cruelties as the Chronicles of these times would have done where they have prevailed in Ireland there have beene the beginnings of such barbarismes as here would have risen to the perfection of all rage and horrible cruelties they may be faire a little while till they get more strength but certainly had they their will there would never be parallel examples of that horrible rage and cruelty as you would finde among them the Lord deliver us from being scourged with these Scorpions let us humble our soules before God that God may not humble us before such beasts that we may not say that England shall be as a forrest and these beasts shall devoure them in the meane time let us not be offended at their prevailing in some places for then we should be as beasts our selves Psal 73. 22. So ignorant was I I was as a beast before thee saith David Genesis 9. 5. God saith He will require of the beasts the blood of his people Certainly God will require of these beasts the blood that hath been shed it is precious blood that they have drunke had it beene corrupt blood God would not so much have cared for it but it hath beene the blood of his Saints let us believe that God will turne the rage of man the rage of beasts to his praise Psal 76. 10. Surely the Lord cannot possibly behold without indignation such vile beasts to worrie his Lambs who are so deare to him even such so precious in his eyes to be torne and worried by such beasts as these are the eyes of the Lord are purer then to behold such iniquity as this is we may well cry out with the Prophet Haback 1. 2. 3. How long shall we cry out of violence and wrong spoilings and violence are before me wheâ—efore lookest thou upon them that deale treacherously and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous then himselfe The higher the scum ariseth the nearer we know it is to the fire I have read of Philo when the people of the Iewes made use of him to apologize for them unto Cajus the Emperour Cajus used him very ruggedly when he came out of his presence the Iews came round about him well saith he to encourage them Surely Cajus will arme God against himselfe for us But it may be said by some surely these men are not beasts for they are skilfull warriers they are not so bruitish as you take them to bee but are skilfull enough in their wayes marke that text of Ezekiel 21. 31. I will deliver thee into the hand of bruitish men skilfull to destroy they are skilfull to destroy and yet bruitish men we have a promise from God and our prayers should hasten the fulfilling of it in Ezek. 34. 25. He will cause the evill beasts to cease out of the land and ver 28. the beasts of that land shal no more devoure them O that that time were come O that the Lord would so worke for us as to cause our beasts to cease out of our land that they might no more devoure Isaiah 35. 9. No Lyon shall be there no ravenous beast shall be found there but the redeemed shall walke there there is such a time coming let us be patient in the mean time and comfort our selves in these Scriptures though our brethren endure hard things by these cruell beasts and though God may perhaps bring some of us under the rage of them yet there is an estate of the Churches that will be ere long that they shall be troubled no more with such uncleane such outragious beasts VERSE 13. And I will visit upon her the dayes of Baalim wherein she burnt incense to them and she decked her selfe with her eare-rings and her jewels and she went after her lovers and forgat me saith the Lord. Here is the conclusion of the threatning part of the Chapter Now God will come upon them for all their sinnes together if a generation shall succeed 〈…〉 esse God may justly come upon 〈…〉 for all the suns of the former generations all the blood from Abel to Zechariah shall be required of this generation I will visit all the dayes of Baalim ever since they served Baal let men take heed of continuing in the wayes of sin who can tell what sin may put a period to the time of Gods bringing his judgement upon a Nation a family or a particular person though God hath spared heretofore upon the next sin committed there may be such a period put as God now may come upon the family not onely for that sin but for all the sins of the family that ever have been committed since it was a family and so upon a Nation for all the sins of a nation since it was a nation and all thy sins ever since thou wast a sinner Men goe on a while in the wayes of sin prosperously but when God commeth to visit what will become of them Isaiah 10. 3. What nill you doe in the day of your visitation and in the desolation which shall come from far to whom will ye flee for help and where will you leave your glory Now you are merry and laugh now you feare nothing but what will you do in the day of visitation what will become of you then whether will you flee then and where will you leave your glory I will visit upon them the dayes of Baalim in the plurall number Baalim by which some think and that not improbably that it is meant of their under Gods that they had which they called Baalims for the Heathen had their chiefe Gods and their Dii minores their lesser Gods that were unto them as mediators to their chiefe Gods and so our Papists have they have their Diiminores lesser Gods who are tutelar Gods either over Nations or over families or over particular diseases c. As they say for England S. George for Erance S. Dennis for Ireland S. Patrick for Wales S. David for Scotland S. Andrew c. These Saints they are in imitation of the Heathens Baal or in the Caldee dialect Bel was the King of Babylon after Nimrod the first that was deified and reputed as a God after death whence those men that were deified after their death and worshipped as Gods as the Papists worship their Saints they called Baalims as from Iulius Caesar the other that followed after were called Caesars This interpretation gives unto us much light to understand that Scripture that you have in the first of the Corinthians 8. 5. 6. Though there be that are called Lords whether in heaven or in earth as there be Gods many Lords many but to us there is but one God the Father and one Lord Iesus Christ If the Apostle had spoke in Hebrew it would have been thus though there be many Baalims there is to us but one God and one Baal for in Hebrew Baal is Lood there are many Gods say they there were divers
was made into him was put into him Such a kind of phrase you have in the new Testament Iohn 10. 35. If hee called them Gods unto whom the word of God came that is to whom the commission came to put them in the place wherein they were So the word of the Lord came to Hosea The knowledg of a call to a work will help a man through the difficulties of the work One of the notablest Texts of Scripture to encourage a man to that work to which he sees he is clearly called is that which is spoken of Christ himselfe Isa 42. 6. I the Lord have called thee in righteousnesse what follows then I will hold thy hand and will keep thee and give thee for a covenant to the people for a light to the Gentiles If wee know Gods call to a work as for the present this of ours is exceeding clear unto us though the worke will be difficult and liable to much censure Yet the Lord will hold our hands and will be with us and with our minds and our tongues and our hearts and will keep us in this work and make us instruments to give some light unto you But the principall businesse is to enquire of the time when Hosea prophesied You have it in the Text In the dayes of Vzziah Iotham Ahaz and Hezekiah Kings of Iudah and in the dayes of Ieroboam the son of Ioash King of Israel It is computed by Chronologers that Hosea lived about 814. years before Christ In his time was the City of Rome built It was the beginning of the Olympiads Eusebius tells us that there was no Grecian History and if no Greek learning then not any that was of any authority extant before this time of Hosea He prophesied in these Kings reigns Vzziah Iotham c. You shall find that we shall have much of Gods mind revealed in this more then at first view we can comprehend We shall find by this that Hosea prophesied a very long time it is very probable fourscore years but it is certaine he was in the work of his Ministry above seventy yeares and I make that clear thus He prophesied in the dayes of Ierobam who though he be here named last yet he was the first of these Kings and we shall shew you the reason by and by why he was named last that then took up some of his time But suppose you reckon from the end of Ieroboams reign yet from that to the beginning of Hezekiah here were 70. years and yet the Text saith he prophesied both in Ieroboams time and in Hezekiahs time too after the death of Ieroboam Vzziah lived 38. years he reigned 52. in all He began his reign in the 27. of Ieroboam 2 King 15. 1. Now Ieroboam lived after that 14. years for he reigned 41. in all take 14. out of 52. and there remains 38. and after him Iotham reigned 16. years and then Ahaz succeeded him and reigned sixteene yeares more so that between these two Kings Ieroboam and Hezekiah there was 70. yeers in which Hosea prophesied besides the 41. yeers of Ieroboam and 29. yeers of Hezekiah in both whose reigns too you see he lived and therefore it is probable it was 80. yeares at least that Hosea continued in the work of his prophesie See what of Gods minde we have that will spring fresh from this Hosea continued so long and yet you see there is not much of his prophesie extant only 14 short Chapters It pleaseth God sometimes that some mens labours shall abide more full to posterity than others though the labours of those others more large and as excellent as theirs this is according to the diversity of Gods administrations Let the Ministers of God learn to be faithfull in their worke and let God alone for to make them eminent by having their labours extant 2. It appears from hence that Hosea must needs begin to prophesie very young If hee were a Prophet 80. years certainly hee was but young when he began first to prophesie and yet he was set upon as great an employment as any of the Prophets were as we shall see hereafter It pleaseth God sometimes to stir up the hearts of young ones to doe him great service he sends such sometimes about great works and employments so he did Samuel and Ieremiah and Timothy therefore let no man despise their youth 3. Hosea prophesying thus long it appeares hee lived to be old in his work When God hath any work for men to doe he doth lengthen out their days So he did the days of John the Disciple he lived near upon an hundred years if not more for the time of the writing of his Gospel as it is noted was in the 99. yeare of Christ 66. after the Ascension Let not us be too solicitously carefull about our lives to maintain our healths and strengths let us be carefull to doe our worke for according as the Lord hath work for us to doe so he will continue to us our health and strength and life when you come to dye you may dye comfortably having this thought in you well the work that the Lord sent me to doe is done and why should I seeke to live longer in the world God hath others enough to do his work It was a sweet expression of Iacob Gen. 48. 21. Behold I dye saith he but God shall be with you and bring you againe unto the land of your fathers So may the Prophets of God say that have been faithfull in their work Behold I dye but the Lord shall be with you my work is finished but God hath others that are young to goe on in his work that is the third Observation 4. You may soe by Hoseas continuance in so many Kings reigns that hee went through variety of conditions sometimes he lived under wicked Kings sometimes under moderate Kings sometimes hee had encouragement from godly and gracious Kings although they were of Iudah Not only the people of God but specially Gods Ministers must expect variety of conditions in the world they must not promise to themselves always the same state Yet further Hosea prophesied in all these Kings reigns Here appears the constancy of his spirit notwithstanding the many difficulties hee met withall in his work for he prophesying in Jeroboams Iotham and Ahaz his time who were wicked Princes surely he must meet with many discouragements And though he continued 80. years yet he saw but little successe of his labour for the truth is the people were never converted to God by his Ministry Nay it is apparent that they grew worse and worse for it is said of that Ieroboams time in which Hosea began his Prophesie only that hee did evill in the sight of the Lord and continued in the wayes of Ieroboam the son of Nebat 2 King 15. 15. But after wee read most horrible things that Israel was guilty of 2 King 17. 17. It is said they
Abraham and subject themselves to the God of Abraham they shall be the seed of Abraham and so they shall be the children of Israel as well as you and thus God will make good his word And so the Apostle Rom. 9. doth quote this Scripture about Gods casting off of the people of Israel threatned here by Hosea ver 25. As he saith also in Hosea I will call them my people that were not my people This is the very Text that the Apostle there quoteth though all the words are not quoted and it is a very good thing to acquaint your selves with the Scripture and to see how one Scripture lookes towards another and specially in the new Testament to see how the old Testament is quoted This I say the Apostle applyeth to the Gentiles and the holy Ghost who is the best interpreter of Scriptures there shewes that it is at least in part fulfilled in so many of the Gentiles comming in and being converted to the faith of the true Messia There are this and many other excellent Prophesies concerning the glory of Israel that were made good in part in the first times of the Gospel but that was but as the first fruites of the fulfilling of those promises Prophesies the accomplishment of them is yet certainly to come when the fulnesse of the Gentiles shall come in and the Jews be converted then not onely the spiritual seed but the very carnal seed of Abraham shall have this promise made good and shall be multiplyed and come into the faith too Rom. 11. 26. The Apostle speakes there of a general salvation of Israel that was yet to come after the fulnesse of the Gentiles So it appears plainly that those Prophesies concerning the glory of Israel though they were in part made good in the first times of the Gospel yet there was a further accomplishment of them after when there should be a fulnesse of the Gentiles come in and then Israel should be saved too I might spend a great deale of time in shewing how many promises concerning the excellency of the Church were made good in part in the first times of the Gospel and yet that but as the first fruites and to be fully made good afterwards And certainly this promise as we shall afterward come to know it is not yet throughly fulfilled though it was in part made good at the calling of the Gentiles there is a further degree of it to be accomplished another day of which hereafter From hence the words being thus opened to you take these observations as they do immediately spring from them First that all beleevers though of the Gentiles are of the seed of Abraham they are of Israel and therefore have the same priviledges with Israel the same in effect yea as we shall see afterward better They are all the heirs of Abraham who in Rom. 4. is said to be the heir of the world they have the dignity of Israel to be the peculiar people of the Lord to be the treasure to be Gods portion Whatsoever you reade of Israel of excellent titles and appellations about Israel they belong now to all beleevers though they be the children of the Gentiles A comfortable sweet point to us of the Gentiles Secondly God hath a time to bring in abundance of people to the profession of the faith to bring in multitudes even as the sand of the sea-shore He will do it and he hath wayes enough to accomplish it Though there is for the present this reproach upon the way and people of God that they are but a few a company of poore mean kinde of people a handful and what are they in comparison of the rest This reproach my brethren will be wiped away we may yet expect that before the world be come to an end that the greatest part shall come in imbrace the faith of Christ and come to be godly too ful vision in which he saw a man of Macedonia appearing to him and praying him to come over to Macedonia help them one would have thought that when Paul had gone to preach there all should have come flocking in and there should have beene a glorious worke done that hee should have brought in a great number to the faith But when he came to Macedonia he was faine to go into the fields by a rivers side to preach and onely a few women came there to heare him there was all the Auditory he had and amongst them there was but one poor woman wrought upon God opened the heart of Lydia Here was all the great do that was upon such a mighty call and yet we know how gloriously God went on with Paul This I note to confirm you in this that though the beginnings be very small yet we may expect a glorious increase afterward As it was with the Church at the beginning so it will be here That which Bildad said of Job Chap. 8. 7. may well be applyed to the Church Though the beginning of it be small yet the latter end of it shall greatly increase But thirdly As God hath a time to multiply his Church so it is a great blessing to the Church of God when it is multiplyed It is a fruite of Gods great grace and mercy to make the Church to be a numerous people As the multitude of Subjects is the glory of a Prince so it is the glory of Jesus Christ and therefore it was prophesied of him that the Church should come in as the dew of the morning Psal 110. 3. Thus it began in the Primitive times in the Apostles dayes and presently after multitudes came into the Church I remember Jerome Writing to Cromatius saith that there might be computed for every day in the yeere except in the first of January five thousand Martyrs therfore the Church was grown to a numerous multitude And Tertullian speakes in his time that they were become so numerous then that in his Apologetiques he tells the Heathen that they had filled their Cities and that if they would they had strength enough to make their party good against them but they were patient and submitted themselves to their Tyranny I know many make this of Tertullian an argument that men must lay down their necks and suffer their throats to be cut if those that are above them will it and if they cannot obey actively they must obey passively any thing that is acording to the will of such as are over them Why say they did not the Christians so in the Primitive times Yes the Christians did so they though they were under Idolaters and were commanded to deny Christ which was utterly unlawful yet though they could not obey actively they obeyed passively they did subject and submit themselves to all their rage and though they had strength yet they would not resist Why should not Christians do so now You are exceedingly gulled with this argument many times true we are bound to obey
are called Puritans had been the cause of such charge to the Kingdom disturbances to the State as the Prelatical faction hath been it had been impossible for them to go in the streets but they would have been stoned to death I speake not this as though we should do the like but I speake it to shew what the virulencie of their spirits would have beene to them if it had beene apparent that they had beene such charge to the Kingdome and such disturbers of the State The truth is vve may charge our Papists and charge others that are of that way and we know who are next to them we may well charge them as the cause of stripping of us naked as we have been It is cleere enough those that put not away their whoredoms from them but continue still superstitious and Idolaters they are they that endauger a people to be stripped naked A sixth Observation that presents it selfe fully and cleerely without any the least straining is That it is time for people then to pleade when there is danger of desolation Plead with your mother plead why so why should we not be quiet Lest I strip her naked and set her as in the day wherein she was borne What you are in such a condition as you are in danger to be stripped naked and to be left desolate as a wildernesse as it followeth in the Text Is it not time then to plead Oh pleade with God and pleade with those that are in authority and plead one with another and pleade with all stirre up your selves and do what you can let there be no sluggish spirit no neutralizing spirit It is not time for any to be newters now It is time now for all to come and plead not so much time now to dispute of things but now time for every one to stand and appear plead not only verbally but otherwise as God calls them to it Luke 3. 9. When John saith The axe is laid to the roote of the tree what then then every one commeth and saith what shall we doe you saith he to some that have two coates impart to him that hath none and to the souldiers when they say what shall we doe doe you no violence to any man and be content with your wages Mark when the Axe is laid to the roote of the tree every one comes in then and saith what shall we doe You that are women and inferiour doe you pray and cry and further your husbands in all good be not you backward do not you dravv them away when they would be liberall and forward and adventure themselves thorough your nicenesse and daintiness And you that are men of estates if you aske what you should doe It is apparent He that hath two coates let him impart to him that hath none bee willing to part with much of your estates in such a cause as this And so souldiers if you aske vvhat you should doe behave your selves so as you may convince others offer no violence but according to an orderly way and be content with your wages perhaps it may not come in so fully afterwards yet let it appear that it is the cause that strengtheneth you rather then your wages Thus every one should be of an inquiring spirit when the Axe is laid to the roote of the tree When we are in danger to be stripped of all it is not time then to stand about curiosities and niceties Seventhly Lest I strip her naked c. I have sent my Prophets already before and they have offered mercie and denounced threatnings Well I will now come another way I will strip her naked c. The observation is That those that will not be convinced by the word God hath other means to convince them he hath other wayes then the word if the word will not convince them pleading will not doe it it seems and convincing arguments will not do it well then stripping naked shall doe it As the expression is usuall in Scripture Then you shall know that I am the Lord when I do thus and thus As you use to doe with those that are of a sleepy disposition if you call up a servant that is sluggish sleepy he answereth Anon and then falls down and sleeps again you call him again and he answers then sleeps again at length you come up and pull the cloaths of him leave him naked and that will awake him So God he calls upon them to leave their whoredoms and Idolatries and to repent he threatneth and he offers mercie and they seeme a little to awake but to it again Well saith God I will come another way and strip you naked and that will doe iâ— Eighthly Lest I strip her naked and set her as in the day wherein shee was borne Lest I doe it Whatsoever the means be of stripping a Nation naked it is God that doth it It is God that gives and it is God that takes away But let that passe 9. It is a grievous Judgement for one that is advanced from a low degree to an high to be brought thither again Lest I strip her naked and set her as in the day wherein she was borne Thus Job aggravateth his misery You have it in the 29. and 30. Chapters of Job The candle of God shineth upon my head I washed my steps in butter and the rock powred me out Rivers of oyle my glory was freâ—h in me and my bow was renewed in my hand c. But now saith he they that are younger then I have me in derision whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flocke c. Thus he aggravateth his judgement because he was brought into a low condition having once beene in a high one The like aggravation of misery have we Lameat 4. 2. The precious sonnes of Zion comparable to fine gold how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers and vers 5. They that did feede delic ately are desolate in the streetes they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghils Thus the Scripture is cleare in it and your experience is enough to confirme it For a man that hath beene a bondslave in the Gallies and after he should be ransomed by the liberality of his friends here in England if hee should be taken and brought back again to the gallies oh how tedious and grievous would it be but if he had lived long here and flourished and gotten preferment and lived bravely and had grown a great Merchant then after this to be brought againe to the gallies how sad a thing would this be it would be very terrible to him If some of you that have beene beggars heretofore if God by some way or other should bring you to the same poverty you were in before oh how tedious would it be you would rather venture the losse of your soules and God and all then be brought into such a
