pawne when there is some speciall thing done in way to that which wee make account of that we are not only promised it and have it under hand and seale and have an oath and a pawne but it is in a great degree begun and so begun as the difficulty is over Those who live under the Gospell see the greatest part of our salvation already done for us God made a promise of sending his Son into the world Now in Gods performing that promise that God-man should come into the world to be made a curse for sin this is the greatest worke of all that is to be done to all eternity and if God would have failed in any thing it would have been in that It is not so much for God to deliver us in this world it is not so much for him to bring us to heaven as it is to send his Son into the world to be made a curse for us Now when God hath done so great a work and hath beene faithfull in that great promise he hath taught us for ever to trust in him to beleeve his faithfulness in making good other promises If a man who owes five thousand pound and payes you foure thousand nine hundred of it you thinke surely hee will never breake for one hundred I may trust him for the rest seeing hee hath dealt so faithfully with me in the great summe God hath paid the four thousand nine hundred and much more in comparison of what God hath done for us take all the glory of heaven we have not one hundred of the five thousand left behince therefore we may well confide in him for the payment of the rest But is God able It is true God is faithfull This is seldome an objection at least an explicite objection in the mouths of people but surely an implicite one it is in the hearts of many that appears by those cautions God gives to take away that objection 1 Pet. 4. 19. Commit the keeping of your souls unto him as unto a faithful Creator as if he had not said enough in saying he is faithfull he adds faithfull Creator as if he should say f there be no means to help you I will create means I will put forth my Almighty power to create helpe for you but you shall have helpe Dan. 9. 27. The Lord will confirme the Covenant the word is used for a mighty man a Giant in Scripture Gen. 19. 8. He began to be a mighty one in the land as a Giant in the earth the word here is of the same root God will come forth as a Giant as a mighty man to make sure the Covenant he hath made with his people if there be any thing in the world wherein God will stirre up his infinite power the excellency of his power the glory of his right hand it will be in confirming his Covenant to his Saints Esay 26. 4. Trust ye in the Lord for ever for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength Esay 54. 5. Thy Maker is thy husband the Lord of Hosts is his name the God of the whole earth shall he be called Seeing God is so faithfull let not us be faithlesse But things goe very crosse and how shall we beleeve our faith shakes the true genuine love of the Saints is such as will love God without gifts for himself so the genuine art of faith is to beleeve in God without experience yea though things seem to goe contrary That love is but a lame love that loveth God onely for that which vve receive from him for the present and that is but a lame faith that beleeveth only in â—od for that which we see for the present Doe things goe crosse they are corrections and those may come from faithfulnes as well as any thing the Church enjoyes Psal 119. 75. I know O Lord that thy judgements are right and that thou in faithfulnesse hast afflicted me As God comes downe to you and sutes himself to you as his poor creatures so you should labour to raise your hearts to him to beleeve in him as a great God â—od deals with you as having to deale with weak creatures you should deale with him as having to doe with an infinite God You must give God leave to doe his worke his owne way The object of our confidence in God it is the thing will be done it is not how it will be done or when it will be done but that God will carry his worke thorough Shall our weakness be so much regarded as that things must not work so as to shew Gods power Certainly it is too too much for us to think our weakness must be so far condescended to One would think that it is enough that God condescendeth so much as to expresse himself so to you as you may beleeve would you have God condescend to expresse himselfe so to you as he should not have the glory of his worke nor you the glory of your faith this is too low Though we be bound to deny our selves much because of the weakness of our brethren Must God deny his glory because of our weakenesse We burden God too much with our weaknesse It is for Gods glory that things goe as they doe Lazarus was dead and dead so long that the work of God might appeare But I finde not things go so as I expected I thinke I have beleeved at such a time in prayer I thought my heart did close with the promises of God but yet things goe not so as I expect Though things be otherwise then thou expectest yet it may be God calls for new acts of thy beleeving and it is because there is no renewing of thy faith in his faithfulness You must know the continuall actings of Faith draw out the continuall actings of the power of God I will give you for that one famous Text perhaps you may reade it often and heare it but not perceive the strength there is in it Psal 31. 19. O how great is thy goodnes which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee but marke what followeth which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee Great is the goodnesse thou hast laid up Gods goodnesse is great to admiration for them that feare him but how It is laid up for them but now marke which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee All the goodnesse that is in God is for them that feare him but it is not fearing God that will bring it to work it is laid up in a treasury indeed do you feare God God hath laid up abundance of goodnesse in a treasury for you but you must not expect this will work for you unless you trust in him your Faith must bring it forth into work and that before the sonns of men thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of men Would you be hid in the secret of Gods presence from the pride of men you
soone gone Many of you when you have beene seeking God have had many manifestations of his love and God hath entred into Covenant with you for a while you have been comforted but you lose all your comfort againe within a short time Oh remember God is ever mindefull of his Covenant though made 20. 40. years agoe he remains the same still be you the same still be you ever mindful of your Covenants When men are brought into the bond of the Covenant their consciences are awed with it and they walke very strictly and they clare not in the least thing goe from the Covenant at first But after a few moneths or weekes are over their heads they forget their engagement their Covenant they made with God there is not such a strong bond upon their spirits as there was before Oh my brethren know that this is a great and sore evil in you God is ever mindfull of his Covenant so you should be And as of his Covenant so of his threats too by way of proportion God remembreth his threats that were made many years agoe we are affected with Gods threats for the present but within a while the impression is gone But let us know time altereth not God as it doth us But yet we must enquire a little further because it is often in Scripture that the children of Israel should be like the stars of the heaven and as the sand upon the Sea shore Why did God expresse this covenant to Abraham what was the matter Thus First Abraham hee left his fathers house and all his kindred at Gods command and upon that first God made this covenant wiâ—h him that he would make his seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the Sea As if God should have said to Abraham Abraham be willing to leave your fathers house I will make a great house of you a great family of yours Secondly you shall observe that afterwards God confirmed this covenant to Abraham and that with an oath It is very observable when he came first out of his countrey and left his fathers house God made this promise of the encreasing of his seed but not with an oath but afterwards in Gen. 22 16. God renews this promise of multiplying his seed and that by an Oath for saith he By my selfe have I sworne for because thou hast done this thing and hast not witheld thy sonne thine onely son that in blessing I will blesse thee and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is upon the Sea shore Marke here It was upon Abrahams being willing to offer up his son Isaac his onely son Isaac Abraham was willing at Gods command to offer â— ship own son and upon that God promiseth to multiply his seed as the stats of heaven and as the sand of the sea Yea he comes in with an oath By my selfe I sweare saith the Lord that I will do it because thou hast done this We have two most excellent notes from hence First there is nothing lost in being willing to lose for God Abraham was willing to lose his fathers house the comfort of his family for God I will make thee a glorious family as the stars of heaven saith God Againe Abraham was willing to lose one son his onely son for God Art thou willing to lose one son for me thou shalt have ten thousand sons for this one thou losest yea though it be lost but in thy intention Thou shalt have thy own son and yet have ten thousand sons besides Oh let us not be afraid to part with any thing for God Gods people they know how to make up in God what ever they lose for God But God will not onely make it up in himselfe but will make it up even in the very thing it selfe the creature it selfe thou losest for God Art thou willing to lose a little of thy estate Thou mayst with comfort expect so far as if thou knewest all thou thy selfe wouldst desire to have it made up in abundance even in that very way You know the promise He that forsaketh father or mother or wife or children or lands or houses for my sake shal have an hundred fold in this world and in the world to come life everlasting How hath God fulfilled this this day in many of our eyes and too many of our experiences how many have you known who have beene willing to part with that they had and to put it out as it were to the wide world God hath made it up not onely in himselfe but in the very thing it selfe and thereby taught them and all the world to be willing to venture for God to part with any thing for him and his cause Secondly When we are willing to lose for God then is the time when God will renew and confirm his Covenant with us Then God confirmed his covenant with Abraham when he was willing to part with his sonne to be deprived of all his seed The way to be made sure of what we have is to be willing to part with it You all desire to be sure of your estates oh that we could in these times wherein we see nothing sure make our estates sure this is the desire of every one Would you make sure of your estates sure illing to imploy your estates for God for a good cause This is the way to have God to renew his covenant to you for an assurance of that way Here is the best assurance office in the world But how comes this in at this time to his people in Hosea his Prophesie Thus it comes in now because the Lord by the Prophet would answer an objection of the people They might have said thus What Hosea doe you thus threaten judgement the destruction of Israel why you promise mercy to Judah and Judah is but a handful to us we are the ten Tribes with us are the chiefe the greatest part almost all the seed of Abraham and yet you threaten our destruction it can never possibly be What will become of Gods promise then Did not God promise Abraham that his seed should be as the stars of heaven as the sand on the sea shore you seeme to goe crosse to God God saith that he would multiply that seed and you take a course to make men beleeve that the seed of Abraham should bee brought into a narrow compasse and be nothing Thus doubtless they were ready to pleade against the Prophet The Prophet answereth thus What doe you say what will become of Abrahams seed Know that God can tell how to provide for his Church and fulfill his promise made to Abraham whatsoever becomes of you for you are mistaken in thinking you alone are the seed of Abraham for you shall know that Abraham hath not onely a carnal but a spiritual seed all those that shal come to joyne in the faith of
Yea Thirdly Great shall be this day for it shall be as a day of resurrection from death to life so Dan. 12. 2. Many of them that sleepe in the dust shall awake c. It is not spoken of the great resurrection at the last day of judgement for First It is spoken but of some that shall arise Secondly The greatest glory that is here put upon the just is but to shine as the stars in the firmament but at the last day the Saints shall shine as the sunne in the firmament more and above the starres Yea Thirdly This that is here revealed to Daniel must be sealed up as a great secret till the appointed time come but for the Resurrection at the last day that is no great secret that they knew well enough it is not as a secret to be shut up and sealed from men till the time appointed come But this Resurrection here spoken of it is to be sealed up as a great secret that was not knowne in the world nor should be much knowne till the appointed time should come And then Lastly It was promised to Daniel in the 13. ver that he should stand up in his lot as a peculiar and speciall favour that God stould bestow upon him Now it is not such a peculiar and special favour for a Saint to stand up at the great day at the last day this was a favour to Daniel as an eminent Saint that he should stand up thus in his lot Therefore this Resurrection is the same with this great day of Jezreel wherein there shall be such a glorious work of God in calling Israel and Judah together the fulness of the Gentiles that it shall be as the Resurrection from death to life so the Apostle calls it likewise in that Rom. 11. 15. What shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead 4. Great shall be the day of Iezreel for this shall bring refreshing to all the Saints this is the time of the refreshing Act. 3. 19. There shall be such things then as will refresh and revive the spirits of all the Saints Yea 5. It shall be the day of restitution of all things Acts 3. 21. Vntill the times of rest it 〈◊〉 of all things come which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his Propâ—â— since the world began I know it is ordinary carryed by many another way concerning the last day but that it cannot be so it appears because that then there shall not be the restitution of all things but the annihilation of many things Further this speakes of a restitution of all things that was spoken of by the mouth of all the holy Prophets Now the holy Prophets spake but very little concerning the day of Judgment of another life to come we reade but little of it in the Prophets and therefore the Apostle in 2 Tim. 1. 10. saith that life and immortality was brought to light through the Gospel Not but that it was known somewhat before but it was very darkly known there was very little spoken of life and immortality in the Prophets But this speaks of a time that all the holy Prophets spake of as an argument that was the general theame of them all And indeed there is no argument whatsoever that is more general among the Prophets then this great argument of this great day of Jezreel Again 6. A great day for it shall be a new creation a new heaven and a new earth shall be made when this great day of Iezreel shall come Esay 66. 17. Behold I create new heavens and a new earth And in ver 18. if you observe it you shall see what this new heaven and this new earth is But be glad and rejoyce for ever in that which I create for behold I create Ierusalem are joycing and her people a joy Those are the new heavens the new earth that are to be created and this is meant of the Church plainly for the Text ver 21. speakes of building houses and inhabiting them and of planting vineyards and eating the fruit of them upon these new heavens this new earths creation And 2 Pet. 3. 13. Neverthelesse according to this promise we looke for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousnesse Now where is this promise This is usually taken for the Kingdom of heaven hereafter But where is this promise We do not finde it any where but in that place I named before Esay 65. Now it is apparent that promise doth speak of an estate of the Church here in this world and there is spoken of a new earth as well as of a new heaven if it were onely spoken of new heavens it had bin another matter but it speaks of a new earth likewise therefore meant of an estate in this world a new creation of a new heaven and earth that is there shall be such glorious things done by God as shall manifest a creating power as if God did now make new heavens and a new earth 7. Great shal be the day of Iezreel for it shall be as another world when this day cometh Heb. 2. 5. 6. 7. 8. Vnto the Angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak But one in a certain place testified this certain place is in Psa 104. saying What is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that thou visitest him Thou hast made him little lower then the Angels thou crownedst him with glory and honour and didst set him over the works of thy hands thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet This is clearly interpreted of Christ as vers 9. and so on that all things must be subjected to hiâ—â— man What is man that thou shouldst regard him That is that thou 〈◊〉 advance the nature of man so far as to unite it even to thy Son and piâ—â— things in subjection under his feet This the Apostle interpreteth of Christ But saith he wee see not yet all things put under him that time is yet to come for saith he We speak of things that concerne the world to come Therefore mark my brethren there must be such a time wherein all things all creatures must be put under subjection to Christ and this is in the world to come Not in that world to come where the Saints shall raign gloriously in heaven it cannot be meant of that for the heavens must depart as a scroll and many things shall then rather be annihilated and the Kingdome must then be given up by Christ to God the Father so the Apostle saith 1 Cor 15. that is when the Saints shall reigne gloriously with Christ in heaven But here this place speaks of a time when all creatures must come under subjection to Christ and it is called the world to come why because of the great change there shall be of things it shall be as it were a new world As we call this world from Noahs
