Hosea 9

Ver. 1. Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as ol/ier people: for lltou hast gone a icliori/ig from tlii, God, thou hast loved a reward upon every comjloor.

Heee begins another of the prophet’s sermons. Gualter thinks this the sixth that Hosea preached to these ten tribes, wherein he still pursues the course he had commenced, convincing of sin, and tlu-eatening of wrath against Israel. This seimon was preached in a time when Israel seemed most prosperous and joyous.

“Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy.” These words, according to interpreters, refer to one of these two periods:

I. When Israel, the ten tribes, obtained some special victory over their enemies. Or,

II. Mien Menahem made a league with the Assyrians.

I. A^^len Israel, the ten tribes, had obtained some s])ecial victory over their enemies. This may refer, either to the time mentioned, 2 Kings xiii. 25, when Jehoash beat Benhadad three times, and recovered the cities of Israel;

Or, the time spoken of in 2 Kings xiv. 13, 14, “And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem. And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.” This certainly was a time of great jollity and mirth among the ten tribes, as was also in the time of Jeroboam, 2 Kings xiv. 28, and in the time of Pekah, 2 C’hron. xxviii., where the text saith, ver. 6, 8, They “slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men. And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.” Now in this time their hearts were much elated, for, in ver. 9, 10, the prophet Oded came to them and said, “Behold, because the Lord God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven. And now ye purpose to keep under the childi-en of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the Lord your God?” It seems almost the same expression as we have here in the text; as if he should say. Now you purpose to keep the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen, and you insult and rejoice, and you think you have gotten the day and have prevailed; “but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the Lord your God?” just as here, “Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people; for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God:” as if he should have said. Though God has given you a victory, and you think you have matter for much joy, yet, ’

“Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people.” Why? Because your conquest is over your brethren, therefore rejoice not as “other people,” as the nations around you would rejoice in slaying them.

Obs. 1. That is a sad war in which the conqueror has cause to be sad at the very conquest. If other people had gotten the victory, they might triumph; why not? but though you have prevailed, yet these are wars in which you should not triumph in, for by this means the nation of the Jews is becoming weaker, and in more danger to be made a prey to the common enemies; do not, therefore, you rejoice as other people might rejoice in such a conquest. And indeed such are our wars and 2 c

victories at this day; we must not rejoice in our conquests as other people, not so as the French or Spaniards would if they prevailed against us, or as we might over foreigners; for our conquests weaken om’ own nation, they involve the destruction of our brethren, and therefore e are not to rejoice for joy as other people.

II. When Menahem made a league with the Assyrians. We read, 2 Kings xv. 19, that Menahem, king of the ten tribes of Israel, made a league with the Assyrian, that great king, “that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.”

Now when leagues of pacification and association are confirmed, nations are wont to triumph and rejoice, and by outward expressions to manifest their great satisfaction at them: Oh! now there is a peacemade, now we shall grow stronger than ever we were, and be delivered from many troubles that heretofore oppressed us. So Israel blessed themselves in the Assyrian, in that they had got such a rich and mighty prince on their side; now that they had made their peace with him, they thought themselves secure, and contemned all threats, and derided all that the prophets said against them; now did the malignants among them lift up their heads and insult over them that would say, God’s judgments would follow them if they did not join with God’s people in his true worship; they sung away care, and none thought of any danger on account of their sin; they could not endure to hear of any apprehensions that might disturb their jollity and conceited happiness, whereof they promised to themselves the continuance. But now saith the Lord, by the prophet, “Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people;” be not too confident with whom you have made such a sure league, for they may prove to bo your undoing, may prove to be the instrument of greater VTath from God than you have ever yet experienced: and indeed so it was, the Assyians with whom they made this peace, and in whom they rejoiced much, proved to be the greatest instrument of wrath to the ten tribes. You have made your peace with him, and now you rejoice; but you have not made jour peace with God, saith the prophet; and what good can your pacifications, can peace struck with them, do, so long as still ye go a whoring from your God, and break your peace and covenant with him daily. “Rejoice not, O Israel.”

Obs. 2. Leagues wherein we much rejoice, may prove occasions of sorrow. They ai’e called peace and union, but suddenly they may change their names, and be called a massacre; they may bring ruin and destruction on a nation, especially if the foundation of the peace be not laid in reformation. As long as a nation is departing from God, they have no reason to rejoice in any peace.

A’hen people have been worn out with wars, they are greedy of peace of any kind, they care not with whom they make it; Oh nothing but peace, let us have that! and if there be but a peace concluded once, upon never such unsafe terms. Oh, the bells must ring, and bonfii-es must be made. This seemed to be the condition of the people at this time, but saith God, You are deceived, this peace will prove your undoing; “Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God.”

But the observations which we may draw from the two periods referred to, that in which they gained advantages over their enemies, and that in which they made their peace, viewed conjointly, are such as these:

Obs. 3. Carnal hearts bless themselves in outward prosperity, in health, strength, friends, as if all were well with them, although they be under much guiltiness, though there be fearful breaches between God and theirsouls. How things are between God and them they care not, so be it outward things prosper; if there be no punishment for sin upon them, the giult and pollution

of sin never trouble them. Augustine, in fmp’S’nK’n’j,“‘,.. his TrQct. upon John, saith, The joy of Aus.mjoho,Traci. {he World is nothing else but their wickedness unpunished; if God do not punish them presently, then they have a great deal of joy. And in Amos vi. 4 — 6, you have the description of the people of Israel more at large (for Amos prophesied in the same time that Hosca did): ‘• That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves u])on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David; that drink wine in bow Is, and anoint themselves w ith the chief ointments; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.” Well; have not you more reason, you afflicted and distressed saint.s, to rejoice in God without the world, than they have to rejoice in the world without God? Shall not all the wrath of God that hangs over the heads of wicked men, and ail the guilt which is upon them, damp their joy when they have but meat, and drink, and clothes, and a little outward prosperity; and shall the loss of a few creature comforts, such as many reprobates have to the full, damp vour joy, when you have an interest in all there is in God, in “Christ, in the world, in heaven, in eternity P AVlien in all this you may rejoice, how unreasonable is your dejection!

Obs. 4. When men rejoice, they should consider whether God apjjroves of their joy. These rejoiced, but the prophet comes in the name of God and saith,” Rejoice not.’’ When therefore we find ourselves inclined to rejoice, we should consider whether God ajjproves of it. The rejoicing of many is so little in accordance with the mind of God, that they dare not so much as consult about the matter with God, or their own consciences: the more some can prevail with their own consciences to be silent, the more joy they have; yea, some there arc that have so much guilt on their spirits, that they can have no joy, but when they can contrive, by some means or other, to lull their con- .sciences to sleep; when their consciences are asleep they are fain to snatch a little joy: now, cursed be the joy that cannot stand with the free working of a true enlightened conscience.

Obs. 5. Men may prosper, and yet have little cause to rejoice. All outward prosperity may consist with the heavy wrath of God hanging over the sinner’s head; he may be upon the veiT brink of destruction, and yet prosper outwardly. Outward prosperity may come in wrath; the poison of God’s curse may be in the wine as well as in the water: the ungodly poor have their water poisoned, and wicked men, that are rich and prosperous, have their wine poisoned; and what difference is there between drinking poisoned water and poisoned wine? The swelling of carnal hearts in their prosperity, is a sign that it is poisoned to them. Outward pros- ])erity, as it may come in wrath, and consist with wrath, so it may make way to wrath, by it the vessels of wrath may be fitted to destruction: God often has a further aim in suff”ering wicked men to prosper than they are aware of. As Haman, when invited by Esther to a banquet, inferred that he was honoured above all the nobles in the land, and went away rejoicing, and told his friends of the great honour that was put upon him; but Esther had a design in it far other than Haman thought of, she designed not to honour, but to destroy him: so manv, whose estates God raises, draw inferences from his dealings with them far other than ever he intended; they think God lias blessed them, whereas, in truth, God’ is working their ruin and destruction. As a painted face is no argument of a good complexion, so a prosperous estate is no argument of a good condition.

06s. 6. Carnal hearts in their joy are immoderate,

their spirits are elated, and they think not of setting bounds to their joy; so the words import, ‘■ Rejoice not for joy;” it’ you will rejoice, let there not be mere joy, but some kind of mixture in it There should be a mixture of reverence and fear in our rejoicing; we should, in this world, “rejoice with trembling.”

Whatsoever blessings we have from God, yet should we, in our present state, “rejoice with trembling,” remembering,

1. Our unworthiness of any good we receive, a deep sense of which should mingle with our joy.

2. The afflictions of our brethren.

3. The uncertain and vanishing nature of all those things in which we rejoice.

Put these three things always into the cup of your joy; else it will be too sweet, and clog the stomach.

“Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people.’ That is,

1. He not taken with the world’s jollity. The apparent liap]iincss of others that are in a different way from us, is many times a great temptation to draw the heart to them.

2. Imitate them not in their modes of rejoicing. Dancing, and many other ways of rejoicing, they had in their idolatrous feasts: we must not imitate idolaters in their triumphs. This was the sin of many in the primitive times; because they had newly come out of heathenism, they would turn the heathenish feasts into Christian feasts, and heathenish customs, whereby they were wont before to honour their idol gods, into Christian rites: and they thought this was very good, that whereas before they thus honoured idol gods, thoy now thought, if they did but turn these to honour Jesus Christ, they would be accepted. No, this was a great sin, and brought a great deal of evil into the Christian world, and we do to this day feel its effects: indeed, herein is the original of the observation of this time, both of your Christmas and New-year’s day; they are but transferred from heathenish observances to the honour of Christ and of the .saints. I remember this time * two years, through mere providence that Scripture came in our way, “I will take away their solemn feasts;” and there I showed how these came, instead of the heathenish rites. Now, saith the Holy Ghost here, “Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people,” do not you imitate them; they have their idolatrous feasts, but do not you as they. We must not take liberty to imitate heathens and idolaters in their wor.’-liip, though we think thereby to tender our respects to God.

3. “Rejoice not as a people,” for the word oilier is not in the original. Do not you rejoice as if you were to continue a people still, for you are to be carried captive, and not to continue as a people; you have brought yomselvcs into such a condition that you are not to look upon yourselves as a jieople: do not rejoice, no, not as a people. It is a miserable spectacle to see those who are ready to be destroyed, jolly and merry, as if no such thing impended. It is said of the dolphin, that it sports most at the approach of a storm. So, when the storm of God’s wrath is arising upon a people, then they are most jolly and merry.

4. Rejoice not profanely. Others rejoice, and scorn at the threats of God: so Ephraim had mixed himself amongst the nations, and treated with scorn what was said by the prophet. Do not rejoice profanely, do not rejoice presumptuously, promising to yourselves continuance in your ))rosperity.

5. You have not such cause to rejoice as others. “Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people.” Why? Israel! though you be Israel, yet there is not so much cause for you to rejoice, as for other nations. Israel, the

Preached in Christmas.

ten tribes, prided themselves in their privileges above other people, and despised all in comparison of themselves: but now God tells them, that their sins had brought them into a worse condition than other people were in, and they must not rejoice so much as they. From thence this profitable note may be raised:

Obs. 7. Many who look with scorn upon others as mean and low, may yet be in a worse state than they. For instance, you may be a man of parts and in esteem, and engaged in high employments for church and commonwealth; another is in a mean, low condition, of weak parts and of little use; and )et such guilt may rest upon you, that you may not have such cause to rejoice as this poor man has whom you so contemn. It may be 3’ou have excellent gifts in prayer, and are an eminent professor; others may be vile in your eyes, they are no professors at all: if all were known, you have not such cause to rejoice as they whom you contemn.

Ol/s. 8. Although we enjoy the same blessings that others do, yet we may not have always the same cause to rejoice. I say, it may be others have more cause to rejoice in a little than we in abundance. Do not say in your hearts, Others are merry and cheerful, why should not I be so too? I have as good an estate as such a one, and as fair a dwelling, and as comely children, and why should not I be merry? But it may be there is not such a breach between God and him as between God and thee, it may be there is not so much guilt upon his spirit as upon thine, therefore thou must not rejoice as he does; though thou hast the same outward blessings, yet it follows not that thy joy should be similar. You have cause rather to reflect, Such and such men are cheerful indeed, yea, they may, for they have not provoked God as I have done, I am conscious of sins which I believe they are free from. A man afflicted with a sore disease, when he sees others merry thinks with himself. Yea, indeed you may be merry, but if you felt what I do you would have little cause to rejoice.

Obs. 9. It is a great aggravation of men’s misery, to see others rejoice when they cannot. It is not for them to rejoice as others do; that which is the cause of rejoicing to others you have had and abused, you have abused like mercies of God, and now you must not rejoice as other ])eople. Luke xiii. 28, is very notable for this, “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yom-selves thrust out.” This is the aggravation of )Our misery, to see others in a happy and rejoicing condition, and “you yourselves thrust out.” As, if a man lay confined in a prison near the street, on a day of triumph and festivitj’, and should licar in his dark dungeon the mirthful voices of the rejoicing multitude as they pass to and fro, this would be a great aggravation of his misery; Y’es, would he think, they who have their liberty may rejoice, but I must not rejoice as they do. And this will be the aggravation of the misery of the damned hereafter, when they shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and themselves cast out: it may be the father shall see his child in the kingdom of God, and himself in hell, being cast out: they shall rejoice eternal!) when I must be in everlasting torments. ‘The reason follows,

“For thou hast gone a whoring fi-om thy God.” The ground of joy or sorrow is, the terms that are between God and us. Sin has an evil in it to damp all our joy. If we would hale joy in any thing, let us take heed of defiling it by sin. Of all sins, the sin of forsaking God, or corrupting his worship, is such an evil as is suflficieut to take away all the joy of a nation. If we have forsaken the true worship of God, we have little cause for joy, though peace and outward prosperity may attend

us J whereas a people retaining it, whatever be their condition, have indeed cause to rejoice. Yea, and as a whole nation, so individuals in it, if their consciences tell them that they have not complied with the times, and gone a whoring from God in ways of false worship as others have done, they have cause to rejoice, whatsoever befalls their nation; whereas the others, that have complied, though the nation should prosper never so much, yet have little cause to rejoice in that joy. Let us therefore be solicitous about nothing so much as about the true woi-ship of God.

Yea, but this peojjle might say. Suppose we have some corruptions in the worship of God, yet do we retain more than other nations. Nay, saith God, “thou hast gone a whoring,” and so you are more guilty than other nations.

06s. 10. That which we deem a trifling deviation in God’s worship, God may call a gross corruption. True, might they say, we may fail in some circumstances, we go not up to Jerusalem to worship; but still we worship the true God, and we observe the law of Jloses. No, saith the Lord, “thou hast gone a whoring from thy God.”

But still. Why may not we rejoice as other people? surely we are not worse idolaters than they, therefore, though we may not rejoice more than others, yet why not an others? They make idols to be their gods; there is nothing so vile among us as among the surrounding nations. From God’s charging them more than others,

Obs. 11. A nation may be free from the gross evils that there are in another nation, and even have many good things that the other has not, and yet be in a worse condition. Y’ou will say, How can this be?

Thus: some of their sins may have greater aggravations, which may make their condition (all things considered) worse. We, in this land, have heretofore much rejoiced in this, that we have had the doctrine of religion purer among us than almost any people; and certainly, except for some few that of late days have sought to corrupt it, it must be confessed that the doctrine hath been kept very pure in the main points; and in some things we have even gone far beyond other reformed churches, as in our observance of the sabbath, and worship paid to God in our families. Never had God more honour from any people in the world than he has had from us in these and many other respects: but yet, notwithstanding, it seems by God’s present dealings with us, that he is more provoked with us than with other people: and the truth is, take these one or two things, the bitterness of our hatred agahist the power of godliness, and our persecution of it, and I think never was any people so guilty as we have been. In other reformed churches men may be as forward and zealous as they will, and yet meet not with persecution as here; others may have kept the sabbath more loosely, yet they never persecuted the strict observers of it, nor, as here generally, attempted to stop the mouth of the faithful ministry. So it may well be said to us at this day, “Rejoice not, for joy, as other people.”

Yea. but still, If we be idolaters, (would the ten tribes say,) they are so too.

There was one particular aggravation in the case of Israel that was not among other people, and that was this, No other people would forsake their gods as Israel had forsaken theirs, Jer. 11. 10, 11; there was never such a thing as for a nation to change their gods; even Kedar, one of the basest of nations, would not do so: Go to Kedar, and see, and search diligently whether any nation hath ever forsaken their gods; but you have forsaken me. From thence we may

Obs. 12. To be constant to ill principles is not so great an evil as to be false in good principles. God, I say, aecoimts it not to be so great an evil for men to be con-AX EXPOSITION OF

CnAP. IX.

slant to their principles, though they be evil, as to forsake the good. As now. if a man has been brought up all his (lays in superstition, and thinks verily that is the right, certainly this man is not so guilty before God as another who lias been educated in the true worship of God, and has made profession of it, and yet afterward doth apostatize and backslide. God had rather that men should keep to their principles, though evil, than entertain good principles and forsake them. There are none so vile in God’s eyes as apostates: there is not so much sordidness and baseness of spirit in those men that adhere constantly to their principles, though evil, as in those who betray their principles, although good. Oi.5. 13. The sins of God’s people are the greatest sins of all. The sins of the saints are the greatest sins of all, and they are to mouni more than any. In Amos i’i. 2, ‘• You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities;” your sins are greater. And that in Rom. ii. 9, “Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew fii’st, and also of the Gentile.” And we have these two excellent texts in Jeremiah: chap, xviii. 13, “Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing;” that is the aggravation, that it is the virgin of Israel that has done such a horrible thing. But especially chap, xxxii. 30, “For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth.” Now Jerome raises a question upon this: AVhat! the children of Israel and Judah only done evil from their youth? Have none done evil but they? And to this he answers. He that has the knowledge of God and goes from it, he alone sins in the eyes of God; as for unbelievers, they sin too, but it is as if God saw it not, and as if God minded it not; as he saith in Acts xvii., He winks at the days of their ignorance. AVe read of the Philistines, that they ventured to carry the ark upon carts, 1 Sam. vi. 7. God did not show himself provoked against their doing so: but when the Levites presumed to carry it upon carts, 2 Sam. vi. 3, the Lord makes a breach upon them, and strikes Uzzah with death. He bore with it in the Philistines a little before, and it may be they presumed, and thought. The Philistines carried the ark upon a cart, why may not we? That which God will bear from others he will not bear from his own; their sins are against covenant, and that mightily aggravates the sins of God’s people.

() remember this, you that do often covenant with God in prayer. How often do you renew your covenant with God! What promises do you then make, and yet afterwards prove false and vile! Such as you must not rejoice as other people. You view with disgust a drunkard reeling in the streets, and with abhorrence hear a swearer blaspheming the name of God; yea, but their sins may not be so great as the vanity of thy spirit, the looseness of thy heart, and those secret sins of which thou art guilty. And why? Because thou hast so covenanted and bound thyself to God. The drunkard was never made sensible of his sin, nor felt the wrath of God upon his conscience; but it has visited thy conscience, and thou hast engaged thyself to God, if he would show mercy, thou wouldst walk holily and strictly before him. Now, dost thou think that thy sins are as the sins of other people? They never had such soul-quickening ordinances, but go up and down to taverns and alehouses, and their hearts never know what a powerful sermon means: had they enjoyed such blessings as thou hast, then likely it would be with them far better than now. And the name of God is not so much polluted by them as by thee. Thou professor of religion, the eyes of all men are upon thee, and in thy sin thou dost not only disobey God, but thou dost pollute his holy name; thou art a stumbling-block unto others, and the cause of the hardening of many hundieds in their sins,

and therefore thy sin certainly is worse than others’. It would be a great point to show how the sins of the professors of religion are worse than others. It is not enough for them to say, We are all sinners. No, we must not excuse ourselves thus, that others are guilty as well as we, when we consider what aggravations there are in our sins more than in the sins of others. It is a sign of a very carnal heart to think to excuse itself thus: True, I sin, but others sin as well as I do. Yea, but a true penitent heart will not only consider itself a sinner, but what aggravations are there upon his sin more than upon the sins of others; and so will charge itself: True, such and such sin, but had they experienced what I have, it would not be so with them; my sin, that has broken through so many terrors of conscience, and that God has sought by such means to keep me from, is a sign of the violence of my spirit indeed. It is, therefore, an abominable thing to make our profession in holy duties a medium to make our sins less. Dost thou think that this is a means to make thee escape that wrath? Certainly not, but a great aggravation of thy sins.

‘Vc have a generation of men among us, that, because they are believers, therefore say, they need no sorrow for “their sin, they must have only joy. Now, certainly, thy being a believer may aggravate thy sin, may make it so much the more vile, and may pierce thy heart so much the more; for if thou art a believer thou knowest what the pardon of thy sins cost; therefore, certainly, God’s mercies towards thee are the aggravations of thy sins. The truth is, suppose our sins were not so great as the sins of some other people are, yet it is not always an argument that we may rejoice as other people.

Why so? you will say.

Thus: suppose our sins be but equal, or less than the sins of other people, yet it is more than we know, whether God will pass by our sins as he does the sins of others. What if God, out of his prerogative, damn thee for a little sin, and save others who have committed great sins? We have such examples in Scripture; the thing that God cast away Saul for, in itself was not so much as that which Dadd afterwards was guilty of; Saul might have said. This is an offence, but is this like miu-der and adulter)-? yet God pardons David, and casts away Saul. Do not you, then, think to rejoice as other people; why, may not God do with his mercy as he pleases, it is his own? God may pardon one, and damn thee eternally.

“Thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.” Israel saw the nations round about her have a great deal of plenty upon their cornfloors, which they attributed to the serving of their idol gods, therefore Israel thought to comply with them out of love to their abundance; and since then she prospered more, she thought; and this she loved, by this she was exceedingly hardened in her ways of idolatrv’, and blessed herself in them. This is the scope. God made many promises to provide for Israel in his service, but they thought to get more in following the ways of the Gentiles than in following God’s ways: like some, who, though they have liberal provision from their husbands, yet, hoping to get more from others, to gratify their vanity and love of pleasure, leave their husbands, and “forget the covenant of their God,” Prov. ii. 17. Just thus it was with Israel; though she might have God’s care over her, and provision for her in the ways of his worship, yet, beholding the Gentiles living more bravely, she would follow after them. At first (as you heard) she hired lovers herself, but now she loves “a reward lipon every cornfloor,” now she expects greater advantage; this indeed was what urged her on. She might have many ])retenccs, she might plead that she did not see why she might not do such and such things, they were not directly contrary to God’s word; but whatsoever jirctences she made in the altering of God’s worship, yet

the great matter that prevailed with her heart was this, she” loved a reward upon every cornfloor.’’ And thus it is with very many that are superstitious; speak to them of their ways, they wUl have very many fair pretences, they think that they have this and that warrant out of the Scripture for it; but all the while they have a secret regard to their living, ti-ading, estates, and friends, and this biases their hearts and minds. But divers things before to the same pm-port have been spoken of, and we shall here only

Obs. 14. Idolaters love outward prosperity, because it is a reward of their service to their idols. So the sweetness of our comforts should consist in this, that they conie from God as a reward of our faithfulness. When idolaters look upon their plenty and attribute it to their idol gods, shall it be so much the sweeter to them? let all our comforts be so much the sweeter to us, when we look upon them as coming from God as a rewai’d of our faithfulness. In Psal. cxix. 56, David saith, “This I had, because I kept thy precepts.” You will say. Can we look upon any thing as a reward of our righteousness? Free gi-ace and the gospel reward may stand together; God may reward according to our works, though not for our works, and God is pleased to call it so for the encouragement of his people. Outward prosperity, if it follow our keeping close with God, is vei-y sweet, as the cipher when it follows the figure doth add to the number, though it be nothing in itself.