have staid born the brunt but how have they born it by yeilding to superstitious vanities being ceremoniall and Prelaticall it will be found that those who have been willing to follow Christ in the wilderness our of love to him his truth and ordinances that Christ will remember that for kindnes Thirdly For young people to give up their young yeares to Christ that is kindnes by way of allusion at least we may make use of that Scripture I remember the kindnesse of thy youth when thy bones are full of marrow and when the world seekes to draw thy heart after the vanities of it when thou mayest have thy delights and pleasures in the flesh to the full if then thou beest willing to deny all and to give up thy selfe to Christ this is loving kindnesse one that is old may possibly come to heaven upon repentance but what kindness is that for him who hath nigh worn out all his dayes and strength in wayes of sinne in the pleasures of the flesh and now when he is going out of the world and can have no more pleasure in his sin he comes to Christ for mercy what kindnes is here here is selfe-love indeed but little kindness Secondly loving kindnes one to another I wil bet roth thee unto me in loving kindness I will put such a spirit into you of loving kindnes unto your brethren as I have towards you The word that is here used for loving kindness you shall finde it often in Scripture used for Saints those who are called godly and Saints in your bookes in the Hebrew are called kinde ones it may be as well translated kinde ones as thus Psal 4. 3. Know ye that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself It is a most admirable text as if he should say there are multitudes in the world and all the world is mine but I looke upon all the world as refuse in comparison of some few onely here is a godly man a godly woman I set them apart they are for my self but the note I observe is That that word which in your books is godly in the Hebrew is the kind one the Lord hath set apart those that are kinde those that are of sweet gentle kinde dispositions And Psal 16 10. Not suffer thy holy one to see corruption the Hebrew is not suffer thy kinde one to see corruption it comes from the same roote with that that here is translated loving kindnesse So Psal 149. 1. Sing his praise in the congregation of the Saints of the kind ones and the same word againe is verse 5. Let the Saints be so full in glory the Saints that is the kind ones noting what an ingredient loving kindness is to Saint-ship unto godlinesse therefore it is not enough for Christians to be godly but they must be kinde one unto another too 2 Pet. 1. 3. And to godlinesse adde brotherly kindeness You thinke you are godly but you are of a rugged rough-hewen disposition surly cruell rigid severe froward perverse know here is the exhortation unto you this day from God if you will approve your selves to be godly Adde to your godlinesse brotherly kindnesse except you adde that you can have little comfort in your godlines It is impossible indeed for one that hath the power of godliness and hath the true comfort and sweetnes of it to be of a rugged and rigid disposition the reason is because there is that infinite satisfaction as I may so say that such a heart hath in God that there is nothing that can come from without that can make such a heart bitter there is so much sweetnes in that satisfaction that it hath in God as the Scripture saith A good man is satisfied from himselfe that it is not all the bitterness from without that can sowre such a heart It is true indeed if you have a vessel of honey a little gall will make all that bitter but if you have a vessel of gall a little honey will not make that sweet But in grace it is thus though there be a great deale of bitterness in a man or womans nature though they be of rugged natures yet a drop of true saving grace will sweeten all that gall and if they be once gracious a great deale of gall bitternes that cometh from without will not imbitter that sweetnes I beseech you take notice of this one note when God hath left men they grow more passionate and froward then they were before And I verily beleeve this is one ground of the frowardnesse and passionateness that is in professors they have made breaches between God and their soules their peace between God and them is broken and nothing then can give them content As usually it is when a man hath been abroad and others have angred him when his inward comfort and joy is gone then every thing angreth him he is pleased with nothing his countenance is lowring and he is unto ward to every one and why because he hath lost the sweetnesse of his own spirit and now nothing from without can content him all seems bitter unto him but let this man goe abroad and things fall out well it may be he gets a good bargaine hears of excellent good newes that his goods are come home safely hee can now beare a hundred times as much as before and you can scarce anger him why because his heart is filled with sweetness So it is here let a Christian walke close with God keepe his peace with him he will have so much sweetnes in his heart that it is not easie to put him into any passion of frowardnes why he hath enough within perhaps his friend his wife his neighbour is crosse but his Christ is loving though there be little comfort in my maryage with one who is so peevish perverse yet in my marryage with Christ there is satisfaction enough But when the heart hath made breaches between Christ and it self when it hath lost the sweetness in that marryage communion no marvaile if there be no sweetnes in the other maryage communion I will give you a notable example of this a man who before his breach with God was of a sweet disposition was very milde and loving but after he was of a perverse and cruell froward disposition The example is Saul When he was first chosen King how humble was he hee acknowledges himself to be of the least of the tribes of Israel and the least in his fathers house and when some raysed npon him and said shal this man raigne over us the text saith he held his peace and when others would have had them killed no by no means they must not be slain because God had shewen him mercy in a late victory given him But after Saul had fallen from God O the rugged perverse cruell disposition of his spirit then even to Jonathan his son a gracious loving sweet natured son then Thou
heart is a Scripture-frame The holy Ghost tells you Isa 66. 1. God looks at him that trembleth at his word come with hearts trembling at the word of God come not to be Iudges of the Law but doers of it You may judge of your profiting in grace by the delight you finde in Scripture as Quintilian was wont to say of profiting in eloquence a man may know that saies hee by the delight hee findes in reading Cicero much more may this be said of the Scriptures it is a true signe of profiting in Religion to whom the Scriptures are sweeter then the honey and the honey-combe And now I shall onely tell you what the work is we have to doe and then we shall fall upon it and that is to open Scripture unto you not onely difficulties but to shew unto you what divine truths are contained in them what may come fresh and spring up from the fountain it selfe to present them unto you with adding some quickness This is our worke not to enlarge any thing with long Explication Probation or Application There are these five things to be enquired concerning this our Prophet whose Prophesie I have now pitched upon to open 1 Who he was 2 To whom he was sent 3 What his errant was 4 His Commission 5 The time of his prophesie All these you have either in the first verse where most of them are or you shall find them in the Chapter For the first then who this Prophet was I will tell you no more of him then what you have in the first verse Hosea the son of Beeri His name signifieth a Saviour one that brings salvation It is the same root that Ioshua had his name from and many saving and savory truths wee shall finde this Prophet bringing to us He was the sonne of Beeri This Beeri we doe not find who hee was in Scripture only in that he is here named as the father of the Prophet in the entrance into this Prophesie Surely it is honor is gratia to the Prophet and from it we may note thus much That so should parents live and walke as it may be an honour to their children to be called by their names that their children may neither be afraid nor ashamed to be named by them The Iews have a tradition that is generally received among them that whensoever a Prophets Father is named that Father was likewise a Prophet as well as the Son If that were so then surely it is no dishonor for any man to be the Son of a Prophet Let those that are the children of godly gracious Ministers be no dishonour to their Parents their Parents are an honour unto them But we find it by experience that many of their children are farr from being honours to their godly parents How many ancient godly Ministers who heretofore hated superstitious vanities whose sonns of late have been the greatest zealots for such things It puts me in mind of what the Scripture notes concerning Iehoiakim the sonne of Iosiah the difference betweene his father and him Iosiah when he heard the Law read his heart melted and he humbled himselfe before the Lord. But now Iehoiakim his sonne when hee came to heare the Law of God read he tooke a pen-knife and cut the roll in which it was written in peices and threw it into the fire that was on the hearth untill all the roll was consumed A great deale of difference there was between the Son and the Father and thus it is between the sons of many ancient godly Ministers and them their Fathers indeed might be an honour unto them but they are dishonour to their Fathers The sonne of Beeri This word Beeri hath its signification from a Wel that hath springing water in it freely and cleerly running So Ministers should be the children of Beeri That that they have should be springing water and not the mud and dirt and filth of their own conceits mingled with the word This only by way of allusion To whom was this Prophet Hosea sent He was sent especially to the Ten Tribes I suppose you all know the division that there was of the people of Israel in Rehoboams time tenn of the Tribes went from the house of David only Iudah and Benjamine remained with it Now these tenne Tribes renting themselves from the house of David did rent themselves likewise from the true worship of God there grew up horrible wickednesses and all manner of abominations amongst them To these ten Tribes God sent this Prophet He sent Isaiah Micah to Iudah Amos and Hosea he sent to Israel all these were contemporary If you would know what state Israel was in in Hoseas time read but 2 K. 15. 19. you shall find what their condition was Ieroboam did that which was eâ—ill but he fight of the Lord he departed not from all the sins of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat which made Israel to sinne But notwithstanding Israel was thus notoriously wicked and given up to all Idolatry yet the Lord sendeth his Prophets Hosea and Amos to Prophesie to them even at this time O the goodnesse of the Lord to follow an apostatizing people an apostatizing soule It was mercy yet while God was speaking but woe to that people to that soul to whom the Lord shall give in charge to his Prophets prophesie no more to them But what was Hosea his errand to Israel His errand was to convince them clearly oâ— this their abominable Idolatry and those other abominable wickednesses that they lived in and severely to denounce threatnings yea most fearfull destruction This was not done before by the other Prophets as wee shall afterward make it appeare but it was Hosea his errand to threaten an utter desolation to Israel more than ever was before and yet withall to promise mercy to a remnant to draw them to repentance and to Prophesie of the great things that God intended to doe for his Church and children in the latter dayes What was his Commission The words tells us plainly The word of the Lord came to Hosea It was the word of Iehovah It is a great argument to obedience to know it is the word of the Lord that is spoken When men set reason against reason and judgment against judgment and opinion against opinion it prevails not but vvhen they see the authority of God in the Word then the heart and conscience yeeldeth Therefore hovvever you may look upon the instruments that bring it or open it to you as your equalls or inferiours yet knovv there is an authority in the Word that is above you al It is the word of the Lord. And this word of the Lord it came to Hosea Mark the phrase Hosea did not goe for the word of the Lord but the word of the Lord came to him he sought it not but it came to him factum fuit verbum so are the words the word of the Lord came or
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
match as this The woman is the glory of the man How for so I desire not only to open the Scripture that I read here but as I go along and quote Scripture so far as may be for your edification and suteable to our argument to open there too In two respects she is so 1. because it is a glory to a man that he hath such an image for shee is from the man and as the man being the image of God sheweth the glory of God because he is the image of God and from him so the woman being from the man and as it were his image shee is the glory of the man 2. Because man hath such an excellent creature brought under subjection to him so the woman is the glory of the man Man is not only made glorious by God in that God hath put all other creatures under him but especially in this that God hath put such an excellent creature under him as the woman is so the woman is the glory of the man This could not be here in such a match as this 3. It could not be that it was a reall thing but a vision from the prophesie it selfe for then Hosea must have stayed almost a whole yeare before hee could have gone on in his prophesie For first he must take to him a wife of whoredomes and beget a child of whoredomes then he must have stayed till the child had been born before he could have come to the people and say My child is borne and his name is Iezreel and it is upon this ground that I have named him thus and then hee must have stayed almost a yeare more before he could have Locuhamah and then after that he must stay almost another yeare longer before Loammi could be born And lastly that which is noted by Polanus the expression that wee have here is that God spake in Hosea speaking and appearing to him by an inward vision as it were in an extasie saith Polanus therefore we must take it so that this wife of whoredomes that Hosea was to marry was in a way of vision it was to signifie that Israel was to God as a wife of whoredoms and as children of whoredomes should have been to the Prophet if he had been marryed to her From all these there is this result that the people of Israel were gone a whoring from God Idolatry it is as the sin of whoredome and I cannot open this Scripture except I shew you wherein idolatry is like the sin of whoredome The idolatry of the Church not the idolatry of Heathens is whoredome One that committeth adultery doth give her selfe to another The Heathens because they were never marryed to God their idolatry is not adultery but the people of GDO being marryed to the Lord their idolatry is adultery Adultery first because it breaks the marriage bond there is nothing breaks the marriage bond between God and his people but the sin of idolatry as not between man and wife Though a wife may be guilty of many faylings and be a grievous trouble and burthen to her Husband yet these doe not breake the marriage knot except she defile the marriage bed So though a people may be guilty of notorious and vile sins yet if they keep the worshp of God pure they are not guilty of whoredome but still God is marryed to them 2. Whoredome is a loath some thing though delightsome to men yet loathsome to God Idolatry is so therefore the Scripture calleth the Idols that men set up by a name that signifieth the very excrement that comes from creatures Ezek. 22. 3. Idolaters think their way of idol-worship to be very delightsome but that which they call delectable God calleth detestable so you shall find it if you compare these two Scriptures Isa 44. 9. they call their Idols delectable things but in Ezek. 5. 11. God calleth them detestable things Idolatry is a detestable loathsome thing 3. There is nothing wherein a man is so irreconcileable as in the point of the marriage bed the defiling of that by adultery causes an irreconcileable breach Jealousie is the rage of a man and he will take no ransome There is nothing wherein God is so reconcileable to a people as in the point of false worship 4. Adultery is a besotting sinne Whoredome and new wine take away the heart saith the Prophet and in that 44. Isa 19. there saith God he hath no understanding to consider and say What have I not taken one part and roasted flesh with it and with another part have baked bread upon the coales and warmed my selfe with another part and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination and fall downe to the stock of a tree Hee hath no understanding to consider this Idolatry is a besotting sin as well as adultery And therefore we need not marvail though-men of great parts and abilities continue in their superstitious way of worship for nothing besotteth mens hearts so much as that doth Againe 5. Whoredome is a most dangerous sinne Wee have a most dreadfull place for that Prov. 22. 14. The mouth of a strange woman is as a deep pit heth at is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein Oh most dreadfull place to an Adulterer if there be any Adulterer in this place this day when thou goest home turn to that Scripture and let it be as a dart to to thy heart the mouth of a strange woman is as a deep pit he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein A signe of a man abhorred of God and so is Idolatry for in 2 Thes 2. 11 12. God gave them over to believe a lye that they might be damned Those that follow the Idolatries of Antichrist are given over by God to beleive a lye That lye of Popery is altogether one lye Hence it is that the Popish party invent so many such strange lyes all to uphold that great lye What is this that they might be damned It is a dreadfull dangerous sin the sinne of Idolatry though they think they please God in and by such wayes of worship yet they are given over by God that they may be damned If this prove to be a place that concerns those that follow Antichrist if Rome proves to be so as by that place is described it is a dreadfull place to all Papists Again Whores use to deck themselves up in pompous attyre in dainty glorious rayment So idolaters use to deck up their Idols in bravery and lavish gold as the Scripture speaks upon their Idols whereas the Kings daughter is all glorious within and the simplicity of the Gospel will not permit such things And lastly as whores though they goe a whoring from their Husbands yet still they retain before the divorce the name of wives and their children though bastards retaine the name of children and beare the fathers name So Idolaters they will retain the name
between the name Israel and Jezreel but there is a great deale of difference in the signification for Israel is one that prevaileth with God the strength of the Lord Jezreel is one that is scattered by the Lord. Israel hath lost the honour of his name Many out-live the honour of their names and reputations These tenne Tribes are no more worthy to be called by the name of Israel their famous Progenitor but now Jezreel the scattered of the Lord. Thirdly Jezreel to shew the way that God intended to bring judgement upon these ten Tribes And what was it The way should be by scattering God would scatter them It is a speciall way of Gods bringing judgement upon a Kingdome by scattering of them We read that when Micaiah saw the destruction of Ahab and his people he had this vision I saw saith he 1 King 22. 17. all Israel scattered one from another as sheep that have no shepheard There is a two-fold scattering A scattering among our selves in wayes of division and a scattering by the Enemy one from another to flie for our lives The one part of this judgement the Lord be mercifull to us is upon us already and in this sense we may be called Jezreel Oh how is our Kingdome divided how is it scatted The Lord keepe us from the other scattering that wee be not scattered one from another by being forced to flye for our lives before the Enemy It is just with God that if wee scatter our felves sinfully by way of division that God should scatter us in his wrath to our destruction by giving us up to our Enemies If we love scattering if we delight in division we may soon have scattering enough there may soon be divisions far enough one from another 4. Call his name Jezreel to note that the Lord would scatter them even in that very place where they did most glory as they did in the valley and city of Jezreel they did much glory in that place as you shall hear afterward But God would scatter them even in that place in which they did so much boast And lastly Jezreel because the Lord would hereby shew that he would turne these conceits and apprehensions that they might have of themselves quite the contrary way As thus Jezreel it signifieth indeed scattered of the Lord but it signifieth also the seed of the Lord or sowen of the Lord and so the Jewes were ready to take the name Jezreel and would be content to own it because it signified the seed of God And hence it commeth to signifie scattered too because that seed is to be scattered when it is sown And hence it was that they might glory so much in that name Oh! they were the seed of the Lord in an abiding condition as being sowen by the hand of God himselfe No saith God you are mistaken I doe not call you Jezreel upon any such tearms because you are sowen of mee but quite the other way because you shall be scattered and come to be destroyed by me It is the usuall way of God to turne those things which men take as arguments for their comfort to their confusion Haman who made such an interpretation of the action of Esters inviting him to the banquet alone with the King the truth is the right interpretation of it had been that it was to his destruction and so here whereas they might make such an interpretation of Iezreel as that they were the seed the sowen of the Lord the true interpretation is that they are the scattered of the Lord. All these five reasons you have either in the nearenesse of the name Israel with Iezreel or otherwise in the words that follow after For yet a little while I will avenge the blood of Iezreel upon the house of Iehu and cause to cease the Kingdome of the house of Israel Here now wee come to that which is the maine in this Scripture And these foure questions are of great use and will tend much to edification 1. What is this blood of Iezreel that God will avenge 2. Why God will avenge the blood of Iezreel upon the house of Iehu 3. Why is it called the house of Iehu and Iehu alone without the addition of the name King as it is usuall in others as Hezekiah King of Iudah and such a one King of Israel but here only the house of Iehu 4. What is this little while God speaks of yet a little while The words are read I suppose ordinarily and past over as if there were little in them but you shall finde that there is much of the minde of God held out to us in them For the first then What was the blood of Jezreel that here God threatneth 〈◊〉 You may read the History of it in 2 King Chap. 9 10 11. for the way of opening the Prophets is to compare them with the Scriptures that went before read those Chapters and you shall find what this blood was It was the bloud of the house of Ahab the bloud of Iezabel the bloud of the 70. sons of Ahab whose heads the Elders of Iesreel sent to Iehu in baskets This was the bloud that was shed here in this place which God saith he will aveuge God will certainly avenge bloud and if God will avenge the bloud of Ahab he will surely avenge the bloud of Abel if the bloud of Iesabel then surely the bloud of Sarah if the bloud of Idolaters then the bloud of his Saints Oh what vengeance then doth hang over that Antichrist for all the bloud of the Saints that hath been spilt by him the scarlet whore hath dyed her selfe with this bloud yea and vengeance will come for that bloud that hath been shed of our brethrens in Ireland upon any whosoever have been instrumentals in it great or small Certainely the righteous God will not suffer that wicked and horrid work to goe unavenged even here upon the earth Let us wait a while and we may live to see that time whâ—rein 〈◊〉 shall not only be said by the voice of faith but by the voyce of sense itselfe Verily there is a God that judgeth the earth But why will God avenge the blood of Iesreel upon the house of Iehu Indeed this to an outward view at first is one of the strangest things wee have in all the book of God If you compare this place here in Hosea with other Scriptures you shall find that it is a strange thing that ever it should be said that the Lord would avenge the blood of Iesreel upon the house of Iehu For in 2 King 9. 7. you shall finde that Iehu was anointed by the Lord on purpose for that action to shedd that bloud and he had a command from God he was bidden to goe and shed it and the holy oyle was poured upon him for that end that he might shed that bloud yet now this bloud must be avenged and avenged upon the house