men from their sins God usually cometh with greater and sorer I see some of them will break through the hedge I will make a wall therefore that is I will come with stronger and greater afflictions and so keep them off Levit. 26. 18. If you will not for all this saith God turne unto mee I will punish you seven times more and I will breake the pride of your power you thinke there is a power in your hand and there is pride in your power for power raiseth the heart up to pride I will break it I will never leave till I have broke your hearts in spight of you and you shall find ein that Chapter four or five times mention of seven times more This is after the hedge then there cometh a wall And they shall not find their paths Hence God is able to strike men with blindness that they shall not see their way Though there be an evill way of mischief before them yet God knows how to strike them with blindness though there be nothing to hinder them in it God can strike men with blindness one way or other that they shall not bee able to see their way before them We have this this day exceedingly fulfilled in our eyes how doth God blind and befot our adversaries that they cannot see their way the truth of that Scripture Job 5. 13. is this day before our eyes He taketh the wise in their owne craft inesse and the counsel of the froward is carried head long How hath God taken wise men in their own craftinesse the counsell of froward men their spirits are froward because they are crost they are vexed their counsell is carried headlong God takes away their understanding and doth baffle them in their own counsels A notable Text we have in Psal 75. 6. The stout-hearted are spoiled they have slept their sleep and none of the men of might have found their hands They are cast into a slumber and know not what in the world to doe they know not how to make use of that power they have in their hands It followeth further in that Psalme At thy rebuke O God of Iacob both the charet and horse are cast into a dead sleep A strange expression that a Charet should be cast into a deepe sleepe the meaning is they can no more tell how to make use of them then if they all lay for dead or asleepe Let us not be afraid of the power of adversaries suppose they had power in their hand God can strike them with blindnesse they shall grope to find the door they shall be baffled in their own waies they shall not tell how to make use of their own power Isa 29. 14. Behold saith God I will proceed to doe a marvailous worke even a marvailous work and a wonder What is it The wisedome of their wise men shall perish the understanding of their prudent men shal be hid This is a wonderfull thing that God will doe yea and he will mingle a perverse spirit in the midst of them so you have it Isa 19. 11. Surely the Princes of Zoan are fooles the counsell of the wise counsellours of Phaâ—aoh is become bruitiâ— and verse 12. Where are they where are thy wise men And againe verse 13. The Princes of Zoan are become fooles the Princes of Noph are deceived and verse 14. The Lord hath mingled a perverse spirit it in the midst therof they have caused Egypt to erre in his worke as a drunken man that staggereth in his vomit Here is the judgement of God upon Men when he list he can blind them in their way that they shall erre in their worke and they shall stagger in their own counsels and designes as a drunken man in his vorâ—it they shall not finde their paths they shall not know in the world what to doe VVell Thus God dealeth with wicked men But now let us consider this in reference to the Saints to Gods own people they shall not finde their paths then the Observation is It is a good blindnesse for men not to see the way of sinne It is promised here in a way of mercy that they shall not finde their paths this darkeness it is not the shadow of death but the way of life It is rich mercy I have read of one Maris a Bishop of Calcedon a blinde man to whom Julius the Apostate giving some opproptious words and calling him blinde foole because he had rebuked Julian for his Apostacy the good man answered thus I blesse God that I have not my sight to see such an ungracious face as thine So many may blesse God for their bodily blindnesse because it may be it hath prevented abundance of sinne that might have beene let in at the casements of their eyes But especially for blindnesse not to see the way of sinne if we may call that blindnesse It is a mercy that God doth not grant to all it is a singular mercy to the Saints For you shall finde there are abundance of people exceedingly quick-sighted in the way of sinne that can finde the path there and yet are exceedingly blinded in the way of God and cannot find the path there On the other side that Saints are blinded in the way of sinne but are quick-sighted in the wayes of God How many men are wise to do evill as the Scripture saith they are able to see into the depths of Satan they are profound to damn themselves they can finde out such objections against the 〈…〉 answer such things that are said against 〈…〉 devises contrivances how to get to their sinfull wayes but when they come to the wayes of God as blind as Moles they cannot see such necessity of such strictnesse they cannot understand men of great parts great Rabbies of great understanding otherwise they have no skill in the wayes of God I thank thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth saith Christ that thou hast hid these things from the wise and learned and hast revealed them unto babes Whereas on the other side you shall find that the Saints are able when they come to Gods waies to see farre into the excellency and glory of them they have understanding there though they be but weake otherwise they can see into the great mysteries of God into the beauty of his wayes so that it dazeleth all the glory of the world in their eies they are not easily catched with temptations but can see into the subtilties of the devill that would draw them out of Gods waies but when they come to the wayes of sin there they want understanding and it is Gods mercy to them to doe so there they are but bunglers they do but grope as blinde men they are not their crafts masters they are not cunning artists in those waies but as the Apostle saith 2 Cor. 1. 1â— Wee have not received the spirit af the world wee cannot shift for our selves as the men of the
in that place of Ezek. there be speaking of new Moons other Feasts yet it is to set out the condition and blessed estate of the times of the Gospel under those shadows types the Prophet speaking according to the Jewish language in that way This being granted let us compare the institution of the Feast of the new Moon In Num. 28. with what is laid in Ezek. 46. in Num. 28. they were to offer for a burnt offering two Bulloks one Ramme seven Lambs but in Ezek. 46. 6 In the daies of the new Moon there should be but one bullock six lambs God himself had said that in their new Moons they should offer two Bullocks seven Lambs yet when the Prophet would set out a more glorious condition of the church he saith they should not offer so much as they did before they should offer but one Bullock and six Lambs What are we taught from this We are taught by this two excellent lessons which are the reason of the difference First that there is such a blessed estate of the Gospel coming that shall not be subject to such changes as hath been heretofore but a more setled condition of peace and rest so that they shall not have such occasion to blesse God for his providence in the changes of times as before they had Their solemnity of the new Moon that is of doing that spirituall thing that was done in a ceremonious way that was to give God the glory for the change of times now in the times of the Gospel they shall not have so many Sacrifices to make it such a solemn business as it was then Why because the Church shall be in another condition of more rest safety and more constancy in their wayes not hurried up and down by mens humors and lusts and wills as before Secondly that the state of the Gospel shall not be so subject to danger neither as it was before there shall not be that occasion to blesse God for bringing of light presently after darkness for that is one end of the Feast of the new Moon that when they could not see the Moone a great while and it was darke as if that creature had been lost out of Heaven now they see it againe they were to blesse God for it But in the time of the Gospel that is comming there shall be no such darknesse this time is not yet come we yet had need to have our seven lambs and two bullocks for we have much darkness those places in Ezek aime at some speciall time more then other there is a glorious time of the state of the Church when there shall not be such occasion of blessing God for delivering us from darknesse as there hath beene The Ninth Lecture HOSEA 2. 11. I will cause all her mirth to cease her feast dayes her new moones and her sabbaths and all her solemne feasts OF the Jewish new moons the last day God threatens likewise to take away her Sabbaths Sabbaths Plutarch thought that the Sabbath of the Jews was from Sabbos a name of Bacchus that signifies to live jocundly and bravely and merrily Indeed the Sabbaths that many keep have such a derivation their Sabbaths are sabbaths of Bacchus to be merry and to eate and drinke and play is the end of all their Sabbaths But the word hath a better root God would have us upon the Sabbath rest from all other works that we may be free to converse with him therefore it is so much the more inexcusable if when we have nothing else to doe we shall deny to converse with God as he requireth of us If a friend should come to your house to converse with you and he should know you have no businesse to take you up yet you will scarce see him or spend a little time with him will hee not take it ill If indeed you could have such an excuse that your businesse is extraordinary though your time be lesse you spend with him it would not be so ill taken but when he knows you have nothing to do and yet you deny time to converse with him will not this be taken for a slighting him Thus you deale with God Had you indeed great occasions and businesses to doe upon that day though you did not so converse with God in holy duties it were another matter God might accept of mercy rather then sacrifice But when hee shall appoint you a day to rest wherein you have nothing to doe but to converse with him yet then to deny it this is a sleighting of the Majesty of God Now the Jews had diverse Sabbaths amongst others these were principall ones The Sabbaths of dayes and the Sabbaths of yeers The Sabbath of dayes every seventh day they had a Sabbath and it was kept unto the Lord. Now this Feast of theirs had so me what in it Memorative somewhat Significative and somewhat Figurative It was a Memorial a Signe and a Figure A Memoriall of two things 1. Of the works of Gods Creation After God had finished his works of Creation then he rested and sanctified the seventh day and Psalm 92. being appointed for the Sabbath the Argument of it is the celebrating the Memoriall of Gods great works 2. Of the deliverance out of Egypt in remembrance of the rest that God did give them from their bondage So you have it Deut 5. 15. Remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arme Therefore he commanded thee to keepe the Sabbath day Secondly it was Significative a Signe Exod 31. 17. It is a signe betweene me and the children of Israel for ever And verse 13. It is a signe betweeue me you that I an the Lord that doe sanctifie you God made it a signe that as this day was by his command to be sanctified set apart from other dayes so God had set apart this nation of the Jewes from other nations Thirdly It was Figurative it did figure out or typific the rest that did remaine for the people of God Heb. 4. There remaineth a rest to the people of God both here in the time of the Gospel and in heaven eternally Now we are to know there was some speciality in this day of rest in this sabbath of the Jews more then in any other sabbath As First in the Antiquity of it It was the most ancient of all the dayes set apart for an holy use being from the time of the Creation Secondly it was written with Gods owne finger in the Tables Thirdly God rained no Manna upon this day and that even before the Law was given in Mount Sinai for the honour of this day 4. The whole weeke doth take denomination from the Sabbath Luke 18. 12. I fast twice in the weeke twice a Sabbath so the words are in the Greek So Marke 16. 2. The first day of the
to the Church and I will fulfill them all unto you though you have departed from me and provoked me against you yet upon your returning you shall be so received as to have interest in all the precious gracious glorious promises I have made to the Church I will make them all good to you for I will betroth my selfe unto you in faithfulnesse as well as in mercy looke what ever I have said concerning my Church that is yours to be made good to the uttermost and there is nothing that can be for your good that concerns me as a loving husband to doe but you shall be sure to have it And as for you howsoever your hearts have been hitherto unfaithful towards me in departing from me yet now you shall have put into you a faithful spirit there shall be faithfulfulnesse on your part as well as on mine so as my heart shall confide in you you shall not deale falsely with mee as before your hearts shall confide in me that I will deale faithfully with you and my heart shall confide in you that you will deale faithfully with me so that whatsoever befalls you yet you shall be faithfull to me and faithfull one to another so as your hearts shall trust one in another I will betroth you unto me in faithfulnesse And whereas it is but little that yet you have known of me and this indeed hath been the cause of all your vile departings from mee because you have not known me the Lord therefore you shall know the Lord know him in another manner then ever yet you knew him I will shew my glory to you I will open my very heart to you the secret of the Lord shall be with you you shall all know me though your parts be but weak and meane yet you shall be taught of God perhaps you may be ignorant of other things but you shall know the Lord. And as for outward blessings you shall have your fill of them too all the creatures shall be moved towards you to comfort you to succour you Let Iezreelory to the corne the corne shall cry to the earth and the earth shall heare the corne the earth shall cry to the heavens the heavens shall heare the earth and the heavens shall cry to me and I will heare the heavens There shall be in them 1 a readinesse to help 2 a greedinesse to relieve you yea 3 a concatenation of them all 4 and I will joyn them for the good of Iezreel But yet we are a people scattered about the world and most of us are consumed but I will sow her unto me in the earth you were scattered this is a judgment but now it is turned to a mercy your scattering is as seed you shall fructifie encrease abundantly so be a blessing to the whole earth But we have lien underthe curse of God a great while and have seemed to be rejected but saith God I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy Lastly we are a proverb uuto all the world as you know the Jewes are we are a by-word a scorn a reproach amongst all people they say God had rejected us and so trample upon us No saith God I will not onely betroth you to my selfe but it shall appeare to all the world you are my people I will say to you which were not my people you are my people though you be a people scorned and vilified in the world yet I will owne you and it shall appeare so your low and miserable condition shall not hinder me from saying you are my people and as for you whatsoever you shall meet withall in my wayes whatsoever you suffer for my worship though it be scorned and despised in the world yet you shal own it before the world and you shall say Thou art my God Thus you have a short paraphrase upon this gracious expression of God to his reconciled people You have here but a flash of this mercie of the Lord to his Saints But when was all this fulfilled you will say or is it to be fulfilled to what times does this prophesie refer There is in part the making good this prophesie when ever a soule is brought into the embracing the Gospel but the height of this shall be at the calling of the Jewes then not only the spiritual estate of particular converted soules shal bee thus happy but the Church state shal bee thus the visible Church shal be betrothed unto the Lord for ever We cannot say so of any visible Church here there is no visible Church but may fall off from the visibility of it but when God shal bring in the Iewes they shall never fall off from the visibility of their Church-communion Revel 21. 2. seemeth to have reference to this prophesie And I John saw the holy City new Jerusalem coming down from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband And I heard a great voyce out of heaven saying Behold the Tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God This hath almost the same words that wee have here in this prophesie that is to be fulfilled in that glorious Church-estate that shal bee when God calls home to himselfe his own people Mark there God himself shall be with them God is always with his people but God himselfe that is a more especiall and immediate and full presence of God shall be with them But the words must have yet a more full search into them I will betroth thee The Scripture makes much mention of Espousals and of marriage to expresse the great mysterie of the grace of God to his people The holy Ghost seems to delight much in this Allegory there is none more frequent in Scripture then it which is a very great honour to a married condition And such ought to be the lives of those that are in a married condition as much as may be to resemble the blessednesse of the condition of a people reconciled unto God for in all similitudes there must be something in the thing to resemble that which it is brought for Married people should so live as all that behold the sweetnesse the happinesse of their lives may be put in mind thereby of that sweetnes happiness there is in the Churches comunion with Jesus Christ I appeale to you are your lives thus Now in a married condition there are these foure things most remarkable First There is the neerest unino that can be They two shal be made oneflesh this is the power of God in an Ordinance consider it two that not perhaps a month before were strangers one to another never saw the faces one of another did not know that there were such in the world if they come under this ordinance though it be but a civill ordinance these two shal now be neerer one to another then the child that