Ver. 2. The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.

As a father, when he sees his admonitions not regarded by a stubborn child, withtb-aws his allowance from him; so God deals here. You have had many admonitions, now I will withdraw your allowance.

“The floor and the winepress.” He doth not say the field, but “the floor,” I will let them bring their corn to the floor; and he does not say the vine, but “the winepress.”

Obs. 1. God often lets wicked men come near the enjoyment of a mercy, and then cuts it oflf: as many times the saints come near afflictions, and when they are at the very brink, then deliverance arrives.

Obs. 2. God is wont to strike wicked men in those things on which their hearts are most set. They would have their floor and winepress to aflbrd them plenty, m that thing God strikes them. Now observe whether, in God’s ways that” are against you, he does not strike you especially in that on which your hearts are most set; if he does, know there is the finger of God, and God would have you take special notice of it.

“And the new wine shall fail in her.” rn3» tt’ll’n ns the new wine shall lie to them. So in Hab. iii. 17, “The labour of the olive shall fail,” tt’ns shall lie; that is, it shall not perform what it seems to promise to you.

Obs. 3. All creature promises we shall find but a lie; but the promises of the word shall never fail. Whatsoever you promise to yourselves, I say, let it be grounded upon the word; but if you promise to yourselves gi’eat matters from any creature, you will find a lie m the conclusion. We often lie to God in not answering our good beginnings, and it is just with God that the creature should even lie to us, and not accomplish what they seem to promise to us.

Obs. 4. Men will be disappointed at last in that which they think to get in a way of sin. The way of the wicked shall deceive them, they shall not find what they expected therein. The saints shall find more than ever they expected from God, but the wicked shall find less than that which they expected from the creature. But there is not much difficulty in this verse, therefore we pass it over briefly.

Ver. 3. They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.

“They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land.’’ Before, God was to them as a father taking maintenance away from them, leaving them to suffer want; but here his anger increases, and he puts them out of his house: as a father first withdi-aws allowance from his perverse son, and when that will not do, then he thrusts him out of his house; so doth God here: “The floor and the winepress shall not feed them;” and not only so, but, saith God, “They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land.” I will cast them out of my house, cast them out of my land; I will not suff’er Ephraim to dwell any longer there.

God would make them to know that it was his land, that they were but tenants at will, and enjoyed the land upon conditions of obedience, as appears in Lev. xviii. 26; and in Lev. xxv. 23, we read of an ordinance of God, that no land in Canaan should be sold for ever, but only to the year of jubilee; the richest, that bought never so much land, could not buy it for ever, he could not have such a tenure as runs amongst us, “to have and to hold for ever.” But you will ask why. The reason is given in the same verse: “The land shall not be sold for ever:” why? “for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me;” I have brought you to the land, and ye are but sojourners with me in my land. God may dispose of all as he pleases. It is a good meditation for us to dwell upon, that we are God’s stewards; the Lord is the great landlord of all the world. When you go abroad into the fields, you that are godly may see more land than is yoiu’ own, but you cannot see more than is your Father’s.

“The Lord’s land.” This may be said of all the land in the world, he that is thy Father is the great landlord of the world. Jlen respect their landlords and are afraid to displease them, but how little respect is given to this great landlord! “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof;” but, though all the world be “the Lord’s land,” yet this land of Canaan was “the Lord’s land” more peculiarly in many respects:

1. It was a land that God “had espied” as a special place for his people, Ezek. xx. 6. God was overlooking all the world; Where should I have a good land (or country) to set my people? and the text saith, God had espied this for them.

2. It was the land of promise. In Heb. xi. 9, “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country.” No land in Scriptm-e is called the land of promise but only this.

3. It was a land given by oath, Gen. xxiv. 7.

4. It was a land which the Lord brought his people into, by “a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm.”

5. It was a land divided by lot; not only all the land, but every piece in it, and the possession that any man had, was ordered by God himself, by lot.

6. It was a land wherein God dwelt himself, a land that God called his own rest; “This is my rest for ever,” Psal. cxxxii. 14; and God sware unto them that hardened their hearts in the wilderness, that they should not enter into his rest; that is, that they should not enter into the land of Canaan. It was the land wherein were the ordinances and the worship of God, and his honour dwelt there, and so it had a peculiar blessing upon it above every land on the face of the whole earth.

7. It was a land over which God’s eye was in a more special manner: there is a most excellent scripture for that in Deut. xi. 12, “A land which the Lord thy God careth for; the eyes of the Lord thy God are always

pipon it, from the beginning of the year even to the end ot’ the year.”

8. This land was typical of the rest of the church in heaven, for so the apostle, in Ileb. iii. 11, seems to apply Psal. xcv. 11, “Unto whom I sware in my WTath that they should not enter into my rest.” And so in 1 Chron. xvi. 15 — 18, it is said, ‘• Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inlicritanee.” Mark, that he would give imto them the land of Canaan; this must be remembered to a thousand generations, and it must be a law to Israel afterwards. Certainly this notes that God aimed at more by the land of Canaan than merely to possess them of so much ground.

9. Various titles arc given to this land: a “holy land,” Zech. ii. 12; “an exceeding good land,” Numb, xiv. 7; “a pleasant land, a goodly heritage,” Jer. iii. 19; “as the garden of Eden,” Joel ii. 3; “the glorious land,” Dan. xi. 16, 41; “the glory of all lands.” Ezck. XX. 15; and here in my text, “the Lord’s lanJ.” Now from all these titles we are not only to take notice of this, that it would be a great judgment of God to di”ive them out of such a good land; but,

04s. 1. It is a great judgment of God to drive men out of a land for sin. Truly, sometimes, when you travel abroad where there are fair prospects, you cannot but meditate thus: Oh how vile would be our sins, if they should provoke God to cast us out of such a good land as this is! And most of the titles, though not all, given to the land of Canaan, may be applied to our land; and certainly, if God should proceed in his wrath to cast us out, it would be a heavy judgment to consider of, “They laid the pleasant land desolate.” Howsoever wicked men may cry out of God’s servants, that they are the cause of the trouble of the land, yet certainly it is the wicked and ungodly, they that are false in the worship of God, who lay “the pleasant land desolate.” Also, we might here observe, that to be cast out of those mercies that God by an extraordinary providence has brought to us, is a sore and a grievous evil.

06s. 2. The excellency of the state of the church of God. The rest of Canaan was a type of the rest that God has in his clmrch, and all those that are members of the true church of God partake of it. To enjoy God in his ordinances, is to enjov that which is typified by all this.

O believer, thou hast a good land, there is an abundance of excellent privileges belonging to the church of God; and as it is a judgment to be cast out of such a land as this was, so it implies what a great judgment it is to be cast out from tlic church of God, or for God to deny to give to us the blessing of his church. You know what a great affliction it was to Moses, to think that he should not come into that good land; and how earnestly did lie pray to God to be admitted into Canaan! Certainly it is that which we should ])ray for, that we might live to come into that Canaan into which God is bringing his peojile: nowlet us not murmur as they did in the wilderness, “and were destioyed of the destroyer,” 1 Cor. x. 10; but let us go on, and be as Caleb and Joshua, of another spirit, and not fear our adversaries, but go on in God’s way, and the Lord will bring us into the good land. True, we have deserved to be cut off in the wilderness; but certainly God has a Canaan yet to come for his people, the Lord lias great things to do for his church; and there arc many expressions upon which some think that God even will make use of this Canaan yet, to be

the place of tlic manifestation of his chief majesty and gloiy in this world: but, however that be, yet the Lord has a sure Canaan for his jieople.

“But Ephraim .shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in AssjTia.” The returning to Egvpt we have had before. But besides that, they shall be brought to such poverty and misery as to eat unclean, polluted bread, whereas before they had abundance. Peter would cat nothing that was unclean till God warned him; but the Assyrians would bring them unclean meat and bid them cat. They would say, We cannot, this is against our religion, and against our consciences. Your consciences! what do we care for them? eat it or starve: so they were forced to eat.

06s. 3. It is a great misery to be brought under those who have no regai’d to the consciences of men.

But that which is especially aimed at here is, God would take away all notes of distinction between them and the heathen. This prohibition of meats was a means to keep them from mixing with the heathen, but now saith God, All is gone, let them go and eat unclean things; as for the covenant with me, it is wholly abolLshcd, I will own them no more than the very impure heathen: they would make leagues with the Assyrians; well, they shall partake with them, and be filthy and unclean as they. As they defiled God’s worship by mixing heathenish pollutions with it, now God gives them up to all heathenish uncleanness; as they were like the heathens in inward impurity, so let them be, saith God, in outward abominations.

Obs. 4. It is just with God, that those who will make leagues with wicked men, shoidd eventually be enthralled in their abominations. They were indeed at a distance from them before, but when once the peace is made, they come now to be all one with them.

06s. 5. When men are inwardly unclean, God cares not for their outward cleanness, ‘thus many professors of religion defiling their consciences, and becoming Uke the wicked in inward sins, God at length gives them up to themselves, that there should be no difference between them and the wicked in their outward abominations. Have you not known some examples of this?

06s. 6. It is a fearful sin for the saints to join with the ungodly in impure worship. There might be as much excuse for eating things unclean as one could imagine; ATiy, Lord, they might say, shall we starve? True, they might doubtless eat that which was unclean rather than starve, but yet their misery was great misery, that they could have nothing to eat but that which was unclean; but now this is not only an affliction, but sin, and indeed the moral of it is to show the great evil that there is in joining with any mode of false worship; to unite in false worship is a great evil, and an argument that God is about to disclaim us. Cyprian from this ])lace dehorts Christians from communicating with M icked ministers, Ne sibi plebs in hoc blavdialur, &c. But I do not speak of not joining in worship if there be unclean ones there, ministers or people; and I am persuaded, if it be thoroughly weighed, no one will be found to be of that opinion; for it is impossible but in time some that are ungodly will creep unawares into every church: but this is not that which causes many to forbear communion, but some things being actually done that their consciences tell them to be sin. But if these matters of offence be removed, and the worship kept pure, and liberty given to every one to deliver their own souls by faithfully rebuking and admonishing, and a power exist in exercise in the church to cast out the unclean, no doubt, though some be admitted, men may communicate.

Ver. 4. Thei, shall not offer trine offerings to the Lord, neither shaft they be pleading unto him: their sucrfjfices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners:

all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord.

The prophet, in the name of God, proceeds to denounce further thrcatcnings on Israel, and this in the 4th verse is a very dreadful one.

“They shall not offer wine-offerings to the Lord.” In their offerings there was wont to be wine and oil, to note cheei;fulness in God’s service: thus in Numb. XV. 5, 6, “The fourth part of an bin of wine for a di-inkoffering shalt thou prepare,” and “thou shalt prepare for a meat-offering two tenth deals of flour mingled with the third part of an bin of oil.” But now all joy shall be taken away, there shall be nothing but sadness and sinking of spirit under their misery, no wine-offering. Hence,

Obs. 1. It is just with God to take joy from those who abuse it to their lusts.

Obs. 2. This makes an affliction grievous indeed, when the joy in God’s service is gone. “They shall not offer wine-offerings;” all their joy and comfort in the service of God shall be gone; they shall not only have sorrow in their outward afflictions, but every time they engage in any service of God, their hearts shall be dejected. There was a time when some of you were wont to offer “wine-offerings to the Lord,” that is, to have much joy and comfort in the service of God; but is it not all gone? where are your “wine-offerings to the Lord?” You can now go through duties, but your hearts are heavy and dull in the performance of them; there is no sweetness, no enlargement of spirit, all the worship of God is now a burden unto you. Surely, no affliction is so great as God’s duties becoming burdensome. So long as the saints have a wine-offering for the Lord in holy duties, so long as their spirits in the discharge of them can be free and joyful, their afflictions are not very burdensome, they are well enough: this is more delightful to them than all the wine in the world, for as they can say of God’s love, “Thy love is better than wine,” so can they say of their love to God, Our love to him is more comfortable to us than any wine of earth. Now, though they be in afflictions, and their estates are gone, so that they have no wine to diink themselves, yet if they have their “wine-ofl’erings” to offer to the Lord, this makes glad the hearts of the saints, more than the hearts of all the men in the world can be gladdened, when their corn, and their wine, and their oil increase.

“Neither shall they be pleasing unto him.” Whatsoever their offerings be, they shall not be grateful unto him; God will take no delight in them, they will be but sour things to his palate; whereas the offerings of the saints in his own way, do cheer the very heart of God. “Neither shall they be pleasing unto him;” nothing that is tendered to God from them shall be ])leasing to him: No, saith God, now I will have other ways than your offerings in which to glorify myself upon you, I will rather glorify myself by your miseries, they shall be sweet and delightful to me.

“Their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mom-ners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted.”, yi, The Hebrew may be taken substantively or adjectively, as thus, the bread of mourning, or the bread of mourners; now, by “the bread of mourners,” is here meant unclean bread, for so it is interpreted afterwards. It shall be unclean.

But why is the bread of mourners unclean? This text has reference to Numb. xix. 11 — 14, where you read, that the dead body of a man defiled whatsoever touched it; yea, whatsoever came near it, even all those that came to the place where the dead body was, to mourn with the friends for the dead, became unclean. And it is observable, that the dead body of a beast did not make men so unclean (by legal uncleanness) as did

the dead body of a man. The dead body of a beast made one unclean only till the evening. Lev. xi. 27, whereas the dead body of a man made one unclean seven days. And this was to note that there were more remarkable expressions of the anger of God on the sin of man in the dead body of a man, than in the dead body of a beast; one made unclean but “till evening,” the other “seven days.” But the reason why there was this uncleanness from the dead body, was to note,

1. The uncleanness that there is in sin, in dead works, that those that did meddle with them were polluted; yea, the uncleanness incurred in coming near to sinners, all that was in the tent was polluted.

2. How little pleasing to God funeral rites are, they were made unclean by them; for this “bread of mourners” is the bread that they eat at their funerals. The Gentiles mourned for their dead inordinately; and God would have a difference between his people’s mourning for the dead and their mourning, because that ho would sustain his people’s faith, and the hope of resurrection from the dead; whereas had they had liberty ’ to mourn so excessively as the heathens did, the very faith and hope of resurrection from the dead might in time have been almost extinguished; therefore God would have them take heed of that, and consequently ordained in the ceremonial law, that all the mourners for the dead should be unclean for a certain length of time. As for any that indulge their natural affections without restraint in their mourning for the dead, I would apply to them the words of Jer. xxxi. 13, 16. “Thus saith the Lord; A voice was heard in Kamali, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Eahel weeping for her cbildi-en refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.” But now, “Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.” Let us not then weep as others, let us not mourn as others that have no hope; i-emember that the mourners for the dead under the law were to be unclean for seven days.

3. That God would have cheerfulness in his service, and therefore “the bread of mourners” is accounted polluted. So in Lev. x. 19, when Aaron had an occasion for mourning as great almost as any man ever had, (his children, that were so eminent in office, having been destroyed by such a visible hand of God,) and Moses was angry that the priests had “not eaten the sin-offering,” Aaron said to him, “If I had eaten the sin-offering to-day, should it have been accepted in the sight of the Lord?” It would have been but as “the bread of mourners.” I that have been struck this day, and am in such a dreadful condition, would God have regarded the sin-offering? God required joy in his services, Deut. xii. 7, 18; and hence that profession in Deut. xxvi. 13 was required, “Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I hpve not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.” And then, ver. 14, there follows, “I have not eaten thereof in my mourning.” They were to profess this to God, that they had not eaten thereof in their mourning; this was to show, that sacrifice offered with a sinking heart, in sorrow, is not pleasing to God: “God loveth a cheerful giver.” ‘O’e must not pine away in our iniquities, sullen dejection of mind, even in sorrow for sin, sours our spirits and services, and makes them unacceptable to God. There is a groaning and a sighing one to another, or rather, against one another, that is condemned in Scripture

in James V. 9: the words in your Bibles are, “Grudge not one against another,” but in the original. Mi) arivd-Ztre Kar’ aXXrjXwv; Sigh not, or groan not, one against another. Many in company are of a dull, pensive spirit, sighing and groaning, and making their society burdensome: saith the Holy Ghost, Do not sigh and groan one to another. There is a sullen dejection of soul that is as unpleasing to God as it is to men, it pollutes the heart, and pollutes duty.

But (you will say) is all mourning forbidden, that here the Holy Ghost should say, “Their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners?” Christ saith, “Blessed are they that mourn;” and the sacrifice of God is “a contrite heart.”

True, an evangelical sorrow is accepted, but that has sweetness in it; it is not bitter, it is not a mourning that causes dejection or suUenness, or straitness of spirit, but it enlarges the heart and makes it active for God. Hence, in Ezra ix., although we read before that Ezra was astonished at the sin of the people, yet saith he, at ver. 5, “And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness;” when the time came that I should sacrifice unto God, my heaviness did not hinder me in the performance of my holy duties. But how many are there that sink down in their heaviness, and when God calls u])on them to any duty, they cannot arise, they are so dejected! Shall God accept such service as theii’s? You may please yourselves in it, and think it is humiliation, but there may be much pride in dejection; there is no spirit so proud as the devil, and yet no s))irit so dejected. Lead, we know, melts soonest, but it consumes in the melting; and many times the spirit may be ready to sorrow and melt upon every occasion, but the melting is such as consumes its strength and unfits it for the service that God calls for; now those services which you in such a mourning way tender up to God, are not accepted of him. Remember this text, “Their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners.”

Gualter observes on this, God would not accept of the offering of mourners, they were unclean, yet many seek to get their greatest gain from funeral mournings: and he proceeds to inveigh against such; the priests and officers that use to tend upon funerals for gain, he calls vultures and crows, as such flock to dead bodies; and those who support themselves by funerals, sepulchral dogs.

Theophylact also, on these words, “the bread of mourners,” observes, That it means the things offered to God gotten by oppression, as thus; Suppose any get an estate by oppression, it may be they are at home and merry, while the poor children or widow is mourning for those morsels that thou art rejoicing in. But the first note most accords with the mind of the Holy Ghost, the mourning that has respect to the funerals, and so especially to the dejection of spirit in holy duties.

“For their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord.” We may understand by the words “their bread for their soul,” First, Their oblations generally, not only bread; but their oblations: as Mai. i. 7, “Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar;” bread is there taken generally for all kinds of offerings upon God’s altar. So, “their bread for their soul,” that is, those ofierings which they offered for the very life of their souls.

Obs. 3. It is a sad thing when God rejects a creature who would seek to him for his very life. These peoi)lc had rejected the voice of the Lord at the temple, and kept others from going thither; they thought sacrifices elsewhere would serve the turn as well; but now they shall be unable to bring any acceptable sacrifices to the house of the Lord, though they .should desire to do it for their very souls. Thus many, who in the time of

their prosperity neglect and slight the worship of God, and think it of little moment, afterwards, when they sec their very lives, theii- souls, lie at Ids mercy, then would they fain seek to God, they see they are imdone if God be not merciful to them; yet then God rejects them, their ofierings then, “their bread for their soul, shall not come into the house of the Lord,” that is, will not be accepted of God. AMien a man is crying for an alms, to be rejected is something; but when a man is crying for his soul, then to be rejected, and by God himself, this is more grievous.

Secondly, The bread that they have to maintain their lives, for so we find the Scripture calls the soul, the life of a man, in Matt. vi. 25: “Is not the life more than meat?” Ovxi »y ^vxr) ttXiIov irrri TrjQ rpotpiy; “Is not the soul more than meat?” It is here the bread for the soul, that is, the very bread necessary to maintain their lives; although they should be willing to offer that to the Lord, it shall not come unto him. Now this is as if the prophet should say to them. You cannot now be brought to offer your supei-fluity to God, but your condition shall be such, that if you would offer the very bread you have to preserve your lives, God will not accept it. As if a man were so poor that he were ready to starve, and yet for all that would say, Well, though I starve, yet I will offer this I hae to live on to God, rather than use it myself; now you would think this a proof of a great deal of devotion; but the case shall now be, that though you should seek God with such earnestness, yet the heart of God shall be so hardened against you that your offerings will not be accepted.

Obs. 4. Those who in time of prosperity are loth to deny their ease, or to lay out any thing of their superfluity for God, may yet be willing to pluck out their very eyes, and tear their very flesh, in indignation for their sin, and God not vouchsafe to rrgai’d them. Therefore, by this, learn to seek God while he may be found, and not to stand upon your own terms with God in the day of your prosperity, and to say, I cannot spare this and that for him. If we deny God now what is his due, though we would give to him hereafter that on which our lives depend, yet it shall not be accepted.

Thirdly, That they shall have no more bread than will serve for their present exigences. They shall have nothing to bring to the house of the Lord; they shall be so put to it when they are in captivity, and .shall be kept so strictly, as to have nothing but bread and water, nothing but supplies for present need, they shall be far enough from having any thing to offer to the Lord, to be accepted of him; if they should think of bringing any thing to the house of the Lord, alas! w hat have they? nothing but a little bread to sustain life.

Obs. 5. To have no estate to offer to the service of God, in the ways of his public worship, is a great affliction.

Ver. 5. IVhat icitl ye do in the solemn day, and ni llie day nf the feast of the Lord?

There was a time, saith God by the prophet, that you would not suffer any to go up to the feasts; but now you shall be far enough from Jerusalem, or any other place of worship, and the very remembrance of those solemn days, which were days of rejoicing. Numb. X. 10, shall be grievous to you: “What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the Lord?” Thus some interpret it, they make those feasts to be the feasts in which they should have gone up to Jerusalem; but I take not this to be scone of the Holy Ghost here, but rather thus: by “the solemn day, and feast of the Lord,” is meant, the solemn day of Goii’s

wrath and vengeance upon them. Now, to confirm this, I shall show, that in Scripture the day of God’s wrath is called, fii-st, “The solemn day;” and, secondly, “The day of the feast of the Lord.”

First, “The solemn day,” is the day of God’s ^wath. “Thou hast called as in a solemn day my teiTors round about, so that in the day of the Lord’s anger none escaped nor remained,” Lam. ii. 22. “The solemn day” is there “the day of the Lord’s angei’.”

Secondly, The day of God’s feast. That time when God doth execute his wrath upon wicked men is the day of a feast to God. Besides other texts, in PlCV. xix. 17, 18, it is said, “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven. Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.” It is a solemn day, a day of the execution of God’s wrath, wherein God executes wrath publicly, and brings much wrath together. And yet it is termed “the su]iper,’’ the feast, “of the great God.” “Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about.” You know that in the day of a petty sessions there may be some justice administered, but more privately; but in a day of solemn assize, when there is a full gaol delivery, then judgment is done publicly. So God executes justice sometimes on particular men, but yet has he his solemn day to execute his judgments publicly before all, and then the Lord feasts.

