath waited on us a long time how long did God wait upon thee it may be thou wert twenty yeers old before thou didest begin to turn to God perhaps thou wert thirty or fortie yeers old and God was waiting upon thee to be gracious all that time God was waiting for opportunity to do thee good and therefore wait thou upon God And Fourthly What we wait for it is worth our waiting If a man did beleeve there were nothing but
scraps to be had at last then he would not wait so long but if he did hope there was some great thing to be gotten then he would wait Beggers if they come to some mean house they knock at the door and stay a little and if they give them nothing away they will go but if they come to great Houses or Coaches they will wait though it be long and run a great way after them So that which we wait for it is worth thousands of worlds we wait for the pardon of Sin and wait for the assurance of Gods Love we wait for the shedding abroad of the holy Ghost in our hearts we wait for rich Treasure and know that there is enough to be had in God your waiting will pay for all Know also 'T is a great part of Gods Worship to wait upon him 't is not the Worship of God only to Pray and hear the Word and receive Sacraments but when you are waiting you are worshiping of God Further God is all this while preparing mercy for you Suppose you come to have a Scrivener write somthing for you Well the thing is not yet done yea but he is writing as fast as he can know O thou soul who art turning to God all the while thou art waiting God is working God is setting all his Attributes on work for thy good while thou art waiting and therefore wait on thy God And know God is infinitly wise and he knows when 't is best for us to have the mercy he knows the times and seasons wait upon God for the Lord is a God of Judgment Alas we are hasty we cannot judg when the time is fittest but God is a God of Judgment and therefore wait upon him should we have a mercy just when we would our mercy would undo us and therefore let us wait Oh my Brethren we have as much encouragement here in this Land to wait upon God as ever any people had we would fain have had the Wars ended and we began to murmur and repine because it was not done Oh! but we will not wait therefore we will not turn and those that turn to God least will wait least upon him and those that turn to God most will wait most upon him Do not you see that God hath wrought abundance of good for us by deferring what we would have had we had no opposition at the beginning of the Parliament and suppose the King and Parliament had agreed and said You shall have your desires What would we have desir'd we would have desir'd some few things as taking away Ship-mony Tonnage and Poundage Monopolies c. and to have a Triennial Parliament and the like Now what abundance hath God wrought by deferring what we would have had Oh it is good for people to wait upon God Oh let us look back to our murmurings and repinings all this while It 's true we have suffered something yea but hath not God wrought good out of our sufferings and suppose there should be fears of new storms arising Oh let us not say we will wait no longer Oh I take heed of foolish resolutions of your own God is wisest leave God to do his own work keep the way of God and go on in your duty and then let God work his own ends either by War or Peace any way as he pleases wait upon God and mark Wait upon God Continually Wait It 's fit for us to wait Yea but we have waited a long time Well but yet know that you are at the right door Suppose a man be knocking at a door and he hath knockt a great while and no body comes he begins to think it 's not the the right door but some body tells him that it is the right door and then he staies so we may assure our heares thus much we are at the right door certainly and let us not think to go away and we shall find somebody within God wil appear at length What shal we lose all for want of waiting a little while longer Thus it is with many wretched Apostats that have taken a great deal of pains in seeking after God a great while and for want of waiting a little longer they have lost all Oh! let there be this resolution in your hearts If I die and perish yet I 'le die and perish waiting upon God Certainly that soul that hath this resolution will never come to dispair yea there 's no such way for the hastening of Mercy as for a soul to lie flat at the feet of God let God do what he will with me if I perish I 'le perish waiting upon him though he kills me I 'le trust in him and stay upon him You have waited how long I pray Oh! you have been waiting and seeking of God it may be this half year or twelve months What 's that I pray O thou wretched soul thou hast deserved eternal flames and wilt thou grudg at God for waiting a few years If God would keep thee waiting all thy daies and at the last manifest Himself unto thee thou hadst cause to bless God for ever and therfore do not grudge though thou hast been waiting a while and it may be though Thy time is come yet Gods time is not come the time that you call long God doth not call it so One day with God is as a thousand years it 's no time with God and therefore do not complain of the length of thy time And your betters have waited longer Reade but the 88. Psalm and there you will find your better waited all his time The Lord was pleased to work Grace upon him when he was yong his heart was turned to God then and you may find in the text that from his youth up the terrors of God was upon him Wait upon God continually And you cannot better your self Whither wilt thou go poor soul Now you are seeking God you have not what you would have Whither will you go Can you mend your self any way if you cannot then wait upon God continually It may be before God began to turn thy heart thou thoughtst Mercy was easie to be obtain'd thou thought'st then it was nothing to beleeve thou wondrest that people spake so much of the hardness of beleeving thou thought'st it easie Wel the Lord is now working upon thy heart and the Lord would humble thee for those slight thoughts thou hadst of Faith the Lord will have thee to know That beleeving in his Grace it requires a mighty work of God even the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead Be humbled for thy slight thoughts about the work of Faith and know that this it may be is the thing that God intends in keeping thee so low so long That thou maiest come to see that Faith requires the mighty Power of God to work it that so thou maiest give glory to God when
ever thy heart shall be raised by the work of Faith to beleeve in him and to be enabled to triumph in him and say Lo this is our God we have waited on him and this is the God of my salvation And therefore you that are turning to God wait upon him continually But besides The Use of Exhortation he hath a Use of Reprehension and that 's in the 7. and 8. Verses Notwith standing all this as if the Prophet should say Oh! your hearts are set upon your Covetousness upon the pelf of this world these vanities that are here below You are not saith he as your Father Jacob I exhort you thus to turn unto the Lord and to keep Merey and Judgment but it 's otherwise with you VER 7. He is a Merchant the ballances of deceipt are in his hand he loveth to oppress THis Scripture though it seems to be somwhat a harsh one and hard to reade yet it may be a good providence of God that did bring it to hand at such a time as this is That 's the scope of the Prophet We may exhort long enough saith he yet so long as their hearts are covetous and set upon their way of getting gain they will never regard what I say they will not turn to God they will not hear of turning to God but will turn a deaf ear rather This indeed is the guize of men that have great dealings in the world and their hearts are set upon their riches let there be the most glorious Truths set before them that ever were yet they are as nothing to them we reade in Luke 16. of Christ himself preaching before a company of men and some of them being very covetous mark what the Text saith vers 14. The Pharisees also who were covetous heard all these things and they derided him they blew their noses at him so the word signifies they scorn'd him Christ he spake of Excellent and Divine Misteries and there were some of his Auditors that had dealings in the world and great estates and they scorn'd at whatsoever he spake Tel us of such things as these are tell us of waies of gain how we may come to enrich our selves This seem'd to be the disposition of some of the Auditors of Hosea at this time therefore saith he He is a Merchant The word that is here translated a Merchant it signifieth a Cananite and may be translated if you would translate it according to the very letter of the word He is a Cananite for the same word that signifies a Cananite signifies a Merchant in the Hebrew tongue You have the like in other places of Scripture Job 41. 6. Shall they part him among the Merchants among the Cananites so is the word in the Hebrew and in Prov. 31. 24. She delivereth Girdles to the Merchants the word is to the Cananites Now the reason why that a Merchant and a Cananite hath the same name in Scripture it is because the Country of Canaan was much given to Merchandize and indeed much to deceipt As the Mathematicions were cal'd Caldeans from the Country because the Country was so full of Mathematicions so Arabia Robbers and Theeves were call'd by the name of Arabians because that it was so full of them and so because Canaan had so many Merchants therefore it hath the denomination A Cananite and a Merchant But here the holy Ghost calls them not Israelites mark God he doth not say you are an Israelite but a Cananite and that is by way of upbraiding of them because they had degenerated so much from Israel that was spoken of before so he would not call them Israelite but calls them Cananite Observe that Men by their sin may lose the honor of their Progenitors And further Though it 's true that the calling of a Merchant is not only Lawful but a very honorable imployment yet the abuse of it may make it very contemptible if it be abused and corrup ed it may grow to be very contemptible for so here the holy Ghost doth cast such a word upon them to shew how through their corruption they had made a calling that was honorable to become contemptible and they had brought contempt upon their own persons for though Merchants that are subtil may in the pride of their hearts rejoyce in their subtilty and cunning and think that they can circumvent others by their deceipt and get money that way in going beyond them they may glory in this as if it were a great excellency in them but the holy Ghost casts contempt upon those he is a Merchant a Cananite and the ballances of deceipt are in his hand The ballances of Deceipt are in his hand The Lord abhor'd their ballances of deceipt yea and professed that they are an abomination to him if you reade Levit. 19. 35 36. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in Judgment in Metyard in Weight or in Measure Just Ballances just Weights a just Ephah and a just Hin shall ye have I am the Lord I am Jehovah This lies upon it if you will acknowledg me to be the Lord to be Jehovah be just in your dealing have no unjust ballances let there be no injustice in your trading And in Deut. 25. 13. and so on to the 16. Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights a great and a smal thou shalt not have in thy house divers measures a great and a smal But thou shalt have a perfect and a just weight a perfect and a just measure shalt thou have c. For all that do such things and all that do unrighteously mark are an abomination to the Lord thy God There 's much laid upon it you think you may take liberty in such things no saith the text all that do such things they are an abomination to the Lord thy God 't is not only a thing that God forbids but a thing that God abominates to be deceiptful in trading Doest thou profess any interest in God hast thou any hope that God should be merciful to thy soul to do thee any good doest thou think that God is thy God know this is an abomination then to thy God to that God that thou professest to have any interest in nay in Prov. 11. 1. there 's likewise a Scripture to the same purpose A false ballance is an abomination to the Lord but a just weight is his delight God takes pleasure in that Now saith the Prophet here The ballances of Deceipt are in his hand as if he should say let him have riches any way he doth not mind turning to God but he regards the ballances of deceit We are to understand this for all kind of deceit in trading though only ballances are here mentioned yet here 's a synechdoche one special thing is mentioned in a business to set out all of that nature not only Deceitful Ballances but Measures and Tale and Lights and Mixtures when they shall