came out of the fathers loynes or out of the bowels of the mother the fruite of the wombe shall not be so neere now to thee nor must it love thee so much as this party that not long since it was a meere stranger unto Whence cometh this but meerly from the power of an Ordinance One would thinke that the affection of a mother to the fruite of her own bowels should be more then it were possible for her to have to a stranger she had never seen before in her life but it is not so when a woman cometh under this Ordinance she now commeth to have according to that which is her duty more affection to one that was ere while a stranger then to the child that came forth of her owne bowels so a man then to one that came out of his owne loynes Here is the power of Gods Ordinance though but civill Now then if an Ordinance of God though but civill hath such an efficacy in it what efficacy have divine Ordinances then Certainly they have mighty efficacy upon the soule when they are administred in the way of God So it is here I will betroth thee as if God should say thou wast not long since as a stranger unto me one cast off yea thou wast as an enemy unto me but now all the creatures in heaven and in earth the very Angels themselves shall not be more deare unto me in a nearer communion then you This is true of a wretched sinfull creature that hath not onely been as a stranger unto God but an enemy unto him he cometh now upon conversion and union with Christ to be in a nearer conjunction and further communion with God then the very Angels in heaven are in some regard for they are never said to be the Spouse of the Son of God so as the Saints are This is the mighty power and love of God in uniting his Saints to his Son Secondly There is in nothing in the world that full communication of one creature to another as there is in that condition of marriage so in our spiritual marriage with Christ there is an inconceiveable communion of one to another â—â—ally God hath two wayes of communication of himselfe one is infinite that is to his Son in that inconceivable mysterie of the generation of the Son he hath other wayes of communication of himself after a finite manner but of al the finite ways this is the greatest his comunication of himself to his Saints in Christ God hath no such comunication of himself to all the creatures as he hath to his Saints in his Son God in comparison communicateth little or nothing of himself to the frame of heaven earth so as he doth to any one of his Saints So far as there wants communion in a married estate so far there wants the blessing of it it should be full The communion of God to his Church is a full communion his wisdome power riches are made over to the Saints the merits the righteousnesse of Christ are made all over to them This is mutuall there is no such communication of any creature to another as there is of the hearts of the Saints to God one converted to God le ts out his heart into God in a fuller way then any creature can let out it selfe to another creature Suppose all the creatures in the world should have their beauty and excellency put together in one and present it self wholly unto thee to be an object of thy delight yet it were not possible that thou shouldst communicate thy self so fully to it as thy soul will communicate it selfe to God upon thy conversion The soul gives up it selfe to God as into an infinite ocean of goodnesse so as it would not retaine any thing of its owne as a drop of water into a tun of wine it retains not its savour or colour that it had before but it is as it were turned into wine And hereby you may know whether your conversion be right yea or no As that which is Christs cometh to be thine so that which is thine cometh again to be Christs My beloved is mine and I am his saith the Church Hence it is that the honour that Christ the Husband hath reflects upon the Saints they shine with the brightnesse of his beams Esay 43. 4. Since thou wast precious in my sight thou becamest honourable It was wont to be the custome among the Romanes in their marriages when the wife was brought home she had this speech Where you are Caâ—us I am Caja How meane soever the woman was before yet being married she partakes of the honour of her husband So the Saints whatsoever they were before they are now looked upon as honourable in the eyes of the Father in the eyes of Christ in the eyes of the holy Ghost aud in the eyes of the Angels and the rest of the Saints who are able to discerne their excellency And so on the other side for still it is mutuall as the Church hath honour from the lustre of the beams of Christs glory so even the Church is a glory unto Christ As the Scripture saith The wife is the glory of the man which place heretofore you have had opened unto you so the truth is the Church is the glory of Christ How is that you will say It is true Christ is the glory of the Church but that the Church who is a company of poore creatures should be the glory of Christ how can that be yes it is so Christ accounteth himselfe glorified before the Father that he hath such a Spouse Mark that place 2 Cor. 8. 23. Whether you inquire of Titus he is my partner or of our brethren the messengers of the Churches the glory of Christ Titus and the brethren are there called the glory of Christ And Ephes 1. 23. the Church is said to be the fulnesse of him that filleth all in all Howsoever we are to be low in our own eies yet this is certaine that it is the glory of Christ before the Father and the blessed Angels that he hath such a Spouse as he hath Hence Rev. 21. 9. Come Behold the Bride the Lambs wife The very Angels rejoice in this O come behold the Bride the Lambs wife Certainly had it not been for the glory of Christ the Angels would not in such a triumphing way have called all to behold the Bride the Lambs wife They call to behold the glory of Christ in his Bride Psalm 45. the Church is described to be brought in to the King all glorious and beautiful with araâ—ment of needle-worke c. Christ rejoyceth and his very heart even springs againe to present his Church unto his Father Father here behold my Spouse that I have married unto my selfe It is true a childe may sometimes marry against his fathers consent such a one as he may be ashamed to think of bringing to his fathers house because she will be a disgrace to
yet ordinarily he makes use of second causes not only to work ad praesent iam as Biel the Schoolman and others say that is only together with the creature but there is say they no efficacie at all of them issuing into the effect but the truth is God doth make use of second causes otherwise so that there is some vertue and efficacy in them to work the thing that God intends Fourthly there is a concatenation of second causes not onely an use of them but every one in their order supplyes the other the heavens heare the earth and the earth hears the corne one after another If we could see the comely order of the creatures wee should see them all hang together in a golden chaine as it is in the joynts of the body one bone supplyeth another one place is hollow to take in another so one cause in nature supplyeth and cometh in to the other As in our salvation there is a golden chain which we have Rom. 8. So in the creatures there is a golden chain of comely order and mutuall supplyance Fiftly God is at the higher end of the chaine and nothing can be done by any link of the chaine of second causes but by Gods being at the uppermost link Jezreel must cry to the corn and wine and oyle and they must cry to the earth and the earth must cry to the heavens he must be the highest cause Sixtly It is most comely and a great blessing when the right order and chaine of second causes hold As it is in Nature so in any Society in a Common-wealth in a City when all keep their due subordination as when the Trades-man works in his way the Magistrate in his way the Minister in his way and every Officer in his place every one keeping his order But when it is otherwise when they are out of order it is a great misery upon a City or Kingdom As it was once among the Athenians Themistocles saith of his son a bolâ— youth This boy can do more then any man in all Greece Why For saith he the Athenians command the Grecians and I command the Athenians and my wife commands me and my son commands my wife here was the concatenation of that government God deliver all societies from such a concatenation that the beginning of any publick work I meane the lower link of the chain should be perhaps in a whoremaster he should command one and that one another and so one after another This is a fearfull judgment where soever it is 7. God is the giver of all plenty hee accounts it his glory to give raine Ier. 5. 24. God there wonders that men will not feare him because of that Neither saith he doe they say in their hearts Let us feare God that giveth raine As if hee should say It is a strange impudence in men what will they not say in their hearts Let us feare God seeing he gives us raine Thus God gloryeth in this great work when hee heareth the heavens and the heavens heare the earth the heavens will be as brasse over us and the earth as iron unlesse GOD heare them and send raine Therefore let God be acknowledged in that rain we have had of late the creatures wanted grasse and the grasse cryed to the heavens and the heavens cryed unto God and God hath heard the heavens and sent downe raine and so we see the earth hath been refreshed abundance of good hath come to us by those showers Give God the glory of this 8. All plenty is given for the sake of the Saints How God heares the heavens and the heavens hear the earth and the earth hears the corn and the wine and the oyle and they hear Jezreel It is for Jezreels sake that the earth heares the corne and the heavens hear the earth and God hears the heavens Were it not for the Saints the earth wauld soon come to a confusion They are the blessing of the earth Isa 18. 24. 9. If the creatures work so graciously for us how should wee then worke for God and one for another What shall the creatures cry one to another and heare one another for our good and shall God cry to us and wee not heare God The senseless corn cries to the earth O earth help me that I may help Iezreel and the earth cryes to the heavens O heavens send down your influences and the heavens say We will heare and the earth saith I will heare Shall the earth heare and the heavens heare for our good and shall not we hear when God cryes for help God cries to you many times to helpe in his cause and wilt not thou hear to work for him O vile creature how unreasonable are thy ways before the Lord Again how should we hear the cries of the poor When wee are in want the corn cries to the earth and the earth cries to the heavens and the heavens cry to God for us VVhen the poore I mean Gods poore whom Gods hand hath made poore cry will not you heare VVill you be more hard-hearted then the earth and the heavens are seeing they heare you doe you hear the cry of your poor brethren Further if God will hear the creatures when they cry for us how much more will he hear Jesus Christ when hee cries for us It is our happinesse in part that we have all the creatures cry to God for our good but the top of our happinesse is this that wee have Iesus Christ the Mediatour of the new Covenant making intercession at the right hand of God continually for us Lastly Gods mercies go through when they work for the Saints the corn beginneth to cry to the earth that stays not here but the earth goes on and cryes to the heavens the heavens go on and cry to God Gods mercies to his Saints never leave till the thing be done And I will sow her unto me in the earth VVhat great mercy is this for God to grant plenty if he destroy his people Our Country is plentifull but if God should consume us out of the land what good wouâ—d our plenty do us Therefore saith God I will sow her unto me in the earth Indeed she is now a poor contemptible people there are but few of them remaining upon the earth but I will make them a seede and a seed that the Lord hath blessed I will sow her Here the Lord alludeth to the name Iezreel which signifies the seed of the Lord the sowen of the Lord. It was used in the first Chapter in an opprobtious way and in the latter end of that Chapter in a way of mercy I speak of it there therefore I shall not need say much now only this God makes use of the word here to put her in mind of what shee deserved as if he should say though thou beest a Jezreel and deservest to be scattered yet I will be mercifull to thee out of free grace
AN EXPOSITION Of the Prophesie of HOSEA Begun IN DIVERS LECTVRES Vpon the first three Chapters At MICHAELS Cornhill LONDON By JER BURROUGHES The Second Edition Newly corrected Inter omnia dona donum verbi Dei est amplissimum Si hoc auferas soleme mundo sustulisti Quid erit mundus sublato verbo quaminfernus Luther LONDON Printed for R. Dalwman in the Year 1652. TO THE READER YOu have these Lectures as they were taken from me in preaching Iperused the notes but I could not bring the style to that succinctnesse that I desired except I should have wrote all over again which I had no time to doe my perusall was but cursory therefore many things have slipt me You have them as I preached them without any considerable alteration I had thought to have been far briefer that which caused me to goe somewhat beyond an expository way was the meeting with so many things almost in every Lecture so neerly concerning the present times in the remaining part of the Prophesie if God give life to goe through it I shall keep my selfe more close to an expository way what here you have take it as you finde it what good you meet with receive it in This will be the encouragement of Thy friend in Christ J. B. Aug. 10. 1643. Imprimatur Ioseph Caryll AN EXPOSITION OF The Prophesie of Hosea The First LECTVRE Chap. 1. Vers 1 2. c. 1. The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea the son of Beeri in the dayes of Vzziah Iotham Ahaz and Hezekiah Kings of Iudah and in the days of Ieroboam son of Ioash King of Israel 2. The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea and the Lord said to Hosea c. The Preface To The Work THis day beginneth a Scripture Exposition Exercise which hath lost much of the honour of it by the disuse of it The best Apology for it is to set presently upon it It is ancient in the Church of God old enough to speak for itself Nehem 8. 8. we read that Ezra Ieshua Bani and the rest read in the book of the Law and gave the sense and caused the people to understand the reading You love brevity in this Exercise you shall have it in all that shall be delivered unto you I have pitched upon the Books of the small Prophets to open them unto you of whom Ierome hath this expression You cannot tell which to wonder at most either the brevtâ—y of speech or the greatness and abundance of sense And this Prophet Hosea in speciall is excellent this way of whom the same Author speaking calls him exceeding concise speaking by sentences Being the Propheticall books is the work that falls to me why I chose rather to begin with Hosea then Isaiah I shall afterward give you an account If God continue this Exerciseand life we may goe through them all both small and great In these Prophets we have most admirable divine Truths revealed to us and pity it is that the minde of God contained in them should be so little known even unto his children that such treasures of heavenly truths that are there should lie hid from so many so long a time as they have done We might preface this our work because this is the first dayes entrance into it vvith labouring to raise and sweeten your hearts with the consideration of the excellency of the Scriptures in generall Luther hath an high expression about them he calls them the highest genus that containes in it all good whatsoever Take away the Scripture and you even take away the Sun from the world What is the world without the Scriptures but hell it self We have had indeed the word of God to be as the Sun in the world but oh hovv many mists have been before this Sun We have seldome the Sun shine clearly to us It is pity seeing there is such a glorious Sun risen that there should be such a misty day Now this is the work we are called unto to dispell the mists and fogs from before this Sun that it may shine more brightly before your eyes and into your hearts Chrysost in his 29. Sermon upon Genesis exhorting his Auditors to get the Scriptures into their houses and to a diligent exercise of himselfe in them tells them that by them the soul is raised and elevated and brightned as with the beame of the Sun of righteousnesse and delivered from the snares of unclean thoughts The Scripture is that wherin the great God of heaven hath sent his mind to the children of men wherein he hath made known the counsel of his wil opened even his very heart unto Man-kind It is the Epistle that God hath sent into the world And did wee but heare of such a Book that were dictated imediatly by God himself to the end to shew the children of men what the eternall counsels of his will were for the ordering of them to their eternall estate and to open his thoughts and intentions concerning their everlasting condition what it shall be Did wee I say but heare that there were such a book in the farthest part of the Indies would we not rejoyce that the world was blest with such a mercie what strong and vehement desires should we have to enjoy but one sight of it before we dye Wee would be willing to venture upon any hazard to passe through any difficulty to be at any charges that we might have but a sight of such a booke as this My brethren you need not say Who shall goe to the farthest part of the Indies to setch this book Who shall descend into the depth or goe to the uttermost part of the earth to help us to a sight of this booke of Scripture For behold the word is nigh unto you it is in your houses and we hope in your hearts and in this exercise is to be in our mouths not only to tell you what it saith but open unto you the mind of God in it The exercising our selves in this book is sweet indeed Luther professes himselfe out of love with his own books and wished them burnt lest men spending time in them should be hindered from reading the Scriptures which saies he are the only fountain of all wisdome and I tremble saies he at the former age that was so much busied in reading of Aristotle and Averroes Wee read in that 8. of Nehem. vers 5 6. when Ezra opened the book of the Law to expound it to the people he blessed the Lord the great God and all the people answered Amen Amen And now blessed be the Lord the great and gracious God for stirring your hearts up to such a work as this is and blessed be his name for those liberties we have thus freely to exercise our selves in this service O praised be the name of the great God for this dayes entrance into so good a work as this is Yea they did not