The day of execution of God’s wrath upon wicl; ed men is a day of feast, for these reasons:

1. Because their feast days were days of slaying sacrifices; so they should now be slain, and God would account their bodies even as sacrifices slain for this great feast of his. In Isa. xxxiv. 6, “The Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrali, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.’’ And in Zeph. i. 7, 8,” Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s chikken, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.” “He hath bid his guests.” Here is the feast of God, and the slaughter of great men, the dishes as it were of sacrifice that God would have at this his feast; the executioners of God’s wrath are now his priests, to kill his sacrifices. Soldiers and executioners are turned the priests of God, to kill his sacrifices for this his feast. Hence, in Jer. vi. 4, “Prepare ye war against her,” is in the original,.“icnSn ri’Sy wip sanctify the war against her; and in another scriptm-e, the executioners of God’s WTath are called God’s “sanctified ones.”

2. A day of feasting is a day of rejoicing; this day of the execution of God’s wTath upon sinners, especially gi-eat sinners that escape men’s hands, is a day of rejoicing to God, as in a day of feast. The word jn here translated “feast,” signifies also dancing, it is a day wherein the Lord’s heart doth, as it were, leap within him because of joy; God rejoices in the execution of his righteous judgments upon them: therefore God’s wrath in Scripture is called “wine;” and the wicked are said to WTing out and di-ink the dregs of his cup, Psal. lxxv. 8. When sinners continue impenitent, the Lord is as much delighted in the execution of his justice, as men can be in drinking of wine. So Deut. xxviii. 63, “And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought.” And Ezek. v. 13, “Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon

them, and I will be comforted.’’ This is a strangely fearful expression. Let us, then, my brethren, take heed how we rejoice in sin; God may rejoice in the execution of his judgment upon us due to our sin. Men have their- days of joy and mirth in sin; and God has his days of rejoicing in the execution of his wrath. Oh how sad is the condition of a creature when the infinitely merciful God shall rejoice in his ruin! Surely then, if God so rejoice in the execution of his wrath upon wicked men, the saints also may rejoice. “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,” Psal. lviii. 10: an allusion to the custom of those countries, where they were wont after their travels to wash their feet with cold water, to refresh them: so the blood of the wicked should be refreshment to the righteous. Now this is not an insulting joy over them, but a rejoicing in the honour that God has, and in the good that results to the church by the execution of his vengeance upon such men. So there follows in ver. 11 of the same Psalm, “So that a man shall say. Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.” The saints may look upon wicked men when they see them executed, and pity them as men; but still they may rejoice in this, that they see a spectacle before them verifying such scriptures, “Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.” And in Psal. lii. 6, “The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him.” !Mark, though he may rejoice, yet he must have fear mixed with it, “he shall see,” and “fear,” and “shall laugh.” And note, that scripture is spoken of Doeg, a most desperate enemy to God’s people, and one who watched every opportunity to do them mischief, and especially to do mischief to David. He it was who came and stirred up Saul against David, and this 52nd Psalm contains a prophecy of his destruction, yet, saith the Spirit of God, “The righteous also shall see, and fear, and laugh;” though they rejoice, yet must they have fear mixed with their joy. If a man can keep his heart spiritual, sanctifying God’s name in the beholding of such an object, as that of men eminent in wickedness being brought to execution, he may lawfully, according to the mind of God, feast his eyes on the sight. Such a day is called “the feast of the Lord;” and the Lord is not wont to feast himself, but he calls his saints to feast with him. In Prov. xi. 10, “When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.” And that it should be so, accords with God’s mind. And therefore, although Christians especially should be far from proudly insulting, even over such men, yet, when God lays an object before them wherein they see the answer of many prayers, and the fruit of the cries of many thousands that were oppressed, yea, of many thousand conscience-oppressed ones; if, I say, at the stroke of God, they, with hearts lifted up to him, give a shout that ascends to the heavens, this pleases God, and the holy angels; it is music fit for “the day of the feast of the Lord.”

“Ye.” Yea, but saith the Holy Ghost here by the prophet, “What will ye do? “When God makes this his feast in the execution of such as were eminently wicked, the saints may rejoice and bless his name; he bids them then, as it were, to look and see. Is it not good to wait upon me? The saints may do so and bless God; but,” What will ye do in the solemn day, and irk the day of the feast of the Lord?” Y’e wicked, “what ■ndll ye do” in that day? what ^-ill become of all your jollity? what will become of all your stoutness and wilfulness, of all your pride, of all your scorning, of all vour vain hopes, when this “solemn day “draws nigh, when” the feast of the Lord “comes. In Isa. x. 3, we have a scripture parallel to this,” ‘WTiat will ye do

in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye tiec for help? and where will ye leave your Rlory? “You can tell what to do now, you have your lusts and pride to serve, and stand it out stoutly now; but what will you do in the day of visitation, when God’s” solemn day,” and “the day of the feast of the Lord,” shall come. Oh! what can they do but, as the great and mighty men in Kev. vi. 16, 17, call “to the mountains and rocks. Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? “Those who are now .the most bold and presumjjtuous in their sins, when this” day of the Lord “conies, shall be in the most miserable perple.xitv, not knowing what to do; unwilling to bear that which is upon them, and unable to avoid it, they will not know what course to take. •’ What will ye do in the solerfin day, and in the day of the feast of the Lord?” For then,

1. All your comforts will be gone, all those things with which your hearts closed, and made as gods.

2. Now God himself will fight against you: “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty,” Isa. xiii. 6. It may be you look only upon the agents employed, and flatter yourselves with ho]3es of escape: your hopes are rain, it is “a destruction from the Almighty,” and therefore what can you do?

3. Conscience in that day will terrify you.

4. You shall not know whither to go for help. To the creature? it cannot help you; your vain hopes in the creature have their very heartstrings broken; you thought that you might obtain aid there, but now you see they cannot help.

5. Then the very thoughts of God must needs be terrible to you; and then what will you do?

6. These miseries are but the beginning of sorrows, this “day of the Lord” is but a preparation for another still more solemn. Oh! what will ) e do in the day of the Lord? My brethren, though you can discern no blenching in their countenances, yet did you but see the black bosom, and the woeful guilty spirit by sin within, you would know that the soul could not tell what in the world to do in the day of the Lord. It is strange what a man may do even before death, in the presence of men, although his own conscience testifies against him; and though men are ready to be taken with dying men’s expressions, yet there is often much deceit in them.

Hut you will say. What a man professes when he is ready to die, certainly must needs be a truth.

Bishop Latimer has a remarkable story concerning this in one of his sermons. As he was riding he came where an execution was about to take place; when the people saw him they made way, and he went up to speak with the man; but neither he, nor any that were aoout him, could get him to give glory to God by confessing the crime for which he was to be executed: he persisted that he was not guilty. At length they turned the ladder, and when they thought life extinct, they cut the rope and took him down; but after a little,’tluy saw some motion, and by nibbing and chafing him restored animation, so that he was able to speak, and then he confessed all; that he was guilty of those very things, which, when about to die, he had strenuously denied. Thus it is possible for men in the stoutness of their hearts, even at the last, rather to venture their souls than confess their guilt; and well may they who have ventured their souls so much before upon other things, think that they may make bold with God even at such a time.

But, however, in this “day of the Lord,” this day of public calamity, there will be much dejection of .spirit in the wicked, they will not know what to do; but the

servants of God, who have walked conscientiously before him, will know what to do in such a day. p’or,

1. They can bless God that ever they knew him, that ever they knew his ways, that ever he put it into their hearts to fear his name.

2. They can exercise their faith upon that word in which the Lord has caused them to trust, they can make it to be the support of their souls and the joy of their hearts, even in such a day.

3. They can sanctify God’s name in his righteous judgments, they can see mercy and the love of a Father in the sorest and heaviest afflictions that befall them.

4. They can ease their souls by pouring them forth into the bosom of a gi’aeious and reconciled Father.

5. They can see beyond all these present evils immortality and glory; they can see on the other side, a little beyond these troubles and afflictions, an everlasting joy and day of peace in store for them. A Job can tell what to do, he can profess that though God slay him, yet will he trust in him. Job xiii. 15; xix. 25. A David can tell what to do; “I remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; and have comforted myself,” Psal. cxix. 52. An Habakkuk can tell what to do; “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines: the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields hall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation,” Hab. iii. 17, 18. Thus you see the saints know what to do in slich a day; and this is the excellency of grace, that it can never be put so to it in any strait, but it can tell what to do: as David said to Achish, in 1 Sam. xxviii. 2, “Sui-ely thou shalt know what thy servant can do; “so the saints, in times of public calamity, .should set their graces so on work that all may see what their faith, and humility, and patience, can efl’ect; their actions should say. Surely you shall see now what the servant of the Lord can do. If one should say to any who have made profession of godliness. You spake much of the excellency of grace, but what can you do with it? The answer that such a one may well give is this, “When you ai’e utterly at a loss what to do, or which way to turn yourselves, yet, through God’s mercy, my way is clear. Grace is able to carry a man through fire and water; this faith of mine, and the grace that I have gotten by the word at which you can scorn, do, through God’s mercy, enable my soul to rejoice, yea, to triumph, in tribulations. Can you do that? You can rejoice now when you are in a tavern; but in the day of tribulation, when a dismal day shall come to the world, what will you do? I thank God, I have that which can rejoice my heart even in such a day; and the inwrought operation of the word, and jiraycr, and the ordinances, can enable me to do that which you cannot do; and surely it is something when a man, in times of tribulation, can so carr)’ himself above all, that men or devils eire unable to confound him.

Vcr. 6. For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Hfiiiy! ill all gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess Ihem: thorns shall be in their tabernacles.

But do you say to us. What will we do in such a day? A’hy, we know well enough what to do, we have a way to help us; if all your threatenings should befall us, yet we can have help. It is not likely that all this misery and desolation which you ])rophesy of will come suddenly; then surely we know what to do. we will go to Egypt, which is not far oti’; and if we cannot live here in our own country, we will go to Memphis, which is a brave city, and there we may live well enough. Many of us are merchants, and Memphis ia as great a

place for merchandise as wnere we live, and we wUl go thither.

06s. 1. Carnal hearts haye always some devices to provide for themselves. Indeed it is this that takes ofl’ the hearts of men from humbling themselves before the Lord, and making their peace with him; they think they may in some manner escaipe God’s strokes, therefore they do not fall down with trembling hearts before the Lord, and ciy unto him, “Lord, what wilt thou have us to do?” Were it not for this vain conceit, what humiliation would there be before the Lord, what submission to him, what seeking of him! “Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved,” Isa. lvii. 10. Thou thoughtest thou couldst tell what to do. therefore thou wcrt not grieved. When God intends mercy to men, he takes them off from their vain hopes, and fi-om all their carnal reasonings. When the hearts of men are brought to this, to cry, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” and as Jehoshaphat, “We know not what to do; but our eyes are up unto thee;” I say, when men’s hearts, taken off from all their shifts, come to this, As for any thing in ourselves, we know not what to do, but only our eyes are up unto thee; then is mercy at hand, and never till then. And therefore all the time that you are reasoning in your own imaginations, you are far from mercy.

“For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egi|-pt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them.” The prophet here speaks as if the tiling were done already. Although they were in Samaria, and in the cities of Israel, yet, saith the prophet, “Lo, they are gone.” The wrath of God was too hot for them in their own countrj’, and away they are gone, and betaken themselves to Egypt for refuge. Hence,

Obs. 2. Carnal hearts will rather make any thing their refuge in difficulties, than God. iIy brethren, just these, for all the world, have been, I fear, and it may be yet are, the tioughts of many among us. Ministers of God, say they, denounce judgments, affirming that God has a controversy against us, and we already see some tokens of God’s wrath upon us. Well, let the worst come that can, v,-e hope to shift some way or other; we may escape to Holland, or Germany, or France, or New England, and there make shift to live. And these hack doors that their eyes are upon, have made them less solicitous about, and less helpful in, the great things that God calls aloud on all to unite in with all their strength, that they may deliver their own land from the heavy wrath that bangs over it. Well, notwithstanding men’s thoughts are bent on various expedients, all will prove vain. You think, saith God, to Hee some where; you will be disappointed, for “Egj-pt shall gather you,” and “Memphis shall bury you;” my wrath and sore displeasure shall so pursue you. It is a vain thing for men to seek to flee from the presence of God. But certainly, in some cases a man may Hee from danger; as when they see that their work is done in one place, and God in his providence opens them a door to another: but if, out of distrust and slavish fear, when God calls for further work in a place, and there is no other door opened by providence, they attempt to break a way for themselves, to make provision for the Hesh, they may expect wrath to pursue them wheresoever they go, their safest places may prove to be their graves; “Egyjrt shall gather them lip,” as they gather dead bodies; “Memphis shall bury them.” Memphis was a principal city in Egypt, now well knov,-n to your merchants and mariners by the name of Grand Cairo. It was then called Memphis, as some think, from the name of one of the king of Egj’pi’s daughters. It was very famous for the pp-amids and sepulchres of the lungs, and stood very commodious for traffic, being situated

on the river Nile. It contained a multitude of streets; I am loth to name the number, for indeed it appears incredible; only this is remarkable, that generally all the streets had at each end of them two gates, so that they might be locked up as separate towers, and the inhabitants immured from all communication with the rest of the city. The Holy Ghost may allude to that in saying “Memphis shall bury you.” Now, say they, We will go to ilemphis, a brave place for traffic, and a very commodious city, a safe city, that has all the streets shut up like so many towei-s; we will go and find safety there. Yea, but “Memphis shall bury you,” saith God.

Obs. 3. It is a great affliction to be forced to leave one’s ov,n country, and die in a strange land. The Lord has sent many of his servants into other countries to live among strangers; some there are that have gone of their own accord, yet, through God”s mercy, they have not so gone but God has given them liberty to return again; and though their going has been (as you know) much aspersed of late, yet, when more weighty work permits, I make no question but you will be so fully satisfied as to acknowledge a special hand of God even in their going. But the Jews especially accounted it a great misery to die out of their own land. Buxtorf, in his book called The Jewish .Synagogue, relates a tradition of the Jews to this effect: they believe that the resurrection of the Jews at the great day shall be at Jerusalem, that wheresoever any of the Jews have died, yet they shall arise at Jerusalem; therefore many of them who lived a great way off, when they began to grow old, would leave their stations, and go as near to Jerusalem as they could: for their tradition adds, that the bodies of those who are interred at a distance shall come through passages of the earth all along to Jerusalem, and that they may prevent the trouble of coming so far under the ground, therefore in old age they go to dwell near Jerusalem. This is the vanity of spirit to which they are left. But though that be a vanity, yet certainly it is an affliction to any to live and die out of their own country: but if it be a great evil to tlee from one’s own country for fear of destruction, and to have the place they flee to made as their grave, what a far greater evil is it for men, merely out of love of gain, to leave places where before they did, or might, enjoy communion with the saints; to leave the ordinances of God to go to dwell among papists, or heathens, where they cannot have the freedom of God’s worship! Now it is just with God, that such as these are should find those places to be labyrinths of miserable perplexity to them, seeing they, out of love to gain, thus venture themselves. Therefore let men take heed how they go, for any private ends, from places where God’s worship may be had. to places where they cannot enjoy it.

“The pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess them; thorns shall be in their tabernacles.” The words DSDsS idhd translated “the pleasant places for their silver,” mean also the desire of their silver. This may refer,

1. To’ their furniture of silver, that nettles shall grow where are now their “pleasant places for their silver” and household stufi’, that they took so much delight in; as in Lam. i. 7, “Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old.” Mark but these two things from this text, “Jerusalem in the days of her affliction and of her miseries.” My brethren, there may be days of affliction, and yet no days of misery; the saints may meet with days of affliction, but yet they may not be days of misery. But when the wicked meet “with days of affliction, they meet likewise with days of misery. But the thing for which especially I quote this text is this, Jerusalem then,” in the days’of her affliction and of her miseries, remem-AX EXPOSITION OF

hered all her pleasant things that she naa’ in the days of old.” So here it is threatened that nettles shall grow in “the pleasant places for their silver;” then shall they too remember the delights they had there, when all shall be so utterly destroyed.

2. The places where they hid then- silver. As you know in times of war men will hide theii’ sUver, hoping they may return for it again. But, saith God, you shall go far off from it. I make no question hut another generation may find treasures of silver in those countries in the midst of “nettles” and “thorns.”

3. To their delightful houses adorned with silver, that were so glorious in their eyes. All now is gone, saith God, and nettles and thorns shall grow up and shall inherit them; so the word Dlt’i” translated •’ shall possess them ‘’ means. You hope to leave these brave houses to your children to inherit; but now, saith God, 1 have other heii’s for your houses, thorns and nettles shall inherit them. It is a lamentable spectacle to see places, where fair buildings have been, overgrown with nettles and thorns; as probably will hapl)en if these wars in divers places of this kingdom continue. Of Troy it has been said. Corn grows where

Troy stood: it was made a ploughed Sf6ese.t,ui,iTmja ggy But to have ncttlcs gTOW is worse;

for where the plough goes there are inhabitants, but nettles and thorns speak of desolation. Travellers tell us, that in many places of Germany there are nothing now but bushes and nettles where splendid buildings once stood. The Lord deliver us from such a heavy stroke! It is threatened also in Isa. xxxii. 13, “Upon the land of my people shall come u]) thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city.” Would it not be a sad spectacle to see, in such a city as this, the buildings overthrown, and nettles and thorns growing rank in our fairest streets? Yet sin is thus ruinous. And then in Isa. xxxiv. 13, “Thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of di’agons, and a court for owls;” the owls shall keep court there. In our courts we know what abundance of sin there was; now the owls shall keep coiu’t there instead of those who lived so delicately in them. Sin, my brethren, is a leprosy that infects the vei-y doors of our houses. There is a notable passage in 2 Kings xxv. 9, where it is said of X’ebuchadnezzar, that “he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fii-e.” There is a great deal of sin usually committed in gi-eat men’s houses; and at this day how have the great men of the land, almost in all places, showed a spu-it of malignity against the work of reformation! Oh how just with God is it that their houses should suffer! as is here threatened in my text. Many of them have been spoiled already, and if God give them not hearts speedily to see the evil of their ways, it is very probable that within a few years this text of mine shall be fulfilled upon them all.

It may be Israel thought, though the war did keep them from their houses for a while, nay, though they should be broken down, yet their lands would remain, they could not be alienated. Nay, saith God, flatter not yourselves with thinking to return again to them, for you never shall, for nettles and thorns shall possess them.

Vcr. 7. The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall knoic it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad. for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the ireat hatred.

“The days of visitation are come, the days of lecompencc.”

Obs. 1. God has his set time for the execution of his judgments. “The days of visitation.” What good is it to a malefactor that he is let alone a while in the prison, when he knows that such a day of the month must be the day of his execution?

Ohs. 2. Our judgments aie none other but rccompences. “The days of recompence.” Y’ou may have vain jileas and reasons to justify yourselves; but when God comes to visit you, he will deal with you in a way of recompence proportionable to your deeds. If you would fall down and acknowledge your sins and your need of mercy, then it may be you may find mercy; but if you will stand to justify yourselves, then expect that God, when he comes, will come in a way of recompence.

And now, my brethren, what a desperate venture is this, that men will venture to deal with God in a way of recompence, whereas you may be dealt with in a way of mercy!

You will say, WIio are those whom God will deal with in a way of recompence?

Ceilainly those who will attempt to justify themselves, and say, God knows I do what I can, and this is not so much my fault as others’. Let them expect that God, when he comes to deal with you, will have your pleas fully examined; and if it prove that your pleas will hold, you shall have accordingly; and if your pleas shall be found false, then you shall be dealt withal in a way of justice. Will you venture? dare any of you venture to stand it out on your pleas? If you say you do what you can, you will be ti’ied by it, and you shall be recompensed accordingly; and if it be found indeed that you do what you can, you shall be saved; but if it be found you have not done what you could, you shall perish eternally. Will you venture? Certainly, whatsoever you stand pleading to justify yourselves by, you may expect that God will deal with you accordingly.

“Are come.” Twice “are come;” as it is said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” Israel was about to be recompensed for her transgressions, and would therefore hardly be moved with any apprehension of danger, accordingly you have the “come” twice repeated.

Obs. 3. The apprehension of present evil tenifics the soul. You have a remarkable text for this in Ezek. vii. G, “An end is come, the end is come;” and then the next words, “it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.” In one little verse three times, “An end is come, the end is come; behold, it is come.” And in the verse before, it “is come,” and in the verse after, it “is come;” five times God tells them that it “is come.” Then saith my text,

“Israel shall know it.” Here our observations are,

Obs. 1. AVicked men will not know till they feel; when they are struck, then they will know. The best knowledge of God’s displeasure comes from the causes, but if men will not know from thence, they shall know from the effects. In their prosperity they had many false prophets who soothed them with flatteries, so that they were kept from knowledge; but now when they had felt God’s stroke, then they should know: but he does not tell you what they should know. They should know these things:

1. What a great God they had to deal with.

2. How vile a thing sin is.

3. The vanity of all their shiftings.

4. The dreadfulness of Divine wrath.

5. The faithfulness of God’s prophets.

C. The wisdom of those who dared not do as tlicy did.

7. The folly and vanity of all the false prophets that did before seduce them; they should know that “the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad.” The knowledge we gain of these things in the season of

affliction, is knowledge of a different kind to that which we have in the hour of oui- prosperity. A German diline in an affliction said, In this disease I know what sin is, and how great is God. And yet he was a divine, why did he not know before? No, truly, he never before so knew what sin and God were.

Obs, 5. The knowledge men gain of God in the time of affliction, is a working knowledge. “Israel shall know it.” I appeal to yourselves; how many of you, in the time of your sickness and afflictions, have known things after another manner than ever you knew them before?

“The prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad.”

Obs. 6. In the time of affliction men cry out, that those who seduced them are fools. One who died not long since, near the Exchange, lamented bitterly his having kept company with lewd ministers, who encouraged him in his ways, and hardened him against religion and the saints of God.

We know how men have closed with wicked ministers, and how they have hardened themselves in scorning at religion and puritans, and yet have had cause on their death-beds to cry out against those who deceived them, telling them that they need not be so strict and so pure: take heed now how you be deceived by aecounted-spii’itual men. In that text of Isaiah they found by experience, that the prophet was but “a fool,” and that those who had such glorious spiritual titles were but “mad;” and if you take not heed, some of you hereafter may have abundant reason on your death-beds to cry out against certain ministers amongst us, who persuade you after the same example.