he no not for the saving of the souls of all the world surely then a lye must not be told to get twelve pence in a bargain or five shillings or fifty shillings or five pounds it must not be told to save the souls of all the world Now to tell a lye to deceive others as well as thy self surely God hath not yet laid the weight of sin upon your souls the day is yet to come that you shall know perhaps to all eternity what the weight and burdon of sin means And then in the Third place Certainly you do not trust in God you may speak of trusting in God but it is apparant by this That you have jealous thoughts of God that you do not beleeve that God takes care of you and here 's not only sin but it shews your misery you are in such a condition that your own consciences condemn you and tell you that God takes no care of you for did you beleeve that God had care of you care over my bodie my estate my soul then I 'le leave it to God I 'le cast my care upon God I 'le go on in Gods way and leave all other things to God But now when a man is low in the world and would fain rise higher or would provide such a portion for his children and he falls to deceiving and so thinks to get it that way this is the plain explicit English of it For my part I dare not trust God to take care for me and that that I think God to do for me is not enough if I trust to Gods blessing I may be a poor man my children may be poor and I dare not trust to promises nor protections nor providences but I must take my own way the truth is the language is as much as thus much I cannot get an estate by God and therefore I 'le see what I can do by the Devil And then Fourthly All duties of Religion that thou performest are rejected by God you who are conscientious to your selves of waies of falseness in your trading and it may be have gone on many daies and yeers in your waies I say all the duties of Religion that you perform are rejected by God you will deceive and yet come to hear and deceive again and yet hear and so make the duties of Religion to be a colour to your deceipt Who would suspect such a man that is so forward in matters of Religion that he should be so deceiptful Oh! cursed is that wickedness above all wickedness it is aggravated by this When thou makest Religion to be a colour of deceipt know that God casts all thy profession and duties as filth and dung back again in your face I 'le give you this on Scripture in Ezek. 28. 18. Thou hast saith the text defiled thy Sanctuaries how by the multitude of thine iniquities by the iniquity of thy TRAFFICK By the iniquity of thy Traffick thou hast defiled thy Sanctuaries You go abroad and there you traffick and deceive and put off false Commodities and have false Reckonings and the like now you come into the Sanctuary Oh but you defile the Sanctuary by the greatness of your iniquity and among other greatness of your iniquities the iniquity of your Traffick is that that defiles the Ordinances of God unto you In Micah 6. 8. when those Hypocrits had said What shall we do shall we come with ten thousand Rams and Rivers of Oyl Saith the Prophet He hath shewed thee O man what is good And what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justice c. As if he should say Though you come with all these things it 's all to no purpose whatsoever Offerings you offer to God it 's all nothing except you do Justice Fifthly There is a curse mingled with every thing thou doest enjoy Though it may be some things are gotten honestly yet I say there is a curse mingled in all things thou doest it doth venem and poyson every thing thou doest In Zach. 5. 3. there was a flying Rol of twenty Cubits and the breadth of it ten Cubics then said he unto me This is the curse that goeth over the whol earth for whom For every one that stealeth shall be cut off c. Everie bit of meat thou eatest at thy Table thou maiest look upon it as dipt in the curse of God I have gotten this by deceipt thou wouldest be loth to have everie bit of meat rouled up in dirt and so put into thy mouth but everie bit of meat is rouled up in the Curse of God And then Sixthlie surelie thou that art guiltie of this deceipt in the way of trading thou canst not pray if thou comest to prayer surelie thy conscience is verie blind for when thou art conscious to thy self of deceipt how canst thou come into the presence of a righteous God Canst thou say Oh Righteous Father darest thou come into the presence of such a HOLY and RIGHTEOUS God that profess to abominate thy waies surely thy conscience must be very blind if thou doest not understand the evil of thy sin It may be there was a time at first of thy trading that thy conscience did trouble thee for a little time thou had'st mis-giving thoughts but thou hast worn them out and so art ready to bless thy self that thou hast gotten over such a difficulty as that is thy condition is far worse Or if not If thy conscience be not sear'd with a hot Iron then thou wilt be terrified I verily think that those that have any light left in them that they dare not go to prayers Oh! doest thou so prize a little gain as to take away the freedom of thy spirit and the holy boldness of thy heart in prayer Oh how shouldest thou say to Gain Get thee hence as a menstruous cloath Seventhly Know that if thou shouldest come to make use of thy estate in any good work God rejects it Isa 61. 8. For I the Lord love Judgment I hate robbery for burnt offerings What will you come and get by deceipt an estate and come and offer it to me I abhor it saith God 'T is a speech of Chrysostom Why doest thou despise and despight God in this in bringing unclean things to him it's a reproach to God a man that hath gotten an estate by deceipt if he brings his estate to any Service of God he doth reproach God Eightly know that God will avenge such things it may be the poor man that thou oppressest in thy trading he cannot right himself upon thee because a bargain is a bargain you will say yea but God will come over with the bargain again it may be you have done with him in your bargain but God hath not done with you You will say to him You saw what it was and you bought the thing of me as it was and I have nothing to say to you but God hath much to say to
gives him two hundred pounds ten shillings and he hath this homelie expression Restore what you have gotten else you will cough in Hell and the Devils will laugh at you Certainly it is that that will lie heavie upon conscience Gravel in the kidnies will not grate so upon you as a little guiltiness that is upon your consciences I my self knew one man that had wronged another but of five shillings and it seems he did not much regard it being but five shillings yet God awakening his conscience fiftie yeers after he comes and could not be quiet till he had restor'd that five shillings And therefore know that though it be manie yeers since you have gotten any thing by deceipt and wrong yet God will if he hath a love to you put you to restore it again Oh! what foolish lusts are the lusts of covetousness as the Apostle saith Those that will be rich they fall into many foolish lusts this sin of covetousness and deceiptfulness it doth bring men into foolish lusts and makes men pierce themselves with manie sorrows and Oh! that God would pierce them with some sorrow this day that they might never have one nights rest quiet till at least they do resolve in their hearts that they will set upon a way to make Restitution And even those of you that have made false agreements with your creditors if God awakens your consciences I see not how you can satisfie your conscience till you satisfie them these things will not be peace another day Now the Lord convince those that hearing the Word of God are guilty and know that God will call for an account of this thing and of this text that through providence you have come to hear of this day VER 8. And Ephraim said Yet I am become rich c. IN the Verse before Ephraim is charged for being a Merchant for having the Ballances of Deceipt in his hand and Loving to oppress but yet Ephraim saith I am become rich Yet The Particle here is nevertheless as if they should say Let the Prophet say what he will let him enveigh against me as he pleaseth I know not what he means by his Deceipt and Oppression I am sure I gain well by it Yet I am become rich I am sure I prosper in this way and that 's enough for me I have found me out substance The Hebrew word that is here translated Substance it signifies sometimes Iniquity Labor Violence Rapine Affliction Riches an Idol and Substance all these things this word signifies for indeed most of them if not all are usually joyned together with Riches where men are wicked that do enjoy them I have found substance The Greeks they have a word Rest Refreshing to my soul They account the great refreshing and rest to their souls to be in the riches that they have gotten however they get them I have found Substance Those things that the Prophet tels us of they are but Notions Imaginations but in what I have found there 's Substance to have an Estate and Riches and Comings-in there 's Substance I have found substance First from this observe Wicked men will have something to say for themselves though their waies be never so foul The Prophet charges them of very foul things the Ballances of Deceipt and loving to oppress and other sins before were named Yet Ephraim saith He hath somewhat to say It 's a very hard thing to stop the mouths of wicked men and especially Rich wicked men wicked men that prosper in their wicked waies say what you wil you cannot stop their mouths The work of Conversion is not so much as begun till the mouths of sinners be stopt till they be so convinc'd of their evil waies as they have nothing to say for themselves Secondly Men though very wicked and going on in very sinful courses yet they may prosper for a while Ephraim said I am become Rich. It 's true sometimes God meets with wicked men and curses them in their way that they have not their desire satisfied but many times they have they do become rich they get their hearts desires Job 21. Psal 73. with other places sufficient for this Thirdly Wicked men in their prosperity and riches what they get they attribute to themselves I am become rich and I have found substance I have got They do not look up to God indeed they dare not those that get by a sinful way they dare not acknowledge God in it and this is the evil of getting any thing in a way of sin that a man cannot come to God and say Lord I bless thee that thou hast given me this no his Conscience would fly in his face wicked men attribute all to themselves This is a very wicked and vile thing Deut. 6. 12. Beware lest thou forget the Lord thy God speaking of their having Houses and Lands Beware lest thou forget the Lord thy God and only look at thy self atribute al to thy self that 's the meaning Then Fourthly Carnal hearts they account outward things Riches to be the only substantial things I have found substance they think there is no substance in other things you speak of Spiritual things of Communion with God of Faith in Jesus Christ and of the Promises they are but poor dry things that have no substance in them but tell me of Gain and Comings-in there 's some savour there there 's substance there For indeed there 's nothing gives substance unto Spiritual things but Faith in Heb. 11. 1. Faith is the evidence of things not seen and the substance of things hoped for Faith doth give a substance to spiritual things a Beleever looks upon spiritual things as the most substantial and looks on these outward things as imaginary Carnal hearts think spiritual things imaginary and an outward estate substantial it 's quite contrary in those that are spiritual in the 8. of Proverbs vers 21. saith Wisdom there That I might cause them that love me to inherit substance to inherit that that is as if there were nothing had a substance but only that which comes in by Wisdom by Grace We call rich men substantial men such a man we say is a substantial man for indeed all the substance that the world looks after it is riches they make account that 's substance And then Fifthly When carnal heats have got estates they much glory in what they have got I am become rich and I inherit sustance They make their boast in what they have got they bless themselves in their way in Zephan 1. vers 9. it is spoken of the verie servants of rich covetous men that seek to get an estate but to their Masters in a way either of violence or of deceipt They leap upon the threshold the text saith They triumph and leap and skip in their rejoycing that they have circumvenced others that they have got such and such things
above all but saith Samuel Though you have sinned yet do not depart from the Lord Yet there is hope in Israel concerning this thing as in Ezra 10. God sees that if there be not hope men will grow desperate in their wickedness Jer. 2. 25. They said there was no hope and therefore they would go on still Oh! it 's good for sinners to see there may be hope And Gods Ministers when they have to deal with sinners though very wicked yet to give them some line of hope to catch at though they be even drown'd in their Covetousness in the world and in their guiltiness yet to cast a line of hope there is nothing reveal'd to the contrary but there may yet be possibility for thy sonl at length to be saved Oh! let men take heed of dispa 〈…〉 g determining conclusions against themselves It 's not the greatness of any sin that can be ground enough for a desperate determining conclusion for any man or woman to say God wil never shew mercy I say there 's no greatness of sin there 's no circumstances to aggravate that can be ground enough for thee to say God will never shew mercy it is a proud sullen desperate spirit of thine to make such conclusions thou maiest indeed and thou oughtest to say It were just with God not to shew mercie the Lord might justly cast me out of his sight but to say That he will not shew mercie it 's more than thou or any Angel in Heaven can say therfore O wretched sinful guilty Consciences and especially you that have been Apostats that have forsaken God and his Truths yet return return O return thou Shulamite thou maiest possibly find God as merciful to thee as ever he was there 's hope of mercy for thee still and if thou doest perish eternally it will rather be for some sin to come than for any past If God let thee live if God let thee live to night I say thou wilt rather perish for the sins cōmitted this moment than for all the sins committed in all thy life time before But now for thy continuance in Impenitency that 's a new sin for thy continuing in rejecting the Grace of God for thy continuing in thy unbeleef this indeed may cause God to bring over again all thy former sins and reckon for them Oh! this Consideration might draw the hearts of the wretchedest wicked sinner to God Is it so that it is not for any sins that have been past that I am like to perish but if I perish I shall perish for continuing rather in evil than for what evil I have committed Oh! the Lord forbid then that I should continue let me this day make a stop in evil The Lord would have hopes of mercie cast to wicked and vile sinners And let us be merciful as our Heavenly Father is merciful That is Let servants and children that have offended you let them see that upon their returning they shall find as much favor from you as ever they did sometimes Governors