which is said 2 King 14. 27. that before this time God had not so threatned Israel for the Text saith The Lord said not before this time that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven but hee saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the sonne of Joash Mark there is given the reason why the Lord saved them by the hand of Jeroboam because he had not yet said he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven that is the Lord never before sent any of his Prophets thus plainly and fully to declare his intention to them for the utter blotting out th name of Israel upon their going on in their sins So that it is clear that Hosea was the first that was sent about this message And certainly it was so much the harder he being the first of all For they might have said why do you come with these new things and in so great severity who did ever so before you It was a hard task For we know if a Minister come with any thing that seems to be new if he presents any truth to you that hath but a shew of Novelty that you heard not before though it be never so good aud comfortable he shall find little encouragement Nay if hee doe but come in a new way as this very exercise because it is like to goe on in a way that yet hath been disused it will meet with many discouragements What then will the threatnings of hard things of judgments and destruction do when they come with novelty Surely Hosea had a hard taske of this and yet he went on faithfully with it Thus much for the time wherein Hosea prophesied Now to make a little entrance into the prophesie The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea Some from these words doe gather that Hosea was the first Prophet that ever was Though it is true we cannot gather it directly from hence yet it is apparent that notwithstanding Isaiah be set first yet Hosea was before him for if you look into the 1 Isa you shall find that his beginning was in the dayes of Vzziah Now Hosea was in the dayes of Jeroboam and Jeroboam was before Vzziah And this may be one reason why though I intend the whole propheticall books yet I rather pitch upon Hosea first because indeed he was the first Prophet it is cleare you see from the Scripture though we cannot gather it from these words in this second verse But yet thus much we may gather from these words The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea that this was the beginning of his prophesie And what was this beginning what did God set him about first Mark presently the next words he must take him a wife of whoredomes and children of whoredomos and so declare to the people of Israel that they had committed great whoredome departing from the Lord. The most grievous charge and most severe and terrible expression of Gods wrath against that people that you meet with in all the book of God This is the work Hosea must doe and Hosea was very young when first he went about it Now as I told you before God sometimes calls young ones to great services but to call a young man to this service to goe to this people with such a message now in the midst of all their pride and flourish to contest with them thus to tel them that they are children of whoredomes and no longer the people of God for what for a young man to do this Why they might have said if this came from the mouth of some old ancient Prophet reverent for his years and experience it had been somewhat but to come from a green head for an upstart to upbâ—aid us with such vile things Thus men grown old and sodden in their sins are ready to reason But let us know my brethren if God send any message unto us though by young ones he expects your entertainment of it When God would destroy Elies house he sends the message by young Samuel but Eli did not reason thus what this young boy come to speak thus malapartly to me No he stoops to it Good is the word of the Lord saith he Againe Hosea must tell them that they are children of whoredomes and not the people of God What for a Minister when he comes first among a people to begin so harshly and severely and ruggedly is it not better to comply with the people to come with gentle and â—aire means to seek to win them with love if you begin with harsh truths surely you will make them fly off presently Thus many do reason Now I beseech you take heed to your own hearts in reasoning thus Many have done so and have sought to comply with people so long till they have complyed away all their faithfulnesse and conscience and vigour that before they had When they come to great men rich men men in place and emmency they will comply with such but let them have any of Gods people in their Parish that are of a mean rank and poor they comply little enough with them but are harsh and bitter to them and regard not the tendernesse of their consciences at all It is true If Ministers have the testimony of their own consciences that they would take no other way but what shall be for the greatest profit of their people maintaining such a disposition as to be willing to undergoe any sufferings that God shall call them unto they may say first when they come to a house Peace be to this house especially when they come to a place that hath not had the means before But if it be to a people that goe directly against the light of their consciences a superstitious people that cannot but be convinced and have had many evidences that it is against the mind of God and yet only for their owne base ends will goe on and not amend in such a case as this wee may come with harshnesse at the very first So Paul gives a charge to Titus in dealing with the Cretians who were evill beasts and slow bellies that he should rebuke them sharpely so wee translate it the word in the Originall is cuttingly The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea The particle which is translated by signifyeth in as well as by it is not El but Beth and so it is read by some The word of the Lord came in Hosea This expression notes the inward and intimate converse that the Lord had with the spirit of Hosea in the work of the Ministry The Lord spake first in Hosea and then he speaks out unto the people Some such expression we have concerning Paul Gal. 1. 16. That Christ may be revealed in me not onely to me but in me The more inwardly God speaks and converseth with the hearts of his Ministers the more inwardly and efficaciously they are able to speak to the people This
have heard of that Palladium of the Heathens in Troy they imagined that so long as that Idol was kept safe they were unconquerable all the strength in Greece was not able to prevaile against it wherefore the Greecians sought by all means they could to get it from them I have read of the men of Tyrus that they were afraid their god Apollo should forsake them they therfore chained and nailed that Idol to a post that they might be sure of it because they thought their safety was in it Let us fasten our selves to God in an everlasting covenant and certainly God will be fast to us then we are safe enough I will save them but how what shall Judah be saved by and not Israel Judah a poor contemptible people how saved I will not save them by bow nor by sword nor by battel by horses nor by horsemen It shall not be by any outward meanes but by the immediate hand of God This promise that God would save them not by bow nor by sword c. it was performed two several times and there is a third time for the fulfilling of it which is yet to come It was done first when the Angel of the Lord went out and smote in one night in the Camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore five thousand 1 kings 11. 35. and God tells them that the King of Assyria should not shoote an arrow there nor come before the Citie with a shield so God saved them without bow for they had no need to use the bow then because the Angel of the Lord destroyed them The second time was when he saved Judah in their returne from captivity then as it is Zach. 4. 6 he saved them not by might nor by power but by my spirit saith the Lord of Hosts Marke the phrase as if God should say I have strength for I am the Lord of hosts I can command Armies if I would to save you No though I be the Lord of hosts yet I will not save you by might nor by power but by my spirit Therefore Isa 43. 7. their strength is said to be in sitting still and ver 15. in quietnesse and confidence shall be your strength Thus they were saved not by bow nor by sword Then the third time which is yet to come that is in the wonderful work of God in calling the Jewes when God shall raise up out of them a glorious people to himselfe and save Judah once again and it shall not be by sword nor by bow but by the Lord their God For as it is said Dan. 2. 34. the stone that smote the Image was cut out without hands so there shall be a power that is not visible from whence it comes but Jesus Christ shal come from heaven to do his great workes As the lightning from the East to the West so shal the comming of the sonne of man be What learne we from hence First God ties not himself to the use of outward means in procuring of good to his people Though all outward means fail yet there may be wayes of salvation for the Saints Wicked mens hearts presently sinke if outward means fail And indeed so much as our hearts faile when outward meanes faile it is a signe that we did before rest upon the means and if we had had the means we should have robbed God of his honour We must use means but not rely upon the means I might shew you excellent Texts of Scripture for this as Psal 33. 16. There is no King saved by the multitude of an host a mighty man is not delivered by much strength c. And Psal 44. 5. 6. Through thee will we push downe our enemies through thy name we will tread them under that rise up against us for I will not trust in my bowe neither shal my sword save me c. But secondly Not by bow nor by sword c. Deliverance of a people without bow and without sword is a great mercy For such are the wofull miseries that a people doe suffer when warre commeth that usually the victory will scarce pay the charges of the battel though we be sure to be saved at last yet if we must be saved by bow and by sword I say the misery that we may suffer in our salvation may be more then the salvation It was the height of that mercy promised Isa 9. 5. that it should be without confused noise and garments rolled in blood Such a mercy we have had and had Christ come to have raigned amongst us though he had come with his garments rolled in blood we should willingly have entetrayned him If he had come ryding upon his red horse But behold he comes ryding upon his white horse in peace and mercy all this while and the mercies we have had have been very cheap they have not been by bow nor by sword And if God should come at length by the sword and bring perfect salvation to us by blood which God forbid but if he should we have had already more mercy without blood than our bloods are worth should we now have our bloods shed God hath paied us beforehand who almost in this congregation but two or three yeers agoe would have lost his blood to procure so much mercy to England as England hath had already Further. Such is the love of God to his people that he is pleased to worke for them beyond meanes The other point was that he can save his people without means This that he will do it beyond means For the grace and love of God to his people is so high glorious that it is beyond that which can be conveyed by means therefore it must be done more imediatly Exod. 15. 6. Thy right hand O Lord is become glorious in power in the greatnesse of thine excellency thou hast overthrowne them that rose up against thee First it is the hand of God Secondly it is the right hand of God Thirdly it is the right hand of God in power Fourthly this is glorious in power Fiftly there is excellency and Sixthly there is the greatnesse of Excellency It is an high expression Magnitudine excellentiae or magnitudine elationis in the greatnesse of thy lifting up for the same word signifieth pride that is here translated excellency and if God he lifted up in any thing it is when hee shewes himself for his people Now take all these six expressions Gods hand Gods right hand his right hand in power a right hand that is become glorious in power his excellency the greatnesse of his excellency and all this for his Saints surely this is more then can be conveyed by means God must borne imediately and save them by himselfe But lastly the more imediate the hand of God appeareth in his mercy to his people the more sweet and precious ought that mercy to be then this were an excellent argument to follow to the full and so