Obs. 7. It is no excuse for men to be led aside by their ministers. The reason that they were given up to such prophets follows:

“For the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.” Thou hadst a wicked and vile heart, which hated God’s people and the ways of godliness, and therefore it was just with God to give thee up to those whom now thou seest to be fools and mad. O, it is just with God, when men’s spirits are against his true prophets, to leave them to ministers that undo their souls everlastingly! But if you understand this of the true prophets, the sense will run thus: You shall know in the time of your visitation, whether they were madmen and fools or no: it was from the multitude of your iniquities, and great hatred against the ways and people of God, that you accounted them so; you made many exceptions against them, but the truth is, you saw nothing; but the malignity of yoiu’ hearts lay at the bottom, you accounted them fools and madmen because of the multitude of your iniquities. Men who are not so able to judge of matters sometimes controverted, jet may have this rule to help them to judge of ministers and their cause:

“V^Hiat is the side men incline most to, as they growmost in godliness? and what side do men incline most to, as they grow more loose and formal in their ways?

If there be parties, and you are not able to judge which is in the truth, some good men being on one side, and some on the other, take, I say, this rule as a help: ^V^lat is the side men most incline to, as they grow in godliness? and what side is that which men most cleave to, as they gi-ow most loose and most formal? ‘^Tien men whose multitude of iniquities increases, and according to their increase so they incline to a party, I cannot but suspect its goodness; more especially if, besides, I see that the more conscientious men are, and the more the fear of God prevails in them, and the more strict they grow in their ways, they do the more incline to the other side; I cannot but think that there may be much of God there. And yet it is true, it must be granted, that the gi’eatest heretics that ever were have pretended gi-eat holiness. But

still, if this opinion were not of God, those that did indeed grow up in true holiness, the more holy they were, the less would they savour that way, though it had never such a pretence of holiness. And if it be but a pretence of holiness, and not true, then certainly the more loose and formal professors grow, the more will they close with that way (if it be but a pretence). So it is here, tlieii- hearts were taken off from the true prophets of God, through the multitude of their iniquities; the more loose they became, the more were their hearts taken off from the true prophets of God.

Ver. 8. The iiatchman of Ephraiin was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.

In the former verse God charged, as the cause of much evil in Israel, the false prophets, but yet through the people’s sin; for it was through the multitude of their wickedness that they were so guided by those false prophets, whom they followed in the time of theh- prosperity: but he would have a time wherein they should know their “prophets” were but “fools,” and “the spiritual man” but “mad.” In this 8th verse the same is continued, “The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.”

“The watchman.” Those who profess themselves watchmen, take upon themselves glorious titles., Prophets and ministers of God are called “watchmen:” and these made great profession that they would be as careful to foresee, and labour as much to prevent, danger to the people as any others could; they professed to be very useful to the people, and to be full of zeal for Godjbut they were “a snare; “and this title of theirs, and this their profession, proved to be a snare to the people.

Obs. 1. Many vile things are hidden under fair and glorious titles, as many excellent things are disgraced by base and ignominious ones. You know what a deal of evil was lately covered over amongst us, by names and titles, as the clergy and the church; and likewise what abundance of good was defamed by epithets such as conventicles, puritans, and the like; and now the titles of things may be changed, but yet remain as dangerous as before. Let people ever take heed and examine what lies under them, and let them not be led away, one way or other, either by fair and specious, or by ignominious, titles; ordinarily, people that do not examine things thoroughly are “taken with names and titles. But somewhat of these heretofore.

“Of Ephraim.” The people of Israel, the ten tribes, had no mind to the true watchmen, because they threatened hard things against them; they were willing to close with those who preached things more pleasing, so that they might set one against another, and obtain quiet; although the truth was, that these watchmen of their choice were a most grievous snare to them.

Thus many who have carnal hearts, and are not able to bear the evincing and threatening power of the word in the mouths of true, faithful watchmen, seek to help themselves by the opinions and judgments of other ministers, concluding they are safe when they have the countenance of some that are learned, especially if also they have a repute for godliness, for so certainly the watchmen here spoken of had; and then they can set the opinions and judgments of one against those of the other; they think they are safe now and may be quiet; yet this proves a dangerous snare.

06s. 2. AVhen there is clear conviction of a truth, it is a dangerous thing, out of an unwillingness to yield to it, to seek the opinions of others. I confess, when a man out of love to the truth, that he may be confirmed therein, or that he might know fully what the truth is, for him to seek help from others is a good thing; but if out of

distaste to a ti-uth, if because the heart is weary of it, and would fain not have it to be true, because it may bring some trouble, if upon that ground he goes to seek the opinions of others, hoping to find them contrary, that so he may have something to quiet his mind; this is a gi-eat snare to the souls of those who have been guilty of it.

‘• Of Ephraim.” Ephraim had watchmen as well as Judah. Ilence,

06s. 3. No cause so ill but will have some that have the rejjute of being wise, learned, and judicious men to maintain it.

‘• Was with my God.” They professed more than ordinary judgment in the knowledge of God’s mind, and acquaintance with his ways, and yet they were snares to the peo])le. Whence,

Obs. 4. Every man in his erroneous opinion ))retends to be with God, and for God; without this indeed he could never be a snare to those who profess themselves to be the people of God.

06s. 5. It is a great grief to those who have the true knowledge of God, and interest in him, to see others who maintain that which is evil, yet pretend that they know God, and are zealous for his glory. “With my God.” The prophet seems to speak in grief and trouble; These watchmen of Ephraim, those among the ten tribes, they will pretend to be for God, to be for “my God.”

Vatablus further observes on this, Ephraim made to himself a watchman, and would hear him together with his God; like madmen, would attend to man as to God, and so would worship idols and God too, they would seem to rcsiject the true as well as the false prophet, which is mere madness.

06s. 6. They would not wholly depart from God, and vet they would maintain false worship, they would mingle both together. “The watchman of Ephraim was with my God.”’

“But the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways.” That is, he catches poor sim])le, deluded souls, as a fowler catches the bird, laying baits ])leasing to it, and hiding the snare that presently comes upon it: so, saith he. the watchmen of Ephraim do. They come to the peojile with very fair and si)ecious pretences, which they lai)our to instil into them, and do not discover what inferences they intend afterwards to make, or what their designs are; for the present they come to them, and desire them to yield to things that seem to be as fair as any thing in the world, and with much pi’etencu that it is only for their own advantage, and that they intend them nothing but good: now, when they have brought them to yield to such things, they know that some inferences may be drawn from them, that will make them to yield to other things, which, had they been presented to them at first, they would never have agreed to; but the inferences lay hidden as the snare does, and they, not foreseeing the consequences, are brought to yield to such things, that afterward they cannot tell how in the world to avoid further compliance. Thus “the prophet is a snare of a fowler,” who lays things which seem at first very plausible, intending however afterwards to bring the peo])le to yield to other things, that would be abhorred if presented to them at the first.

My brethren, as long as you live take heed of such snares of watchmen. God would not have you submit to any thing, nor do any thing, but out of faith.

06s. 7. You must have ground from Scripture, and especially in the matters of God’s worship, before you yield or submit to any thing; for otherwise, though things niav ijcem to be very fair at first, yet they may pr(ile to be but snares before you are aware.

“.Vnd hatred in the house of his God.” Some understand this of the false prophets, thus:

1. The watchman was an olyect of God’s hatred, in God’s house. Wicked officers in the church, bringing in their superstitions, and importuning and urging the delusions of their own hearts, seeking to comply with the times to preserve themselves in credit and esteem, and in the enjoj-ment of their livings, these are an object of God’s hatred; there are none whom (jod hates more than such kind of watchmen in his house. And at this day we see how God has cast shame and rebuke into the faces of such. They are hatred by way of exclamation: l) rem odiaavi el abonnnandam dumo Dei! Oh hideous and abominable thing, that such watchmen should hr pertaining fo the sanctuary!

2. Watchmen are hatred, by way of efficiency; that is, they cause hatred, they cause my people to hate the true ])rophets, and the servants of God that would worship God in his own way. And. indeed, no men in the world are such causes of the hatred of the faithful ministers and saints of God. as wicked watchmen. Who were the men that stirred up hatred and ])crsecution against the saints and ))cople of God in former times, but evil and wicked ministers?

“And hatred in the house of his God.”

I find some who vinderstand this, and not without

some probability, of the true prophets, and then the

sense would be:

1. You accovinted the prophets of the Lord, who declared the mind of the Lord faithfully to you, to be no other than fools and madmen; but you shall know that they were no fools, that they were no madmen. So 1 find in 2 Kings ix. 11, “Tiercfore came this mad fellow to thee?” saith the captain of Jehu; and in 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16. “They mocked the messengers of God.” So Ezekiel’s friends and acquaintance are thought to have bound him, a.s thinking him mad, chap. iii. 25. And .so we read in the Gospel of Christ’s kinsfolk, that they laid hands u])on him; and Paul, in 2 Cor. V. 13. saith, “AVhtlher we be beside ourselves, it is to God.” The true pro])hels were scorned and contemned as spiritual madmen: but, saith the Lord, They shall know in the time of their visitation whether they were .so or no: you shall find by your woeful experience, that these were no such madmen as you thought them to be. In affliction men have more honourable esteem of the true prophets of God than at other times; those that were jeered at before, as so wise, so ])recise and holy, and of such tender consciences, are often, when the hand of God is upon men, sent for by then- very mockers, in ])rcfcrcnce to any other men, to ]n’av for them. So we read of the people

of Antioch, though many of them voted ‘n’”^’;^’’^!’’- for the banishment of Chrysostom, yet, being terrified by an earthquake, they immediately sent for him again.

2. Still, take it as concerning the true prophets, and it means, even Ephraim wanted not watchmen to show them their danger in departing from God; though the ten tribes did decline from God, yet such was God’s goodness to them, that they had watchmen that were faithful even among them.

“Was with my God.” That is, they had watchmen who acted as having to deal with God and not with men, as sent from God, as pleading for God; and hence they could not be taken oft from their object, either by threats or flattery: they might have had ])referment as well as others, and needed not have been the butt of the hatred and malice of men no more than others, if they would have done as others did. No, but they were “with my God,” the fear of the great God was unon their spirits, and they dared not do as others did; they resolved to ap])rove themselves faithful to God; come of it what would, they went on in their way. they left their means and estates, their liberties, and their lives, all to God; it was for God to provide for llicm, it was

THE rilOPHECY OF liOSEA. for them to look to it, that they continued foithful to God. And thus the sense runs, If these were true prophets that were among the ten tribes, then it is as an aggravation of Ephraim’s sins, that though they had many false prophets, yet they had watchmen who did continue faithful with God.

06s. 8. The people of God rejoice when they see faithful ministers keep close to God. “Was with my God.” When they see them, not set upon their own designs, not temporizing, but making it their bent and aim to magnify God, and to bring men to the knowledge of him, oh! they rejoice in this. So the prophet speaks with a joy, (if it be spoken of the true watchmen.) Oh! blessed be God that, notwithstanding all the defection of the times and consequent corruptions, yet there were watchmen among Ephraim that were faithful with God, men who had no other designs but to set up God, and were willing to deny themselves in any thing, so be it they might bring souls to their Master.

And -certainly it greatly rejoices the saints to see ministers of God pure and upright in this respect, to have no designs of their own, but to set up the honour of God among the people. But even these ]n-ophets, faithful as they were, yet were accounted no other than “a snare of a fowler,” and even ‘• hatred in the house of their God;” they are accused of being politic, subtle men, who have cunning plots and devices to set up their own way, they are as bad as Jesuits: such aspersions as these the devil casts upon them, and gets many good people to drink in these calumnies, and those who otherwise were accounted godly, and of great use in the house of their God, are now become even “hatred in the house of tireir God;” the devil has so prevailed to bespatter and asperse thera with stories and reports, that even though most faithful with their God, yet are they now looked upon as the troublers of the times, as snares to people; yea, as “hatred in the house of their God,” and that even by many who otherwise have good affections: by no way does the devil ch-ive on his own designs more efficaciously than by thus making the most painful, faithful, zealous ministers of God become even “hatred in the house of then- God,” even among good people that are professors of godliness. Thus Jer. xviii. 22, “They have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.” And Isa. xxix. 21, They “lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate.”

‘• Hatred in the house of his God.”

Understanding this still of the true prophets, the sense proceeds thus: Yet he continues in the house of his God, he makes this his encouragement, that he is in the house of his God, in God’s work, though he be hated for it. God’s ministers should not be offended though they find the like dealings among the professors of religion now, but should still continue with all faithfulness in the work and employment which God sets them about, and then all aspersions will wipe off in time, they will vanish and come to nothing.

Calvin interprets this somewhat differently from what has been said, in a middle way between both, and if not according to the full scope, jet ii comes very near; he takes the former part of the verse to relate to the true, the latter part to the false prophets, as if Ilosea would speak thus: There was a time that Ephraim had watchmen with my God, and with his people, they had Elisha, and Elijah, but now the prophet is “a snare of a fowler,” and “hatred,” “in thehoiise of” “my God.” This is a woeful change in places where people have had watchmen that were godly, wise, zealous, faithful with God, but now these are gone, many of them banished, and many of them with God in heaven, and they have now others among them, as a just judgment of God, who are a snare to them, and hatred in the house of God; these who have succeeded those blessed servants of God, are like the storms and tempests, which often succeed fair and sunshiny weather. If v,e understand it thus, for the true prophets in the former part of the verse, and the false prophets in the latter, then there is a special emjjhasis in the change of the phrase “my God” and “his God,” “the watchman with my God, “and “hatred in the house of his God;” the God of the true watchmen and the God of the false prophets are not the same; those who pretend to worship God, and yet worshi]) him in a false way, worship in reality another, and not the same God: no marvel then though there is hatred between true and false prophets; they must needs have hatred one against another who have divers gods. “My God,” and “his God,” and yet both pretended to be for the same God.

Yea, but, saith the prophet here, whatsoever their pretences are, they teach not people the worship of God in a right way, God is not their God. Who they are that have most interest in God, let God himself judge; not by giving the one more of the favour of the times than the other, for the false prophets bad more of this now; but, 1. By the clearer manifestation of the Spirit of God in men. 2. By the witness of men’s consciences when they are going to appear before God. And. 3. By what Christ shall own at his appearing. Oh that I could tell how to sweeten these times! God, by providence, has cast me upon this scripture, and I know not how to give you the mind of God regarding it but by being thus plain.

I shall only add one observation made by Arias Montanus on the words, “hatred in the house of his God.” He saith the phrase is taken from such men as live in great families, and who have a great deal of power with their lords, (being continually at their tables and bed-siile.) and abuse it to cause hatred, and at length to undo others and themselves. So were these prophets in the house of God; they seemed to have much intimacy with God in his house; but the truth is, they abuse this their intimacy to the injury of others, and their own eventual ruin.

Ver. 9. They have deephj corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gilieah: therefore he icill remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

“They have deeply corrupted themselves.” ‘ip^Z’jn innr Their wickedness has deeply rooted itself, so the word signifies; there is little hope to prevail with them, labour as you may, their superstitious and idolatrous ways have gotten such deep root in their hearts. Sin, and especially that sin of superstition, so deeply roots itself in the hearts of men, if it be let alone but a little time, that there is no getting of it out.

And indeed there is little hope of our ever seeing the reformation now in hand attain its full beauty and perfection, until even God himself either by some extraordinary manifestation overthrow the prevalent sujjerstitions, or at least by his own hand remove those from amongst us that have such superstitious and idolatrous principles rooted in them. AVe wonder that men cannot be weaned from such ways. Oh, they are deeply rooted, and it is not an easy matter to eradicate them. It is a blessed thing to take sin betimes; and you that are young, who have not other wickedness, and especially superstition, rooted in you, it is likely God will make use of you to bring this reformation to perfection; it may be, when others are dead and gone, you shall see what God intended in all these stirs that have been among us. By experience we have found superstition is deep rooted indeed, and that the love of it still abides in the heart; that though men be content not to practise the superstitions they did before, because now the times do not favour them, yet they cannot be brought to leave them off as sinful, but as inconvenient.

You have but few men, I had almost said but few ministers, especially of those who were at all forward in superstitions, and did not before account them a burden, who, though they do leave them off at this time, can be brought to acknowledge them to be sinful, and so to charge themselves with sinning against God in them. They are content to relinquish them as things inconvenient, and perhaps burdensome to other men; but the leaving them off thus shows, if the times should favour them again, there is a principle retained in their hearts, so that they would be in readiness to submit to them again, and to practise them as formerly; this bitter root of superstition abides in their hearts: that is the meaning of this phrase, they are deeply rooted, that is, their superstition and false worship are deeply rooted in their hearts. AVell, let their superstition be rooted as deep as it will, yet, as Christ saith in Matt. xv. 13, “Every plant -which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted out,” God will either root thee out, or the superstition of thy heart out of thee..’lnd seeing the false worshippers have superstition so rooted in their hearts, oh how should the true worshi])pcrs of God have the truth rooted in their hearts, never to be eradicated! So St. Paul in Col. ii. 7, “Hooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

“As in the days of Gibeah.”

Tills must cost us a little further time to open fidly. Rooted in theh- evil ways, “as in the days of Gibeah.” AA’hat has this reference to? The Scripture speaks of the city Gibeah as notable for two things: First, As being the city of Saul, and consequently some apply this thus: that as heretofore they cast off my government when they chose Saul to be king over them, so now they reject me again.

Secondly, As the scene of the circumstances narrated in the 19th and 20th chapters of Judges. You find there the storj’ of a Levite, whose concubine went from him and played the harlot. He went to fetch her again, and as he was returning home would not be persuaded by his servant to go to Jebus, because its inhabitants were “not of the children of Israel,” but he would “pass over to Gibeah” of Benjamin, there expecting certain protection; yet he found it quite otherw’ise, the people of that city were abominably wicked, and they came in the night, and “beset the house round about, and beat at the door,” and desired the person who had received him into his house to bring him forth, that they might “know him;” but they obtaining him not, get his concubine, and “abuse her all the night until the morning,” when she i.s found dead at the door of the house. Upon which horrid thing, being committed in a city belonging to the people of God, this Levite takes a knife and cuts his concubine (being dead) “into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coast of Israel,” and bade them think upon it, and consider what should be done. “And it was so, that all that saw it said. There was no such <leed done, nor seen, from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt.” Wherefore all the people, “from Dan even to Beersheba,” assembled to consult what should be done, and they resolve to go against the city of Gibeah. In the 11th ver.se of the L’Oth chapter the text saith, “All the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man;” and in the 13th verse they require the delinquents to be delivered up to them. “But the children of Benjamin would not ncarken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel;” but gathered tlieniselvos together, even “twenty and six thousand men that drew sword,” to side with “the inhabitants of (iibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.” Who would have thought that among th.e people

of God there could have been raised an army to defend such “children of Belial?” But the people of Israel were resolved such notorious wickedness should not go unpunished; and they “arose, and asked counsel of God, and said. Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin?” And the Lord directs Judah to go up first; but the Benjamites the first day got the victorj-, and slew two and twenty thousand men. Upon that the chOdren of Israel went up to God again, and wept before the Lord, and God gave them leave to go again, and they went, and the Benjamites came out again and slew eighteen thou.sand more. These wicked malignants got the victory two days, and slew forty thousand of the children of Isi-ael, that went not only by God’s leave, but by his desire; for two days together they fell before those wicked and vile wretches, but they knew that their cause could not but be good, and they were resolved they would go to God again, and humble their souls before him, and fast, and pray; and then they overthrew those wicked Benjamites, and men of Gibeah. And whereas twenty-six thousand came out against Israel, twenty and five thousand and an hundred men were slain by the sword, and the city of Gibeah burnt with fire: so 6od executed wrath upon them at length. This is the stor)- to which the propnet refers, and many things might be observed from it in reference to the purposes for which the prophet quotes it: in his time they stood out to defend wicked ones, as the children of Benjamin had done. And it concerns us fully now, our wars are undertaken on almost the very same grounds; for what is the main cause of them but to fetch delinquents to the execution of justice? And who would have thought that delinquents, under whose burdens we groaned in former times, and whom we accounted the great scourge of the nation, should find an army to defend them? Perhaps sometimes we may be overcome by them, and they may for a while prevail; but let us fast before God, and humble ourselves more thoroughly, and certainly God will ako in our times own his own cause.

Obs. 1. When men to whom we seek for protection deal falsely with us, their wickedness is great in the eyes of God. This Levite passed over from Jebus to Ciibeah, thinking to have had protection there, and yet these deal vilely towards him. Does any man put himself under any of you for protection, and do you abuse the confidence reposed in you? This surely is an abominable thing in the eyes of God.

Obs. 2. AVe mav meet with worse usage fi-om those who profess religion, than from those who profess it not. It may be, if they had gone to Jebus they would not have met with such ill usage as they did at Gibeah. Sometimes they who make profession of religion are guilty of more ill usage to the servants of God than others that are profane and ungodly, vca, or of another religion. Oh! let men take heed how they behave themselves toward their brethren, that they may not have cause to say, Lord, were we among the Indians, or among some moderate papists, or under some of the prelates again, we should not find such hard usage as we do from some of our brethren who profess thy name ’ and seek reformation: it were, indeed, a sad thing (I say) if ever there should be cause for the servant-s of God to make such moans to Heaven, and send up such cries to God.

Obs. 3. God may regard those as unholy and unclean who make a fair show of religion. AVhcreas Israel thought themselves holy and devout for God in the multitude of the sacrifices and devout services which they performed, yet God looks u])on them as filthy and w icked, even as the Sodomites of Gibeah. ‘• They have dec|)ly corrupted themselves,” saith God, “as in the days of Gibeah:” notwithstanding your fair shows and your sacrifices, yet you are looked upon as thus vile and

THE rROrilECY OF HOSEA. abominable before God. God will not be put off with words of reformation and outward service, ibr men may have such ba-se ends in it, and may mix so much of themselves to con-upt the right way of God and to keep out his right service, under pretext of serving him more truly, that this may make them and their performances most odious to God. Such is the clear and plain note from thence. “We do not read’ of such abominable filthiness of body as was in the days of Gibeah, but because of the corru])tion3 of his worship, the Lord considered that they had deeply corrupted themselves, as “in the days of Gibeah.”

06s. 4. For men to stand up impudently and boldly in the defence of wickedness committed is abominable ill the eyes of God. Thus they did “in the days of Gibeah.” And thus you are ready to do; not only to commit horrible wickedness and sins, but to stand in ‘ts defence. There is this desperate stoutness of spirit and nardness of heart in many men, that when they are once entered into the ways of sin, rather than they would yield and submit, they will venture the undoing of themselves: the men of Gibeah did so, and they were undone accordingly.

Ohs. 5. To join with others in defence of evil is worse than to stand out ourselves in evil. Yet how many have we of the gentry and nobility of the kingdom, that do not only seek to defend themselves, but join with the greatest maUgnants amongst us, with those that are the greatest causes of evil, and Mere like to have been the utter undoing of us all! To defend them from justice they will venture the ruin of their own families; whereas, had the malignants been given up, they might have saved their estates, families, and all. Oh that ever God should leave men in such horrible wickedness as this! This is just as it was “in the days of Gibeah.”

Obs. 6. Those who defend wickedness may for a while prosper; even the men of Gibeah and the Benjamites prospered.

Obs. “i. The defenders of wickedness must at last perish. Twenty-five thousand and a hundred of these twenty-six thousand perished, wit h all the men of G ibeah, and the city was burnt. So, let men stand out as stubbornly and stoutly as they will, and say. What care we? we will lose our lives and estates rather than submit and yield: well, you may lose all at length: )’ou may perhaps prevail for a time; but let not men’s hearts be hardened by that, nor let any of the other side be discouraged, for certainly those that stand desperately out in defending wickechiess shall perish at last: so did the Gibeonites.