when they are provok'd behave themselves so ridgedly towards them that it makes them even desperate God deals not so with you do not you deal so with your inferiors And as God shews himself not to be changed but wil be the same towards this people as ever he was in goodness and so it beseems us to be that if we have shewn respect anie way to other either in speeches or otherwise if they appear to be what they were it beseems us to be towards them as then let them but appear to be what they were when such respect were shown to them and according to the example of God it beseems us to shew our selves to them again and again to what we then did I that am the Lord thy God from the Land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in Tabernacles That 's another Note The Consideration of what God hath done should help our faith in beleeving what yet he will do he that hath delivered us thus far may he not deliver us further I am the Lord that hath delivered you from Egypt Oh! let us make use of what God hath done for us to help our faith in confidence of him for doing further The truth is God hath done so much for England as there is not more to be done than hath been done and if there be but as much of the Power Goodness and Mercie of God towards us for the next five or six yeers ' as hath been for these last six years ecrtainly it will be as glorious a Nation as ever was upon the face of the earth it will be the beginning of the new Jerusalem if God should continue so as he hath done And why may not the Lord that hath brought us out of Egypt bring us to rejoyce as in the feast of Tabernacles And so Spiritually God who at first did enlighten thy mind brought thee from Egyptian darkness Certainly that God he is able to do as great things for thee still and to finish the work for thee How many are there that though they have found Gods mighty hand upon them in giving a turn to their hearts and bringing them out of the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquitie and yet at any time when they feel but their corruptions a little stirring Oh they are readie to think that they shall perish one day by the hand of those corruptions When we were enemies were we not reconcil'd to him God hath struck the deadly wound to it he hath mortified thee and the truth is consider but of this I say there is not more to be done to bring thee to Heaven thou that hast the least degree of Grace than God hath alreadie done by giving thee the least measure of grace he hath made a greater alteration in thy estate from one that is in an estate of nature than the alteration will be from thy Conversion to the height of glorie that alteration wil not be so much neither will it require such a great Power of God to make thee a glorious Saint in Heaven as it did require to make thee of one that was a child of wrath to be a child of God thou hast the better half and the most eminent power of God is put forth alreadie for our change from Grace to Glorie will be but gradual but our change from Nature to Grace it is Total and therefore let thy faith be helped from what God hath done to beleeve what he will do I will yet make thee to dwell in Tabernacles Divers Learned men carrie this I will yet make thee to dwell in Tabernacles to be a Promise of their return from captivity that they must again in the Land of Jewry keep the Feast of Tabernacles I confess were this a Promise to Judah I should think it to be the meaning of it but because it is to Israel who
but this is because they do not know him as suppose a man a great way off sees a companie of excellent Musicians that are dancing and there they are playing and there 's exact art in what they do but he thinks they are a company of mad men but saith he when he comes to draw neerer and neerer to them and hears the melodious sound and observes the art that they use then he is much taken and affected And so it is with you you are a great way off and look upon the Waies of God a great way off and so you think men mad but could you but come to observe what excellencie there is in them it would take your hearts God blest such a Similitude as this to that great mans heart so that though his Wife and Children lay sprauling at his feet yet he came to Geneva and there continued a godly man all his daies But now Similies should be brought from things known And we must not urge Similies too far neither we must take heed of a Luxuriant wanton wit in urging of Similitudes And they must be very natural and plain and proper or else there will appear rather men in them than God And because of this expression here learn you not to slight the Word when it comes by a Simile You will say This is but a Simile but though it be yet God is speaking to thy heart in it And above al w th which I must conclude Take heed when you come to the Word and it may be you come to the Word where you hear excellent Similies Take heed that you do not rest in the pleasantness of the Simile As many men they come to the Word to have their fancies touch'd and pleas'd â— more than any thing else do not play with Similies look rather at what you can see of God in a Simile than of what wit of man you see in them And thus much for this Tenth Verse VER 11. Is there iniquitie in Gilead Surely they are vanity they sacrifice Bullocks in Gilgal yea their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the fields WHat Gilead was you have formerly heard in the sixth Chapter and eight Verse Gilead is a City of them that work iniquitie it was a City of the Priests beyond Jordan where the Priests that were beyond the River liv'd Sometimes it 's taken for the Mount Gilead where Jacob and Laban met and made a Covenant one with another here neither is excluded But most I find refer it to the Citie of the Priests And what Gilgal was you had opened to you in the Ninth Chap. Fifteen Vers All their wickedness is in Gilgal Now Gilgal was the place where they were circumcised on this side Jordan and belong'd to Judah Gilead belong'd to Israel and Gilgal to Judah Is there iniquity in Gilead Surely they are vanity they sacrifice Bullocks in Gilgal They sacrifice Bullocks The Septuagint reade it The Princes sacrifice And indeed the word that is for Bullocks is very neer in the Hebr. to the word that signifies Princes the difference is only a Title on the right hand or on the left and so there might easily be a mistake but to reade it as it is here They sacrifice Bullocks in Gilgal great sacrifices and they think to put off God with their great sacrifices sacrificing Bullocks but all in vain I may spare a great deal of time in speaking to the Places having before spoken to them Therefore now to see what the scope of the holy Ghost is here Is there iniqnity in Gilead Is there an Interogation it is as if he should say First Who dare say there is iniquity in Gilead Gilead what the City of the Priests iniquity there who will charge Gilead of iniquity where the Priests are what are you wiser than all our Priests Just like to the plea that some heretofore have had What do not our Ministers do thus is not this the opinion of our Ministers shall we not regard what our Ministers do Is there iniquity in Gilead is there iniquity among them do they not joyn in this way This seems plainly to be even the scope of this Charge Is there iniquity in Gilead a wonder that there should be iniquity what 't is the City of the Priest is there iniquity there what in such a place where they use to meet where they dwel Surely they are vanity saith the Prophet Even these Priests of Gilead even these that you rest so much upon they are but vanity you may give up your consciences and your waies to them because they come and perswade you that such a thing is to be done and you must do it and so by giving up your consciences and waies to them you may be led into much evil Surely they are vanity Though they be your Priests though they be learned men and should understand the way of God yet they have their own interests too they drive their own designs they keep not the Truth of God but they follow their own minds Surely they are vanity those waies that they perswade you to God allows not of they will prove vanity even wise learned understanding men the Priests who seem'd to be much for God may yet be vanity Whatsoever is presented in the Worship of God if not by Gods appointment it 's meer vanity Surely they are vanity even Gilead Again This Gilead being on the other side of Jordan it was taken by the Assyrians and those in Gilead were carried captive before the other Cities they were carried afterwards as it appears if you reade that story in 1 King 15. 29. also 1 King 3. 26. those that were on the other side Jordan were carried captive first and Gilead among the rest so that it 's probable that this Prophesie of this Prophet was after the taking of Gilead after Gilead had been taken by the enemy before the rest of the Tribes were taken And then the force of his argument is this There is iniquity in Gilead yea and Gilead hath smarted for her iniquity though they promised themselves peace yet all proved but vanity yea they smarâ—ed very dreadfully for in Amos 1. 3. it is said there That Gilead was thresht with Instruments Now Amos was contemporary with Hosea and speaks of the wonderful miseries that had befallen the Citie of Gilead As if the Prophet should say Do not you know there is iniquity in Gilead hath not God declar'd it by his severe wrath upon Gilead have not they prov'd vanity What then can Gilgal expect they yet sacrifice Bullocks they are guilty of the same sin of false worship as Gilead was God had appointed but one place to worship in but they had abundance of sacrifices and had their Altars as common as the very heaps of stones that was in the fields From whence you may Note First That when Gods Judgments have been against any
blood upon him When God comes to bring the guilt of sin and the punishment of sin on a mans own head and there leaves it upon him that 's sad indeed We reade in 2 Sam. 12. 13. there it is said when Nathan came and rebuk'd David for his sin David confest his sin and saith Nathan to him The Lord hath put away thy sin the word is translated by some thus The Lord hath made thy sin to pass away Oh that 's a happiness indeed when it may be said of God he doth make the sin and the guilt to pass away from the sinner that 's a happiness But on the other side when God shall leave the sin upon the sinner leave the guilt of the sin upon him as if God should say here 's the guilt of sin upon the head of such a man and let it abide and lie he shall leave his blood upon him as in Ezek. 22. 20. the Lord saith He will bring them into the fire and leave them there the Lord many times brings his Saints into the fire of afflictions Oh but he will not leave them there but when he brings the wicked into the fire he leaves them there And his reproach shall his Lord return unto him His reproach That 's thus They do what lies in them to bring a reproach upon me the living God as if there were not an Alsufficiency in me but I 'le make the reproach to turn upon their own heads yea they reproach my Saints too but I 'le make this to return upon their own heads Oh take heed of doing any thing to bring a reproach upon God You will say Can the Creature bring a reproach upon God I might shew you divers waies I 'le instance but in this one thing Apostatizing from God when professors of Religion that have been very forward and seem'd to rejoyce in the waies of God and to relie upon God and they shall forsake God to follow after their vain lusts I say these do bring a reproach upon God himself in Heb. 10. 29. they did despite to the Spirit of Grace they wrong and bring a reproach upon the Spirit of Grace And then Heb. 6. 6. They put the Son of God to an open shame saith the text they make him a reproach before all As when you cart people up and down the City you hold them out as a scorn so they put the Son of God to open shame they do as it were hold forth the Son of God to open shame so what thou professest There is more good to be had in a Whore than in Jesus Christ and God and the blessed Spirit that 's the language of a Whoremaster Well you that are Apostates and think to bring a reproach upon Religion and upon the Saints and they all suffer for you from whence is it that the people of God are reproach'd but because of Apostates Well do you bring a reproach upon God upon his Name upon Profession upon his Saints the Lord hath waies to turn the reproach upon your selves and usually such men as these before they die God doth put to open shame he leaves them to such vile courses as they come to be a shame a by-word a scorn and cast out as dung and filth not only to the Churches but from such as have any kind of civility or morality at all Oh! take heed of bringing a reproach upon God and so by bringing reproaches upon his Saints Oh! let the Saints go on in a constant way of holiness and faithfulness God will wipe away their reproach the Lord will return the reproach upon the heads of such as seek to reproach them And when there comes a reproach upon the wicked it shall be another manner of reproach than upon the Saints it 's call'd a perpetual reproach the reproach of the Saints is not a perpetual reproach but when it 's upon the ungodly it shall be a perpetual reproach and in Jer. 41. 18. those two things are joyned together a Curse and a Reproach Nehem. 4. 4. Hear O God for we are despised and turn their reproach upon their own heads saith Nehemiah Sanballat and Tobiah did reproach the Servants of God that did seek in the uprightness of their hearts to honor God but Lord return their reproach upon themselves saith Nehemiah And truly this is the best way when the Servants of God are reproached though they may by lawful means seek to vindicate their names yet their chief way is to pray Lord turn the reproach upon the heads or bosoms of our adversaries And then the last Note is this And his reproach shall His LORD return unto him His Lord What is God the Lord of this people his Lord shall turn it yes saith he 't is as if the Prophet should say thus you reject God and will not be in subjection to him you will not own him to be your Lord but he will be your Lord in spite of your heart God will be God and he will be Lord let wicked men do what they can and what they will he will be their Lord Christ hath purchased to be Lord over the world and he will be Lord over all over all Apostates Hypocrits wicked men let them do what they can against Jesus Christ Jesus Christ will be Lord over them in spite of their hearts Oh it s a blessed thing to give up our selves willingly to the subjection of Jesus Christ If we say we will not have thiâ— man to rule over us Christ will say but I will rule over you the Lord hath sworn by Himself and the word hath proceeded out of his mouth in righteousness that every knee shall bow unto him and every tongue confess his Name be still saith God and know that I am the Lord So I say to the most troublesome and tumultuous spirit that would cast off the yoke of God Oh! be still thou wretched thou proud spirit and know that God is the Lord he will prevail against you God made Julian to know this that when a dart was struck into him he cast his heart blood into the Air with an O than Galilean thou hast overcome me And so all wicked men shall be forced to say one day Well though I would cast off the Commands of God behind my back and break his Cords yet the Lord hath overcome me and though I perish to all eternity yet God will be God blessed for ever and Lord of the whol Earth And thus through Gods mercy we have gon through this Twelfth Chapter CHAP. XIII VER 1. When Ephraim spake trembling he exalted himself in Israel but when he offended in Baal he died THis Chapter is partly Legal and partly Evangelical Legal charging this people with their fin of Idolatry and of Ingratitude shewing them Gods wrath partly already inflicted and further threatned them to the 14. Verse and again in the