Thes 2. 3. And Rev. 1. 3. 3. All the world wandred after the beast and ver 2. The dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority and Rev. 17. 1. The whore sitteth upon many waters ver 15. these many waters are interpreted to be peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues The whore doth sit upon them that is doth use them vilely and basely sits upon the very consciences of them in a base manner as if a whore should sit upon you and keep you under And who doth she sit upon upon peoples and multitudes It is not an argument then of a true Church though they are multitudes though they be as the sand of the sea though they be gathered together for they must be gathered under one Head under Christ Secondly Neither is Unity a sufficient argument of the verity of the Church They shall be gathered together they shall be joyned together in one way with one consent yea but if it be not under one Head it is like Simeon Levi brethren in iniquity It is not enough that we be one unless we be one in Christ and that is a blessed union For a great deale of unity there shall be under Antichrist Revel 17. 13. These have one minde saith the Text and they shall give their strength power to the beast And Chap. 18. 5. Her sins reach unto heaven Their sins cleave together and so get up to heaven A union of persons and a union of sins there is amongst them The Turks have as little dissention in their Religion as any they are allunited in one But well may that garment have no seame that hath no shape And a notable place we have in Ps 83. 3. 4. 5. c. They have consulted together with one consent they are confederate against thee There are two or three things exceeding observable in this Scripture about the union of the wicked First you have ten Countreys joyn together against the Church there is the Edomites the Moabites c. And it was not by accident that they joyned but in a deliberate way They consulted together and not onely consulted together but consulted together with one consent or heartily for that which is translated there with one consent the word in the Hebrew is with heart together their very heart was in the consultation but mark it was against thy hidden ones so ver 3. Let them consult together let ten of them consult together and consult with their hearts yet the Saints are Gods hidden ones Esay 54. 15. They shall surely gather together but not my me whosoever shall gather together against thee shal fall forthy sake My brethren Peace though we should all desire it yet so as not to have it too chargeable Peace is then too chargeable when it costs us the losse of any truth Take heed of any such costly Peace There may hand joyn in hand together in wickednes yet they shal not be unpunished Pro. 16. 5. And Nah. 1. 10. While they are folded together as thorns they shal be devoured as stubble fully dry Wicked men they are as thorns to prick the people of God yea they are thorns â—â—lded together there is a peace amongst them yet though thâ—â— be folded â—â—gether they shall bedevoured they shal be 〈…〉 division that comes by truth is beter then the union that comes by 〈…〉 a noble speech of Luther Rather then any thing should fall of the Kingdome of Christ and his glory let not onely peace 〈◊〉 but let heaven and earth goe too so wee should love peace The Sixth Lecture HOSEA 1. the middle of the 11. verse And appoint themselves one head and they shall come up out of the land FRom the tenth verse to the end you have heard that God promiseth mercy to an Israel that he will in time raise up although for that Israel to whom the Prophet spake they shall go into captivity and shall not returne as Judah did Secondly Mercy to Israel and Judah both together and that first In the multitude that shall be gathered secondly In the excellency of the state of the Church at that time above that which was before before they were People but then they shall be Sons Thirdly In the unity of them Israel and Judah shall be both gathered together under one head Some time was spent in the last exercise about unity and the excellency of the unity of the Churches wherein we laboured to convince you that uniformity in judgement and practice is not necessary for unity in the Churches for unity of hearts It is a false principle that runnes in the world that all men must needs be brought to believe and doe the same thing or else there can be no peace If we would have light let in to us we must so prise it as to be willing that in the discussion of truths there should be some hazard of some differences in lesser things If a man have a house closed on every side with a thick brick-wall and he is so desirous to keepe his house safe and stronge that he will rather all his dayes sit in the darke then be at the trouble to have a hole digged or a few bricks broken to let in any light wee would accuse that man of folly It is true indeed we must not be so desirous of light as to break so much of the wall as to indanger the house we must keepe that safe but yet it is hard to let in light but there will be some bricks taken away and there must be some trouble A childe when he sees the work-man with his tooles breaking the wall and making a deale of rubbish hee thinks he is pulling down the house but a wise man knows it is but a little trouble for the present to let in light that shall be for the beauty of the house afterward Unity in the Churches is lovely But it must be under one head They shal be gathered together and appoint themselves one head Agreement in errour is farre worse then division for the sake of truth Better to be divided from men that are erroneous then to agree with them in the wayes of their arrour A company gathered without the covenant of peace without the observance of Gods law is a headlesse multitude saies Bernard it hath much of Babylon but little of Jerusalem What is this Head I finde both the Jewes and divers of the â—â—cyents Theodoret Cyrill and others that would make this head to be Zerubbabel and onely to have reference to the returne of the people from their Babylonish captivity But this certainly cannot be upon these two reasons to name no more First Because both Israel and Judah are here to joyne together and to returne out of the land there it was Judah and not the ten Tribes that were delivered from their captivity Secondly Compare this Scripture with others that are but a Comment upon it and we shall finde that
time a new world and when we speak of the other world we call it the old world so the Scripture calls it 2 Pet. 2. 5. God spared not the old world And Chap. 3. 6. The world that then was being overflowed with water perished So this world that we live in is as the old world and there is this day of Jezreel in which there shall be such a glorious change all things being put in subjection under Christ that it shall be as it were a new world God hath made an excellent world in which there is much beauty and glory and yet his enemies have the rule here what then will that world be that God intends for his Saints 8. Great shall be the day of Jezreel It shall be such a great day that all former things shall be even forgotten because of the lustre and glory of that great day As Isa 65. 17. The former heavens and the former earth shall not be remembred nor come into mind And so Jer. 3. 16. In those dayes saith the Lord they shall say no more the Arke of the Covenant of the Lord neither shall it come to minde neither shal they remember it at that time they shal call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord and all the nations shal be gathered unto it to the name of the Lord to Jerusalem neither shal they walk any more after the imagination of their evil hearts mark my brethren In those dayes the house of Judah shall walke together ver 18. It is apparent that it is spoken of this great day of Iezreel for now God saith he will gather Iudah and Israel together and here he saith that they shall walke together and that then former things shall be forgotten they shall call Jerusalem the Throne of the Lord heretofore even the Temple it self the glory of Jerusalem was but as the place of Gods feet and the Arke of God was but Gods footstool 1 Chron. 28. 2. It was in mine heart saith David to build a house of rest for the Arke of the Covenant of the Lord and for the footstoole of our God and Isa 60. 13. I will make Zion the place of my feet glorious But now in this great day Jerusalem that was but Gods foot stool the place of his feet shall be Gods Throue a great day certainly this shall be when all things shall be thus forgotten In the last place a great day because it shall be a day after which there shal be no night And that you will say will be a great day indeed after which the Saints shall be raised to such a state of prosperity and happiness that shall never fall again that shall never come to be darkened any more The Churches here many times have had some little release they have had their dayes of peace for a while but it hath soone grown to be night and a dismall night of darkness But when this great day shall come it shall be a day that shall never have night for so God promiseth here to his Jezreel to make it to be an eternal excellency and to make Jerusalem an everlasting joy and Dan. 2. 44. God shall in the dayes of those Kings set up a Kingdom that shall never be destroyed that is the great day of Jezreel The first thing that shall be done in this great day of Iezreel shall be the deliverance of the Churches from wofull affliction which they shal be found to be in a little before For so the Scripture tells us Dan. 12. 1. that before this day there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time and at that time thy people shall be delivered I might tell you much how some of the Ancients have spoken of this that though it be a point that seemes to be somewhat strange to us yet it was one of the most ordinariest things that was known in the primitive times It was then so generally acknowledged that I remember Just in Martyr who was but 30. years after Saint John hath such an expression as this There is no man saith he that is of the Orthodox faith in all things but he doth acknowledge it And Lactantius in his 7. book cap. 15. 24. 28. and divers other chapters he spends in shewing the glory of this great day of Iezreel but withall he shewes that a little before there shall be most grievous times that shal fall out such times saith he as that all right shall be confounded the law shall perish no body shall know what is his own the wicked they shal have the preheminence the Saints they shall be persecuted so that saith he though in this our time wickednesse is grown to such a height that a man would think it could increase no higher yet in comparison of the time a little before that great day these times may be called Golden ages These expressions he hath So that great times of affliction will be before that great day and it is therefore called a great day because God appearing so gloriously in the deliverance of his Church at that day The Scripture speakes of wonderfull thing that God will do and shew himself marvaylous as he did in the people of Israels comming out of Egâ—â—t Who knowes but that God now sendeth abroad so much of the light of his Gospel and is so working in the hearts of men and giveth us such a time of reviving and calleth home so many young ones as he doth purposely because this great day is at hand and because before this day wee may have a day of dismall darkenesse and by this he will prepare people for those times God will have a great seed that he intends to be in the world therefore so many young people are converted and are so forward because I say God meanes to prepare them by this light that we now have for this seed for this great day And you that are young may expect to go thorow some difficulties hardship before this great day comes but be of good comfort you may hope to live to see all the glory of this great day and God gives you now time that you may lay up and be fit seed for such a glorious day as this that you may not when sufferings come be found among the number of the fearfull ones spoken of in Rev. 21. 8. that shal have their part in the lake which burneth with fire brimstone Those that through base cowardliness and complyance shall yeeld to base vile superstitious vanities shall be cast out amongst dogs when that great day comes God now gives you a day that you may see the evil of superstitious vanities that you may have truths revealed to you with more freedom then formerly I say who knowes but this may be to prepare you for that darknesse that may come a little before this great day of Jezreel Secondly a great day in subduing the adversaries
of the Church Though they shall come to have a great deale of power a little before yet when that great day of Iezreel shall come they shal be certâ—inly all subdued brought under Rev. 19. 13. Christ when he shall come in this great day he shal have his garments dipt in blood in destroying the wicked and ungodly and Rev 15. the Saints when they see the wicked destroyed as the Egyptians were in the sea the Text saith that they sung the song of Moses What was this song of Moses but the praysing of God for the destruction of their adversaries in the Sea God hath another Sea to destroy the wicked and God hath a day for his Saints to sing over the song of Moses again and especially for the destruction of Popery My brethren be not troubled to see Papists make a concourse and flock together be not troubled at it for when this day shall come God will so order things that his adversaries shall come and flock together but it shall be that they may be destroyed for God hath a great feast and a great Sacrifice and he will sacrifice them especially And therefore Lactantius that I spoke of before and is one that lived 1300. yeares since saith he speaking then of this day I have a thing to say but I even tremble to speake it but I must speake it and what was it Romanum nomen saith he de terra tolletur those are his words the Roman name shall be taken off from the earth He in those primitive times prophâ—sied of the destruction of Rome Perhaps though he did not see it so clearly yet God might so order it as though hee understood it not God might intend it for these times God will destroy the enemies of his Churches then Yea. Ezek. 28. 24. there is a promise to the Saints that there shall beno more a pricking bryar nor any grieving thorne of any that are round about them that despise them in another place God saith that he will take away the Canaanite out of the Land Further the third thing that shall be done in this great day is the glorious presence of Christ among the Saints let it be personall or what it will wee determine not but thus far we may confidently affirme that there shall be a more glorious presence of Jesus Christ among his people then ever yet was since the beginning of the world Rev. 21. 22. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb shall be the Temple of it and Chap. 22. 3. 4. The Throne of God and of the Lamb shal be in it and his servants shall serve him they shall see his face and Ezek. 48. the last words of the Chapter The name of that place shall be Jehovah-shammah that is the Lord is there Fourthly the glory that shall be put upon the Saints at that day shewes it to be a great day Glory shall be put upon them first in regard of their admirable gifts graces they shall be heightned and inlarged the weake shall be as David and they that are as David shall be as the Angel of God at that day The bowing down of their adversaries before them The high esteeme that they shall have even in the thoughts and judgments of many great ones of the world they shall be called up to heaven that is those that are in highest place and dignity shall call them up and honour them in that day yea the Text saith The Kings of the earth in that day shall came in and bring their glory to the Church Therefore it is apparent that place Rev. 21. 24. cannot be understood of heaven for it is said the Kings of the earth shal bring their glory they shall not bring their glory to the Church when the Church shall be in heaven And fiftly a great day it shall be in regard of the wonderfull change of all creatures glorious fruitfull times so I remember Lactantius speaks of that time that the rocks them selves should issue forth honey and precious things but that we cannot say yet that there shall bee a wonderfull change of all things and all creatures brought to a further happiness even the sensitive creatures as well as others then they had before the Scriptures are cleare euough in it And literally we are to understand many Scriptures that tend this way concerning the fruitfulnesse of the earth and the outward external glory that there shall be in the creatures As upon a great marriage feast or Coronation day all the servants of the Prince are in their best array so when Christ his Bridegroome shall come and meet with his wife with his Spouse all creatures shall be put into a new cresse shall have further glory And lastly that which we have here in the Text the multitudes of all nations and people that shall flock to the Church that they shall be as the sand of the sea But this I have spoken of before at large Now put all these things together and Great shall be the day of Jezreel Yea but shall these things be so shall they be so Though flesh and blood may reason against these things yet I may apply that place Zach. 2. 13. Be silent O all flesh before the Lord for he is raised up out of his holy haâ—â—â—tion Flesh may say How can these things be But let all flesh be silent for God hath made known in his Word the great things that he intends to bring to passe And Zach. 8. 6. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts if it be marvaylous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these dayes should it also be marvaylous in mine eyes saith the Lord of Hosts It may be applyed to this as well as the other These things may seeme marveilous to your eyes especially because we have been but little acquainted with them but they are not marveilons in the eyes of God Yea we find it out of the Word that these things were to be kept hidden till the appointed time should come till we draw neerer to that great day we are not to wonder why these things have not been opened unto us for God tells us Dan. 12 that they were to be sealed up even to the time appointed and Rev. 10. 11. God telleth Iohn that he must prophe sie again before the Kings of the earth that is before the time of the fulfilling of all things that booke of the Revelation shall be made out as cleere as if Iohn were come to prophesie again before men And we hope it is comming because God beginneth to let in light that way and the morning star seemeth to begin to arise In Zach. 14. 6. you have mention of a day that we may apply to the present day that we have now And it shall come to passe saith the Text there that the light shall not be cleere nor darke but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord not day nor night but