Obs. 8. The sins of the forefathers are an aggravation of the chilch-en’s sins. Yea, but what is this to us? might the prophet’s auditors say. Certainly, it is much to you, for these sins of your forefathers “in the days of Gibeah” aggravate your present sins. And yet, such is the delusion of many poor people, that they excuse the present sins by the sins of fonner times. As thus; suppose ministers or others should complain of the sinfulness of the times, and declaim against it, you will hear some say, Why do they keep such a stir about the wickedness of the times? were they not as bad heretofore as they are now? Oh wretched delusion! The great aggravation of thy guilt is, that thou livest in the sins of thy forefathers:’ thou art, it seems, the child of wicked parents, and how just had it been with God to have cut thee off presently for their sins! and dost thou say, that thy wickedness is no other than the wickedness of thy forefathers? Certainly, if the times he as evil as they were heretofore, they are thereby worse, for the evil of our forefathers is an aggravation of our present evils, if we continue in them. As the treachery of a parent would be no excuse for the treachery of a child, no excuse for him to say, My father was a traitor: so for me to excuse the sins’ of the pre- 2 D

sent times by the sins of former times, and say-, they were as bad formerly as now, is reasoning of just a similar kind; but this is not the reasoning of the Spirit of God, he aggravates the sins of Israel in Hosea’s time with the sins that were in the days of Gibeah. God may let men alone in their wickedness for a long time, until they grow to the full height of their iniquities, and then he visits them. “NAHien the sins of the Amorites were full, then he visited them.

“Therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.” This phrase, of God’s remembering iniquity and visiting sin, we had before, therefore we pass it over, and proceed to the 10th verse.

Ver. 10. I found Israel like grapes in /he wilderness; I saif ijour fathers as thefirstripe in the Jig tree at her first time: bat they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations uere according as they loved.

The scope of the Holy Ghost in this, is to upbraid the ten tribes for then’ wretched, ungrateful dealing with God; their sin is aggravated by God’s love towards them and their forefathers.

“I foimd Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first time.” That is, as when a traveller in the parched wilderness, dry, weary, and faint, comes to a place in which unexpectedly he finds clusters of grapes, from whence he has abundance of cooling refi’eshment; oh how grateful must this be to such a man! Such delight, saith God, had I in your forefathers. He names grapes and figs here, because they are the most delightful of all kinds of fruit to weary travellers. Now if it be so, that God has such delight in his people in this their wilderness state, how should God be their delight when they are in the wilderness! Oh! let God in his ordinances be to us in our troubles and afflictions, as grapes to the weary traveller, and “as the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first time.” Surely, if God will account us so delightful to himself, there is great reason that we should in return delight in him. Some of God’s servants have been forced to flee into the wilderness, and though they have not had such outward I’efreshments as we have had who have sat here under our own vines and fig trees, yet God has made them to find grapes in the wilderness; they have sat under God’s protection and ordinances, as a man in the wilderness would sit under a vine of grapes, and refresh himself with them.

Obs. 1. AVe should lay to heart God’s love to our fathers, and seek to continue it to ourselves. “I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first lime.” It is a sad thing to look upon degenerate children, who have had fathers in whom God took delight. Y’our fathers were as clusters of grapes, that did refresh the very soul of God; as it is said of wine, that it doth cheer both God and man; so the grace and holiness of your forefathers, oh how refreshing were they to the “heart of God! But what are you,what delight can God take in your sour and bitter fruits, in your corrupt and degenerate spirits? Oh! it is a comfortable thing when a child is able to say, as Exod. xv. 2, “My God,” and “my father’s God.” God was my father’s God, and delighted in my father, and, blessed be his name, he is my God, and I hope he has some delight in me. Y’ou who are the children of fathers in whom God delighted like as in “grapes in the wilderness,” it is a mighty engagement for you to look to yourselves, that your hearts and lives be not con-upt, but that, following the steps of your fathers, God may delight likewise in you. But further,

“As the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first time.”

There is a great deal of elegance in these expressions. The fig tree bears twice in the year, and here it is, “the first-ripe at the first time.” Tlielr fathers were as delightful as grapes in the wilderness, and as the figs, “the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first time.”

Now we know that we prize the first-ripe fruits, many will give almost any price for them. We say, when they at first appear, “that they are ladies’ meat, or longing meat: now the Lord is j)leased to condescend to express his love to his people, and to s])eak of it, as the love of a longing woman to fruits when they first come into season; as a woman has a longing desire after such things, so, saith God, my soul has longed after you to do you good, I have taken as much pleasure in you as ever woman could take when her longing desires were being most delicately gratified. This is the meaning of iLe Holy Ghost here, and many expressions of similar import occur in Scripture; as m Jer. xii. 7, God’s saints are called” the dearly beloved of God’s soul;” and in the lOlh verse, “my jilcasant portion;” in Exod. xix. 5, the “peculiar treasure” of God; and here, “grapes in the wilderness,” and “the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first time.” ‘lliis is God“s exceeding goodness to us, though we be sa])less in ourselves, and nave nothing in us to afford delight, yet, out of his own free grace, God is willing to exjness himself thus to his people. Oh what delight should we have in God, who takes such delight in his servants! These expressions may well lead us to meditate also on the delight which God has in the young, who begin to give themselves up betimes to him; the Lord loves “the fii-st-fruits,” and “the first-ripe” of things: so Micah vii. 1, “Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first-ripe fruit.” So, by way of allusion at least, wo may apply it to God. God is a longer; for what? for the first-ripe fruits, the first of your years: graciousness, when it first buds out in youth, oh how pleasing is it to God! In Exod. xxiii. 19,’ God would have “the first of the first-fruits,” he would not only have the first-fruits, but “the first of the first.” God insists much on the fii’st still. And in Lev. ii. 14, YOU read, that the Lord is so eager to have the first-fruits, that he will not stay till they be ripe, he will have the “green ears of corn dried by the fire.” As many women will not stay until the tiling be ripe in the course of nature, but if they can have it ripened by any art, they w ill have it so; so, saith God, my longing after the first of things is so, that I will not stay till they be fully ripe, but the corn, though it be gi-een ears, if they may be dried by the fire, I will have them. So in Cant. ii. 12, 13, “‘the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs.” And in chap. vi. 11, “I went down into the garden of imts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine tiourished, and the iiomegranates budded.” Oh, the Lord looks up and down in congregations, that are as the gardens of God, to see such. And so in chap. vii. 12, “Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourisl), whether the tender grape a])pear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will 1 give thee my loves.” O let us go and see whether the fender grape appear, or the pomegranate bud. “There will I give thee mv loves.” Where God sees grace beginning and budding in young ones, there God manifests himself; “there will I give thee my loves.” O, begin to be godly betimes; you satisfy the heart of your longing God, as the fii’stfruits satisfy the longing woman.

“But,” saith God, “they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame.” What! a but come after all this? God is manifesting his delight in tlicm aa in “grapes in the wilderness,” and “the first-ripe in the fig tree at her first time;” and yet, behold, a but follows.

Ubs. 2. The greatness of God’s love is not enough to engage carnal hearts. This is an evil and a sore thing to see. There was a time that God accepted of this people and delighted much in them, but now they are departed. Oh how wont are people to degenerate! a few years since, how forward and zealous were many for God, and for reformation; but within a while they grew cold, and dead, and formal, and began to leave off all their good beginnings, and decline fiom God and from his truth.

“They went to Baal-peor, aild separated themselves unto that shame.” God complains of this people as a husband of an adulteress: Though I delighted in her and loved her, though she had all the content she could desire, yet she forsakes me, and gives up herself to impurity and uncleanness. I beseech you observe, nothing afiects an ingenuous heart more than the w aste of love; such had rather ill bestow money than love. So, certainlv, it goes to the heart of God that his love should be ill bestowed upon people. Notwithstanding, s-.ii’.l’ Cod licre, all my love to their forefathers, whereby ihey might have di’awn an argument that they would have blessings on themselves, if they continued in the ways of then’ forefathers, yet they forsook me; “they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame.”

06*. 3. The more shameful any thing is, the more abominable is it to forsake God on its account. It were an abominable thing to forsake God for the gaining of heaven and earth, tf they could so be gained j but to forsake God for a Baal-peor, God takes this ill indeed.

Obs. 4. There is no evil so base or shameful to which a carnal heart is not ready to cleave, to the forsaking of the blessed and glorious God. Many, indeed, are so set on base things, that they are content to part with all the good that there is in God and Jesus Christ, if they may but obtain them, yea, content for their sake to undo themselves to all eternity.

04s. 5. So to leave God, as to give up ourselves to baseness and wickedness, is most abominable. To be overtaken with sin is vile, but to give up ourselves to wickedness is truly abominable: and yet of this many are guilty. At first, perhaps, sin is fair-mannered, and saith, Do but dally with me at first; but after a while the soul insensibly abandons itself to the most wretched sinful courses: this is the case of many an apostate, they had .some comfort before in God and in Christ, but having tampered with sin until they have become habituated to it, they have lost all their spiritual comforts; and now saith this desperate soul, I cannot have comfort in God and Christ, and therefore I will have it in the satisfying of my lusts. O my brethren, what a shame is this, to be guilty, so far as thou art able, of shammg even God himself and .Icsus Christ! So in Heb. vi. 6, apostates are said to put Jesus Christ “to an open shame:” an apostate, that leaves the ways of God and separates himself to his lusts, puts the Lord Jesus Christ to an open shame. Oh how shoidd God’s people separate themselves for the Lord, and be wholly his, seeing idolaters separate themselves to their idols! Let them look upon themselves as a iieojile separated for the Lord.

“And their abominations were according as they loved.” This may be understood,

1. As they loved, so they were guided; they were not guided by the word, nor by a)iy Divine rule, nor by right reason, but “according as they loved,” they followed what they had a mind to, never regarding wlial the mind of (jod was.

04.!. G. The judgment is soon gone when the heart is taken. Ordinarily people love not that way to which THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA.

the rule guides them, but that to which their affections tend. It is very sinful for men to be carried on merely by the violence of their affections, and especially this is evil in the matters of God’s worship; in it ve may not do things as we like, that is, because we think such things are very fair, and there appears to us no hurt in them. AVe must examine whether we have warrant out of the word for them; we must not follow our inclinations, but bend them to that rule.

2. They were abominable as they loved; they were turned into the very likeness of that which they loved. And indeed our aflections render us in some measure like that on which they are fixed. The understanding turns the object into a likeness to it, but the heart is turned into the likeness of its object.

Austin, Ep. 52, ad placed., expresses himself in a remarkable manner respecting this. Such is every man as his love is. Does a man love the earth? he is earth. Does a man love God? what shall I say, he shall be even God too. And indeed the Scripture saith we are partakers of the Divine nature. Oh what care then had we need exercise about the object on which we set our affections! Dost thou love a thing base and filthy? then thy soul is base and filthy too. Dost thou love the glorious and blessed God? then thy soul is made like to God. Choose, therefore, good objects for thy love; love the Lord, and love his holy ways; love things that are excellent and glorious, and by the loving of these thy heart will have an excellence and glory put upon it; but if thou lovest that which is drossy and filthy, thy heart will become degenerate and base likewise. Man’s soul is like. cap.. y chameleon, changed into the colour of the object it looks upon.

3. That which is here translated in the concrete sense, I find may be as well rendered in the abstract. They were abominable as their love; and so it is understood by some: that is, they were abominable as the idols were which they loved, and their idols were called love, in the abstract; as a man calls his wife his love, so they called their idols their love; and they were abominable as their love, that is, as abominable as Baal-peor was, so abominable were they. So the psalmist, “They that make idols are like unto them.”

4. I think the especial scope of the Holy Ghost in these words has reference to what you read in Numb. XXV. 1. You find there the people of Israel, by the wicked counsel of Balaam, were enticed to commit uncleanness with the daughters of Moab, and by them drawn to the worship of their- idols. So their love to the daughters of Moab drew them to serve Moab’s idols.

“Their abominations were according as they loved;” that is, setting their love upon these wicked women, they were enticed by them first to uncleanness, and then to idolatry. Solomon’s wiles also drew him to idolatry.

Obs. 8. It is usual for people to adopt the religion of those whom they love: if their hearts be taken with any, it is usual for them to adopt their religion; according to their kindred, according to their friends, according to the stock that they marry into, so is their religion. You will find many that have been forward in the cause of religion, grow cold because they have married into families without the savour of religion, and now they conform to their wives’ dis])Ositions; according to what they love, so their religion either burns hotter or grows cooler: it was thus usually said of Ahab for his wickedness, Such a one was his wife; and so of another king, The daughter of Ahab was his wife: their religion was according as they loved. And, my brethren, if those who are in a false way can draw whom they love to it, then certainly those in the truth should also labour to draw those whom they love to embrace the truth. Wicked wives will draw their

husbands to that which they love, to idolatry, to false worship; popish wives have. drawn more husbands to their popery, than godly wives (I fear) have drawn husbands to the truth: why should not gracious wives labour to win their husbands to good by love, as well as wicked wives to entice them to wickedness by thenlove? And, indeed, those who would gain others to good must first gain their love. The women of Moab gained the love of the people of Israel, and then prevailed on them to serve their gods. So, if you would benefit any, first labour to gain their love: let godly wives act so towards their ungodly husbands. How would you gain them? Not, surely, by reproachful speeches, but (though they be never so evil) walk lovingly towards them, that they may be convinced that your souls truly love them, and so by your loving carriage gain their love; that is the way to win them to your God. So we are told of many of the women in the primitive times that had heathenish husbands, that by their gracious, loving carriage they won them over to the truth. And so ministers, if they would win people to God, must walk before them in such a gracious, holy, loving manner, that they may gain their love, and then they will win their souls: if there be wrangling between minister and people, there is little hope of any good. And so with your neighbours and friends, if you would win them to God, gain first their love yourselves, for it is a mighty motive in matters of religion for people to do as they love.

Ver. 11. As for Ephraim, their glory shall Jly airoi, like a bird, from the birth, and from the uomb, and front the conception.

“As for Ephraim.” A pathetical expression; he makes a stop at Ephraim; O Ephraim! how sad, how much to be lamented, is thy condition!

“Their glory.” By it is meant, all their pomp, riches, strength, pros])erity, but especially their numerous progeny, in which they did so much glory. Ephraim, the ten tribes, prospered very much, and were far more numerous than Judah. This scripture refers to their state especially in the time of Jeroboam IL, of which you read, 2 Kings xiv. Eplu-aim then prospered very much.

06s. 1. A numerous progeny is accounted a glory. “Their glory.” So in Prov. xvii. 6, “Children’s childa-en are the crown of old men;” the Seventy render it kuv-XW”’ g’o’T of o’d men. Parents are wont to glory and pride themselves much in their children; for,

1. Bv their children they themselves are midtiplied.

2. What excellency soever there is in the child, they look upon it as their own, and on themselves as the cause of it: men and women love themselves much, and because children are, as it were, portions of themselves, therefore they glory in them.

3. They have thereby hope of continuation from generation to generation; and in this hope they glory.

But let parents learn to give God the glory of their children, and to bring them up for him, and then they may rejoice in them indeed, as a great mercy of God. In Prov. X. 1, “A wise son maketh a glad father; but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.” Why is a wise son said to be the gladness of the father? docs not a mother rejoice in a wise son too? And why is a foolish son said to be the sorrow of the mother P does not the father sorrow and mourn for a foolish son? The Holy Ghost, not without reason, expresses himself thus, “A wise son maketh a glad father,” and that for two reasons.

1. The father usually has a more strict hand over his sony to educate him to wisdom, than the mother. Mothers, too often, by weak indulgence, spoil their children; they cannot endure that they should sufl’er

any hardship, and hence their chikkcn prove foolish and fit for nothing, and great sorrows to them.

2. A wise son is fit for emploj-ment abroad in the world, and therefore rejoices the heart of his father; but a foolish son is fit for nothing but to remain at home with his mother, and as lie grows u]i, to grow stout and stubl)orn against her. If, then, children be a gloiT to their parents, they should labour to bo such, that they may indeed be a glory and not a shame to them. Many, instead of being a glory to their ])arents, are a great shame to them, as Augustus Sremomiw’’ lu” CVsar, who had three daughters that were wicked, used to call them his three imposthumes, and his three cankers upon his bod)-. And so children, that should be the glory of their jiarents, and the glory of a family, too often shame and disgrace both. And if you expect that your children should be a glory to you, you must not be a shame to them: sometimes children are a shame to their parents, and sometimes parents are a shame to then’ childi-en.

“Shall fly away like bird.” This admits of two expositions.

I. Men glory in their outward pomp and prosperity, and their children, but all these “shall fly away like a bird.” That is, 1. Suddenly. 2. Swiftly. 3. Irrecoverably.

A bird, encaged perhaps many months, on some opportunity gets out, and is gone in a moment, suddenly, so swiftly too that you cannot follow her, and irrecoverably, that you can never take her. All outward glory is uncertain: in Prov. xxiii. 5, it is asked, “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themsehcs wings: they fly away as an eagle toward heaven;” fty away like a bird, and that bird the eagle, that flies so swiftly that there is no getting her again. IIow many lately in Ireland, and in our own land, have had estates in the evening, and all has been gone away swiftly like a bird before the morning! they have been rich in the morning, and have been even beggars in the evening. Let us take our hearts off from glorying in all outward excellencies, and seek that gloiy which is abiding, constant, and everlasting. AVe should look upon all outward comforts now as upon the wing; if ever we had cause to do so, at this day we have especial cause. We cannot now reason thus, We have enjoyed such prosperity thus long, and therefore we shall have a continuance of it. No, all outward comforts fly away like the bird: that comes in one moment which before came not in many years. In Jer. ix. 23, 24, “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man gloiT in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorielli glory in this, that he undersf andeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” Your delights arc in other vain things, in estates, in bravery; but in these things I delight, saith the Lord God, and if you will glor)’, do you glory in those things in which I myself delight: your glorv’ in the midst of your prosperity flies from you like a bird; but the Lord, the glory of his own people, in the midst of their adversities flies to them like a bird. I say, the glorj- of the wicked in the midst of their prosperity flics from them, but the Lord God, who is the glory of the saints, flies to them in their afflictions. Thus in Isa. xxxi. 6, “As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and pa.ssing over he will preserve it.” “As birds flying;” it is a metaphor taken from the bird when she sees the young ones in any danger of the kite, she flies with speed to save them: As birds flying, so will I defend Jerusalem. Your glory departs in the midst of your iirospcrity, but the glojy of the saints flies to them in their adversity.

II. The glory of their posterity “shall fly away like a bird;” that is, the Lord will ait off then- numerous jjosterity, their young men, in whose number they gloried, so that there shall be few left among them.

Obs. 2. Godliness brings blessings swiftly, and wickedness causes them to depart as swiftly. Tlic blessing of God upon Abraham’s seed came very swiftly after it began to come; and now God threatens it shall go away as swiftly. As you may find it if you observe the story of the increase of the seed of Abraham, from the time of their going into Egypt. But threescore and ten souls went down into Egyjit; but when they came out of Egv-pt, but two hundi’cd and fifteen years afterwards, (for the four hundred and thirty years are to be reckoned from the promise to Abraham until their coming out of Egv-jJt, and it is clear that there were two hundred and fifteen years fi-om the promise to their going down into Eg-pt,) there came up, from twentj’ years old and upwards, men of war, six hundred thousand, three thousand, five hundred and fifty; besides the Levites, who, with the males from a month old and upwards, were twenty and two thousand, besides the w omen and all the other children: and this was in the time of their bondage. Thus the glorj” of Abraham’s seed came very swiftly. And now it shall fly away like a bird, they shall decrease more than they did increase.

“From the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.” God’s curse follows the wicked close; sometimes in their buth; sometimes in the womb; sometimes hindering the conception. You see how God has us at advantage, how he has us in his hand at every turn; he might, if he had pleased, have smitten us in our conception; if he had spared us there, stifled us in the womb; if spared there, made us stick in the birth.

Wherefore learn we to acknowledge God’s mercy in the general, that he is patient, and long-sufiering, and gracious unto us: let us consider the several passages of his mercy, to bless God not only for our general preservation, but that he preserved us in the veiT conception, preserved us in om- mother’s womb, and then in the birth; and then in the cradle, in our childhood, in our youth, in our middle age, and in our old age; for we lie at his mercy at every point of time.

“Their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception:” of some I will hinder the conception, some others in the womb shall die, others shall perish in then- birth, and so at every time my curse shall follow them; “from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.”

‘Vcr. 12. Though they bring up their children, yet uill I bereave them, that there shall not be a man lift: yea, uoe aUo to them when I depart from them.’

‘• Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them.” It is here threatened that a fearful judgment from God will pursue and overtake them, though they escape that curse under which others suflcr.

Obs. 1. Miiny think all is well when they have escajwdjvidgments that have come on others; but know, thy preservation from such may be thy reservation to greater judgments that God intends for thee afterwards.

Obs. 2. The loss of children in hopcfid maturity is a loss indeed. It is a judgment to be deprived of children in the womb, in the birth; but when you have endured much pain in bearing and bringing forth your children, much labour and trouble in bringing them up, when many a thoughtful care has been expended on their education, and they now begin hopefully to anive almost at men’s and women’s estate, and you think to have comfort in them, for God then to take them away, is indeed very sad to parents, such a bereavement bow»

VnK. 12.

down their hearts exceedingly: yet such things as these have befallen many heretofore; and parents, though the condition must be acknowledged very sad, yet must they in such a case submit to God’s hand. Perhaps some of you have in the breeding of your chikben endured much, and through many difficulties they have been brought till they have grown up almost to men’s and women’s estates; and perhaps they have been obedient and hopeful, and you trusted to have had them as the staff of your age; and yet God suddenly has made them fly away like a bird; perhaps by drowning, or some other untimely end, the Lord has suddenly torn them from you. You will say, >Iy condition is more than ordinarily sad. Therefore God calls you to sanctify his name in a more than ordinary degree, to exercise grace more than ordinary: and the exercise of grace in such an extraordinary stroke of God upon you may be as great a comfort and blessing to you as the enjoyment of join’ child would have been. If a tender mother, after breeding and bringing up a child with care, and pain, and labour, should have him taken away by some untimely death, (as you call it,) she would think her condition the saddest of any living. Perhaps some such may be here, or know some of their friends who have had such a hand of God upon them; be but convinced of this one thing, which 1 know you cannot deny, that the exercise of grace suitable to this work of God that is now upon thee, or against thee, take it as thou wilt, I say, the exercise of thy grace suitable to this work of Goil, is a greater good to thee than the life of thy child could have been; it could never have done thee that good which the exercise of grace may do thee in this condition, when it is suitable to this stroke of God upon thee. And this indeed is the only way to make up any losses, be it a child, be it a husband, or the dearest friend, a wife, or thy estate, yet the exercise of thy grace is better than the enjo)Tneat of them all.

