Hosea 10

Ver. 1. Israel is an empty vine, he bringeih forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.

GUALTEE makes this the beginning of Hosea’s seventh sermon. The argument is like that of the former, upbraiding and threatening. Hosea had to deal with tough and stout spirits, and therefore he still strikes with sharp rebukes and severe threats.

“Israel is an empty vine.” The church is often in Scripture compared to a vine, as in Psal. lxxx. 8, “Thou hast brought a vine out of Eg)i)t: thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.” And in that known place, Isa. V. 1, “Now will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved, touching his vineyard.”

The chui-ch is here compared to a vine, and that for many reasons:

1. No plant has a more unpromising outside than the vine; how mean is its appearance! it looks so weather-beaten, rugged, grizzled, and weak with its hollow 2 E

stalk: and such is the church; the outside of it is very unpromising, little beauty and comeliness; as Christ himself had little beauty and excellency in his outward form.

2. The vine is the most fi-uitful plant that grows out of the earth. That gi-eat naturalist, Pliny, tells of very sti’ange fruitfulness of some kind of vines; in lib. 14, c. 4, he tells of ten culei, about eighteen hundred gallons, that an acre of vines brought forth in a year; nay, in the fh’st chapter of the same book, he tells of one stock, one single vine, planted by Livia the empress, which yielded a hundred and eight gallons of good wine yearly. The vine is a very fruitful thing, though unpromising in the outside. And what fruit indeed is there brought forth to God in the world but by his churches? and God expects much fruitfulness among his people; however, as you shall hear, they are charged with being empty.

3. No plant requires so great care as the vine; what a deal of pains are bestowed in dressing, underpropping, and pruning it, what constant looking to it requires! And the Lord has the greatest care of his people, of his church: he accounts it no dishonour to be the husbandman himself, as he is said to be in John XV.: and in Isa. xxvii. 3, you have a most admirable expression of God’s taking care of his church, as his vine; “I the Lord do keep i-t; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.” I will keep it, and I will water it, and that “every moment;” and again, “lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.” And this is the vineyard that he speaks of in the beginning of this chapter, and it was the vineyard that brought out red wine, the best sort of wine. Those that bring forth the best sort of wine, shall have the best of God’s care, and charge, and protection over them.

4. The vine is the most depending plant in the world; unable to underprop itself, it must have props more than other plants, and therefore nature has given it tendrils by which it catches hold upon any thing near it. And so the church, weak in itself, the most depending thing in the world, depends upon the ])rops that God affords it. You have an excellent place illustrative of this in Isa. xxvii. 2, 3, where the Holy Ghost, speaking of “a vineyard of red wine,” saith in the 4th verse, “Fury is not in me;” which shows that there should come a kind of great storm and tempest, but he would not have his people to be discouraged. “Fury is not in me.” And then in the 5th verse, “Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me.” “Let him take hold of my strength;” that is, speaking to his church as a vine. In the time when my fury is abroad, yet do you, like the vine, which catches hold upon a pole, and there undeqirops itself, so take hold of my power, act but faith upon it in time of storms and tempests, and you shall have peace; thus, though never so much troubled abroad in the world with others, yet in me the church may, nay shall, have peace. It is the natm’e of the vine to catch hold upon that which is next it, especially in time of storms; and so when the strongest oaks are rent in pieces, yet the vine, clinging to its supports, abides unhanued.

5. If it be not fruitful, it is the most unprofitable thing in the world. I suppose you are familiar with Ezek. XV. 2 — 4, “‘NATiat is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel:” it is not meet for any work; the vine is meet for nothing, not to make a pin, if it be not fruitful. And no people in the world are so unprofitable as professors of religion, if they bring not forth the fruit of godliness. The world may be rid of such people better than of any else.

6. A vine is the most spreading of plants, it spreads larger than other plants, and fills a great deal of room with its branches; and so is intimated by the promise of the church in Isa. xxvii. 6, “Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.”

7. The vine is the softest and most tender of plants, the emblem of peace; the sitting under our vines is used to set forth peace. And so the people of God should be of tender, soft spirits, not like the bramble, nor the tlioni; if we sit under thorns and brambles wo may be jjricked with them, but sitting under the vine, there is nothing but sweetness and delight.

“Israel is a vine,” yea, but he is an “empty vine.” The word in the original is p|5l3 Israel is an emptying vine; the sense is much the same, an empty vine, or an emptjang vine: that is, though there be much cost bestowed upon Ephraim, so that he might be fruitful, yet he makes himself empty. This shows how he comes to be an em])ty vine; not because God’s mercy is scant to him, but lie makes himself so by his sin; what sap and moisture he has, he pours it forth into other things, and so is empty himself.

Israel was a vine full of clusters, refreshing God himself; as you heard in chap, ix., he w-as to the Lord as grapes in the wilderness, as a vine that did bring forth grapes in the wilderness, sweet to a weary and thirsty traveller. Israel was once such; yea, but now he is come to be “an empty vine,” though he grows in the vineyard of God, and not in the wilderness.

“An empty vine,” and no marvel, for, as you have heard in the latter end of the former chapter, he would not hearken to the Lord, he would not hear the word of the Lord, and so the Lord threatened to cast him away. verbum tanquam Whence Luther observes, The word is liUe fa)cunjapiuria,sine a fruitful rain, there can no true fruit be Ttrifroctus. Lu- without the word. Those that will not hearken to the word, no man-el though they be empty; it is the word that makes fruitful, it is that which is as the fruitful rain: those that leave and forsake the word, observe how fruitless they become, what empty spirits they have. When heretofore they were forward in hearing the word, and loved it, and delighted in it, then they were fruitful; but since they liavc been taken off from the word, you find their spirits empty, and their lives empty. No men in the world so enijity as those who would worship God in another way than the word appoints; men that would think to worship God after their own fancies and ways, oh how empty are they in all the duties their will-worship dictates!

Obs. 1. Eni])tiness in those who profess themselves to be God’s people, is a very great evil. Oh, it is a grievous charge to be brought against those who grow in God’s vineyard, who profess themselves to be God’s, that they are empty, “an empty vine.” A^Tien we would speak of a man contemptuously’, as having no natural or acquired excellency in him, we say such a one is an empty or light fellow; and that is the meaning of the word which you have in Matt. v. 22, “Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council;” the word Kaca signifies empty, and imports as much as if he should call his brother an empty, worthless fellow. So in James ii. 30, “But wilt thou know. O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” The words are, ‘■> dvOpmnt Kivi, O empty man; Knowest thou not, O empty man, “that foith without works is dead?” Manv keep a great deal of noise about faith, and God’s free grace, and yet are extremely empty men, and understand little of the true excellency of the covenant of grace: Knowest thou not, O empty man, “that faith without works is dead?” Speak as much as thou wilt of faith and God’s grace, yet if there be no works thou art an empty man. Nature will not endure emptiness; some of the philosophers have said, that the world would rather be dissolved than that there should be any vacuity; creatures will

move contrary to their nature rather than they will suffer a vacuity. Certainly a vacuum in the souls of God’s people is the worst possible vacuum: for,

1. It is unnatural.

2. It is a dishonour to their Root. Christ has all the fulness of the Godhead in him, and of his fulness are we to receive grace for grace: to grow upon him, upon such a Root, and yet to be empty, oh what a dishonour is this to Jesus Christ!

3. It fi-ustrates the Lord of all the care, and cost, and charge he expends. If thou wert another plant, that grew in the wilderness, it were not much; but a vine, and one in God’s vineyard, and yet fruitless, oh this is a sore evil!

4. There is no blessing upon thy soul if thou art “an empty vine;” as in Isa. lxv. 8, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith. Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it.” If there be wine in the cluster, then a blessing is found in it, but otherwise destroy it. No blessing is found in those that are of empty spirits.

5. If there be grace, it cannot but bear fruit. It is an evil in a vine to have but a little sap, to shoot forth in leaves and bear no fruit: yea, but what is that to grace, which is the Divine nature itself, the most glorious thing in the world? Therefore for Christians to be without fruit is an exceeding great evil. Dost thou know what fruit is? One gracious action that comes from the sap of the root that is in Christ, is more worth than heaven and earth; one single gracious act, I say, is more worth than heaven and earth. Oh, the fruit of the saints is fruit to eternity, and to be without this fruit must needs be a great evil. Those that are empty and without fruit are said, in John xv. 6, to be but iig kX^jio, “an a branch,” and then such a branch as must be cut off. God will cut off those branches; he will cut them off from theiiprofession, and suffer them to fall so that they shcdl not continue to the end.

6. Common gifts shall be taken away. Oh, how many that heretofore seemed to flourish, yet, bearing no fruit, but leaves only, now their leaves are gone, their common gifts are taken away from them; they are not only withered, but cast away, cast away from God, and out of the hearts of the saints; and men shall gather them, the men of the world shall catch them, and shall make use of them, and they shall be cast into the fire and burned; cast into the fire, not for a fiery trial, but that they may be burned: these are the thrcatenings against those that bear no fruit. It is the glory of God’s people, to be filled with “the fruits of righteousness,” Phil. i. 11; to “be filled with the Spirit,” Eph. v. 18; yea, to “be filled with all the fulness of God,” Eph. iii. 19. Oh how contrary is this to emptying! And filled indeed the saints should be with fruit, because they are the veiy fulness of Christ, “the fulness of him that filleth all in all.” In Eph. i. 23, the church is said to be the fulness of Jesus Christ himself; and shall the church be an empty vine, when it is the very “fulness of him that filletn all in all?”

7. An empty spirit is a fit dwelling-place for the devil. In Matt. xii. 44, he findeth the house empty, and then comes in: where the devil sees an empty spirit, there is a fit place for him to enter. It is an evil thing for you to grow upon God’s ground and to cumber it, to cumber any part of God’s ground: it may be, if thou wert gone, there might be another in thy family, or place, that might bring forth fruit to God; God might have more rent, but thou hinderest: for all his possessions in the world the great rent is, the fruit that the church brings forth. As in Cant. viii. 11, it is said, that Solomon let out his vineyard, and it brought him in a thousand pieces of silver for the fruit of it; so God, he lets out his vineyard, and his rent is, the fruit that the saints bring forth to him. What glory has God in the world, if those that profess themselves to be his people should be empty?

8. God does not let us sit ixnder empty vines; omvines have been fruitful vines, shall we then be empty vines ourselves?

9. The Lord has justly made this our vine bleed for its emptiness; it bleeds, and is in danger to bleed to death; it lias brought forth little fruit, and therefore it is just with God that he should let this vine now bleed even to death.

10. The evil of emptiness is great according to the greatness of opportunities. To be empty when God puts great opportunities of great service into our hands, and expects an energetical fulfilment of them, is surely most vile. Oh, my brethren, that we were but sensible of this!

But if It be an evQ thing to be empty, what then is it to bring forth “the grapes of Sodom,” and “the clusters of Gomorrah?” to bring forth the wine of the gall of asps, wild grapes? And yet a great deal of such fruit has been brought forth; and truly the fruit that most men bear now, is wild grapes at the best. If men do any thing, yet they do so mingle the vanity of pride, the sourness of their own spirits, the rigidness of their own nature, with what they do, that all is but ungrateful to God.

Well, to conclude this, about the emptiness of the vine; O let us prize fruitfulness more, and say, as the vine that is brought in in Judg. ix., “Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?” Oh! so, shall we leave our fruitfulness for any earthly advantage in the world? Let us account it a gi’eater advantage to bring forth much fruit to the glory of God, than to glory in any earthly good. No matter what becomes of ns, so we may be but fruitful: though God dung us, though he cast all the filth and reproaches in the world upon us, yet if God will make this but cause us to be fruitful, it is no great matter.

But further, from the manner of the phi’ase: Israel is a vine emptying itself.

That is an aggravation of emptiness, when we empty ourselves; when God is not wanting to us in means, but we are in their use. And what is the cause of emptiness, but the pouring out our strength and spirits on our lusts and the world? No marvel though we have no fruit for God, and strength in his ser’ice, when we let out all to other things.

The Vulgate renders it, vilis frondosa, a leafy vine. The Sept. ivKKrjfiarovaa, a vine that brings forth goodly branches. And our version, “an empty vine.” ‘• Empty:” that is, all the strength and juice of it is let out in the goodliness of the branches and leaves. So, many professors in these days empty out all the strength that they have, and all their parts, merely into leaves; and have goodly branches, make goodly outward profession, and give goodly words, and ‘will speak much of religion; but nothing but leaves, nothing but words, all this while.

Pliny, lib. 17. cap. 22, saith of vines, that it is fit (at least for two years together after their planting) to cut them down to the very gi’ound, that they may not sprout out in leaves, and so lose then- juice and strength at the root. And ti-uly this is that which has man-ed the hopeful beginnings of many young people in these times, they have presently sprouted out into leaves; for never was there a more hopeful time of young people than at the beginning of this parliament, and no greater encom-agement was there than from them at that time; I will not say it is wholly lost, but oh how many of them that began to understand the ways of God have let out all their strength in leaves, and contests, and disputes, and wranglings, and strange kind of opinions, and little fruit is come of any thing! nay, there is little savour at all in their spirits. Oli how happy had it been if God had kept them down in humiliation to the very ground for a year or two together! Now any work of humihation is a thing that is altogether laid aside, all presently sprout out into leaves. My brethren, whatsoever may be said, or whatsoever heretofore has seemed to be preached. to the contrary, yet certainly, if rightly understood, they have been but doctrines that must of necessity be acknowledged. We do not press humiliation as the condition of the covenant of grace, we look not at it so, but humiliation keeps the spuits of men low, and empties them of themselves; keeps them doM’n, (I say,) and renders them a gi’eat deal more fruitful, so that they cannot run up as mere leaves, and spend their strength in vain, outward shoM’. How many of those amongst us are fallen oflT again, not only to be slight and vain, but even to be wicked and ungodly, because they were not kept down low for a while; but God ordering things so that they should live in times of liberty, oh how luxuriant have the leaves of their profession been! When God lets a people grow rank, and prunes them not, they quickly grow ban-en. We had never so many rank Christians growing out in luxurious branches as at present; they think they have overtopped all, because they can talk more than others do; whereas there are some poor Christians that grow low to the ground, and when they get a little comfort it is gone away from them presently, who yet walk humbly before God, and nobody takes notice of them, they are despised and contemned; but these will grow and be delightful to the palate of God, when such rank professors as those shall wither * and be cast out. The pruned vines bring forth the best fruit: compare Isa. v., with chap, xxvii. In the 5th chapter God complains of his vineyard, that when he looked for grapes it brought forth wild grapes. There the prophet speaks of the time before the captivity; but in the 27th chapter there is a scripture that seems to refer to the times after the captivity, and there the vineyard of God is said to be “a vineyard of red wine;” and God speaks much unto it what it should be after the time of the captivity, it should bring forth the best kind of wine, for then God pruned it. They thought that God would come in a furious manner upon thera; no, saith he, “Fury is not in me,” my intent hereby is “to purge away the iniquity of Jacob.” The vines” that are primed bring forth the best and the most fruit.

But I find other interpreters render this text thus, Israel is a spoiled vine. And Luther refers it to the emptying of the abundance of her riches and prosperity. Indeed these two go together, emptiness of fruit, and being emptied of our comforts and prosperity, being spoiled. Israel has spoiled herself, and I have for her sins let the spoilers come among her, and so have emptied her of all her good: even while she enjoyed her outward prosperity, she was emptied .of the blessing of God upon her; but afterward the Lord emptied her of all her outward good also.

Obs. 2. Sin will empty a land of all the blessings God has bestowed. Sin is an emptying thing, sin empties lands, and families, and persons of all their outward comforts. In Isa. xxxiv. 11, God threatens “the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness,” for sin. And oh how has it emptied many parts of our land! how has sin emptied us! what empty houses are there in many places! Houses that were wont in every- room of them to be filled with costly fm-niture, now the owners look upon the walls and see them bare and destitute: chests, too, that were filled with such brave clothes heretofore, now are broken to pieces: and those places which were filled with diet and plenty are now empty: barns empty, purses empty, and bellies empty; yea, the veins of men emptied even of their very blood. Oh how are we a spoiled vine now at this day! The vine that a while since was so

delightful to God and man, and so glorious even in the esteem of all round about us, yet now, how has the Lord sent his cniptiers to empty us! as in Nah. ii. 2, “The Lord hath turned away the excellency of Jacob, as the excellency of Israel: for the emptiers have emptied them out, and marred their vine branches.” This text is fulfilled towards many pai-ts of this kingdom at this day.

“He bringeth forth fruit unto himself.” This is very strange, “empty,” and yet bring forth fruit; if he brings forth fi-uit, how emi)ty? Yes, it may verj’ well consist: “he bringeth forth fruit to himself;” he is empty with respect to any fruit he brings forth to me, but yet has juice and sap enough to bring forth fruit to himself. Oh how many that are bari’en towards God, and have no abilities to do any thing for him, yet, when they come to do any thing for themselves, how active and stii’ring are they! when you put them upon any duty for God, then they are weak, and imable, and the like; but in a matter that concerns themselves, there they have spirit enough, and too much a great deal. If parents have children that sin against God, they scarcely notice it; but if they oSend against themselves, oh how do their spirits rise, and what rage is there in the familj-! The truth is, were our hearts as they should be, if we have no strength for God we should have none for ourselves; and whereas we excuse ourselves, saying that we are weak in our memories, and unable to resist tcmjitation, and can do nothing for God, we should take a holy revenge upon ourselves, and say. Certainly, if I can do nothing for God I will do nothing for myself; if I cannot rejoice in God I will not rejoice in myself; and if I cannot take care for God I will not take care for myself. To be ban’en to God and fruitful to ourselves, this is a gi-eat disproportion.

“Unto himself.” The Vulgate renders lt,fructtisadfsijuatus est ei, his fruit is like to himself; “he bringeth forth fi’uit like to himself.

Obs. 4. Men of base principles will do base things, corrupt hearts will have corrupt ways. An ingenuous spirit sometimes wonders to see the ways of many so base and vile as they are; men in public employment who have opportunity to do God a great deal of serdce, and when it comes to it, how soruitUy and basely do they carry themselves, not caring what becomes of the public good, of God, and kingdoms, and churches, so be it they may scrape but a little to themselves! Yea, but do not wonder, it is fruit suitable to themselves; they are men of base S])irits, of base, corrupt principles, and therefore they bring forth fruit like themselves, fruit like the stock. So many times children are like their parents; theii’ parents are wicked, and they wicked accordingly. Like an imp or branch of such a stock, such are the fruits of many.

“He bringeth forth fruit unto himself.” That is, in nil that he docs he aims at himself, he has regard to his own ends, to fetch about his own designs, to bring his own plots to an issue, and all must be subservient to them. Ephraim had manv designs and plots to make themselves rich, and all their strength and abihty were made to subserve their own designs. It was saul of Judah in their captivity, in Zech. vii. 5, 6, They did fast, and eat, and drink to themselves; all that was done was with a view to themselves; whereas the fi-uit that they should have brought forth, should have been to God, and not to themselves. There is a ver)- sweet place for that in Cant. vii. 13, “At our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and oId,^which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.” Thus should overj’ gracious heart say, and especially then when God makes your hearts most fruitful with jdeasant fruit, new and old. Have ye at any time found your hearts enlarged and melt towards God, and felt full libertv in his service? Take heed now

that this pleasant and sweet fruit new from God, and the old experiences which you have had heretofore of his goodness, be not but as fruit brought forth to yourseves; let not corruption reap that which God has sown. You know it is a curse that one should sow and another reap: it is God that sows, and shall the flesh reap now? and shall the devil reap? Oh! let not these sweet fruits, especially the fruit of enlargement in prayer, and the fruit of abilities to do God service in any pidjlic work, let them not be as fruit for yourselves, do not take the glory of them to yourselves, but let this fruit be for your Beloved. “NMien at any time you find your hearts most fruitful, gi-aces most fully exercised, O think thus, I will lay up this for my Beloved, I will lay the experiences of the goodness of God unto me, that may tit me to glorify God more than heretofore. Oh that is sweet indeed, when God comes in with fruit, and we lay it up for our Beloved! God is to have all our fruit. You observe in Cant, viii., that Solomon let out his vineyard; but mark, in letting it out he must have a thousand pieces of silver, and the husbandmen must have two hundred: if God afford us some wages for what we do, let not us attempt to take the gi-eater part to ourselves: let Solomon have the thousand, and let us be contented if we may have two hundred; but ordinarily we take the greater sum, and return the less to God in any fruit. But observe further the 12th verse, the difference between Solomon’s vineyard and Christ’s vineyard; Solomon let out his vineyard, but Christ saith, “My vineyard, which is mine, is before me:” there is noted this difference, that Jesus Christ takes the care of his own vineyard, he does not let it out, “it is before him.” And therefore if we have any thing, we must not have it so much for om’ wages as free gift; for Christ does not let out his vineyard as Solomon did, but he keeps it and dresses it himself, and therefore it is fit that he should have all the fruit. In Isa. lxi. 3, “That they might be called ti-ees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” Such should the saints be, they should bring forth fruits unto God. And in Phil. i. 11, “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” So should the saints be, and all the fi-uits they bear.

But carnal hearts aim at themselves; all that they do, they act from a principle within themselves, and no fui-ther, and therefore they cannot go beyond themselves. It is an argument that all thou doest has a principle not higher than self, when thou actest for thyself; whereas the principle that the saints act by, is the princijile of grace derived from heaven, and therefore carried to heaven, as the water is carried as high as the fountain from whence it comes, Eccles. i. 7. A selfish heart is a narrow heart; but a gi-acious heart is a heart enlarged, it enlarges itself to infiniteness; such is the property of grace, though it cannot be infinite, yet it is enlarged to infiniteness. Those that work for themselves, the truth is, lose themselves in their working, and lose all their fruit; it is thy worst self that thou aimest at. There is a kind of selfishness which we may aim at; that is, if we can make God to be our own end, our happiness, as the saints do. In such a case no men in the world may do more for themselves than the saints: yea, but how? because they make more of their own good to be in God than themselves, and they make themselves to be more in God than in themselves, and therefore they have themselves more than any, but they have themselves in God. And no men lose themselves more than those that seek themselves most. “He that will lose his life, shall save it.” Those that will aim at themselves, what is that but a little money, and credit, and esteem of men? O poor, base, vile heart, hast thou nothing else but this? whereas all the glory that is in God himself may be thy portion, and thyself may be in

it; so that if God himself be happy, thou mayst be happy, because God himself may come to be thy portion; and is not that a better self to be emptied into God? but therein thou darest not trust God, nor thyself to empty thyself into God, but certainly that is the way to enjoy thyself. “For all seek their own,” (saith the apostle,) “not the things which are Jesus Christ’s,” Phil. ii. 21. Oh! this selfishness, it is vile at all times, but never so vile as at this time; for men now to look and aim at themselves, especially those in public places, is the most abominable and the most foolish thing in the world. Mariners in the time of a calm may look to then’ several cabins, but during a storm, then to be painting and making fine then- cabins, were worse than foolish; how would they deserve to he pulled out by the ears, and to be cast into the sea, that should then be looking to their own interests! What is your joy more than the joy of others? and what are you that you must have ease and content more than others? If ever God calls us to be emptied of ourselves, certainly it is in such times as these are. But we should chiefly,

06s. 5. It is all one to be an empty Christian, and to bring forth fruit to oneself. Men think that which they bring forth to themselves is clear gain; but this is an infinite mistake, for that which is for thyself is lost, and that which is for God is gained. Professors that are selfish are empty. ^lany of you complain of emptiness and unfi’uitfulness, here is the reason, You are so selfish. That prayer is an empty prayer, though never so full of words and excellent expressions, whose end is self: many of the saints, in joining with persons, find their prayers to be such, though there be excellent words, because they see selfishness. Men that aim at self, had need be cunning to keep it from being seen. Let self be seen in a duty, though it be never so glorious outwai’dly, yet it is loathsome in the eyes of the very saints. Let but a man appear to be afi’ected with himself in what he does, with the tone of his voice, or carriage, or gesture, or any thing else, we know how abominable it is in the eyes of all. And so for sermons, where they are selfish, certainly they are empty things; and so I might instance in every other thing that men do. The fulness of the spirit in a prayer or sermon, or any other duty, is the seeking to lift up the name of the blessed God in the duty, in that consists its fulness. Jlany of weak parts and vei-y poor abilities, yet having their hearts upon God in a duty, there is a fulness in their service; there is more in that weak expression, in those sighs and groans, than in all the eloquence of your empty hypocrites, they not being filled with all the will of God; so Col. iv. 12 should be rendered: it is in your Bibles, “That ye may stand complete in all the will of God;” but the original is TrtirXripuncvoi iv vavTl StXr/fiari tuv BfoS, being filled with all the will of God. If thou wouldst have a fulness in what thou doest, a fulness in a prayer, a fulness in thy service, in any thing thou doest, be filled with the will of God, and not with thy self-ends. You know empty vessels will break when you set them at the fire, and so will selfish spirits; those that are selfish, quickly gi’ow empty. You that are merchants know, that if your factors abroad trade for themselves, they seldom do any great- matters for you. I have known merchants that have therefore been chary to pemiit then- men to trade for themselves. And God loves not to see us ti’ading for ourselves, but only as we trade for him, and so account that to be for ourselves. And here is an evident demonstration that your selfishness will make you empty for God. How many are there that complain of emptiness! Oh! they cannot do this, and they cannot do that! AVhy? because except they find comfort, and that coming in which they aim at, they have no mind to any duty. They go to prayer, and strive to pray, and they come away and say, Oh the empty prayers that we make! But what is the reason

that you cannot pray as you would? You have no heart to pray. If you would have enlargement in prayer, and present answer of your prayer to get what you would have, O, then your hearts would be much let out in prayer, and then you would have a mind to pray; but now, though it be your duty to pray, because you thereby tender up the worship that a creature owes to God, that is no argument to put you upon prayer: so self appears in your very prayers. But now try this way, try this way but to get above yourselves once, and be emptied of yourselves; look with a more single eye to God when you go to prayer, let this be the great motive,

0 Lord, this is that worship which I as a creature owe to thee, the strength of my body and soul are due to thee; and though I have not enlargements and comforts, though I feel not that I get by duty to myself, yet, in obedience to thee, and that I might lift up thy name, and that I might worship thee, I am resolved to go on in such duties as thou requirest of me: try but this way, and see whether you will not grow more fruitful in prayer than you did before.

But to pass that, I find that Parens and others render the words thus, An empty vine he is, although he treasure up fruit mito himself: and so we may understand emptiness by that word which I have opened to you, a spoiled vine; he is a spoiled vine, and he is emptied of all his prosperity, and riches, and glory that he had, although he seeks to ti’easure up unto himself. They seek to ti’easure and enrich themselves, to lay up and provide for themselves now, that they may have store by them come what will come; but this will not do, saith God, Israel must be a spoiled, empty vine for all this. And here we may profitably

OI)s. 6. ^Tien God is spoiling a nation, it is vain for’ men to think to provide for themselves. Certainly it is not the time, when God is spoiling and emptying a nation, or other parts of the kingdom, for men to have their thoughts intent on scraping together an estate to themselves even out of the evils of the times, by places and by offices to enrich themselves; certainly there can be little honour or little comfort in such an estate. It surely is the very frame and guise of a vile spirit to think of enriching itself in such times as the present. AVhat God may cast men into by extraordinary providence at any time, or on account of some eminent services, we speak not of; but certainly, if God in his mercy shall put an end to such times as these are, and men shall prove to be rich after this storm is over, who had not some eminent providence of God to cast it upon them, I say, whosoever shall so appear rich after these times, it will be little honour to him or his posterity, but rather be the most dishonourable riches ever gained in the world. In Jer. xlv. 4, 5, the Lord saith to Baruch, who was a good man and yet in this much misguided,” Behold, that which I have buUt will

1 break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not.” I am breaking down that which I have built, and plucking up what I have planted, and doest thou seek great things for thyself? seek them not. In Acts viii. 20, saith Peter to Simon Magus, “Thy money perish with thee.” So may I say to many. Is this a time for men to treasure to themselves, for men to have their chief care now to gain riches P Oh! it is just with God to say to thee. Thy riches perish with thee. Whosoever now will make it his chief care, and think now it is a time of trouble, and now I may gain thus and thus, and it will not appear; I say, those that shall make this to be their care now, to take advantage of these times to treasure up to themselves, just were it with God to say of them and their riches. Thy money and thy riches perish with thee. There follows,

“According to the multitude of his fruit he hath in-Chap. X.

creased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.” Here you have the unthankfulness of Ephraim; you have had his barrenness, and selfishness, in the two former expressions, and now here his unthankfulness. The devil loves superstitious and idolatrous people to have good lands and good possessions, that he may be sei-ved accordingly; idolaters serve their idols according to the lands and’possessions that they have; “according to the multitude of his fruit” were the multitude of his altars. And certainly it is great reason why all the papists are so desirous to get England, and contribute so much that they might but get into England, and get possession here, for in no place could they have more goodly images, and more brave things, than here in England: the fruitfulness of this land is that which makes it such an object to the antichristian pai’ty, and to the devil; he thinks that, might the popish party get here, oh the brave tilings that I .should have here! I begin to have fine altars, but if they had possession of all the riches in the land, then what golden monuments should I hav«! AVe began to have great charges laid out upon temples, (as they called them,) but certainly if they should prevail now, you should have them build them up to the very skies, such pinnacles and glorious tilings there would be; for the land is a great deal more fruitful and goodly than it was heretofore, it is improved mightily now. “NMiat brave buildings were there in our forefathers’ time! witness these that we have near us, Westminster, and Paul’s, and the like. I remember Latimer, in one of his sermons before the king, tells of his father, a man of good hospitality, and that kept a horse for the king, that the ))ortion he gave with his daughter was some five pounds. So I say, if that men were so poor and mean in former times, and yet from superstition raised such edifices, certainly, if the superstitious party had the possession of the land now, there would be brave things done; and therefore the devil, seeing that, strives to bring it into then power.