neerly concerning us you see the scriptures were made for other times then for the times in which they were first revealed a most excellent place of Scripture you have for this Psal 21. 13. Be thou exalted O Lord in thine own strength so will we sing and praise thy power When God cometh in his own strength and not in the strength of the creature and by meanes then do the Saints sing and praise the power of God Dulcious ex ipso fonte wee use to say that which cometh imediately cometh exceeding sweetly Then the Saints may boast in God when God cometh immediately with his salvation so you have it Psal 44. 7. 8. Thou hast saved us from our enemies and hast put them to shame that hated us What followeth in God will we boast all the day long and praise thy name for ever So that the Saints of God then praise God nay they may lawfully give up themselves to boast when God works imediately When God works by means then they must take heed of ascribing to the means but when God cometh imediately then they may boast It is the blessednesse of Heaven that Gods mercy cometh imediately created mercies are the most perfect mercies Suppose God had bin with them by bow and by sword when Senacherib came against them could they have been saved as they were Gods hooke that he put in his nose and bridle that he put in his lipps for so God saith he would doe with him use him as a beast were better then their sword or bow Surely if ever any nation knew what it was to have imediate mercies come down from heaven England doth If ever Nation saw God exalting himselfe in his own power England hath we have lived and blessed be God we have lived to see the Lord exalting himselfe in his own power Oh let us cry out with the Psalmist and with that I shall end Be thou exalted O Lord in thy own strength amongst us so will we still and still and still sing and praise thy power The Fourth Lecture HOSEA 1. 8. c. 8. Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah shee coâ—ceived and bare a sonne 9. Then said God call his name Lyâ—ammi for you are not my people and I will not be your God 10. Yet the number of the children of Israel shal be as the sand of the sea which cannot be measured nor numbred c. THe last day was finished the signification of the name of the second childe of Hosea Lo-ruhamah We now come unto the weaning of it and the begetting of the third Lo-ammi When shee had weaned Loruhamah We doe not reade of the first child Jezreel that it was weaned but the second childe Loruhamah that was weaned before the third child Loammi was conceived What is the meaning of this There is much of Gods minde shewed unto us even in this very thing that we ordinarily let slip and passe over The reason is because this second childe Loruhamah was to signifie unto the people of Israel their carrying out of their own Countrey into captivity into Assyria It was to signifie to them that they should be weaned from the comforts and delights that there were in their owne Countrey they should be taken away from their milke and honey that they had there and be carryed into Assyria and be there fed with hard meate even with the water of affliction and the bread of affliction The first childe did but signifie their scattering especially in regard of their seditions amongst themselves But the second childe signified the carrying away all of them wholly into captivity from their own Land Therefore the second childe is weaned Cibis sustent abitur immundis So. Jerome hath it They should be carried amongst the Gentiles and be fed with unclean meat they should be deprived of prophesie and of the milke of the word and of the ordinances that they enjoyed So Vatablus Ordinances are as the breasts of consolation out of which the people of God suck soul-satisfying comforts So you have it Esay 66. 11. That you may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations that you may milke out and be delighted with the aboundance of her glory And Cant. 1. 4. We will remember thy loves more than wine The old latine hath it Wee will remember thy dugs above wine and so the words will beare These people should be deprived of those dugs and breasts out of which they had sucked much sweetnesse before even deprived of all comfort in God Gods people hang upon God and suck comfort from him even as the infant upon the mothers brest and sucks sweetnesse and comfort and nourishment from thence This expression then of weaning the childe implies these two things First That the enjoyment of the comforts of a sweet native soile specially where there are any ordinances together with it is a very great blessing of God and the being deprived of it is a great affliction yea to some it comes as a curse The very sucking of the ayr of a sweet native soile and especially such a comfortable soile as we have here in England is certainly a great blessing from the Lord. Those that have been deprived of it and banished away have been more sensible of it than any of you who alwayes have enjoyed it Many have laine sucking at the sweetnesse of this our English ayr and at the comforts that there have been in their accommodations so long till they have sucked in that which if Gods mercy had not prevented would have proved to have been poyson to them to have baned their soules But I speak not of all I make no question but there have beene many of Gods dear servants that have tarried in their native soile and kept the uprightnesse of their hearts and consciences as cleare as others that went away It is true the comforts of a native soile are sweet but except we may enjoy them with the breasts of these consolations or Ordinances of the Church they are notable to satisfie the soul yea except we may suck out such milke of these breasts as is sincere milke and not soiled nor sowred by the inventions of men better a great deale that we were weaned from all the sweetnesse and accommodation we have in our native soile by the mortifying of our affections to them then that God should weane us from them by sending of us into captivity or by giving the adversary power over us or by making the Land too hot for us But that for the first Again in that this childe was weaned and by the weaning was to signify their being carried away out of their own into a strange Countrey this expression implies thus much That it is an evil thing for a childe to be taken from the mothers brest too soone and sent away to be nursed by others The expression doth fully imply this for it is to tell us the evill condition of the people
spirits of men according as I shall open it by and by No new Ordinance no new Institution can be in the Church In the civil State there may be thousands of new Institutions I call that an Institution that hath an efficacy in it for the attaining of such an end by vertue of the Institution not by vertue of any naturalnesse that is in the thing As for example to instance in Divine Institutions The Sacrament is an Institution and therefore is a virtue a spirituall efficacy to be expected from that and by that through the strength of the Institution more then it hath in it in any naturall way So in preaching the Word and Ecclesiastical censures there is more to be expected more efficacy to worke upon the soule for the spiritual man by virtue of the Institution then there is in the natural things that are done there So for Lawes Christ makes a law in the Church it being an institution there is to be expected a spiritual efficacy and virtue to goe along together with that thing that Christ commandeth beyond what it had before it was commanded Now then in rhis way no man in the world can make any Church institution no nor Law for the Church so as to appoint any thing to have any spirituall efficacy by vertue of that institution beyond what it hath in a natural way We must take heed of being so bold that when Christ hath made an institution an ordinance and revealed it to us for us to think we may imitate Christ and make another Ordinance or another institution like that because Christ hath done so because we finde such a thing in the Word therefore we may do so too No this is too bold this is to set our post by Gods post for which the Lord did charge the people Ezek. 43. 8. In Esay 33. 22. it is said The Lord is our Judge the Lord is our Law-giver the Lord is our King in this thing But yet you will say how is that opened further for indeed it needeth opening that there can be no new institution nor no new Law made in this sense but all must hold of Christ For the opening of that I shall afterward come to speake more fully about the power of Governours and what their authority is but thus much for the present VVe are to consider that there are some things belonging to the Church I beseech you observe that are common with all other societies 〈…〉 to them that is natural and civill and there 〈…〉 â—â—wer of man may come in there the 〈…〉 may order things Those things I say that belong to the Church that yet are not so proper but belong to other societies too there mans reason may come in As for instance First A Church is a spiritual society and community they must meete together and if they do meet they must meet in some place This is common to all societies in the world if they will meet they must meet in a place Yea Secondly if they meet in a place this place must be determined where it shall be This also is common to all societies Thirdly This likewise is common to them with all other societies that what they do in that place must be done decently in order all things ought to be managed in an orderly decent way As if there be many things to be done one thing must be before another one thing must not exclude another if they come together they must come together as befitting men in a decent way Therefore that rule of the Apostle Let all things be done decently and in order it is not properly an institution it is nothing but the dictate of right reason so that if we had never found such a sentence such a maxime in Scripture as let all things be done decently and in order it had beene a truth that we were bound in conscience to Again If men will come and meet together it is natural and common to all societies that they should be decent in their garments and otherwise But then you will say When commeth it to an Institution I meane an Institution that is forbidden that none must meddle withall that is proper to Christ Thus when any man shall by virtue of any Law any imposition put more into the thing then God or then nature hath put into it when they shall make their institution to put any efficacy into it for the worship of God more then God hath this we call sinfull As for instance Suppose we should instance onely in garments That all that meetes together in Christian Assemblies should meet decently in decent garments Ministers and others the light of nature tells us and there may be law if men will be refractory to compell them unto it to meet so as they may meet decently in regard of their garments But now if it come thus far that we leave natural decency and such or such a garment shall be made decent for Gods worship because it is appointed whereas if it were not appointed it would not be decent at all When I say all the decency doth not depend upon what God hath put into it or what is natural to it but depends meerly upon the institution of man for take away that institution it would not be decent as in some kinde of garments put case men were left to their freedome that there were no institution I put it to your Consciences whether it would be decent to weare them If it would not be decent then it seems it is the institution that puts all upon it and now here we must take heed This then puts more upon that creature then nature or the God of nature hath put upon it then in way of common prudence I say were it not for an institution that seemes to go further that seemes to intrench upon an ordinance would be done Further There is more put upon 〈◊〉 then nature hath put into it when there shall be expected by vertue of an institution some kinde of spiritual efficacy to worke upon the soul then it comes to be sinfull As thu when that creature by virtue of the institution and appointment shall be made and esteemed or accounted of more effectual to stirre up my mind or to signifie such a thing as purity or holynesse then another creature that hath as much in it naturally to signifie the same thing and to stirre up my minde this is to imitate Gods institution which is too much boldnesse in any man As when God doth appoint a thing in his Church a Ceremony or the like he will take some thing that hath a resemblance to put men in minde of such a holy thing that hath some kinde of Metaphor or likenesse in it But when God hath taken this creature and separated it from others this creature must be expected to have more efficacy to signifie the thing to my soul and to stiree up my soul to think of
a Law of Christ to us to walk and live according to the rules of Justice and prudence so wee are bound for conscience in those things but not primarily and so they cannot be said to bind conscience so as Christs Lawes do There are other things that are commanded by man and that especially concerns our question and these are such things as indeed are neither here nor there for the common for the publique good the good of the community doth not at all depend upon them and there is nothing in them but meerly the satisfaction of the wills of those that are in authority above us Now here is the Question How far those Laws bind men and bind Conscience Indeed many poor Christians that are conscientious have been extreamly snared in these things To that I answer That though such things should be commanded to be done yet it they be not done so be it they be not omitted out of contempt nor so as may bring scandall upon the authority that doth enjoyne them and those that doe omit them shall patiently and willingly submit to what punishment the Law of the Land shall require in such things this mans conscience shall not nor need not bind him over to answer before God that he hath sinned against that rule You will say How do you prove that How doth it appeare For that must needs be made out I vvill make it appeare from the Text from the nature of subjection that is required in the Text and from Reason First this Text here in Rom 13. giveth this as the ground why we are to be subject Because saith the Text ver 4. he is the minister of God for thy good So that that which is the speciall ground of our subjection is because they that are in place are ministers for our good But here is then an abuse of their power if they will command what is not indeed tending to the good of the publique but meerly the satisfaction of their own mindes But suppose it be an abuse the Text saith we must be subject 〈…〉 You must do the thing for conscience 〈…〉 be subject we must not resist but be subject The words are We must be subordinate for conscience sake so it may be translated Here is all that is required that I must be subordinate and not resist that is though there be a thing commanded by authority though this authority should be abused yet I may not resist I must be subject If then out of that reverent respect I have to authority though I do not doe the thing yet I doe not forbeare out of contempt It is a thing exceedingly prejudiciall unto me and it is not for the common good but yet I am so carefull that authority shal not be despised that I will keep it secret I will not refuse to do it so as shall be ascandall upon authority And yet further if authority shall so far urge upon me as to inflict punishment because I do not do it I will patiently beare it Now when these three things are done here is that subordination to authority that the Apostle in that Scripture requires And the reason why this of necessity must be granted is because otherwise all the Christian liberty that the Scripture so much speakes of may be utterly taken away in regard of the practice that it is in the power of man wholly to deprive us of it This Scripture cannot be so understood that all that liberty we have in all things in their own nature indifferent should be so under the power of men as that we for the practice and for our conscience too must be tyed that we cannot have liberty no not in secret certainly that is that which is against the judgement of all Orthodox Divines of the Reformed Churches But it may be said who shall be Judge whether things be tending to the publicke good yea or no will you take upon you to judge your self To that the Answer is thus plainly that indeed those that are appointed by Law have the power to judge legally and authoritatively to judge so as to bind others But every man hath liberty so far as concerns his owne act to judge at his perill And that a two-sold perill First at his perill lest he judging himself should sinne against God in this that he should judge that not good for the publique which indeed is good that he should perhaps judge that to be of an indifferent nature that justice and prudence requireth of him Here he mis-judgeth at his perill hee sinneth against the Lord against the rules of justice and prudence and indangereth his own soul if he goe amisse in this Secondly If he mis-judge it is at his perill that comes by the Lawes of men that he is in danger then to suffer what the Laws of men shall inflict upon him And so submitting this way his conscience may have some ease and yet no gap open at all to liberty or any disturbance to any lawfull authority for all this This is necessary for men to know that they may understand aright how to answer that question about Lawes binding of conscience You heare it is the prerogative of Christ our Head so to be our Law-giver so as to lay bonds upon conscience in such a manner as no man can doe the like That is the third Fourthly Christ is the Head of the Church in regard of some even personally so as to come and rule in the world in a glorious manner personally and so they thinke this may be interpreted that Christ shall be a head how said to be appointed we shall speake of when we come unto it that he shall come personally and rule and governe things even in this world As Christ in his own person did exercise his Priestly and Propheticall offices so they thinke in his own person he shall exercise his Kingly power office Which opinion because the further discussion of it I suppose generally you are not able to beare yet therefore in modesty I will forbeare and though out of modesty I shal for the present forbeare yet out of conscience I dare not altogether deny it but so we will leave it to see what trueth may be in this we must expect to have light let in by degrees In these four things then we have the rule of Christ three determined of the fourth only propounded which Christ in time will shew further light unto us in Christ is then the Head Now from all this there followes three consequences that are very usefull 1. Hence we learne that the seeking after the right government of Christ in his Church is not a light matter it doth concern the Head-ship of Christ 2. By what hath been said we shal come to be instructed to know what is properly Antichristian and what not 3. Wee shall come to have light how far the King may be said to be head of the Church These
were the worst condition in the world were worse then the condition of a heathen For the gods of a heathen would be content to have but part of the honour of the heart and life because they could help but in part If a heathen god should require the whole soulto be lifted up above all and he alone to be honoured and worshipped as a God and yet when it comes to a matter of helpe and protection he could doe nothing without some other joyned with him a heathen might well reason the ease with him as doing him wrong certainly Christ will never wrong his people so as to challenge from them that they should lift up him alone and joyne no other with him and yet when it comes to their help and succour that there should be need to call in others besides himselfe to their help Therefore as Christ doth challenge it from us to make him our head alone so we may challenge it from Christ to helpe us alone when there is no other helpe for us Thus we have finished both the head-ship of Christ and the Churches appointing him to be that head Now followes the next mercy the next blessing and that but in a word and then we come to the conclusion of this Chapter They shall come up out of the land Aterrenis affectibus So Jerome he makes it a comming up from their earthly senses earthly affections A vita miserabili so Luther upon the place makes it a comming up from their miserable life and condition But rather thus Come up out of the land that is out of their captivity Judah and Israel they shall joyne together in comming to Jerusalem and so joyne in the same kinde of worship as they were wont to come out of all parts of the countrey to worship at Jerusalem and there were united in one kinde of worship so they shall now come from all parts of the world where they are scattered and joyne in the same way of worship yea and it is very probable in their own land There was a time when the people of God did sing songs of praise in the wildernesse Exod 15. But the time shall come when they shall do it in their own land and this shall be a blessing of God upon them Isa 26. 1. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah VVe have a strong City salvation will God appoint for walls and bulworkes It shall be sung in the land of Judah Ezek. 20. 40. In the mountaines of the height of Israel saith the Lord God there shall all the house of Israel all of them in the land serve me there will I accept them and there will I require your offerings and the first fruites of your oblations with all your holy things Ezekiel 37. 21. I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen whether they begone and will gather them on every side and bring them into their own land This blessing hath God granted unto many of his servants this day who never thought to have seen their owne land their own good land but God hath bin pleased to gather them up that they are come not onely into their own land but they finde the armes and hearts of the Saints open to imbrace them and call them to publicke imployments It was not long since that the land could not beare them we hope that the time may come ere long that the Lord Christ may so rule and that in our land that it will as hardly beare wicked and ungodly men as it hath borne the Saints though it were hard to say that there should be so much violence used even to keep them from some sins as hath been used here against the Saints to keep them from their God yet time may come ere long that wicked men may be glad to flye though not forced unto it out of their owne choyce into another land because they cannot have the enjoyment of their lusts so freely here As the Saints have been forced to flye out of their land that they might serve the Lord and keep their consciences cleare But we let this passe and come now to the close of the Chapter to the Epiphonema of it all For great shall be the day of Jezreel They shall appoint themselves one head and come up out of the land for great Licet so Tremelius turnes it although the day of Jezreel be great indeed the Hebrew particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth quamvis as well as quia It may be translated although as well as for And he translating it so although the day of Iezreel be great he takes it in this sense that is although the people of Israel shall be brought into great affliction yet God will be so mercifull then when his time comes as they shall be gathered together again and appoint themselves one head and come up out of the land And from such an interpretation of the words there might be an excellent meditation raised and that is this That the greatnesse of the misery of the Church is no hinderance to the course of the freenesse and abundance of Gods mercy to it Although the day of Iezreel their day be never so calamitous never so afflictive never so grievous yet they shall come up out of the land and appoint themselves one head The greatnesse of the Churches misery is no hinderance unto the Churches delivery Why because their deliverance dependeth upon a God who doth delight not onely to manifest some power but the excellency and the glory and the choyce of his power in their deliverance For that take this Scripture Isa 62. 8. Where speaking of these very times that we shall heare of afterward of Gods being mercifull unto his people he saith The Lord hath sworne by his right hand and we have not onely mention thereof Gods right hand and swearing by it but the arme of God too Marke that The arme of God and the arme of his strength There is Gods hand Gods arme the arme of his strength God sweareth by it Surely when God delighteth to put forth such power for the deliverance of his Church it is no great matter whether the afflicted estate be great or small It makes no great matter for the hinderance of the Churches delivery no more then if you should see two bubbles of water rise up one hath a little thicker skin then the other Now there is as much difference in the difficulty that the thick skin bubble makes when a mighty Cannon or peece of Ordnance shal be shot off with a mighty Bullet to resist it from the thinner skin bubble as the greatest and forest affliction that the people of God were ever under in this world makes a difference in the difficulty of their deliverance when they have to deale with an infinite God from the least affliction that ever the Church was in The difference is no more If a childe indeed