that inferiors should give to their Superiors to shew reverence when they speak Oh let us give this to God Psal 103. 20. Bless the Lord ye his Angels that excel in strength and do his Commandements hearkening to the voice of his Word The Angels they excel in strength the most excellent Creatures and what do they slight and disregard the Word of God Oh no they hearken to the voice of His Word they give a reverent respect to the voice of Gods Word and it infinitly beseems us when God speaks to give respect to him that 's the first Secondly Those who are in place of power over others they account it their honor not only that those under them regard what they say but that they should tremble at what they say It is a great delight that man hath to lift up himself above others and to be imperious above others we might give divers examples of men that have had great power in their hands and when any thing hath displeased them they would speak so as to make others to shake and tremble Nay not only men in great place will do it but you shall find this disposition in men that are very mean and of a very low rank yet if they have any under them they will be imperious over them as now in Families how many when they do but speak to their Wives though she be colateral and not directly under him yet how imperiously do they speak speak so as to make the house shake almost when they speak and so Servants and Children and this they account their Glory My Brethren though this be often through much distemper and pride and vanity in men to delight to make all that are under them to tremble when they speak yet this is an honor due to God and God expects it from us for the Lord is infinitely above us and we are all of us under the feet of God and at his dispose both for our present and eternal estate And it is â—it for us therefore to give regard and some reverence to God when he speaks to have an heart to tremble at his Word that 's that God looks for In Isa 66. 2. The Lord that is on high yet he looks to him that is of a poor and contrite spirit and trembleth at his Word the Word that God speaks is that that hath the dreadful Authority of God in it It is that that binds Conscience it 's that Word that if thou obeyest not will bind thee over to eternal death It becomes the greatest Monarchs in the world to have shaking and trembling hearts when God speaks Oh! who art thou that canst stand against the Voice of God when he speaks Oh bold and hard heart I say that canst stand out against Gods Voice In Psal 29. 4. The Voice of the Lord is powerful the Voice of the Lord is full of Majesty And in Hab. 3. 16 When I heard my belly trembled and my lips quivered at the Voice and I trembled in my self again This is the honor that is due to God Oh it is a comely thing to see a Congregation sit even trembling under the Word of God manifesting their hearts to be affected with the Authority and Majestie of what it is that God speaks for there 's much Majesty in the Voice of God Oh! 't is full of Majestie Again When he spake there was trembling This the Prophet mentions as a means to aggravate his sin and misery afterwards As if the Prophet should say There was a time that God did subdue the hearts of people under Ephraim so that Ephraim had a great deal of Authority over those that were under him When Ephraim spake there was trembling From whence the Note is this which Pareus hath upon the place saith he The subjection of the hearts of men unto those in Authority it is a work of God God is to have the glory of it It is from God that the hearts of multitudes shall be brought under some few so as to fear them and to receive what they speak with trembling it is from God In Josh 4. 14. On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel and they feared him as they feared Moses Joshua before Moses dyed was but a servant to Moses and we do not reade that he was so magnified among the People they did not fear him so much No the fear was then upon Moses because Moses was in place of Authority but when Moses was taken away and Joshua was to succeed him in Authority then the Lord magnified him the Lord put a lustre upon him and the Lord caused the People to fear him as they had feared Moses It is a work of God to cause People to fear Magistrates So in Dan. 5. 19. For the Majestie be gave him that God gave the King all People and Nations and Languages trembled and feared before him It 's God that puts majestie upon Governors to make those that are under to fear It 's a very observable Scripture we have in Psal 77. 14. there it 's spoken of God that he did wonders and marvellous things What are those wonders and marvellous things If you reade you shall find among others Thou leadest thy People like a flock of Sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron that 's reckoned among the wonders and marvellous things that God doth That he did lead his People like a flock of Sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron that so great a multitude should be led like a flock of Sheep by the hands of two it is a wonderful work of God God is to have the glory of it it is for the maintaining of Government and Order in the World that God doth so subdue the hearts of many under few Then Fourthly When Ephraim spake trembling Though Ephraim the yonger yet when he got Authority in his hand how imperious was he And observe The meaner the beginings of men are the more imperious often-times they are when they come in place of Power none more imperious and insulting over men than such as have meaner beginings this was the yonger Brother and had power by a special providence of God not according to the ordinary common course and very often we find it that men of mean qualitie and that were inferior to others if any providences raises them above others they grow more imperious than others And then a Fifth is this which is a principal thing to be observed here a Note from the change of the condition of Ephraim when Ephraim spake trembling but after he sinned he died That men which heretofore have been of very high repute and of reverend respect so as they had much power to prevail with people that they had to do with yet by their sin they fall off from their dignity Sin will bring mens honors down though there was a time that every one reverenced him had high esteem
as the story of this last six yeers will be if it be faithfully recorded and yet though the Lord be going on in his waies and hath not yet finish'd it we have forgotten Oh doth it not appear so what do men look after everie man his own advantage and own ends and seeks to fill themselves minding nothing else And what mighty haughtiness of spirit there is in many men within this six yeers Oh how have we forgotten the Lord and forgotten those Instruments that God hath made use of for good unto us God had more honor from us when there was not the hundredth part done for us as now there is now we as it were shake our ears and let God do as he will we hope we can do prettie well to shift for our selves Oh! the Lord deliver this Citie out of this and from this evil of forgetting the Lord when we are fill'd You begin to have more full trading now than formerlie now the Countrie begins to be open and they repare to the Citie for all Oh the Lord deliver this Citie from surfetting by their fulness and from this of forgetting the Lord Oh that we could but say that the Lord having restored the trading to the City having such ful trading as now they are like to have Oh to sanctifie the Name of God more than ever they did Oh how do you remember God everie time you see Customers come into your Shops everie time you see the Waggons come out of the Countrie into your Streets how do you bless God and how is God honored among you Oh that it were so it 's a sore and grievous evil to forget the Lord after the Lord hath granted us fulness it 's a horrible ingratitude as if there were nothing to be regarded but our selves First It 's against many charges that God gives beforehand to forwarn us of it If you reade the 6th of Deuteronomy 11. Vers and the 8. Chap. 12. Vers you shall find there how the Lord charges this people When you come into the Land and your houses are full of good things and you eat of the good of the Land beware you forget not the Lord beware and forget not beware and forget not again and again this is inculcated shewing how prone we are to forget the Lord in our fulness Oh! that those of you that providence hath brought this morning would consider of these Scriptures now God is beginning to come in with more fulness than before Oh beware that you forget not the Lord God in the midst of your fulness Oh! let there be as much or more prayer in your familie than there was in former times that you may have a sanctified use of the fulness that now you enjoy yea it 's worse than beastlie The Ox knows his Owner and the Ass his Masters crib but Israel hath forgotten me If the Ox be but fed he knows his Owner Who is it that feeds you is it not the Lord and will you forget him Oh! this will lose the blessing of all you do enjoy and your hearts will grow very wicked beyond what you can imagine you cannot imagine the evil that your hearts will grow to if you forget God in the enjoyment of that estate that God sets you in And it is a sin that God knows not how to pardon for so he expresses himself Ier. 5. 7. How shall I pardon thee for this Why is it that God should say so as if he should say Though I be a God of infinite mercy yet here 's a sin I know not how to pardon why saith he when I had fed them to the full they committed a dultry and they abused that fulness Oh! how shall I pardon thee And if ever you have need of God again how will conscience be stop'd With what face can you go to God again to seek for help if God should bring you low Conscience will presently say You were once emptie and God fill'd you and what honor had God from you no your hearts were exalted and you forgot God And 't is a most foolish thing for you to do so you depend upon God in the midst of all your fulness as much as before everie moment you lie at Gods mercie though perhaps you are not sensible of it yet certainly it is so A foolish thing it is then to forget the Lord Your forgetting God will make you forget your selves and just it may be with God to forget you and to change the waies of his administration towards you Oh take heed then of being exalted and of forgetting the Lord in your fulness Truly Brethren God had rather have his people fall into any sin almost than into the sin of pride and forgetfulness of him and specially that of pride Therefore you find in Scripture That God will rather set the Devil upon his people than to have their hearts exalted as Paul lest he should be lifted up above measure he had a prick in the flesh the buffeting of Satan God had rather see the Devil buffeting of his people than to see the hearts of them to be exalted Yea he had rather suffer them to fall into any other sin Charge your souls then against this as David in Psal 103. at the beginning Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits See what a charge he puts upon his soul Oh my soul thōu hast received many benefits from the Lord and there is this deadness in thee if thou beest but left to thy self thou wilt forget the Lord and this will be a sore evil in thee Oh my soul forget not all his benefits Oh that you would go home and charge your souls not to forget the Lord and all his benefits let Husband put Wife in mind with this charge and Wife the Husband but especially your selves in secret between God and your selves to charge your souls not to forget his benefits The more we remember God in the blessings we have the more sweet will our blessings be to us You have a great many mercies but when you forget God you lose the verie sweetness of all your mercies Oh! when you can see a mercie and see the God of that mercie then it 's sweet when I can see a mercie and the Fountain from whence it comes and whither it tends then the mercie is sweet Oh! therefore you deal foolishlie in forgetting the Lord. And the more safe you will be And the more eminent you will be in grace Oh what a lovely object is it to behold a man or woman in the midest of all outward enjoyments to be Heavenlie and Spiritual I say the Graces of such Oh! they glister like Diamonds like most precious Pearls indeed and therefore remember the Lord in al the good things that you do enjoy It follows VER 7. Therefore I