Obs. 7. To make God’s blessings the means to increase our wickedness, is an abominable thing; to increase our sins according to the increase of God’s blessings. How many may be charged with this. That when they were of low and mean estates, then God had more service from them than he has now they are of higher estates! the higher they are raised in their estates, the lower they are in the work of God: as it is observed of men that grow very fat, they have so much the less blood. And so the fatter men are in their estates, many times the less blood and life, and less spirits, they have for God. There are many reasons against this.

1. Certainly this is against the ingenuity of a Christian, to be less for God when he has most from him; when his own turn is served, then to tuni his back from the Author of all his good.

2. This is a main Christian principle, that the good of an estate consists in this. That’ it gives a proportionably large opportunity for the service of God. ‘this is a great Christian principle about estates; an estate affords either a less or greater opportunity for God’s Bcn’ice; upon this principle does a Christian go in the enjoyment of his estate. Now for a man to be less for God, or more for that which is evil, the better his estate is, he thereby goes against that great Christian maxim.

3. Yea, and it is against t)iy prayers for a sanctified use of thy estate. Does God give thee an estate? I hoiie thou dost seek that this may be sanctified. Now for thee to do less for God, and more for that which is evil, by the increase of thy estate, thou dost go against a sanctifying prayer.

But yet the chief point of all I take to be this: Mark here. They do “according” (for there lies the very strength of these words): “according to the multitude of his fruit,” and” according to the goodness of

his land they have made goodly images.” There is a

great deal of elegancy in the Hebrew, so

that from these two expressions, “ac- “^’^ijvo’”

cording,” and “according,” here is the

note: That the love that idolaters bear to their idols,

it is proportionable to what abiUties they have to show

their love; “according to the multitude of his fruit,”

and “according to the goodness of his land.” When

idolaters are low they will yet do what they can, and as

they grow up they will do more.

Virgil has a very fine expression of NunctrmnnnoiY-um the idolater toward his idol there: We ‘“°,’f“‘’*’*,’Si„„ now make thee but of marble, but if so grtttm luppicrmt. be our Hock does increase, and we have “^’“‘”°- as many lambs as we have sheep, we will make thee of gold.

And thus the true worshippers of God should do in their service to God that which is proportionable; if they be able to bestow but marble for the ))resent, if God raises their estates then- marble is to be turned into gold: and not only in regard of their estates, but of the gifts and means they have, their abilities; know that that which God will accept of when thou art low in thy gifts, and means, and parts, will not serve turn when God increa.scs thee in them all. Have you more than others? Account it your shame that it should be said of any in the world. That there is such a one that has less mercies than I, and yet God has more service from him than he has from me. There is no proportion between many of your increases for God, and your increases from God. Now you must look to the proportion, to make it as exact as can be, my increase from God, and my increase for God. O, be often paralleling these two together, and see whether one do not by far exceed the other; and be not at rest, O Christian, except thou canst make a meet return: those who are rich, must be rich in good works. In 1 Tim. vi. 17, 18, God “giveth us richly;” therefore “be rich in good works.” It is not enough for a rich man to give sixpence or twelvepence for some great service, but he is to be rich in good works, and for relieving distressed ones, and the maintenance of the gospel; he is to be rich in good works, and to account his riches to be as well in his good works as in his estates. Thou hast so much comings-in more than others, thou art rich in that; yea, but what works go from thee more than others? art thou rich in that? If we should judge the riches of men and women by their good works, how many rich men would there be accounted very poor! Every man must be serviceable as God has blessed them, 1 Cor. xvi. 2. O, this meditation would be of very great use to those whose estates are blessed by God: think thus. Is there such a distance between what serWce I do for God and the service others do, as there is between what I receive from God and what others receive from God? This meditation (I say) would be very useful. Cast up your accounts thus: Consider, what service do others for God, and what do I? I do as well as others. TVue, but is there as much distance between the service that I do and the service my poor neighbour renders, as between my estate and his estate? You jierhaps can look upon poor ^leople carrying tankards, earning dearly tenpence or twelvepence a day, and you have many hundreds a year coming in; now is there as much difierence? You would be loth to be in such a condition as those are in: oh, but is there as much difference between the glory that God has from you, and the glory that God has from them? It mav be, some of them, after having been hard at work all t!ay, when they return home, and get alone with their wives and children, fall a praying, and with tears bless God for their bread and drink.

And perhaps you, in your many hundreds a year, and many dishes at your table, are but discontented and froward. O consider, that though God has raised you above others in estates, yet you are lower than many others in good works. If a man’s estate has increased you shall quicldy see it in his clothes; his house and his furniture shall be finer than before, the increase will manifest itself that way; but can you see it in his good works more than before? does such a man more for the service of God than before, more for the relieving of the woeful necessities of his poor brethren? If men come finer to the Exchange than their wont, persons are ready to think, What, is this man grown richer than he was before? You should (if God does raise your estates) make it appear in being forward with good works, in good works that are chargeable, so that men may take notice of jour riches by your rich works, rather than your rich clothes. Except there be a proportion between our plenty and our prosperity, there is no evidence that our prosperity comes in mercy; but if a proportion, then not only an evidence that our prosperity comes in mercy, but a good addition to the good of our prosperity. If a merchant’s ship come home, and he has gotten a thousand pounds by the voyage, now if God raises bis heart proportionably to the furtherance of the gospel, that is more than ten thousand pounds: a man would account it well if he had gotten so much and he could employ it to get ten times as much more. Think but thus: By being proportionable in service for God, thou dost increase the blessing thou hast received in thine estate ten-fold. Thou often thinkest of the blessing of God in giving thee an estate more than before, and others think of it, Oh what a blessing such a man has! yea, but think of the blessing that should follow; has God given him or her a heart to do a great deal of service? The second blessing is the great blessing indeed. “When David had rest, he presently thinks of building God a house, and that in a manner proportionable to what God had blessed him with. And that is very observable in the difference between Moses’s altar and Solomon’s altar: you know Moses was in times of affliction, and his altar was five cubits long and three cubits broad; and Solomon’s was twenty cubits long and ten broad: Moses was low for outwards, Solomon was high; therefore Moses’s was five cubits high and three broad, and Solomon’s was twenty cubits long and ten broad. God does proportion his goodness to what we do for him; why should not we also proportion our service to what he does for us? Therefore when God blesses any of you in yomoutward estate, it is very good to do somewhat presently, as thus. A man perhaps heretofore had but a little stock, and lived in a parish where he had but poor and mean preaching; now God raises his estate, and his house is better, his clothes better, why then should not I have better preaching for my soul? And so, many other ways, if God has blessed you with good preaching, then help your poor neighbours some way or other, that the gospel may be furthered by God’s blessing, and that as he has prospered you.

“They have made goodly images.” ixns’S aitsaniavn iS’ts.l an elegant paranomasia, according to their good lands, so “goodly images.” Now this word that is translated “goodly,” signifies also beauty: they that were good benefactors to their images, made their images beautiful. The same word is used in the story of Jezebel, where she is said to tu-e her head, she made herself a “goodly” head. Oh how great a shame is it to do so much for linages, dead images, and to do so little for the images of God! Shall idolaters not care what cost they bestow upon their dead images, and shalt thou see one bearing the lively impress of the image of God, naked, and hungry, and miserable, and wilt thou deny them? Every man has the image of

God in some measure, even wicked men; but especially in those that are godly there is a renewed image, there the very life of God, the Divine nature, appears: and what a charge will this be, when God shall bring idolaters at the day of judgment against thee, that shall have bestowed so much upon their dead images, whilst thou hast let these images of God suffer want! Certainly, so long as there are any bearing God’s image upon them that want, and want miserably too, for thee to think of increasing thy estate now, and to be richer than in former times, argues great and vile insensibility.

“Goodly images.” Men are taken with outward shows, but to a spiritual heart the ordinances of God, though they be never so plain, are goodly things. A spiritual heart sees a goodliness in all God’s ordinances; carnal hearts see goodliness only in their outward bravery, and outward pomp and glory. Pareus observes on this. Here we see the vain distinction that papists make between their images and idols; we see here they are charged for making goodly images.

Ver. 2. Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty? he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.

“Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty.” My brethren, I know that you would be willing enough that I should, in such a point as this is, go beyond an expository way, seeing God has cast me upon it; but as this point has been fully handled in a treatise of mine ab’eady printed,* (to which I shall refer you,) I shall pass it, and proceed to the following words.

“He shall break down their altars, he shall spoil then’ images.” The divisions of this people were much about the rites of worship, most of them contending for false modes against the true: they would have their images and their altars honoured; but God saith he wUl break them down, and spoil them; Ye keep a stir for them, but you shall not have them. But he will “break down their altars;” rfeco/ZaJiV, the word comes from a root that signifies bto’ ^’^’^ a neck; and so that which you have in “” ‘“’ ^^’*’’’- your books translated “break down,” is, break their necks; he will break the necks of their altars. Ternovius, a learned interpreter, observes upon the place, that it has an allusion to that which they were wont to have upon their altars, ornamenta quasi capitella, ornaments which were as heads or ci’owns upon their altars; yea, but saith the Lord, I wLU break the necks of them all. “He shall break down their altars, he shall spoil then’ images.” The notes from thence are brieily these:

Obs. 1. Though men strive never so much to maintain that which is evil, God will break it; they may by then’ contending and seeking have it a while, but God will break the neck of it at last, it shall come to nothing.

Obs. 2. Though men be convinced of an evil, yet if the temptation abide they will recm- to it again. “He shall break down their altars.” Why? they were convinced before of the evU of them, for so in the former words, “now shall they be found faulty,” they shall acknowledge themselves gudty in contending so much for them. Well, but, saith God, though you are convinced of your guiltiness, yet that is not enough, I will break them down; for otherwise, if they remain, they may be snares unto you: to prevent that evil, the evil temptations are to be taken away as far as possible. You acknowledge yoiu’selves guilty when my hand is upon you, but you will turn to it again if the temptation be not removed, therefore will I break down your altars, and spoil your images.

* Irenicum: Heart-divisions opened, &c.

Obs. 3. Superstitious altars and images are to be taken away. It is the magistrate’s work to take away those that are in public places; but I have spoken of that before, and shall not recur to it now; only if you meet with any superstitious pictures and images, you must not keep them, and say, hat hurt will these do? though they do not hurt now, yet they may afterwards: you are not to sell and make gain of them, but do as God does, break them down and spoil them, that they raav not hereafter be snares to others.

Obs. 4. Those things to which we give that respect which is God’s due, are liable to the stroke of God. They gave to their altars and images the respect due to God; God’s Spirit rises against that; “he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images,” saith God. So, whatsoever it be to which you give that respect which God challenges to himself, you may expect that God will spoU it and break it down, ii you give to your estates the respect due to God, you make an idol of them, and may expect that God will break them; yea, to your children, your names, your bodies, parts, whatsoever you have, if you rob God of that respect which is due to him, and give it unto them, expect that God will break such things.

Obs. 0. If it be God’s will to break down that which is evil in his worship, let us take heed that we have no hand to set it up; tnat we do not endeavour to set up false worship, for it is in God’s heart to break it down: let us not set up idols, either in our hearts, or elsewhere.

04s. 6. We must not break down superstitious and idolatrous things to make up our own broken estates. AVe should labour to abolish those things, and not seek our own benefit by them; as certainly many do in breaking down things that are naught and superstitious, they endeavour to make up their broken estates, and that is all they truly aim at. But, saith God, I will break them do«Ti and utterly spoil them: so should we, and look not to our own advantage.

“He shall break down.” I find some interpreters render the words thus, it shall break them down, and so apply it to their divided hearts. The pronoun translated “he” is relative, and the antecedent, according to the fomier exposition, is in that last verse of the former chapter where he had spoken of God; but according to this interpretation the antecedent is, “Then’ heart is divided;” their hearts, their very dissensions, their divisions, shall break down their altars, and spoil their images. From such an interpretation we might profitably

Obs. 7. Men’s divisions and contentions break the neck of that which they contend for; especially when men in their contentions are violent, furious, outrageous, and heady, they do usually by their rage and passion break down and spoil the verj- thing that they would fain maintain; and their party is very little beholden to such as tlms act in a sjurit of contention. You know those furious, violent prelates, did not they break the neck of their prelacy merely by their furjand oulrageousness? And in any j)arty it always ha])- pens, that those who are the most furious and outrageous do the least service to their party, and many times arc the very break-neck of their party, and of their cause: it shall break them down.

Ver. 3. For now they shall say, We hare no king, because tie feared not the Lord; uhat (hen should a king do to us?

What! break down our altars, and spoil our images? No, the king will maintain them agamst you all: let the ])roi)heUi say what they can, and a company of jirecise fools oppose them as they will, we have the king on our side, he w ill rather lose his crown than he w ill lose these things, he will stand for them to )iis very life, and therefore we do not fear that they shall be broken down. No, that will not serve your turns, (saith the prophet,) your king shall not be able to help himself, much loss to help you in those superstitious ways that you would have.

“For now they shall say. We have no king.” They rejoiced and gloried much in their king, they relied altogether ujjon their king; no matter for the prophets, they have the king’s commandment, for what they have done they can show the king’s broad seal, and they were sure that they had the king’s heart with them, their king would bear them out in all. They cared not therefore what they did, so be it they had the countenance of their king, that he would defend them; and not only defend, but, by being zealous and forward for his ways, they hoped to have promotion by him; they did not fear to be questioned for any thing, no matter whether they went against law or not, they could shelter themselves under the power and favour of the king: the pomp and glory of the court were a great thing in then’ eyes, and made them bold in their idolatry and oppression; because of the power and greatness of the king, who should control them in any tiling that they did? But now, (saith the prophet,) you have had your day; you have had your time that you could thus shelter yourselves under the power of the king, and do what you list, and oppress, and rage, and nobody durst meddle with you because of the power of the king, but now the case is altered.

“For now they shall say. We have no king.” Had they no king? Yes, Hoshea was their king; but the meaning is, it is all one as if we had no king, his power is so broken that, the truth is, he cannot help us. Drusius, upon the place, saith. He cannot protect us, which is the duty of the king, cfm m and therefore it is as if we had none. L’S’iJroirg.ri, quod “Now they shall say. We have no king;” gjjj*”’^ ‘’*’*■ alas, he is not able to save himself, he can do nothing for us, his ])omp, his power, and glory are in the dust; he is distressed himself, and we are miserably disajipointed of our hopes, we are undone. AVho can help us now? whither shall we go? what shall we do? Our consciences upbraid us now for our bold, presumptuous wickedness. Oh how far were our hearts from the fear of the Lord! we dared the God of heaven and all his prophets, we boldly ventured upon those ways which we were told, yea, which we knew in our very consciences, were a provocation to the Lord; we set up our own worship, we pleased oui-selves, we made our wills to be the rules of all our actions, we took liberty to satisfy our lusts, we mingled our own ways with God’s ordinances, we subjected religion to public ends, we were rigid and cruel towards those who differed from us, we upheld the authority of the king against God and his jicople; and now God has justly brought this disticssed estate upon us, that the king’s power, in which we so trusted, is broken, and in a manner gone. Oh, now we see we feared not the Lord; we have none now to heli) us, we now know what it is not to fear the great God; God is above us, and therefore now what can a king do to us? ■’hat could he do for us, suppose We had him again? alas, our misery is beyond his help; seeing God is provoked with us, and has forsaken us, what should a king do for us? And thus, in this short paraphrase, you have the scope of the words, as if the people should have spoken in this manner.

But now the question is, what times does this refer to? “Now they shall saw. We have no king,” &c.

When did they say so?

The times that this refers to seem to be those which we read of, 2 Kings xvii. In that chapter you find the times that this has reference to; then they might well

say, “We have no king.” The observations from it are,

Obs. 1. It is a great evil for a people not to have the protection and the blessing that might be enjoyed in the right government of a king over them. It is a great evil, and they complain of it as such, and so far their complaint is right, that they are now deprived of the protection and good that otherwise they might have had from the right government of a king over them.

And, my brethren, our condition is even such in regard of the personal presence and protection of a king; in those respects v,-e may almost use the same words as here, and say, We have no king among us. And whether is it better for a people to have no king, or to have no protection from their king? But that which is contrary to protection is a question fitter to be discussed and determined in a parliament than in a pulpit; and to them I shall leave it.

But the church of God shall never have cause to make this complaint, that they have no king: in Psal. xxix. 10, 11, “The Lord sitteth King for ever. The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.” In Psal. xlv. 6, “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.” Psal. cxlv. 13, “Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endui’eth throughout all generations.” Psal. cxlix. 2, “Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.”

‘• Because we feared not the Lord.” Here

06s. 2. It is a great evil not to fear the Lord. “Fear ye not me, saith the Lord, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea?” It is an evil and a bitter thing, that the fear of the Lord is not in men. For God is a great God, infinitely above us, clothed with majesty and honour; trembling frames of heart become his presence. None like unto the Lord: great and marvellous are his works; oh! who w’ould not fear him? God has infinite authority over us, to save, or to destroy; he has us all at an infinite advantage, by the least word of his mouth to undo us. His wrath is insupportable: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” Isa. xxxiii. 14. Barest thou, a vile wretch, presume to rebel against any word of the Lord, ■vvhen the next word may sink soul and body into the bottomless gulf of eternal horror and despair? ‘Who art thou that dost not fear the Lord? Dost thou not fear the commanding word of the Lord, when the next word that proceeds out of his mouth may be a destroying word, to nndo body and soul for ever?

Obs. 3. In times of prosperity, when men have the favoiu’ and countenance of great ones, there is little fear of God among them. “We feared not the Lord.” Oh! those times when we had the favour and countenance of gi-eat men, there was little fear of God among us. So long as men have any confidence in the creature, so long they see no need of God, then’ hearts are swollen with pride, God is not in all their thoughts; they say to God, Depart from us, we do not desire the knowledge of thy ways. They set their heaa-ts and tongues against the God of heaven, they can venture upon any thing then; to tell them it is sin agamst God, nothing at all affects them. How vile and foolish are the hearts of ■nicked men, that the enjoyment of such poor things as they have in the creature, should imbolden their hearts against the great God of heaven and earth! Yet thus it is, men little consider that even those things which their hearts do so much rest upon, are absolutely at the disposal of this God ■n’hom their hearts do not fear.

But let the saints of God take this note with them. Shall creature confidence take men’s hearts off from God’s fear? then let God’s fear take your hearts off

from creature confidence. Certainly this is far more reasonable. Oh! it is infinitely irrational that creature confidence should take the heart from God’s fear; but it is infinitely rational that God’s fear should take our hearts off from creature confidence.

Obs. 4. The taking from a people the protection and benefit they might have by kingly power, is a punishment for their want of the fear of God. “We have no king,” we ai-e deprived of the benefit and the protection we might have by kingly power; it is “because we feared not the Lord.” What evil we feel in this, let us atti’ibute it to the want of the fear of God in ourselves, and in the people of the land. We complain of those that arc aljout the king, and of her that lies in the bosom of the king, and of the evil of his own heart in part; but whence is it that God has left him, either to them, or to any evil in his own spirit? The Lord in this punishes the sins of the people. It is usual for God to punish the sins of the people by leaving governors to evil courses; in 2 Sam. xxiv. 1, you have a remarkable scripture for this, “And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.” And what then? “And he moved David against them to say. Go, number Israel and Judah.” “The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them.” To what? God lets temptations be before David, to lead him into a sin that might bring evil upon the people. It was because the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. It is because that a people fear not God, that the Lord leaves kings, leaves theu- governors, to those evil ways to which they are attached; and therefore learn we, when we hear of any evil done by the countenance of kings, or of any in power, learn we to lay our hands upon our own hearts, and say. Even this is because we feared not the Lord. How easy had it been with the Lord to have wrought upon his heart! oh what prayers have been sent up unto the Lord for the heart of one man! never since the world began have more prayers been proffered for the heart of one man. But the Lord has seemed even to shut his ears against the prayers of his jieople; now let us lay our hands upon om- hearts, God has denied our prayers, it is because we have not feared him. Now certainly there has been but little fear of God amongst us, and little fear of the great God is still to this day amongst us.

Obs. 5. The times of God’s ■wi-ath and judgments force acknowledgment from men that they did not fear God. Amnion God comes against them in ways of wrath, now they can acknowledge that they feared not God. Had the prophet come to them before and told them, Oh! you are a wretched, vile people, there is no fear of God among you. ATiy, wherein do not we fear God? As in Mai. i., they would not be convinced; but now. when the wrath of God is upon men, now they shall say. We see now apparently we feared not the Lord. As Cardinal Wolsey, when in distress, is reported to have said. Had I but served God as well as I served the king, it would have been otherwise with me than it is; but I sought to please the king rather than God, and now I am left in this distressed estate. He would have scorned that any should have told him before that he pleased the king more than God; but afflictions will draw forth acknowledgment: for in afflictions God appears dreadful to the soul, it is no dallying, and trifling, and putting oS’ then; we see we have to deal with an infinite, glorious, and cb-eadful God. And in times of affliction conscience will assert its rule over men, it will not be quieted and stdled as in the season of prosperity; but it will speak, as Zebul, in Judg. ix. 38, “Where is now thy mouth, wherewith thou saidst, Who is Abimelech?” So saith conscience in times of affliction to wretched creatures, TMiere now is that bold and presumptuous heart of thine? Thou didst scorn at fearing

and trembling before God, and slightedst his word; but where now is that proud, wretched heart of thine? In times of affliction men’s hearts are abased and humbled, and therefore are ready to say. It is because we feared not the Lord. Mark here.

They do not when in affliction and trouble say, There were a company of factious people who would not yield to any thinjr, and we may thank them for all this; you hear no such words, O no, but it is, “Because we feared not the Lord.”

Obs. 6. Vhen the heart is humbled, it will not put off the cause of evils to other men or other things, but will charge itself as the cause of the evils that are upon it. Oh how much better, my brethren, were it for us to see the want of the fear of God by his word to us, and his Spirit in us, than by his wrath against us, or his stroke upon us. Let us every day examine our hearts, How has the fear of God been in me this day? has the fear of God actuated and guided nie in all my thoughts, counsels, and actions this day? How hajjpy were it whenever we lie down to rest to have such a short meditation. Has the fear of God been the thing that has acted, and governed, and guided me in my course this day? But there follows,

“What then .should a king do to us?” Suppose we had him; now he is gone, but if we had him, what good would he bring to us? As if they should say, We speak much concerning our king, but now we have not the king with us as he was; yet if he were with us again, what should he do for us? what would our condition be better than it is? And indeed, what good had their kings done for them? The people of Israel were very desirous of a king, they must needs have a king, God yielded to their desires in giving them Saul; then afterwards they must have a king again, so they had Jeroboam, and he must be the king of the ten tribes. Their first king was given in God’s wrath, and almost eveiy one of the kings of Israel was a plague to them; what had they done for them? All the time they had judges they were in a better case; Israel was in a far better case when they were ruled by the government of God. And Peter Martyr, in his preface to the Book of Judges, observes three things wherein Israel was better when they were under judges, than kings.

First, All the time they had judges, they were not led captive out of their own country as afterwards.

Secondly, ‘WTienever they were ojipressed, and God raised them up a judge, he did always prevail so as to deliver them from their oppression, before he had done he delivered them from their oppression; that is to be observed in the story of the judges, but their kings did not so.

Thirdly, We find not any one of their judges charged or condemned by God as evil, and executing unrighteous judgments among them, as the kings are; Such a one did evil in the sight of the Lord, and such a one did evil; almost every one of the kings of Israel did so. God does not charge the judges so; it was othenvise therefore with them after they had kings. And the truth is, that Christ has been but little beholden to, I may say, the most of our kings; yea, little beholden to most of the kings that have lived upon the earth: and he has taken as little care of the greater ])art of them: as they have taken little care of his honour, so he has taken little care of the greater part of them. Of all the sixty-three Roman emperors elected by the senate, historians agree that but six had such j)rotection from God as to die a natural death, but six of threescore and three: there were twenty-nine of the emperors that did not reign above twent)’-five years and some months; yea, there were twelve of them that reigned but three years and some months: see what havoc was made of them: they regarded not the honour of Jesus Christ, but were enemies unto him, and he regarded as little their .safetv. From hence the notes are these:

Obt. 7. When God forsakes a people, nothing can do them good. “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it,” Psal. cxxvii. 1. “AMiat then should a king do to us?”

04s. 8. It is just with God to make those things unuseful to men which they sinfully dote upon, and put their confidence in. They sinfully doted upon kings, and put their confidence in them, and God does now justly make the power of kings unuseful to them. •’ AVhat then should a king do to us?” If we dote upon them, it is just with God to make them unuseful to us. Or if we dote upon our credit and name«, and so upon kings and princes: if men expect preferment from them, it is just with God to blast all their hopes, that they should be forced to say. Now I see God tights against him, as well as against me. Thus the people spake in respect of their kings.

This scripture may well be a comment upon that text in Psal. cxlvi. .3, “Put not vour trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.” Do not put your trust in princes, have no confidence in them; if you put your trust in them, they will be unuseful to you. And C’hrysostom upon that very psalm has this note: AVhereas they would say. Oh, he is a prince! Saith Chrysostom, £et me tell you that which loli perhaps will wonder at; because he is a prince, therefore put not your trust in him. And he gives this reason. Because who is in a more unsafe condition than they? Are not they fain to have their guards go about them to protect them? In times of peace, even in a city that is ruled by good laws, yet are they fain to have the instruments of war round about them to protect them; and therefore put not your confidence in them, because they are princes. But then, in the Psalm, they are called to put their confidence “in the Lord, which made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that therein is; which keepeth truth for ever.” Alas, you may put confidence in princes, but they will not keep truth; they will make fair promises to you, that you shall have some great matters by them, but they use you but to serve their own turns; but put your trust in the Lord. “The Lord shall reign for ever;” kings do not reign for ever, they are the children of men, the breath is in their nostrils; but” the Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God. O Zion, unto all generations.

Obs. 9. How great an evil is it to a people then, whose complaints are. What doth a king not do against us? Musculus, upon the forenamed Psalm, (those that read his comment shall find that note in it,) saith. You are not to put your trust in princes that are the children of men, they are but men; yea, but what shall we say to those that are cruel oppressors, that are rather like tigers and such kind of wild beasts among men, that seem not to be children of men, how shall we put our trust in them? Oh! it is a sad condition indeed that a people is in, when they have this cause to complain, when they shall have cause to cry out and couiplaui. Oh how, how doth he run from place to place, plundering, spoiling, breaking, tearing, destroymg wheresoever he comes! That people is in a sad condition. ‘NMiat shall he do for us? nay, what doth he not do against us continually? and all this, because we have not feared the Lord.

See here the alteration of the spirits of these men towards their king. King; not long ago they put their confidence in their king, and gloried in their king, and now, “A’hat shall a king do to us?” Hence the note is,

Ohs. 10. God can soon make a great change in the hearts of people in reference to their kings; that even those that did dote and admire him, and own no other God but their king, shall even turn their hearts and say. What can a king do for us? The least turn of God u])on the hearts of people will make such a change as this is.

Obs. 11. The difference between the blessed estate of God’s people, and the wretched estate of wicked men. Those who fear God can say, What shall a king, what shall men, what shall devils do against us? but other men in their straits, Wiat shall they do for us? We are in a distressed condition, and what shall they do for us? But the people of God are never in such a distressed condition but they are able to say. What shall men or devils be able to do against us? for God is our protectoi-.