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
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
from the guilt of the generall corruptions of the place where they live For so this Ammi and Ruhamah were a remainder that God did deliver thorough his grace from the generall corruptions of the place where they were for otherwise they had not beene fit to have said to their brethren or to have spoken to their sisters in this sense Secondly those whom God delivers from the guilt of generall corruptions are to be acknowledged the people of God such as have receivâ—â— mercy from God in a speciall manner It is free grace that hath made this difference between you and others Augustin in his second book concerning preservation has a good note upon that Scripture 1 King 19. 18. I have left me seven thousand in Israel God sayes not there are left 7000 or they have left themselves but I have left It is the speciall work of God to preserve any for himselfe in evil times Thirdly the Lord takes speciall notice of such who are thus by his grace preserved in evill times Ammi Ruhamah There are a people amongst these that are Ammi my people that have obtained mercy from me mine eyes are upon them my heart is toward them there are a number that have kept their garments undefiled even in Sardis and I will remember this for ever for their good Noah was a just man prefect in his generation Gen. 6. 9. and what then Chap. 7. 1. Come thou and all thy house into the Ark for thee have I seene righteous before me in this generation Fourthly Such as keep themselves from the corruptions of the times wherin they live they and onely they are fit to exhort and reprove others Those that are not guilty themselves as others are are fit to speak to others to say to their brethren and to their sisters They are fit to exhort who performe the duties themselves that they exhort unto We say it is a shamefull thing for one to be teaching if he be guilty himself he cannot with freedom of spirit say to his brethren and sisters Fifthly It is the duty of those whom God hath delivered from the corruptions of the times to seeke to draw all others to God to seeke to convince others of their evil wayes and so bring them in to the truth We â—eade Levit. 19. 17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour not suffer sin to lye upon him Surely those who have obtained mercy have the impression of Gods mercy upon their spirits they are farre from having hatefull hearts now it is hatred for any to suffer sinne to lye upon his brother and not to doe what in him lyeth to help him It is desperate pride for men to triumph over others in their falls and it is wicked cruelty to suffer others to lye down when they are fallen if they can raise them 〈◊〉 faring men who are delivered themselves from shipvvrack and all is 〈◊〉 with them if they see another ship ready to sink in the sea and those on ship-board shoot out to have them come to helpe to save them though they be never so farre remote yet if it should be knowne that they decline to goe out to help them all the sea-men would cry out shame on such and be ready to stone them for etting a Ship sinke when they might have helped Certainly the same case-it is with those to whom God hath shew ed mercy if others lye in their sins they do not what they can for their help 6. Say to your brethren and to your sisters The neerer the relation of any is to us the more should our compassion be towards them in seeking to deliver them from their sins There is more likelihood of prevailing with your brethren and sisters Hath God converted you and have you a brother or a sister not converted or any of your kindred goe and say to them tell them of the danger of their evil wayes tell them of the excellency of the wayes of God exhort them to come in to make tryall of the blessed wayes of God When a brother speaks to a brother or a sister to a sister it is the bringing a hammer of gold to work upon gold and of silver to work upon silver Lastly Say to your brethren and sisters Exhortations unto and reprehensions of others should be with much love and meekenesse Say to your brethren and sisters yet look upon them as brethren and sisters though they have not yet obtained the like mercy that you have Saint Paul 2 Thes 3. 15. speaking of one that walketh inordinately from whom we are to withdraw in respect of any private familiar society yet saith he admonish him as a brother Those who reprove and admonish others with bitternesse of spirit and evill speaking are like a foolish fowler who seekes to get the fowle but he goes on boysterously and makes a noise the way if he would get it is to goe on quietly softly and gently so the way to gaine a brother is not by boisterousnesse and violence but sofness and gentleness It is observed by some of the Jews out of that 25. Exod. ver 3. where the matter of the Tabernacle is said to be gold and silver and brasse you doe not see nor hear of iron to be required for the building of it No iron rigid severe hard dispositions are not fit either to be matter of the Tabernacle themselves or to draw others to be the matter of it Yea but if saying will not be enough to doe the deed then there followes pleading That is the second Say to them admonish them exhort them but what if that will not doe doe not leave presently but Plead yea and Plead with your mother too not onely with your brethren and with your sisters but with your mother Plead with your mother plead for she is not my wife c. Pleade Litigate so some Contendite strive the old Latine hath Iudicate Iudge your mother It may seeme to be a hard and harsh phrase at first but we shall labour to acquaint you with the minde of God in it Here is an exhortation even to the private members of the Church to all one oâ— other to plead even with their mother to plead even with the Church of which they are members and so to plead as to deale plainly and to tell her that she is not the wife of God Pleade with her First here we see Gods condescension that he will have us pleade the ease betwixt others and himselfe as Esay 5. 3. Iudge between me and my Vineyard faith God This sheweth the equity of Gods dealing Pleade the case perhaps some of you might thinke I deale hardly with your mother in so rejecting of her in bringing such judgements upon her No not so but plead you the case plead rather with her then complaine of me for my dealing with her Secondly Plead with her When exhortations and
not give the people throughout the Kingdom a heart to stick to the Cause of the Truth and to those whom they have intrusted with their estates liberties and lives in every good way it were the heaviest judgement of God that ever was upon a Nation since the beginning of the earth it would never be paralleld that ever a people should have such an opportunity put into their hands to help themselves aud to vindicaâ—e themselves from slavery and bondage yet out of I know not what respects to betray all those that have ventured their lives for them and to have their blood shed I say it were such an example as were not to be paralleld since the beginning of the world Therefore I beseech you my brethren let us lay this to heart and the Lord make known to us all what is to be done in such a time as this that we may not be stripped naked and set as in the day wherein we were borne The Third Lecture HOSEA part of the third verse and verse 4. And make her as a wildernesse and set her like a dry land and slay her with thirst And I will not have mercy upon her children for they be the children of whoredomes IN the first part of this second Chapter wee have already shewed part of Gods threatning even to strip his people naked as in the day wherein they were borne to bring them into as low and mean a condition as ever they were in Now that which was more generally exprest the last day we have in the latter end of this third Verse more particularly set forth unto us And make her as a wildernesse and set as a dry land God would bring this people that dwelt in the land of Canaan flowing with milke and honey that were in regard of the beauty that God had put upon them excellent for beauty now to be as a wildernesse In the former Chapter you heard that the state of the Ten Tribes vvas set out by Hoseas wife her name was Gomer ad this Gomer was the daughter of Diblaim Gomer signifieth perfection and what Diblaim signifieth I told you then But now there is another signification of this Diblaim that we are to refer unto this expression of the Lord in this place that he will make her as a wildernesse for you shall finde Ezek. 6. 14. that there is mention made of a desolate countrey and a wildernesse that was towards Diblath to which this that the Prophet speaks of the mother of Gomer may seem to have reference Diblath then it appeareth was a place where there was a very desolate waste wildernesse and Gomer was the daughter of this Diblath from whence Diblaim that is Though the ten Tribes were as Gomer in regard of their beauty perfect for so they were yet she was the doughter of Diblath or Diblaim that is she came forth out of a low and meane condition and was even brought out of a wildernesse now shee shall be brought again into the same estate wherein shee was for I will set her as a wildernesse As a wildernesse The Church of God is in it selfe Gods garden a garden inclosed and so it is called Cant. 4. 12. As a garden inclosed is my sister my Spouse It is the place of Gods delight not a place for beasts to come into but inclosed they are to be kept out of it a place where very precious fruits doe grow that are very pleasing to God a place that hath the dew the showers of Gods blessing the dew of Hermon the dew that descendeth upon the mountains of Zion there God commandeth his blessing even life for evermore But now she must come to be a wildernesse For first the hedge the pale the wall of Gods protection shall be taken away from her and she shall be laid open lyable for all wilde beasts to come in and to devoure her They loved liberty and were loth to be inclosed though it were in Gods garden though it was with the pale wall of Gods protection Well seeing you will have liverty you shall have liberty and this pale and wall of my garden shall be taken away and your condition shall be like the condition of the beasts in the wildernesse Againe you shall be as a wildernesse There shall no good grow among you There was no good grew amongst you that was your sin and there shall no good grow among you that shall be your plague and punishment The blessing of God shall be taken away from you you shall not have those showers of blessing as formerly you were wont to have but you shall be as a wildernesse Jer. 17. 5. 6. Cursed be that man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arme and departeth from the Lord Why For he shall be as the heath in the desart and shall not see when good commeth and he shall inherite the parched places of the wildernesse in a salt land Vatablus interprets this judgement upon the hearts of Idolaters they are dry unsavory they are destitute of all spirituall good And I will set her as a dry land So the Septuagint read it I will order you so Your sinnes bring you out of order but Gods plagues order that which sin doth disdorder At a dry land This is contrary to the blessing of a godly man for he is said to be as the tree planted by the river of water The graces and comforts of Gods Spirit are compared to waters in the Scripture Psal 87. 7. All my springs are in thee All my comforts all the gifts that I have all the graces that I have are in thee But now God will set them as a dry land he will take away his gifts and take away their comforts from them and so leave them wast and desolate The Observation then from hence is That sinne is of a wasting nature sinne layeth wast Countreyes and places that people live in VVee have a most remarkable place of Scripture for that Zach. 7. 14. They laid the pleasant land desolate They who are they you shall finde it ver 12. Those that made their hearts as an Adamant stone lest they should heare the law and the words which the Lord of Hosts had sent in his spirit by the former Prophets They made the pleasant land desolaâ—e VVe cry out of those that make stripe and waste and there are actions commenced against them O let not us lay waste this pleasant land this good laud of ours this garden of the Lord. It is indeed as an Eden as a Paradise our fore-fathers have left us this our land as Gods garden let not us through our sinnes leave it to our posterities as a wildernesse and a dry land Psal 107. 34. there is a threatning that God will make a fruitfull land barren for the wickednesse of them that dwell therein Sinne hath heretofore laid wast as pleasant and fruitfull Countreys as ours Those that travell in Germanie their hearts even bleed
of God and hence are put to it so much to make a connection betweene that that went before and this therefore but wee need not go so farre the right knowledg of the fulnesse and the riches of the grace of the Covenant will help us out of this difficulty and tell us how these two the greatnesse of mans sin and the riches of Gods grace may have a connection one to another and that by an Illative therefore I confesse the Hebrew word is sometimes conjunctio ordinis rather then causalis a conjunction that only sets out the order of a thing one thing following another rather then any way implying any cause but the reading here by way of inference I take to be according unto the scope of the Spirit of God and it gives us this excellent note Such is the grace of God unto those who are in Covenant with him as to take occasion from the greatnesse of their sinns to shew the greatnesse of his mercy from the vilenesse of their sins to declare the riches of his grace And the Scripture hath divers such kind of expressions as these as Gen. 8. 21. The Lord said in his heart I will not again curse the ground any more for mans sake VVhy For the immagination of mans heart is evill from his youth A strange reasoning I will not curse the ground for mans sake for the imagination of mans heart is evill from his youth One would have thought it should have been rather I will therefore curse the ground for mans sake because the imagination of mans heart is evill from his youth but the grace of God knowes how to make another manner of inference then we could have imagined So likewise Isa 57. 17 18. For the iniquity of his covetousnesse was I wroth and smote him I hid me and was wroth and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart I have seen his wayes saith God Now one would have thought that the next word should have been I will therefore plague him I wil destroy him I will curse him but mark the words that follow I will heale him I will 〈◊〉 him also and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners I will create the fruit of the lips peace to him This is a consequence at least if not an inference David understood this reasoning to be indeed the true reasoning of the Covenant of grace and therefore he pleadeth thus with God Psal 25. 11. Pardon my iniquity for it is great Lord my iniquity is great therefore pardon it Hearken you Saints hearken I say this is the great blessing of God unto you who are in Covenant with him whereas otherwise your sins should have made you objects of Gods hatred your sins now render you objects of his pitty and compassion this is the glorious fruit of the covenant of grace I would only the Saints heard me in this thing but why doe I say so I will recall my word let all sinners heare me let the vilest the worst sinners in the world heare of the riches of the grace of God in this his Covenant that if they belong to Gods election they may see the fulnesse the glory of Gods grace to be inamoured with it their hearts ravished with it that they may never be at rest till they get evidence to their soules that God indeed hath actually received them into this his Covenant If then God be pleased in the riches of free grace to make such an inference therefore let us take heed that wee make not a quite crosse inference from the greatnesse of our sins nor on the other side from Gods grace As thus You have followed your lovers you have forgot me therefore will I allure you An unbelieving heart would make this inference I have followed my lovers I have followed after vanity and folly and therefore God hath rejected mee therefore God will have no mercy upon me therefore I am undone therefore the gates of mercy are shut against me unbelieving heart do not sin against the grace of God he saith you have forgotten me therefore will I allure and speake comfortably to you doe not you say I have forgot the Lord and therefore the Lord will for ever reject me these discouraging determining despairing therefores are very grievous to the Spirit of God God would have us have all good thoughts of him It is a maine thing that God intendeth through the whole Scripture that his people should have good thoughts of him and that they should not think him a hard master It is an excellent expression of Luther saith he the whole Scripure doth principally aime at this thing that we should not doubt but that wee should hope that we should trust that we should believe that God is a merciful a bountifull a gracious and a patient God to his people It is an excellent expression that I have read of Master Bradford in one of his Epistles saith he O Lord sometimes me thinks I feel it so with me as if there were no difference between my heart and the wicked a blind mind as they a stout stubborn rebellions spirit a hard heart as they and so he goes on shall I therefore conclude thou art my Father nay I will rather reason otherwise saith he because I do believe thou art my Father I will come unto thee that thou mightest enlighten this blind minde of mine that thou mightest soften this hard heart of mine that thou mightest sanctifie this unclean spirit of mine I this is a good reasoning indeed and is worthy of one that professes the gospel of Jesus Christ Again as the inference of this unbelieving heart is grievous to Gods spirit so the inference of a prophane heart an unbelieving heart makes his therefore from the greatnesse of sin against Gods mercy and the prophane heart makes his therefore from the greatnesse of Gods mercy to the hardening of his heart in his sins what shall God make his therefore from our sin to his mercy and shall we make our therefore from his mercy back again to our sins where sin abounds grace abounds but where grace abounds sin must not abound because God is mercifull to us who are very sinfull let not us be very sinfull against him who is so mercifull God takes occasion from the greatnesse of our sins to shew the greatnesse of his mercy let not us take occasion from the greatnesse of his mercy to be emboldened in greatnesse of our sins Therefore behold Behold Here is a wonder to take up the thoughts of men and Angels to all eternity even that that we have in this inference behold notwithstanding all this yet you men and Angels behold the fulnesse the riches of Gods grace I will allure her what will not God cast us away notwithstanding the greatnesse of our sins let not us reject Gods ways notwithstanding the greatnesse of any sufferings we meet with in them there is a great deale of reason in
brethren are discontented at us frowne upon us speake against us 8. Alas we have rejected the right key that should have opened this our door no marvaile then though we stand blundring at it and it opens not unto us VVhat is that right key that would have opened it before this time had we made use of it That key of David that we reade of Apoc. 3. 7. That openeth and no man shutteth This key the Church of Philadelphia had therefore it followes ver 8. I have set before thee an open doore that no man can shut But what is this key of David It is the ruling power of Jesus Christ in his Church David in his government was a speciall type of Christ the first godly King over his people that ever was Government is emblematically set forth by a key Esay 22. 22 God promised Eliakim to commit the government to him by that expression The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder Esay 9. 6 7. The government is said to be upon Christs shoulder and he sits upon the throne of David that is observable that to Eliakim there was promised but the key of the house of David but to Christ the key of David himselfe the one was to governe but as a steward the government of the other was to be Princely If we had been the Church of Philadelphia united in brotherly love and had had this key of David amongst us we might before this time had had a door set open amongst us that no man could have shut against us but woe unto us how many amongst us say of Christ We will not have this man to rule over us Mr. Brightman more then thirty years since paralelld this Church of Philadelphia with the Church of Scotland he made it in a typical way to set forth the wayes of God towards that Church in after times and indeed they have been very like one another divers wayes and God ways towards the one hath been the same with his ways towards the other in many things 1. They are both Philadelphians united so in a brotherly covenant as no Churches in any kingdome more 2. It was said of Philadelphia it had but a little strength and yet it kept Gods word VVhat Churches in any Nation have beene more contemptible then those in Scotland They have beene accounted a poore beggerly people despised of all and yet God hath enabled them to doe great things 3. God hath caused their enemies to come and bow before them and to know that he hath loved them even those who said they were lews and were not that they were the onely Church when indeed they were the Synagogue of Satan they have rejected false government and have received much of the government of Christ the key of David is more received among them then in any kingdome in the world no marvaile then though their doore be so opened that none could shut it thorow Gods mercy our Houses of Parliament have cast away the false key The Lord deliver them and us for ever medling with it any more whatsoever come of us They have further professed their desires to enquire after the true key This door of hope we hope will open to us in due time so as none shall shut it 9. We have lost many opportunities for the opening this door never had a people fairer opportunities for mercy then we have had we cannot looke back upon them without trembling hearts we may see cause to lament the losse of them with teares of blood even this hath cost much and is yet like to cost more blood 10. Yea woe unto us out father comes forth and seemes to be angry with us and bids shut the doore against us yea hee shuts us out himselfe is not that complaint of the Churches Psal 80 4. truly ours O Lord of Hoasts how long wilt thou be angry with the prayer of thy people If God be angry with out knocking what shall we doe 11. And well may God bid shut the doore against us for we have shut it upon our selves This our doore of hope hath a spring lock it is easily shut too but it cannot so easily be opened againe we have stood wrangling and strugling one with another and have clapt to the doore upon our selves before we were aware That Scripture Hos 7. 1 is as truly ours as ever it was Israels When I would have healed Israel then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered and the wickednesse of Samariah VVhen the Lord would have healed England then the iniquity thereof hath been discovered more then ever There is the vilest spirit of malignity against godlinesse against the Saints against the way of Christ in his Ordinances that ever was upon the face of the earth Now men care not though they ruin themselves though they bring themselves and posterity to be bondslaves so they may but have their wills upon those that are godly to suppresse them The controversie now is almost grown to that height that the kingdome divides it selfe into those who have some shew of Religion and the haters of it Those times complained of in Micah are even ours Chap. 7. 5. Trust ye not in a friend put no confidence in a guide keepe the doores of thy mouth from her that lyeth in thy bosome Yea it is almost come to that in the fourth verse The best of them is a bryar the most upright is sharper then a thorny hedg There is much frowardnesse much perversnesse even in the best many contentions and grievous breaches even amongst them they cannot endure you should be jealous of them and they give cause of jealousie daily This generation for a great part of it shew themselves to have such sullied such puttid spirits so defiled with superstitious vanities so imbittered with a spirit of malignity that we may feare God hath no pleasure in the generality of it yea Moses and Aaron have sinned the best have so sullied themselves with Antichristian pollutions that just it were with God that this whole generation should be first taken away and that the young generation that is comming on who have not so defiled themselves should have this doore that lets into Canaan opened to them that they onely should goe into and possesse that good land but our carcasses should fall in the wildernesse You who are godly young ones whose hearts began betimes to yerne after Jesus Christ know the heart of Jesus Christ yernes after you and although some of you may fall in fighting for your brethren so be received to heaven yet you are of that generation God will open this door of mercy unto you shal go in possesse Canaan all this valley of Achor is but a door of hope to you continue you on in your sincerity God will reveale himselfe more fully to you then he hath done to us if we be cut off before those treasures of mercy that God has ready for