that is here translated observing is very neer to that which is Assyrian The she Leopard it all one with that they call Panther And First They say it is so fierce that presently it flies in the eyes of a man I 'le be a Leopard I 'le fly in the very faces of such Oh! such manifest much pride in their faces and I 'le fly in their very faces saith God Secondly The Leopard is a very swift creature Hab. 1. 8. so the Lord will swiftly come against wicked and ungodly men as a Leopard swiftly and overtake them Thirdly A Leopard to watch his prey is very subtil to observe his fit times and opportunities to fall upon the prey so you have it in the text As a Leopard will I watch them Oh this set out much of the fearful wrath of God against wicked men you have the discription in Jer. 5. 6. A Leopard shall watch over their Cities I say there 's much of Gods wrath in this it 's very terrible the Lord sets his infinite wisdom on work to watch fit times and opportunities for to let out his wrath upon ungodly men I 'le watch over them for evil that we have in another Scripture threatned Oh those are in a sad condition that the Lord watches over them to do them evil God watches over his people for good But such as when they are fled exalt themselves and forget the Lord God watches over them for evil they should be destroyed soon but saith God I have a fitter time than now wherein I 'le get my self a greater Name wherein it shall be worse for them In due time shall their feet slide this is the reason why men live so long in their prosperity and go on and satisfie their wills Because God is watching over them and his time is not yet come Further It is observed of the Leopard that when it comes upon its prey it leaps upon it suddenly and so doth the Lord to ungodly men he comes in a sudden way and leaps upon them and therefore you must not think that you are as wel because you are in as safe a condition as you were a year since or seven years since It is as wel with me saith one as it hath been with me in all my life-time what then you may be never a whit the further off from dangers for the way of God in bringing his wrath it is sudden many times Lastly It is observed of the Leopard that sometimes it will sleep a very long time together it is said to sleep three daies together but after it awakes it is more fierce than before And so the Lord though sometimes he may be patient towards sinners yet when he comes to awake out of his sleep as he speaks of himself Psal 78. 65. he is more terrible VER 8. I will meet with them as a Bear bereaved of her whelps and will rent the caul of their heart and there will I devour them like a Lyon the wildbeast shall tear them THE Third Creature is the Bear I will meet with them as a Bear bereaved of her whelps c. This Creature you know is very fierce and terrible too therefore we reade in the 2d of Kings that there were two she Bears came out of the wood and tore in pieces forty two Children Prov. 17. 12. Let a Bear robbed of her whelps meat a man rather than a fool in his folly She is fierce at all times but above all if she be robbed of her whelps As it is observed that there 's no Creature loves her yong ones more than the Bear and yet the mo 〈…〉 deformed of any and an emblem it may be of a man that loves his own deformed fancies it 's a Note that one Interpreter hath upon it Oh how will the Lord be in an holy rage if his Children be wronged if you do any hurt to his own Children that hath his Image in them when the instinct of Nature is so in this Creature the Bear to be in such a rage when she is robbed of such ugly things as her whelps are 2 Sam. 17. 8. saith Hushai to Absalom Thou knowest thy father and his men that they be mighty men and they be chafed in their fury as a Bear robbed of her whelps in the field Thus the Scripture often discribes exceeding fierceness and rage to the fierceness of a Bear bereaved of her whelps therefore saith he here I will rend the very caul of their bearts and there will I devour them like a Lyon Here he mentions the Lyon the second time The word in your Books is the same but in the Original it is somewhat different It is observed of the Lyon when he comes upon the prey because it 's named here the second time that it rends the body asunder and loves to suck the blood and the fat that is about the heart and as for other parts of the body except it be in very great hunger it leaves them for other beasts to prey upon but the heart and the blood and the fat that is about the heart that the Lyon loves to suck and therefore saith God here I will rent the caul of their heart and there will I devour like a Lyon Luther hath an excellent Note upon this saith he The Lord here will do as a Lyon doth he more immediately will strike out their hearts and punish them with spiritual Plagues and Judgments and as for their estates and bodies he will leave them to other beasts and they shall plague them and punish them that way they had a film upon their hearts saith he and instructions could not get to their hearts but God will tear that caul will tear that film from off their hearts that kept off instructions Oh! let us take heed of this film of our hearts that keeps out the Word of God take heed of that for ever for God hath waies to tear this film from off thy heart As I remember Bernard saith concerning his Brother when he gave him many good instructions and admonitions and his brother was a Soldier and did not mind them he puts his fingers to his sides and saith he Oh! one day a speer shall make way to this heart for instructions and admonitions to enter So I may say to such whose hearts have a film upon them that whatsoever the Preacher saith it cannot get in God may justly come and tear the film from off thy heart that keeps out the Instructions of God And Arias Montanus hath a Note further upon this of sending the Plague upon their hearts and to leave their estates and comforts to the Assyrians And the wild Beasts shall tear them Why Did he not name wild beasts enough before There was the Lyon and the Leopard and the Bear and the Lyon again and yet he comes over again with wild Beasts as if he should say if there by any terror any dreadfulness in
any wild Beasts whatsoever there is that in my wrath if you escape one wild beast another shall tear you and that 's the reason that the Bear is added to the Lyon and the Leopard because the Bear runs up a tree so much which the others do not and now he comes to all wild Beasts put them all together and my wrath is as fierce as them And this is one excellent meditation from hence That put all the dreadfulness of all creatures in the world together and all that it is in the wrath of God As put all the good things that are in all creatures together all this is in the Love and Mercy of God so put al things that any way may bring any torments or tortor to us and the quintessence of all this is in Gods wrath The wild Beasts shall tear them Lyra thinks that this Prophesie was fulfill'd when they were carried captive and in their journey many died and so they were cast into fields and devoured by wild Beasts and it 's likely it may be fulfill'd in part so as usually when Soldiers carry an Enemy captive Why if they be sick let them die and if they die throw them into a ditch there 's all they care for them and so it was with this people that the Lord though he knew them in the wilderness and his protection was over them yet now to forget them and lets them be carried into captivity and cast to wild beasts and so their carkasses was torn And some think that the expression of Gods wrath by these Beasts hath reference to the four Monarchies which God would make use of to be very terrible to his Saints In Dan. 7. you shall find the four Monarchies of the world the Babylonian the Persian the Grecian and Roman Monarchies set forth in the same manner as here the holy Ghost sets out the wrath of God against Israel for the truth is Those things that we have here in Hosea were to set forth Gods waies to his people in after-times not only when they were to be carried captive In Dan. 7. 3. there appeared four great Beasts the first li 〈…〉 Lyon by which was signified the Babylonish Empire the second like a Bear by that the Persian the third like a Leopard and that 's the Graecian for Alexander was as a Leopard exceeding swift all his exploits he did in twelve yeers he was but thirty three yeers old when he died And moreover they observe of the Leopard which hath the name from a Panther that it smels exceedingly the very body of it smels sweet above all Beasts and so it doth invite the Beasts to it and so it was said of Alexanders body that it had a sweet smell with it And then the fourth being the Roman Empire mark how that 's set out just as Gods sets out his wrath he doth not name any particular Beast but the wild Beast this is dreadful terrible and strong exceedingly and it had great iron teeth it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped the residue with the feet of it and it was diverse from al the beasts that was before it and it had ten horns you know now that that was divided into ten Kingdoms or ten sorts of Civil Governments at several times This is the Roman Empire the power of whom Antichrist was to have by both whom the Lord would exercise his people and be very terrible to his people especially those people of his that were Apostatizing people that would worship him according to their own waies God would be thus terrible to them where ever they lived under any of the former Empires they should have God either as a Lyon a Leopard a Bear or like this dreadful Creature at the last unto them Oh but you will say Why do you speak thus Or it may be people would speak thus to the Prophet Oh why do you speak of God in this terrible manner Is not our God a gracious God and a merciful God why then will you render God thus terrible Why saith the Prophet then comes in VER 9. O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self but in me is thy help OH do not find fault with the dreadfulness of God that God appears thus dreadful to you and do not you blame the Ministers of God that they do render God in this dreadful manner before you though it 's true that God appears in a way ready to destroy you bu 〈…〉 the Lord yet is infinite holy and blessed and a God of mercy and goodness in himself O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self thou maiest thank thy self for all this 〈◊〉 many of you when you hear the terrors of God set before you perhaps your hearts rise against them and your spirits do exceedingly distast such things as those are and why do Ministers make God appear to be so terrible to people when as he is such a merciful and gracious God Oh! rather lay thine hand upon thine own heart and say God indeed is thus gracious and merciful but it 's through my wickedness that makes God appear so terrible the judgments of God are call'd strange things it 's because that God hath not such delight in the execution of wrath in appearing like a Lyon a Leopard and a Bear It 's that that pleases the heart of God to appear as a Father to do good to his people Oh! but thou hast destroyed thy self And this is a main point indeed that sinful people should charge themselves with all the evil that doth befall them they destroy themselves Oh! this it is that will be the aggravation of mens judgments another day that they are the cause of all the evils they suffer You may think to put it off to God and say Oh how dreadful is Gods Justice but God knows how to put off all upon your selves and the destruction of sinners will appear to be from themselves and God will cleer it up to all the World before Men and Angels and will cleer it up unto their Consciences The damn'd in Hell shall not be able to speak against Gods Justice at all but they shall be forced to charge themselves with all the evil that is upon them Oh! it was through this wretched and vile wicked heart of mine God was not wanting to me in any means of good but I had a rebellious heart and I have brought all this evil upon my self I have destroyed my self O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self Destroyed himself did not God in the words imme 〈…〉 〈◊〉 before say that he would meet him as a Bear that is bereaved of her Whelps and would rend the Caul of their hearts and would be as a Lyon to them and a Leopard and yet O Israel thou hast destroyed thy self Though God execute severe wrath and makes use of instruments of wrath against a people yet their destruction is to be attributed to themselves