06s. 12. The more stoutness and sinfid creatm-e confidence there is in any, the more do their hearts sink in desperation when they come to be crossed in their hopes. They were very stout and full of creatm-e confidence before they were brought into misery, and now what low, sordid spirits have they! now they sink in desperation. None have theii- hearts sink in desperation more than those who in the ruft’ of then- pride are the most bold and presumptuous against God and his servants.

Obs. 13. A carnal heart is not led by experience of the vanity of creatm-e confidence to seek after God. “What then should a king do to us?” Theii- hearts sink in regard of any hopes that they have from their king. But yet you read nothing of their hearts being set upon God, and mourning, and working towards God; when they are taken from the creature they say not thus, Now we see our vain confidence in our king, and what hopes we had of preferment in him God has crossed; well, we will go and seek to make the King of heaven our portion. No, no such thing conies from them as this. Their heart lies sullen and sinking, it has no interest in God, and cannot go to him to make up what it wants in the creature. But it is otherwise with a gracious heart; The hand of God has taken off my confidence in the creature, yea, but I hope it is in mercy to my soul, that I might have the more confidence in God, and that God might have the more glory from me; and therefore I hope that this taking ofi’ my heart from the creature, will for ever unite my heart more to the Lord than ever heretofore it has been. Yea, this is a gracious work indeed, when the heart is taken off from creatiu’e confidence and brought nearer unto the Lord.

Ver. 4. They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of thejield.

They are convinced of their sin, that they have not feared God, they cry out of theu- misery, “What then should a king do to us?” But mark what follows; they were not gained to God ever a whit the more, but when taken ofi’ from their hopes one way, see how they set upon another.

“They have spoken words.” Luther here saith, this is a Hebraism, for, they have anxiously consulted; that the Hebrews are wont so to express an anxious consultation; and for that he quotes Isa. viii. 10, “Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand.” So then the words here would signify, the)- get together and contrive one with another what they shall do in such a case as this, how they may any way help themselves. As we read of the people of God in Mai. iii. 16, “They that feared the Lord” met one with another and spake together; so these wicked -wretches, that were thus disappointed of their hopes, met together, and spake one to another, some such words as these:

Our case is very sad, oh! who should have thought such things should have befallen us? We are as much crossed of om- hopes as ever any men were; we made account we should have overrun them, and they w-ould have been but as bread unto us, we should have made a

prey of them, and all their estates would have been ours long before this time. Those prophets who told us that God was against us, those ministers that encouraged people in the name of God, and those people that differed from us, now we see that their words are fidfilled, and what they thought w-ould come, is nowcome upon us; now is come to pass what such precise ones among us, -whose consciences would not submit to our w-ays and the way of our king, said. Surely they cannot “but look upon us as a most wretched, miserable, forsaken people, now -we are like to lose our houses, estates, honours, and all those delightful things which w-e hoped might have made our lives prosperous and jocund. Oh! what shall we do in such a distressed state as this? We had almost as good die as endure such a miserable life as -n-e are like to live, at the mercy of men who w-e know scorn and hate us. Is there no way to help oiu-selves? cannot w-e get some to join with us? can w-e call in no help from any strangers? no matter what compliances in return they demand. Thus they toss up and down, not knowing what in the world to do in their conference.

Or thus; May we not yet possibly make up some peace though we be in this distressed condition? Whatsoever propositions they shall proffer to us, we -will, rather than fail, yield to them all; w-e may perhaps get some advantage hereafter, or be in some means in a better case to revenge ourselves than now we are. If they -»-ill have us take the covenant, and nothing else wUl satisfy them, we will do it; and when we have taken it, perhaps they may put some of us in places of trust, and so we may privately w-ork about oiu- own ends, and drive on cair own designs that way better than in any openly hostile manner. And if together with theii- covenant they will have oaths, we w-ill take them too; and if we cannot agree to their oaths or covenant hereafter, we will say. We were forced to it, and therefore they do not bind’us. Some such kind of communication it is like they had. And could you hear the communication of our adversaries w-hen they get together in those straits that God has brought them into, you would likely hear some such kind of stuff as this is, they spake such words one to another.

“‘They have spoken w-ords, swearing falsely in making a covenant.” n’ls ms NIC nlSs nn3“t 1-13-1 Others refer this to the times of the prophet’s threatening, or w-hen they saw- then- danger imminent. The C’haldeeparaplii-ase has it thus. They spake violent words; that is, they rage and fret, they speak proud, swelling words, they swear and curse: What! shall our images be broken down, shall we be brought under and made to serve our enemies? We scorn it, we defy all that shall attem])t it. We -will do this and that, we will have omminds, w-e -will die for it else; we wUl enter into leagues, we will get such and such to conjure together with us, and surely make our party good. Thus they speak of the great things that they will do: thus they speak words, in making a covenant w-ith oaths of vanity, for so you may render the original. And indeed, if men could prevail with great words, and daring expressions, and bold resolutions, and desperate oaths, and wicked curses, then may some hope to prevail against the God of heaven and his saints; but saith he. These things shall do them no good. And indeed these things should never move us, though we hear om- adversaries speak proud, swelling words, and say what they will do, thi-eaten monstrous things, let us not be troubled at it, for they do but hasten the wTath of God against themselves. In the mean time, while they are swearing, and cursing, and making brags, and boast what they will do, the counsels of the Lord work their ruin, and bring about surely the good of his people. But further, “They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant.” What has this reference to? “”Miat cove-AX EXPOSITION OF

nant did they make? and wherein did they swear falsely? Some think it refers to the covenant which the people made with Jeroboam at the first, and so with his successors; that is thus, The people came to him and took their oaths, and entered into solemn league, that they would supi)ort him in the breach winch he made from the house of David, and stand by him in opposing those who would not yield to him in the alteration of worship: for their princes would not probably have been so strongly set u])on the alteration of the ways of worship, had not the people joined themselves freely to them by oaths and covenant: now when they saw that the people came in flocking and willing to yield to the oath wnich the king would give tlieni, upon this they the rather confirmed Jeroboam in his l)urpose. I find that Arias Montanus and Vatablus thus inteq)rct the words.

But now others, and that more probably, understand this covenant and swearing to be the covenant they made with the AssjTians and with the Eg)“ptians, the stor)- of which you have in 2 Kings xvii. Hoshea “sent messengers to So king of Eg)pt, and brought no present to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year.” First, he had covenanted with the king of Assyria, and that was broke; and then they would covenant with So king of Egj-pt; and so they sware falsely in making a covenant with the Assyrians and the Egyptians. Now the observations are,

Obs. 1. Carnal hearts, in their straits, take shifting courses. They have no God to go to. and so, as a dog that has lost his master, they will follow after any for relief.

Obs. 2. It is an evil thing for professors, in straits, to combine with wicked men. God professes he will not take the wicked by the hand, neither should we. It is a sign the cause is evil, when men can have no other help but by combining with the wicked and ungodly. Just thus it is at this day with the adversaries to the parliament; all men generally that make any profession of godliness, see they cannot have help fiom God, therefore tlicy combine, and bring into covenant Irish rebels, papists, Turks, or Jews, any in the world, to help themselves withal: this is the wickedness of men’s hearts.

Ohs. 3. No tnist is to be reposed in the oaths or covenants of the wicked. Let their protestations be never so solemn, their oaths, their covenants, it is but only to gain time to work about some advantage, that they cannot effect for the present, while they have any opposition. If they have not things under their power as they desire, they will promise you any thing m the world J but when once they come to get power in their hands, then who shall require the fulfilling of their promises, their oaths, their covenants? And therefore, certainly, when we have to deal with those whom we have experienced to be false, we must ever retain this conclusion, except we see an apparent change in their hearts; for it is not enough that they are willing to take covenants, that is no new thing; but till we see that God has wrought some mighty work upon their hearts we must carry this conclusion, Certainly, if they can, they will ruin us, therefore our condition cannot be safe till it is such that they can do us no hurt.

Obs. 4. Breaking covenant, though with wicked men, is a wickedness which God will punish. I have heretofore spoken of falseness, and falseness in covenant and promises, and shown you the exam])le of Saul and Zedckiah, therefore I shall not look back to those things. God loves human societies, which cannot be F.df., commune lpreserved but by faithfulness; FaithfulclJIrS.” ‘“*“‘’’’”°’ “^^ (‘’ ‘^ ‘’^”^ speech of n heathen) is the common safety of all men. 1 remember 1 have read of the Romans, that, by the light of nature, they did so esteem of faithfulness in covenants, that

they built and dedicated a temple to it, as to a goddess; and in that temple all their leagues, truces, covenants, and bargains were made, which were so religiously observed, that whosoever broke them was to be held as accursed, and unworthy to live in human society. The Egyptians too would punish perjurj- with death. Among the Indians the fingers and toes of perjured persons were cut ofi”. And I have likewise read, when Tissajjhemes the Persian warred against the Grecians, he broke covenant with the Grecians, and thereupon Agesilaus rejoiced greatly, saying. By this means he has made the gods his enemy and our friend; wherefore let us boldly give him battle, ^^”e know how our enemies have broken their covenants from time to time, and the verj- conditions which they have made themselves, yea, even lately in that town which we hear such good of now; in that we hope the Lord is even revenging himself upon them for breaking covenant in that very place. Now, my brethren, as even the very heathen are convinced that this is so great and dreadful an evil, what cause have we to lay our hands upon our hearts this day in respect of that part of our covenant which concerns one another, for certainly since the time of our solemn covenant there was never more treachery than there has been in England, and in Scotland too; there has been as much treacherj- since that time as ever yet wa-s since either of them were a nation: we have been false one to another so far as relates to ourselves. But further,

“They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant.” Calvin, in his notes on this scripture, understands this oath and covenant not to be a covenant to men, but their covenant with God, in promising repentance and new obedience; and so they spake only words, “swearing falsely,” they did but deceive him in swearing and malung a covenant. And this indeed is a sore and dreadful evil, to swear to the high God, and to covenant with him, to draw so nigh to him, and yet to be false. God threatens in Lev. xxvi. 25, that he will send a sword to avenge the quarrel of his covenant i and when we see the sword rage so as it doth, we may have cause to fear that the Lord has a quarrel against us, in avenging our falseness in the late covenant that has been made. And that we may see further our guiltiness and evil in swearing lalsely in making a covenant, we must know that many ways our hearts may be false in our covenants with God. It is a dreadful evil to be false any way in covenant with God: any of you that upon your sick-beds have been solemnly promising to God reformation if God restored you, if you be false, O know, that the Lord has a quarrel against you, and he has a dreadful evil to charge upon your souls. How many of you have been false in your private covenants! But to be false in public covenants, that is most dreadful. But our hearts may be false divers ways: as,

1. If we make our covenant merely upon politic grounds. If we make the solemn worship of God, wherein we express our fidelity for reformation of religion, to be merely subservient to politic groinids, here is a falseness of heart, we are false in swearing thus, and making a covenant; we do not sanctify the name of God as we ought.

2. If we put on it false intcqiretations we are false; when we shall make our covenant a mere snare to our brethren. Let us consider how far any of us are guilty of tills, and let the Lord judge between us. I say, when we seek to make it a snare even to our brethren. How have those been accused for the breach of this oath, in things which have not accorded with the points that are in controversy with our brethren! as if this oath were put upon all men to determine most abstruse and difficult points of conlroversv, to bring men to submit to such things as are very abstruse and difficult

to understand: this were to make an oath a snare, and to take the name of God in vain in a fearful manner. Certainly the Lord never would have oaths put to men to this end, that men that are of different ways and opinions in controversial things, should be forced by means of an oath to be of the same judgment, and to do the same things: this is a great abuse of this oath, wheresoever it is urged so far. Certainly no man is guilty of the breach of this oath and covenant, that shall but endeavolu- as far as he can to understand what the mind of God is, and then to practise according as he understands, though he should mistake; as in that part of the covenant regarding the point of schism, the thing Itself being a sin, we may as well swear against it, as David did to keep God’s commandments, Psal. cxix. 106; but now, if David did labour to understand God’s commandments, and practised as far as he did understand, suppose he did not understand all things aright, it might be his weakness, but not his perjury. So let us be in point of schism, or any other point of the covenant; if men do endeavour to understand what is schism by the Scripture, and accordingly do, in their- several places, by what means their consciences tell them is lawful, endeavour to oppose it, though they should not think that to be schism which their brethren account schism, or perhaps is so, yet they are not forsworn. This is evil, to make a covenant to be a snare unto us, and our hearts so far are false in it.

3. Then is the heart false m making a covenant, when it does not fulfil it according to the nature of it, when it goes quite opposite to its tenor. As, since oiu’ covenant has been made, when were there ever greater divisions? our covenant is for unit)-. ‘NA’hen more profane ungodliness? oui- covenant is against it. When more injustice? om- covenant is against all such things; and yet, since England was a nation, never did stronger cries ascend to heaven for these sins, than since our covenant. Therefore certainly there is a great breach between God and us in this respect.

4. “WTien men make their covenant to be a cloak for malignity; that is, though they have malignant and vile, wicked spirits, yet they can but take the covenant, and then all is well. Here they swear falsely in making a covenant. After this theii’ covenant there is a great deal of injustice among them.

“Thus judgment springeth up as hemlock.” By “judgment “some understand the judgments of God, and then the sense is. Those wicked ways of yours are the seeds that bring up God’s judgments, as hemlock, bitter and deadly. “There is a truth in this interpretation, though I think it is not the full .scope of the words here; but it may be, the Holy Ghost would hint some such thing unto us in it, that our actions are as seeds, and sown here, they will bring forth according to their nature. Wicked actions, when sown, will bring forth bitter fruit, will bring forth hemlock. It may be, saith he, you look for peace and prosperity; but, contrary to your expectation, behold hemlock and bitterness. I beseech you, take heed of preparing to yourselves a potion of hemlock against you lie sick and are cast upon your death-bed: a man has sown his field, lie thinks to have a good crop of corn, but judgment, the judgment of God, comes up, and there is hemlock instead of it.

But because I think this not to be the scope of the place, therefore I pass it by, and rather think that by “judgment” is here meant, righteousness, equity, and justice.

That whereas there should be righteousness, equity, and justice; behold, instead, there springs up a crop of oppression, unrighteousness, and injustice, that is bitter as hemlock. I rather think that this must be the meaning, because I find that in divers scriptures injustice is compared to bitter things, yea, to hemlock itself: in

Amos V. 7, “Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth.” And in Amos vi. 12, “Y’e have turned judgment into gaU, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock.” I will not stand to open the former text, but you see the Scripture charges the people, by this expression, of sinning against judgment and righteousness, that they turned it to hemlock.

Now I find tlii’ee things especially recorded of this herb.

First, It is a very venomous herb; therefore I find Pliny records of it, in the 25th Book, 1.3th chapter of his Natural Historv’, that the Athenians were wont to give it to malefactors that were condemned to die. And Socrates, that was so wise a man among them, because he did not j-ield to theu- gods, but spake against them, maintaining there was but one God, therefore they adjudged him to die by chinking hemlock.

Secondly, I find the same author saith of it, that the leaves are somewhat like to coriander, but more tender, and with a strong, stinking smell, and the seeds like to aniseed. So justice seems to have a very fair pretence sometimes, and to do things that are very good; under very fair pretences men are very unjust: the leaves when they come up one would think there should be such a fuie fruit, one would think to have coriander or anise, but the truth is, it comes to hemlock at last.

Thirdly, That which Jerome reports of it in his comment on my text, where he saith, that hemlock grows up very stiff and full of joints, and that at the joints it ])uts forth stalks, which not only sprout upwards and bear fruit, but downwards to form roots; and he saith that every branch, if it has but a joint in it, will serve instead of a seed; yea, he saith, if any pieces fall on the ground, they will grow up so as that it will be very hard to extirpate them. And tnily thus it resembles injustice, which, if let alone but a little, oh how quickly it multiplies and spreads itself thi-ough the whole knd!

Pliny too observes. That the root of it is hollow, and so unfit for any use at all. And so are the hearts of the unjust, hollow hearts and unfit for any thing.

That the leaves are beneficial for swelhngs, and sore eyes. And God tm-ns even the injustice that is many times among a people to be medicines to his people against then- swellings, and to open their sore eyes.

That if hemlock be drank in wine, it will certainly kill a man, and that without remedy. So if men be unjust, and take delight in theii- injustice, and scorn and contemn those that they can oppress, such men are in a desperate condition indeed.

And lastly. That this herb kills by cold; that if the leaves or seeds get the mastery of any, they feel themselves begin to wax cold in then’ inward parts, and so die inwardly. Oh! how many who have been very hot and zealous, yet, having gotten power into their hands and imrighteously used it, have growTi cold in that in which they were formerly zealous, and still grow colder and colder; and thus theu- unrighteousness is like to prove theu- death!

“In the furrows of the field.” Calvin „,.

,.. ,Tr, 111 CalTin. Expos. Cur

puts this question, V by doth he not say, potms supra suicos It springs up in the field, but “in the «?”. i“»’= “■ »ero J furrows of the field?” And he gives this answer to it, Where there are furrows in the field, there has the plough come that has broken up the field; and it is to prepare for good seed when the field is laid in fun-ows, and therefore less tolerable for hemlock to spring up there than in the field that is not ])loughed, or in other unprepared ground. AMien a field is ploughed and prepared for seed, and one would hope to have much advantage by his field, to have much justice and righteousness in a country; where we see there have been great works of God to cast out those that were

unjust before, and the expectation of all the people is, that certainly now there will be nothing but righteousness and judgment; when, instead of that, comes up injustice and oppression; as hemlock, when it springeth up in such a field that is so prepared for justice; this is a sore evil; the Lord is much provoked against, and so complains of it, “that judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.”

Obs. 1. That people is in a sad condition, and it is a sign the Lord has forsaken them, that they are near ruin, when in those places where there is most likelihood of justice and equity, there exist injustice and oppression. Oppression and injustice in places where God expects righteousness and equity, is a sad omen, a forerunner of great evil to places. It is God’s complaint, in Isa. r.; just before he threatened the utter spoiling of his vineyard, he gives this reason, “I looked that it should bring forth grapes, and behold, it brought forth wild grapes.” And he mentions, among the wild grapes, injustice: there it is called “wild grapes,” as “hemlock” here, for both are veiT sour, and bitter before the Lord. Injustice in places from whence justice may be expected, is by the Lord accounted a most fearful, a ruining, sin. In Amos v. 12, “I know” (saith the Lord) “your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins.” Now the word translated “mighty sins,” in the Hebrew signifies your bony sins, because the strength of a man is in his bones; and therefore he calls the strength of that sin bony: it is a verj- strong sin, it cannot easily be resisted. Your sins have great bones in them, saith he; and what are they? You afflict the just, you take a bribe, that you may turn away the poor in the gale from their right: tho.se are their great and their mighty sins. In Jer. xxii. 15 — 17, “Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice? and then it was well with him?” Again, “He judged the cause of the poor and needy: then it was well with him:” and, “Was not this to know me? saith the Lord.” Let men talk never so much of reformation, and of setting up the worship of God, and of casting out false worship, yet if they rejoice in injustice and oppression instead of that, God will not take himself as known. “But,” saith he, “thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.” And in Amos V. 21, is a remarkable place for this, “I hate,” .saith he, “I des])isc your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.” You have many feast days, and days of thanksgiving: you bless me for what I do for you, but I will not care for your days of thanksgiving. Why? In the 24th verse, “But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” As if he should say. Keep as many days of thanksgiving as you will, I care for none of them, except “judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” Mark here the expression of the Holy Ghost; judgment and righteousness is compared to a river; that is, it should be common for all, that the poorest might come and take of it as well as the richest: it must not be like a pond, or well, enclosed for a man’s private use, “But,” saith he, “let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream,” as a river; it must be as a river. Now, you know, from the Thames everv’ poor person may come and fetch water for their relief. So justice should be like the water in the Thames, that the poorest of all may have it for the very fetching of it. But till then, saith he, I regard none of your days of thanksgiving. And so in Isa. lviii., there is one special reason why the days of fasting were not regarded, it was because of their oppression of the poor, and their uncharitableness, and their injuriousness in the courts of justice. We have nowmany days of fasting and thanksgiving, more than ever yet Ivig’land knew, and we may think that God will

smell a sweet savour; but oh! this hemlock coming up “in the furrows of the field” will imbitter all, for if ever God did look for righteousness and judgment from a people, then certainly he looks for righteousness and judgment from us at this day. Oh! for us now, that stand in need of so much mercy, that cry for mercy, that we should be oppressing at such a time as this, it is a most dreadful tiling. What! is all the cost that God has bestowed upon us come to this, that there should be no other fruit but hemlock come up in the furrows of the field? all the cost of God and man, all the works of God towards us, do they come but to this issue, only to bring forth hemlock? Were there ever more cries, were there ever more bitter moans and complaints, because of injustice, than of late have been in this land? Never were people so frustrated in their expectations. When indeed such as were notoriously wicked were in place, then we expected nothing but hemlock; but now they are cast out, and others come in, we hoped that there had been such a preparation that nothing but fruits of righteousness would have come up. But now, to be oppressed by them that are in the places of former oppressors, this is grievous. Lord, what is man? In Isa. lix. 9, it is said, “Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness.” This light is especially spoken of the light of justice; as if they should say, The land once indeed was dark, all the courts of judicature, and all the men that had places to judge in, were darkness, we had nothing but darkness; yea, but now we waited for light, we hoped now there would be reformation; it is spoken after their many days of fasting and prayer: but yet, behold darkness, behold oppression still. Oh! many who are come empty into places of power suck harder than some former oppressors did. And what will be the end of these things? How many poor men travel many times far, expecting fruits of justice, but they meet with hemlock! they sigh and lift up their eyes and hearts to heaven, sending up their moans to God, Lord, is this the fruit of our labour? do our hopes come to this? what! must we go home with sad hearts, and be made a scorn and prey to those that are wicked round about us? Oh! these are sad moans at such times as the present.

My brethren, it were easy to name many stalks of hemlock that there are come up amongst us instead of righteousness and judgment. I wUl name one or two.

First, That such as have been notoriously malignant, yea, such as have been upon actual war, should yet, upon any slight acknowledgment, or from having for their own ends taken covenant, get into committees, and have power there over the well-afiectcd party who have been most forward from the first; that now those who hate them, and have spirits full of bitterness against them, should have power over them to tax them as they please; power over their estates, their liberty; power to order the aflairs of the countrj- round about them, and to revenge themselves upon them because they were so forward in the beginning; what grows in the furrows here but bitter and venomous hemlock? ‘OTiere the fault lies, that we cannot determine; but such men, doing such things, in such places, it is nothing but “hemlock in the furrows of the field.”

Secondly, Here is another stalk of hemlock, That poor men, taken from their families, who were the only means of support to their wives and children. yet should be so left without pay themselves, that their wives and children are destitute of bread and clothing; and officers in an army, who were but mean men heretofore, and knew scarce how to live, should now live bravely, ghster in their gold and silver lace; what is this but hemlock? Is not here injustice and oppression? that

Vek. i.

thousands should -want food, that widows and children should cry out for bread, who lived pretty well heretofore; and others who before knew not how to live, yet now shall be brave in a far higher way than ever formerly; is not here hemlock that gi’ows up “in the furrows of the field?” I know not neither where to charge this, but yet we see hemlock doth come up.

But now, though we might name many other stalks of hemlock, yet certainly take this caution along with you.

Every man in times of distraction, such as those wherein we live, must account to suffer something, things cannot be carried on with that equity as if all things were settled among us; therefore, though we may in a humble and peaceable way make our moans one to another, and seek to inform those that are in power, and petition, yet it ought to be our care, whatever we suffer in our particular, to preserve as far as we can the honour of our supreme court; better many suffer iniUvidually hard things, than the honour of that should not be kept up, for by not maintaining that we make way to suffer worse things than ever yet we have done. For how would we have help when we meet with wrong and injustice? Under God there are but three ways, two extremes, and one middle, for men to have right in case of injustice.

1. The king’s arbitrary power, acted by those that are about him. We have tasted enough of this liemloek heretofore; would we think to have oui- help that way? “We know what that hemlock means.

2. The appeal to the people. That were a remedy worse than the disease, for then all would seem to come to be in a confusion that way; if the people, the generality of the people, should take up the matter, we should then have nothing but murders and robberies. Then the meanest man in the kingdom, if he has but as strong arms and legs as the richest of all, he is presently equal with them, when things come to be redi’cssed by the tumultuous people.

3. Therefore the third means of help in case of injustice is, the mean, that is, our parliament, which, as things are now, is the only regular help that we can have. If therefore we see or feel some things amiss, we may be sensible and seek help too, but in a peaceable and humble way of petitioning, being more tender of their honour than of oiu’ own private right. And an appeal to Heaven there may be likewise; but by an appeal to either of the two extremes, certainly in that we make our remedy worse than the disea.se. Pray much for them therefore, that there may not one stalk of hemlock rise up among them, or any seed fall down fi’om them, but that they may be as the field which the Lord has blessed, full of the fruits of justice and righteousness; that themselves, and this city, and the kingdom, may be the habitation of justice; that mercy and truth may meet together, that righteousness and peace may kiss each other; that truth may spring out of the earth, and righteousness look down from heaven, Psal. ixxxv. 10, 11.

Now there is one note more, that I find in Tremelius, Parens, and many others, on the words, “the furrows of the field.” In the latter end of the word translated “field,” there is, say they, ajod, which by some is considered paragogical, or a formal addition only, but by others as an affix for the plural number; and so they translate it thus, hemlock in the furrows of my field. And that is a great aggravation. Hemlock in the furrows of any field is an evil: but what! my people, men that profess godliness? what! those that profess to set up reformation, yet hemlock there in the forrows of my field? Oh this is sad and evil indeed! In Jer. xxxi. 23,” Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah

and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The Lord bless thee, 0 habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.” ‘WTieu I bring then’ captivity again, and o’mi them to be mine, then there shall be such eminent justice and holiness that this speech shall be used, “The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.” So if we would have any evidence to our souls that God does own us, and that we are his, and God indeed has delivered us from our captivity, we should labour that justice and holiness may be so eminent that all the people about us may say. The Lord bless this land, the “habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.” Both must go together; we must not think to raise up the ordinances of God, and cast out superstition, but we must be “the habitation of justice,” as well as “the mountain of holiness,” if we be the land that the Lord has blessed.

Ver. 5. The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Beth-ate?!: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.

“The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear.” You heard before that they were convinced in their consciences that they did not fear God: “For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the Lord.” They feared not God, but now they shall fear: “The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear.”

Obs. 1. That those that fear God least, are most afraid of every thing else. AMiere the fear of God is not, other base fears will be; and so much the more, the less we fear God. Oh how much better were it that our fear were set upon God, than upon other things! Y’ou must love something; were it not better that your love were placed upon God than on any thing else? And you must fear something; were it not better that your fear were upon God, than any thing else? And you must rejoice in something, and sorrow, and the like. Fear is a very troublesome affection if misplaced. O, learn to place your affections right, place them upon God. By the fear of God you shall come to fear nothing else; oh how excellent is God’s fear! This one thing sets out the excellency of the fear of God; that where the fear of God is settled in the heart, all other base fears are rooted out. WoiJd not you be glad to be delilered from creature fears, especially you that have lived in many dangers a few months since? Oh, if you might be delivered from the fears of the creatui-e, how glad would you be! Here is the only way; let the fear of God be strong in your hearts, and the fear of the creature will not prevail with you. Y’ou see it clearly in the example of Habaklvuk, Hab. iii. 16, “AVhen I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered uito my bones, and I trembled in myself.” But now, Habalikuk, why trouble yourself with so much fear? Mark, a great good came to him by it; “that I might rest in the day of trouble, when he Cometh up unto the people.” When there shall be a coming up unto the people, and the enemy shall jirevail, and when “’ the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls;” when things shall be brought into the very saddest condition, so that men shall be at their wit’s end, and know not what in the world to do; then, saith he, “I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” When God spake, then “my belly trembled, and my lips quivered at the voice.” Yea, but when men came in the greatest rage, and when all

things were dark, and dismal, and black abroad, yet then did I “rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of my salvation;” all fear was gone. pien can rejoioe in the time of their prosperity, but in times of affliction then they fear; whereas those that fear the Lord in their prosperity, in the season of their affliction may most rejoice. Nazianzen, in his 12th Oration, saith well, This is our care, that we are afraid of nothing more than that we should fear any thing more than God. That is his expression. Here is an excellent fear, a fear rightly set. Would you fear? fear to fear any thing more than God, and then your fear is set right: but if you do not, &c. Though men that have no fear of God may seem to have bold spii-its, and it seems to result from the greatness of their spirits that they will not fear God, yet these men in the time of danger are the most base, cowardly men in the world. I will give you a notable instance for this: Manasses was a proud and insolent man, that seemed to be fearless of any threatening of God, and scorned his prophets; but mark, when he came into danger, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11, where did they find Manasses? He was run into the bushes; this brave, bold-spirited man, that dared God and his prophets, and cared not for what was said, yet in danger what a base, low sjiirit had he! he runs and hides himself in the midst of bushes and briers.