that Wherefore when they were freed from these three things they sung and they had cause so to doe Secondly they sung when they came out of the land of Egypt because they were not only in bondage in Egypt but in bondage under such a King as they were For consider who it was they were in bondage unto and then to be delivered from such a one you will see a great deale of cause of singing First They were bondslaves to a King of another Nation Sometimes Country and kindred sake moves compassion but being they are another people to whom I have no relation but only to serve my own turn of them it is no matter what becomes of them let become of them what will I will have my will satisfied Secondly They were bondslaves to a King that ruled by an arbitrary government there was but only his will for the Law he would impose what work and taskes he pleased how many bricks they should make and when he pleased take away their straw and yet tye them to the making of so many He governed them not by Law but by Will Thirdly They were in bondage under a cruell King for the King of Egypt in the Scripture is called a Dragon for his cruelty Ezek. 23. 3. I am against thee Pharaoh King of Egypt the great Dragon Fourthly They were in bondage to a King that was an unnaturall King unnaturall in this that whereas the predecessors of the Israelites had saved Egypt from perishing saved the King and his family from destruction yet now without any regard to what was done in former times by their predecessors having this power over them he oppresses them in such an unnaturall way so as not to care what becomes of them Fiftly they were in bondage under a King that extreamly hated them that is a sad thing The text saith Gen 43. 32. The Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews for that is abomination to to the Egyptians Sixtly They were in bondage under a wilfull King under one who was extreamly set upon his will we scarce read of any one that ever was so set upon his will as this King was therefore they expresse this in their song which they sung when they came out of Egypt Exod. 15. 9. blessing God that they were delivered from such a wilfull Prince as he was In the 9. ver four times he saith I will I will pursue I will overtake I will divide the spoile I will draw my sword and the 5. time my lust shall be satisfied upon them but of this before to be slaves to such a one so wilfull was a very hard condition the like wilfulnesse hath beene already noted of the King of Babylon and none the like to these two the Text speakes from their deliverance in part from under the King of Babylon also as if he should say you did sing when you came up out of Egypt merrily and joyfully because you were delivered from such a cruell wilfull King you shall sing so again for you shall be delivered again from as cruell and wilfull a King as he was for though not all the ten Tribes came back yet it was in part fulfilled by many of them Lastly They were in bondage under a suspicious and jealous King lest they should grow to a head and so rise against him one that thought he could not confide in them It is a sad thing when there are such suspitions between King and people or people and King that they cannot tell how to confide and trust one in another VVell might they sing therefore in the dayes of their youth when they came up out of the land of Egypt Thirdly They sang when they came up out of the land of Egypt because they were freed from what hindered them in the exercise of Religion Hence Moses told Pharaoh that they must goe three dayes journey in the wildernesse to sacrifice unto the Lord their God they could not sacrifie in Egypt therefore when they got freedome to sacrifice to God this being a great mercy they sang praises Fourthly They sang because their deliverance out of Egypt was wrought with a mighty hand The Lord hath triumphed gloriously hath been gloriously glorious so the words are And ver 6. 7. marke what the Text saith Thy right hand O Lord is become glorious in power The hand of God is God strength but the hand of God in power is a greater expression Thirdly Gods right hand in power Fourthly the right hand of God is glorious in power this is a mighty expression surely great was the work of God in their deliverance Yea and further ver 16. it is said by the greatnesse of his arme not onely Gods hand but his arme and the greatres of his arme was in this work And ver 7. In the greatnesse of thine excellency Mulititudine celsitudinis excellentiae superbiae elationis in the greatness of thine excellency in the multitude of thy height of thy elation of the lifting up of thy self in a kind of pride for the word that is translated excellency there signifies pride too Now God did this in the multitude of his excellency that is he did such a work toward his people as had a multitude of glorious works in it which if you could analyse anatomize you should find a multitude of glorious excellencies in it Well might they sing when God did manifest himself thus All these will afford us excellent and sweet observations by and by Further they sang when they came up out of the land of Egypt because this mercy was the fulfilling of a promise made long before Therefore the Scripture telleth us That at the end of 430. years even the selfe same day the hoasts of the Lord went out of the land of Egypt which hath reference to a promise and sheweth us that God kept his word to a very day Hence in vers 2. of that 15. of Exod. He is my God I will prepare him an habitation my fathers God and I will exalt him As if hee should have said O Lord thou didst make promises to our forefathers now thou hast fulfilled those promises thou art our God and our Fathers God This made them sing so merrily 6. It was a mercy that was got by much prayer for Exo. 3. 7. it is said they cryed unto God by reason of their afflictions there were many cries sent up to God before their deliverance and now being delivered this made them sing 7. It was a mercy that came after a sore and long bondage Lastly It was a mercy that they had in order to that great mercy of leading them into Canaan therefore this they mention as the especiall cause of the joy of their hearts in the 13. vers Thou hast guided thy people in thy strength to thy holy habitation and ver 17. thou shalt bring them in and plant them in the mountaine of thine inheritance The holy Ghost speaks here as if the thing were done already
you who are true Israelites but in your blessing God now let present mercies be to you but as streames to bring you to the fountaine Consider of all the mercies along till you come to the fountaine even that Covenant that God hath made with Israel A fourth is All former mercies to Gods people should help Faith in beleeving future mercies That is raised from hence Why doth the Prophet tell them or comming out of the land of Egypt He speaks of some mercy that was to come to Israel now hee names this coming out of the land of Egypt that he might helpe and strengthen their Faith in the beleeving of what mercy was to come As if he should say That God that hath wrought so wonderfully for you in delivering you out of the land of Egypt is able and willing to make good his word in granting to you deliverance for time to come We have excellent Scriptures for this as Psal 66. 6. He turned the sea into dry land they went thorough the flood on foot there did we rejoyce in him Marke they went thorough the flood and there did we rejoyce in him How did we rejoyce in him it was many hundred yeares after that we came to rejoyce But upon the manifestation of Gods great goodnesse to his people in former dayes our faith commeth to be strengthened in Gods mercies for our times and there did we rejoyce in him we did rejoice in the worke of God when they went thorough the Red-sea upon dry land for it is an argument of Gods mercy to us of the power goodnesse and faithfulnesse of God to us Another temarkable Text is Hos 12. 4. Hee had power over the Angel he found him in Bethel and there he spake with us Marke he had power over the Angel he found him in Bethel VVho was that It was Jacob who many years before but there he spake with us hee did not speake with Jacob onely but there hee spake with us that is whatsoever goodnesse the Lord did shew to Jacob in Bethel it concerned us for the strengthening of our faith Mat. 22. 31. 32. Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you saying I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob This was spoken to Moses many hundred yeares before but that expression of Gods grace then was a strengthening the faith of the godly when Christ spake and is the same to us now A fifth is where there is a proportion of mercies there ought to be a proportion of thankfulnesse They shall sing as they did in the day when they came out of Egypt I will grant unto you as great mercies as they had and I expect as great thankfulnesse from you as I had from them as they sung to my praise so must you sing too God sheweth as much mercy to you now as he hath done heretofore I appeale now to you nay God appeales to your consciences Is there a proportion of thankfulnesse as of mercies There hath been a time when you have sung to the praise of God when your hearts have been inlarged to give God praise why should it not be so now A sixt observation is deliverance out of Egypt is an ascending condition That ariseth from the words as they are in the Originall They shal ascend out of the land of Egypt so I told you the words were in the Hebrew as then God would never rest till he brought them up to Mount Zion so when God beginneth to deliver his people from Antichristian bondage they should never rest in their spirits untill they be got to the height of Reformation to the height of their deliverance that is to come to enjoy Gods Ordinances in his own wayes in the purity and the power of them This is our misery and our bâ—senesse that upon some little deliverance we presently are ready to rest whereas we should rise yet higher and higher and expect that God should goe on still with us and raise us in the wayes of mercy untill he hath brought us even to the top of Mount Zion Seventhly From the connection of these words with what followes They shall sing as in the day when they came up out of the land of Egypt and they shall call me Ishi and shall call me no more Baali for I will take even the very names of Baalim out of their mouths and they shall remember them no more that is there shall be a most glorious reformation they shal be delivered from all the remainders of their Idolatrous worship they shall not so much as remember their very names the Reformation shall be so perfect From thence the Observation is When God raiseth the spirits of people to rejoyce in his mercy then is the time for them if ever to set up a through Reformation then when their hearts are warmed inflamed and inlarged with the goodnesse of God unto them then is the time to cast out all the remainders of all superstition of all kinde of false worship I will give you two excellent Scriptures for this the one is Esay 30. 19. Thou shalt weep no more saith he he will be very gracious unto thee at the voyce of thy cry The Lord promiseth abundance of mercy he tells them that they shall weep no more he will be very gracious now marke what followeth in the 22. verse Ye shall defile the covering of thy graven Images of silver the ornaments of thy molten Images of gold thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth thou shalt say unto it Get thee hence The other Scripture is 2 Chron. 30. 26. there you finde that there was great joy in Jerusalem such joy as the text saith was not since the dayes of Solomon it was upon the celebration of their Passe-over there had not beene the like Marke then in the beginning of the next Chapter saith the text when all this was finished that is when they had celebrated a Passeover so full and had such abundance of joy such a joy as had not beene in Jerusalem since the time of Solomon Now all Israel went out to the Cities of Iudah and brake the Images in pieces and cut down the groves and threw down the high places and the Altars out of all Iudah Benjamin Their hearts were inflamed with the joy they had they went with resolution and brake down 〈◊〉 â—â—ages c. And marke it the Text saith it was 〈…〉 that did this 〈◊〉 went out into the Cities of Iudah and brake the the Images in pieces and threw down the high places the Altars out of all Iudah What had Israel to doe with Iudah Iudah and Israel were divided But now their hearts were so inflamed for God that they were not able to abide any false worship amongst their brethren though it belonged to Judah yet they would goe help their brethren to cast down all their Images and to cut down their Groves and
Apostle in that place and upon that ground it is made a sin You cannot saith he partake of the Table of the Lord aud the table of devils if you eat of their meat you communicate with them so it is sinne to you Thirdly To make use of any thing abused by Idolaters when it cometh to be a scandoll to our brethren a snare to those that are weake then it is a sin against God 1 Cor. 10. 28. eating meat offered to Idols is forbidden in the former place upon a ground of communicating but in this 28. ver it is forbidden upon the ground of scandoll that is enough Calvin in his Epistle to the Lord Protector in King Edwards dayes hath these words What other things were those ceremonies maintayned by in England but so many pleasing allurements that ensnare poore miserable soules bring them into evil certainly these that we have retayned have brought abundance of evil this way they have been the ensnaring of many souls In these three things the rules that concerne the Jews have a morality concerning us But yet these rules must be observed with some cautions or else we may goe away and not understand the ruels aright They must be understood first in things that are not Ordinances continued by God for certainly if it be an Ordinance that God hath appointed though Idolaters abuse it never so much we must goe on in it It is true the brazen serpent was an Ordinance of God but it was an Ordinance but for a time it was not a continued Ordinance and therefore being abused to Idolatry it was to be destroyed but when a thing is an Ordinance appointed by God to be continued in the Church we must go on in the use of it though it be abused As in Baptisme the ordinance is water though they abuse water we must continue the use of it in the ordinance in the Lords supper is the use of bread and wine though they abuse those elements we must continue them why because no abuse is an argument to refuse that which is a duty the subject of scandall is a thing indifferent but if it be an ordinance we must continue our obedience whether men be offended or not offended Secondly Neither can any of these rules hold in any thing that is of necessary use for the worship of God so as we cannot enjoy the worship of God without them As for places supose Idolaters have abused a place of meeting for Gods worship when we have no other place to meet in this is for the present at least of necessary use to Gods worship there is a naturall necessity of a place and if no other for the present may be had we are bound to worship in that place the abuse of men must not hinder Gods worship God hath never put his worship under the power of wicked men so as they should keep his people off from it when they please Thirdly If it be any ceremony that of its own nature not by vertue of any institution from man hath that decency in it as that the want of it would be an undecency then though it be never so much abused we are to goe on in it for it is the duty of Gods people to worship God in a decent way It is the rule of the Apostle Let all things be done decently but there is a mistake in that use that many make of that Scripture this rule is that which the light of nature teaches though we had never found it in Scripture it is not meant of such a decency as the institution of man puts upon a thing but such a decency as God in the nature of the thing puts upon it so that if it were wanting the worke would bee undecently performed But if the things be meerly mans inventions and institutions having their supposed decency not from what is indeed in the things themselves but from that which mans institution puts upon them then they come not under that rule of the Apostle but the abuse of them is argument enough for their rejection But it may be objected If we can instruct people what the abuse is and what right use they may make of such things will not that serve for the retaining them No certainly it had not been enough for the Jews to use the name Baali though their Prophets had taught them what the abuse of it was This is as if a man should keep a company of rags that have lien a great while upon plague sores and say it is enough I will wash them cleane and lay them out to ayre them will any wise man keep such rags in his house upon this precence Those things that have had poyson in them none will be so unwise to keep them by them upon pretence of washing them clean if they be broken vessels of which there is no use they are cast upon the dunghill with lesse trouble and more safety All things that are of mans invention yea those things that have beene Gods Ordinances but now are out of date are not for the present Gods Ordinances the Scripture calls them beggerly rudiments you cannot compare mens inventions to cloaths or any thing worth the ayring or keeping but the truth is all such things that have been abused to Idolatry are no other but as such dirty rags and plaisters laid upon plague-sores But further you will say If that use we receive them for be not the same use they were in if we retain them for another use that is good why may we not doe it The text answers that though the Jews should call God Baali in a right sense it was not enough they must wholly reject the very mentioning of the name But further suppose a harlot should be brought out of a most notorious stews in Rome or Paris and brought to Dover into an honest mans chamber is shee not a harlot still and is there not a provocation in her to uncleannesse though she become now to lye not in the stewes but in the chamber of an honest man So in all those things that have been abused to Idolatry though you should think you make use of them in a better way it is no other then to bring a harlot out of the stews into a place not so vile and to company with the harlot there Besides if a mans wife whom her husband had not without just cause suspected for uncleannesse with another man should get something from that man and keep it in her bosome or lay it next her heart and should tell her husband true she keeps such a thing but she intends no hurt in it it is a good thing onely she had it from him will this think you satisfie any jealous husband The Church is the wife of Christ he is jealous and he hath cause to be jealous for he knows while we are in the flesh we are prone to spirituall filthinesse and if we take any
with them that sweetnesse and makes firme the mercy when they goe up and down the field and the beasts come not upon them to destroy them they can looke upon their present safety as enjoying it in the Covenant You will say the wicked can walke up and down in the fields and the beasts not destroy them Though they doe yet a godly man hath more sweetnesse in this then he in that he can see this his safety from the Covenant when he rides a journey his beast is not made an instrument of Gods wrath to dash out his braines perhaps it is so with his wicked neighbour that rides with him but that from whence the preservation is is different it is a mercy to the godly man form the Covenant that God hath made with him to preserve him in all his wayes it is but generall providence to the other wicked men may have the same mercies for the matter of them that the godly have yet there is a kernell in the mercy which onely the Saints enjoy There are two things observable in a mercy comming by Covenant 1. It is more sweet 2. More firme More sweet Psal 25. 10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to such as keepe his covenant This is a sweet promise a soule-satisfying promise more worth then all the riches of your City even that one promise all the passages of Gods ordinary providence are mercy and truth to those that keepe his Covenant Marke perhaps they are mercies to you there is a generall bounty you have in your ordinary preservation but they are not Mercy and truth to you there is the addition they are Mercy and truth to the godly that is they are such mercies as are bound to them by Covenant Therein David rejoyceth therefore saith he in the beginning of the Psalme I will lift up my heart unto God as amongst other reasons so for this that all the paths of God are not onely mercy but mercy and truth You have beene preserved and have had many mercies from God Well they are Gods mercies unto you but are they mercies and truth to you that is Doe they come to you in a way of promise Looke to that there is the sweetnesse of a mercy and it is a good signe of a gracious heart to looke more to the Originall whence mercy commeth then to the outward part of the mercy Secondly They are more firme Esay 54. 10. The mountaines shal depart the hills be removed but my kindnesse shall not depart from thee Why For the Covenant of my peace shall not be removed That mercy that you have I give it in a way of Covenant and the hills and mountaines shall depart rather then that kindnesse of mine shall depart 5. Is it such a blessed thing for God to make a Covenant with the beasts for us VVhat a mercy is it then for God to make a Covenant with our soules the Covenant that God makes with his people is a Covenant in Christ there is mercy It is a very observable place we have Gen. 17. concerning Abraham you shal find there that in ten verses of that Chap. God repeateth his Covenant which he made with Abraham thirteen times to note thus much that that was the mercy indeed that must satisfie Abraham in all his troubles sorrowes and afflictions as if God should say be satisfied with this Abraham that I have entred into Covenant with thee and thy seed I am a God in Covenant with thee And 2 Sam. 23. 5. there is a notable Text Although saith David my house be not so with God as I desire as I expect yet the Lord hath made me an everlasting Covenant ordered in all things and sure for this is all my salvation all my desire although he make it not to growe Take this Scripture Christians take it I say and make use of it in these times of trouble though things doe not go as you desire yet say as David did yet the Lord hath made a Covenant with us ordered and sure in all things ands all our this isalvation and all our desire 6. Is this a mercy for God to make a Covenant with the beasts for his people what a mercy is it then for God to make a Covenant with his Son for his people It is that we are to blesse god for that he will make a Covenant with brute beasts for our good but that God will make a Covenant with his owne son for our good for our eternall good That God should bring the second person in Trinity to be the head of the Covenant for us what a mercy is this Tit. 2. 1. the Apostle speaks there of eternall life that was promised before the world began Why what promise was there ever made before the world began to whom was this promise made who was there before the world began for God to make any promise unto It was onely the Son of God the second person in Trinity and there was a most blessed transaction between God the Father and God the Son for our everlasting good before the world began and upon that dependeth all our salvation and our hope When we reade the promises of the Gospel that the Lord hath given to us as branches of the Covenant of grace made with us we are ready to think we are poore weake creatures we cannot keepe Covenant with God we cannot performe the conditions of the Covenant But Christians know this thy peace the salvation of thy soul doth not depend so much upon a Covenant God hath made with thee as upon the Covenant he hath made with his Son there is the firmenesse the original the foundation of all thy good thy salvation and though thou art a poore weake creature that doth not keepe Covenant with the Lord yet the Son of God hath kept Covenant with the Father and hath perfectly performed all conditions the Father required of him the worke hath been perfected by the Son and here is our comfort Raise your drooping hearts by this meditation The second part of this peace and that is a promise of deliverance from hoftility from the enemy I will breake the bow and the sword and the battell out of the earth First Peace is a great blessing it is a great mercy to have the bow and the sword broke It is a part of the Covenant that God makes with his people to take away the instruments of hostility Esay 2. 4. God promiseth the breaking of swords into plough-shares and spears in pruning hooks You finde the contrary when God threatneth judgement to a people Joel 3. 10. he threatneth thus to beate their plongh-shares into swords and their pruning hooks into spears then they are in a sad condition It is a great deale better that their swords should be beaten into plow-shares then that the plow-shares should be beaten into swords that the speares should be made pruning hooks then that pruning