the Lord himselfe that supplyeth all outward good to his people he doth not onely prize the soules of his people but hee takes care of their bodies too and outward estates Psalm 34. 20. He keepeth all his bones Yea he takes care of the very haire of their heads The bodies of the Saints are very precious in the eyes of God the most precious of all corporall things in the world The Sonne and Moone and Starres are not so precious as the bodyes of the Saints how much more precious are their soules VVe have an excellent note of Austin upon Psalm 63. 1. where the Text saith My soule thirsteth for thee my flesh longeth for thee c. Upon this he hath this Note If the flesh hath any need of bread of wine of money or cattell seeke this of God for God giveth this too for marke Those who thirst for God must thirst for him every way not only their soules â—â—rst for him but their flesh must thirst for him for saith he did God make the soul and did the devills or any idols make the flesh No he that made both soule and flesh he feedeth them both therefore all Christians must say My soule longeth after thee and my flesh also If then we can trust God for our soules and our eternall estates that hee will provide for them we must trust him for our bodies also for our flesh for our temporall estates that he will provide for them also Secondly thus All that we have all our supply that we enjoy in this world it is the free gift of God They did not know that I gave them corne and wine c. All of us live upon the meere Almes of God the greatest man in the world is bound to goe to Gods gate and beg his bread every day though he were an Emperour over all the world hee must doe it to shew his dependance upon him that he lives wholly upon almes Men thinke it hard to live upon almes and because they have maintenance so much comming in by the yeare such an estate in land they thinke they are well provided for many yeers But what ever estate thou hast though by thy trading thou hast gotten so much by the yeare coming in yet God requireth this of thee to go to his gate beg thy bread of him every day so Christ teacheth Give us this day our dayly bread And certainly if we did but understand this our dependance upon God for all outward comforts in the world we could not but feare him and seeke to make peace with him and keepe peace with him and it would be a meanes that our hearts would be inlarged to give to others who need our almes and seeing every man and woman of us is an Almes-man and an Almes-woman Thirdly It is our duty that we owe to God to know and take notice of God as the author of all our good They know not that implyeth they ought to have knowne This is a speciall duty of that worship we owe to God it is the end of Gods communicating all good to us that he may have active glory from his rational creature as well as passive glory and there is no creature else in all the world that God hath made capable of knowing any thing of the first cause but only the rational creature therefore it is the excellency of such that they do not onely enjoy the good that they have but they are able to rise up to the highest and first cause of all their good There is a great deale of excellency in this It is observed of Doves that at every pick of corne they take in their bill they cast their eyes upward and in the Canticles you shall finde the eyes of the Church are called Doves eyes because they looke so much up to heaven upon every good they receive They have not dogs eies the men of the world have dogs eies dogs you know looke up to their Masters for a bone and when they have it they presently looke downe to the ground so the men of the world they will pray to God when they want but whâ—n they enjoy what they would have they look no more upward but all downward This taking notice of God to be the Author of all our good and to give him praise is all the rent we pay to God for what we enjoy therefore it is fit we should doe that and if we doe any thing for God be sure God takes notice of that to the uttermost yea though it be himselfe that enableth us to do it yea though it be but a little good mingled with a great deale of evill God takes notice of it and will reward it surely then we should take notice of the good that he giveth out to us This sweetneth our comforts to see that they all come from God and for that observe the difference betweene the expression of Jacobs blessing and Esaus blessing when Isaac came to blesse Jacob hee expresseth himselfe thus Gen. 27. 28. God give thee of the dew of heaven and of the fatnesse of the earth and plenty of corne and wine c. Now when he commeth to blesse Esau marke his expression then verse 39. Thy dwelling shall be the fatnesse of the earth and of the dew of heaven from above but hee never mentioneth God in that It is not Esaus blessing God give thee of the dew of heaven and of the fatnesse of the earth though it is true Isaac meant so but yet he doth not mention the name of God so in Esaus as in Iacobs blessing Certainly my brethren the seed of Jacob count their blessing to be a double a treble blessing that they can see God in it carnall hearts do not much regard God if they can have what they would have if they can have their flesh satisfied in what they desire from what hand it cometh that they doe not much care but a gracious heart a child of Jacob rejoyceth more in the hand from whence it commeth then in any good he can possibly enjoy Fourthly They did not know God doth a great deale of good in the world that is little taken notice of or laid to heart Many of Gods dispensations are invisible the Angels Ezek. 1. are described with their hands under their wings God doth great things somtime so invisibly as he cannot be seene And when he doth great things that we might see yet through onr neglect stupidity and drossinesse of our hearts we doe not see them The most observing eye that is in the world that takes the exactest notice of Gods mercy and hath the greatest skill to set forth the riches of Gods goodnesse to himselfe and others yet alas it is but very little that he takes notice of no not of that he might doe It is with the quickest sighted Christians as with a skilful Mathematician a skilfull Mathematician takes notice of and understands many parts of the world
it would warme and refresh yea 〈…〉 The Text saith of Elies sonnes 1 Sam. 2. 12. that they knew not the Lord they were Priests of God yet they were sonnes of Belial and know not the Lord. Be not offended at great Schollars who have skill in the tongues Arts and Sciences do not you say these men that are great and knowing men would they do thus and thus if things were so as you speake they are not knowing men God saith that Elies sonnes did not know the Lord the things of God are hid from them I thanke thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth that thou hast hid thess things from the wise and prudent c. Sixthly They did not know that I gave them c. Affected ignorance comming thorough distemper of heart is no excuse but rather an aggravation It is a high degree of ingratitude not to prize Gods mercy but not to take notice of Gods mercies Oh what a high ingratitude is this That which shall be part of Gods charge against sinners can be no excuse of their sinne it is a part of Gods charge that they did not know therefore their ignorance cannot be their excuse God threatneth to cut people off to have no mercy upon them for want of knowing as well as for not doing They are a people of no understanding therefore he that made them will have no mercy upon them and he that formed them will shew them no favour Esay 27. 11. Ambrose hath this expression Thou doest sinne greatly if thou doest contemne the riches of Gods long suffering but thou sinnest most of all if thou doest not know it From the word for as depending upon the 5. ver for so it doth The Observation is The not taking notice and considering of Gods mercies and laying them to heart is the cause of vile and shamefull evils in mens lives Therefore they did shamefully therefore they went after their lovers because they did not know the cause of almost all the evill in the world it is from hence They that know thy name will trust in thee those who know the Lord will feare him and his goodnesse Esay 1. 4. Ah sinfull nation saith God God fetcheth a sigh under the burthen of it his spirit is laden and troubled with it Ah sinfull people c What was the matter The Oxe knoweth his owner and the Asse his masters crib but Israel doth not know my people doth not consider they were more stupid then the brute creatures Oh sinfull soul this is the cause of all thy inordinate walking of all thy profanenesse of all the ungodliness in thy wayes because thou dost not know thou dost not consider thou dost not lay to heart the wayes of God towards thee Ier. 2. 5. God chargeth his people that they were gone from him and ver 7. that they had made his heritage an abomination What is the reason that is given of both these It is in the 6. ver They did not say Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt c. They did not take notice of what the Lord had done for them therefore they were gone far from him c. If thou hadst but a heart to lay to heart what God hath done for thee it is impossible that thou shouldst goe so farre off from God as thou dost For these deductions are easie and obvious to any from such a principle 1. Justice common equity requires living to God seeing we live by and upon God 2. Common ingenuity calls for requiring good with good the Publicans and Heathens will do good to those that do good to them 3. If all be from God then all still depends upon God 4. How much good is there in God from whence all this good and mercy comes when God shall shew another day to men and Angels how hee was the fountaine of all good it will confound those who have not laid it to heart 8. She did not know that I gave her corne and wine and oyle and multiplyed her silver and her gold God is more bountifull to his people then the Idols can be The Idols by their owne confession gave them but their bread water and flax and oyle c. but God giveth them wine silver gold God gives them better pay a great deale then the Devill doth yet the Devill usually hath more servants to follow him then God hath though his wages bee lesse and worse It is usuall for men to get souldiers from adversaries by givâ—ng them more pay This is the way God takes he offereth a great deale better pay to those that will follow him then they have that follow the Devill yet God can get few to follow him This shews the vilenesse of mans heart against God 9. She did not know that I gave her c. which she prepared for Baal When men get abundance then they soon grow wanton When I gave them corn and wine and oyle and multiplyed their silver and their gold then they followed Baal This is the reason of so many solemne charges of God Take heed when thou art full that thou dost not forget the Lord. As they that are neerest the sun are the blackest so those to whom God is neerest in regard of outward mercies are many times blacker then others It is observed that the fatter mens bodies are the lesse blood and the fewer spirits they have so the fatter mens estates are many times the lesse spirit they have to any thing that is good God hath lesse spirit from them sinne hath much more We read of the sunne melting the Manna that fell downe but the same Manna was able to bear the fire so many a mans heart is able to beare affliction and the affliction doth good prepareth for much good as Manna was prepared to be eaten by fire but prosperity melteth them makes them useless Many men when they were poor and in a low condition were very usefull but when they grow high and rich they are of very little use in the places where they dwell Trajan the Emperour was wont to liken a man growing to a great estate to the Spleene in the body for as the Sâ—leene grows big the body growes lesse so when mens estates grow bigger they grow lesse usefull Euagrius noteth it as a speciall commendation of Mauritius the Emperor but notwithstanding his prosperity he retained his ancyent piety it is a very rare thing to see men advanced to high places do so 10. I gave her corne and wine and oyle and I multiplyed her silver and gold which they sacrificed to Baal Even those creatures that wicked men abuse to their lusts God gives them Though he doth not give them for that end yet those creatures that they use for such an end are given of God If thou beest a drunkard that wine or drinke that thou dost sacrifice to that lust of thine who giveth it thee Is it
cleansed that God may be pacified in regard of the filth and uncleanness that hath cleaved even to them You are not in the day of a Fast onely to confesse your notorious sins to God those that in their own nature are sinfull but you are then to examine all your holy duties and to humble your selves before God and to seek to make peace with God in regard of the uncleannesse that hath been in them This few thinke of they 〈◊〉 the day of a Fast confesse such sins as are vile in themselves but to be made sensible of the uncleannesse of holy duties that is little thought of in the day of their Fasts 4. In their day of Atonement the Priest was to lay the sins of the congregation upon the scape goat The story of the scape goat was this The Priest must come and confesse the sins of the congregation laying his hand upon the head of the goat and then he must send this goat into the wildernesse The meaning is of great use to us Jesus Christ he is the scape goat and we are in the dayes of our humiliations to come and lay our hands upon Iesus Christ and to confesse all our sins over him and look upon all our sins as laid upon him Now the scape goat was to be sent into the wildernesse What is that That is sent into a land of forgetfulness so as the Iews should never come to see that goat again that their sins were laid upon it signified to them that their sins were now so forgiven them that they should never hear of their sins againe Thus are our sins upon Christ as we shall never come to see nor heare more of them In the day of our Fasts we should thus exercise our Faith upon Christ A fift thing that was to be done was to sprinkle the blood of the slaine goat upon the mercie-seat and before it It is the blood of Christ that is upon and before Gods mercie-seat that procures mercy from thence for us The sixt thing In the 16 of Leviticus ver 12. the Priest must take a censer full of burning coales of fire from off the Altar and his hanfull of sweet incense beaten small This he must doe in the day of Atonement to teach us That in the day of our solemne Fasts we must be sure to get our hearts full of burning coales from the Altar full of affection and zeale full of mighty workings of spirit to God although you that are godly and so are Priests to God at other times come with few coales from the Altar a little affection your affections are scarce heated but in a day of Atonement you must come with your hearts full of coales and be sure it be fire from the Altar doe not satisfie your selves in naturall affections then but be sure you be full of spirituall affections and then full of incense VVhat was that it typically represented our prayer you must be sure to have your hearts full of prayer to send up abundance of incense before God the incense must be of spiceâ— beatou small what is that the prayerâ— that we are to send up to God in the day of Atonement must come from much contrition of spirit our hearts must be beaten small to powder when the hearts of men are beaten to powder then they are able to send forth such incense as is a sweet favour in the nostrills of God Many of you in the day of a fast seem to be full of prayer but is this prayer a sweet incense to God or no how shall I know that by this God hath appointed the incense upon the day of atonement to be that that must come from spices beaten if thy heart be beaten to powder and thy prayers be but the savour and the odour of thy graces that are as spices and heated by the fire of Gods spirit then here is the incense that pleases God First graces which are the spices the contrition that is the beating small then the fire of Gods Spirit to cause the incense to rise up in the nostrills of God as a sweet savour Further a seventh thing in the day of atonement was the cloud of the incense must cover the Mercy seate ver 13. and then the blood both of the bullocke and the goate must be sprinkled upon the Mercy seate and that seven times and ver 15. the blood of the goat must be sprinkled not onely â—pon the Mercy seate but before the Mercy seate what is the meaning of this must our mercy seat be clouded in the day of atonement wee had need have it appear to us and not be clouded yes in the day of atonement it must be clouded but clouded with incense the incense that was sent up was a type of the sweet perfume of the merit of Jesus Christ Now in the day of atonement we must look up to the mercy seate as clouded with the merit of Christ clouded that is the merit of Jesus Christ round about it as a cloud and covering the Mercy Seat to teach us that no man must dare to look upon the Mercy Seat of God as it is in it selfe but he must have the incense of the merit of Christ round about it the reason was given why the Lord must have the incense as a cloud to cover the Mercy Seat lest hee die if he had entered into the holy place and there looked upon the Mercy Seat and not clouded by the incense he must have died for it those men that think to come into Gods presence and look upon God out of Christ and think to receive mercy from God out of Christ they die for it this is the damnation of mens soules to look upon God as mercifull out of Christ mercy is an attribute of God but if we dare who are sinfull creatures to looke upon this attribute of mercy and not have the incense of Christ merit it is the way to destroy our souls O how many thousands are in hell for this many who are afflicted for their sins and cry to God to forgive their sins and believe he is mercifull and think to exercise their faith upon God as mercifull and yet not looking upon the mercy seat as clouded with the merit of Christ it proves the destruction of their soules In a fast when you come to look upon God you must not look upon God as the Creator of heaven and earth or as mercifull in himself barely but look upon Gods mercy in his Sonne and so exercise your faith or else you can never make an atonement but rather will procure Gods wrath It is not only dangerous but horrible once to think of God without Christ sayes 〈◊〉 Again the blood of the Bullocke and the Goate must be sprinkled seven time 〈◊〉 the mercy seate when wee come to make our atonement with God we must exercise our faith in the blood of Christ and sprinkle it seven times again and again upon the mercy seat wee