indeed the Devils rather than his own he presently charges his own heart Oh! what a wretched vile heart have I when as it may not be it but meer suggestions and temptations of the Devil and not the steam and filth of his heart but he doth judg his heart from those temptations and thinks it is nothing but the uncleanness and filthiness of his heart but you shall have another man that hath a most filthy wicked heart and there comes most abominable steams which break forth into filthy diseases and though it comes altogether from himself yet saith he Oh the temptations of the Devil doth leade me aside and I cannot tell how to resist him it 's from temptations it 's from thy self from that wicked unclean heart of thine and were there no Devils in Hell at all thou hast the seeds of all sin in thy heart it 's from thy uncleanness Oh! Let 's learn to be afraid of our selves and to pray to God to be delivered from our selves Better to be given up to the Devil than to ones self You know the incestuous person was delivered up to Satan but it was for the destruction of the flesh and the saving of his soul but when one is given up to himself it is for the damning of his soul then that 's no way for to save ones self to be given up to himself Thou hast destroyed thy self And my Brethren we have cause to think of this point very seriously in another notion in respect of the Kingdom and Nation certainly if ever this Kingdom be destroyed it must needs be written for the Generations to come Here 's a Kingdom a Nation that hath destroyed its self Certainly we cannot say 't is from God if we perish what God will do with us we know not but truly this we may plainlie see That if God leaves us but a little more to our selves we are in a very fair way to destroy our selves and that after God hath wrought so for us God hath wrought like a God for us but we how do we deal for our selves like men shall we say Oh no like brute-beasts if men mad men men that are appointed to destruction If we be destroyed it will be the saddest storie that ever was in the world against a people if so be that at length we should perish after God hath done so much for us truly now God hath wrought like a God to deliver us from our common Enemies God had need to work as much for us like a God to deliver us from our selves great hath the works of God been in delīvering of us from the rage of those that we thought intended to destroy us and surely did Well now God hath done such works if God should say Well I have done my work I have delivered you from those you were afraid of and now I will leave you to your selves Oh! we had cause to fall upon our faces and say O Lord do not so for it had been better that they had destroyed us For if thou shouldest leave us to our selves our destruction would be a more bitter destruction Do not we see how fast we run towards destruction being but a little left to our selves what a perverse spirit is there now among our selves We say sometimes of the Prelates Oh the hand of God is against them how they brought themselves into a snare Now they may stand and look upon us and even laugh almost at us and say Well let them alone as we speak of some Give them line enough and they will quickly hang themselves Let them alone and they will fall out one with another and destroy one another they will quickly ruin themselves if they be let alone Oh we have as much experience of the vanitie of mens hearts and the follie and pride and hypocrisie and stoutness and frowardness of mens hearts as ever there was experience since the world began Who could ever have thought this five or six yeers ago if this could have been presented as it were in a Map unto us Oh you shall be in great dangers you shall have mighty enemies rise and readie to swallow you up but I will appear and work for you I will put forth my glorie the right hand of my power and excellencie shall appear for you and when all this is done You shall undo your selves and out of your own selves shall be your ruin even from those that you trusted in much and those that you much applauded they shall be cause of the evil yea And even you that now think your hearts are so right and have said Oh! If God would but deliver us how we would magnifie his Name you shall be the cause of the evil of the Kingdom Had any said so of some that we have cause to have our hearts shake within us when we think as the Prophet did of Hazael you shall do thus and thus they would have been readie to answer you What are we dogs are we dead dogs that we should do such things Well the Lord deliver us from our selves In Me is Thy Help We can easily destroy our selves but can we save our selves A Child can break a Glass that all the men in the Country cannot make it up again Everie fool may do mischief to himself yea and to others but can he help 't is God onlie that is the help of his People 't is not means that help but God yea 't is that that God doth much glorie in To be accounted the cause of all good he would have all evil cast upon men but al good from Himself even present good and eternal good he would have attributed to himself In the reading of this Scripture I find a very strange Expression of one Commenting upon it that one would think had some knowledg of the freeness of Gods Grace and Goodness and yet a Jesuit In me is thy help Hence it follows saith he That Predestination Vocation and Grace do not come from the foresight of the Merits of those that are Predestinated but from Gods Predestinating Calling Preventing with his Grace These things are the help of God even from the mouth of a Jesuit we have this acknowledging sometimes in their Writings and when they are serious that neither Predestination nor Vocation nor Grace comes from any forefight of what man would do but only from Gods Predistinating Calling Preventing with his Grace and this is the help of God all good it is in God both for the present and our eternal good It was a speech of Augustin God doth many good things in a man that a man doth not himself but there are other things that God works in man but saith he Though he works them 〈◊〉 him and man doth them yet it is God that doth them This point we must not speak at large to but pase it presently for we met with that before in the Prophesie
your King and will do that which beseems me as the great King of Heaven and Earth I will not be born down by you with all your boisterousness I will govern you 〈◊〉 will have mine own ends do what you can things shall not go as you will but they shall go as I will have them you would cast off my Authoritie but I wil maintain it I wil be your King This is a sad condition to a people when God rules over them in spight of their heart And yet God doth do so many times God rules over people in spight of their hearts whether they will or no while they are plotting and striving for themselves this way and that way God is bringing about his own ends in their ruin The Lord is King be the people never so unquiet saith the Psalmist Psal 99. 1. It 's not thy fretting and wilfulness that wil hinder the course of Gods ordering things in the world he will be King at last do what thou canst while thou and thousand thousands of such as thou art shall perish eternally God will be King Oh it 's infinitly better for thee to fal down before the Lord and say Lord thou shalt be our King thou art above us thou hast power over us thou shalt be our King for ever It 's just with God alwaies to say thus I will be King But certainly God hath not made such a distance between man and man that any man should say so that whatsoever injustice he doth whatsoever misery he brings people into yet I will be thy King I will have mine own ends mine own will The Bonds between Kings and States certainly is mutual But further thus I will be their King I will not cast off all care of them I will not leave them to the mercy or rather to the crueltie of others but let them come and return to me and I will deal with them as a King to defend them to govern them to do good to them That God should be King over a people it 's his Mercy and it's mans felicitie this should be our prayer Lord give us not up to be rul'd by our lusts but do thou rule over us and Lord give us not up to be rul'd by the lusts of wicked men of unjust and cruel men to rule over us but do thou reign over us Let the Kingdoms of the earth be the Lords and his Christs and he shall reign for evermore But there is another reading of the words and that 's thus You that have books of the old-Translation where Beza's the Geneva Notes are you shall find the reading thus I am and there 's a stop where is your King that should save your City I find most Interpreters go so So the Septuagint Translation Where is your King say they and the Chaldae Paraphrase Where is your King that should save you in all your Cities The Chaldae Paraphrase the Septuagint and very many Interpreters reades it so it 's so translated in the old Translation and according to the Original I will be there may be a stop your King Where is he that should save you in your Cities Yea and many Learned men in speaking of this text in their Comments upon it say they it 's but a transposition of the letters which is ordinarily in the Hebrew tongue and though the word that is I will be it is as much as where upon a transposition of the letter but though we do not make the transposition of the letter in the first words I will be but take them as they are there But if you make a stop there I will be your King where is he that shall save you in your Cities The sense comes to one As if he should say I am the same God that ever I was but where is your King that should save you in your Cities Oh the words read so may pierce the hearts of some if ever they have had any acquaintance with God and known what communion with God hath meane heretofore to hear but these words for God to say I am I am the same God that ever you knew me to be that ever you found me to be but where is your King that should save you and if you reade it as here I will be and there make the stop so Pareus I will be saith he and so refers it then I will be what he had said before as a Lyon a Leopard and as a Bear bereaved of her Whelps and then Where is your King that should save you This is Gods Name in Exod. 3. 14. I am that I am or I will be what I will be so saith God here I am Lord I will be but then where is your King where is your King that should save you in your Citie and your judges of whom you said Give us a King and Princes My Brethren I am no Prophet and have not the spirit of a Prophet that could prophesie of things before or could order Scripture when it should be preached of and when not I am you see in an ordinary course and way and meeting with this Scripture am bound according to my ability to demonstrate unto you wherein the force of it lies I hope your consciences shal be witness that there shal not be the least straining of it but to give you the storie of the thing and the temper of the people at this time it appears plainly that there was three things that they much rested upon say they Let the Prophet say what he will we have the King for us and the Citie for us and the Nobles for us put King and Citie and Nobles together and who can prevail saith God Where 's your King that should save you in your Cities and your Judges of whom ye said Give us a King and Princes and Nobles There 's these three put together If our King come to the Cities he will have a partie there and there will be strength in the Citie and we know the Cities are able to command all the Country and Kingdom there 's the Militia and a numerous company of men and there 's riches in the Cities and therefore the King together with them and then having the Nobles of the Land and the Princes we are sure in a safe condition and yet in the midst of this he asks them by way if derision and insultation For so it is Where is your King that should save you in your Cities The Notes from the words are these First Those things that carnal hearts rest upon will vanish Where are they saith God what 's become of them you would encourage one another and say Come we shall have a day yet for we have this strength and the King and Nobles for us Where are they those things that carnal hearts rest upon will vanish and come to nothing Yea Secondly God loves to insult over men in their carnal confidences For so
he doth not say here Your King shall not save you nor your Cities shal not save you nor your Princes and Nobles shall not save you but where are they in a kind of Irony God loves to insult over the carnal confidences of men And we find in Scripture many such kind of Insultings over men in Deut. 32. 37. Where are your Gods that should deliver you And in Is 19. 12. Where are thy Wise-men What we have got States-men men known in State Affairs we have them with us But where are they saith God Thus the Lord insults over men that put their confidence in the flesh and especially when they have been confident in their own waies forsaking God and so bringing themselves to misery when they have brought themselves to misery by forsaking the waies of God now God insults now where are these things that you put such confidence in And truly even the Saints so be it they do it in an holy humble way they may have some kind of insulting over ungodly men only because they have so much flesh in them there 's danger therefore they had need keep their hearts very low But if they do it in the strength of God we have it in Scripture That the Virgin Daughter of Zion shall laugh at them and laugh them to scorn Only keep your hearts I say low and you may come to see the Glory of God even insult in this That God hath heard your Prayer and hath been with his People and that the Enemy hath had so much power and strength in the flesh and yet how the Lord hath disappointed them And then further This is the great confusion to carnal hearts when they shall be asked Where 's their Confidence and their Boasting and they shall be found speechless when this shall be ask'd them Where 's your bravery and pride and stoutness of your hearts and they shal be able to say nothing Oh! this wil be a great confusion and shame upon them Certainly ere long it will be so to all carnal hearts that make their boast in the pomp and glory of the world there shall be a confounding Where Asked them Where 's all your Bravery and Pride and Rage I say this confounding Where will be asked to every wicked and ungodly man What will they be able to say then In Judg. 9. 28. we reade of one Gaal the son of Ebed who said Who is Abimelech but in vers 38. when Abimelech came with strength against him Zebal said to him Where is now thy mouth wherewith thou saidest Who is Abimelech that we should serve him When men are in their pride bravery then they scorn at God and men they little regard any thing that is said to them but when God brings them down low then wheretis that mouth of thine that did so boast and speak so proudly as heretofore it did My brethren let us learn from hence therfore To seek after and rest upon those things which we may be able alwaies to give an accompt of where they are if it should be ask'd us the Saints if it should be ask'd them Where is their God they can give an accompt It 's the God of Heaven that we have trusted in it 's the God that is in the highest Heavens and in the hearts of the Saints we can tell where our God is It is just with God that wicked men should be insulted over because they insult over the Saints so if God do but seem to absent himself from his People they will presently insult over them yea where 's your God where 's your Prayers and Fastings Have not some of you heard such language many times in this Kingdom There 's no such time but the Saints of God can give an Answer to this Where they can tell where their Fastings and Prayers are but the wicked are not able to tell what is become of their Confidences and boastings Therfore O you Saints of God never be afraid of evil men for ere long it will be demanded of them where their Pomp and Glory and Pride is but they cannot answer And it follows Thy Judges of whom thou saidst Give me a King and Princes By Judges though sometimes Kings are meant as Amos 2. 