“Y’et will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left.” msi: DTi’^du’I yet will I bereave them, that they be not men. Sometimes God lets chikfren live, and yet they never come to be men; he strikes them in then’ understandings, that they are bereaved of them so far that they never attain the stature of men’s minds. I remember it is reported of Sii” Thomas More, that his wife was mightily desirous of a boy, (that was her word,) and she had one that proved a fool; whereupon her husband said to her, Y’ou were never quiet till you had a boy, and now you have one that will be all his life a boy.

“I will bereave them, that there shall not be a man left.” I rather think the meaning of these words is, I will take them away, that they shall not live to be men, strong men of war. You boasted yourselves that you had so many of your children that were such valiant men of war before, but I will bereave you of them, saith the Lord.

“Yea, woe also to them when I dcjmrt from them!” “Y’’ea, woe also to them!” there is added the “yea,” or surely, “also,” as if the Holy Ghost should say, AMiy do I threaten this or the other evil? the great evil of all, the rise of all evils, is God’s forsaking them. “Yea, ■vroe also to them when I depart from them I”

God departs from a people, or a particular soul, when he withcbaws his goodness and mercy from them; and the reason why wicked men for a time enjoy good things is, because God’s time is not yet come to depart from them; but when God’s time is come to deiiart from them, then all vanishes suddenly: as the light continues so long as the sun is in the firmament, but as soon as ever it is gone, the darkness of the night begins to approach.

Obs. 3. It is God in the creatiu-e that upholds it. The general presence of God with his creature maintains its strength, and health, and comforts; and upon God’s departing, all vanishes and comes to nothing. Thou hast thy prosperity now, and thou thinkest thou mayst enjoy it still; but how canst thou tell but God may suddenly depart? and then all is gone. The alteration of man’s condition is not only from natural causes, but has reference to a higher source, God’s departing. Carnal hearts think themselves safe if they do not see how natural causes shall work their ruin; yea, but know that thy prosperity, or thy adversity, depends not upon natural causes, but upon a higher cause; though thou hast the confluence of all natural causes working for thee, yet, if God pleases to withdraw himself, thou art a lost creature.

And so it is with a kingdom. When God is pleased to depart from a kingdom, he takes away wisdom from the wise, gives them up to their own perverse counsels, blinds them that they cannot foresee their danger nor discern means of help, so that they adopt measures as if they intended to destroy themselves. If God do but leave them, whatsoever their wisdom was before, all theii- endeavours shall be blasted and come to nothing. And in this especially we should sanctify and acknowledge God’s name, acknowledge our immecUate dejjendence upon him for all the outward good we enjoy, whatsoever second causes may concur to aid us.

Wicked men will not observe his hand in their- discomforts; they cry out of this and the other as the cause of their evil, but it is God’s departing from them that is the great thing they should lay to heart. Particular evils must not be compai-ed with this of God’s departing. Whatsoever our condition be, yet, if God be not departing, we are well enough; Though in the fire, though in the water, I will be with thee, saith the Lord. Mark the ground of the confidence of the saints in the time of affliction: in Psal. xlvi., (Luther’s Psalm it is called, that is, a Psalm that Luther was wont to call to his friends to sing, when he heard of any danger, or of any sad occmTence,) •’ Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. The heathen may rage, and the kingdoms be removed: “yet all shall not trouble us. ‘^’hy, what is the ground? ‘• The Lord of hosts is with us; “the God of Jacob is our refuge.” These same words are repeated twice in the Psalm, “The Lord of hosts is with us.” he is not departed; “the God of Jacob is our refuge:” therefore no great matter what men can do unto us. But if one be in misery and God departed, oh how dreadful is his condition! It was a dreadful speech of Saul, “I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me,” 1 Sam. xxviii. 15. Oh, when the Philistines make war upon a people, when there are enemies at our gates, and our consciences tell us that God is departed from us, this is a sad condition. It was a woeful speech of Saul, God is now departed when I have most need of him. Woe to men then! For,

1. The root of all om’ evils is very deep when God is departed. They lie not in this or that particular, we might make shift to get over them, the spirit of a man might sustain his infirmity; but the root of the evil lies in the departing of God; and what can the creature do when God is departed? As the king of Israel, when the woman said, “Help, my lord, O king,” rc])lied, “If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? “And as all creatures say, If God I)e departed, we cannot help, nay, the verydevil cannot help if God be gone: so in 1 Sam. xxviii. 16, when Saul was sore distressed and would raise up Samuel, the devil, who came in the likeness of the prophet, said,” ^Vherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord

^VN KXl’OSiTlON OF

is departed from thee? “No creatures in the world, nor devils, can do good when God is departed; then evil is indeed altogether evil. An evil may have much good in it, and God may sanctify it for abundance of blessings to his people, so long as he continues with them; but if he be gone, then the evil is only evil: and if God be gone all pi-otection is gone, and therefore thou art liable to evils of every kind. And however for the present the things that remain seem to be good, yet the blessing is gone if God be not with thee. And this evil that is upon thee is no other but the forerunner of eternal evil; and the creature certainly then must needs sink when God is thus departed. Oh! if it be so woeful a tiling for God to depart from a peo])le here in this world, in regard of the withdrawing of outward things and mercies from them, what is it then for the Lord to depart for ever from the soul! What an alteration doest!ie departing of the sun make! Take a delightful sunshine summer’s day, and how beautiful is it! Now compare that w’ith a winter’s dark, dismal night; what makes the difference between these two? The presence of the .sun in the one, and its absence from the other. This is but the presence, or the departing, of one of God’s creatures. Oli! if that makes such a difference in the world, what must the presence or the departing of the infinite God do to the soul! Let the saints who enjoy God’s presence prize it, and pray as the prophet did, “Lord, leave us not.”

How vain is the heart of man, that will depart from God! If thou depart from him, he departs from thee too; and woe to thee, whatsoever thou hast, when the Lord is departed from thee!

The Lord departs from individuals, as well as from kingdoms and nations, and woe to them also! When God departs from particular persons, he withdraws his common gifts and graces, and the comforts that they were wont to have; he curses all means for their- good; and gives them up to temptations: those are the three special things that God does in departing from a soul. L He withdraws the common gifts and graces which it had, and the consequent comforts. 2. He curses the means that would do them good. And, 3. He gives them up to the strength and power of temptation.

You will perhaps say. Many a soul that desires further jircscnce of God, may from these observations fear that God is departed.

Now though God may, doubtless, in some degree withdraw himself even from his saints, so that they may fear that he is departed from them; yet one endence remains to thee, let thy condition be never so sad, if thou art a saint; God does not so depart from his saints, but he leaves behind some lustre, some little glimmering of himself, which serves to show the soul which way God is gone, and to draw the heart of a poor sinner after him, and make it restless and unquiet till it come into his presence again. When God departs from hy])ocrites, he departs so that he leaves nothing behind him, not so much as to make them follow on after him, and so they turn away and seek to make up the loss of God in something else; but a saint of God, that has God beginning to depart in any degree, will not turn aside to seek to make up the loss of God in any thing else, but he still has so much of God as strongly to carry out his heart after him, so that he looks, and sighs, and groans, and cries after the Lord. David, in Psal. cxix. 8, shows us that God was in some degree departed from him, in his own view at least; but mark this expression, “I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.” O Lord, melhinks I feel that thou art going, I feel that I have not those comforts and those stirrings of thy Spirit which I was wont to have, but, O Lord, yet for all this, “I will keep thy statutes;” I am resolved, though I should never have further comforts from thee, yet, Lord,” I will keep thy

statutes;” do with me what thou wilt, I will do what I can to honour thee; •’ O forsake me not utterly.” So long as thy heart can close with this text, and saw, as David, Lord, “I will keep thy statutes;” though I feel not thy presence with me as I was wont to do, yet. Lord, I will do what I can to honour thee; though I be in a sad condition, and thou seemest to leave me, yet, Lord, “I will keep thy statutes; O forsake me not utterly;” so long, I say, as thou canst adopt David’s words as thine own, it is an evidence God is not so departed as he is wont to depart from hj-pocrites, and wicked and ungodly men. And if it he so woeful a thing when God departs, truly then when God is about departing we had need cry mightily to him, both for kingdoms and ])articular souls. When a malefactor stands before the judge, and is cning for mercy, if the judge prepare to leave the bench, he lifts up his voice, and shrieks out indeed. Good my lord, have mercy! for he sees, if the judge once quit the bench, he is a lost man: so when we see God going, we should indeed be earnest in our pleadings. Many footsteps of God’s departing from us there have been, and are, and yet still God leaves a light behind; yea, blessed be God, he is not so departed, but that he has left so much of himself as that we may know where to find him.

Ver. 13. Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.

“Ephraim, as I saw Tjtus, is planted in a pleasant place.” WHiat! God departed? Woe to us when God departs from us! Why, but Ephraim might bless himself in his ])rosperous condition, Ephi-aim might say. Why do you speak of God’s departing? ^’e arc in a good condition, it is but your melancholy fears that make you speak so; we were never sti’onger, never had better fortifications, were never more pros- ))erous, than at present. This, as I have told you, has reference to the time of Jeroboam II., 2 Kings xiv. The prophet grants it, that they were in a prosperous estate; Ephraim was like Tyrus, “planted in a pleasant place.” Tyrus was a rich city, and of exceeding strength, situated much like (as it is reported) to that famous city in Italy, Venice, on a rock in the sea, about seven hundred paces from the land. T)Te was a place of exceeding strength. Quintus Curtius, lib. 4. de Reb. gestis Alexandri., saith, that Alexander in his conquest had more to do to conquer Tyrus than all Asia besides, it was such a mighty and strong place. Pliny, lib. 5. cap. 19, saith, the compass of it was nineteen miles. It was the general mart of almost all the world, and was consequently very full of people: to this especially the prophet refers, when he saith, Ejihraim was like Tyrus; because Ephraim did so glory in his numerous progeny, and Tyrus was a mighty po])ulous place. Pliny saith, three other ancient cities came out of it, as Lepti’s LJtica, and that great Cartilage, which was but a spring out of this root; that Carthage, which was so famous a city, that it contended for a long time with Rome for the monarchy and dominion of the whole world. Yea, and Gades, divided, as it was, from the rest of the earth, was peopled by a Tyrian colony. But we need not so much recur to these authors, for in Ezck. xxvii. 3, 4, you have the city Tjtus described as a most brave, rich, and glorious city: “O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles. Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.” And then, ver. 33,” When thy wares went forth out of the the .seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches Tlii; PltOPHECY OF HOSEA.

•107

and of thy merchandise.” Now saith the Lord here, Epln-aim is thus; she said to herself, that she was so prosperous, and strong, and rich every way, she was like to Tyrus; I grant it, saith the prophet, and I have seen it so, Ephraim is thus, even when God is departing from her. Hence,

Ohs. 1. God may depart from a Ivingdom, or an individual, in the time of their greatest prosperity. When thou art nearest eternal misery, thou mayst be at the very summit of outward prosperity. Physicians say that the uttermost degree of health in the body, is the next step to sickness: it is indeed true, that the highest degree of outward prosperity is often but the forerunner of ruin. Oh! let us learn never to tru,5t in our prosperity, but always to walk with fear and trembling before the Lord: never let us think that we are safe and well because we have outward things as we desire; we may have them so, and yet that very night the word may come, “This night shall thy soul be required of thee,” as you know was the case with the rich man in the Gospel; when he had his barns full, and was deliberating what to do, the Lord said, “Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee.” And Nebuchadnezzar, at the very time when he was glorying in the magnificent palace he had made, the word came forth against him. But further, it should especially teach us that,

Obs. 2. As we should trust in no outward prosperity, so, not in any fortifications, however strong. Tjtus was an invincible place, as it seems, jet God could pull it down. Nor are we to trust in the multitude of soldiers. This example is as pointed as any to teach men to trust in no external advantages whatsoever.

Calvin renders this somewhat differently, and ti’uly not without some probability: I saw Ephraim, that thou wert planted in a pleasant place, as in Tyrus; and interprets it thus. Thou art a plant like to the ])lants that were in Tyrus. Indeed the word nU3 translated “pleasant place,” signifies also a building, because they are wont to build in the most delightful places; it likewise signifies a secure place of habitation. Now (saith he) Tyrus was upon a rock, and therefore they had little ground for orchards, or gardens, or plants, but only such as were made by art, and with a gi’eat deal of cost: and as men, when they are striving with nature, if they mean to do any thing at all, will do it to purpose, and fetch out the most curious plants, and bestow a great deal of cost to cover them from the coldness of the winter; so Ephraim was compared to such a plant, that is, God was at a great deal of charge for it, and very careful he was to preserve it. As before God compared his love to his people to a longing woman, that longed for the first-ripe fruits; so here God compares his respect to his people to the care ex- ])eiided on a tender plant in a garden made on unlikely ground, at abundant cost and charge; look, what care would be taken to preserve such ])lant in covering and keeping it from the frost, such was my care towards Ephraim, howsoever they have served me. Thus, saith Calvin, to aggravate their sins, God shows his care of them. But, adds the text, for all this, though my care hath been thus over them, yet they “shall bring forth their children to the murderer.”

Obs. 3. God never shows so much respect to any, but that upon their forsaking him wrath follows. Yet, after all this, “Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer;” as if their cliildrcn had been born for no other end but to satisfy the mouth of the sword, to be objects of the fury of the murderer.

“But Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.” Sometimes indeed in war men are led forth even by the treachery, or the spite at least, of their commanders, only that they might be a prey to the murderers. If any wicked officers in an army

have a spite against a man, or any particular company of men, ordinarily this is most against the godly men in the army, they will set them upon the most desperate service on purpose that they might be cut off. or at least fall into the hand of the murderer. As David, for his own ends in another way, would set Uriah in the forefront, and would have others withdraw from him, on purpose that he might fall by the enemy. Many children have been brought forth to the murderers even in this way.

06s. 4. The curse of God goes forward from the parents to the children. It is for the sin of the parents that the children are to be brought forth to the murderers. And especially the curse rests not upon idolaters, but g-oes on to their children. There are tM’o branches in this observation:

. The curse of God stays not upon the parents, but goes towards the children; Deut. xxviii. 18, “Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body;” and especially to the children of idolaters. So Psal. cxxx•ii. 8, 9, “O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.” And Isa. xiii. 18, “Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.” So in the second commandment, the Lord there threatens to visit the sins of the fathers upon the chikken, of them that hate him, to the third and fourth generation.

You will say. Why should children suffer for their parents” sins?

You will kill young vipers and snakes though they never have stung; so, God sees guilt enough in the chilcben of wicked men and of idolaters, so that in justice he may destroy them; but he the rather destroys them because they be the childi’en of such. “When a man commits treason he deserves death for his own crime, but if the king hear that his father and grandfather were traitors, he shall die the rather because of them. So it is true, the childi’en of the godly have sin and guilt in them, as well as the children of wicked men; but the children of wicked men, having guilt of their own, and so liable to God’s justice, God will take the advantage the rather to do justice on them because of then- parents’ wickedness and ungodliness; and this is righteous enough with God.

And the children of idolaters, above all, shall not be s])ared, especially those that live to many years, because no sin is so much strengthened by appealing to the example of forefathers as superstition and idolatry. Why should we be wiser than our forefathers? WTiat is the argument for our superstitious vanities, but our forefathers did thus? And therefore is it observable, that in none of the commandments does God threaten judgments upon the children but in the second commandment, and that because no commandment is so broken from the example and plea of forefathers as the second; and therefore let the children of idolaters and false worshippers look» to it that they repent from the sins of their forefathers. Instead of pleading for the sins of your forefathers, you should fall down and humble your souls on account of them; or otherwise that is the very reason that God will punish the sins of the forefathers upon the children, because their fathers did worship God in a false way, and they will do so too.

2. This is a special fruit of God’s curse upon children, that they shall be brought forth to the murderer. In times of war, if you make not your peace with God, it is just with God that things should be ordered so that your children should be brought forth to the murderers. O you tender-hearted mothers, who are loth that the wind should blow upon your children,

AX EXrOSITIOX OF

Cii.u’. IX.

look upon them and pity them; how can you endure to see their blood gush out? how can you endiu-e to see your little ones dashed in the streets, or upon the pikes of the soldiers? If your hearts cannot endure this, seek to make your peace with God, to deliver yourselves and your children from a curse which has befallen manv. We know not what these wars may bring forth: what they have done in Ireland we have heard much of, how the jjarents have seen their children brought forth to the murderers; and though it is true, in many cities and places where the enemy has come, they have not generally, at least, broken forth into such abominable cruelties as this; but who knows what a summer or two may bring forth? for, certainly, where war continues it drives on with more and more rage.

You will say then, Oh! let us make peace upon any terms.

No, let it rather be your care to make your peace with God; that is your way to deliver your children from being brought forth to the murderers; for if it be a false peace, it may but ha.sten the evils you apprehend. The curse of God is especially severe in this, when it shall come to pass before theii- veiy parents’ eyes, for so the prophet speaks, as if they should be brought forth even before them. Many of the heathens have very pathetical expressions about the sad condition of parents, when their children are slain before their eyes: as that of Priam over his son c<riopi3r.*,’qu« Polites, slain by Pynhus, May the gods, reJiS«ilt“cipf“p” if there be any divinity in heaven which luuu^v’ill;’“”“’ ‘■pg’”’’!* such things, retribute you for this! Thou hast even sjirinkled the blood of the child upon the father’s face. He was not able to refrain, though he saw himself ready to die next, but cries to the very heavens to revenge it. And how sad is the story of the emperor Mauritius, whose sons, and wife, and daughters, were brought and slain before his very eyes! If your children did but understand this text that I am now opening, they would even look upon you and cry with tears in their eyes, O father! mother! repent, repent, and seek God for youi-selves and for us; repent and make up your peace with God, that we may not be brought forth to the murderers.

Ijut if this be so great an evil, for parents to have their children to be brought forth to the murderers here, how great an evil then is it for jjarcnts to bring forth children to be fuel for God’s wrath for all eternity, to be lii’ebrands for the everlasting burnings. You then that are parents, look upon your children and soften your hearts by such thoughts as these: Oh! what a sad thing would it be that such a babe that came out of my womb should be a firebrand for God’s wrath to burn upon to all eternity! Oh! how had I need jiray, and bring up my children in the fear of God, lest I should be such an unhappy father, as out of my loins not only to bring forl’i a child to the murderei“s, but for the devils in hell! Uut let not this discourage you that are godly to venture your children in lawful wars; in such a cause if you be willing to sacrifice your children to God, and they be brought forth even to death, yet are they brought forth to martyrdom, rather than to the murderer. Tlioti shouldst rather rejoice that thou hast a child to bring forth in such a cause, than be overpresscd with sorrow that the life of thy child has been taken away by the murderer; and some of vour children, though with the loss of their own lives, have been a means to keep you and us all from the hand of the murderer, to keep the city and the kingdom from being overrun with tyranny, idolatrj’, and all kinds of profaneness; and the good which has been thus ellccted, may compensate the lives of your children. Kev. xii. 11, 12, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and

they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.” When parents shall be willing to give up their- children in the cause of God, even children, having made up their peace with God, shall be ■nilHng to sacrifice themselves in his cause; and then when they “love not their lives unto the death,” there shall be joy in heaven, and they shall overcome in dying, even as Jesus Christ overcame in his death. I remember I have read of Xenophon, that when sacrificing to some idol god, he wore a crown upon his head, and there came news to him, that his child was dead, and he presently j)ulled his crown from ofl’ his head in token of sorrow; but then asking how he died, answer was made, that he died in the wars; whereupon he called for his crown again. So perhaps some of you have lost your children, nature cannot but work; yea, but then ask how they lost their lives; they lost them valiantly, in a work that did as much concern the glory of God as ever any war did, and seeing they died so, rather bless God than be so sorrowful that they fell into the baud of murderers.

Ver. 14. Give them, 0 Lord: trhat trilt thou give’/ giie them a miscanyitig tiomb and dry breaits.

Upon the declaration that they shall be brought forth to the murderer’s hand, then follows, “Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.”

Some think this was an imprecation by a spirit of prophecy, as if the holy prophet had his heart filled with the wrath of God: “Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.”

Uut rather, according to most interpreters, I think this expression is one of commiseration; that is, foreseeing the lamentable condition that the ten tribes should be in ere long, the prophet pities their condition, and ould fain come in and pray for them, and begins, “Give them, O Lord:” and then he stops, as if he should say, but, O Lord, what shall I say for them? “Give them;” but. Lord, I know not what to ask for them, I am at a stand when I consider what they are, and their many previous mercies, what waniings they have had, how hardened they are in their sin, and how thy word is gone forth; but yet, “Give them, O Lord:” shall I say, Lord, give them deliverance, give them j)eace, give them prosperity still? Lord, I d<ue not, that 1 cannot ask; all means have been used to bring them unto thee, and yet they stand out against thee: thou knowest they are dear to me, they are of my flesh, and I should be glad that they might be saved; but thy gloiy is dearer to me than they are, and therefore for that I cannot pray: but yet, “Give them, O Lord; what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.” What! shall the enemies be let out upon them? shall they and then- children be made a prey to the murderer? Lord, rather let no more be born of them, rather let those children that otherwise should have been born, and might have Uved in their own land, Lord God, let them not be born rather than come to so great miser)-. So he doth not pray for “a miscarrjing womb and dry breasts” absolutely, but comparatively.

Obs. 1. Men’s sins often make God’s ministers and saints at a loss what to say in ))rayer. Truly, though there has been a mighty spirit of prayer through God’s mercy in the kingdom, yet, considering that since God has shown himself willing to deliver us, and Christ has been coming even upon his white horse, in peace, to take the kingdom to himself, as gi-eat a spirit of malignity lias appeared against Christ and his saints as ever was in the kingdom, it puts many of the ministers and saints of God to a nonplus in their prayers, and straitens their verj- hearts in the day of their fasting; when

Vek. U.

40’J

they are to seek God, that the Lord would give forth mere’, they know not what to say. The Lord knoMs that our present condition is more unfit for mercy than at the very first day. Thus a nation, thus jjartieular people, may put the servants of God to a stand in their prayers, and straiten their hearts. Oh! had people gone on in the embracing of reformation as they seemed to do at the first, how enlarged would the hearts of the saints have been in prayer! O Lord 1 give England mercy, give England deliverance!

Obs. 2. The fruitfulness and barrenness of the womb are from God. “Give them; give them a misearrjing womb and dry breasts.” This is from God. In Gen. XXX. 1, 2, when Rachel cried for children. “Give me children, or else I die,” the text saith, that ‘■ Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said. Am I in God’s stead?” The learned Paulus Phagius saith that the Hebrews have this tradition, that there are four keys in God’s hand, which he gives not into the hand of any angel;

1. The key of the rain. “The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain irato thy land in his season,” Dent, xxviii. 12.

2. The key of food. “The ej’es of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desu’e of every living thing,” Psal. cxlv. 15, 16.

3. The key of the grave. “Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of yoiu’ graves,” Ezek. xxxvii. 12.

4. The key of the womb. Gen. xxx. 1, 2.

These four keys God keeps in his own hand, and therefore God’s providence is to be observed in this, and there ought to be a submission to his hand in it.