This is the temper and guise of the spirits of men that will not fear God.

“Because of the calves of Beth-aven.” You know what they were, those that Jeroboam set up in Dan and Beth-el, the golden calves.

Luther, upon the place, moves a question; AAliat a wonderful thing is it (saith he) that Jeroboam should be so bold as to set up calves to worship, when there is that eminent story of God’s revenging himself for the people’s worshipping a calf that Aaron set up, that at one time cost the lives of twenty-three thousand men, and yet that Jeroboam should i)resume to set up calves again to worship! It was a strange, bold attempt, saith Luther, it was a wonderful thing that he should be so bold, and that he should prevail with the people. Luther thus answers this question: The truth is, there is nothing so horrible and vile but people in a little time will be brought to yield to; if great ones, bj- their example and by their endeavours, labour to set It up, it will be set up; and, be it never so vile, never so abominable, the people will be brought to receive it. That is his answer.

And truly we find it so, that let i)cople seem to abhor things never so much, yet if they find it be the wish of gicat ones, and if it be once set up in a way of power, they yield to it. One would think it an impossible thing, God having now cast so much odium ujjon our prelates, for the pcoi)lc of England ever to be brought to yield to them, and I make no question but many of you say so when you meet together; but do not deceive yourselves, if so be that those had prevailed that sought to prevail against us, we should quickly have the sjjirits of peo|)le turned, and as much for prelates, and ceremonies, and altars, (the generality of the people I mean,) as here they were for these calves again, though they had that sad story in their ears continually, of so many thousands that were slain for calves before.

“Because of the calves of Belh-nven.” AMiy, were there many calves at Beth-aven? Indeed there were calves at l)an and Beth-cl, but there was but one at each of them. This Beth-aven and Beth-el were the same. Jeroboam was so subtle to set up the calf at Beth-el, because the place took its name from God; but here the Holy Ghost calls it Beth-aven, a house of vanity, or iniquity. We may call things by names that may hold up some honour and respect, but God will

give another name to these things on which we would fain put honour.

He calls it ‘• Beth-aven,” and “the calves of Beth-aven.” A’hy, were there many calves at ]5eth-aven?

Now the answer that some give is this: There was but one at Beth-el indeed; but both Beth-el and Dan may have the name Beth-aven, (for they are both houses of vanity.) and so “calves” mentioned here m respect of them both.

Others thus: “The calves of Beth-aven.” As if the prophet should say. Set up as many calves as you will, they shall not help you if you had a thousand of them.

But rather, as I find Arias Montanus, with othei-s, say, they are called the calves of Beth-aven, because, according to the example of the calf that was set up at Beth-aven, their workmen made other little ones for their houses. Like as Demetrius the silversmith made shrines for Diana’s temple, and it was his trade also to make little temples in silver, either to hang about their necks, or to be set up in their houses as ornaments; so probably the calf set up at Beth-aven had so much honour put upon it, that they had little things like to it made of wood, or silver, or gold, according to their estates; and so had them in their families; and therefore they are called “calves,” in the plural number. And if this were so we might have a good note:

06.5. 1. That the true worshippers of God should labour to bring his true worship into their families. They would bring the calf into their families, or houses; so should we bring the ordinances and worship of God into our families, and not content ourselves with public worship, but have private worship too: they did not content themselves with a calf abroad, but had them at home in their houses or families.

But further, some remark. They are called the calves in the feminine gender, the she-calves, by way of contempt.

“The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear, because of the calves of Beth-aven.” Viliy “the inhabitants of Samaria?” The calves were not there. Samaria was their chief city; as London is to England, so Samaria was the chief city to the ten tribes. “The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear.” Samaria was a verj’ stiong city; and when the AssvTians came and carried away trie ten tribes captive, they took all the country- round about before they took Samaria. It was with Samaria as with London in these sad times; when there have been wars round about in England, London has been safe for these thi-ee years together. And so when there were wars in all Israel, yet Samaria continued safe; yea, not only when some towns, but when everj’ town was taken, Samaria was so strong as to be able to endure a siege for three years together: thus you find in 2 Kings xvii. 5, that the king of Assj-ria came and besieged Samaria three years: yet, this being so, the text saith, “The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear, because of the calves of Beth-aven.” That is, though they were a strong city, yet when they heard that their gods were taken away, yea, when they did but hear that Beth-el and Dan were in danger of having their gods taken away, they felt this; and though they themselves were safe in their outward condition for the present, and had strength enough to resist the enemies, yet they were afraid; that is, there was a solicitous fear in them about the calves of Beth-aven before they were taken, and when they were taken their hearts were daunted, and they knew not what in the world to do. Thus you see the meaning of the words. MTiencc,

Obs. 2. In times of danger our hearts should be most solicitous about the worship of God. It was so in the season of their danger, their hcarU were especially solicitous about Beth-el, where they had the worshi]) of their gods. So arc idolaters solicitous in time of danger, not so much because of their outward peace, (it is not said that they were afraid because the cne-THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA.

mies would come and take their corn, or their estates.) but for Beth-aven, where the cahes were, they feared. When there is any danger, the honour of God, his church, his ordinances, should lie nearest to our hearts: thus it was with old Eli; “Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God,” 1 Sam. iv. 13. He had his sons in the army, yet his heart did not tremble for them, nor that if the enemies should prevail he was likely to lose his estate, and there would come woeful miseiy upon the land; no, his heart trembled not for these, but for “the ark of God.” I appeal to you, what was that which your hearts trembled most for in the time of our greatest danger? Was it for “the ark of God?” was it because of his ordinances? Oh! if they prevail they will trample the ordinances of the Lord and the saints of God under feet. The true worship of God, and the power of godliness, did your hearts tremble because of this? Certainly if your hearts were right they would do so. What! shall idolaters tremble because of their calves, and shall not our hearts tremble because of our God? 1 Kings viii. 44, 45, “If thy people go out to battle against their- enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them,” what should they do? “and shall pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that 1 have built for thy name: then hear thou in heaven.” In prayer they must look towards the city and the temple; for the temple was a type of Christ, so the city was a type of God’s ordinances, where the people went up to worship. Oh! that should be in our eyes. The city where the ordinances of God are, when we go to war let that be in our eyes, and let that make us fight valiantly; and when we are prajing to God, let us not pray so much that we may be delivered from our adversaries, as that the temple and the city of our God may be preserved.

Obs. 3. Cities that are sh-ong and safe themselves, should be sensible of the miseries of others. “The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear.” God knows how far we have been wanting in this very thing; if a stranger had come out of another country into London, and walked about the streets, could he have imagined that there were such civil wai’s in this land as there are, such wonderful desolations as have been made in other parts? Oh how little did we lay the afflictions of others to heart, because they were at some flistancc from us! Oh the mercy of our God, that has not brought us into the same evils and miseries! this one sin had been enough to have provoked God against us, because we were so little sensible of the miseries of the suiTOunding countries and cities. This Samaria was full of wickedness, yet when they heard what dangers Beth-el and Dan, and their other cities, were in, oh, they were mightily affected with it. Learn we from hence to be humbled for our shortcomings in this respect, and if ever the Lord should yet try us further, let us learn to be sensible of the miseries of others that are about us.

Obs. 3. There is no staidness of heart in resting upon any thing but the living God. They that stay themselves UyK)n any thing else, if any afflictions or dangers happen, then- hearts are filled with fear presently. They are afraid “because of the calves.” ^^’hen their calves are gone, all their confidence is gone, and then their hearts are overwhelmed with fear. When men have nothmg to rest upon but their own inventions, thenown ways, no marvel though they fear in times of danger; they begin to bethink now that all that they rested upon is vanity: yea, the service of God, that men in times of prosperity can rest upon and can satisfy their consciences withal, yet in time of danger it will not do; no inventions of men, no external duties of religion, especially such as are mixed with superstition, will then uphold the heart from being overwhelmed; it

is only the confidoice in the living Ciod, the union of our souls with Jesus Christ, and enjoyment of communion with him in his own ordinances, that can comfort our souls in time of danger. So it is said of the godly in Psal. cxii. 7, 8, “He shall not be afraid of evil tidmgs: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid.” It is again repeated; let evil tidings, come what will, his heart is fixed, because he trusts in the Lord.

“For the people thereof.” Here he speaks of the calf of Beth-aven in the singular number, for the people of it, that is, of the calf; for so I find the word “thereof” referred by most interpreters, to the calf, not to Samaria. From thence the note would be,

Obs. 4. Idolaters dedicated themselves to their idols, they were the people of the idol. Those that were the very peculiar treasure of God and his own people, now are called the people of the calf, for they have none to go to for help, but only to that idol of theirs; they had forsaken God.

“Shall mourn over it.” Though certainly at first the setting up of the calf could not but be a very strange thing to the people of Israel, yet after a little they were useci to it, and paid it worship; and it took their very consciences, so that they loved it, and when it was taken away they mourned, and were in extreme distress and trouble.

Obs. 5. Idolaters do mourn when their false worship is taken from them. At this day, my brethren, how do many mourn after the superstitious vanities and customs that they were wont to have! Now prelates, and service-book, and altars, and such kind of things are taken away, and when they meet together they exclaim. Oh! now all religion is gone! So they persuade poor people in remote parts, that the parliament has taken away all religion; and there is a great mourning in their spirits, they think they know not how in the world to serve God if then- book be taken away from them: and I make no question it has been a cause that many have taken up arms, merely to defend such their superstitious vanities and customs. They mourn for their- wonted burials for the dead, and would almost as lieve lose their lives as such kind of things. I remember I have read of some Indians that were wont to worship an ape’s tooth, a religious rehc among them; and that when it was taken from them, they so mourned its loss that they came and ofi’ered a very great price, even many thousands, to redeem this their ape’s tooth, because it was a religious relic. And so we have men this day who, though their superstitious vanities and customs be no better than a very ape’s tooth, yet mourn over them, and would be willing to part with a great proportion of their estate to redeem them again, they mourn after their calves.

Oh! how then should we moiun after the true worship of God, how dear should that be to om- souls! For if calves, superstitious relics and customs, apes’ teeth, and such things be so dear to idolaters; oh! those ordinances of God in which our souls have met with so much soul-refreshings and commimion with God, in which so much of the Spii-it of God and such enlightenings have been imparted to our souls, oh! how should we mourn after them! You that have gotten any thing by the word or by his ordinances, that have ever known what it has been to have communion with Ciod in them, you should think with yourselves, If these should be taken from me, then I should have cause to mourn indeed. I have lost much of my estate, and my friends, many of them are gone, and these are a cause of mourning; oh! but if I should lose the ordinances and worship of God, what cause would there be then of mourning!

“And the priests thereof that rejoiced on it.” The priests especially moiu’n. The word here translated

“priests,” is in the Hebrew D’hcs and I find the word from whence it comes signifies three things.

1. To sound aloud: and so some typink that therefore they are called Chemarim.s, because of the clamorous sounds they were wont to make in their superstitious worship: just as we were wont to have bellowing in the cathedrals, so they were wont to have, and therefore were called Chemarims, because of their mighty noises and sounds that they were wont to have.

2. To burn, or to be hot: and so Luther understands the word, and saith, that they were called Chemarims from their burning desires after their ways of false worship.

3. To be black from burning; because those things that are burnt are made black. Wieii the flame first takes hold upon a thing it makes it black: and so Chemarims are as much as black ones, or indeed black coats,* in allusion to the black garmenls that they were wont to use. And I find in 2 Kings xxiii. 5, that this word here rendered “priests,” is there used for “idolatrous priests.” Those black coats that were then, accounted it a kind of religion to go in black, and from thence they derived the name. And though certainly it is fit for the ministers of the gospel to go gravely and decently, and not to express lightness and vanity in their garments, yet so to regard black, as if necessarily they must wear black coats, and no other garments will serve the turn, savours of superstitious vanity. Though gravity be required in their very garments, yet to stand so much upon the very colour may be dangerous; and for those that are looked upon as religious men, that they should be tied and bound to it, is, I say, evil. They were wont to do so here: and so almost all your heathens and superstitious people have had always a special colour for the garments of their priests; so the Twks have green, others diflerent colours. Thus much for the name Chemarims.

“The priests that rejoiced on it;” that is, they that did exalt over the calves. The priests got the king on their side, and made the calves brave, and had a splendid kind of worship, and many pompous ceremonies; the priests gloried in this, for they had a special hand in all, and because they had the countenance of authority for their calves, they were able to crush any that spake against them, they “rejoiced on it,” saith th.e text.

But now it is threatened, that they .shall mourn; those priests that did so glory in their calves, (as who were they that did glory so much in pompous altars and other outward adornings, as your priests?) they exulted and had all under them, and would quickly crush a man reluctant to yield to them; they did even brave it over all, and call themselves sometimes the triumphant clergy, just like your Chemarims; but now here they were like to lose all, and they mourned.

Polanus, on this very place, refers it to the fat livings, parsonages, prebendaries, deaneries, and bishopries, and such kind of preferments. Oh how do our prelates and their satellites mourn this day for the loss of these things! Thus they that did so rejoice to expect preferment, are gone now, the world is at an end w ith them, and they mourn one to another because of the loss of such things as these are: and long may they mourn upon this ground. In Kev. xviii. such people are well set forth: unon the fall of Babylon, the text saith, that “the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:” then in vcr. 14, “The fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee:” and in ver. 15, “The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, stood afar ofl”, weeping and wailing.” Those

This is the rabbins’ interpretation of the word, (and they apply it tu the popish monks and nims,) which Calvin rejects, and expounds it to signify, either their clamorous noise in worthat were made rich by the whore of Babylon stand afar off, weeping and wailing. And so weep and wail those made rich by the prelates, and by supei-stitious vanities; and blessed be God that we see them mourn that did so triumph and rejoice over the people of God; blessed be God that he has so changed things, that now they hang down their heads and mourn, even because of their calves that are taken from them.

“For the glory thereof.” They sought to make them as glorious as they could, and they accounted them very glorious. Now shall wicked men, idolaters, account their idol worship glorious? Oh how glorious should the wor- .ship of God be in our eyes, the true spiritual worship of God I Let the true ministers of God learn not to glory in the flesh, but desire to “know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”

“Is departed.” For divers years together the worship of the calves had a great deal of glory put upon it, but it went away. And so you know what glory was upon our prelates, and such kind of worship as they of late set up, but “the glory thereof is departed.” And look to it, whatever the inventions of men are, if unsanctioned by God, the glory will depart from them.

Ver. 6. /t shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

“It shall be carried unto Assjn-ia for a present to king Jareb.” What king Jareb was you heard in the fifth chapter: his name signifies a helper: as now the king of trance is designated The most Christian king; our king. The defender of the faith; so king Jareb was called The helper. Now the calves ai’e to be sent to king Jareb, that was their help. Some think that they sent it for a present, but the test will not bear that; but his soldiers, taking Dan and Beth-el, send the calves to king Jareb as a trophy, as that which they knew he would much rejoice in: they rested much upon king Jareb as a help to them, and now their form of worship, their very religion, is at Jareb’s disposal, for he has now the calves in his hand, to do with them what he will.

Ohs. 1. Our dependence on men for help is dearly bought, if it comes to that, that they shall have the disposal of our religion. Jareb was their helper, and they would have him to help them; but now their calves are sent to him for a present, and Jareb has the disposal of them for their religion.

06s. 2. Idolaters are wont to rejoice much when they get one another’s gods. As when the Philistines pot the ark, they rejoiced much, they carried it to Dagon’s temple. Also the enemies of the church will rejoice much if they can get the power to trample upon our religion; they will rejoice much if they can get your estates, but they will rejoice more if they can do what they will with you in regard to your religion. Oh! this would be that which would make them glad at the very heart, if they could control us in our worship. Oh! let us know this beforehand, that we may cry to God the more earnestly, that whatever the Lord gives them power over, he would not give them power over our religion; for at that they most aim.

“Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.” Jerome upon the place refers to this tradition of the Jews: That the priests of the calves had taken away the golden ones and set up calves of brass instead, onlv gilt over,,.. j. ».., with gold; and now the Jung of Israel, dmmu.. orhi. bo when he was in straits, sent these calves “‘’“* ““”^ to king Jareb for a present to pacify his anger, and the

shipping, as I Kings xviii. 27, or to be a common name whereby those idolatrous priests were known, as 2 Kings x.xiji. on which place see Munster’s Annotations.

king of AssjTia, supposing that the calves were of gold, rejoiced, but afterwards, when he found that they were of brass, he sent messengers to the king of Israel to tell him how he had cozened him, and thereupon the king and all the people were ashamed. But this is but a tradition of theirs, and not very probable. But I rather take the following to be the true interpretation:

‘■ Ephraira shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed;” that is, their hopes shall fail them, and they shall see their counsels come to nothing, and this shall cause them shame and confusion of face. The ten tribes “shall receive shame.” Failing in our hopes makes us to be ashamed. They had good hopes they should prevail because of their calves, but now thencalves are taken from them, and now they are ashamed. So Job vi. 20, “They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed:” they hoped to have relief, but had not, and therefore they were ashamed; the disappointment of hopes causes great shame. Oh, then, what shame and confusion will there be at the great day, when we shall be disappointed of our last hopes! If we had been disappointed of our hopes now in respect of our adversaries, oh what shame would have been upon the people of God! our adversaries would have cast shame upon us, and said, IVlaat is become of your fastings and prayers? As it is likely the Assyrians did when they took the calves; Oh, now we have gotten your gods, said they; and upon this the people were ashamed: and so if our adversaries had prevailed they would have reviled us in like manner. !My brethren, we have cause to bless the Lord from our souls that he has delivered us from such a temptation, as to be ashamed of our hopes; though the truth is, if we considered aright we shoidd not have been ashamed, for our hopes were not so much in the saving of our estates, as in this, that God would acknowledge his own cause in the end; and so our hopes would not have failed: yea, but if they had but apparently failed, if the enemy had but seemed to have prevailed, I say, it would have been a mighty temptation for us to have been ashamed of om- hopes. Oh! blessed be God for preventing this, that the Lord has not even for a season made his people ashamed of their hopes and prayers! The ministers of God can stand up and look comfortably on their congregations, because they incited people, and encouraged their hearts in this cause; and they have comfort ‘to their souls in this, that when things were at the lowest, yet still they could place their hopes on God, and believe yet in God that he would go on in such a cause as this is; and the Lord has not caused the expectation of his poor people to fail. But if it be shame (I say) now to be disappointed in some present hopes, O remember, in the midst of earthly disappointments, what shame would it be before men and angels if it should prove that any soul in this place should be disappointed of their last hopes! Thou hast hopes of salvation, and of eternal life, and if it should prove, when all secrets are to be made public before the Lord Jesus and his angels, that all thy hopes are but delusions, what would become of thee? David prays, “O Lord, let me not be disappointed of my hope.” Let that be thy prayer, especially in regard of thy last hopes. In 1 John ii. 28, we are counselled to “abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and Jiot be ashamed before him at his coming.” Oh, that is the comfort of the saints, that they shall not be ashamed at the coming of Jesus Christ; and many that are not ashamed now, yet at the coming of Jesus Christ, oh the shame that shall be cast upon them! But the main emphasis lies in the words that follow.

“Of his own counsel.” Now what was that counsel? What? why it was this. The counsel that was between Jeroboam and his princes and the priests, together with some eminent men of the people, first, for 3ie setting up of false worship; secondly, for the forcing of all men that belonged to the ten tribes to forbear going to Jerusalem. This was thought a notable plot, a notable counsel, they considered it to be the only means to keep things in peace among them. AVhy, (say they,) if we shall suffer every one that has a fancy in his head, to go to Jerusalem to worship, we shall have nothing but confusion; and therefore let us take such a course that people shall have a place to worship in, and a form to worship by: it is but only a few that are so strict that they must need worship in Jerusalem, and therefore let us determine this, that we will have a constant form obligatory on every one, and we will have no more going to this Jerusalem to worship, but they shall be content to wor.ship at Dan and Beth-el, and this will keep things in peace. Now this counsel seemed to be a fine plot to keep things in order. But, saith the Lord, “Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel;” though they think those men who advise thus sage and wise, yea, even good men, and earnest for peace, and so cry up mightily the counsel, yet the Lord “sitteth in the heavens,” and “laughs,” and saith, “Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.” Perhaps now, whilst they are permitted to carry all before them, they bless themselves in their counsel, and think it very excellent, and approved of by God; but when my time shall come, when they shall see what evil it brings upon them, then they shall be ashamed of their counsel.

Obs. 3. Men’s own counsels bring shame to them, especially in religion. Men naturally are very blind in the things of God, they do not see far in them; their hearts are full of corruptions, which strongly bias them: we may inst-ance some.

1. There is much self-love in men: any thing that is men’s own is much regarded, a great deal more than truth that is another man’s: if it be their own they mind that, but let another man speak that which has truth, it is little regarded. There is in men’s hearts much violence to maintain their own counsels, and therefore it is veiy like that then’ counsels will bring them to shame. There is nothing that men can bear to be contradicted in, less than in their counsels. And the more men are set upon their own counsels, the more likely are they to bring them shame in the conclusion.

2. A judgment from God comes upon men’s spirits, if they u’ili follow out then- own counsels; I say, there is ordinarily a judgment of God upon them to leave them to folly when they rest upon their own counsels. So it is threatened in Psal. lxxxi. 11, 12, as a great judgment of God upon men, to give them up to their counsels: “My peo]5le would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.” Oh! it is a ten-ible place; I beseech you consider it well: these are times wherein every one is plotting; oh! tremble at these words, ‘.’ I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust; and they walked in then’ owti counsels.” Men’s own counsels bring them to shame; ofttimes they come to nothing after they have made a great deal of stu-, so that they are fain to sit down, and there is an end of all their labour; perhaps they have laboured to advance then- counsels by much evil, much sin, much heart-burning, and when it comes to all, there it lies, there is an end of it; thus they are ashamed of their counsels. Yea, many times the counsels of men work quite conti-ary; God much glories in this, in making use of men’s own counsels to bring them into snares. TMjat has brought our adversaries into snares but their own counsels? What brought the prelates down but their own counsels? so that they would bite their very fingers for what they did in their protestation. God has been pleased to deal thus graciously

for us, to bring our encniies into snares by llieir own counsels. So in Job xviii. 7, it is said of the wicked, ‘• his own counsel shall cast him down.” And Psal. ix. 10, ‘’The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Hifrf;aion. Selah.” You have not those two words conjoined elsewhere in the whole book of God. It seems to im])ly that it is a thing to be meditated on ver)’ much, that “the wicked is snared in the work of his ow n hands.” O consider this work of God, in bringing men down by their own counsels!

It is just that it should be so; for men provoke God by their counsels, Ps.il. cvi. 43. Oh! the Lord looks upon the counsels of men, and is much i)rovoked by tlicm, and therefore just it is with him to make their counsels so to be a snare to them, that they should be ashamed of them at the last. It concems us therefore, my brethren, to look to our counsels, what they are. I will give you a few rules about them, that they may not bring you shame.

First, Keep out from your counsels those things that would hinder you. As,

1. False principles; be not actuated in your counsels by false princij)les.

2. ‘’icked men; take heed that they do not join with you in your coimsels; as in Job xxi. 16, “Lo, their good is not in tlicir hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me:” and so in Job xxii. 18. O keep out wicked men from your counsels.

3. Your own ends; take heed how they come in: if any of a man’s own ends come into his counsels, they will warp them.

4. C’onccitedness, and pride; when you come to counsel, O take heed of a conceited spu-it, in leaning to your own understanding; God is wont to blast such.

5. Flesh and blood. “I confeiTed not with flesh and blood,” saith Paul, Gal. i. 16: I did not look to carnal excellency, but laid all such aside; they would have advised me to this and that, and I should never have done as I did if I had consulted with flesh and blood.

6. Passion and frowardness. “He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong,” Job v. 13. If once you find in your counsels your hearts begin to be hot, rather break off; take heed of resolutions formed at such a time. It is a safe way for you, if you would consult about business of moment, as soon as heat appears to fall to prayer; we had need of cool and quiet spirits when we are consulting: as, if you would weigh a thing exactly with gold scales, (as in counsels we should weigh things veiy exactly,) you would not weigh in the midst of a wind: when men’s passions begin to be u]) thejweigh things ns a man would weigh gold abroad in the wind; they cannot weigh exactly. Take heed then of passion in your counsels.

Divers other things there are that spoil our counsels, that we should be aware of. And if we would have our counsels right, then observe these further rules.

1. Look up first to Jesus Christ, that great Counsellor. He is called in Isa. ix. 6, the “Counsellor;” it is he that is “wonderful in counsel.” God has entitled his Son the “Counsellor;” he is to be the counsellor of thy soul for thine eternal estate, yea, and to be thy counsellor for all matters of religion, and the worship of God; look up then to him.

2. Pray much. If you would not have your counsels miscarry, pray much. In Prov. viii. 14, “Counsel is mine,” saith wisdom, representing Cliri-st. That which some note respecting the counsel of Ahithophel and the counsel of Hushai, is very remarkable. The counsel of Ahithophel, the truth is, if we examine it, was the wiser counsel of the two; and .lbsalom loved Ahithophel exceedingly, and his counsel was ordinarily accounted as the oracle of God; yet then, because God had

an intent to bring down his counsel, it was rejected, and the counsel of Hushai embraced; God thus heard the prayer of David when he prayed, “Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into folly.” And let us pray much that God would be with our counsellors, that there may be none among them like those s])oken of in Ezek. xi. 2, “These are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city;” and that likewise the Lord would sway counsels, and that men would yield to that which is the safest and the best counsel, to that which is the best in the eyes of God. Many times, when a comi)any meet together, there are some things cursorily mentioned that arc neglected by the company, whereas if God were with them to guide them, that very thing perhajis would sway all their counsels: let us then pray much. “Guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory,” Psal. lxxiii. 24. Oh, especially in matters that concern our souls and religion, we should pray much that God would guide us by his counsel, and so bring us to glorj’.

3. Let the fear of God be strong in your hearts when you come to a,sk counsel. Oh, it is a good thing when any are going to counsel about matters of consequence, for them to possess their hearts beforehand with the fear of the great God, and then they will counsel well: you have a notable scrii)ture for this in Ezra x. 3, Come, let us go to do “according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God.” It may be there are some with greater dejith of understanding; yea, but have they the fear of God in them? is there holie that they are guided by the Lord? let us take heed to do “according to the counsel of those that tiemble at the commandment of our God.” Do you see a man whose heart is ])ossesscd with the fear of God and his word? if his parts be but ordinary, you mav expect that God will be with him rather than with those that are bold and presumptuous, and slight the word of God.

4. Be sure to look at the word, es])ecially in matters of religion; and think not thus, I nreason and prudence such a wav were better, and would more conduce to peace. Luther saith. Reason is a most deadly enemy even to faith, it is dangerous to reason in matters of faith; and so in matters that regard the worship cf God. Keep to the word therefore in all your counsels, and in them all labour for sincerity of heart: what makes men niiscaiT)’ in their counsels is this, that their hearts are biased with some lust or other, and therefore when any thing is spoken to them suitable to their inclinations, that they embrace; and if any thing be spoken to them that is otherwise, they reject it. Oh, it is just with God to answer thee according to the idol that is set up in thine oMi heart.

.1. Take heed of being put off with any fair shows. ■Vhcn the Lord is leaving any, yet he will suffer those that give evil counsel to mix a great many good things litli that which is evil. As some that will put a few brass shillings into a great bag of money; the rest is all good current monev, yea, but here are some brass shillings amongst it. So sometimes in the midst of a great deal of good counsel, there is a little mixture that may turn all: therefore those that would counsel, especially in public affairs, had need have their eyes about them, and poise every’ word and line, and examine every particular, or otherwise they may quickly come to be ashamed of their own counsel.

0. God has promised to direct the humble, therefore come with humility in your counsels, and be sure in what is evidently right to follow; and then you may with the more confidence expect God to help you in other things.

7. Consult with indifferent judgment

8. If the thing affect others, think what we would desire if we were in their case.

9. Consider whether the attaining of your object, though good, may not occasion more evil than the thing is worth: if it be not of present necessity, fiioii deliberandum de necessariis,) the rubs attending it may show it is not good at this time, or not thus, or not for me.