we ary himself is it not better to lye down upon the soft grasse then to tyre himselfe in combating but if this man lye down he hath his throat cut by his enemy hath this man thinke you done wisely for himself to prevent trouble he hath lost his life If we should be so weary of present troubles as to lye downe to have our throats cut by our adversaries shall the generation to come commend either our wisdome or valor It is true when a stream runneth strong you cannot expect to stopp that streame but there will be some trouble in doing it And the truth is that war that is now oâ— foot with us though it hath much trouble in it and many of our brethren suffer many hard things by it yet let us know it is but to stop a streame of misery that was comming upon us and it is better to undergoe some difficulties in the stopping the streame then to be quiet and so let it overflow us till all be past recovery Our adversaries cry out that we are enemies to peace and they all for peace that is they would have us to be so quiet as to let them doe what they list they would faine have us so to love peace as to give up our strength to them to be irrecoverably under their power Therefore let this generation be wise for great things depend upon these present affaires of the kingdome that concerne not only their own outward comfort but the glory of God and the good of their posterity to many generations after I will breake the bow and the sword c. It is God that bringeth peace as he pleaseth it is a great blessing and it is Gods peculiar work to bring this blessing We may treat and treat about peace but untill God pleaseth to give a commission for peace it will not be If God commeth in with exceptions our treaties and our plots will never do the work I will breake the bow saith God Jer. 47. 6. O thou sword of the Lord how long will it be ere thou be quiet put up thy selfe into thy scabbard rest and be still The sword answers How can I be quiet seeing the Lord hath given me a charge against Askelon c. Till God give a commission to the sword it cannot rest and be still Job 34. 29. When he giveth quietnesse who then can make trouble and when he hideth his face who then can behold him whether it be against a nation or a man onely If he cause trouble who can make quietnesse Oh no none can It is God that is to be looked at in breaking of treaties it is God that hardneth the hearts of men that they shall not make peace untill his time come Iosh 11. 19. 20. a most remarkable text There was not saith the text a City that made peace with the children of Israel save the inhabitants of Gibeon for it was of the Lord to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battell that they might utterly be destroyed Of all the Cities in Canaan that Gods people came against though Gods hand was very remarkable in going along with them working many miracles for them yet the Text observeth that there was none that would make peace with them only Gibeon why for was of the Lord to harden their hearts to come against Israel in bat tell that they might utterly be destroyed God intended to destroy them therefore God hardened them that they should not make peace with his people God is the Prince of peace therefore he disposeth of it as he will Many devices may be in the hearts of men they have many plots and contrivances but the counsell of the Lord shall stand Psalm 29. 11. The Lord sitteth upon the floods yea the Lord sitteth King for ever The Lord will give strength to his people the Lord will blesse his people with peace That is not the peace for God to blesse his people with for which they must lay open their throats to be cut and betray his cause God need give no strength for this but Gods way is to give strength to his people and then to blesse them with peace We love peace but let us look to have our peace thorow the strength of God put those together the Lord hath promised it do you pleade this promise though we seem weak yet the Lord will give his people strength and so he will blesse his people with peace We must work our peace by improving Gods strength not thinke to get peace by a sluggish complyance a base unworthy yeelding to our adversaries Jer. 14 19. We looked for peace it seemes they were in some treaties and there is no good for healing and behold trouble all their treaties came to nothing But mark what follows ver 20. We acknowledge O Lord our wickednes the iniquity of our fathers O Lord we dwell amongst people that are set on fire we speake of peace yea when they speake of peace they have mischiefe in their hearts O Lord our wickednesse and the iniquity of our fathers is great O Lord pardon our iniquity This is the way to have peace to make up our peace with God Thirdly Thorough Reformation is the way to bring peace Mark how it riseth They shall call me no more Baali then will I break the bow when they shall break of throughly their Idolatry then will I break the bow the sword so long as they worship false gods war shall be in their gates but when they shall throughly reforme and set up my worship in that way that I wil have then will I break the bow That is the way if we could trust God for it Here is our baseness that we will not trust God in this way of peace we are ready think that reformation will bring disturbance O no reformation is the way to a thorow peace Let our wisdomes be pure and then certainly it will be peaceable We have a most excellent Scripture for this Isa 33. 20. Jerusalem is there promised to be a quiet habitation what followeth ver 22. For the Lord is our judge the Lord is our law-giver the more we entertain him as judge our lawgiver the more peace we shall have Isa 9. 7. Of his government peace there shal be no end When the government of Christ commeth then cometh peace Zach. 6. 13. He shal rule upon his throne be a Priest upon his throne the counsel of peace shal be between them both that is advance Christ in his Kingly Office as well as in his priestly Office then there shal be a counsell of peace VVhat is the reason that the counsell of peace hath not prevayled to this day We have cause to feare they have not beene set betweene both betweene the Kingly Office and Priestly Office of Christ to advance them both Esay 32. 17. 18. The works of righteousnesse shal be peace and the
is a choyce mercy it is a fruite of the Covenant This mercy the Lord promiseth Pro. 3. 23. Then shalt thou walke in thy way safely thy foot shall not stumble Mark the 24 ver When thou lyest down thou shalt not be afraid yea thou shalt lye down and thy sleepe shall be sweet be not afraid of sudden feare for the Lord shall be thy confidence c. This made good to one in these dayes is a Text worth gold indeed So Ps 107. 3. So doth the Lord give his beloved rest others they labour and toyle and they eate the bread of carefulnes and are mightily perplexed but so doth the Lord give his beloved rest that is the Lord takes away care and thought from his beloved and gives them rest so that they can lye downe quietly as it were in his bosome There is a false â—est and security of the wicked when they make a covenant with death and with hell as Esay 28. 16. Ye have said we have made a covenant with death with hel when the overflowing scourge shal passe through it shall not come unto us for we have made lyes our refuge and under falshood have we hid our selves This text is as proper a text to our adversaries as any I know in the Scripture they promise to themselves all security and safety they make a Covenant with hell death but how they make lyes their refuge and under falshood have they hid themselves Here is a security and it is by a covenant with hell death but this Text holds forth a lying down safely by vertue of another Covenant even the Covenant of God therefore it followes ver 16. Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone a tryed stone aprocious corner stone a sure foundation he that believeth shall not make haste It is an Observable Text concerning our times there is a security upon that ground the overflowing scourge will breake down all but saith God I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone a tryed stone a precious corner stone a sure foundation he that believeth shal not make haste you may be secure though your enemies doe vaunt themselves and will boast in their own wayes they have made a covenant with hell death yet for you I lay in Zion a stone a sure foundation he that believeth shall not make haste Although God doth not come with his deliverance for the present yet you who believe quiet your selves lye downe safely and do not make haste A horse saith the Scripture Psal 33. 17. is a vaine thing for safety they trust in the creature ver 18. but behold the eye of the Lord is upon them that feare him they have a greater safety then if they had Troopes of horses lye about them to defend them and ver 20. Our soule waiteth for the Lord he is our help our shield so Pro. 21. 31. The horse is prepared against the day of battel but safety is of the Lord. Let us the resore cry with the Psalmist Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance vpon us then will we lye down in peace sleep for thou only makest us dwell in safety Would you have quiet sleepe in these troublesome times make your peace with God if there be peace within then you may lye downe safely notwithstanding all the rumors and tumults of war abroad but if there be no peace in the heart though you should live to see outward peace your sins would dog you they would pursue you the terrours of the Almighty would be upon you and you should not have one nights rest But Lord what is all this except we may have communion with thy selfe except we may have communion with JESUS CHRIST This is the voice of a gracious heart therefore follows that blessed promise as a further fruite of the Covenant that God would make with his people saith the Lord I will betroth thee unto my selfe I will be yours too there shall be a most blessed union and conjugall communion between you and me you shall enjoy me in all the sweetnesse and love that the wife enjoyeth the husband in though you have most wretchedly departed from me yet behold I will betroth you unto me in righteousnesse and in judgement in loving kindnesse and iu mercies The Seventeenth Lecture HOSEA 2. 19. 20. And I will betroth thee unto me for ever yea I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness and in judgement in loving kindnes in mercies I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness thou shalt know the Lord. BUt how betroth this phrase seems to be very strange she had been the wife of God before and was gone a whoring from him though God should be reconciled to her one would have thought it should rather have been I will receive you againe No but I will betroth you The reason of the phrase is to note that God would receive her with that love as if she had been a pure virgin and he would never upbraid her former departing from him you have beene an adulteresse beare your shame but for my own Names sake I will be content to receive you again No but I will beâ—roth you unto me you shall be as now taken to me and your sins shall be no more remembred they shall be as if they had never been committed When God pardoneth sin he will remember it no more the Lord will never charge upon sinners their former sins And if God will not remember the sins of his people of his repenting people to charge them upon them we should not remember them to up brayd them for them what ever they have been before if now converted it is too much boldnesse in any of us to upbraid them for any of their former sins I remember Beza tells of himselfe that the Papists upbraided him much for the sinnes of his youth for his lascivious Poems he made before his conversion but Beza answers them thus Hi homines invident mihi graciam divinam these men envy me the grace of God I will betroth thee unto mee yea I will betroth thee unto me I will even betroth thee unto me The repenting Church might say How is it possible that such an adulteresse who hath been so vile who hath been so impudent in her wayes of forsaking the blessed God her glorious husband who hath so long continued in filthy whordoms should yet expect to receive mercy What this mercy to be betrothed to God to be taken as if she were a chast Spouse before him Yes saith God I will do it and therefore it is repeated three times for the assurance of the humbled repenting Church that God will again betroth himselfe unto her and that with some Emphasis I will betroth yea I will betroth even I will betroth there is betrething and betrothing and betrothing and I and I and I shewing how much the heart of God is in this thing As if God
Gods care saith Bernard which is beyond providence such as is out of faithfulnes as well as out of love Christ here condescends to his Spouse as a man is willing to give satisfaction to his wife her friends though the truth is he would doe any thing in the world out of love to his wife yet in regard of her weaknesse and to satisfie some friends he is content to enter into bond to do any thing that is fitting it is good to make all things sure before-hand say her friends he presently yeilds for it is no other but what he is willing to doe without bonds onely to satisfie her and their minds Thus it is between Christ and his Spouse The truth is the love of Christ is enough to make a supply of any of our wants but wee are weake and would faine have things made sure therefore saith Christ to helpe our weakeness I will even enter into bond and you may be sure I will be faithfull then I will binde my faithfulnes to you for all the good you would have And this faithfulnesse of Christ is either in regard of the great Marriage-Covenant there hee will be sure to be faithfull to his Spouse Or in regard of all particular promises that are under things as it were There is the great marriage-covenant about reconciling God and paying all debts that are owing and satisfying Gods justice and bringing to eternall life but there are many under-promises and Christ will be faithfull in them all Ps 25. 10. you have a promise worth a kingdome All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth not onely mercy but mercy and truth mercy ingaged VVicked men may have mercy from God from the generall bounty and goodnesse and mercifull disposition of God but what the Saints have is from â—ruth as well as from mercy it is bound to them God stands much upon this that the hearts of his Saints should confide in him He accounts not himselfe honoured except we confide in him therefore marke how Christ suiteth himselfe unto our weaknesse that wee may confide in his faithfulnesse What is it saith he that you poore creatures do one to another when you would make things sure betweene you Wee answer thus Lord we ingage our selves by promise one to another I will do so saith Christ you shall have my promise my faithfull promise Acts 2. 39. Peter invites to Baptisme upon this ground because the promise is made to you and to your children and to as many as the Lord our God shal call The first he speakes to the Jews the other to the Gentiles As if he should say Come in and receive Baptisme for to you and to your children the promise is made to you that are Jews and to your children and to the Gentiles they have the promise that you have they come under the same Covenant for the maine the promise is to them and to their children too And this promise that Christ hatâ—ing aged himself in is no other then a draught of that which was before the world began from all eternity and therefore it is so much the more sure Tit. 1. 2. the Gospell is called a promise before the world began All promises in the Scripture are but a draught of that grand promise that God the Father made to his Son before the world began As if Christ should say Will you have engagement by promise This is past long agoe my Father hath engaged himself to me from all eternity if you have any promise it is but a draught of that first copie of that great promise my Father hath made me from all eternity VVhat doe you doe more when you would make things sure one to another VVe answer we doe not onely make a verball promise by word of mouth but we write it God hath therefore given us his Scripture and the chiefe thing in Scripture is the promise God hath set to his hand to his promise in Scripture Hence Luther hath a notable expression The whole Scripture doth especially aim at this that we should not doubt but believe confide hope that God is mercifull kind patient VVhat do you more Here you have my promise and my hand is there any thing else you use to do to make things sure VVe answer Lord wee take witnesses I will do so too saith God VVhen we would make things sure indeed we take not only two but three or four but half a dozen witnesses sometimes You shall have witnesses saith God as many as you will witnesses of all sorts witnesses in heaven witnesses in earth In heaven I Iohn 5. 7. The Father the Word and the holy Ghost witnesses authenticall of credit enough the three Persons in the Trinity upon earth the spirit the water and the blood What do you more to make a thing sure Lord we set to our seales too you shall have that too saith God you shall have seals of all sorts you shall have the broad seale of Heaven the Sacraments the seals of the Covenant and you shall have my privie seale I will take my Ring off my finger I will give you even the seale of the spirit and do but shew this seale it is authenticall enough Is there any thing more Yes we answer there is one thing more we take an oath I will do that too saith God that you may be sure and confide in my faithfulnesse Heb. 6. 17. God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his councell consirmed it by his oath As if he should say there is no such need of an oath but I will be abundant to you because I would have you trust mee And mark this is for the sake of the heirs of promise God would never have done this for other men it is for your sakes onely who are the heirs of promise in regard of your weaknesse he conrfims all with an oath And if wee would have things sure wee will not have the oath of such as are of no great credit Mark therefore it is that God sweareth and that by the greatest oath ver 13. Because he could sweare by no greater saith the text he sware by himselfe Is there any thing more saith God that you use to do among your selves to make things sure Yes Lord we use to take a pawn too You shall have that too saith he I will give you a pawn and such a pawn as if you never had any thing more you would be happie what is that 2 Cor. 1. 22. Who hath sealed us and given us the earnest of his spirit in our hearts I will send my spirit to be an earnest of all the good that I intend to do for you everlastingly Is there any thing else you would require of me that you may confide in me Yes if God would doe some great notable work as a beginning as an ingagement of that which is to come after this is yet more then a
of condescension with them though they bee unfaithfull to him yet he will be faithfull to them Oh my brethren this point hath abundance of sweetnes in it take heed of abusing it Thy sins cannot overcome Gods goodnesse let Gods goodness overcome thy wickednesse And they shal know the Lord They shal know that I am the Lord so the Septuagint hath it so the old Latin thou shalt know because I am the Lord but we rather reade it as it is in your bookes They shall know the Lord. But how comes this in In faithfulnesse and they shall know the Lord. Thus upon these two reasons First because this shall be the means to keepe the Church the Spouse of Christ in faithfulnesse for ever they shall know Christ to be the Lord. As if Christ should say The reason of all your vile departings from me all this while what is it you doe not know me you doe not see into the bounty and glory into the excellency of my worship and what I am that is the reason you are gone from me and have been unfaithfull to me but when I betroth you my self again you shall know me you shall see so much beauty and excellency in me mine Ordinances that you shall never depart from me Low thoughts of God are the cause of superstitious vanities Had men high and honourable thoughts of God they would never thinke to put him off with such bauble-worship as they do Acts 9. 7. it is said the God of glory appeared to Abraham that is given as a ground why Abraham would forsake his Countrey his fathers house and his kindred if we once knew the Lord and that the God of glory had appeared to us we would be ready to forsake all for him and give up our selves unto him in an everlasting covenant Secondly And they shall know me This is as a fruit of my betrothing my self unto them as a fruite of the Covenant Jer. 31. 34. They shal teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity c. It is a fruit of the conjugall union betwixt Christ and the soul As it is betwixt man and wife when they are but only suitors well willers they do not communicate their secrets one to another but when they once come to be marryed together then they open all their hearts there is no secret but they will disclose one to another So saith God when I am once marryed to you I will open my whole heart to you the secret of the Lord is with them that feare him Those that have but natural knowledge understands something of the wayes of Religion of the minde of Christ As a man that is in the dark may know where he is by feeling he may know what length and thickness many things in the house are of but when the light of the day comes then hee knowes what the â—â—is in the roome after another manner then he did in the darke this is the difference betweene knowledge of God in a natural man and the knowledge of one espoused to Christ by his naturall knowledge he may understand the hystory of the Gospell he may have some generall notions of God and of Christ but when the Sun of righteousnesse ariseth then be sees the excellency and glory of God then he sees God shining in all his attributes he sees that in Christ which drawes his heart unto him in an everlasting Covenant As we reade Cant. 7. 5. Christ is held in the galleries that is Christ assoone as he is marryed to the foule takes it as it were by the hand and walkes into the Galleries and there openeth his heart unto her There is many a sweet turne that a gracious heart hath with Christ in his ordinances wherin Christ openeth even his whole soul unto it Joh. 15. 15. All things saith Christ that I have heard of my Father I have made knowne unto you An admirable Text surely you cannot but know the Lord then Here is the fruit of our union with Christ Oh that our hearts were inflamed with desire after further conjugall communion with him according to the capacity of the soul so Christ makes knowne to it what he hath heard of the Father Certainly Christ hath heard great things of the Father he is the wisdome of the Father he hath been with the Father from all eternity and the Father loves him he will tell him all the glorious things he hath in his heart and Christ will hide none of those things from his Saints This is the priviledg of a Saint who would not be godly by which he shall come to know the minde of the Father according to what Christ knowes of it Yea and Christ makes God known to the Saints in another way then others know him 2 Sam. 7. 27. Thou O Lord God of Hosts hast revealed unto thy servant so you reade it in your bookes but it is in the Hebrew Lord thou hast revealed this to the eare of thy servant I wonder how that word to the eare comes to be left out in your books in which indeed the emphasis lye I am sure it is so in the Text. When God makes known himselfe to his people he revealeth things to their Eare as we to a friend who is intimate with us we speake a thing to his eare There is many a secret which JESUS CHRIST speakes in the eart of his Saints which others never come to be made acquainted with 2 Cor. 4. 6. God who commanded the light to shine out of darknes hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledg of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ It would aske time for the full opening the gradations of this Scripture here is knowledg the knowledg of the glory of God the light of the knowledg of the glory of God and shining and shining into our hearts and into our hearts in the face of Jesus Christ Surely then they shall know the Lord and they shall know him in a very spirituall way The light of the Saints is a light three story high First they have the light of nature which other men have the light of reason Secondly they have the light of common gifts which other men have too and that is a story higher then the other Thirdly they have the light of a sanctifying spirit that is a third loft and they shall come to a fourth story and that is the light of glory The light that other men have is but as the light you have in a lower room in ware-houses which in some you know is so little that you are faine to use a candle at noone day so some natural men have onely the light of reason which indeed is rather like your cellars that have but a little light