shall be much more glorious The last time this prophesie aymeth at is the great calling of the Jewes then the Scripture saith Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads they shall obtain gladnesse and joy and all sorrow and mourning shall flee away They shall so sing as never mourn more in this world in regard of any malice and rage of their adversaries This was not fulfilled at their return out of the Babylonish captivity therefore there is yet a time for the fulfilling of it and the Scripture is clear about the fulfilling it even in this world that place Rev. 21. 4. is a repetition of that prophecy he saith there God shall wipe away all teares from their eyes and there shall be no more sorrow nor crying When Jews and Gentiles shall joyne together then they shall siug indeed to purpose as they did in the dayes of their youth when they came up out of the land of Egypt First it is a great mercy for people to be delivered from outward bondage It will be found a great mercy when the world shall be delivered from their outward bondage when men shall see they were born free-men and not slaves though Subjects yet not slaves when men shall see that the world was not made for twenty or thirty to doe what they list and they to account all the rest as beasts yea dogs as if it were not so much for the lives of thousands of them to goe as for their humours and lusts not to be satisfied but when men shall know that they are men and not beasts and so shall live like men and not like beasts to be at the will of others this will be a great mercy But to be delivered from Antichristian bondage is a greater mercy then it was for the children of Israel to be delivered from their Egyptian bondage For First when they were in the Egyptian bondage we reade not that their consciences were forced that they were forced at all to any false worship Pharaoh did not this but Antichrist forced to Idolatry Secondly Though Pharaoh layed heavy taskes and burthens upon them yet he did not kill them indeed at length they killed their first borne but the people of Israel themselves might have their lives still though with hardship But Antichrist thirsts for blood Papists are bloody men Thirdly It was the affliction of Gods people to be in bondage in Egypt but it was not their sin But to be in bondage under Antichrist is not onely an affliction but it is sin and that of a high nature too 4. Though they were under Egyptian bondage yet they were delivered from Egyptian plagues but those that are under Antichristian bondage shall come under Antichristian plagues Come out of her my people lest you be partaker of her plagues You must not think to escape so as they escaped out of Egypt if you stay in that bondage you will be involved in their plagues With what an eye therefore should we look upon those who would bring us into this bondage againe when God hath begun to give us a little reviving Jer. 37. 20. O my Lord the King saith Jeremy let my supplication I pray thee be accepted before thee that thou cause me not to returne to the house of Ionathan the Scribe lest I die there So let us ery to the King of heaven and earth O Lord our King let our supplication be accepted before thee since wee are begun to be delivered from that bondage doe not cause us to returne to that house againe The second is A reconciled condition is a singing condition When there is a harmony between heaven and the soul between God and a sinner there is a sweet melody indeed there may well be singing Esay 35. 10. The raâ—somed of the Lord shall returne and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads And Esay 44. 23. Sing Oye heavens for the Lord hath dâ—ne it sâ—out yee lower parts of the earth break forth into singing ye mountains We being justified by faith having peace with God saith the Apostle we not only rejoyce in hope of glory but we even rejoyce and boast in tribulation Having peace with God though war withall the world we rejoyce Thirdly It is a great mercy when Magistrates and people shall generally joyne together in praising God when they shall sing as they did in the dayes of their youth for that is the promise How is that Moses beginneth and Miriam followeth the leaders of Israel and then all the people joyne together and answer one another in their singing When that day shall come that God shall stirr up the hearts of Magistrates and great ones that there shall be singing Hallelujahs to him that sitteth upon the throne and the Lamb for evermore and when God shall generally move the hearts of the people that they shall answer one another in their singing and so joyne in a sweet melody this will be a blessed time indeed Now perhaps in one place there is singing and blessing God for what is done in another place there is cursing and cursing those that do sing Some mens hearts are rejoycing in the great things God doth other mens hearts fret and rage when they heare of the great works of the Lord this makes no melody in heaven Perhaps now in the family the Husband singeth and the wife frets perhaps the wife singeth and the malignant husband is inraged the servant rejoyceth and the master chafeth the children sing and the parents vex this is harsh musique This is our condition at this day there are better times coming when Moses Aaron and Miriam and all the people shall joyn in singing praise to our God 4. Thankfulnesse to God for mercy cannot be without joyfulnesse A grumbling pensive sadde dumpish disposition cannot be a true thankfull heart as it ought God will not accept in this sense of the bread of mourners It is grievous to the Spirit of God that we should be pensive and sad in the midst of abundance of mercies 5. They shall sing there There where at the door of hope in the valley of Achor You may remember in the opening of that valley of Achor I gave you what might be understood by it according to the most that is that God would make the greatest trouble and affliction of his Church to be a door of hope to bring mercy to them And if you take it in that sense here rises an excellent observation When God brings into straits yet if he shall sanctifie our straits making them means of good to us we have cause to rejoyce You have an excellent Text Isa 35. 6 7. For in the wildernesse shall waters breake out and streams in the desart and the paâ—ched ground shall become a poole and the thirsty land springs of water Those things that seem to goe most contrary to you I will work good unto you out of them saith God VVell what
in a visible church communion to the Jewes and in the spirituall communion of Christ with the soule for the present Of the visible form first Isa 60. 15. I will make thee an eternall excellency a joy of many generations I thinke this is not onely meant concerning the spiritual happines of the Saints but that God hath a time to make his visible church to be an eternall excellency and a joy of many generations an excellency that shall never have an end And this their perpetuall condition their enduring happinesse shall arise from three grounds First from the precious foundation that shall be laid upon that Church when it shall be Isa 54. 8. With everlasting kindnesse will I have mercy on thee saith the Lord but mark the ground vers 11. Behold I lay the foundation with Saphires all the rubbish shal be taken away it shal not be raised upon a rubbish foundation God will lay the foundations of it with Saphires and then with everlasting mercy he will embrace that Church Secondly that Church shall be in a peaceable condition no rent no division there therefore in a perpetuall condition Esay 33. 20. A Tabernacle that shall not be taken down not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed Why the very words before shew the reason Jerusalem shall be a quiet habitation Thirdly this Church shall look wholly at Christ as their Judge and their Law-giver and their King Isa 33. 22. The Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King Churches are ready to change while they mixe other things with the worship of Christ and the lawes of men with his laws but when they can look to him I mean in that which is spirituall as their Law-giver as their Judge and as their King then the happinesse of it shall be perpetuall never to cease in this world the Lord Christ will betroth this Church unto him for ever Though I verily think the holy Ghost aymeth at this in great part yet we are to understand this betrothing for ever further of the spirituall communion the soul hath with Christ When Christ betroths himselfe unto a soule it is for ever the conjugall love of Christ with a gracious soule shal never be broken At the first mans condition was such as man laid hold upon God and let goe his hold but now God lays hold upon man and hee will never let goe his The bond of union in a believer runs through Jesus Christ it is fastned upon God and the spirit of God holds the other end of it and so it can never be broken This union is in the Father who hath laid a sure foundation 2 Tim. 2. 19. Rom. 9. 11. In the Son who loves his to the end Iohn 13. 1. In the Spirit who abides in the elect for ever John 14. 16 17. Esay 54. 10. The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed but my kindnesse shall not depart from thee neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee My loving kindnesse shall be more stable with thee and endure longer then the mountains themselves It is as sure as the ordinances of heaven Jer. 31. 35 36. Thus saith the Lord which giveth the Sun for a light by day and the ordinances of the Moon and of the Stars for a light by night if those ordinances dopart from before mee then the seed of Israel shall cease c. And Jer. 33. 20 21. Thus saith the Lord if you can break my covenant of the day and my covenant of the night that there should not be day and night in their season then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant You have these three expressions of the abiding of Gods love to his people 1. The continuance of the mountains 2. The continuance of the ordinances of heaven and earth 3. Gods covenant with night and day Here is the bottome of consolation to the Saints They shall be kept by the power of God 1 Pet. 1. 5. As if God should say the speciall power that I meane to put forth in this world shall be to uphold the spirits of my Saints to bring them to salvation certainly it is so The speciall work that God hath in this world to exercise his power about is to keep Christ and the Saints together Though it be through Gods power that the heavens and the earth be kept up yet if God must withdraw his power from one hee would rather withdraw it from upholding heaven and earth then from upholding one gracious soule that hath union with his Son The union that is between Christ and his people it is too neere an union ever to be broken I remember Luther hath a notable expression about this As it is impossible for the leaven that is in the dough to be separated from the dough after it is once mixed for it turneth the nature of the dough into it selfe so it is impossible saith he for the Saints ever to be separated from Christ For Christ is in the Saints as neerly as the leaven in the very dough so incorporated as that Christ and they are as it were one lump Christ who came to save that which was lost will never lose that which he hath saved Heb. 7. 16. it is said that Christ was made a Priest not after the law of a carnall commandement That is he was not made a Priest as the Priests in the law after a ceremonial way but after the power of a indissoluble life Coeli virture by a celestiall vertue so Calvin upon the place The argument why Christs life is indissoluble rather then the Priests in the law is because they were made by the power of a carnall commandement not by a Celestiall power So those who professe godlinesse according to a carnall comandement in a ceremoniall way may faile vanish and come to nothing in their way of worship as many have done but such as are professors of Religion by the vertue of Gods Spirit in them they have the power of a life indissoluble There are two soul-staying and soul-satisfying grounds to assure of Christs betrothing himselfe for ever First when any soul is taken in to Christ it hath not onely all the sinnes that it hath committed heretofore pardoned but there is a pardon laid in for all sin that is to come There is forgivenesse with thee Psal 130. 4. There lyes pardon with God before hand for all that is to come as well as for that which is past There is no condemnation unto them which are in Christ Jesus Rom. 8. 1. That is there is no instant of time after they are once in Christ Jesus wherein it can be said they are under the sentence of condemnation Now were it not that there were a pardon laid before-hand for all sin that is to come there might upon commission of a new sinne be said at that time that now they
to justifie it before men and Angels that you had reason for what you did that it was out of judgement There is nothing wherein there is more need of judgement then in marriages contracts therefore the heathens were wont to set Mercury there god of wisdome by Venus their goddesse of maryage to note that there was need of judgement there yet there is nothing usually in the world undertaken with lesse judgement with more rashness and inconsideratness then contracts and maryages which is the reason of the trouble of their lives ever after But though there be many contracts between men and women that are not out of judgement yet saith God I will betroth you out of judgment Christs match with his Church is a match of judgment Christ considereth of our meanness before he marryeth with us hee knoweth us fully what we are he knowes our sinfulness our wretchedness he knows we are in debt before he maryeth us and whatsoever else we can think might be any hinderance he knowes as perfectly as ever he shall know it yet he goes on Yea the match between Christ and his Church is that which hath been plotting in Heaven from all eternity it is not a sudden rash match it hath been plotting between the Father and the Son from everlasting God the Father giveth consent to this match God the Holy Ghost is sent to draw the hearts of his people to come in and consent to this match it is a match out of the deepest judgement that ever thing was done Though it be true that God can see no reason in us why we should be thus united to his Sonne yet he can see abundance of reason in himself therefore the conversion and salvation of a soul is not only out of Gods mercy but it is from Gods wisedome too Hence the Scripture attributes our prâ—destination and our calling unto his wisdome as well as unto the freeness of his grace as Ephe. 1. 11. Being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsell of his own will Mark it is not only because God will I will have mercy because I will have mercy I will choose such and I will refuse such I will do it no but it is after the Couâ—sell of his will We indeed are set upon our wills many times to do a thing there is no reason for it there is no counsel of our will but God even in this thing that we can see no reason for at all hee workes according to the counsell of his will and Ephe. 3. 10. the Apostle having said before vers 8. that he was to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ he saith he was to preach it to the intent that now might be made known the manifold wisdome of God In all things in the Gospel there is a great deale of wisdome Vocation is one of the mysteries of the Gospel and 1 Cor. 1. 24. the Gospel is said to be the power of God and the wisdome of God the Apostle there instances in one thing which one would thinke hath as little reason in it as any thing in the Gospel that is the leaving of the rich wise and noble the great ones of the world and calling the poore but herein is not onely the power but the wisdome of God God doth even this in judgement And although we can now understand little or nothing of any reason that there can be of Gods choosing us unto himselfe yet this will be made known at the great day of judgement It will be a great part of the glory of that day for the Lord to make known the counsell of his will we now know his will but we shall then know the counsell of his will and praise him to all eternity for it this shall be the glory of the Saints that they shall see into the counselâ— of Gods will in choosing and calling them and letting others goe Gods betrothing himselfe thus to his people in judgement is an especiall reason of the perpetuity of this betrothing I will betroth thee unto me for ever Why First it is in righteousnesse therefore it will hold Secondly it is in judgement therefore it will hold too Things that are done rashly will seldome hold but though we are set upon them for the present we quickly undoe them afterward but that which is done in judgment holds the calling of a sinner and uniting him unto Christ is done in judgement therefore it will hold that is the ground of the perseverance of a sinner If a man before marryage knoweth perfectly all the faults his wife hath or ever shall have and knowes perfectly her estate all the incumbrances he shall have with her yet loveth her out of judgement surely this love will hold It is so between Christ and his Church Christ before he betrotheth his Church perfectly knowes all the faults the Church hath or shall have all the sins that ever she shall commit and all the incumbrances dishonor she shal have yet out of judgement he betroths her to himselfe therefore surely this will hold Comfort yourselves with this Christians though there be many faylings after your comming to Christ Christ knew them all before you were united to him yet out of judgement he betrothed himselfe unto you There must also be judgement on our parts I will put into you a judicious heart to choose me out of judgement The Saints who choose Christ know what they doe They shall be all taught of God every one therefore that hath heard and learned of the Father commeth unto me None cometh unto me but such as are taught of God who heare learne of the Father they come to me out of judgement I know whom I have loved saith Paul and so may every Christian say They doe not come to imbrace Christ and his wayes out of novelty because they are new things â—o not any truth of Christ out of meer novelty as many doe and so vanish to nothing though it is true there is alwayes some new excellency in Christ I meane newly revealed Christ hath alwayes something that is further revealed more then we knew before and delightful I he is in that regard if we love novelty It is not a sufficient plea against any truth because it is now revealed and was not known before 2 Pet. 1. 12. Be established in the present truth though truths be from the beginning yet there are present truths in regard of manifestation But the Saints must not therefore receive them meerly because they are new to them neither must any reject them because they are but now cleared whereas before they lay in the darke but all out of judgement we must examine them when any truth is presented though it seems new because you heard not of it before reject it not upon that neither imbrace it upon that but try it and when you are convinced then out of judgement imbrace it