06s. 4. Times- of affliction make men ashamed of that which they would not be ashamed of before. “Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel:” and so also Jer. ii. 26; Zeph. iii. 11. Sir Walter Kaleigh well saith, “When death comes, which hates men and destroys men, it is believed; but God, that makes and loves men, is not regarded. O eloquent, O mighty death! whom none could advise, thou art able to ])ersuade.” That is, men that would never be persuaded by any thing else to believe that they were not right, yet when death a])pears it can persuade them. Now afflictions are an evil; but how eloquent are afflictions! what power have they to persuade men that they were WTong, who would not be persuaded by all the arguments in the world before! In afflictions ‘■ Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.” O, I beseech you, let us take heed of this, let us not go on headily in our own counsels till God bring us mto misery, and we be forced to cry out of our own counsels, and be ashamed of them.

Ver. 7. As for Samaria, her king w cut off as the foam upon the water.

“As for Samaria, her king is cut off.” Before, God threatened that they shoidd be ashamed of their counsels, and what that counsel was I told you. Ashamed of our counsel! we hope not, we shall maintain it; our king is for us, he will venture his life, his kingdom, that he may maintain us in our way.

Your king, saith the prophet, he shall be “as the foam upon the water,” even the king of Samaria.

Y’ea, but our king is in a strong town, in Samaria, a great city, and so strong as to be able to sustain a siege for “thi-ee years together. And yet the king of Samaria, though he had gotten the chief city in the kingdom to be fully for him, and so much victuals and strength as he could hold out for three years, yet (saith the Lord) he shall be “as the foam upon the water.”

“As the foam upon the water.” The word e’ip translated “foam,” sometimes signifies the foam that is in a man who is extremely angry, as in Zech. i. 2. Youi’ king that doth foam in anger when he is crossed “shall be as the foam upon the water,” saith God. Now hence,

Obs. 1. Ungodly men in their greatest power and rage, are, if God comes upon them, nothing but “foam,” jjoor weak creatures that vanish and come to nothing. The foam when the waters rage makes a great show above them, but stay a while, and it vanishes and comes to nothing. Your king that rages and is above others, and thinks he has a great deal of power, in a while comes to nothing. The Scripture compares men in ‘theii’ greatest power to things of the greatest vanity; there are, in scriptures that I will mention to you, nineteen or twenty different particulars, wherein men in their greatest power are compared to that which has nothing but vanity; yea, there are such expressions in Scripture, to set out the meanness, vileness, and baseness of men in the greatest power, that it would make Christians that understand Scripture, and that are of the same judgment with their Father, with God, as he has revealed himself in his word, never to be afraid of the power of men. I will name them distinctly to you thus:

The Scripture sometimes calls even kings and great ones a mere noise, nothing more; so in Jer. xlvi. 17, “Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise.”

They are but as small dust: “The multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust,” Isa. xxix. 5.

They are but as chaff: “The terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away,” Isa. xxix. 5. WTio would be afraid of a noise, small dust, and chaff?

They are as nothing: “Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be as nothing,” Isa. xli. 11.

They are “as tow,” Isa. i. 31 j put a little fu’e to tow, and it quickly comes to nothing.

They are as dung: ‘■ As dung for the earth,” Psal. lxxxiii. 10.

They are as straw that is trodden for dung: “As sti-aw is trodden down for the dunghill,” Isa. xxv. 10.

They are compared sometimes to a beast that has a hook in his nostrils; so Isa. xxxvii. 29, God will put a hook in his nose: now who would be afraid of a beast that has a hook put into his nostrils?

They are as stubble, and as “stubble fully di’y,” ready for the fu-e, Nah. i. 10.

They are as rottenness, and “their root shall be as rottenness,” Isa. v. 24.

They are as scum: “Her scum shall be in the fire,” Ezek. xxiv. 12.

They are as smoke: “As smoke is driven away, so drive them away,” Psal. lxviii. 2.

They are as grass: “As the grass on the housetops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up:” all these you have together in Isa. xxxvii. 27.

They are “as wax that melteth before the fii’e,” Psal. lxviii. 2.

They are “as the fat of lambs,” Psal. xxxvii. 20.

They are as “a worm,” Job xxv. 6.

They are vanity, lighter than vanity, then’ “best state is altogether vanity,” Psal. xxxix. 5.

Thev are as snow melting before the sun. Job
xxiv. 19.

They are as the light of a candle: “The candle of the wicked shall be put out,” Prov. xxiv. 20.

And lastly. They are a lie; even great men and princes; for so saith Psal. lxii. 9, “Men of high degree are a lie.”

Thus, my brethren, we see how the Scripture heaps up expression upon expression. It might have been very profitable to have insisted upon all these particulars, and to have opened them, to show you how contemptibly the Holy Ghost speaks of men in their great power.

Now if we could gather these sci’iptm’es together, and put them all into one, and so present the power of great men to us, and by these things have the same judgment of them that God has, it would tend mightily to deliver us fi’om the fear of man. “As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water.”

Ver. 8. The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains. Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.

I confess, from these words to the end of the 11th verse there appears, at the first reading, much obscurity; yet they are like to a mine, the outside barren, but within much and precious treasure.

Israel, the ten tribes, confided in two things, and so strengthened themselves against all that the prophet could say against them.

First, In the power of their king. Now that is gone. That is as foam, saith God: confide not m the power of the king, think not that will bear you out, for he shall be “as the foam upon the water.”

Secondly, In their sacrifices. They were a religious people, and very costly in their devotions, and they confided much in that. Well, for this second confidence, thus saith the Lord;” The high places also of

Cn.vp. X.

Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars.” Though never so pompous in their eyes, vet they are “the high places of Aven:” they were called before Beth-aven, the house of vanity, now Aven, vanity itself. That place was no other than Beth-el, whose name signified the house of God, where one of the calves was set up. Now the name of thus place did a great deal of hurt among the people; Oh! to go up to Beth-el, the house of God! therefore God would take away that name, and calls it Beth-aven first, and then Aven, that is, instead of calling it the house of God, I will have it called the house of vanity. pK signifies vanity, vea, iniquity itself.

06s. 1. God stands much upon taking people off from specious names put upon any things made use of in false worship; he stands much upon it, for whereas before he had changed it from Beth-el to Beth-aven, he changes it now from Beth-aven to Aven: God would obliterate the name of Beth-el, and make it to be accounted by the people to be nothing but iniquity and vanity.

06s. 2. The more of the nature of sin any thing has, the more vile and abominable it is. Therefore God speaks of it by an expression that conveys somewhat of its aggravated nature — “the sin of Israel,” sin in the abstract; more than if he had said, the sinful things of Israel. “The sin of Israel,” that is, their idolatrous worship.

06s. 3. Their false worship is the gieat sin; and it was the greater sin in Israel, because that their holiness was typical, and did especially consist in instituted worship. It is true, God would have true holiness if ever they came to heaven, but that holiness upon which they were called a holy people, was in then- nistituted worship; and it was twical, to set forth the true holiness that should be in all the members of the church now; therefore God was much provoked with their pollutions in instituted worship, their holiness consisting so much in it.

Obs. 4. We may so abuse the creatures of God, as not only to make them sinful to us, but even to turn them into sin, as it were. Thus their idols, and the creatures that they abused to sin, are here called their sin, “the sin of Israel;” and many men abuse their bodies so that they may be called sm itself.

Well,” that which they accounted holy, you see God accounts not only sinful, but “sin,” and saith, it “shall be destroyed.”

06s. 5. ^VTlcn any ordinances of God’s appointment are abused, they are but to be purged; but if they be inventions of men, they arc to be destroyed. “The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed.” We must learn for ever to take heed of meddling with, or putting any thing of our own in the place of, God’s worship. We may think in reason this may be good as well as that, we see no evil in it; why may not this form then be as good as that? Yea, but God looks upon things according as he himself requires them: and therefore Calvin, I remember, on this place saith, God often pronounces those things that may please us, sin and sacrilege, and would have them destroyed. Let us therefore rest in his judgment; it is not our part to dispute about matters of worship: we must not dispute and say. Why may not this be? this may be for a good use, and a great deal of good may be the result; we must not stand disputing with God, and debating the matter with him; for though it may be very specious in our eyes, yet it may be very odious and abominable to the eyes of God.

06s-. 6. Even all those things that evil men make use of for sin shall one day be taken from them. “The high ])laces also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed.” You shall not always have the creatures of

God to abuse to sin; there will be a time when God will deliver his creatures from this vanity to which they are now subject.

Obs. 7. Man’s sin brings destruction upon the creatures. “The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed.” Sin is as poison in a glass, that causes the glass to be broken and cast upon the dunghill.

“The thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars.” This expression denotes,

First, The great devastation that shall be made in those places where they had altars, which took ])lace especially in Samaria, which was besieged for three years together. The enemies had Beth-el in their own hands, and they manifested their rage forthwith upon their altars, and upon all their religious things; they ])ulled them down and made them ue in heaps of rubl)ish, so that in the space of three years the very thistles and thorns gi-ew up in their place. It is usual to express the devastation of a place by saying, that the grass shall grow where the houses were, where the city was there shall com grow: so here, “the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars.”

Secondly, It is an expression of indignation, as if God should have said, I will take more delight to see the thorns and thistles grow out of the very rubbish of the altars, than in all their images and brave pictures and gildings. Just as if it had been said about seven or eight years ago of the Service-book, Oh, now you honour it much, and it must be bound and gilt bravely, and strung curiously; but this that you so idolize now, within a while shall be but waste paper, it shall be thrown to the mice and rats to eat! tnis would have been an expression of like indignation against it, as is here uttered against the altars.

06s. 8. If it be sad that places of false worship should not be frequented as formerly they were wont to be, how much more sad is it that places of true worship should be neglected! As thus, “They were wont to go to Beth-el to worship at their altars: yea, but, saith God, they shall go no more thither, but those places shall be filled with nettles, thorns, and thistles: they accounted that sad. Yea, but we should account it sad that the paths to the true worship of God should not be beaten as in former times: where there was an altar, as it were, for the worship of God, those places then were frequented much; but had our adversaries had their wills, we should have had “the thorn and the thistle” grown up in them.

06s. 0. If it be so sad to have such an ill succession here in false worship, sad to false worshipjjcrs, what sadness is tlicrc for the true worshi|)pors of God to have an ill succession in the church! Truly much like, mcthinks, it is, when there has been in a place a godly and a powerful ministry, and afterwards, for the sins of the people, God takes’ it away, and instead thereof comes up a pricking thorn, a brier, a thistle, a nettle, an unworthy ipan, of no gifts or graces, who can only gall and prick, and do hurt and mischief; this is a succession like to that which God here threatened, that thistles and thorns should succeed their altars. Jerome on the place .seems to hint some such kind of meditation, when lie saith. Instead of true doctrine, there shall be a wilderness of very corrupt doc- J^’i’ni’Ii.’ytoiiic. trine; where there was true doctrine taught, now it shall lie waste as a wilderness.

06s. 10. God accounts the ruin of the most glorious things abused to sin, a more pleasing object than when those things were in the greatest ])onip and glory. The buildings and the altars were splenilid, but God looked upon them as more glorious when pulled down and grown over with thorns and briers. And so if a man have a very beautiful, comely body, and abuse it to sin, when tiod shall strike hun, and he shall be

covered with worms as a filthy carcass, God will look upon that as a more lovely sight than his body decked with all kind of ornaments. Better that the creature perish, though it be the most glorious creature in the world, than that it be abused to sin.

Obs. 11. Those things which men account highly of in the matters of worship, when God lets in their enemies they contemn. They accounted highly of their calves, but when the Assyi-ians came they contemned them, and pulled them down. It is not only so in respect of false worship, but of true; those things that we highly esteem and bless God for, and think what infinite pity it is that they should not be continued, yet if God should let our adversaries in they would scorn them. As now, such liberties as these are, what infinite pitj’ were it that people should be deprived of them; but if God should let our adversaries in upon us they would scorn and contemn these things, as the Assyrians did those which the Israelites accounted to be as God.

“And they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.” This is an expression to show,

Fhst, The di-eadfulness of their misery. It should be a misery so great as to make them wear)’ of their lives, should make them rather desire death than life.

Secondly, Their wonderful desperation. In the apprehension and sense of this their misery they would have no whither to go for help, but their hearts should despair, and all the relief that they should expect was, to have the mountains fall upon them, and the hills to cover them. Now this expression I find Christ afterwards makes use of in setting forth the misery of the destruction of the Jews by the Romans, Luke sxiii. 30; and the Holy Ghost, in speaking of the misery of the antichi-istian party, when the wrath of God should come out upon them, saith, their misery shall be so great, that their princes, and great men, and mighty men, and chief captains, shall call upon the mountains to fall upon them, and the hills to cover them, Rev. vi. 15, 16. The reverend Mr. Brightman, on that veiy scripture, saith, that it was fulfilled in the time of Constantine, when the heathen emperors were vanquished: and he applied it to Dioclesian, who was so terrified in apprehension of the wrath of the Lamb, that he drank poison and so killed himself: to Maximian, who hanged himself; and to Galerius, who died of a most noisome and filthy disease. Maximinus, too, that he might prevent his death, likewise murdered himself; and Maxentius ran into the Tiber to hide himself in its waters. And thus they sought by difierent violent deaths to hide themselves from the sight of the Lamb.

I suppose all of you understand clearly that it is meant as an expression of great anguish and desperation; but yet, that we may see why the Holy Ghost makes use of this expression rather than others, and discern clearly its appropriateness, you must know that the land of Canaan (the scene of the prophet’s present predictions) was a land full of mountains and hills, and these mountains were, many of them, stony and rocky; and the Jews were wont therefore to dig places in them for safety in the time of great danger, constructing them so, that by the narrowness of the ingress they might be able easily to keep out an enemy. Josephus saith, that thieves and robbers too were ub!’u.™V. ;7’.’’i)e wont to make use of such caves and dens K mVis-“‘“’ ‘’’’■ ‘° mountains and hills. To such places this scripture alludes, and by this you may be helped to understand divers other passages; as Isa. ii. 19, -’And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” They should go then into the holes of the rocks and caves of the earth,

for they were wont to use such things there much. And so Psal. xi. 1, “In the Lord put I my trust: how saw ye to my soul, Flee as a bu’d to your mountain? “In” times of danger they were wont to flee to those mountains. And Psal. cxxi. 1, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help:” not only to the temple, but to the hills, because in time of danger they were wont to think of the hills. But, saith David, I lift up my heart to God, and that shall be to me instead of a hundred refuges in hills. And Psal. xxxvi. 6, “Thy righteousness is like the great mountains.” This is said not only because the mountains stand steadily and strongly, but because they were places of refuge and shelter. The saints have refuge in the faithfulness of God; and as they used to run to the holes in the moimtains, so God is called a strong rock for the righteous to run to. God is as a rock, not only because the faithfulness of God is steady as a rock, but because, as they had caves and holes in the rocks that they were wont to ran to in time of danger, so his faithfulness affords a refuge to his people in every time of need: therefore is God called “a Rock.” And it is said, “The strength of the hills is his also,” Psal. xcv. 4. And Psal. xciv. 22, “The Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.”

But yet further, that we may more fully understand the meaning of this expression; When in times of danger they ran to the caves in the mountains, and to the rocks, they considered when there. Oh, if the enemy should come upon us, how sad would our condition be! Oh that rather this mountain that is now over us would sink down and fall upon us, rather than that the enemy should take us! This I regard as the meaning and origin of this phrase; they despised the mountain of God, the going up to his mountain, but now they woidd be glad to have these mountains crush them in pieces.

Obs. 12. The alteration which God can make in cities and kingdoms. They who were proud and scornful erewhile, are now so distressed that they would think themselves happy to be crushed by mountains and hills.

Obs. 13. How great is the misery of falling into the hands of our enemies. Israel knew how cruelly the AssjTians had treated others, therefore, when they came against them, and besieged them for three years together, they desii’ed to die under the mountains rather than to’ fall into then- hands. Josephus, in one of the forenamed places, gives us a notable story of this, telling us of some that fled into the mountains and holes for safety, and Herod pursued them; among others there was an old man, who had seven children and his wife with him, and who, rather than fall into Herod’s hands, called his chilcben one by one to the mouth of the cave that he had made in the mountain, and with his own hands killed them in succession before the enemy, afterwards he put to death his wife, and when he had cast their- dead bodies down the rock, he threw himself dowl headlong after them; so he slew himself, and all he had, rather than he would fall into the hands of his enemies. Certainly this is a wonderful exhibition of misery. Some of you pcrliaps have seen or felt somewhat, but all that has’ been nothing to what was like to happen, had the enemies gotten full power. Let us bless God then that we are delivered from that, that we have no such cause to cry out to the mountains to cover us, and to the hills to fall upon us.

Ob.t. 14. There is nothing so fearfid as the WTath of God. One would think that which these poor people desu-ed here dreadful enough, to have the mountains fall upon them, and the hills to cover them; but it is not so dreadful as God’s wrath: take all the ten-ors in the world, they are nothing to the wTath of the Alraightv when fully apprehended: sometimes the wrath

of God lies more heavy on a man’s conscience than a thousand mountains. And, my bictliren, if it be .so dreadful in outward judgments, how dreadful is it like to be when it shall come to be fully poured out upon the wicked and ungodly! “In those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them,” saith Rev. i.. 6. Oh! when God’s ^»Tath appears against the ungodly, it will be dreadful, especially when the full vials of it come to be poured out.

Obs. 4. To live in lingering misery, is worse than present dreadful death even in this woild. I remember Nonjum tecum in Suctouius tcUs of Tiberius C’a;sar, that imi«m r«iii. Sue- One whom hc had condemned to death ton.uic.e. petitioned him that he might have his

despatch; whereu])on Tiberius replied, Sir, you and I are not friends vet, you must not die, you must be kept in misery. It Is often worse than death to be kept in lingering miserv-; it is so, even in regard of the miseries of this world; oh how much worse than death is it then to be kept under the wrath of God to all eternity! How fearful is it to lie in miseiy for ever, then, and never to die! A’hy it is better, certainly sense would apprehend it better, for a man to be despatched presently, than to live in lingering misery: yet, if we knew all, it were better for the wicked to live in the greatest misery in this world, than to die the fairest death; thou wert better to live as a dog, a toad, yea, as a stock-log at the back of the fire, (if it were possible,) than to die, if thou knewest all that hereafter in hell awaits thee, being wicked: llieti thou shalt not die, though it would be the greatest happiness to thee. If thou shouklst after a thousand years ciy to God, O Lord, that mountains might fiiU upon me! the Lord would answer, You and 1 are not friends yet: and if after a thousand years more thou shouklst cry, O Lord, that I might be crushed to pieces! the Lord would answer you still, You and I are not yet friends. I tremble, saith Bernard, to think of that, that ““”’^o’i ‘■’’’■’ I should fall into the hands of Uving death, and of dying life, where men do not die that they might for ever cease to exist, but die that they may for ever die; they are always dying, but never die, but are kept by the almighty power of God on purpose that they might be fuel for his wrath, and subjects for his revenging justice. O consider this, you that are so ready to desii-e death, because you are at any time in a lingering misery. Is a lingering misery so evil? Then what will be the lingering evil of eternity!

Obs. 15. The wonderful miser)- of wicked men in their aflUction. They have no whither to ^’o for help; they have not God, they have no refuge but the mountains and hills; and what is their refuge there, but that they may fall upon them? Oh the difference between a saint of God and a wicked man in times of affliction! VThen in times of affliction, thou (if thou art wicked) shalt rage and be mad, and know not whither to go, and the uttermost help that thou canst think to have is from the hills and mountains to fall upon thee; then the saints of God shall be able to look u]) to heaven, and crj-. Heaven is ojien for us, open to receive my 8olil. Angels, come and guide it, and bear it in. O arms of mercy, bowels of mercy, spread open yourselves to embrace me! Here is a difference. And is not this better than to crj- to mountains to fall upon thee, and hills to cover thee? And yet such a difference in men’s estates do sin and godliness make.

Obs. 16. The wonderful evil of despair, what a dreadful thing is dcs|)eration. The greatest benefit it suggests is to be crushed in pieces: so the help that many have, is but a halter to sli-angle them, a knife to murder them, or the water to drown them. Desperation is truly a dreadful thing. Francis Spira, surrounded by

its hoiTors, cried out. Verily, desperation is hell itself. Upon all this, Luther concludes with this exhortation: Let us stir up ourselves to the fear of God, let us flee idolatiT, let us beautify the word by our holy lives, and pray to Christ that we may escai)e such things as these, which God inflicts ujjon the contemnei-s of his word. If you would not come into this wonderful despairing condition, O learn to fall down before the word; fear God now, that you may not despair tlieti. You that contemn, and slight, and scorn the word now, this may prove to be your portion ere long, this desperate cry may be the greatest ease that your forsaken souk can have.

Ver. 9. 0 Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle m Gibeah against the children of i/iitjuily did not overtake them.

“O Israel, thou hast siimed from the days of Gibeah.” “O Israel,” I am speaking this to you, it merely concerns you, you have sinned from the days of Gibeah. You thinx your sin is not so heinous as to merit these dreadful threatenings, that you should come to this desperate condition; lv, say the men of Israel, what means the jjrophet in being so ten-ible in his threatenings? pray what is our sin? Yes, you have sinned as in “the days of Gibeah,” or “from the days of Gibcali,” as in your books; or it may be read, beyond, or more than in “the davs of Gibeah.” “From the days of Gibeah j” from what time was that? You may read the story of Gibeah in Judg. xix., xx., and theu- sin. I shall not need to spend much time now in opening what Gibeah was, or the nature of its sin, because that in chap. ix. 9, of this prophecy, I met with those words, “They have deeply con-upted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah.” But not only the 19th end 20th chapters, where we have the story of their horrible wickedness in abusing the Levite’s concubine, but likewise the 18th, which speaks of piicah’s idol, and the idolatry that was prevalent among the people, b here referred to.

Now, you have sinned, as “from the days of Gibeah;” that is, )our forefathers of old have committed idolatry and sin against me, and you are grown rooted in )our sin, and have taken it from vour forefathers. For that sin of the Levite’s concubine was very ancient. It seems to have been committed between the time of Joshua and the time of the Judges. For though events be set in Scripture so that one seems to follow another, yet they do not so always in point of time. But my reason why that sin of the Levite’s concubine seems to have been then, is this: because you find in that stor)’ of the 19th of Judges, when the Levite was i)assmg on, his servant would have had him go into Jehus, but “his master said unto him, ‘We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeali,” Judg. xix. 12. So that it seems Jerusalem was not then taken in by the childi-en of Israel; but if you read the 1st chapter of Judges, you shall find that Jerusalem was taken, it was taken before you read of any particular judge; therefore this sin that was in the days of Gibeah was ver)- ancient. You have sinned of old, saith he, and you have continued in the succession of sin of old. If you take it “from the days of Giljeah,” we might thus interpret it

But it is rather, I think, to be taken com])aratively, Your .sin is more than the days of Gibeah, it is greater, whatever you think of it. You think you worship and serve God, yet the truth is, was that sin horrible, that a whole city should come together to force a LeWte’s concubine till she was dead at the door? was that a horrible sin? yea, and was it horrible foi them to stand to defend it? Your sin is greater. “Why?

1. That was but one particular act, it was all done in one night; but you go on in a constant, settled way.

VzR. 9.

2. That was a sin but of some few of the people; yout sin is more general.

3. That sin they had not so much means to resist, nor so much experience of the ways of God as you, and therefore your sin is greater than the sins that were in the days of Gibcah.”

4. Because that, continuing in the commission of sins M’hicli God made use of your forefathers to revenge, you greatly provoke God. That is the meaning: and for further opening of that sin I shall refer you to that which I delivered on chap. ix.

But understanding their sin as either “from the days of Gibeah,” or “more than the days of Gibeah,” the observations are,

Obs. 1. The sins of ancestors continued in are attended with aggravations. We are ready to excuse our sin, and say, ^^^ly, we do nothing but that which our forefathers did. Yea, but it may be that your sins are greater than the sins of your forefathers, because they had not such means. This would answer those that plead for old superstitious vanities, Why should we be wiser than our forefathers? But know, that if you continue in their sins, it is worse in you than in them.

Ohs. 2. God takes it very ill that those men, or the posterity of those, whom he uses as instruments to punish sin in others, and to reform others, yet should be guilty themselves of the same, or greater, sins. Oil! (saith the prophet,) you may justly expect to have the mountains to fall upon you, and the hills to cover you, for you are more wicked than “in the days of Gibeali;” though I used yom’ forefathers to ]Hraish that great sin, yet you continue to be more vile than they were that were punished by your forefathers. O my brethren, God cannot endure to see that wickedness continued in men, which they have been employed to punish in others. ^’hat! shall we, or any in this generation, be used to execute the anger of God on superstitious peo- ])!e; and shall we continue in the sin of superstition? shall we be used to cast out men’s inventions, and shall we bring in men’s inventions? Y’ea, shall we be used to punish oppression, and tjTanny, and injustice; and shall we continue in oppression, tyranny, and injustice? Oh! this will cry to heaven, when it shall be said, God stii-red you up to make you an instrument to cast out such oppressing courts, and tjTanny, and certain men that were so cruel to godly people; you were employed to cast them out, and you now succeed them in lilce oppressions, and tyranny, and injustice, and you make my saints cry to heaven for the burdens that you lay upon them. Oh! this would be very heavy. Take we heed, that when God uses us, or our forefathers, to reform any evil, take heed that it be never said, that those evils continue in their childi’en after them.

Our Reformation, as the punishment of the sin of Gibeah, cost much blood; much has been shed to punish oppressors, to bring in delinquents, to cast out those that have been burdens to the people of God. Therefore, as it was an aggravation of guilt in their posterity to continue in that sin, whose punishment had cost so much blood; so, the more it costs to cast out our oppressing courts, &c., the more fearful will our sin be if we continue in oppression ourselves. You complain sometimes of ministers, if they reprove sins, and be guilty of the same sins they reprove you of; you account that very evil, and so indeed it is. ‘vSo it may be as well said of magistrates, for them to punish sins, and yet continue in them themselves, is verv evil.

“There they stood.” Either this must be meant,

I. Of the men of Gibcah, that they stood, and the battle did not overtake the childi-en of iniquity. Or,

II. Of the men of Israel. There the men of Israel stood, and then- battle did not overtake the children of iniquity.

I. If it be meant of the men of Gibeah. then the expression marks their stoutness, they would stand it out, “there they stood.” Though they had committed such a horrible wickedness, and there was a desire only to have the real delinquents punished, yet they combine together, and would stand it out; they stood stoutly to maintain the wickedness that was committed, especially after their first success: they fought, and in both days they slew forty thousand; now, having conquered in the first battle, this did hearten them; yea, they had the day the second time, and that made them stout in their way. Success will imbolden men in their wickedness. God many times gives success designedly to harden the hearts of men, that they may stand it out to their ruin, for so it j)roved to the Benjamites. Be not troubled then at the success of adversaries, God gives them success but to lead them to ruin.

II. If you take these words, “there they stood,” to refer to the men of Israel, it would cost one a great deal of time to lay before you the variety of interpretations given to them. I will, therefore, only give you what I think may be the scope of the Holy Ghost, or at least what may be fairly derived from the words.

“There they stood.” That is, when the men of Israel saw, in theii’ battle at Gibeali, that they did not prevail at fii’st, and that their brethren stood out stoutly, and that they themselves had lost so many thousand men, upon this they were at a stand. “There they stood,” they knew not what in the world to do, to think that in so good a cause, in a work in which they had warrant from God to engage, yet that they should have such ill success: “there they stood.”

Obs. 3. !Men had need be very well grounded in a good cause when they meet with much ihfficulty. I believe since this cause that we have been about in England has been begun, many, through unbelief and cowardice, have been at a stand; they stood, and knew not which way to go: Lord, is this the cause of God? is this the truth of God? ‘hat! can his cause have such ill success? jllany men’s spirits fluctuate with the success.

“There they stood;” that is, though they were at a stand, and somewhat troubled, yet they persisted in their work; notwithstanding the difficulties they met with, they would not fly off, but “there they stood” to it; they were resolved, whatever ill success they had, to go on in the work to which God had called them.

“The battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.” ‘Mien they did fight against the children of iniquity, yet the battle did not overtake them, to wit, the Benjamites, not the fii-st day, but they were foiled twice: though I know some interi)ret this otherwise, yet this seems to me the most genuine explication.

But why does the prophet introduce it here? The men of Israel, to whom Hosea ])rophesied, might say, You tell us, that our sin is as in “the days of Gibeah,” yea, let us but have success the fii’st day, and the second day, we hope we shall do well enough. Nay, saith the prophet, your sin is worse; you may not think that your case is so good as the Benjamites, the battle did not overtake them, but it shall overtake you; and upon this ground the prophet brings in this, that the battle did not overtake them, granting that which they would object, yet so as not to suffer it to make for them, but to take away their hopes of escape.