I will sow thee there shall come a blessing upon thee and though thou beest scattered up and down in the earth yet in all places thou shalt be as seed from whence my Church shall spring Hence the notes are First that Gods people are the seed of the earth But of that before in the latter end of the first Chapter onely I will adde a note of Ribera about it The seed saith he lies under the clods and at length fructifies so should the Saints be content to lie under the clods and though they may seem in regard of their afflicted condition to be dead to be rotten yet they shall be glorious and fructifie afterward Before the time of the Churches glory times of great calamity and distresse come which this rotting of the seed before the fructifying sets out unto us Secondly every godly man should so live as either in life or death hee should be as a seed from whence many may spring he should be a meanes that many should be begotten to God It is reported of Cicilia in the history of the Church a poore Virgin that by her gracious behaviour in her mattyrdome she was the means of converting four hundred to Christ As in the Indies one corn bringeth forth divers hundreds so we should labour to convert as many as wee can that some that live after may continue to beare up the name of Christ and the profession of his truth Especially be carefull of your children leave them as seed to hold up the name of God in thy family when thou art dead and gone And further I will sow her to my selfe The Saints are sowen unto Christ they are seed for Christ therefore all their fruit must be given up unto Christ Christ must have all the fruit we bear who should have the fruit but he that soweth it Therefore Cant. 7. 13. All manner of pleasant fruits new old which I have laid up for thee O my beloved Are we able to bear any fruit Let us lay it up all for Jesus Christ for it is he that soweth us unto himselfe we must not sow to our selves not to the flesh for then wee shall reap corruption but all for Christ And I will shew mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy Divers things about Gods shewing mercy after rejection were spoken of in the first Chap. Only these notes for the present There are none so rejected as that they can conclude that they shall never have mercy those that have committed the sinne against the holy Ghost excepted though Israel had not obtained mercy though they were cast out yea cast out to the beasts to be devoured yea saith God I will shew mercy upon her 2. Children of wicked parents may at length obtain mercy from God Though Israel be cast off yet her children shall have mercy A comfort to us in regard of the Idolatry of our fore fathers yea a comfort in the regard of the children that are to come Our fore fathers have broken the Covenant why may not we obtaine mercy But suppose we should be the generation of Gods wrath and not obtaine mercy yet we may have hope that the posterity following shall have mercy Thirdly Mercy after it is thought to be past if then it come Oh it is sweet mercy indeed when she seemed to be utterly rejected then to have mercy shewed this is sweet Fourthly Mercy is the cause of all the good the Saints have One Scripture for it Psal 57. 3. Send from heaven saith David David was in the Cave in a poor condition hunted for his life persecuted by Saul I see little hope from earth saith he therefore O Lord send from heaven What shall God send Angels from heaven to deliver thee David No but mark what followeth God shal send forth his mercy his truth as if he should say Lord though I have no help in earth though I see no Angels from heaven to helpe me yet let me have thy mercy and truth and that is enough This satisfies a gracous heart if he may have Gods mercy and his truth that is Gods mercy revealed in a promise Lastly God hath a speciall day of mercy for his people for his Churches I will have mercy upon her that hath not obtained mercy Let us cry to God for the hastening of this day let us open the miseries of our own Kingdome and of Ireland Oh when shall this day come that thou wilt shew mercy to thy owne people which thou hast told us of Oh that that day may hasten Come Lord Jesus come quickly And I will say to them which were not my people This is that we had in the first Chapter onely with some differences there it is In the place where it was said yee are not my people And I shewed you when I opened that place both out of the Romanes and out of Peter how the Apostle makes use both of that in the first Chapter and this here in the second onely take a hint of the truths in it First God hath a special interest in his people they are his people they are called his peculiar people Tit. 2. 14. The word hath this emphasis in it God lookes upon all other things as accidents in comparison and his substance is his people they are his very portion as Deut. 33. 19. and Exod. 19. 5. they are his peculiar treasure above all people in the world and Esay 19. 25. Assyria the worke of my hands and Israel mine inheritance I have made all people but Israel is mine inheritance This is the happines of the Saints therefore they are not as other people are Num. 23. 9. This people shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned among the Nations this is a great ground of prayer Lord leave us not we are thy people called by thy name we have an interest in thee Againe This is an argument to walke so as God may not be dishonored by us for we are his people If those in a mans family walke disorderly it is a dishonour to the Master of the family it is no dishonour to him for a stranger or one who hath little reference to him to walke disorderly It is not so much dishonour to God for the wicked to walke disorderly as for the Saints in regard of their neerenesse to God And besides their light is as I told you three story high and if they sin they sin against a greater light then others doe their sin is greater then the sinne of the wicked in that regard Further I will say to them which were not my people thou art my people I will own them before all the world It is a great mercy for God to make it knowne to the world that his people are his people The world will not beleeve it they think they are a poor contemptible people but there shall come a day that I will make it knowne they are
two hundred years before he wrote his Antiquities that was an hundred and five years before Christ but it appears that they had no Vrim and Thummim long before that time for at their return from captivity Ezra 2. 63. the Tirshatha that is the Ruler said unto them that they should not eate of the most holy things till there stood up a Priest with Vrim and Thummim therefore they had not then a Priest with Urim and Thummim they expected to have one but whether ever they had one after it is not know This was the reason of that complaint of Asaph Psa 74. 9. We see not our signes there is no more any Prophet neither is there any among us that knoweth how long that is a grievous complaint Now it is like that Psalme was made about the very time of their return from captivity for Ezra 2. 41. Asaph is named among those that came to Jerusalem from the captivity The singers the children of Asaph an hundred twenty and eight But let it be then or after by this Psalme wee may finde that it was a very lamentable complaint to be without Urim and Thummim The result of all is that it is a grievous thing to the Saints that in the time of their strait they donoâ— know Gods mind At any time when God brings his people into straits yet if they can know the mind of their God they are refreshed and encouraged but when they shall seeke to know Gods minde and the Lord resuseth to discover it to them this is a sad condition indeed I find one note more of Jeroms about their being without an Ephod We may observe saith he the hardness of the hearts of the Jews that they should be so many hundred years without sacrifice and without Ephod without the true worship of God among them and ways to know Gods mind and yet they are not guilty of any greater sin then the sin of Idolatry except it be of the killing of JESUS CHRIST that they should not reason thus what sin is it that thus provokes God against us more then ever he was provoked Surely there is some greater sinne then ever yet we have committed but saith he they can never finde any other offence beside the killing of Christ to be a greater offence then Idolatry and yet they have a greater judgement upon them then ever they had though they are not guilty of that sinne as they were formerly surely were they not extreamly hardned they would be convinced that all this is because of our rejecting crucifying Christ the Son of God As they had the Ordinances of God so they had wayes of false worship of their owne Images and Teraphim I must shew you what those were and then how it is a threatning that they should be without those Image That seemeth to refer to the two calves they had set up in Dan Bethel which they so much gloryed and rejoyced in they should be taken away Teraephim that likewise should be taken away Now if you aske what this Teraphim was in the general Taraph is a divining image as the Ephod was Gods Ordinance to know the minde of God by so the Teraphim was a way of the Devil an idolatrous way to know things that were to come It was an Image made after this fashion so I finde those that write of it tell us The Teraphim was the image of the head of a man wrung off his body salted and bespiced with precious spices and then upon this head there was a plate of gold with the name of that spirit they would divine by or as some the name of the uncleane spirit was to be put un der the tongue of this head and this being set upon a wall there were burning candles and incense offered to it and that under the constellation of some star and so enquiring to know something that was to come by it the devill was used to answer and to tell them of such things as were to come it was an oracle of the devil that told them what successe they should have in this or the other businesse sometimes it hit right See the superstition of the Jewes they desired much to know the minde of God now because they were afraid they should not know all by the Ephod which was the ordinance of God they would joyne with the Ephod the Teraphim From hence there is this profitable note It is a very great and fearfull evil for men in searching to know any thing of Gods mind not to keep themselves to Gods ways of knowledg to Gods own Ordinances It concerneth us much now at this day We are about enquiring the mind of God that wee may know it about matters concerning the Common-wealth but more especially about Religion I suppose there is none of us but will acknowledge that way that God hath appointed for the revealing of his will in the Scripture that we must look into the Scripture and seek to know Gods minde there that is good but let us not joyne Teraphim with it then do we joyne Teraphim when we rest not upon Scripture alone but search after rules of mans devising and what will stand with our own carnal ends The Lord may justly meet with us in wrath if we presume to joyne our Teraphim with his Ephod Pray that at this day where there is so much searching after Gods mind that those who are employed in it may keepe themselves to the Ephod to the Scriptures to that which is Gods Ordinance for the revealing his minde that they may not joyne the Teraphim their own fancies and inventions of men with the Scriptures so long as we keepe to that rule we may hope to do well enough but if the Teraphim be joyned with the Ephod if any thing be joyned with the Scriptures though it may seeme to be never so rationall we have cause to feare God will leave us We finde this word Teraphim used sometime in Scripture for the image of any man as 1 Sam. 19. 13. when Michael took an image and laid it in the bed instead of David the word in the Hebrew is Teraphim so when Rachel stole away her fathers images the word is she stole away her fathers Teraphim and some thinke they were her fathers Divining Images that she did rather steale those then any others because she would not have her father Divine which way they were gone Zachar. 10. 2. it is said the Idols have spoken vanity the word is the Teraphim By which we may see they were wont to aske of their Idols about their successes And sometime wee find in Scripture that Idolatry is called by this name as 1. Sam. 15. 23. stubbornnesse is as Idolatry the word is is as Teraphim But here comes in the question God threatneth to take away the Sacrifice and the Ephod that plainly is a threatning but how is this a part of the threatning to take away the Image
and make us look up to free grace not take us off from the practise of any but from relying upon any onely to rely upon free grace in Christ As this is the supernaturall seeking God so it is the most powerfull way of seeking him It is not enough to seeke God by vertue of a promise except vve seek him by vertue of Christ who is the foundation of all the promises VVe seek him because he is mercifull that is one way yea we seek him because he hath promised mercy this is a higher degree but we must go higher yet we must look to his Son in whom all the promises are Yea Amen otherwise though we seek him never so earnestly though we chalenge his promises and cry to him to remember his promises yet if we do not act our faith upon his Son wee may misse in all And herein we sanctifie that great name of God in that which is the great work of his his master-piece as we may say or the great designe hee hath to honour himself in the world here and everlastingly hereafter Certainely though God hath made the creature for his own glory expects we should honour him in beholding him in the creature yet the great design God hath to honour himselfe in and by is in that glory of his that is manifested in his Son to have the children of men behold this his glory and reflect it upon his own face except you give God his glory in this he cares not much for what soever glory you can give him otherwise You must not therfore expect when you seek God that you must have good things from him meerly because he is mercifull you must not thinke that the mercy of God serveth to eike out our righteousnesse Perhaps some will say it is true we are poor sinfull creatures and what can wee expect from God being fin full but we hope that God will pardon our sin and so will accept of the poor services that we perform This is the way that most goe they do as it were imploy Gods mercy in such a worke that God never intended it for that is they would make the mercy of God to eike out their owne righteousnesse and so both put together they think they will serve to be a means of atonement No you mistake Gods mercy the worke of Gods mercy is not this but it is to shew us our unrighteousnesse our misery our unclearnesse to shew us Jesus Christ to draw our hearts to him to emptie us of our selves that wee may wholly rely upon that righteousnesse that is by faith in him and tender up that to the Father for sanctification and attonement that is the work of Gods mercy when it hath this work then it hath the true genuine work indeed The fifth is why here added King True wee must seeke the Lord and Christ but why Christ the King The reason is because Christ in the latter dayes shall be fully honoured in his Kingly power they shall looke upon him not only as Prophet and Priest but as King Hitherto Christ hath bin much honoured in his Propheticall and Priestly office but not so much in his Kingly but in the latter dayes when God shall call home his people the Jewes then Christ shall be fully honoured in his Kingly office The Tabernacle of Christ was raised in the Primitive times according to that speech of St. James we had before Acts 15. 16. God shall raise the tabernacle of David hee puts it as fulfilled then but there is a time when God shall not only raife the tabernacle of David but the throne of David Christ the King shall appeare in glory Ezek. 37 24 25. And David my servant shall be King over them It was spoken upon the union that there should be between Judah and Israel then David my servant shall be King over them David was dead a great while before there is a time that David must again be King that is Christ upon the union of all the Tribes together And againe David shall be Prince for ever when they are brought againe into their owne land David shall be Prince over them for ever saith the Text surely this prophesie is yet to be fulfilled And Luke 1. 32. The Lord shall give him the throne of his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and of his kingdome there shall be no end I know we usually think that this is meant only of his spirituall reign but there is a mistake in it certainly there is to be a fulfilling of this prophesie in a reign that shall outwardly appeare before the children of men which will appea more in comparing this with other Scriptures Revel 11. 15. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of the Lord his Christ and so he shall reign for ever and ever VVhy in a spirituall sense the kingdoms of this world are always the kingdomes of the Lord and of Christ but there is spoken of some famous notable time when the kingdomes of this world shall appeare to be the Lord and his Christs and then he shall reigne for ever and ever after another manner then now he doth Revel 3. 21. To him that overcometh will I give to sit with me in my throne as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne Mark this Text as one of the most notable of any wee have That kingly rule that Christ hath for the present is upon his Fathers throne he is not yet upon his own in comparison of what he shall be the kingdome that Christ hath now is the joynt reigne of him with the Father but there is a time for Christ to have a Throne himselfe Now that Throne of Christ it may be you will thinke it is in heaven at the day of judgement but we finde 1 Cor. 15. 24. that at that day he comes to refigne the kingdome the words do not seeme to import as if hee came to take it but that then hee doth give up the kingdome unto God the Father therefore there is a time for Christ himself to have a Throne with whom the Saints shall reign Matth. 21. 9. The children cryed out Hosanna to the sonne of David because they looked upon the sonne of David as one who was to reign In these latter dayes CHRIST shall breake the Kings of the earth who stand against him as indeed many yea most of the Kings of the earth have ever stood out to hinder this kingdome of his There will be a mighty shaking of the kingdoms of the earth when this shall be Heb. 12. 26. Whose voyce then shook the earth but now he hath promised saying yet once more I shake not the earth onely but also the heaven quoted out of Hag. 2. 6. 7. God in giving the law shooke the earth but he will shake the earth and the heavenâ— which some Interpreters expounds thus not only the meaner power of
other fear makes the heart to have hard thoughts of God take heed for ever of that feare of God that makes you to have hard thoughts of him In times of danger many begin to feare then presently they wish they had never ingaged themselves so much in these wayes that have such ill successe they now cry out of others you would needs do thus you see what is become of it But feare of God and his goodnesse is joyned with blessing God that ever you knew his waâ—es and were ingaged in them This shall be in the latter dayes God is content to stay for his glory untill the latter dayes that which is indeed his chiefe glory for though in these former dayes God hath had glory yet hee hath had but very little God is content to stay for that which is his chief glory untill the latter dayes Let this be an argument for our patience though we have sufferings now let us wait as God waiteth But the latter dayes when are these The times of the Gospell are generally called the latter dayes but this though it referreth indeed to the whole time of the Gospel yet especially unto the latter times of those latter dayes If you would know what these latter dayes are though I will not take upon me to give you the day or 〈…〉 I will shew you that it is like these latter dayes are at hand For giving light unto this that is a good help to us that we have in Daniel concerning the four Kingdoms there we have a propheticall Chronologie from the Captivity of the Jews unto the time when the counsell of God shall be fulfilled You have a description there of four severall Monarchies the Babylonian Assyrian Grecian and Roman Now in the last of these Daniel saith Chap. 2. 44. The God of heaven shall set up a Kingdome which shall never be destroyed but it shall breake in pieces and consume all the other Kingdomes and it shall stand for ever In this latter namely the Roman hath the Kingdom of Christ begun to appear already but God telleth Daniel chap. 12. 13. Thou shalt stand in thy lot at the end of the dayes Now observe the chiefe Prophesies wee have about the time of these latter dayes when they shall be set out in that expression of time and times and halfe a time 1260. dayes or 42. months all comes to the same three years and a halfe reckoning every day in those yeares for a yeare compare these prophesies Dan. 7. 25. And they shall be given into his hand untill a time and times and dividing of time Rev. 11. 2. The holy City shall they tread under foote forty and two moneths Vers 3. The witnesses shall prophesie 1260. dayes Now 1260. days are the days of three years and a halfe so the dayes of 42. moneths Then the woman in the wildernesse Rev. 12. 6. She shall be fed there 1260. dayes still the same number the witnesses shall prophesie 1260. dayes the holy Citie that shall be trodden under foote 42. months and the woman in the wildernesse shall be there 1260. dayes And againe Dan. 12. 11. From the time of the abomination that making desolate there shall be 1290. days there are a few days more not many but about this time you see the Scripture prophesieth of some great things to be done at the end of this time are these latter dayes But all the difficulty is to know the beginning when the three years and a halfe or 42. moneths or 1260. dayes begun then we may know when these latter dayes shall be Brightman makes the beginning of the 1290. days from Julians time when he would have set up the abomination that is set up the Jewish worship again by re-edifying the Temple that is sayes he the abomination of desolation reckoning 1290. dayes for 1290. years hiâ— time by computation will come out about the year 1650. The other wee have in the Revelation and that in Daniel likewise refers to the same notes the time that the Churches shall be under the persecution of Antichrist for a thousand two hundred and sixty years so long the Beast shall prevail and the witnesses shall so long prophesie in sackcloath and the woman shall be in the wildernesse for so long a time But when did Antichrist begin to reign For that take this rule It must be at that time when the Roman Emperour was broken and when the Dragon giveth up his power to the Beast when the power of the Dragon that persecuted the Christians under the Roman Empire is given to Antichrist so that now they come to be persecuted under him here is the beginning of the 1260. dayes That the Roman Empire must be given up first appeareth 2 Thes 2. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already worke only he who now letteth will let untill he be taken out of the way that is as generally Expositors carry it the power of the Roman Empire when that is taken out of the way then shall that wicked one be revealed theâ—e were many Antichrists before but then that wicked one that shall exalt himselfe above all that is called God shall have power to persecure the Church Hence it is observable that the custome of the Church was to pray for the continuing the Roman Empire upon this ground because they knew when that was broken Antichrist would come Now the breaking of the Roman Empire was at the raising up of those ten severall sorts of governmens called in the Revel tenn Kings and the raising up of those Kings was 400. yeares and something more after Christ as Chronologers tell us between the 400. and 500. years It is hard to reckon to a year there is so much difference in Chronologers computations after that time there must be 1260. days that is 1260. years Make this computation and compare all these Scriptures one with another it cannot be long but in this century that is now currant these latter dayes are here meant when the people of God and the Jews shal return to Jehovah and Davidâ— heir King and fear the Lord his goodnesse The nearer the time comes the more will these things be cleared Dan. 12. 9. Goe thy way Daniel for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end and none of the wicked shall understand but the wise shall understand Take but one note and we have done why the Scripture sets â—â—is out rather by many dayes then by so many yeares The reason is because God would have his people think that time untill his goodnes should be revealed but a short time if he had said they should be 1260. years under Antichrists persecution this founds harder No saith he it shall be but so many dayes though flesh and blood may think this time long yet look upon it as dayes it is but a short time to me it will be but a short time to you within 1260. days you shall be delivered from his tyranny