3. I will cut off the Judg out of the midst of thee he speaks saith Drusius of the King of Moab we are to understand here their Nobles and Great men upon whom they relied for so they are call'd in Scripture Judges they had indeed Judges before that time when they said Give us a King and Princes they had Judges but they were of meaner rank in comparison of those they had after they had Judges that by Gods appointment govern'd them but they were too mean for them no they must have a KING they must have PRINCES they must have such JUDGES that are Kings and Princes Great men for these that they had to rule over them they were but of their own rank and this would not satisfie them but they must have such as were great ones above them those were but ordinary men what were they but the Commons of the same ranke with other men and raised up but a little while ago from the ordinary way and rank of men and why should not we be rul'd and govern'd by them No we must have a King and Nobles and they must govern us Give us a King and Princes God had been much with these Judges reade but the story of the Judges and you shall find that God had ever more appeared with them I do not remember any one of the Judge but ever prevail'd when God raised him up but now this people they regard them not why because they were but meaner men they were but men of their own rank though God did assist them so exceedingly Oh my Brethren this is the ordinary guize of carnal hearts Though God be much with men yet if they be but of a low rank carnal hearts regards them not let them do never so great services and be never so instrumental for the Kingdom even those men that have had their estates preserved by them that have had their Liberties and all kept by them and by a mighty Spirit that God hath put into them yet when the work is over they look upon them but as mean ordinarie men men of a common rank and so let them go they after all the great things that God hath done by them still their thoughts and minds are upon others that are above them and Princes and Nobles such men they rely more upon men in whom they see outward pomp and glory then upon those that have the presence of God never so much with them and they regard them more and they do think that they shall receive more good by them and their hearts are more towards them if they have outward pomp and glory than towards such men that are in a meaner condition though there be never
nostrils you shall have enough of it even till it be loathsom to you Why Because you have despised the Lord which is among you The Lord gave them their desires because they had despised him So you are ready to bless your selves in this I have what I would have and think that therefore God regards you that God gives you what you would desire because you have sinned against him whereas if he were not angry with you he would not give it Saith Augustin God many times in giving is Angry in denying is Merciful It is because he is angry that he gives you such things as-you would have There 's the same in Psal 78. 29 30. and so on There it appears how God gave them flesh according to their desires but while the meat was in their mouths the wrath of God came upon them It is a most excellent point if we had time a little to open it Oh it might quiet our desires for that I had thought to have spoken to how we might know when a Thing is given in Gods Anger or in his Love the several waies of Gods giving you may come to know whether a thing be given in Love or in Anger by seeing the waies of things and comparing one thing with another you may come to know much of God in it But only now let me leave this with you about it Take heed of immoderate desires for any worldly thing To say I must and I will and I will have it when ever you find your hearts strongly rising to a thing that you must needs have then be afraid be afraid of having it as much as you were of having any thing in your lives no man or woman can have any comfort in anie thing as coming from Gods Love until they can first quiet their hearts and be willing to be at Gods dispose to be willing to be without it that 's one main sign of giving in Gods Anger or in Love When as a man or woman finds an eager desire after a thing Oh it is verie sutable to such and such a purpose yea but now if I can go alone and consider that God is wiser than I and knows what 's best for me if I can labor to work my heart to this Lord if it be good for me then I desire it but if thou seest it would not be good then Lord here I am do with me what seems good in thine eyes as David did Surely nature could not but work strongly yet saith David If the Lord hath any pleasure in me he will bring me again to this City c. but if he shall say I have no pleasure in thee lo here I am let him do what seemeth him good in his eyes Yea this was a thing indeed and no question this temper of Davids heart in his affliction was the thing that did so much help him in enlargement to praise God when he returned to the Ark and Citie again Had David kept a stir and fretting and vexing and what must I go from the Citie of Jerusalem and how doth God deal with me and I am resolved though it cost me my life I will return to Jerusalem and take possession of the Citie whatsoever comes of it perhaps David might have gotten thither but there would not have been so much love of God in it as when he could give up himself to Gods dispose And so if this people could have said thus It 's true Lord thou art our King but we are despised because we are governed by men of such mean qualitie and the truth is God had promised them a King also and therefore it was not such an evil thing to desire a King but so eagerly they would have him now if they had been but quiet and said Lord thou tellest us in thy Word of a King that we shall have Lord fulfil this thy Word and for the present we are content to submit to thee as long as thou thinkest fit now it may be God would have given them a King or presently after and so they might have had a holy and gracious King but they must have him now and so they had him with the anger of God You know the storie of Rachel Oh! give me children or else I die So she had a child and she died though it was not in Gods anger as an Enemie yet it was a Fatherly anger Oh! think but of this you women that are so desirous of children or any outward blessing you that are desirous of altering your condition How manie in altering their Estate as in Marriage they must needs alter it and to this partie and such a one they must needs have although they beg their bread all their daies and although Parents against it and though they cannot see evidences of grace Now saith God you shall have it you shall joyn together I and you shall work your own miserie by this eagerness of your spirit Oh Brethren let us learn to be moderate in our desires and commit our desires and heart to God I gave them a King in mine anger and took him away in my wrath The last Exercise there was only these Two or Three Observations named First That God may have a hand in things wherein men do sin exceedingly Secondly Things that are very evil may have success according to the hearts of men for a time The Third thing was this That Gods Gifts are not alwaies in Love Now because it is a great Point there are Two things that I shall desire to do First To shew to you How a man may know that what God doth give him it is in anger and not in love And then Secondly Some CORRALARIES to be drawn from it but very briefly in both For the First then How we may come to know a thing to be given by God in anger rather than in love It is a verie hard thing to convince men if they have their desires satisfied that it is rather from anger than love Men are so well pleased with the satisfying of their desires that they can verie hardlie be convinc'd but that God intends good to them in it and therefore you shall find in 1 Sam. 12. 17. that God was fain to do a great and wonderful work of his to convince this people that that which he gave them there Saul it was in anger rather than in love Is it not Wheat Harvest to day I will call unto the Lord and he shall send thunder and rain that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great which ye have done in the sight of the Lord in asking you a King Samuel had before in Chap. 8. told them of their sin in asking a King but they would not be convinced still they must have a King Now saith Samuel It is Wheat Harvest and whereas the people of the Jews were never wont to have rain in Harvest time it was a strange
and when thou art labouring for the mercy thou art as well labouring to prepare thy heart for it surely then when it comes it must be sweet indeed but when there 's no preparation before thou canst not know that it is in love We little think that we have need of preparation for mercies If indeed God should threaten some judgment we would think that we had need be prepared but certaialy there is as great need for preparation for mercies to be able to make good use of them as for afflictions to be able to bear them And this seventh Note I have likewise from Numb 11. 18. And say thou unto this people Sanctifie your selves against to morrow There 's a charge that they should sanctifie themselves against to morrow for God would give them flesh I do not find that they did do it but when God promised to give them sesh◠he bid them sanctifie themselves as if he should say If that your desires come before you have sanctified your selves it wil be in wrath not in mercy Oh therefore when as you are earnest to have your desires satisfied think thus The Lord charges thee to sanctifie thy self Oh! doest thou take care of this doest thou make it to be thy endeavor to sanctifie thy self before the mercy comes then thou maiest have comfort in it and not otherwise Eighthly When we seek greedily to have our desires satisfied but rest in the means we use and seek to be beholding to the creature only for it we do not lay the great weight upon prayer what ever it is that we enjoy and we do not get it by prayer we cannot know that it is in love When God intends a mercy from love he doth first fill the heart with the Spirit of Prayer when a mercy comes after much prayer then it 's a mercy from love When the Saints have been praying and then God hath come in with mercy Oh then they have gathered arguments of Gods love to them This I had because I sought thee as Hannah did concerning Samuel how did she rejoyce in Samuel Oh! this is the child that I prayed for saith Hannah unto Eli Oh! this is the mercy that I prayed for therefore she called her childs name Samuel one that was sought of God And so when we can call every gift we have we can call it Samuel that is a gift ask'd of God here 's a gift that 's got by prayer Whatsoever means was used yet prayer was the chief ingredient this is an argument of love But otherwise we can have no assurance that it is from love It 's true a King was not unlawful for them to desire because they had such hints in Scripture Oh but they did not so much mind them no but they come to Samuel and say Come Give us a King we do not reade that they go to God for it Such a great change of their State as that was one would think should have required divers daies in seeking of God It was a mighty change from such a Government as they had unto a new kind of Government and from a Government that was of Gods own appointment to another Government wherein now they would sute themselves according to the Nations And yet we find no daies of prayer for this and therefore it was in wrath that they had it Therefore when you would have any thing look not so much to come by it according to second causes but be much in Prayer according to the excellency of the thing that you seek for Ninthly When God gives our desires but doth not give a proportionable measure of Grace that so we might make a sanctified use of them when God gives you the shell but not the kernel surely it is not in love If your children should ask a Nut of you and you give them a Nut that hath no Kernel they wil not think if so be that you knew it that it is in any great love Truly all the good things that wicked men have they are but Shels without Kernels they are not in love The Kernel of every Blessing it is a proportionable measure of grace to use it for God You have a great desire that God should change your condition if he should change it and not give you a heart fit for that condition you had better be without that thing you have a desire that God should prosper you in such a business yea but if he doth not teach you how to abound you had been better never to have abounded Now it 's not in love for God to give any success except he gives a proportionable measure of Grace according to the success therefore that 's that which you should all examin the Lord hath altered my condition and many good things I have more than before but what Graces have I more than before what exercise of Grace what work of Grace more than before Certainly if it be in love it will be so Tenthly Surely our desires cannot be in love when God doth not only deny a proportionable measure of Grace 〈◊〉 there goes a secret curse with what we have If so be that 〈◊〉 man should be very hungry and hath a mighty desire to satisfie himself and he fals greedily upon his meat and eats it but assoon as he hath eaten it his body swels more and more till it be as big as two bodies surely he begins to think then that all is not well Lord have mercy upon me saith he he is afraid that he is poysoned So God gives you your desire and assoon as you have it you begin to swell you are bigger than you were before your hearts are proud and you can look scornfully upon others then Oh you are poysoned this is an ill satisfying of your hunger you are poysoned surely in this In Isa 10. 16. you have there a notable expression to this purpose Therefore shall the Lord the Lord of hosts send among his fat ones leanness and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire Even such things wherein there appears to be a great deal of glory such things perhaps as when your desires are satisfied in you can glory in Oh you glory in such and such a mercie such a good thing you have above others but under this glory there is a burning kindled there 's a great deal of the wrath of God in it a secret curse that goes along with it Eleventhly When we regard the satisfying of our desires so as we regard not what becoms of others sobeit we have our desires satisfied and this is from their example here Let 's have a King A King What shall become of Samuel then hath not he judged you and been faithful with you What will you shew your selves so ingrateful to him for all the good he hath done to you as to reject him and his house and family Oh! they cared not for