Obs. 4:. The children of iniquity may escape once, and again: though men be childi-en of iniquity, yet the battle may not overtake them. The account in Judges is a story as well calculated to take away the seeming success in an ill cause, and disappointment in a good cause, as any I know in all the book of God. It did not overtake them at first. God’s wrath follows many men in this world, and yet for a long time overtakes them not, he oft calls it back: Psal. lxxviii. 38,” But

he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.” But at length God’s wrath overtakes men. “My words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers?” Zech. i. 6. I sent out iny threatening words, and they escaped a long time, but at length my words took hold of them. As the dog may follow the hai’c barking a great while, but at length overtaking, he springs u|)on it, and tears it; so, did not my words take hold upon your forefathers? Calvin gives another intcrjirctation of these words, and some other notes upon them, but I think that the foregoing is their main and genuine scope.

Ver. 10. It is in my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their ttco furrows.

“It is in my desire.” God speaks here as one that has forborne a length of time, and now longs to satisfy himself.

Tremelius upon the place notes, that the form of the word for chastising here is unusual, and adds, that perhaps God would express some more than ordinary punishment. Luther renders mDNi ‘PW3 Valde cupide eos castigabo, Exceeding desirously will I chastise them. It is in my will to chastise them. O blessed God, do not we find in thy word, that the works of thy justice are said to be thy “sti-ange works,” and that thou art not willing to grieve the children of men, that mercy pleases thee? but where do we ever find that justice was so pleasing to thee?

It is true, though at first God seems to forbear the execution of justice as a thing he has no mind to, yet if sin be stubbornly continued in, now God desires it as a thing than which there is nothing more pleasing to him. He is burdened with men’s sins, and desii-es to bring punishments upon them, as a man under a great burden desires to be eased; “Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies,” saith the Lord, Isa. i. 24: and in Ezek. v. 13, you find that God in threatening of wrath saith, that he would do thus and thus, and he would be comforted; and in Prov. i. 26, it is said that he “will laugh at the calamity of the wicked, and mock when their fear cometh;” and in Rev. xiv. 10, the pvrath of God is called “the wine of his wrath,” because he takes so much pleasure in the execution of it. The reasons for this are,

1. God’s justice is God himself, as well as any other attribute.

2. God delights to vindicate his honour, therefore the word for chastisement signifies sometimes the vindication of a man’s honour. The honour of God is dear to him. Youi- peace and comforts may be dear to you; yea, but my honour is more dear to me.

3. In chastisements God fulfils his word; the word of God would be slighted and contemned else. Now this pleases me therefore, to chastise them, to fulfil my word upon them.

Oh the fearfid evil of sin, that brings the creature into such a condition, that God’s heart is delighted in every evil that sinful creatures suffer! This must needs be a sad condition indeed, for the merciful God, that delights so much in doing mercy, yet now to look upon a sinner under his wrath, and to delight in it, and love it, and be well pleased to see the creature, even the work of his own hands, in such sufferings. Hereafter there will be pun- justice, God will delight in the destruction of sinners in hll, in the execution of his justice upon them; he will there do nothing else but rejoice in it, there shall be nothing but joy in God’s heart to see the execution of bis justice u])on sinners to all eternity; yea, and God will call all the angels and saints

to come to rejoice with him: Come, ye angels and saints, and rejoice with me; here is a wretched sinner that was stubborn and rebellious against me in the time of his life, and see how my power has overtaken him, see the dreadfulness of my wrath, come and rejoice with me for ever in this mv wrath. This will be the condition of sinners eternally in hell.

Consider this, you that have a desire to sin, a mind to sin, you that derive delight and comfort from sin. Is it in your will to sin? It is God’s will to jjunish. Can you rejoice in sin? God can rejoice in the execution of his wrath. Are you resolute upon vour sin? God can be resolute in the ways of his wratfi. When God chastises his servants for their infirmities, he does it as a thing to which he has no mind at all, and therefore saith the apostle, “If need be,” we fall into many temptations, 1 Pet. i. 6; and they are hut seeming grievous; even he himself is afflicted in all their afiiictions, Isa.lxiii. 9. David would have Joabgo against Absalom, but saith he, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom,” 2 Sam. xviii. 5; so, when God chastises his servants, he sends an affliction; Go, saith he, and scourge such a one j yea, but deal gently with him for my sake. The bowels of David did yearn towards Absalom, even when he sent Joab to fight against him; so the bowels of God do yearn towards his people, even when he send-s afflictions upon them. But when he comes to deal with the wicked and ungodly, I will do it to purpose, saith God, I will delight in it, yea, I will be comforted in it.

“And the people shall be gathered against them.” That is, I will chastise them thus, by gathering people against them. The AssvTians, when they gathered against them, did it merely to scrse their own ends; yea, but saith God, I have a hand in it, I will gather them against them. And certainly God had a mind to chastise them, when he would gather enemies against them. The AssjTians, perhaps, would never have dared to presume to come against Israel, if God had not had a hand in it: and certainly we could never have imagined it possible, that so many should be gathered together thus publicly, in this land, to maintain wickedness, and to fight to make themselves slaves, except that God had a mind to chastise England.

But I find that others read it thus:

I will chastise them according to my mind: and so the word will bear.

The Scptuagint read it, Kara riv iiriOviiiav fiov. Jxucta desiderium meum. Vulg. According to my desire.

OJcolampadius on the place saith, God prescribed a certain time to this people to come in and repent, but saith God, You shall not prescribe me how long I .shall stay, but I will do it when I please, both as regards the time and the degree of the cnastisement.

Obs. 1. AVhen God has a mind to bring about a thing, he will in his own time gather the pco])le. I remember, in the life of Pompey, when some asked him. what they should do when the enemies came against them? that he replied. Let me but stamp upon the ground of Italy, and I shall have men enough. That, in him, was an idle vaunt, but it is a true one in G»d; let him but stamp with his feet, and he can gather people enough together.

Obs. 2. God will choose with what rod he will scourge us, according to his own mind, both as regards the degree and the kind. Under many afflictions we mourn and repine, and these discontented expressions come from us. Oh, I could bear any thing but that! But is it fit for thee to choose thine own rod? God might have said also, I had rather you had committed some other sin. It may be, because that is the affliction most cross to thv spirit, that therefore God ill have it; God sees that that is more for his honour, and perhaps for thv good. Therefore let us Icam to sub-THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA.

mit to the will of God. Is it fit that thou shouldst choose thy sin and thy rod too? No, stay there; if thou wilt choose thy sin, God will have liberty to choose thy rod.

“When they shall bind themselves in their two furrows.” c-iJ*y TcS D1DS3 These words appear very obscure at first, and I find a mighty deal of puzzling among interpreters about them. The difficulty is in the word nnvy here translated “fmTows;” the same letters, omitting the points, may be rendered, their two sins; or, by substituting for one of the letters another much like it in form, their two eyes: in all these three acceptations the sense may go reasonably well. As thus:

Fu-st, And they shall bind themselves in their two sins. Or you may take it of God’s threatening -vvhat he would do; I will bind them for their two sins; so I find Ai-ias Montanus and others translate it.

The Septuagint render it iv n iratltitaBai avroig Iv Toiq Ivaiv aliKiag avTuiv, I will chastise them for their two sins; and so it may be, chastise as well as bind,

vincereT-!< ^°’’ words that signify binding and

castigaro ^D’ chastislng are very cognate. I will chaspereili’um’ip’sorom. tise them for their two sins. When he Luiher. binds them he will chastise them. And

so I find Luther understands it.

And then they think it refers to the two calves of Dan and Beth-el; or the two sins of bodily and spiritual adultery: or otherwise it has the same sense with that in Jer. ii. 13, “My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”

Secondly, As it is in your books, “they shall bind themselves in their two furrows;” that is, I will bring then’ enemies upon them, and they shall yoke them like oxen that are yoked to plough, they shall bring them into servitude, and into bondage, they shall make them plough in their two fui-rows, that is, do double work. So Polanus, who saith, they shall

oannsin oc. double tasks upon them, and make them work in a servUe way. And I the rather think this is the meaning of it, because the Holy Ghost pursues this metaphor in the following verse, thus, “And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn.”

Thirdly, Adopting the alteration in letters proposed, the sense would be, they shall yoke them as oxen are yoked, eye to eye. They yoke the oxen even, and set eye to eye; so the enemies shall come and yoke theiu, so that they shall be like beasts to do their work; and this shall be the condition of Ephraim that has this fair neck.

“They shall bind themselves in their two furrows.” Some others, among whom is Calvin, understand by this, they shall covenant together. When the enemy comes upon them, then they shall join together in covenant, as oxen that are yoked together; Judah and Israel shall join together, and they shall be in their furrows, in their trenches, as England and Scotland in the late war. So when the people are gathered together, they shall bind themselves together, and lie together in their several trenches. So I find some interpret it, but this appears foreign to the chief and genuine scope of the passage.

I understand it thus; they shall be brought into miserable bondage, they shall be like oxen: and so saith one interpreter upon the place. When you see oxen yoked together, then be reminded of the yoke of the enemy; you live daintily and bravely now, but when God shall let out the enemy upon you, you shall serve as slaves, yea, as beasts.

Ver. 11. And Ephraim is an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but 1 passed over upon her fair neck; I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plough, and Jacob shall break his clods.

In the 2nd verse you heard much of the divisions of Ephraim, and of the ten tribes; but in the latter end of the 10th verse you heard how God would join them together. But how should they be joined? It should be in their bondage, they should be bound together in their furrows. Now, though it be in your books, “they shall bind themselves,” which has likewise a sense which we spake to then; yet you may as well read the words, they shall bind them together, and so carrv the sense, that they should be bound in theii- furrowsj like oxen yoked in the plough; they would not come in together under God’s yoke, but they shall come in together under the yoke of the adversaries: and that I think is the principal scope of the words, “they shall bind them in their two furrows.” Thej’ that were so divided in then- prosperity, when they come into bondage, shall, by their enemies, be bound together. It was said of Ridley and Hooper, they could not agree together till they were in prison, but then they harmonized well. And so when we were heretofore in our bondage we could agree better together than now. Oh it were just with God to bring us again under the bondage of our- enemies, and bind us in our furrows together!

But Ephraim thought herself far from this. No, Ephraim is not for ploughing work, Ephraim loves to tread out the corn, but not to plough. They were wont in those times, instead of tlu’ashing out the seed from the chaff, to have beasts to tread it out, or to draw mstruments whereby the seed was separated from the husk. Now there are some things to be remembered here.

First, There was no yoke upon them while they
were ti’eading out the corn.

Secondly, They were then not to be muzzled, but to feed as they pleased, and this by the command of God, Deut. XXV. 4.

Now this was a very easy work for them, to be without yoke, to run up and down in the corn, and so fatten themselves; they had enough to feed on, certain food, and present food; whereas those heifers that went to plough were fain to be abroad in the storms, and cold, and wind, and work all day long, and perhaps had no food till night; this was a hard work, and Ephraim did not love such. This seems to have reference to some of the ten tribes, who would stay in their country, and worship at Dan and Beth-el, and would not go up to Jerusalem. Oh, that was hard; and it was better for them to stay in the land, where they might enjoy then’ possessions, then- shops, their tradings, then’ friends; that was easy, but to go to Jerusalem might cost them their estates, it would excite opposition against them, and they must leave all and go for the worship of God, to worship God according to his own way, they must for a time leave all: this was a ploughuig work in respect of the other. Now Ephraim, those that live among the ten tribes, loved no such hard work. From whence there ai-e many excellent points to be observed.

Obs. 1. It is a sign of a carnal heart, to be set upon easy, to the avoidance of difficult, work in God’s service. “Ephraim loveth to tread out the corn.” It is a dangerous thing to desire more ease in God’s work than God would allow.

06s. 2. The carnal and h)-pocrites can be well content with those services which bring with them present comfort and encouragement. AVhen they did tread out the corn, there was present supply. So it is with

men, when they can have present maintenance. Ternovius, a learned man, upon this very qi.i!irin ri“i)t scri|)ture observes, ^’here men see not ut’3i!l“‘«’iducr’”’ present gain coming in, they despise ijo«aiittitcr.d«iiu Christ: but where they mav have to cat for the present, there they may be easily brought to believe any service or worship that is, for the ])rcsent, countenanced by the state. From Numb. lii. 9, we see that God allowed no cart to the children of Kohath to carry the ark, and they sinned in putting it upon one, 2 Sara. vi. So, where men may enjoy certain revenues, whether they work or not, or whether they work negligently or not, it is a great temptation; much greater than in a man’s enjoying encouragement on uncertainties, and on the assurance that he shall have it no longer than he labours, and labours to purpose; but when men have certain revenues coming in, though they labour by themselves or by others, though negligently or industriously, it is a great temptation.

06s. 3. To labour for present accommodation only to themselves, is a sign of carnal hearts. A generous spirit will labour for posterity. If none should j)lough, how would there be corn to tread out P We must be willing to plough though we have not present food, though we should have nothing till night, yea, though we should have nothing till the night of death; )ea, throughout all our lives we should be willing to plough in hope. Ephraim loved not that work. That is a generous spirit, that is willing to endure difficulty here, though he finds no present returns, yea, though none reap the benefit but posterity.

This may be also applied to soul work, in our seeking to God. Many are content to pray, and follow God and his ordinances, so long as they may have present comfort, but if that fails they have no heart to the duty. Now we should be willing to plough, that is, to endure difficulty, though we have no present returns.

This is that which causes so many to perish in the world, they must have present content; whereas the saints of God are willing to trust God though they have nothing in this world, to trust him to have theiiwages in the world to come.

“But I passed over upon her fair neck.” By her easy work in treading out the corn, and not having the yoke upon her neck to plough, she became very delicate, her skin was white and tender. “Her fair neck,” or, the goodness of her neck, msix yB Her neck, through her prosperity, had become delicate, nothing must trouble her; let others, if they will, engage in works attended with trouble and difficulty, for her part, she was tender and delicate, and must endure no burdens, no difficulty at all.

Obs. 4. The evil of outward adornings. “Her fair neck.”

Many are proud of their fair necks and skins, so proud that they grow in consequence extremely wanton; they must lay open their fair necks, that others may see them, see how white they are, what fair skins they have; and put black patches likewise, to set off their beauty and the whiteness of their skins; and if that suffice not, they will even lay over them a paint, to make them fair if they be not otherwise so: nothing but ease, and delicacy, and pleasure is for them, as if they came into the world for no other end l)ut to live bravely and be looked upon; as if mankind and all creatures must work and suffer to provide for these nice and delicate wantons, who yet are of no use at all in the world. Certainly God never gave any great estates for no other use, but only to be brave withal, and to keep their skin white. AVTiatsoever estates we have, yet except we endeavour to be useful in the world in proportion to those estates, we can have little true comfort in what we enjoy: the comfort of the lives of rational creatures certainly lies not in a fair white

skin; their comfort is in being useful in the places where God has set them, their good consists in that. Man is born to labour, and there must be labour one way or other, every one is bound to labour. These fair white skins, and fair necks, oh what foul souls many of them have! their beauty is but skin deep. Filthy and abominable arc many of them in the eyes of God, and in the eyes of those who know the corruptions of their hearts. How would these fair nocks be able to bear iron chains for Christ? to be nailed to the stake, to have such a neckerchief put upon them as Alice Driver had? The story is in the Book of Martyrs. “When they put the chain about her neck to nail her to the stake, she gloried in it, and blessed God for it. Yes, but this Alice Driver was wont to plough, (foiso it is said a little before,) her father brought her up to plough, and not so delicately; she eoidd endure then an iron chain uj)on her neck for Christ. Hard breeding is fittest for Christian suffering.

“But I passed over upon her fair neck.” Some interpret the words as expressing God’s indulgence, as if he was content to let Ephraim prosper and thrive in their way, and not to bring any hard bondage upon them i but the inteq)retation which I find others give is more jirobable: I came upon her fair neck, and made the yoke to pass over. So Jerome U])on the place saith. When this phrase, “I passed over,” is applied to God, not only here, but always in Scripture, it is in a way of threatening; and it may very well be here a threatening expression following the similitude taken from husbandly.

In the same allegorical manner Ephraim is comi)ared to “an heifer that is taught,” as if he should say, he would not willingly work. Whence,

Obs. 5. God looks upon dainty, tender, delicate people, who mind nothing but their own ease and convenience, with indignation. What! Ejihraim must be so tender and delicate, that nothing must come ujion “her fail- neck?” I will make the yoke to come upon it, saith God. When people through their delicacy must be altogether tended, and have all things serviceable to them, and they of no use at all, God cannot bear it. And as for the eminency of any of you, either in estates or honours in the world, above others, it ought not to be the cause of envy, for it is God that jiuts the difference between one and the other. We do not envy that some should go finer than others; but this neither God nor man can endure, that any .should have so much in the world, and yet be of so little use to the world, should be through their delicacy as if they were born for nothing else but, like babies, to jilay withal. I will make the yoke to pass over theiu, saith God. Though you do not put your hands to servile labour, there are other manner of works; but then, through your delicacy, if you meet with any difficulty, you will do nothing for God: the Lord looks upon •iuch dispositions with indignation, as sinful, and has his time to bring them to hardness. How many delicate and fair necks, that could not endure any difficulty, has God brought the yoke upon in these days! jiersons that were so nice and tender, and complaining of every little difficulty in any work that God would have them to do. God has made the yoke to pass over their heads, and to lie heavy upon their necks. God threatens this to the daughters of Babylon, to the antichristian party especially, in Isa. xlvii. 1, 2, “Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, () daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.” And then in the 3rd verse, “Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I wLll

THE PROrHECY OF HOSEA. not meet thee as a man.” That which you cannot endure so much as to hear of now, (your very ears are so delicate, as well as your necks,) Ihal I will bring upon you. O my brethren, how much better is it to be willing to endure hardships for God, than to be brought to hardships by our adversaries; and rather to put our necks under the yoke of Jesus Christ, than to have God put oiu- necks under the yoke of his wrath and displeasure! But God has his time to bring upon them hard things; and therefore, though God spares your bodies, that you need not put them to the servile tasks that others do, yet be so much the more willing to do service for God otherwise. Venture yourselves among your kindi-ed; that is the work to which God calis ladies. You meet wuth carnal friends that are honourable and of great rank in the world, now, to espouse in the midst of them the cause of God, is as hard a work as to labour with one’s hands, and may do a great deal more service. When you come into carnal company, be willing to put forth yourselves to endure hardships in that way which God calls thee to, and God will accept of it; but if, through thy delicacy and niceness of mind, thy spii’it comes to be as delicate as thy skin is, and thou must not displease any, nor suffer any thing for God, it is just with God to bring thee to suffer in spite of thy heart.

“I will make Ephraim to ride.” We regard this as a fiu’ther threatening; in Scripture it is appUed both to mercy and judgment: thus to mercy, in Isa. lviii. 14, “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth.” And to judgment, in Job xxx. 21, 22, “With thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me. Thou liftest me up to the wind: thou causest me to ride upon it, and dissolvest my substance.” Other scriptures might be shown where this expression is in a way of judgment. And so it is thought by interpreters here to refer to the speedy captivity of the ten tribes. As if God should say, By his ease, and by his much feecUng in treading out the corn, he is grown so fat and lusty that there is no ruling of him; yea, but, saith God, I will ride him; though he kicks and spurns and is so unruly with his fat feeding, yet I will put such a curb into his mouth, that I will order him and rule him as I please. Ephi-aim was like a pampered horse that is kept at full feeding, none could ride him; yea, but, “I will make Ephraim to ride,” saith God.

OA.s. 6. God has ways to curb those who through their prosperity are delicate and unruly; though they may champ upon the bit, and foam at the mouth, and stamp again, yet God will rule them: “I will make Ephraim to ride.”

“Judah shall plough;” that is, Judah shall for a long time take pains and go through many difficulties in the ways of my worship, and shall suffer much while Ephraim lives delicately. Judah did indeed suffer much more difficulty and hardship than the ten ti-ibes. But I think this scripture refers especially to those two passages that we find, the fu-st in 2 Kings xviii. 4 — S, and the other in 2 Chron. xxviii. 6. 2 Kings xviii. records the great reformation that Hezekiah made in the worship of God in Judah and Jerusalem. And then Judah’s suffering you have in 2 Chron. xxviii. 0, where it is said, that “Pekah the son of RemaUah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men.” It is a very strange scripture. Israel, the ten tribes, were worse than Judah: Israel forsook the true worship of God; Judah kept themselves to the true worship; and yet God let Israel so prosper that they so prevailed against Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, as to slay in one day a hundred and twenty thousand valiant men. Oh what lamentation and wailing must have been in the country then, that of two tribes a hundred and twenty

thousand valiant men should be slain in one day! We think it is a dreadful battle when three thousand are slain in the field, but here is a battle in which a hundred and twenty thousand are slain in one day, and that out of two tribes. And in 2 Kings xiv. 13, “And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem,” kc. Thus Judah and Benjamin, those two tribes that kept to the worship of God, were sorely afflicted by Ephraim, the ten tribes which had forsaken the worship of God. Sti-ange are the counsels of God concerning men.

“Judah shall plough;” that is, they shall endure a gi-eat deal of trouble in the reforming what is amiss among them. Whence,

Obs. 7. It is an honour for men to labour and go through difficulties for God while others are labouring for their ease. Be not troubled that you see other people can take liberty to themselves to provide incomes to live bravely. Does God give you a heart in the mean time to be willing to go through hard work for him? Envy them not, thou art in the better condition, thou art ploughing for God; while they are providing for their own ease, thou art doing God service; oh! thou art far the happier.

“Judah shall plough.” Take the ploughing for the hard things they suffered, as well as the hard things they did for God, and thence,

Obs. 8. Let none boast that they live more at ease than others. Others suffer more hardship than thou r do not thuik that God loves thee more than others. God loved Judah at this time more than Ephraim, and yet Ephraim lived bravely, and prevailed over Judah. judah was God’s true chm’ch, and Israel had apostatized from God, and yet one had more outward prosperity than the other. Thus many times those upon whom God’s heart is more set, suffer hard afflictions; and those on whom God’s heart is not so much fixed, enjoy their prosperity.

O, I beseech you, consider this well; for at this day, how many of our brethren are there in the western parts, on whose backs the ploughers have jjloughed deep furrows, while we have been here as it were treading out the com! Let not us think that God loves us more than them; they may be more dear to God than we: Judah was far more dear to God than Israel, and yet Israel must live jocundly and bravely.

O consider this, you that are of greater rank. All your life is treading out the corn: you see your poor neighbours endure much hardship, O think not that you are higher in God’s thoughts than they; they may be more dear to God than you, and yet they may be put to difficulties, and you may live bravely all your lives.

But it may seem to weaken the foregoing observation, that the ploughing is spoken of as future, “Judah shall plough.” The Hebrews, however, ordinarily make use of the future and preter tense promiscuously. But if you take it in the future sense, that they shall plough hereafter, it may signify the captivity of Judah, that they shall be carried into captivity, and so be brought under by the Babylonians.

“And’ Jacob shall break his clods.” By “Jacob” we must understand the ten tribes. As if God should say here, that Judah shall be put to some difficulties, yet Jacob, the ten tribes, must be put to more. Judah shall be carried into captivity; yea, but Jacob shall break the clods. Though Judah shall plough, yet the breaking of the clods is worse than the ploughing, for it is more servile; for the ploughman is the chief, he goes on in ploughing, but it is his servant or boy whom he sets to break the clods after him. So, though Judah shall be brought to difficulties, yet Jacob shall be

put to more difficulties; for the captivity of Judab was great, yet it was not so great as Jacob’s.

“Judah shall plough, and Jacob .shall break his clods;” that is, Judah’s clods. The expression we have here, with the reference it has to Judah, intimates, according to some, That there shall be a time, though now you that are the ten tribes are so delicate and proud above Judah, and Judah so much lower than you, that you des))ise him; yet the time shall come that you shall be glad to join with Judah, and be as a servant to Judah, to break his clods, when God shall restore his people again: Judah shall return from his captivity, and shall be taking pains in the service of God; and it shall be well for you if you can but come and be as his servant.

Obs. 9. Though God may have mercy upon those afteruards who forsake his ti’ue worslii]), and join them with his people, yet, if this mercy place them in the meanest contlition among God’s ijeojjlc, they should be willing to submit to it. Those that have dishonoured God and shamed themselves in times of trial, by forsaking his truths, it is a mercy if ever God unite them to his (hurcli ngain; but if he does bring them to join it, they should think it a great mercy, and be willing to be in the meanest condition. AVhat! must those think to be masters and lords, who have forsaken God and his truth, and have been ver>’ false for their own ends in times of trial, shall they think in times of reformation to bear all before them? Oh! it is a mercy if they be but admitted to break the clods, to join with those servants of God that have been faithful, and willing to sen’e him through difficulties.

Ver. 1 2. Soio to j/ourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord,till he come and ram righteousness upon you.

The Holy Ghost still goes on in this allegory of husbandly, continuing in the exhortation the metaphor that he had used in the threatening. In the midst of his threats he falls to exhorting.

Obs. 1. Though the sins of a people be great, and judgments near, yet exhortations are to be used. A’ho knows what an exhortation may effect, even with the worst people in the world? There were many things spoken concerning Israel, which one would have thought should have discouraged the prophet to meddle with exhortation; but God would have him yet exhort. One cannot tell what an exhortation may do, in the most desperate hardness of men’s hearts, and pride and stoutness of men’s spirits j therefore the prophet exhorts them, as if he should say, ‘Well, if you would not plough, if you would not come under the yoke and be put into the furrows, as you were threatened before, why then, sow to yourselves. O, be willing to break up the fallow ground of your hearts, and sow to yourselves in righteousness, and so you shall reap in mercy.

“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, I’cap in mercy.” I find some of the ancients interi)ret this somewhat wildly.

“Sow in righteousness;” that is, (saith Jerome ujjon the ])Iace,) Sow in the law, in obedience to the law, and reap in the grace of the gospel; that is, you shall .sow in the works of the law, and reap in the gospel: but this seems far-fetched.

As Jerome is somewhat too legal, so Luther (because his heart was much in the gospel, and he was wont to view all scri])tures, as far as possible, a.s expressing the grace of Uie gospel) inclines somewhat too much to the other extreme.

“Sow in righteousness.” MTiat are the seeds of righteousness? That is, saith Luther, the doctrine of the gospel tendering the righteousness of Jesus Christ: the attending to, and embracing, this doctrine of the gospel, that there is righteousness in Jesus Christ alone,

this is sowing in righteousness; for what other righteousness is there but this? ANTien reason would ascend to the highest degree of righteousness, what does it? Only this, to conclude righteousness to be, to depart from evil and do things that are good. But what righteousness is this? But the Scripture righteousness teaches a man to know that he has no good at all in himself, that all his evil is pardoned in Jesus Christ; this is the righteousness of the gospel, and this is the seed of all good works. I name this, though I can hardly conceive it to be the scope of the prophet here j yet a very good meditation arises from it, which I see noticed by that useful man in the church of God, Luther, who goes on to say, ^^’hat madness and blindness in the adversary’ is there, that will urge people to sow, and yet reject and cast off this seed that they should sow, that is, the doctrine of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ by faith! VTlyy, saith he, in all imlpits they ciy out to men for good works, that they should sow in righteousness; but where have they their seed? Certainly the truth which he inculcates here is excellent How vain is it for men to be taught to sow good works till they have got the seed! and the seed of all good works is, the righteousness that we have by Jesus Christ: and thereupon he rebukes those who blame the doctrine of the gospel as the means of licentiousness. A great many, when we preach, saith he, of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, think that we preach licentiousness, and that men may live as they list, but it is quite the contrarv”; when we preach the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we preach the seed of all good works; and from those who have this seed, gpod works will issue. But, saith he, further, they would have righteousness; but what righteousness? They slight the righteousness of God’s making, the righteousness of his Son, but they must have righteousness of their own to tender up to God; and then, when they come to good works, they will slight God’s good works, and they will be giving to God of their good works. The world doth neglect those works enjoined by him as light things, that is, the works of mercy, kindness to the saints, &c. No, they will have none of these, they will have other brave works, to build churches, and temjiles, and monasteries, and to lavish out gold about them, they are their chiefest good works: they will not deign to do the work as it were of a servant, but aim rather to be a benefactor to God; for, in relieving thy poor brother when none but thyself and God know it, thou dost the work of a sei-vant, but to build brave temples and monasteries, and lansh out gold upon them, this is for you to be a benefactor to God. Thus much for Luther’s speech.