began to worship God with more decency then you weâ—â— wont to doe Thus attributing all the goodnesse of God to that way Let it be all our prayers that God will never prosper us in asinfull way Further It is very observable how often this word My is iterated Give me My bread and My water and My flax and My oyle and My wooll nothing but My. We noted the last day what hurt those little words those particles I and Will doe Now we are to consider what evil there is in this particle MY Hence the observation is That carnall heatts looke upon what they enjoy as their owne and thinke they may use it as their owne and especially such as are Idolaters Though they will acknowledge that that they have commeth from the Idols as here they did for they said their Lovers gave it them yet when they had these things they thought they might do with them what they would then they were theirs Mine and mine and all is mine Thus it is usual for carnall spirits to acknowledge in the general that that they have commeth from God but when they have it then it is their owne they think they little thinke that God reserveth the propriety of what they have after he hath given it them You mistake if you think that that is all the acknowledgement you owe to God for what you enjoy that you had it from God but you must acknowledg like wise that God reserveth his propriety after he hath given it you God doth never give any thing in that way that one friend giveth to another a friend may give you a gift yet when you have it it is your owne and you may use it as you please your friend parteth with his own propriety God never giveth any thing so as to part with his own propriety though he hath given it you yet you cannot say it is Mine in respect of God it is still his There is no such bond upon conscience as to use all the comforts we have for God as this see that all comes from him in the way of a covenant of grace I say this it is that will lay a bond upon conscience to make use of your estates and of all you enjoy for God and not thinke to employ them for your own ends It is not the slight acknowledgement that Idolaters have that all comes from God will doe it Carnal men looke upon that they have comming from God through second causes and no further but a Christian lookes upon that which he hath as coming from God in a covenant of grace and this engageth the heart strongly to use all for God from whom all is received in such a way Verse 6. Therefore behold I will hedge up thy way with thornes and make a wall that she shall not finde her paths c. These two verses are the workings of Gods bowels of mercy towards his Elect amongst Israel in the midst of the most dreadfull threatnings against her They are as it were a Parenthesis of grace in the Chapter to the Elect though mingled with some severity They are indeed the Epitome of the whole Chapter for I told you in the division of the Chapter at the beginning that those were the two parts declaring Israels sinne with threatning judgement and yet promising mercy unto the Elect unto some amongst them The first part is from the beginning to the 14. verse the second from the 14. verse to the end Only this 6. and 7. ver commeth in the midst as it were a parenthesis and containeth the sum of all the other for hee was in a threatning way altogether in the 4. and 5. verses and you shall finde him in the 8. vers and so on going in a threatning way again Onely in this 6. and 7 verses is abuâ—dance of grace though mixed with some severity as you shall see in the opening of them For the explication of the words Therefore This must have reference to some-what before and answereth to a Wherefore Therefore Wherefore Because I have dealt with you by the way of my Prophets in convincing in admonishing in threatning and all this will not doe therefore I will deale with you in another way Therefore behold That way of mine that I now speak of it is a singular way you shall find much of the grace of God in this way a wonderfull way that I will deale with you in now Behold I will hedge up thy way There is a two-fold hedge that God makes about his people There is the hedge of protection to keep evill from them and there is the hedge of affliction to keep them from evill First the hedge of protection that you have in Isa 5. 5. where God threatneth that he will take away the hedge from his vineyard he will take away his protection and so it is said of Job that God had hedged him about but that is not the hedg heer meant it is the hedg of affliction I will hedge up thy way that is I will bring fore and heavy afflictions upon you but yet in a way of mercy these afflictions shall be but as a hedge to keepe you from evill they shall not do evill to you or bring evill upon you I will hedge â—p thy way with thornes That is I see you will be going on in these wayes of Idolatry and false worship I will make them difficult to you you shall goe through thornes if you will goe to your Idols you shall not get to your Idols but you shall be pricked It is a Metaphor taken from a husband-man who when the cattle will break over pastures makes thick hedges that they shall not get over they shall be pricked it shal be with much trouble if they do goe over So I will deal with you saith God Or when a husband-man seeth passengers make a path in his ground too broad and so spoile the grasse or the corn hee layeth thornes in the way that they cannot goe into his corne or if they doe they shall goe with some trouble so saith God I will hedge up your way with thorns And make a wall Maceriabo Maceriam I will wall a wall so the words are It may be they will get through the thorns but though they do get through I have another way to deale with them I will come with stronger afflictions and they shall be of more power to keepe them from their same they shal be as a wall and though they get through the thorns they shal not get over the wall That she shall not find her paths Mark the change of the person that is observable I will â—â—dge up thy way first and then I will make a wall and she shall not find her paths the person is changed and so wee have it often in Scripture that is to signifie some kind of perturbation of spirit that manner of speech is usuall amongst men when their spirits are troubled they speak sometimes in one
person sometimes in another And indeed the Lord here speaks after the manner of men as if his Spirit were troubled at the perversenesse of his people Besides the change of the person here is to expresse some indignation of God against their perversenesse therefore he speakes as if he would turn from them and rather speake to some body else as if hee should say I speake to these yet they are stubborn and stout well I will speake to all that are about them to all the beholders take notice of their stubbornesse and perversnesse and judge between them and me And she shall follow after her lovers but shee shall not over take them and she shall seeke them but she shall not finde them In the 5. ver it was but I will goe after my lovers Vadam but here it is shee will follow from that root which signifieth persequor to follow with eagernesse it is not only sectari but insectari the word is the very same that is used for persecutors who eagerly pursue those that they doe persecute Psal 7. 5. David speaking of his enemies following of him the same word is used that is here save me saith he Lest the enemy persecute my soule It is the same and so the Seventy turn it Yea and beside the form of the word it being in Piel that signifieth to do a thing auxiously and diligently carefully whereas in Cal. it signifieth onely a bare doing of a thing but when it commeth into forme as those that are skilfull in the Hebrew tongue know that fignifieth to doe a thing with care that solicitiousnesse and diligence so therefore it is turned by Polanus anxie prosecutus est She hath prosecuted or followed with a great deale of care So that this is more then the other for it seems that after she had some affliction she grew worse for a while and was more eager upon her Idols then she was before But she shall not over take them Though she be never so much set upon that way of evill yet I will take a course to keep her from it she shall not overtake them Yea She shall seeke them but shall not finde them The word signifieth to seeke with a great deale of endeavour not onely to seeke in ones thought and minde but to goe on to walke up and downe that wee may finde it is by the Seventy turned by divers words that signifie a seeking more then ordinary But shall not find them Let them be never so set upon their ways of Idolatry yet I will keep them from them Then shall she say I will goe c. This shall be the effect of it One would think all this were nothing but threatning oh no it is mercy for it is for this end that she might at length say I will goe and returne to my first husband c. You may take them in the meaning of these versus and the scope of them in this short paraphrase As if God should say Oh you Israelites all you have grievously sinned against me in forsaking me and following of your lovers sore and heavy evills are ready to befall you even you my elect ones upon whom my heart is for good you have involved your selves in the common guilt of this wickednesse therefore even you must expect to be involved in the common calamity that shall come upon the nation and when you are under those calamities know that I know how to make a difference between sinner and sinner though guilty of the same sin though under the same affliction that what shall be for the destruction of some shall be in mercy to others it shall be but to hedg up your ways to keep you from further sinning to make your wayes of sinne difficult that so your soules might be saved and although your hearts will be a long time perverse and will not come in and submit to me yet I will so order things in the way of my providence that at length I will so worke upon your hearts that you shall come in and return unto me you shal bethink your selves and remember what sweetnesse once you had in my wayes and you shall take shame to your selves and acknowledge that it was then farre better with you then it is now and so I will remain to be your God and you shall give up your selves to worship and serve me for ever This is the meaning and scope of the words Now then having the words thus opened and paraphrased take the severall observations for they are exceeding full and very sweet and sutable First from the generall the observation is Though such as are in covenant with God may for their sins be involved in the same judgement with others yet God will make difference between them and others that are not in covenant with him God will have other ends in his afflictions towards his people then hee hath towards others though the difference be not in the things that they suffer yet the difference is very broad and wide in the ends for which they suffer When the bryars and thornes are set before God it is that they may be destroyed the fire of Gods anger passeth through them to destroy them but when God cometh to his people though some anger be stirred up for a while yet all the fruit thereof it is to take away their sinne See what difference God makes between some and some even under the same affliction in that 24. of Jer. ver 5. I do not know a more remarkable place in the Scripture for this purpose saith God there speaking of the basket of good figges I will acknowledge them that are carried captive of Iudah whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Caldeans for their good Though they be carried into the Land of the Caldeans I will acknowledg them there to be my people and it shall be for their good Well now there was likewise a basket that had very naughty figs and they were carried away captive too both went into captivity what doth he say of them I will deliver them saith he vers 9. to be removed into all the kingdomes of the earth for their hurt I will 〈◊〉 at their hurt when I deliver them into captivity This should be a mighty support unto the Saints under all their afflictions though the affliction be the same to sence and view with that of the wicked yet you see the difference is broad It is true may the troubled heart say there may be different ends of Gods afflicting some others hee may afflict some for tryall and others for their sins but what will you say if an affliction come upon us for our sins Is there a difference here Yes my brethren though your afflictions come upon you from your sins if you be in covenant with God the difference still may hold for so it is here those afflictions that here are spoken of God
his father and his friends But how mean and sinfull soever we are in our selves when once we are betrothed unto Christ he will not thinke it any dishonour no not before his Father that he hath such a Spouse but he will account it his glory before him and the blessed Angels that he hath betrothed her unto himself And again this communion makes the Afflictions of Christ the Churches afflictions and the afflictions of the Church the afflictions of Christ There is a communion in evill things as well as in good The very sins of the Church come to be charged upon Christ as a woman that was in debt before maryage and so subject to arrests if she be once maryed she is no more troubled with the Serjeants none can arrest her but all the debts are charged upon the man so though we be in debt owing a debt of punishment because we have not payed the debt of obedience and while we are out of Christ before this blessed marriage we may feare every moment to have some sergeant of the Lord upon us to arrest us to hale us to prison there to lye untill we have paid the uttermost farthing but when the soul is married unto Christ all debts all sinnes are all transacted upon Christ all charged upon him if the law come now and require satisfaction if justice comes you may send them unto your husband to answer all and he will not take it ill A husband perhaps may take it ill and thinke he hath brought himself to misery when arrests come upon him for his wives debts it may take off his heart from her but Christ will never love you the worse for all your debts when they are charged upon him he will willingly satisfie them and he will rejoyce in the satisfaction of them before his Father And if there be any affliction befall you Christ is afflicted with you Esay 63. 9. In all their afflictions be was afflicted So on the other side all the afflictions of Christ are the afflictions of the Church doth Christ suffer you take it unto heart as if it were your own suffering Christ takes your sufferings unto heart as if 〈…〉 his own 〈◊〉 And you take the sufferings of Christ unto heart as if they were your owne Thirdly In a married condition there is a mutuall intire love That is First loving the person more then what cometh from him True conjugall love is pitched upon the persons mutually rather then upon the estates or any thing they enjoy by the person So on Christs part his love is pitched upon the persons of the Saints Christ loves your persons more then al your actions It is true all these gracious actions you doe are lovely before Christ for they ate the fruits of his spirit but know the pitch of Christs love is upon your persons chiefly So the pitch of your love if it be a right conjugall love is upon the person of Christ rather then upon any thing that comes from him thou seest him altogether lovely in himselfe besides those riches of pardon of sin and precious promises that thou enjoyest by him his person is that which satisfies thy soule Secondly In prising the love each of other true love can be satisfied witht nothing else but love love villifies every thing that is tendered except it comes as a fruit of love and if there be love a little is highly prized if it be but a cup of cold water it is more then a kingdome without it the giving the body to be burned is nothing without it I will give you two Scriptures one wherein the Saints prize Gods love the other wherein God prizes the Saints love Psal 36. 7. How excellent is thy loving kindnesse O God Psal 91. 14. Because he hath set his love upon me therefore will I deliâ—er him I will set him on high Thirdly This intire love is a love in all conditions Christ loves his Church in their afflictions as intirely as he doth out of their afflictions Deut. 32. 10. He found him in a desart land and in the wast howling wildernesse he led him about he instructed him hee kept him as the apple of his eye Marke they were in the wildernesse in the wast howling wildernesse yet even there they were deare unto Christ they were kept as the apple of his eye The Church on the other side looks upon Christ in his afflictions as lovely still as ever Cant. 1. 12. A bundle of myrrhe is my well beloved unto me he shal lie all night betwixt my breasts Myrrhe is a bitter thing yet the Church professeth that Christ though bitter in his afflictions should lie as lovely betweene her breasts as a bundle of myrrhe I remember Herodotus reports of one Artemesia Queen of Halicarnaffus and Plinie speaks something of her too when her husband was dead she took his ashes drank it in wine out of respect to him though dead The Church loveth a crucified Christ as well as a glorified Christ A most notable example of the love of a Spouse to her husband wee have in our English Chronicle Elenor the wife of Edward the first the King having got a wound by a poysoned dagger she to shew the intire love she bare to her husband because she thought if the poyson did stay a while in the wound there would be no cure therefore with her own mouth she sucked out the poyson that was in the wound so ventured the losse of her own life to preserve her husbands Here was love in a Spouse to her husband There is the like love of the Church unto Christ if Christ be wounded with the poysonous tongues of ungodly men in reproaches and blasphemies let him be never so persecuted in the world they that are truly gracious are willing to suck in that very poyson to themselves so they may take it from him Let the reproaches of Christ fall upon me O let me suffer rather then Christ It was Ambrose his wish Oh that God would turne all the adversaries of the Church upon me that they might turne all their weapons upon me and satisfie their thirst with my blood this is the disposition of a true spouse of Christ The fourth is unspeakable delight communion hath delight the greatest communion the greatest delight the greatest delight that God hath is to communicate himselfe to his Son firstly and next in letting out himselfe to his Saints If there be delight in God in letting out himself to the Saints in reason one would thinke there must needs be delight in the Saints in letting themselves out into God in flowing into God God takes such delight in letting out his mercy to his Saints as that he was well pleased with the death of his own Son as a meanes conducing thereunto One would thinke that the death of Christ should be the most abhorring to the heart of God of any thing in the world yet the Scripture saith God was
well pleased with it Esay 53. 10. Why was God pleased with it Because the Lord saw this was the way for him to communicate himself in the fulnesse of his grace unto his Church and therefore though it cost him so deare as the death of his own Son yet he was well pleased with it And as for Christ he takes delight in letting out himself to his people after he had suffered the Text saith he was satisfied when he saw of the travell of his soul As if Christ had said O let me have a Church to communicate my self unto though I see it hath cost me my blood it hath cost me all these fearfull sufferings yet I am satisfied I thinke all is well bestowed so I may have a people to partake of my love and mercy for ever Cant. 4. 9. Thou hast ravished my heart my sister my spouse thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes Then for the Saints the delight they have in communicating themselves unto Christ is unutterable Stay me with flaeggons comfort me with apples for I am sick of love saith the Church Cantic 2. 5. Psal 63. 5. My soul shall be satisfied with marrow and fatnesse and my mouth shall praise thee with joyfull lips when I remember thee upon my bed and meditate of thee in the night watches Take this note the more fully you lay out your selves for Christ the more comfort you shall have in your lives Here is the great difference between hypocrites and others in the comfort of their lives It is impossible that any hypocrite can have that comfort in his life as a gracious heart can have upon this ground because a hypocrite reserveth somewhat of himself for something else there is not a full comunication of himself unto Christ he alwayes keepes somewhat back and thereby loseth his comfort But a gracious heart fully letting out himselfe into Christ from thence cometh the comfort sweetness that he hath in the ways of Christ above all hypocrites in the world Perhaps you thinke that the onely comfort you can have is by receiving some benefit some mercy from God you are much mistaken the comfort of letting your hearts out to God is a greater comfort then any comfort you have in receiving any thing from God And now Oh how happy are they unto whom Christ is thus espoused How comfortably may you live being made sure to Christ and how comfortably may you die It is our work to seeke to draw soules to Christ to allure soules to be in love with him Gen. 24. 35. You may see what course Abrahams servant took in drawing the love of Rebekah and her friends to his Masters son he begins wiâ—h telling them that he is the servant of Abraham and that the Lord had blessed his Master greatly so that he was become great and that the Lord had given him flocks and herds and silver gold and that he had an onely soone that was to be heire of all this This is the work of Ministers to tell people what riches of mercy there are in God and that all the treasures of those infinite riches of the infinite God are in JESUS CHRIST and to be let out in him this gaines the heart Yea it is not onely the work of Ministers but it should be worke of every gracious heart thus to seek to draw souls to Christ as Rev. 22. 17. not onely the Angels there say Come but the Bride saith Come and let him that hea eth say Come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely VVere I not in such a way of explication as I am surely wee could not get off such a point as this but that which I shall say for the present is onely this Know that it is not want of any worth in you that can hinder communion with Jesus Christ doe not reason in that manner I am a poor wretched sinfull creature will ever Christ be married unto me It is not thy sinfulnesse it is not thy base condition that can hinder thee Christ never joynes himselfe to any because they are worthy but he joynes himself to them that they may be worthy hee makes them to be worthy in joyning himselfe unto them The woman is not married unto the King because she is a Queen but the King maryeth her to make her a Queene And further know if your hearts be not taken with Christ to joyne with him in his holy mariage if he be not your husband to enjoy conjugall communion with you he will be your judge to condemn you But besides this betrothing between Christ a soul there is a betrothing between Christ a visible Church especially the Church of the Jews when they shall be called God shal appeare in his glory when this maryage shall be between Christ and the Jewish Church the King will then be in his Robes if a man of estate have a sonne to marry and intends to solemnize the maryage according to his estate if he have any better cloathes then other he puts them on that day so at the calling of the Jewes the King of heaven will be in his robes God will appeare in a most glorious manner to the world then ehe did since the creation Yea and you know the Bridegroome too will be very fine upon the mariage day so Jesus Christ will then appeare whether personally or otherwise wee say not but certainly hee will gloriously appeare at that day Tit. 2. 15. We looke for the glorious appearance of the great God and our Saviour jesâ—s Christ And 2 Thes 1. 10. Christ shall come so as to be admired in all them that believe the Church likewise shall then be arrayed in her fine cloaths shee shall be then cloathed in white cleane and fine liâ—nen as it is Rev. 19. 8. all in the righteousness of Christ the great doctrine of justification by Christ shall be made out full and cleare Yea and the creatures her servants shall put on the best rayment as in a great marriage the servants in the house have new cloathes at that day there will be a change in all the creatures and another kind of face in the world then now there is Then will be the marriage supper and happy shall those be that shall then be found worthy to enter into the bed-chamber let us now love Christ let us now cleave to him let us now suffer for him we may perhaps be some of those who beside our eternal enjoyment of christ in heaven may enjoy him in this mariage upon the earth But we must leave this argument we spake something of it in the end of the first chapter And I will betroth thee unto me for ever For ever This adds to the mercy to make it glorious this for ever makes a misery though never so little an infinite misery and a mercy an infinite mercy This betrothing for ever shall be fulfilled