that let us have a King let become of Samuel what wil come and of his house what care they And so when men are greedy in their desires Let us have such and such a thing but care not what becomes of others That 's another N 〈…〉 of desires not granted in love Twelfthly When God satisfying of our desires makes way for some judgment Now indeed the thing is comfortable that we have but stay a while and you shall see there is some judgment making way by that very thing that you have and when the judgment is come afterwards you will see how it made way for it there are very great judgments many times upon men that are made way for by the satisfying of their own desires God hath many waies to prepare a path for his anger by giving you your desires many times there 's nothing more ordinary in experience than this and therefore we need not stand upon it If you wil but examin the course of your lives sometimes you may see that if God had satisfied your desires in such and such things it would have made way for the greatest misery that ever you had in al your lives and when God denies sometimes to his People they can confess O Lord I see that had I had my mind in such a thing which I would have had I had been undone And on the other side You wil find that those things which you accompt the greatest mercies to you do make way for the greatest evils surely they were not given in love then Thirteenthly When men are greedy of things and never consider the inconvenients when they would have their desires satisfied in a foolish way never minding what inconveniences may follow in this thing more than in the other thing meerly looking upon that which is for the present sutable to them but never think what inconveniences may follow Thus it was here they would have a King but Samuel came and told them all the inconveniences that would follow upon it how that they should have this affliction and the other You that are so desirous of him if he comes among you he will bring you into slavetie your Estates and your Children shall be under his power you wil be in slaverie to everie Courtier Nay but we will have a King for al this they would needs change the way of Government O that we might have a king And they would be brought more under Law than before for indeed in the time of the Judges if you reade that storie you shal find that the People of Israel were in a great deal of Libertie then and they obeyed the Judges in a great measure in a voluntary way if you raade the storie you shal find but Two Tribes that followed Barach and Deborah and so of Jepihthah and Sampson those that were willing freely to offer themselves they followed them and those of Ephraim they did chide with the other and ask'd them Why did you not call us to it as noting that there was a great deal of freedom in the time of the Judges Yea but we will have a King and we wil all then be tied to the same thing and be under the same power and so there will be a great deal of union that way when this man shall not be in this way and the other shal not be in another way and men to have their freedom thus thus but al shal come in and joyn under the same Law and so we shall go on in one Certainly this was their reasoning in their desire of having a King Now this kind of union no question was verie good among the People but to have it in this way That whereas the People were governed in such a way before as stood with a great deal of Libertie It 's true they shall have a kind of union but they do not consider what inconveniences there will be in their being thus chain'd together Prisoners that are chained at a Post they are altogether all the day long But would you have such a kind of union to be united with such chains Consider that with the union there may come a slavery upon you But they did not consider of any such things no matter say they Come let us be all joyn'd in one and let the same Law be upon every one But now how this would bring them under bondage and slavery in those things they would be loth to be brought under in in that they considered not at all Fourteenthly When men seek to have their desires sarisfied meerly because they love change We cannot have any comfort that God doth it out of love when it is out of a foolish spirit that loves novelty They though they had bin long enough under that kind of Government and in a meer kind of novelty not knowing what might come of such a change but a change they would have And so people though there be never so much good in a way yet out of a novelty they would fain have a change And if God grant them a change when they have no other ground but that for it it is a sign that there is wrath in it and not love Further When it is through impatiency and want of heart to submit to God in a former condition It 's ill when it is through a meer novelty but when it 's through impatiency then it 's like to be in wrath and not in mercy if your condition be changed God hath put you in a lower and mean condition it 's true it 's lawful for you to desire a change yea but if you desire it because you cannot submit to Gods hand then it 's a sign that it is in wrath but when you have brought your hearts to this Lord here I am dispose of me as thou pleasest I am content to lie under thy hand but Lord I look up to thee for mercy Consider I am a poor weak Creature and it is fit that thou shouldest have thy will and not I mine then if God make a change you may have comfort that it is in mercy but if you have it through impatiencie you can have no comfort at all in it It was just so here they could not bear the hand of God that was upon them any present trouble that they had upon them and so thought to help themselves by having a King and God gave them one but it was in his anger Further When our desires of further mercies makes us forget the former mercies and makes us unthankful for former mercies they would have a King that might go before them and fight for them Fight for them Did not God fight for them before Oh wonderful and glorious Battels they had when they were under their Judges when they had Samuel to direct them they never had more glorious Victories afterwards than then Nay you shall find in the whol Story of the Judges that they did alwaies prevail and
66 Reproach Reproach see Apostacy Reprobation Reprobation see Note Dangerous sign Restitution Why no pardon without Restitution 320 Scripture for Restitution 321 Repute Repute not to be trusted 421 Reverence We are with Reverence to hear the Lord speak 416 Rich Rich see High-minded Root What 's the immediate Root of Faith 177 Rule Rule for matter of Meditation 7 The general Rule of Worship 437 S Saints Priviledg of Israel refer to the Saints 11 Saints see Law Affliction Prosperity Satan Satan's great design 71 Sanctifie Gods Love sanctifies all things 84 Scare see Ministers Scripture What the Scripture presses much 297 Scripture see Restitution Self Wherein self appears in sin 512 Self destruction see Aggravation Sensual Sensual things see Fill. Servants Servants should love one another 76 Servants see Recreation Sign Sign see Carnal heart Similitude Similitudes what and how to be used 350 Sin Sin see Imitate Sinner A sinners duty 340 Soul Soul see Guiding Spirit Gods Spirit grieved only by the Saints 89 Spirit see Church Gods Spirit bitter to some 406 Slaves Gods Sons slaves for a time 14 Slavery God hath his time to call his sons out of Slavery ibid. Spiritual Spiritual things see Little State The State of the Saints is very secure 154 Steps The steps of Apostacy 432 Stout The Character of a stout heart 107 Stratagem Stratagem see Devils Success Success no note of a good Cause 536 Superiors Superiors should win by Love 74 Superstition Superstition see Beginning Suspense Suspence a cause of great evil 123 Swearing see Kissing the Book Sword For the Sword to be in a City a sad thing 113 T Tartness see Ministers Terror see Jehovah Terrible see God Their see Arabian Thoughts Gods Thoughts from eternity concerning his Elect 79 What thoughts we should have of outward comforts 456 Time see Slavery Tools see Iron Trading Oppression in Taading a great evil 313 Tradesmen Vnder Tradesmen to oppress is wicked 314 Tradesmen see Meditation Trembling Trembling due to God 416 Trembling see Alteration Tribes see Confidences Troubles Great troubles at the raising of Christs Kingdom 184 Truths Truths not necessary to be imposed 98 V Vanity The vanity of proudmen 445 Priests may be vanity that seem to be much for God 352 Vindicate How the Saints are to vindicate Reproaches 410 Violence see Magistrates Use The use of Reason in Religion 440 W Wait How we are to wait on God 303 Why we should wait 304 Way To be guided in our way is a fruit of Love 32 The way to Vniformity 70 A way of Holy Revenge 108 Gods waies not our waies 118 Weeping Weeping not sutable to a high Spirit 247 Wilderness Wilderness see Conduct Wind Creature-hopes are but winde 202 Wives Wives or Husbands not to be forced on Children 390 Word Word see Drawn Work Work see Chief One Work of the day of Judgment 511 World World see Honor Worship Worship see Rule Corruption Wrath Proneness to wrath not Gods Image 150 Y Yong Yong see Confident Z Zeal All men should shew Zeal 〈…〉 r God FINIS Heb. The scope of the Chapter Where the Chapter ends The cohâ—eâ—ence Obs 1. Tota Scriptura hoc praecip 〈…〉 è agit ne dubitemus sed certo speremus 〈…〉 danâ—u credamus Deum esse misericordeÌ„ benegnum patientem Luth. 〈…〉 Rom 9. 11. 12. The phrase opened Excussâ—◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 significat eum qui crebâ—ò sugum parentis vel Heri excutit quamvis 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ternov in 〈…〉 c. What a child Israel was Ezek. 16. 1. c. applied Wherein the love of God to Israel stood Obs 1 Jer. 12. 7. Obs 2. 〈◊〉 3. Gods ancient love to England An instance of it England the first Nation in the world that God chose for the embracing Religion by publick Authority Lucius of England is said to be the first Christian King Centur. Cent. 2. Cap. 2. Tit. de Propagation Ecclesiiae 〈◊〉 J. Balai Catal. Who also by publick Authority established Christianity about the year 169. Lucius in lucem prodit de patre coello J. B. Author primus apud Britones Religiones erat Rossaei Britania God remembers the kindness of Englands youth first love Particul persons should recal Gods antient love unto them when they were children A Rule how we may never want matter of meditation Obser 4. Obs 5. Gods waies of mercy and affliction toward Israel a type of his waies toward his people in all ages Gods love doth not find but make the person lovely Object Answ How to know whether God will love us or no Obs 6. Youth What will compleat the comfort of our lives Jer. 2. 2. How we may know whether God loved us when children Nimis serò te amami Aug. Exod. 4 22. Jer. 31. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 70. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obs 1. Priviledges of Israel refer to the Saints Malach. 3. 17. Saints therefore not under the Law Psal 89. 30 31. c. Obs 2. Jer. 2. 14. Use Obs 3. The Church one in Faith Spirit Babtism c. Eph. 4. 4 5. not in outward incorporation and visible Government Obs 4. Jer. 12. 17. Deut. 32. 10. observed Gods Sons slaves to Satan oft-times and for a season And to wicked men which is the admiration of Angels God hath his time to call them out of that slavery Obs 5. Exod. 12. 42. Applicat to England The Text as cited Mat. 2. 15 further expounded Hierom Matthew's interpretation seems strange to some * See Bucer on Matth. 28. P. 197. shewing that the Apostles allegations of Scripture were not proper unless to such as the holy Ghost enlightned to see the mystical sense of them and except we shall say that those Expositions were received things in those daies as are among the Jews now the Chaldae paraphrase expounding many places of Christ which according to the Letter have another sense and this perhaps may be the saâ—er to affirm because else it may seem the Apostles could not so well have charged the Jews with Obstinacy as Act. 13. and Chap. 28. and else where Opinions about the place in Matthew Junius in loc Paralel lib. 1. Paral. 6. Isa 2. 9. Isa 9. 6. 3. preferred so Hierom on Hos 11. 1. expounds it Exod. 12. 46. and Joh. 19. 36. compared Things accidental are under providene Great things intended of God by smal 2 Sam. 7. 14. Heb. 1. 5. compared also Obs God som way or other aims at Christin all his works which to see wil be one part of the Saints glory A similitude A fruit of Gods Love and of Christ's Spirit to understand the reach of God in Scripture A comfort to the Saints in their sufferings that they have a conformity with Jesus Christ by them Those that fly with their children The danger and length of Christs flight into Egypt The inward tentations of the parents 〈◊〉 Christ in thei 〈…〉 flight Expos 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 70. 2 Cor. 5. 4. illustrated Calvin in