Obs. Z. Sin may bring such evil times upon a people that those who live in them had better not been born, or died before such times arrived. ‘■ Give them a miscarrying womb and di’y breasts.” Children that should live to endure all the miseries of those times that are coming, had been better not have been born, or have died long before such times, saith the projjhet. We must take heed of wishing this upon every little affliction that befalls us. Some, if their chUdi’en do but anger them, wish they had never been born, or that they had died many years ago; but this is wicked frowai’dness against God himself; those that are so ready to wish their children had not been born, are the least sensible of the sin that causes the affliction upon which they wish such things.

‘■ Give them a miscarrying womb and diy breasts.” There may be many reasons for this prayer of the prophet; as,

1. Such miserable havoc might be made that parents might even wish that they never had any chilth-eu.

2. Cruel t)Tanny might be exercised on their souls and bodies.

3. They might be drawn from God by false religion, and so be in a condition worse than if they had not been born.

Hence parents to whom God denies children, or from whom he takes them away, should quiet themselves in God’s arrangement, especially in such times as these. It may be God has taken away your chikken to deliver them from greater evils; as in the house of Jeroboam there was but one child that had any good in it, and saith God, “That child shall die; because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel,” 1 Kings xiv. 12, 13. So that God takes away many that he loves, and lets others live for whom he has not so much regard.

Yes, some may say, if I were sure that their souls were safe, I would be content, though God took them away.

That is true indeed; if your children were saved, what

loss were it for them to be taken away and received to heaven, and there to live for ever with Chi’ist, not to sin or sorrow more? But, however, you may satisfy yourselves by these reflections;

1. That they are under an indefinite promise, though not a universal.

2. Suppose they should not be saved, yet it were better they should be taken away than live to sin more against God. They might have lived to have done a great deal of mischief in the world, if they were such as God did not intend to save; therefore quiet thyself. God sees further than thou dost, when he either denies thee children, or takes them away, in such times as these.

3. Times when pubHc evils are threatened are good times to die in. If it be better not to be born in evil times, then certainly it is no great evil to die in evil times. Good men are taken away from the evil to come. As, if a woman’s breast were to be lanced, or cut oflF, would not the tender father take the children out of the room in the mean time? AVlio knows but God may have the breast of his church, our mother, to be even cut off for a time, and now oblige her to suffer heavier things than ever she has done. If God then take away his tender children, that will not be able to bear such a sight as that, what great evil is it? So we read, when God’s glory was to pass by, he puts Moses into the hole of a rock; and truly the graves of the saints are but as the holes of the rock till the glory of God’s justice passes by a people.

4. If the sins of parents may be the cause of such things to children, that they had better never been born, let parents take heed that they lay not up such WTath for an inheritance for their children; their children afterwards may even wish they never had been born of such parents. If parents be careless in the education of their chUdi’en, and bring them not up in the fear of the Lord, hereafter their children may curse the time that ever they were born of them, and say. Oh that I rather had been of the offs]n-ing of vipers, or the generation of tbagons, than that I had come of such parents! Oh that my mother had had a miscarrying womb, or that she never had had breasts to give me suck! Certainly, this will one day be the voice of many children against their parents. Look to it, that there be not a father nor mother in this place that may give cause to their children thus to wish they had never been born of such parents. And, certainly, if the endm-ing of sorrows and misery in this world may put them into such a condition, what then will sin, and being the authors of miseries to others, do? Those children that are abominable and wicked in their lives, and are causes of mischief to others, with how much cause may it be said, that it had been better their mother’s womb had miscarried: as it was said of Judas, that it had been better that he had never been born. And so it may be said of many at this day. What abundance of evil are they the cause of to others! What woeful disturbances, distractions, and calamities do some men bring upon a nation! Had it not been better that their mothers’ wombs had miscarried, and their breasts had not given them suck?

And again. What hon-ible wickedness are some guilty of! How many mothers this day have cause to say, Oh that my womb had miscarried of such a child! that my breasts had neler given such a child suck! that ever one shoidd have come out of my womb to do so much mischief, to take up arms to fight against his country, and against the saints, for the establishment of slavery and t)Tanny! Oh that these breasts of mine had never nourished such, for it may be they will prove very murderers! Certainly, if ever there were a time to wish their wombs had misean-ied, and their breasts had never given suck, these are the times many

may do so. Christ saith, in Luke xxiii. 29, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the jjaps which never gave suck.” I say, concerning; many in this kingdom at present might this be said. If any prophet could have foreseen that thou shouldst have been an actor in so much mischief as has been done in this kingdom of late, thou wouldst have said Amen to his prayer when he cried against thy mother. Lord, give this woman “a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.”

Ver. 15. jlll their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the tvickedness of their doings I hill drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revotters.

“All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them.” What this Gilgal was, I opened in chap. iv. ver. 15. It was a place very famous for many remarkable things: stones were set up in remembrance of the great mercy in crossing the Jordan, there was the first passover after their deliverance, and there, too, they were circumcised: “And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egj-pt from off you. Wherefore the name of the ])lace is called Gilgal unto this day,” Josh. v. 9. They were not circumcised during all that time in the wilderness, from whence it was called Gilgal, because the reproach was there rolled away. There, too, they first ate the fruit of the land. But now they have rendered this place of many mercies, the most abominable in the country; for because there were such great things done in Gilgal, they thourfit that it was a holy place, and therefore might justify their superstitious rites: God afterwards chose another place for his worship, yet they thought to sacrifice and worship in Gilgal; they thought it might be justified, because it was a place where such gi-eat things had been done. Now, saith God, I never intended that; “all their wickedness is in Gilgal.”

Obs. 1. The superstitious are proud to put holiness upon places in which remarkable occurrences connected with religion have taken place. This we have had occasion to speak of before, and therefore I pass it.

“All their wickedness.” That is, theii’ chief wickedness; as if God should say, There is a great deal of wickedness among them, there are murders, and thefts, and abundance of other evils, breaches of the second table; but yet, above all, their wickedness is at Gilgal; they think to make use of that place where I showed so much mercy to them, they think to justify their su-Serstitious worship by performing it there, but I will ave them know that I hate this: “there I hated them,” saith God, I abhor this whereby they think to justify themselves.

Obs. 2. Above all sins, the sin of idolatry makes a people hated of God. Because in that sin men think, by their own forms of worship, to atone to God for their wickedness; they present their own ways of worship, to justify themselves in all other kind of wiokcdness.

Obs. :i. To take occasion to sin from God’s mercy, is that w’hich God especially hates. They had met with much mercy at Gilgal. and they made it an occasion to their wickedness. To make that which should engage us to God to be an occasion of wickedness against God, is abominable in God’s eyes. As you read in the law, you m»ist not seethe a kid in its mother’s milk, Exod. xxiii. 19; that which is the milk to preserve the kid, must not be a means for a second death; to seethe or boil it in its mother’s milk, saith God, is unnatural cruelty: so for us to turn those things which should be a means to engage our hearts further to God into an occasion of further sinning against God, is abominable; “there,” saith God, “I hated them.”

But further concerning (illgal. Their idolatrous priests told them, as is probable, that that place was a

holy place, and that surely God. who had appeared so to them there, would accejjt of their services in that place rather than in any other; and so, though God afterwai-ds chose another place, yet still they doted upon this Gilgal, and that which was so famous for God’s worship, became as infamous for superstition and wickedness.

Polanus on the text compares Wittenberg in Germany to this Gilgal. Those places where the Lord has been peculiarly gracious to people, the devil seeks especially to corrupt. AVittenberg was the beginning of the Reformation by Luther: now, .saith he, the devil has made it the theatre of divers heresies: so here, that place which had been the scene of the greatest mercy, is the place of the greatest wickedness; the devil envies it so much the more, and all their wickedness is here.

“All their wickedness.” That Ls, their chief wickedness: their superstition and idolatry is the chief and the great wickedness that provokes God against a people; not only because of the presumption in it, but because it is an inlet to all other kind of wickedness.

Obs. 4. Where there is false worship in any place, all manner of wickedness follows. People stick to their superstitions more than to any thing, and therefore that is the chief wickedness; yea, and they think by them to satisfy God for their other sins; all their wickedness is there.

Obs. 5. To sin where there are the testimonies of God’s abundant mercies, is very abominable. That is a great aggravation of sin, to sin in the face of the testimonies of the mercies of God. What! where so much mercy, yet there to be wicked and abominable? Does God fill thy family, thy chamber, thy closet, thy bed, thy shop, with the testimonies of his mercy? Take heed how thou sinncst there where there are abundant testimonies of God’s mercy to witness against thee, to the aggravation of thy sin.

“All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them.” I find some interpreters, and that not one or two, but many, (and that il’bre’lnurJrSS^ makes me speak of this interpretation,) that refer this wickedness to the casting off the government that God had appointed, and introducing a new form: Gilgal was the place where they would have Saul to be their king, and east off the government by judges that God had appointed among them; now this was the ground of all their other obstinate wickedness, and God remembers this a long time after, and saith,” .lll their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them.”

Ob.’:. 6. It is hateful to God to cast off the government to which God would have us subject. The Jews IkuI both their civil and ecclesiastical government by Divine institution, they were both mixed in one there. And though now we have not our civil government by Divine institution, but it is left to the creation of man, according as in prudence men in several countries shall think best: but ecclesiastical government certainly is as much by Divine institution now, as ever it was; and it must be so. because it is spiritual, and nothing can work in a spiritual way upon the inward man, but that which is by Divine institution: therefore whatever the government be, (I will not meddle with the particulars,) yet we must take heed how we cast off that which is appointed by God, for that is hateful in his sight: “there I hated them.” We had need therefore search and examine to find what that is. and if we think it be not so clear as their government was to them, we must take so much the more ])ains to examine, and not think it long that there is so much time spent in seeking to find out what the government should be, for it is nn light matter. Many think it but a circumstance, and that we need not trouble ourselves so murh about it, hie PKOPHECY OF HUSEA.

4U

nor spend so much time in searching it out. Leavn henceforth to look upon it as a great matter, as a matter upon which the welfare or the evil of a kingdom much depends, for so it was here: Because they cast off, saith God, the governnient that I would have, “there I hated them.”

06.S. 7. Some sins provoke God to anger, and some to grief, but some to hatred: “there I hated them.” It is dreadful when our sins provoke hatred. This is the great difference between the sins of the .saints and others; the sins of the saints may anger God, may grieve God, but the sins of others provoke God to hatred. “There I hated them.”

06s. 8. Sometimes God manifests his hatred in the very places where men sin against him: “ihere I hated them.” As a man’s spirit will rise if he come to a place where he has been wronged by any; so saith God, every time he looks upon Gilgal, Oh, there was this wickedness committed, “there I hated them.”

“For the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house.” They shall remain no longer in a church state, they shall remain no longer in my house.

Those who, under the colour of being under the church of God, yet live in the ways of wickedness, God will unchurch them even in regard of the outward appearance of a church estate; “1 will drive them out of mine house.” This is a di-eadful expression: for a father to take his child or servant, and drive them out of his house, denotes great indignation: to be di’iven out of God’s house is a sore evil, that makes all other evils indeed to be evil, as abiding in God’s house is a great blessing, and recompenses the want of many outward blessings. If any of you that have been servants to great men, have been driven out of their houses for conscience’ sake, yet if God take you into his house jou are well enough; and for that you have a famous scriptm-e in Psal. lii. 8, “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: 1 trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.” Upon what occasion was this Psalm jjenned? When David was driven out of the house of Saul by means of Doeg, who so exasperated Saul against him, that David was driven from his house, so that he dared not come into it. What comfort had David then? •’ But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;” though I cannot be in Saul’s house, and enjoy its privileges, yet, blessed be God, that I may be in his house, and there thrive and prosper as a green olive tree.

Obs. 9. God cannot endure wickedness in his house, “For the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of my house,” neither should we. As God accounts it his dishonour to have wickednesss and wicked men in his house, so should we in the chm-ch regard the ungodly. We must not make God’s house an unclean place for all; the prof; ne should be driven out, as Christ drove out the buyers and sellers out of the temple; yea, and so should all Christians drive out of their families wicked and ungodly servants: “He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight,” saith David, Psal. ci. 1. It is a dishonour for any who make profession of religion, that though they be not themselves scandalous in their own lives, yet there are those in their house that live scandalously, their servants are as wicked as any; this is a dishonour to religion: God drives out wickedness out of his house, and do you expel it from yours.

“I wUl love them no more.” By “love” here is meant, the communication of outward good things, for that carnal hearts account to be the only love of God: indeed, if they may have outward prosperity here in this world, they make that an argument of God’s love to them. Well, saith God, though you have had many such fruits of my love, yet I will lov.e you no more, I will take away all those privileges and good things

which you have enjoyed. There are privileges and good things that come from no other love but that which may be taken away; oh, let not us be satisfied with such, let us be satisfied with nothing else but that which comes from everlasting love! You may have your outward estates, you may have comely bodies, health, strength, success in your labours, yea, you may have church privileges, and yet all this not come from the everlasting love of God, that can never be taken away: these fruits of God’s love may be taken from lou, and God may say as concerning all these, I will love you no more; but there are fruits of love, the sanctifying graces of God’s Spirit, the fruits of electing love, and God can never say of these, I will love you no more.

“No more.” After the many deliverances this people had in a way of love, God resolves with himself that he will have done with them, he “will love them no more,” he will deliver them no more. God may withdraw the sense of his love from his people for a while, but yet manifest it again; the afflictions of the saints are but a little cloud that soon passes over, the sun soon breaks in again upon them, and love shines; but the sun of the wicked and ungodly sets, and never rises again. This is di’cadful, when a man’s ruin, or a people’s ruin, is thus sealed by God; whatever mercies you have had heretofore, yet now there is an end of all; adieu, mercy, adieu, love; I had gracious manifestations of them once to my soul, but they are now gone; I must never enjoy them more, God has now changed his administration toward me, I must expect nothing but wrath, nothing but ruin, from the hand of his sore displeasure, and to be sunk everlastingly. Oh, let not thy provocations of God be continued, do not add to them. I have dealt falsely with God, dallied and trifled with the Lord, many times promising fair, but when I was delivered then have I dealt wickedly with thee, O Lord: but now. Lord, no more. Oh, take heed, if thou addest any more to thy wickedness, lest that this dreadful sentence be pronounced in heaven against thee, I will love thee no more. The words in the original are. oranN t^DVS’ nS I will add no more love: I have done enough already, I will do good to this wretched creature no more; my goodness and mercy have had their turn; now, Spirit, strive with them no more; ordinances, no more do them any good; mercy, meddle no more with them: “I will love them no more.”

“All their princes are revolters.” This is a very strange expression. “VATiat “all?” Yes, even from Jeroboam to Hosea’s time, all the princes of Israel were wicked men, for two hundred and fifty years, in all successions eveiT one was naught, false, and ungodly, all were revolters. The paranomasia in the original is elegant, D’Ti’iO dnnw princes revolters, its force cannot well be expressed in our version. The Seventy render the latter word by dnHBovvreg, men that could not be persuaded; all their princes were men that could not be persuaded; they were set upon theh own way, their own ends, and would have their own politic fetches; and let prophets, let any of the godly, attempt to show them the mind of God, they were resolved on their own way, they would follow this course at all risks, for it they would venture even their lives, and the loss of their estates.

Obs. 10. Men great in power and authority think it a dishonour to alter their minds; such men will go on desperately, to the ruin of themselves and of their kingdoms, rather that hearken to counsel. Luther on the place has this expression; Being elated j.,..,,, p„„„,;^ „,j by their power, they would be above the wm s..piTiotes esse word itself; they thought it much that their hearts should submit to the authority even of God’s word. This is the wickedness of men’s hearts, when they grow great they swell above the word of God.

“All their princes are revolters.” Some of them

41J

Cii.u’. IX.

made some kind of show when they came first to the crown, and raised great hopes that their times would be l)etter than before, and that things that were evil in former princes” reigns would now be reformed, but within a while they went all the same way: thus Jehu, and so some others, promised fair at first, but they all turned to be revolters. From whence,

Obs. 11. The nature of creature engagements. See what they will work in the hearts of men when in the l)ursuit of their honours, their preferments, their great places of dignity, and i)Ower, and profit, and gain; see what they will do. Evil princes being engaged, and afraid of losing their power, if any should go to Jerusalem to worship, all went in one stream, not one of them was taken off from their great engagements; indeed many in smaller matters may be di-awn ofi’ to God, but if it come to a gi-eat matter, then none. Thus it has happened with us. Perhaps some poor ministers, with small livings, would discern the truths of God, and the sinfulness of ceremonies; but where did your deans and bishops? where did any of the prelates that had great engagements? they would never see the truth that now almost every body sees, their great engagements hindered them. And so the great engagements of princes hindered them, though the truth was clear enough.

Obs. 12. According to people’s interests so they are; as they see those above them go that have pov.er over them, that way people will go. Ephraim is wicked, because “all their princes arc revolters.” Those that are in places of ])ower drive the people along before them. God has little honour in the world but as it suits men’s interests.

Obs. 13. Princes, though they should be used with reverence, yet must not be flattered; their sins must be showed plainly unto them, though they can hardly bear it. “All then’ princes are revolters.”’ “Touch the mountains and they will smoke;” touch the great men, reprove but them, and presently the heat of their wrath rises, and they smoke even with indignation. But yet those that are faithful about them should trust God with their places, and estates, and with their lives. Oh had we but those about princes that would deal faithfully, and show them how far the guilt and the evil of blood may be ujion them! certainly it would be otherwise with us than it is at this day, had we but Latimers and Deerings. Of Latimer it is said, that sending a book to King Henry the Eighth, he wTote in the first page of it, “Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.” And Deering, in his sermons even before the queen, speaking of disorders of the times, said, “These and these things are thus and thus, and you sit still and do nothing. May we not then well say with the prophet. It is the mercy of the Lord that we are not consumed, seeing there is so much disobedience both in subjects and m prince.” Certainly much good might come had we now men of such spirits as heretofore lived.

Obs. 14. When princes successively are wicked, there is little hope of good to a people. The saints under the persecution of one groan and cry to God, but another comes and oppresses them more. We had need therefore pray for those in high places, for i)rinces, for it concerns much the people, as we shall presently see more at large.

Ver. IG. Ephraim is smillen, their rnot is dried up. they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved /mil of their womb.

“Ephriym is smitten.” a’^BK Tiin God had threatened l’;])hraim long before, but now “lilphraim is smitten;” not threatened onlv, but smitten. The phrase imports as if he were smitten from heaven by a

thunderbolt, as if in a dreadful manner God himself smote him.

Ob.i. 1. God will not always forbear sinners. “Ephraim is smitten.” He threatens a long time, but he smites at last. God may be a long time bending his bow, and making his arrows ready, and preparing the instruments of death, but at length he smites, and when he smites he smites terribly. How sad is the condition of a wicked man, who has had many warnings, and toward whom God has showed much patience, but of whom at length this is the news that one neighbour tells another. Oh, such a man is smitten of God, the wrath of God has pursued and has overtaken him, the fearful stroke of God b upon him! This certainly will be said of all wicked, impenitent, secure sinners. What sad reports are there at this day in all countries about us, even throughout the world! MHiat is the news throughout the Christian world almost but this, England is smitten, the Lord has smitten her? The Lord has indeed smitten us with a dreadful stroke, and he still continues to smite us. Isa. v. 25 is made good upon us this day, “The anger of the Lord is kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them:“’ mark what follows, “the hills did tremble,” (oh that our hearts did,) “and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets:” (and so it has been with us:) yet “for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.” And thus it is with us. And the principal cause that is there given of such woeful smiting is, as you may observe in the 20th and 23rd verses, the perverscness of men’s spirits in turning things quite contraiy to the mind of God. As thus, “They call evil good, and good evil; they put darkness for light, and light for darkness; put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter: they justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.” This is the cause of this smiting: and never was there such perverscness in the hearts of men to turn things quite contraiy, to cry truth for falsehood, the ways of sedition for the ways of Christ, to cry out against the saints that are for peace, as the great troublers of the kingdom, and in many places to “justify the wicked for reward.” A^Hiat favour have many malignants! and those that have most appeared in the cause of God, how are they discountenanced! This is the cause why God should smite us, and why our carcasses should t)e torn in the very streets. The Lord has smitten us this day, as he did the people in 1 Kings xiy. 15, “The Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed is .shaken in the water,” (and then there follows,) “he shall root up Israel out of this good land.” So it is here, “Ephraim is smitten, their- root is dried up.” The Lord this day has smitten us ‘■ as a reed is shaken in the water.” ‘f’hat which men cried up at first, they cry down again presently after; wavering and inconstant in all their ways, they know not indeed what they would have. The Lord has smitten us so that he has fetched blood, yea, the Lord has smitten us by those that should have protected us; and that is a sore smiting, to smite us by tlic hand of such as should protect us. Such a threatening is denounced in Zcch. xi. (); oh how is it made good upon us this day! the text there saith, “I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the I<ord; but lo, I will deliver the men eveiT one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king, and they shall smite the land; and out of their hand I will not deliver them.” It is a ven’ strange scri|)ture, I know not the like in all the boot of God. God threatens to smite this people, and how? “1 will deliver the men every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king, and they shall smite the land.”’ Why is it so great an evil to be delivered into the hand of our neighbour, and into

the hand of our king? Truly at this time it seems it was. The Lord thus smites us this day, he smites us sorely by giving us up to smite one another. We smite one another with the tongue. In Jer. xviii. 18, “Come, let us smite him with the tongue,” say they. When was there ever such smiting with the tongue as there is now? yea, even good men smite one another. There was a time when the prophet desired to be smitten by the righteous; in Psal. cxli. 5, “Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head.” But now we may justly cry out to God, Lord, let not the righteous smite me: the very smiting of the righteous is a sorer smiting this day than the smiting of enemies; yea, and worse too. In Isa. lviii. 4, they “fast to smite with the fist of wickedness;” that may imply too with the pen; and to smite with the pen is a sorer smiting sometimes than smiting with the sword. And they smite with the sword too, for brother is against brother, and father is against child, and child against father; and this is a forerunner of God’s smiting the earth with a curse. In Mai. iv. 5, 6, the very close of the Old Testament, Elijah is prophesied to come, and to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest” (adds the text) the Lord “come and smite the earth with a curse.” Oh that Elijah might come amongst us! otherwise, what can be expected but the Lord’s smiting the land with a most dreadful curse? When were fathers against children, and children against fathers, as now, and that in matters of controversy? It was wont to be a proverbial speech among the Jews, when they had any knotty controversy that they could not untie. When Ellas shall come, then we shall know the meaning of this. We may say at present, Well, because we see what controversies and what differences in judgment exist, the Lord Christ (whose forerunner Elias was to be) will come ere long, and open all things to us: the Messias will come again and tell us all, and satisfy us in all our difficulties, and put an end to all our disputes. But for the present the Lord smites us, not onlj’ by the sword, but he smites us as he smote the men of Sodom, “with blindness,” Gen. xix. 11. The curse threatened in Deut. xxviii. 28, 29, is even now upon us, “The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: and thou shalt gi’ope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.” O my brethren, how is this fulfilled at this day! with what blindness, and madness, and astonishment are the people of this land smitten! If God smote not men now with blindness, it is impossible but they should see what should be done in such a time as this. Indeed now almost every man in the kingdom cries of being oppressed and spoiled evermore.