people but the powers of Kings and Emperours the highest powers in the world whatsoever is lofty in the world shall be shaken when Christ comes to take the kingdom to himself the Father will set him King upon his holy hill Though the Kings of the earth set themselves and the Rulers take counsell together against the Lord against his Anoynted saying Let us break their bonds asunder and cast away their cords from us he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision then shall he speake to them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion yet have I done it though the kings of the earth and great ones of the world fret vex and rage and gather power together though they blaspheme and say he shall not raigne the Lord sitteth in heaven and laugheth at them let them do what they can and gather what strength they can oppose to the uttermost they can Yet will I set my King upon my holy hill This is acceptable news it is the joyfull voyce of the Gospel to tell you of Christs comming to raigne in the world Esay 52. 7. How beautifull upon the mountaines are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings What are those good tidings this tidings that saith unto Zion Thy Godraigneth This is the triumph of the Church Esay 33. 22. The Lord is our judge the Lord is our law-giver the Lord is our King for then shall the Churches be delivered from the oppression of all Tyrants in the world And this Kingdom of Christs shall indeed be like Davids kingdome Christ shal be David the King I might shew you the parallels in many things but I will only parallel the kingdome of Christ and of David in these two particulars First David of all the Princes that ever were was one of the most gentle he was exceeding loving and sweet unto his subjects that you shal finde 1 Chron. 28. 2. Then David the King stood up upon his feet said he are me my brethren and my people Marke how a King speaks speaking to his people he stood upon his feet and said heare me my brethren and my people Thus the kingdome of Christ is set out to us Psal 45. 4. In thy Majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meeknesse Christ shall be a most meeke King hee shall not be a bloody King to his people he shall not be a King â—â—â—ing in viòlence and harshness so as not to care for the love of his people his singer shall not be heavier then the loynes of others but he shall rule his people with all gentleness Therefore the government of Christ is set out 〈◊〉 a sheâ—he 〈…〉 leading those that are with young 〈◊〉 â—his David David and CHRIST are parallel Psal 78. 70. 71. He chose David his servant tooke him from the sheep-folds from following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people and Israel his inheritance So the Kingdome of Christ Esay 40. having spoken ver 9. of the glad tidings of the Kingdome it followeth He shall feed his flocke like a shepheard he shall gather the lambs with his arme and carry them in his bosome and shall gently leade those that are with young When Christ shal raigne he shal have great respect to the good and comfort of his people over whom heraigneth he shall not raigne over them without regard to their liberties and what may be for the comfort of their lives the good of his people and his own glory shall be put both in one Secondly David their King in regard of faithfulnesse David was exceeding faithfull to his people and therefore the mercies of God in Christ are called the sure mercies of David because David was found faithfull before the Lord. Psal 45. 4. is the Prophesie of Christs Kingdom the Text saith In thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousnesse there shall be righteousness in the Kingdome of Christ This is a blessed thing when we may confide and fully venture our estates liberties and our lives upon the promises of those who are above us VVe know how many there are about great personages to take them off from those things that they have promised though never so seriously and with never such solemne protestations to performe them I will give you a story or two remarkable for this to shew what danger people have been in when they have confided upon the promises of Princes when there have beene those about them that endeavoured to take of their hearts from performing what they had ingaged themselves to You shall finde in the life of Edward the sixth this story The King sends his Letters to London in the behalfe of the Duke of Somerset the then Protector there were divers of the Lords rose up against him thinking he did oppresse the people and they sent the same time their Letters to London for their aide and assistance hereupon there was a Common Counsell called in the City and amongst them there was one that the story saith was a wise and an honest man one George Stadlowe and he speakes thus to the Counsell I remember saith he a story written in Fabians Chronicle of the wars between Henry the third and his Barons at which time the Baronsdemanded aide of the City of London as our Lords do now and that in a rightfull cause for the good of the Common-wealth for the execution of divers good lawes against the King who would not suffer those lawes to be put in execution and the City did aide them and it came unto an open bartell and the Lords prevailed against the King and tooke the King and his sonne prisoners and upon certaine conditions the Lords restored the King his son again to their liberties amongst other conditions this was one that the King should not only grant his pardon to the Lords but also to the Citizens of London which was granted and the condition of their accommodation of peace were ratifâ—ed by act of Parliament but saith the story what followed of it was it forgotten no surely nor forgiven neither during the Kingslife the libeties of the Cities were taken away strangers were appointed to be our head governours the Citizens their bodies and goods were given away and so from one persecution to another they were most miserably afflicted Again in the history of Queen Maries time we find that Qeene Mary because there was some dispute about her comming to the Crowne at that time she went down into Suffolke to the place where the Duke that then rose up for another was most hated and she being at Framingham Castle the Suffolke men came to her and promised their â—ide upon condition that she would not attemp the alteration of Religion which her brother King Edward before had established she promised them there should be no innovation of
Religion no God forbid yea she so promised that the story saith no man would or could misdoubt of the performance But afterward when she came to get the power in her hand the Suffolk men came to make supplication to her that she would be pleased to performe the promise she made them she answered them thus Forasmuch as you being but members desire to rule your head you shall one day well perceive that members must obey their head and not looke to beare rule over the same And not only so but to cause the more terrour a Gentleman one Master Dobs that lived about Windsor who did but in an humble request advertise her of her promise made to the Suffolke men he was three times set on the Pillory and others for the same cause were sent to prison We may see what hold hath been heretofore in the promises of those who had power to breake them you know what temptations they have to withdraw their hearts from what they have ingaged themselves unto But when this our Prince comes David our King we shall finde the sure mercies of David we shall finde nothing but faithfulnesse in all his dealings And they shall feare the Lord and his goodnesse in the latter dayes They shall feare the Lord. The words are they shall feare to the Lord pavebunt ad dominum The feare of God is much upon the heart of a sinner in his returne to God Such a sinner hath high and honourable thoughts of God They shall returne and feare the Lord. The slightnesse the vanity of his spirit the boldnesse of his heart it is taken off and the feare of God ruleth in it The Majesty the power the authority of the great God is strong upon him when he comes to worship him the feare of God makes him to worship God as a God and in all his conversation he walkes in the feare of God even all the day long you may see written upon his life the feare of the great God And this not a servile slavish feare but a holy reverenticall filâ—â—â— feare Jsaac had such a feare of God that God hath his dominion from Isaacâ— feare He is called the feare of Isaac This is a most precious feare others feare poverty feare imprisonment feare disgrace feare men but saith a true repenting heart I feare the Lord this feare is the well-spring of life to him it is the very treasure of his soul Esay 33. 6. I shall speake of the feare of God here onely as it concerns this place the intent of bringing it in here that is to shew that in the time when this glorious Church shall be when God shall call home his own people the Jewes and bring in the fulnesse of the Gentiles then shall the feare of God mightily prevayle upon the hearts of people more then ever and the greater Gods goodnesse shall be the more shall the feare of God be upon their hearts this we shall finde almost in all the Prophesies of the glorious condition of the Church which is very remarkable there is ever speaking of the feare of God that should be upon the hearts of people One would rather thinke there should be speaking of the joy that they should have that there should be nothing but mirth and triumph in those times but the Scripture speakes exceeding much of feare that shall be then and more then then at any other time Thus Revel 11. 18. a most famous Prophesie of Christs comming and taking the kingdomes of the earth and bringing his reward with him he shall come and give a reward to those that feare him And Revel 14. 7. I saw an Angel flee in the middest of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth saying with a loud voyee feare God and give glory to him Marke an Angel when he comes to preach the verlasting Gospel how doth he preach it what now cast away fear and rejoyce in this everlasting Gospel No preaching this everlasting Gospel saith with a loud voyce feare God and give glory to him So Rev. 15. 3. 4. There is the song of the Saints when they are delivered from the power of Antichrist what is it be jocund and joviall No Great and marvailous are thy workes Lord God Almighty just and true are thy wayes thou King of Saints who shall not feare thee O Lord and glorifie thy name for thou onely art holy for all Nations shall come and worship before thee for thy judgements are made manifest And again Rev 19. 5. And a voyce came out of the Throne saying Praise our God all ye his servants and yee that feare him both small and great But feare the Lord now in these times why so Upon these foure grounds First Feare the Lord now because of the glory of Christ their King they shall behold their King in that glory that shal cause fear Rev 19. 12. Christ is described with his eyes as flames of fire and on his head many Crownes cloathed with a vesture dipt in blood at wo-edged sword out of his month and on his vesture and on his thigh written King of Kings and Lord of Lords Thus they shall behold Christ and therefore they shall feare Secondly in those times the feare of God will much prevaile in the hearts of people because of the great workes of God that shal be then the heavens shall depart like a scrole and the elements melt with fervent heate This is meant of the time when there shal be new heavens a new earth which referreth to the Prophesie of Esay and it is apparantly and so generally Interpreters carry it meant of the estate of the Church then the heavens shall depart like a scrole Heb. 13. 26. quoted out of Hag. 2. 6. The Lord did shake the earth once but he hath promised saying Yet once more I shaâ— not the earth onely but also heaven There shall be wonderfull workes of God in the earth when those dayes come therefore there shall be much of the feare of God Thirdly Much of the feare of God then because of the holiness of the worship of God and of his Ordinances the purity of them shall cause fear Did we see the Ordinances in the true and native purity and holinesse of them it would strike much feare in us Some have but seene the execution of that one Ordinance of Excommunication in a solemn gracious way and it hath daunted their hearts it hath struke feare in a most proud profane stubborn wicked heart the beholding then of all the Ordinances and all duties of worship in their true native purity holiness and glory cannot but cause much feare Psal 68. 35. O God thou art terrible out of thy holy places God will be terrible out of his holy places and out of all his holy Ordinances Fourthly Much feare there will be at that day because of the holiness of the Saints there shall be so much holiness that shall
sponsa vendicat Bern. Christ stands much upon this that the harts of his Saints should confide in him God a sure object for our faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Our faith must rayse us above difficulties Renowned acts of faith drawes forth God power to worke foe the Saints Faith will hold God to his word Evidences that we do not trust in Gods faith fulness We must be faithfull to god so as God may confide in us We must be faithfull one toward another Obser Quia ego dominus Obser The right knowing God is a fruit of the covenant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The light of the Saints is three stories high Ephes 4 11. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obser Obser Obs Obser Obser Obser Obser Obser Lect. 19 Obser Obser Obser Obser Obser Obs Obser Obser Obser 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obser Obser Obser 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obser Obser Obser Obser Quae omnia Iudei post Antichristum in fine mundi prestolantur Hieronym in locum Lect. 1. Obs Obser Obser Love must not be abused 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ezek. 23. 27. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Obser Idolatry and sensuality goe together 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cognatum cum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pagn Contrabentes dextras invicem datas ut rem ratam essâ— significarent percutiendo discinderent sicut in faederibus bestiae disse cabantur Pagn O Marâ—emani O Quadi O Sarmatae tandem alios vobis deteriores inveni Ammian lib. 2. Alios Romanos appellari permitterent non Iudaeos ne quid labis ad haertscenit nomini ab odioso ac sordido genere August in Psal 58. ad illud ne occidas Suetonius in Domitianâ— c. 12. Obser Sin puts into a vile condition Obs Obser Those to whom God intends great mercy may for a long time be in a sad condition Obser Obser Obser Obs Obser Obser Lect. 1. Obser Obser Ier. 31. 21. VVe may know what is done in heaven by by the beatings of our own hearts Obser Answ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lect. 2. Plutarch in the life of Pyrrhus Obser 2. Things in which wee must take heed of mixture Some coples 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The evill condition of those who are out of Christ God is sought in straits 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What the Ephod was What to be observed from the precious stones upon the Ephod Obser Obser Faetentur Rabbini sum mam esse apud Hebraeos harum rerum ignorantiam we must know Gods mind by Christ Obs Obser Obser Quae sit causa tam grandis offensa ut tanto tempore relicti sunt maxime cum idolae non colant praeter interfectionem salvatoris aliam non valent invenire Hieron in loc What Teraphim was Quem admodum per Ephod Deo consecratum quid agendum esset consuleâ— illbus significabatur ita per Teraphim Idolorum praedictiones declarabantur Procop. in Sam. 15. 23. Mactabant hominem cujus caput terquendo prescin debant quod postea â—ale aromatibus condiebant scribebantque super laminam auream nomeâ—â— spiritâ—â— immundi qua sopposita capiti ejus ponchant illud in parictâ— intendentibus coram eo candelas adorantes coram eo supponebant nomen spiritus immundi sub lingua ipsius ille alloquebatur eos Sic. R. Eliez How the taking away the Image and the Teraphim is a threatning How violently mens hearts are set upon superstitious wayes Obser Obser Obser Obser Obser Obser Obser Obser Obser Iâ—daos in Christum nostrum credituros celeberrimum est in sermonibus cordibusque fidelium August 1. Nihil ista propheta manifestius quam David Regis nomine significatus intelâ—igitur Christus August de civit lib. 18. c. 28. Lect. 3. Answ Obser Non solum periculosum sed horrtbile est de Deo extra Christum cogitare Luther Ego sape libâ—nter hoc inculco ut extra Christum oculos aures claudates dicaâ—â— nullum vos scire Deum nisi qui fuit in graemio Mariae suxit â—bera ejus Luther David and Christ paraleld in their exercise of kingly power Obser The feare of God is strong in a repenting 〈◊〉 The fear of God wil be most strong when the Church shall bee most glorious Foure grounds of the feare of God in the times of he Churches deliveranc◠〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 What is that goodnesse they shall feare God will take away the reproach of his Saints How the goodnesse of God is to be feared Wantons who abuse Gods goodnesse Differen ces between legall feare evangelicall