“Sow to yourselves in righteousness.” We know of the prophet, though he would lead the people to Christ, yet his preaching was chiefly legal. “Sow righteousness;” that is. Go on in the works of righteousness, those works that are right, and just, and equal, such as you may give a good account of before God and man: as if he should say, Do not you think to put me off merely with outward services, with ofl’cring sacrifices, and the j)omp of ceremonial, perhaps, superstitious, worehip, I will never accept of these things; but let me have righteousness, let there be the works of righteousness; according to the rules of righteousness, so work. And the Jews, if they did but perform generally the external works of righteousness, might have external mercies. U indeed they did some works of righteousness, and not others, then they could not expect mercy from God; but though there were no saving grace in them, yet if they did but perform the external works of righteousness, and there was a jiroportion between one and another, there seems to have been an external covenant that they were under for outward mercies for their outward righteousness: not but that I think for heaven they must have had true grace and

godliness, as the saints must have now; but external mercies were more annexed to external duties than now amongst us.

You will say, AVe have external promises too.

Yea, but they are attached to godliness in Christ Jesus.

Now from the words we may

Obs. 2. The actions of men are seeds, such seeds as win certainly come up. Other seeds may die in the ground, and rot, and never come up; but there is never an action which thou performest, but will come up one way or other, it will come u]) to something.

Obs. 3. The seed sown will come up after its kind. The seeds of tares will not come up to wheat, but will continue tares, and so the wheat, wheat: all our actions will come up after then- kind. Men neglect theu- actions, and think that when they have done, it is over, they forget what they did yesterday or the day before; but though you may forget it, yet it will come up in the same kind, though you think not of it. I remember Pliny reports of some parts in Africa, that when they sow then- seed, they go away, and never look after it for many mouths together: so it is with many men, they sow, but they never mind what they have done, and quite forget what their seed has been, till they must come to reap. But certainly thine actions he there, and will grow up to something.

Obs. 4. As the seed lies in the ground rotting awhile, but afterwards comes up, so it is with oiu- actions; they seem as if they were quite forgotten, but they will come up; yea, and good actions seem as if they were wholly lost many times: well, though the seed doth rot, rot in the gi’ound for a time, yet it will come up afterwards.

Obs. 5. The seed, when sown, comes up through the blessuig of God upon it. No endeavour of the husbandman can make the seed come up, but he must leave it to the blessing of God; so the seeds of our actions must be left to God. God’s justice will make the seeds of the wicked come up, and his goodness and mercy will make the seeds of the samts come up; leave thine actions to the blessing of God.

Obs. 6. The better the seed is, for the most part the longer it lies under ground. AAHien you sow wheat and rye, you sow them in the autumn of the year; but when you sow barley and oats, you sow them in the spring, and they do not, as the wheat, endure frost and snow. Even so the best of om- actions be longest under ground.

06s. 7. The ministers of God are sowers of the seed of the word; and the hearers should be sowers too. The minister sows the word in thine ears, and then thou shouldst take it from thence and sow it in thy heart, thy life and conversation.

06s. 8. If om- actions be seeds that we sow, then large opportunities of doing much service for God should be our riches; like a large field, that is sown with good grain; if thou hast a heart to improve those opportunities.

Oh that we would but consider of this, that when the Lord gives any a large opportunity for service, God lets them out so much land; Go, (saith God,) you must husband so much land, and sow it for mine advantage. Many of you that are poor, have not a foot of land in the world, and you think that landed men are happy men: does God give you opportunity of sen-ice to honour him? Oh! thou hast got a great deal of land, the meanest of you that have opportunities of service; God lets you out his land, you have abundance of land and ground given to you by God: and a man should account himself rich according to the 0])portunify of his service; as men in the country account themselves rich according to the land that they have to plough and sow. In Lev. sxvii. 16, it is said,” If a man shall sanctify unto the Lord some pai-t of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the

seed thereof.” The meaning is, that if a man will sanctify a piece of land to God, you shall prize it not according to its extent, but according to the seed it is fit to receive. So the opportunities that are fit to receive much seed, should be accounted rich opportunities. And we should esteem the price of our lives to be according to the seed thereof: Thou livest such a year, what is thy life worth? It is according to the seed thereof. And so for these four or five last years, oh what opportunities have we had for service for God! now they ai-e to be prized according to the seed thereof, that is, as our service and work were in those years. Then certainly, if we must estimate our Uves according to the opportunity of service for God, then these last five years we may reckon as fifty. It is a great blessing to have a good seed time; the Lord has blest us with this good seed time. Oh now, wdiat a folly were it for a man out of base penuriousuess to refrain from sowing his gi-ound, because he is loth to venture his seed! or thi’ough love of his ease loth to go abroad; it is somewhat cold, and he will keep by the fii-e-side, and will not go abroad to sow his seed. Oh! thus it is with us, through our base unbelief we will ventiu-e nothing for God, we ai-e loth to put ourselves upon any difficulty; this is ova folly.

06s. 9. It is not every seed that will serve. Be sowers, but sow “in righteousness;” let it be righteousness, let it be precious seed. Thus, in Psal. cxxvi. 6, they are spoken of as “bearing precious seed” with them. Oh! there are many who sow venomous seed, that will bring forth poisonous fruit; all their days they have been sowing nothing but seed of unrighteousness. Yea, in this field that God has given to us, of opportmiity of service for him, what have many done? what have they sown? They have sown salt in it; that is, they have sown their passions, they have sown contention and the seeds of cUscord, and that has been the cause why that our field, those opportunities which we have enjoyed for God, has been so unproductive: there has been so much salt, the salt spirits of men and women have been so manifested in their passions and frowardness, and then- contentions one against another, that it has made us barren. Thus, Prov. vi. 14, “Frowardness is in his heart; he deviseth mischief continually, he soweth discord.” And ver. 19, it is made one of the things which the sold of God abhors, that a man .should “sow discord.” And so in Prov. xvi. 28, “A froward man soweth strife.” Oh! how many are there amongst us that go from one place to another, and tell you such a tale, and such a report, and sow nothing but strife and discord! such the Lord hates. What! in such a time as this is to sow discord! there coidd never have been a time more unfit to sow the tares thereof. Oh! let men take heed of sowing discord now; God calls for the seed of righteousness.

“And reap in mercy.” I find many interpret this, mercy to men: that is, sow the seeds of righteousness, and let the fruits of mercy be abundant amongst you. But to carry it according to that which is more like to be the scope of the Holy Ghost, we are to understand by “mercy,” the mercy of God. Now two things are to be observed in this phrase:

First, That it is in the imperative mood, “reap in merev,” not, ye shall reap in mercy.

Secondly, In the original it is, “lOn-’SS ad os misericordicc, in the mouth of mercy.

Now to explain these words accordingly.

First, That it is in the imperative mood, “reap in mercy;” not, ye shall reap in mercy. This signifies these two tilings:

1. The certainty of the mercy they shall have.

2. The readiness of the mercy, that it is ready at hand for them to possess; just as if one should say to jxiu in your shops. Let me have this commodit)’, and

here take your money, that is, here is your money ready -and certain.

SeconiUy, In the mouth of mercy. Now if the translators had rendered it thus, Sow m righteousness, and reap in the mouth of mercy, it would have been obscure; but those who understand the original, know that the mouth of a thine; is often used for the ])roportion and measure of a thing. As thus in Lev. xxvii. 16, “Thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof.” ‘Now the Hebrew is, Thy estimation shall be to the mouth of the seed, that is, according to the ]n’oportion of the seed so shall the estimation be. And so you have it in Exod. xvi. 16, “Gather of it every man according to his eating;” that is, to the mouth of everv man, in a proportion according to what is fit for every- man.

“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy.” Thus, “Sow in righteousness; “it is a poor seed that we shall sow: now God saith not, you shall re«p ‘• in righteousness,” but “in mercy,” from the mouth of mercy. You take out of the mouth of the sack, and sow your poor proportion, but when you come to reap, you shall reap, if you be faithful, according to the proportion of mercy; what is fit for a merciful God to do, what is suitable to the infiniteness of my mercy, that shall you real). It was so with the Jews, if their obedience was but external, yet they should have mercy beyond that outward obedience: but if it be applied to those who live in the times of the gospel, indeed that which comes from you, being so mixed as it is, is but poor, yet you may expect to reap, not according to what TOU ilo, but according to what may manifest the infinite mercy of an infinite God. Every one, let them be never so weak, and employed in never such poor and mean services, yet, if their hearts be upright, they shall not rea)) according to the meanness of the work, nor the poverty of the service, but look, what glory and ha|)piness is suitable for an infinite God in way of infinite mercy to bestow, that they shall have in the mouth of mercy, suitable to mercy. Thus you have the meaning of the word.

Obs. 10. As a man sows, so shall he reap. Though he shall reap more than he sows, yet he shall reap in the same kind. If he sow wickedness he shall not reap mercy; but he that sows righteousness shall reap mercy. It is a mocking of God, for men to think that though they sow wickedness yet they shall reap mercy; therefore saith the apostle, in Gal. vi. 7, “‘^^latsocver a man soweth, that shall he also reap. God is not mocked.” If thou thinkest to reap mercy when thou Kowest wickedness, thou mockest God to his very face. If a man should sow tares and say, I shall have a good crop of wheat, would you not think that man mad? or he should think you a fool to believe him, were he to tell you so. So for you to think that either God or man should believe that you should have mercv when you sow not righteousness, it is, I say, to mock God; and know, “God is not mocked; for what a man soweth, that shall he also reap;” and thy fruit shall be another manner of fruit, thou shalt rent that which shall be bound in bundles, and thou bound together with it, and cast into unquenchable fire. Hut of those that sow righteousness, not a seed shall be lost, they shall be recompensed for all their pains, and labour, and sufferings. For so saith the Lord, Psal. cxxvi. 5, “Tlicy that 60W in tears shall reap in joy.” There shall be an assuring fruit to those that sow in righteousness, for true gospel-righteousness is the most precious thing in the world, more worth in one of its righteous acts than hjaven and earth. God will not lose that seed, it is jtrccious seed; there is more of God in one righteous act of a godly man, than there is in all the works of creation and providence, (angels and saints excepted,) yea, than in all the whole frame of creation.

The reason i;i this. Because in all the creation God’s glory is manifested but passively, God works there and holds forth his glory passively; but in the righteous acts of the saints, there is an active glorifying of God; there is an act of the very image of God, and the life of God: the Divine nature is there, and therefore there is more of God in the working of righteousness than in any thing else besides.

Oh, let the saints rightly estimate the actions of righteousness; though there be much evil mingled, yet there is a great deal of the glory of God in every action. If we were but grounded in this principle it would make us aboiuid in the work of the Lord. So in the morning and in the evening let not thy hand rest, trust God with thy seed, do not be deterred with this difficulty and the other: “He that obseiveth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap,” Eccl. xi. 4. Is it a duty that God requires of thee; do not think. Oh, but it is windy, and ill weather: no, but sow thy seed, “sow it in righteousness,” and commit it to God, and thou shalt reap. Blessed are those who have sown much for God in their life-time! Oh the glorious harvest that these shall have! the very angels shall help them to take in their harvest at the great day; and they need not take thought for barns, the very heavens shall be their barns. And oh the joy that there shall be in that harvest! the angels will help to sing the harvest song that they shall sing who have been sowers in righteousness: but oh the confusion of face which will be upon those who were not willing to endure difficulty in ploughing and sowing! “The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nolliing,” Prov. xs. 4. In harvest he will be crying for mercy. Lord, mercy now. But what fruits of righteousness? No fruits of righteousness, no mercy. “Reap in mercy!” an expression as remarkable as we have in the whole book of God; not reap in righteousness, but “repp in mercy.”

Obs. 11. After all we do, yet we have need of mercy. Let us be the most plentiful in sowing the seeds of righteousness, yet we arc unprofitable servants afler we have done all, and must “reap in mercy.”

But surely an act of righteousness has much in it.

Yea, but all the good of it is God’s, so much as there is in it of evil is ours; and after we have done all, we bad need come to God as beggars to ci-y for mercy. Those who have lived the most holy lives, yet woe to them if they have not mercy, if they have not righteousness beyond their own, if mercy come not in to plead for them! M’oe to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, if mercy plead not for them! if at the great day they have nothing to tender up to God but their own righteousness, they are certainly lost and undone for ever. All that we can do is infinitely unworthy of the majesty of God. In 1 Chron. xxix. 14, when the people offered so much to God for the building of his tabernacle, mark how David was affected with it; “Who am I, and w hat is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thcc.” And in 1 Chron. xxii. 14, when David had jirovided “an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver,” for the building of the temple of God, besides “brass and iron without weight,” yet afler all he exclaims, Out of my jioverty have I offered this. So Arias Montanus renders “jys In vour books it is, “in my trouble I have prepared” this, but the word signifies poverty as well as trouble and affliction. And so saith David, after all this. Yet in my poverty have I done this; whereas this was a mighty thing that was offered. I remember Sir Walter lUlcigh, in his History of the World, p.irt 2. chap. 17. sect. 0, reckons up the sum of what David there prepared for the temple of the Lord, and mokes

it more than any king in the world is worth; he makes it to come to three thousand three hundred and thirty-three cart loads of silver, allowing two thous;ind weight of silver, or six thousand pounds sterling, to every cart load, besides threescore and seventeen mUHons of French crowns: and yet when he had done all. Out of my poverty have I done this. As if he should say. Lord, what is this in respect of thee who art the great God? If thou wilt but accept of this, I shall be infinitely bound to thee.

O my brethren, let us ever learn after all our duties not to be proud, but keep your hearts loM- and humble before God. Has God enabled us to sow in righteousness? our hearts are puffed up presently: oh no, thou must keep thy heart still under. Alas! such is the pride of our spirits, if we be but enlarged a little in prayer we are ready to be puffed up presently. Oh! what is this to the service which a creature owes to the blessed and eternal God! Hadst thou spent all thy time since thou hadst any understanding, night and day, in the work and service of God, hadst thou been the greatest instrument of God’s service that ever was in the world, yet thou hast cause to lie down at God’s mercy-seat and cry, IMercy, Lord, mercy for a poor wretched, vile creature, after thou hast done all; we are so unable to do any thing ourselves. Luther saith. The very act of thanksgiving is from God.

‘acuf Lw™.“” ■’^”d therefore be humbled, and cry,

Grace, grace to all that has been: and

let all public instruments not take too much upon

them, but lie low before the Lord. Oh! did we but

know God we would indeed be low after our duties.

To lay down one’s life for God you will say was a great service. Cyprian’s prayer at his martyrdom contained these two remarkable expressions; Lord, I am prepared to pour forth the very sacrifice of my blood ior thy name’s sake; yea. Lord, I am prepared here to suffer any tomient whatsoever. These two expressions he used. You will say, Now surely this man might stand upon his terms with God. But he goes on: IJut when thou dost lift up thyself to shake the earth, Lord, under what cleft of the rock shall I hide myself, to what mountain or hill shall I call to fall upon me and cover me? As if he should say. Lord, though I be here ready to give up my body to be massacred for thee, to give up my blood to be an offering, and to suffer any torment, yet when I consider what a God I have to do withal, if thou shouldst deal with me as I am in myself, oh I must cry to the rocks to cover me, and the hills to f;ill upon me. This should teach us to keep our hearts low and humble after we have done the greatest work whatsoever. One of the German divines when at the point of death was full of fears and doubts, and some said to him, Y’ou have been so employed, and have been so faithful, why should you fear? He replied, The judgments of man and the judgments of God are diffei-ent; I am to go before the great and all-seeing God. Though it is true, God would not have us daunted with any terrible apprehensions of him, yet he would have us be possessed with reverence, so as to be humbled when we think what a God it is we have to do withal: you must “reap in mercy.” Oh! this shall be the song of fhe saints to all eternity, Mercy, mercy: “Not unto us. Lord, not unto xis, but unto tily name give glory,” Psal. cxv. 1.

Obs. 12. God will give abundantly above our works. Oh, it is a point that has very much encom-agement to poor troubled sinners that are low. Raise up thy faith: it is not what thy work is; though it be low and mean, and though there be many failings in thy work, yet is there uijrightness in it; and if thou hast sown the seeds of righteousness, thou shalt reap according to what shall honour the mercy of an infinite God at last. Allien Alexander was giving a cift to a poor man, he 2 G

dared not receive if, it was too gi’eat. Y’ea, but, said Alexander, though that be too great for thee to receive, vet it is not too great for me to give. So I may say to ])oor souls, when they hear of these glorious promises. Their hearts are ready to think. This is too good news to be true, too great a mercy for me to receive. So it is as thou art in thyself, but if God will give according to the proportion of his mercy, it is not too great for him to give.

Now thus it is that God will deal with those that are in covenant with him, that have all their fruit from the seed of righteousness, Christ in the heart. I say, the Lord will deal with them according to the proportion of infinite gi’ace.

Take this one meditation, That where there is any uprightness, when thou shalt come to reap from God, thou shalt reap so much as must manifest to all angels and saints to all eternity, what the infinite mercy of an infinite God can do; and that is enough, one would think: the poorest Christian, who does but the least for God, when he comes to reap shall have a harvest that must manifest the infinite riches of the infinite mercy of God, and what he is able to do for the exaltation of a creature to glory. Comfort thyself in this, in thy poor, low condition, and in the performing of thy poor services.

“Break up youi’ fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.”

“Break up your fallow ground,” &c.: the prophet exhorted them in the words before, to sow in righteousness, that they might reap mercy.

But you must not sow without ploughing, that were a preposterous way; therefore, though the words come after, yet the thing is to be done before. Look that you plough up the fallow ground: you have been sinful and ungodly in your way, it will not be enough for you now to set upon some good actions, AVe will do better, we will do such and such good things that God requires of us: no, that is not the first work you must fall upon, but it must be to plough, to “break up your fallow ground.”

Obs. 13. The hearts of men naturally are as fallow grounds, nothing but thorns and briers gi’ow upon, them, they are mifit for the seed of the word.

When he bids them plough up their fallow grounds, these three tilings are implied:

First, The work of humiliation. The truths of God, both of the law and of the gospel, must get into then” hearts, and rend them up, even as the plough rends up the ground.

Secondly, That weeds, thorns, and briers must be turned up by the roots, the heart must be cleared of them. It is not enough to pluck out a weed or a thorn here and there, but we must plough up the ground, turn all upside down, and get rid of all the beggarly stuff and thorns that were in our hearts heretofore.

Thirdly, Get a softness in your hearts: as when the ground is ploughed, that which was before hard on the outside, and baked by the heat of the sun, being now turned up presents a soft mould, prepared to receive seed.

There are many evils in us that we would reform, but we have not been humbled for them, for our ceremonies, and subjection to false government of the church. AVho has been humbled for these things, as sin? We reform them as things inconvenient, but not being humbled for them as sin, the very roots of these things are in the hearts of many, so as, if times should change, a distinction would serve their turn to come and submit to them again; so that we sow before we plough. In Jer. iv. 3, you have this exhortation carried a little further; “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” They must not think to mingle

that which is good with that which is evil: it may be a few good seeds are brought into a business; yea, but there is a great deal of evil. My brethren, take heed of being so deceived; many, though they do not intend to deceive you, yet they may deceive you by mixing some good things with a great many evil; and therefore examine things. But I note this place in Jeremiah the rather from the consideration of the time of its delivery, which was about the time of Josiah. Now that was a time of great reformation; but saith Jeremiah, ANTiat though you do manythings? you sowamong thorns, you do not jjlough up the ground, you are not humbled, your sins are not taken up by the roots; and therefore, though a great deal of ill stuff seems to be cast out, and many good things are set up in the worship of God, which were not formerly, yet you must plough, plough up your fallow grounds. The Holy Ghost joining them together, “Sow in righteousness,” and “break up your fallow gi-ound,” I would have you observe. That there are some that do sow and not plough, and there are others that do plough and not sow, but we must join both together.

There are that do plough and not sow; that is, they (it may be) are troubled for their sins, much humbled perhaps on account of them, but they do not reform, after their humiliation there does not follow reformation. Now as reformation, where humiliation has not gone before, usually comes to little purpose, so humiliation, where reformation follows not after, comes likewise to little purpose.

In Isa. xxviii. 24, a similar image is applied to God; “Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow?” to note that God observes his times, and that we must not be offended because that he does not things as we would have him always, that is, he lets wicked men prosper sometimes, and the godly suffer afflictions: as if the Holy Ghost should say here. Let God alone with his work, God observes his times and seasons: as the ploughman does, he does not always plough; so God has his times and seasons, and knows when to relieve, and when to afflict, his church, and when the wicked shall prosper, and when they shall be brought into ad- ■versity: God instructs the ploughman to know his season, and he knows his o^’n, therefore be not offended. And so should we know our seasons, and observe our times for humiliation and reformation. But this for the reformation of a state.

But the ])loughing of the heart is the thing that is here especially intended, and I desire to apply it particularly to eveiy individual. Those who have such sore necks that they cannot bear the yoke, yet must all hold the plough here spoken of. Now for this ploughing of your hearts, it is to get in ti-uths into your spirits, that may rend up your hearts. I will name some few truths that are as it were the ploughshare; you should not only know them, but labour to get them into your hearts.

1. Such is the vileness of every sin, that it separates the soul from God, and pxits it under an eternal cm’sc. This one truth you must get deep into your hearts, it will help to unloosen the roots of the thorns and briers that are there, the settled apprehension of this truth.

2. There is such a breach between God and the soul by sin, that all the power in all the creatures in heaven and earth is not able to make up this breach: here is a shaqi ploughshare to get into the heart.

3. By nature I am fully engaged in this controvci’sy with God, my heart is full of it, all the faculties of my soul are filled with that heinous sin.

4. Every action throughout my whole life, in my unregenerate estate, was nothing else but sin, nothing else but sin, and that too of a vile nature.

5. If any sin be pardoned to me it is by virtue of a price paid that is more worth than ten thousand worlds.

Now here is the gospel as well as the law, for the ploughing is but the spiritual using of the law: for you must take notice that the law, as law, accepts of no humihation for sin, but viewed in the light of the gospel it does tend to humiliation: the law in the gospel humbles the soul so as to do it good. Now therefore get the truths that the law, ha’ing reference to the gospel, requires, and see what they will do in thy soul: you must work them in. And let conscience be put on to diaw this plough: these are as the ploughshare, and the working of conscience is the drawing of this plough; when the plough stops, ( as when it meets with a thorn and brier,) a strong conscience will draw it on, and will rend up by the roots the thorns and briers. Though these truths put you to pain, yet you must be content to draw them on in the soul; and if these and the like truths be got into thy soul, and thou be at plough, and thy conscience be drawing, I shall say unto thee, God s|jeed the plough; yea, God speed these truths which conscience is drawing on in the soul, for they may tend to a great deal of good, to ])repare thee for the seed that may bring forth righteousness and mercy to thy sold for ever. I confess it is a hard work to ])lough thus; indeed only to hear sermons, and talk and confer of good things, these things are pretty easy; but to go to plough, to plough with such truths as these are, to get up the thorns and briers by the roots, this is a very hard task: but we must be willing to do it, and to continue ploughing; as the fallow ground must not only be ploughed once, but it may stand in need of ploughing the second and third time before it be fit for the seed to be east m; and so with our hearts. It may be some of you have been ploughing, and have got in some truths; yea, but many weeds and thorns have grown up since, and you must to ploughuig again: it may be many years ago since you have been thus ploughing, and your hearts ha■e lain fallow ever since; do not think it enough that once you have been humbled, but be often ploughing up this fallow ground; it is far better to have the plough get into your hearts, though it be sharp, than to have the sword of God’s justice upon you. We have in these times a wanton gcnei-ation, that cannot endure to go to plough, they would be doing nothing but taking in the sweet, treading out the corn. Bu,t this ploughing they cry out of merely through wantonness, and sinful self-indulgence; they would have nothing but jollity and licentiousness in their hearts and ways; yet the Scripture, in Luke ix. 62, compares the ministers of the gospel to ploughmen; “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God,” not fit to be employed in the administration of the gospel. These men talk of humiliation for sin, but they reject that, than which nothing more humbles for sin, the price that was paid for sin in the blood of Jesus Christ: there is no such sharp ploughshare as that. If I were to preach one sermon in all my life for the humbling of men for sin, I would take a text that might show the great price that was paid for it, and therein open the breach which sin has made between God and man’s soul; but they will not make use even of the gospel as a plough to plough the heart for the work of humiliation.

Well, God has prospered this work heretofore, and notwithstanding all the wantonness of men’s spirits this way, yet, I say still, God speed the plough; God speed this way of ploughing the hearts of men, and getthig in those truths calculated to humble the hearts of men for their sins. These were the truths which God blessed in former times, and none ever lived so much to the honour of the gospel. For this generation that is come up, they talk of the gospel, but they live not to the honour of it, the gospel has not honour by them, nor has Jesus Christ. But the former generation of

men, though in some things they might faU, yet certainly God blessed them in theii- way, so far as it was according to ti’uth.

No mai-vel though these men bring forth such little fruit of righteousness, it is because they sow among thorns; presently they are blown at the top, and full of confidence, but their seed is among thorns, and therefore it doth not prosper. And thus much for this expression about the ploughing up of fallow grounds, both in reference to general reformation and humiliation, and concerning men’s souls in particular. “For it is time to seek the Lord.” Here we may Obs. 14. It is a mercy that there is yet time for you to seek the Lord. It might have been past time with you for seeking the Lord, God might have forced his honour from you in another way, have fetched out his glory from you in j-our eternal ruin. Oh! it is a mercy that God will be sought of you; and therefore “break up your fallow ground,” and “sow in righteousness;” “for it is time to seek the Lord.” Oh! you that yet live loaded with years and guilt, remember this scripture; yet j’ou have “time to seek the Lord,” and it is a wondrous mercy; if you but understood the extent of it, you would fall down with yoiu- faces upon the ground, and bless the Lord that jou have yet time to seek him. What do you think those damned creatures in heU would now give, if it might be said of them, that they have time to seek the Lord? if they might have but one hour more to seek the Lord with any hope of obtaining mercy from him? What you are now, they were not long since. Oh! do you fear and tremble, lest, if not seeking the Lord, you ere long be as now they are; so that it shall be said of you, Time is gone, time to seek the Lord is past; God will not now be sought of us. Oh “seek the Lord while he may be found, and call upon him w’hile he is near.” When divers ministers and others were attempting once to comfort a woman of Cambridge under great terror of conscience, she regarded them with a ghastly look, and gave them only this answer, Call time back again. If you can call time back again, then there may be hope for me: but time is gone.

Oh that we had hearts to prize our time, to seek the Lord therefore “while he may be found.” When thou goest home, fall down upon thy face before the Lord, and bless him that yet “it is time to seek the Lord.” It is time for the public, through God’s mercy, yet to seek the Lord. It might have been past time; and who almost that desired to know any thing of God’s mind for these last seven or eight years or more, but did think that England’s time of seeldng God was even ‘• clean gone for ever?” But the Lord has been pleased to lengthen out our time to seek him; and this we should prize and make use of.

Obs. 15. It is high time now to seek the Lord. For, First, God has shown much patience and long-suffering toward you, and there is a time in the which the Lord salth he will” be weary with forbearing; therefore the Lord having suffered thus long with you, it is high time for you to seek him, lest he should’say, that he was weary in forbearing, and would forbear no more. It is fit you should seek the Lord at all times, but now it is high time, when God hath been so long-suffering towards you; how do you know but that the time for the end of patience is at an end?

2. Mercy is even going, and judgments are threatened: as if the prophet should say. If ever you will seek him, seek him now; God is going, and judgments are at hand, and therefore it is high time for you to seek the Lord. As a prisoner pleads whilst the judge is on the bench, but if he sees the judge ready to rise, then, knowing that if he depart he is undone for ever, he lifts up his voice, and cries out, Mercy, mercy. So it is now high time for you to seek the Lord; high time,

mercy is going, judgment is at hand; God, as the Judge, is going off the bench; now cry, cry out for your lives, or you are undone for ever.

This may well be applied to us, both in general, and in the particular. It is high time for us; God has shown himself’ about to depart from us, yet still he lingers; a company of his saints have been crying, and as the Lord has been going from us, they have lifted up their voice, and so he yet grants us time.