Ac thought that when the spoilers and oppressors who were amongst us had passed away, that w’e were safe and well. Oh! but it is renewed again, and now come the spoilers the second time, and the thu-d time, spoiling evei-more; and this is the fruit of God’s smiting men with blindness and madness. And yet who is it that returns to him that smites him? But, Lord, seeing thou art smiting, oh that thou wouldst smite once more, smite these rocky hearts of ours; if thou wilt but smite there, that might free us from other strokes; then might gush out tears of repentance, then might we smite every man upon his own heart, and turn unto thee. From the connexion of this and the preceding verse, Obs. 2. MTren God suffers rulers to revolt, the people are smitten. “All their princes are revolters;” and, “Ephraim is smitten.” Pray then much for your rulers; and let not them that have the chief government in their hand think it sti-ange that people inquire

into their actions, and that they use all means in their power to keep them upright; for if they revolt they not only undo themselves, but undo us. It concerns us to inquii-e how it is with them, and to be solicitous about them; and they must not bid us that are beneath them to let them alone and meddle with our own business, and follow that which concerns us, as certainly what they do does indeed much concern us: were it indeed that if they miscarried they only should be smitten, then we had less to do to look after them; but if they revolt we are smitten. If a child should, in all humility and reverence, beseech his father to leave oft’ certain sinful courses, or to take heed that he be not misled by certain counsels, and his father should say. Concern yourself about your own business; the child might well answer, O father, I hear in the word of God, that God doth visit the sins of the fathers upon the children, and I may suffer for these sins of yours when you are dead and gone, therefore I beseech you, consider what you do: so I say, if we should petition and labour with our governors in all humility to take heed of any evil counsel, and they should bid us look to our own concerns, we may well answer. We have heard in the word, that when the “princes are revolters,” “Ephraim is smitten;” that if governors revolt from any former protestations, the people are likely to suffer. It is, we know, from the revolting of many of our lords and members of the high court that we have been smitten as we have been. How many of them have now revolted to the enemy! their revolting has been the cause of our being thus sorely smitten.

Obs. 3. The compulsion of authority does not excuse sin. It cannot free Ephraim from being smitten because their governors are evil; they cannot excuse their sin by that. Perhaps the people would plead thus t Wiat could we do? we could not help it, those that were in power enjoined such things, and if we did not obey them they would undo us; we were not able to bear their smiting of us, therefore we were forced to yield. Oh! better endure the smiting of man than the smiting of God; “It is a feai-ful tiling to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Obs. 4. The apprehension of God’s hand in smiting should humble the hearts of sinners. Thus in 2 Chron. xxvi. 20, it is told of Uzziah, that when he saw that he was smitten, though he were stout and proud before, yet then “he hasted to go out” of the temple. ‘There IS no longer standing out, for the Lord has smitten. So when we apprehend God smiting, there is no standing out against the great God, we had need make haste to reform.

“Their root is dried up.” But though we be smitten we hope we may grow; we may lose our leaves and some of our boughs, but we hope that we shall spring again. Perhaps these are the vain apprehensions of some men, who never look to making their peace with God. No, saith God, I will not only smite to take off your leaves and branches, but I will smite the very root; “their root is dr-ied up.” There is difference between the pruning and lopping of a tree, and the cb-ying up of its root; there may be help so long as the root remains alive. I will never trouble myself any further (saith God) with them; I have already smitten off their boughs, and that has done no good, I will dry up the very root now. It is a great aggravation of God]s smiting when he smites at the root. Every smiting is not a cb-ying up of the root. It is the base unbelief of our hearts, the discontentedness, frowardness, sullenness of our vile spirits, that makes us thus conclude almost upon every stroke of God, that he intends our undoing; if he but smite us so that a few leaves or branches are removed, we are presently ready to conclude that God intends to blast us, and to dry up the very root, and ruin us utterly. How often in our un-AN EXPOSITION OF

belief, when tried by temptations, and the leaves of our eomforts, our enlargements, and the like, have been shaken otf, how often do we conclude. Oh! the Lord is coming against me, and he will certainly blast all, all that I seem to have, the very root of all my hopes and comforts, will ])resently be blasted! This is the evil of our hearts, and springs from our sullen, froward unbelief. It may be God intends only to prune thee and to take away superfluities, that so the sap may go down more to the root, that thou mayst more exercise the root-graces, humility, patience, faith, self-denial; God perha])s smites only to make the sap go down more to nourish these root-graces, though thou concludest that he will dry up the root presently. In this smiting wherewithal the Lord has smitten us we hope that he intends not to dry up the root, but we may say of it as in Isa. xxvii. 7, “Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?” The godly party may suffer much, but I make no question but the ungodly ])arty has suffered as much; and “by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin.” And in the Ith verse God tells us, that “fury is not in him:” God is fain to make an apology to his people when he is smiting; Though I smite you, yet not so as I smote those that smote you, but “I stay my rough wind in the day of the east wind,” and “fui-y is not in me:” “by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged,” the end of all is “to take away his sin.”

Obs. 5. God has his time to dry u]) the roots of sinners, and the roots of nations. 1. God dried up the rools of many that have made fair profession in former times; they had no other root but only parts, and common gifts, and morality, and this root God di-ied up. Many fair and glorious professors, how arc they this day blasted! sapless, dry spirits, and useless in the world, even at this time when there is so much service required of them! And by being dried up, what are they but prepared for the fire? Old, withered, sapless professors, I say. whose “root is dried up,” are fitted for nothing but the fire; they ai-c like those spoken of Jude 12, corriqit trees, livlpn (pOivoirupiiA, trees that are corrupt in the autumn. Thus it is with many professors, at the time when God expects fi-uit, they are sapless, corrupt, dried up by the root; and what then are they fitted for but for the fire?

2. God has his time to dry up the root of nations, as in Isa. v. 24. Now we might seek to understand what the root of a nation is, but I think we need not in this place, because it is sufficient by way of metaphor, to .show that God does not only afflict a nation, but designs its utter ruin and destruction.

Yet a wor(^or two on this point.

AV’hat was the root of Ephraim?

1. The covenant that God made with them. And when God intends to break his covenant with them, because they broke theirs, then he dries up the root; and therefore in the next chapter you find that God charges them with dealing “falsely in making a covenant,” Hos. X. 4.

2. The godly in Ephraim. So Isa. vi. 13, “But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast theu- leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.” So here, “the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.” The holy seed iii a kingd.im is as the root and substance of it; and yet such is the ])erverse wretchedness of men, that, in stiring against them, they would root out the very root of the nation.

.’<. The vigour and power of the fundamental laws in a kingdom are as the root of it, from whence springs all its outward pence and comfort.

4. The blessing of God upon the wisdom and faithfulness of those in place, that is as the root of the good of a nation; in these things especially consist the roots of a nation.

We hcjje that God will not wholly dry up our root, only let us take heed of this: though there be indeed a difference between the covenant of God with the nation of the Jews, and any covenant that God makes with any nation at this day, yet if we be false in the covenant that we make with God, this may root us out; let us look to it that the vigour and power of the fundamental laws of the kingdom be maintained, and that the godly be not discountenanced; let us not set ourselves to root out them, for in so doing we do but seek to root out ourselves; and let us pray that the blessing of God may abide upon those that are in place of power; and while these things continue we may hope that the Lord intends, though he may scatter and break us in pieces, yet to suffer a root to abide, and, notwithstanding all our misdeeds, to preserve it to his own glory. There will be a root of the saints that shall flourish till Jesus Christ comes again: “The root of the righteous shall not be moved,” Prov. xii. 3; though the righteous may be lopped from all their outward comforts, yet their root must not be moved, that lies deeper than any creature power is able to reach. But there is a root, oh that God would dry it up! a root that the Scripture speaks of, Deut. xxix. 18, a root of bitterness, “that beareth gall and wormwood.” Oh what bitter fruit does that root bear amongst us! Oh that God would indeed dry it up!

“They shall bear no fruit.” They would bring forth fniit to themselves, and seeing they woidd bring forth no other fruit but to themselves, they shall bring forth no fruit, saith God. How happy were we if God would say to the root of bitterness that we speak of, as he said to the fig tree, “Let no fruit grow on thee hencefonvard for ever!” Matt. xxi. 19. Oh that such a curse from God woidd fall upon the root of bitterness which is in the hearts of so many, that we might never hear the evil language, the evil speeches of pcoi)Ie, and the bitter expressions which we have heard heretofore!

“Yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.” ncre translated here “beloved,” signifies also desirable, the desires of their womb. Children arc the desires of the womb, that is, women are very strong in their desires after them, “Give me children, or else I die,” said Rachel. Indeed harlots care only for their lust, and would have no fruit of their womb; an excellent emblem are they of the vanity of many preachers, who, if they can satisfy their lusts, and show their wit and parts, care not for any fruit at all, care not for begetting any children to God. The same word here used for desires, and translated “beloved,” is likewise in other scriptures similarly rendered: Han. ix. 23, O man “greatly beloved:” O man of desires. So in Ban. x. 11, where Daniel is called, “a man greatly beloved.” it is, a man of desires. And so in Prov. xxxi. 2, ““What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?” You see with what a great deal of affection Solomon’s mother speaks, “my .son,” “the son of my womb,” and “the son of my vows,” or desires. But indeed the word is there projierly rendered, “the son of my roirs.” I made vows to God, if God would give thee me, I would given thee up to God, and by vows dedicated thee to his service: “what, the son of mv vows!” Women therefore should look upon their c)iildren as the children of their vows, and show forth their love to them in the way that God would have them. We have a strange scripture in Tit. ii. 4; “the aged women “are there commanded to “teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children:” it is a strange thing that a mother must be taught to love her chil-THE PKOPHECY OF HOSEA.

41d

di’en. Thy child is “the beloved fruit” of thy womb, but yet thou must be taught by God, taught by his people, and by his word, to love thy children in a right and holy way; take heed of loving them so as to provoke God to take them from you, take heed that they be not slain for your sakes. JIany mothers have slain the fruit of their womb by loving them too much. Do not honour your children above God, as Eli did: when you look upon their natural comeliness, consider they have that in them, and that too by your means, which, except they have another birth, will make them objects of God’s eternal hatred. They are the beloved fruit, of your wombs, and’ you look upon them and see that they are sweet and comely babes; yea, but think withal that through you they are so conceived and brought forth, that if they have not another birth, though they be objects of your joy by being lorn to you, yut they will be objects of God’s hatred by being born in sin by you, Psal. li. 5: you may look upon them as objects of your delight, but God may look upon them as those whom he has appointed to death. Alas, those poor, sweet babes, what hurt have they done? God sees enough in them that in his justice he may slay them. But in this that he saith, he will “slay even the beloved fruit of their womb,” or the desirable fruit,

Obs. 6. If what is dear to God be not dear to you, even the very fruit of your womb shall not be regarded by hini. That is the scope of the threatening. Here, saith God, is a people to whom my honour, my ordinances, my saints are not dear; therefore even the desirable things of their womb, the very “beloved fruit of their womb,” that which goes more to their- hearts than any thing in the world, that which is the dearest to them, I will slay in mine anger. If you would have what is dear to you dear unto God, let that which is dear to God be dear unto you.

Ver. 17. My God will cast them au-ay, because thetj did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

“My God will cast them away.” Not then’ God, but nil, God. There is much to be observed from hence.

06s. 1. Let all the world forsake God, a faithful soul will not. Hosea lived in wicked times, all the ten tribes generally had departed from God; but still “my God,” my soul shall keep close to God; I have chosen the Lord to be mine, and I have found such soul-satisfying good in him, that he shall be mine for ever; here will I rest for ever; I have chosen th 3 way of God’s true worship, I will not conform myself to the common mode of worship where I live, but 1 will choose God to be “my God,” whatsoever the world doth. Such was the prophet’s constancy and such should be ours.

06s. 2. In evil times, when others forsake God, yet a gracious soul can claim God as its God: yea, and especially when times of trouble come, ■n-hen sore evils are ready to fall upon the people generally, yet here is the comfort of a gracious heart, “mi, God.” Blessed be God for the interest ■n-hich I have in him; they may take away my house, my estate, my means, but they cannot take away “my God;” in him I have interest still, which they cannot take from me. This was the comfort of Micah, in chap. vii.: he describes the evil of his times, ‘’ The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in ■n-ait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net,” ver. 2. “The best of them is a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge,” ver. 4. “Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom,” ver. 5. But after all, in the 7th verse, he exclaims,” Therefore I will look unto the Lord j I will

I wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.” O my brethren, there may come times ere long that the knowledge of God, and interest in him, may be worth to us ten thousand thousand worlds.

06s. 3. It is no presumption for individuals to challenge a special interest in God, in way of distinction from the multitude. “My God.” How singular was Hosea at this time! This people might think him very presumptuous: What, as if nobody had interest in God but he! Is not God our God as well as his? He is bold to speak this in way of distinction: You may forsake God and his worship, but I have cleaved to God, he is “nil, God.” So in 1 John v. 19, you may see how singular John was: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” How could the world take such an expression? What are you? A few poor people; and yet “we know,” saith he, “that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” AMiat are you more than others? Yes, John knew, and would not be discouraged to affirm, that the woi-ld did lie in wickedness; and yet, “we know that we are of God.”

Let not men then be offended at the fewness of those who keep the truth, and the multitude of those who forsake it. In the life of Phocion the Athenian, Plutarch relates, that there was once an oracle of AjjoUo Delphias read before the people, which said. That although all the people agreed, yet there was one man amongst them who dissented from them. Now the people were startled at this; but Phocion stepping forth before them all, bid them never seek further for the man, for it was he, who liked none of all their doings; and yet Phocion at length gained as much rc.pect from them as ever any man did, and they chose him forty limes to be their praptor. And so, let never so many go on in a way for which thou canst not see light in thy conscience, keep to thy principles, only examine them thoroughly. The respect we owe to ourselves and to others, calls us to make a narrow scrutiny. AVe should think we may possibly be rather in an error than they, and we ought to give all due reverence to the judgments of men more in number, more learned, perhaps, and more wise, than oiu’selves; praying to God above all to show us his mind, and searching our own hearts to see that there be nothing particular to bias or prejudice them. After all such endeavours to find out the truth, if God still persuade our consciences, w-e should not be discouraged because the greater part go the other way, but keep to that which our consciences tell us is the’ right. Thus it was with Hosea, though they went generally another way, yet he could exclaim in truth, “My God.”

06s. 4. It is a dreadful thing for wicked men to be declared against by the godly. “Jly God will cast them away.” Those who have interest in God, who know God’s mind, know that such a God as he is cannot have communion with such people. Thus Isaiah speaks at the latter end of the 5Tth chapter. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” He puts the emjihasis there: he saith not, “There is no peace to the wicked,” saith God. but “saith my God.” Oh! when those that have an interest in God, and keep close commusion with him, and thereby come to be much acquainted with his mind, when they shall declare concerning you, “There is no peace.” do not slight it. If any of them should say. If I know any thing of the mind of,God, if I have any interest in God, certainly there can be no peace to thee in such a way as thou art in; take heed of slighting such warnings from men that are godly and humble. True, many that make very great profession of religion, may be bold to suspect and to censure othei-s, who, may be, are better than themselves; but if I see one that walks humbly, strict in his way, holy, and heavenly, and self-denying in

other things, if such a man should but have any suspicion of my condition, I had need look to it, it should daunt my heart to have such a Christian look upon me but with a suspicious eye.

04s. 5. When men are violent in wickedness God will be violent in his judgments. “My God will cast them away,” with violence and with anger, as a man takes his stubborn child or servant, and thrusts them out of his house. So Lam. ii. 6, “He hath violently taken away his tabernacle.” They abused that ordinance of G’od, abused his tabernacle, and he has taken it violently away. O unworthy, wretched people, that should enjoy mine ordinances so, and abuse them! “He hath V iolently taken away,” as in anger and indignation against them.

Take heed of being violent in the ways of .sin. You will cast the cords away, and cast away the truths, Psal. ii.; Isa. v.; take heed thou becomest not a castaway thyself: those that are so ready to cast away God’s truths, it is just with God that he should cast them away, as a man casts away a loathsome thing. They cast away their idols “as a menstruous cloth, and say “unto theiii. Get thee hence,” Isa. xxx. 22. You perhaps cast away the truths of God as loathsome now, but the Lord will one day cast thee away as a filthy and loathsome thing.

“Because they did not hearken unto him.”” My

God will cast them away.” But why?” Because they

did not hearken unto him.” This is a notable sentence,

,,, i,,,,. ,., saith Luther, and worthy to be written

! •’ ■I’ina upon all our walls. Indeed there is much

’ / ,cr!tacur. in it; they would hearken to such and” such, and to the rules of their policy, and

to their own ends, but not to God. Hence the special point to be observed here is,

Obs. 6. In what concerns God’s worship we must hearken to God. The not hearkening to God is that which provokes God to cast away a people with indignation. “My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him!” Perhaps other duties we may know by the light of nature; but when we come to matters of worship, there God must be hearkened to, and none else. God expects that his creature should hearken to him in what he saith; we should be all as the servant was with his ear bored, Exod. xxi. C. Christ himself had his ear bored, he would hearken to what his Father said; therefore Psal. xl. G saith,” !Mine ears hast thou opened,” or bored: Christ was as a servant with his ear bored, to note that he would have his ear at the command of his Father. And who or what are you, that you should have your ears free? In Isa. xxviii. 23, mark what several expressions we have about call in” to hearken; “Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.” In one little verse there are these four; “give ye ear,” “hear,” “heai’ken,” “hear.” Oh, God expects that we should have a hearing ear; and that is the way for wisdom. In 1 Kings iii. 9, Solomon i)rays, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart;” but in the Hebrew it is, a hearing heart; that I may have a hearing heart, .so as to be able to judge thy people. They that have not a hearing heart, have not an understanding heart. The not hearkening to God comes from the ])ride of heart. In Jer. xiii. 15, “Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.” There is no such pride as the turning away our ears from hearkening to God. And turning away our ear- from the law of God is that which makes God turn away his ear from hearing our prayers; it is an evident sign of coming destruction. In 2 Chron. xxv. 16, mark what the ])rophet saith to Amaziah, “I know that God hath detcrmnied to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto mv counsel.” Bost thou come to Uie word, and not hearken to the counsel of God in his

word? It is an evident sign that God intends to destroy thee. Oh hear! “hear, and your souls shall live,” “your souls shall live.” Indeed here lies tlic ground of almost all the evil in professors of religion, the not hearkening to the truth. I suppose those that make profession of religion, if they have enlightened consciences, dare not sin against a known truth; but now here is the evil of thy heart, and look well to it. Thou dost say, If I knew it were a truth I would not go against it. Y’ca, but the corruption of thy heart makes thee miwilling to hearken to it, you would fain have such a thing not to be a truth. I appeal to you, have you never felt some corruptions thus stirring within you, that when you see that if you should be taken off from the side you have espoused, a great deal of ease and liberty and outward comforts would be gone, your hearts are very loth that that shoidd be true, and therefore you are not willing to hearken with a clear heart, so as to entertain the truth, when proved? It is the sign of a gracious heart, to be willing to retain every truth, to be willing to let the truth prevail, whatever it be; but the lusts of men’s hearts hinder them from hearkening, and render them loth to receive those truths that most affect them. But when any shall tje able, in the presence of God, upon an examination of their hearts, to say, O Lord, let thy truth prevail, thou knowcst that I am willing to hearken to every truth of thine; though it should pluck away all my outward comforts, I would fain know thy truth, thy very strictest truths, those which most concera thy glory, and thy true worship. AVhatever becomes of my credit or estate. Lord, let thy truth jjrevail in my heart. It is, I saw, a gracious heart that will thus heafken to God andliis truth. But, as Jeremiah saith, men have “uncircumcised ears, that cannot hear;” through the corruption that is in their spirits, they cannot hearken to those things which seem to make against them.

“They shall be wanderers among the nations.” These last words contain the threatening.

Obs. 7. It is a judgment to have an unsettled spirit. A spirit wandering up and down, unable to settle to any thing, sometimes in this place, sometimes in that; sometimes in this way, and sometimes in another; this is a judgment of God. Solomon saith, “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire,” Eccles. vi. 9. The wandering of men’s appetites and desires work them a great deal of vexation.

Obs. R. Those who are cast away out of God’s house can have no rest; they go about like the unclean spirit, seeking rest, but can find none. The chmxh of God and his ordinances are God’s rest, “This is my rest for ever,” Psal. cxxxii. 14, and should be the rest of the hearts of his people; and they are indeed the rest of the hearts of those that are gracious. But alas, poor soul! who art wandering from God, whither goest thou? where indeed will be thy rest? It was the curse of God ujion Cain, to be a wanderer up and down upon the face of the earth.

But you will say. May not men be wanderers; that is, may not they be cast out of their habitations and countries, and wander up and down, and yet not be cast off from God?

True, we read in Ileb. xi. 3’7, that the Christians “wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; of whom the world was not worthy.” But that was in a way of persecution for God, and for his truth: it was not because they would not hearken, but because they tcotthl hearken. And though thou shouldst be forced to to wander from thy brethren, and the sweet habitation that thou hadst, and thy friends, and art perhaps fain wander up and down even for thy life, yea, but canst thou say. Yet I hope I am not one of God’s cast-aways? It is one of God’s epithets in which he glories, that he “will gather the outcasts of Israel.” Man has cast

me out, yea, but I bless God, I carry a good conscience with me. Such need not be troubled at their wandering state, as can caiTy a good conscience with them. You are cast out from your friends: yea, but still thou hast the bird that sings in thy bosom. Canst thou say, I have not cast away thy commandments. Lord? Indeed, if a man’s conscience tell him that he has cast away God’s commandments, then, if he wanders, it is dreadful to him. What though thou art wandering from thy house, from thy outward comforts, yet not from God’s commandments; “Cast me not away from thy presence,” saith David; though thou art cast out from thy friends, yet not fi’om God’s presence. Here it is, “They shall be wanderers among the nations;” and Psal. xliv. 11, “Thou hast scattered us among the heathen.” It was a great judgment of God to be scattered among the nations, for they were a people that were separated from the nations, and not to be reckoned among the nations, they were God’s “peculiar treasure.” This curse is upon the Jews to this very day; how are they wanderers among the nations!

Obs. 9. We should prize the communion of saints. Let us learn what a blessing it is to live among our own people, especially among the saints, in the enjoyment of God’s ordinances; let us make use of it now, lest God teach us what it is by casting us away and making us to wander among the wicked and ungodly: then your consciences will fly in your faces, and tell you. Oh what blessed times, what sweet communion, we once had! but we began to neglect the prize that God put into our hand. Oh if we were where once we were, we would meet often, and pray, and confer, and would laboiu’ to edify one another in our most holy faith, and warm one another’s spirits, not spending all our time in w’rangling and jangling; but now those times are gone, and we are cast away, and are wandering up and down among wicked and ungodly people. Truly there has not been a time for many years when the communion of the saints has been so little improved as at this day; we now wander, as it were, among ourselves, and little converse one with another, what we should do living together. Just were it with God to bring this judgment upon us, that we should wander among wicked people here and there, and that we should not be privileged to see the face of saints, to have converse or communion with them.