Obs. 10. This time is an acceptable time. God now calls upon you, and holds forth the sceptre of his grace towards you, therefore it is now an acceptable time to seek God; seek him now, and he will be found. 2 Cor. vi. 2, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation:” while you enjoy the means of grace, while God is offering mercy in the gosjjcl, it is the accepted time, it is the time to seek the Lord. The misery of man is therefore great, because he knows not his time. In Eocl. viii. 6, “7, the wise man saith, “Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him; for he knoweth not that which shall be.” Oh! this is true of us, we know not our time, and therefore is our misery great upon us. “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying. If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes,” Luke xix. 41,42. Missing of time is a dangerous thing; that may at one time bo done with ease, which cannot with all possible labour be effected at another. Thou canst not tell what may depend on one day, on one minute; perhaps even eternity may depend upon this moment, upon this day. A man goes abroad from his family and gets into company, perhaps into an alehouse or tavern to drink, and there spends the day in wickedness; thou dost not know but on that time the day of thy eternity may depend, it may be cast upon that day: as Saul was cast upon that sacrificial act of his; “For now” (saith Samuel) “would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue,” 1 Sam. xiii. 13, 14; so God may say to thee. Well, notwithstanding all thy former sins, I would have been content to have passed by them, if thou hadst sought rae this day. The consideration of this would make us take heed how we spend even a single day. A mariner may do that at one time which he cannot possibly do at another. He has now a gale of wind, and may quickly get over sea; but if he stay till another time, though he would give his heart’s blood to get on, he cannot. And so sometimes thou hast such gales of the Spirit of God, as may do good to thy soul for ever; take heed thou lose them not, if thou losest them thou mayst be undone for ever. Oh! it is fit to wait upon God for our time; and if God give us time, let us take heed we do not trifle and say, We shall have time hereafter. Therefore in Phil. ii. 12, the apostle salth, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling:” and there follows, ver. 13, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” What connexion is there? If God work the will and the deed, why need I work at all? Nay, the connexion is thus. Do you work out your salvation with fear and trembling, take all opportunities you can, let the fear of God be upon you so as to omit no opportunity; for you do absolutely depend upon God, so that if he withdraw himself from you, you are undone for ever, for you can do nothing of yourselves, it is God that worketh the will and the deed. As if we should say to a mariner. Be careful, take advantage of your wind and sail, for all your voyage depends°upon God; if you neglect your o])portunity. you are gone. It is time for the youngest of all to seek the Lord; as soon as ever you begin to have the dawning of reason, it is time for you to seek the Lord; oh that

you did hut know vour time! But what time is it for the old, for those who have neglected seeking the Lord the most part of their lives? is it not high time for you to seek the Lord, who have spent so much of your lives in vanity and folly? The time you have is tmccrtain; and yet suppose you should live so long a period as in the course of nature you might, yet many of you cannot have as much time to seek the Lord as you have had in departing from God, you cannot have so much time to honour God as you have had to dishonour him: and therefore is it not time for you to seek the Lord? I remember it is said of Themistocles, that when about to die, at the age of a hundred and seven, he was grieved on this account, Now I am to die, when I begin to be wise. And certainly it cannot but be a grief to any to think, Through God“s mercy, the Lord has begun to work grace (I hope) in my heart, yea, but as soon as I begin to know God, and have any heart to serve him in this world, I must be taken out of it. It was a proverbial speech once, (you find it in Plutarch’s Lives,) “Weighty things to-morrow. Oh! take heed this proverb be not fulfilled concerning you, Weighty things to-morrow. Take weighty things, things of infinite consequence, while you have time. Let weighty things be regarded now.

But further, certainly it is time now for England to seek the Lord, for many reasons.

1. Never any nation in the world had a greater opportunity for seeking and honouring God than we have had. We were like to have been befooled of our o])portunity of getting mercy from God; but the Lord has be trusted us with it again after it was got even out of our hands; oh! let us then catch hold of it now, and bless God that we have it even restored to us again, and let it be a strong argument upon us now to seek the Lord.

2. Certainly it is time in a more special manner now for us, because that things are in so great a confusion, that all are at their wits’ end almost. Alas! our wise counsellors at the stem, are fain to depend upon mere providences and casualties, and the truth is, there is such a confusion of things, that if God should say to the wisest man in the land, “Well, do you contrive which way you think things should be best, and I will carry out your suggestions, they could scarce tell what to say, or on what to determine, such confusion prevails.

3. AVe thought it was time to seek the Lord, when we were in great danger from the adversaries, when we apprehended that they would come to our ver)” gates: surely it is as great time to seek the Lord now, when he has delivered us from our enemies, that we may not devour one another. And when God has given us some rest from them, and said, “Well, all that before you were afraid of was, that the enemies would prevail, and then you could do nothing, but I have quelled their power in a great measure, and commenced the work of reformation, oh! we are now at a stand, and know not what to do, and we go on in such craflv ways one against another, that ever)- one is at a stand. Oh then, it is time for us to fall down upon oiu- faces, to seek God to direct us, to regard the great opportunity that God has put into our hands.

4. We now want only light to know what to do; and therefore whereas heretofore we have sought to God for power that we might be able, now we are to seek to him for light, that we may know how to improve our ability. There are these two things in seeking God; praying to him, and labouring to put ourselves into that way and disjjosition wherein God is wont to meet with his people, and communicate himself to his

icople. “Till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” The word n-w here translated “rain sometimes signifies to teach; and the Scripture makes use of that

similitude of rain, for doctrine, because of the likeness of doctn’nes distilling as the rain. Accordinsly some interpret it, Ply the work until he teaches righteousness; and so regard it as a prophccv of the Messias: “Sow righteousness,” and “break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord,” till the Messias come and teach you the righteousness of God. So they paraphrase it. “But take it as it is here,

“And rain righteousness.” And then there are
these things in it:

I. The signification of the word “righteousness.”

n. VThat is meant by “raining righteousness.”

I. By “righteousness” is meant,

1. That God will deliver them from oppression; that though they have unrighteous dealing with men. yet they shall have righteous dealing with him. And this is a great mercy to a people, for God to undertake that there shall be nothing but righteous dealings betwixt them and himself.

2. The fruit of God’s faithfulness in the fulfilling of all those promises of his for good unto them, wherein the Lord does style himself righteous. If you will now break up, saith he, your fallow ground, and seek the Lord, the Lord will deliver you from oppression; and the Lord will make good all his faithfulness to you, according to all that good word that he has promised.

II. By “raining righteousness” is meant,

1. That all their good and help must come from heaven as the rain doth; as if the prophet should say, If you look to men, yea, to men in public place, you have little hopes that there should be such righteous dealings, or to expect that the good word of God in all his promises to his people should be fulfilled; yea, but look to heaven, saith God, “I will i-ain,” it shall come down from heaven by ways that are above nature, and beyond the power of man, “I will rain righteousness.” Seek him therefore till he rain righteousness; be not discouraged though you should see public men cany things never so unrighteously, yet seek the Lord till he rain righteousness.

2. The plenty of righteousness, that righteousness shall come in abundance. It may be now, some men may meet with some righteous dealings, and be encoui’aged when tilings are at the best among men, but this righteousness comes but by drops; vea, but seek the Lord till he “rain righteousness.” Miat is it to have a few drops of water? You may go into your garden, and with a little pot of water water the herbs; yea, but when it rains down water, then the earth is refreshed. And so saith the Lord here, Seek me till I come with a shower of righteousness, and rain it down upon you.

3. The working so graciously in the works of my righteousness to you, as shall make the seeds that you have sown to be fruitful, to grow up to the honour of my name, and to your good. Now there are many godly amongst you, and they sow righteousness, they do many good actions; but, alas! kept down still by the scorching heat of the oppressors. In places where oppression prevails, many godly, truly godly, persons sow much seed of righteousness, but little good comes of it, all is kept down: yea, but saith the Lord, Seek me till I rain righteousness; I will rain from heaven such showers that shall be the fulfilling of my promises to you, that shall make all your righteous actions grow iip to the praise of my name, and the good of your brethren. Oh what a blessed time, when there shall be nothing but righteous dealings, and all the faithfulness of God .shall be fulfilled, and there shall be plenty ‘.

Obs. 17. God will come to sow righteousness in time. Those that plough and sow in righteousness, God will come in his grace and goodness to them: “To him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward,”

V£K. 12.

THE PROPHECY OF HO SEA.

Prov. xi. 18. Be not discouraged, you that sow righteous seed; for it is not with the seed of righteousness as with the seed that is sown in the earth, for if that do not come up within a certain time, it will never come up; but you cannot say so of the seed of righteousness, it will come up.

Obs. 18. God sometimes comes not jn-esently in raining righteousness upon his people that do sowrighteousness. “Seek the Lord, //// he come and rain righteousness:” as if the prophet should say, You have hearts to seek the Lord, to be humbled, and reform, to sow in righteousness; well, be not discouraged, continue seeking, stay till he doth rain righteousness. After the seed is sown, you would fain have a shower the next morning, but, may be, it will not fall so soon, stay till God’s time: God does not always hear the prayers of his people so as to answer them when they would. It is very observable concerning Elijah, at one time when he cried for fii’e to come down u])on the sacrifice, it came down presently; but when he cried for rain, he was fain to send his servant seven times: Elijah did not get rain from heaven so soon as fire from heaven.

Obs. 19. Those that seek aright will continue seeking God “till he come and rain righteousness.” There is an excellent scripture ui Psal. ci. 2; saith David, “I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. 0 when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.” As if he should say. Why, Lord, it is thy presence I desire more than a thousand worlds, and I will endeavour to behave myself “within my house,” in my family, not only in the presence of others, but in my family, in the most “perfect way;” Lord, “when wilt thou come unto me?” It seems God did not come and manifest himself presently: though David did behave himself in a perfect way in his house, yet David professes he would wait still. Many scriptures may be given for this, and many arguments why a gracious heart will not leave over seeking till the Lord comes.

It is the Lord I seek, and he is a great God, and fit to be waited on, though he come not presently. AVe think it is a matter of state, because of the distance that there is between one and another, to make them stay; why should we think much that we should wait upon the great and infinite God? And, perhaps, you pray and find no benefit; it is fit for you to wait upon God. There is an infinite distance between God and you; seek and wait till he comes.

There are many motives to continue seeking God.

1. That in so continuing to seek, we are doing our duty. This is a vei’y great evil among many; they are praying and seeking God, but they only ha•e their eyes upon what they shall get by seeking God, and if nothing comes of it, then they are discontented; whereas the mere consideration that in patient seeking thou art doing thy duty, should be enough to quiet thy heart.

2. Thou certainly canst not be better engaged than in seeking God. Whither wilt thou go? If thou leavest seeking God thou turnest from thine own mercy to vanity. And hast thou a temptation to leave off seeking God? shalt thou get any thing by it? Certainly thou canst not do better, and therefore seek the Lord, “seek the Lord till he come.” Isa. xxx. 18, is a most excellent scripture to uphold the heart in seeking God, though God do not seem to come: “The Lord is a God of judgment; blessed are they that wait for him.” You have not judgment, you know not when it is a fit time that things should be done; but “the Lord is a God of judgment,” he knows how to do things in judgment, and therefore “blessed are they that wait for him.” Think of this, and deny your own judgments and your own thoughts, and know that you are waiting upon the Lord, who is “a God of judgment,” infinitely wise, to come to his people in a fit season, and to come so that at last you would not wish that he had come sooner.

3. All the while you are waiting, God is working good. We are waiting at men’s doors, and they take no notice of it; but if we knew, all the time we are waiting, that our petition were reading and they in consultation about it, and we were only detained for the issue of the consultation, it would satisfy us. And so a gracious heart may be assured of this. Hast thou sought the Lord in the truth of thy heart? The thing is not come yet, but ever since thou hast sought the Lord, the heart of God has been thinking of that thing which thou soughtest him for, and wilt not thou go on to seek God still, till he doth come?

4. While thou art seeking God, thou art not altogether without some dews. Indeed God does not come and rain in showers that righteousness which he will hereafter, but surely thou hast dews, thou hast some encouragements; do not slight those dews of God’s grace which thou art receiving, for then thou mayst stay the longer before the showers of righteousness come; rather prize the dews, and the showers of righteousness will come the sooner. Many Christians, though they have many dews of God’s gi’ace upon their hearts to refresh them, yet, because they have not showers, think they have nothing. What! hast thou no dews of grace? what is it that keeps thy heart so tender as it is? thou wouldst not for a thousand worlds wilfully sin against God: certainly, if thy heart were hardened the truths of God would not so aflfect it. Indeed the ra’n comes in a visible manner; yea, but there are dews of grace that come in a secret way: thou dost not, indeed, see the comings in of those dews of grace upon thy heart, yea, but others may see their effect.

5. When the Lord does come, he w’ill come more fully a great deal. It is recorded of Glover, the martyr, that when he had been seeking God for the raining of righteousness, and become willing to give his life for God, and yet God had absented himself from him, he complained to his fellow, Austin, that God was not come. Well, but, saith his friend, he will come; and give me a sign before you die, if you feel the Spirit of God come to your heart. The poor man was to be burnt the next day, and continued all night in seeking God, and yet he came not; yea, the sheriff came to carry him to the stake, and his heart still remained dead. But he went on till he came within view of the stake, and then the Hoi)’ Ghost came into his heart, and filled him with joy, so that he lifted up his hands and voice, and cried, He is come, he is come. Now there came a shower of righteousness upon his heart; he was content to seek the Lord till he came.

Obs. 20. Those who are content to seek God till he come, his coming will be to them with plentiful showers in raining righteousness. Oh how many cursed apostates are there that will curse themselves one day for not continuing to seek God till he came! Perhaps some here have had some convictions of conscience, and because they have not had encouragement, presently they have become discouraged; and so thou hast basely gone back, and now God has left thee, and thou art become a base, useless hypocrite, a dishonour and a disgrace to religion, and all because thou wouldst not stay till God came. Oh! but others have staid God’s time, and God came at length so fully that now they bless his name that they did stay. I remember I have read of Columbus, who first discovered the West Indies, that his men were even weai-y, he was so long in sailing, and so they resolved they would return back again; so all their labour had been lost. But Columbus came to them with all entreaties to go on a little time, and at length prevailed with them to continue the voyage but three days longer. So they were content

to venture tluce days, and within those thiee days they began to see land, and so discovered those parts of the world of which before we linew nothing. Now, what a miserable thing had it been if they had come back and lost all their voyage! Thus it is with many a soul sailing towards heaven and eternal life. Thou hast been a long time tossed up and down in the waves of the sea, the waves of temptation and of trouble, and thou thinkest it Ls best to return: oh! stay a while, do not limit thy pursuit to three days, but go on; it might haply be said of some, that had they proceeded in their voyage but tluee days more, they might have come and seen, whcreai now they have lost all. Oh, “seek the Lord” then, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.”

Obs. 21. The help of those who seek God is from heaven. “Till become and rain.” They do not so much c xpect help from the creature as from heaven, to it they look up tor their help. AMien all comforts in creaturi;s fail, they look upwards and there see their help.

Obs. 22. The eflfect of God’s coming to his people after seeking, is to make them fruitful; “till he come and rain righteousness;” that is the end of the mercy of God in coming to people. It may be you would have God come; but wherefore? to bring comfort unto you? No, the end of God’s coming to his saints is to make them fruitful. And this would be an argument of the sincerity of your hearts in seeking God: when you are seeking him, what do you seek hnn for? only for comfort, and peace, and to ease you from troubles? Yea, but do you seek God that you may be fruitful? The hypocrites seek to have grace that they may have comfort, but the godly seek comfort that they may have grace no it is, that God may “rain righteousness.” I am i,« M dry ground, oh that God would come with the influence of his grace to make me fruitful in the works of holiness! Many of you would have comfort, (as now in these days men’s ears are altogether set upon comfort,) but is your comfort the showers of God? does it make the seeds of righteousness fructify in your hearts? Certainly you can have little comfort in that which is not, as rain from heaven, to bring up the fruits of righteousness in your hearts and in your lives.

Obs. 23. God’s coming with blessings upon those who seek him, is righteousness; that is, the good that they have as a fruit of seeking of him, is the fulfilling of God’s word, for which God’s faithfulness was engaged. Jesus Christ had purchased it by his blood, and they had before a bond for whatever good they received from God.

This consideration should much help us, both in our seeking God, and in the enjoyment of our comforts. AVhen we are seeking God we are not seeking him merely as for a gratuity. Though in reference to us it is only free grace, but to Christ it is righteousness, it is that which Christ has purchased. Therefore saith St. John, “If we confess our sins,” he does not say, God is merciful to forgive them, but “God is faithful and just to forgive our sins,” 1 John i. 9. And so, when you receive a mercy from God, you are not to look upon it as a mere alms, though in reference to yourselves indeed it is so; but in reference to Christ, your Head, it is righteousness, it is that which Christ Las purchased, that which God gives you as a fruit of his ftiithfuhiess, as well as of his own free grace: when thou art seeking of God let not the eye of thy faith be only u])on the grace and mercy, but upon the very righteousness, of God.

Obs. 24. Though the good we do results in our own benefit, yet God rewards it as if he gained by it. God makes promises to us, that if we do thus and thus we shall enjoy such and such mercies. “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reaj) in mercy.” AATien we sow, God gives us leave to aim at ourselves; but yet when God comes to reward us, he rewards us as if it were

only for him and not for ourselves, he rewards us in ways of righteousness.

And thus much for these words, raining righteousness. God has ram of another kind for the wicked and ungodly: “Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest,” Psal. xi. 6.

Ver. 13. Ye have ploughed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of ties: became thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

Notwithstanding all exhortations, and all offers of mercy, yet you have gone quite contrary, saith the prophet. Instead of breaking from your iniquities, you have ploughed them.

“Ye have ploughed wickedness;” that is, you have taken pains to jjropagate that which is evil, both in yourselves and others. That is the ploughing of wickedness. “The ploughing of the wicked is sin,” Prov. xxi. 4; that is, their endeavours, their labour is especially for the furtherance of sin, the very strength of their spirits is let out for the promotion of their wickedness. So Job iv. 8, “Even as I have seen, they that plough iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same:” to plough means to endeavoiu: and labour for iniquity, for so the word win here translated “to plough,” signifies, to frame, work, or endeavour any thing with all our might. You have set yoiu- hearts altogether upon this work of furthering wickedness, in thinking of it, in plotting about it, in stirring up of one another, and doing all you can in your endeavours for the furtherance of wickedness.

Y’ea, you have been willing to go through all difficulties to accomplish your wicked intentions; as we read in Micah vii. 3, a scripture which shows remarkably the strong endeavours of wicked men after theh sin, they “do evil with both hands earnestly.” It is a very strange text; they are willing to take pains and to put forth all their energies in their sins.

Oh how many are there who take more pains to go to hell, than others do that go to heaven! they will so struggle and suffer for their sins, be willing to break with then- friends, to venture their estates, to hazard their healths, to accomplish their sinful lusts; yea, to do any thing in the world, to compass their wickedness. Y’et will they not plough for God, but complain of any little difficulty in his ways; whilst no difHculty in the ways of sin can deter them. Oh what a w ickeil and wretched heart is this, to be offended with every difficulty in God’s ways, and yet be content to endure all bitterness in the ways of sin! Oh that we were but as instrumental for God, and willing to plough as hard for him, as others do for sin! “‘hen you shall come to the, and to reap the fruit of your labour, what terror do you think will this be, when your consciences tell you that you have taken more pains in the ways of wickedness than ever you did in the ways of God! As Cardinal Wolsey exclaimed when he was about to die. Oh 1 had I but served God as diligently as 1 have served the king, he would not have deserted me in my grey hairs. So when you come to die, and your consciences say, Oh that I had but broken as much sleep for prayer and seeking of God; oh that I had but ventured my estate, and name, as much in the ways of God as in the ways of sin! it had been happy for me; is it possible that any of you can die in peace, when your consciences shall tell you that you never took those pains for God which you have done for sin? In a good motion for God, if others engage you will join, but you will not ])lough hard for it; but in thin that are suitable to your own lusts, you will not onlyjom with others, but move it yourself, and plough hard for it. Oh what a pity is it, that men’s parts and strength

should be so expended on that which is evil! How instrumental might men of active spirits be for God if their necks were but in God’s yoke! but they, all the days of their lives, have their necks in the devil’s yoke, and are ploughing continually for him, and they will reap accordingly.

Now this ploughing wickedness refen’ed especially to their false worship; there they endeavoured strenuously, they ploughed hard to get up theii’ false worship, their worship at Dan and Beth-el, and not to go to Jerusalem to worship.

“Ye have ploughed wickedness.” You do not hear of any sowing; for the truth is, there needs no sowing for wickedness, there needs but the preparation; do but plough, that is, do but prepare the ground, and wickedness will come up of itself. When you plough righteousness you must sow the seeds of righteousness.

“Ye have reaped iniquity.” That is, you have your heart’s desire, you have brought about your own ends, you have what you ploughed for. Sometimes men plough and take a great deal of pains in that which is evil, and God crosses them; but at other times God lets them reap; that is. You labour to promote such a thing, though it be not according to God’s mind, and it may be God will let you have it; well, you plough for it, and you shall have it: and dost thou bless thyself in that? Oh, woe to thee! it is a woeful harvest that thou hast. It is a fearful curse for any to have their heart’s desires in their sin satisfied. It were a thousand times better that thy ploughing were to no purpose at all, that all thy labom’s and endeavom’s were quite lost: thou art loth to lose thy endeavours in the ways of sin, but it were a thousand times better that thy endeavours were all lost than that thou shouldst attain that which thou ploughest for.

But I find the word nnS^jf here i-endered “iniquity,” is used also in Scripture to signify, the punishment of iniquity; the Hebrews having the same word to signify sin, and the punishment of sin.

Or thus, which I think the Holy Ghost somewhat aims at, You plough M’ickedness, and reap iniquity. The ploughing was for theu- false worship, and their reaping was iniquity. I beseech you here

Obs. 1. The fruit of false worship is the increase of sin in a nation. “Ye have ploughed wickedness,” for so afterwards it is called, the “great wickedness;” and the fruit of that is the increase of much sin, it brings forth a harvest for sin. When men have striven to set up any false worship, and succeeded, what is the fruit? There grows presently a formality in religion, men have a religion, and yet they enjoy their lusts; for the true worship of God alone will not stand with men’s lusts, therefore when men set up any kind of false worship, this will be the fruit, there will be a formality in religion, and this will please men exceeding well, for they can live in worldliness and licentiousness. And verUy, my brethren, one main thing that makes carnal, loose hearts contend so much for a loose kind of worship, is that they may have so much the more liberty to sin. Endeavouring for this kind of evil will result in the reaping of iniquity.

“Ye have eaten the fruit of lies.” What are those lies of the which they eat the fruit?

1. Those arguments by which they justified themselves in theu- iniquity. Yea, but they are but the fruit of lies. They would set up a way of false worship, but they would have some reasons for it, they would have some arguments to defend it, and those, oh, how they hugged and closed with them; and let any one bring and show them that such a thing may be proved thus and thus by such an ai’gument, now, because they had a mind to the thing, then- hearts closed upon those arguments; and they fed upon it, it did them good at their hearts.

2. The comforts which they had fi-om their false worship. In the’ way that you set up you have a great deal of comfort, and you are very glad that it thrives. It is but a lie, saith God.

3. The hopes they entertained when their false worship was established. They had such hopes that all should be so well, and that there should be no more trouble between them and Jerusalem. But you feed upon lies, saith God.

4. The interpretation of God’s dealings, m blessing them in their false worship. All kind of outward blessings which they had they interpreted as the goodness of God to them for that which they had done: as that is usual in places where there is any tiling in matters of religion altered, though it be not right, yet you shall have men that are for that way, whatever blessing comes upon a nation, they will interpret it as the fruit of that. Yea, but this will come to nothing.

5. The false reports that they raised against those who oj)posed then- false worship. There were many that would not yield to their modes of false worship, and upon that reports were raised concerning them, what kind of men they were, and what they had done; and when these reports were brought to them of the other way, they did them good at then- hearts. Yea, but “ye have eaten the fruit of lies:” many men’s breakfasts, and dinners, and suppers, are nothing else but “lies.” Surely, now, this will breed no good nourishment. And why is it that we have such a deal of ill blood amongst us? Simply because that men have such coarse food.

“Because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.” Israel, the ten tribes, had two great confidences, that are expressed in this latter part of the verse.

I. In their way; that is, in the way of religion that they had chosen for themselves, and which was distinct from the way of Judah, from the true worship of God.

II. In their mighty men; that is, the power they had in their state.

These are two great confidences of people.

I. Confidence in their way. “Thou didst trust in thy way.” They were confident that was right, and were not willing to hear any thing to the contrary: and if they did, yet their hearts were so biased by their false worship, that any thing that was said to the contrary was nothing to them; they were very confident that no one could say any thing to purpose against them; No, we have so many understanding, learned men for. this way, no question it is right, none but a company of silly, weak men, follow any other course.

Thus they trusted and pleased themselves in their way, and sought to harden themselves and one another in it. They have got the day, they have, doubtless, laid all upon then- backs who have opposed them; there is a great deal more reason for this than for any other procedure; there is no way of peace to the state, to the kingdom, but this; that which others would have, namely, to go to Jerusalem to worship, is most unreasonable. Yea, they think that God is well pleased with their devices, and that they do good service in opposing and persecuting those who are not of their way. Thus they trust in their way.

Obs. 2. That which is a man’s own way he is very ready to trust in, and to esteem highly. We have for this a notable scripture in the book of Judges, chap. ii. 19, expressing well the strength of spirit that is in men when then- way is’of their own devising; “They ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.” I beseech you observe this, it is buf a difi’erent expression, oun doings, and oun tcaij; the doings were their own, such things as they had contrived to themselves, their own way; and then they ceased not from

4d6

them, they were stubborn in them because they were their own. “The way of a fool is rifht in his own eyes; but he that liearkeneth unto counsel is wise,” Prov. xii. 15. “A fool,” one that understands a little, yet if the way be his o«ti, he will not heai-ken to counsel, he tliiuks he needs not counsel with any; he is so strong in it because it is his own way. It is a hard thing to get men out of their own contrivances in matters of religion: and therefore what God saith of all the heathen, in Jer. ii. 10, 11, is observable; “Pass over the isles of Cliittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.” No nation but God“s own people would change their gods; why? because the gods of the nations were of thcii- own making. Men adhere strongly to their own inventions. “Thou didst trust in thy way.” As when an object is too near the eye, the eye is not able to see it, so as to discern the evil that may be in it; so the evil that is near oneself, very near, that is one’s own, it is very hard to see. If a man’s heart be engaged in a way of his own, he will be ready to father it upon God himself, and say. It is God’s way; and he will be ready to think that all other ways, different from his, are men’s own.

None are more ready to charge others with jiride than the proud; and none more ready to charge others of adhering to their own way, than those who most stick to their own conceits: it is one mark of such a man’s heart, to think that whosoever differs from him, is perversely stubborn in his own conceits and his own ways.

It is difficult to make such will-worshippers acknowledge that their ways are of their own devising; but however men may attempt to deceive themselves or others, and even ascribe to God their own inventions, yet the Lord will one day discover all their ways, and show how much of their- own is in them. We have a notable text for that in Prov. xxi. 2, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth” or weigheth “the hearts.” Mark, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts:” that is, Though we choose ways to ourselves, and think they are right, and are ready to declare that our ways are God’s ways, that we may justify ourselves so much the more; but saith the te.lt, “the Lord pondereth the hearts;” that is, God weighs exactly how much there is of his own, and how much there is of our own in it. Oh! it were a happy tiling if ■wc were able to do so; it is a great part of the skill of a Christian to be able so to ponder his own ways, as to knovy how much of God and how much of himself is in a thing. Very few in the world know this; there is scarce any action that the best of us do, but there is somewhat of self in it, somewhat of God it may be, and somewhat of self; but now hero is the skill, to be able to weigh how much of God and how much of ourselves is in an action. Your goldsmiths can presently tell you how much gold and silver is in a vessel, but an unskilful man looks upon it and thinks it all gold. Oh! it were an excellent skill to be able in all our actions thus to ponder all our ways, to know how much of God and how much of ourselves is in them; it is for want of this sjjiritual discei-nment that we miscarry so often. “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth,” God weighs men’s action’s, to see how much of himself and how much of us there is in them.

But now, then, is it so, that it is in the hearts of men to trust so much in their own way, because it is their own? Oh wjiat a shame is it, thcii, that we should iiul have our heaits close with, and trust in, God’s way! Let a way be never so bae and vile, yet if it be a

man’s own, his heart closes with it, and trusts, and is strong in it: oh, then, when the way is apjiarcntly God’s, why should we be so fickle and unsteady as we arc almost always in it? Make but the way of religion to be thine own, and then thou wilt be strong enough in it; but till that time comes, till we have given u]) our wills to the will of God, and we have made God’s will to be our own will, we arc never likely to be strong in the ways of God. When there is but one will between God and us, when God’s interest is our interest, when God’s glory is our glory, then shall we become strong. Oh! happy .Ti-e they w ho have so given up themselves to God, that they look upon their own good to be more in God than in themselves: to look upon one’s own good, and will, and the comforts of our hearts, and the happiness of ow lives, to be more in God than in ourselves, is the work of grace that leads to perseverance in godliness. Thus it is between man and wife; when the wife comes to make the will of her husband her own, then she loves him strongly, and constantly: so when God’s will is made to be our own, then we will follow God’s will strongly, and shall persevere in it.

II. Confidence in their mighty men; “in the multitude of thy mighty men.” This made them very confident in their way: why, they had an army to back them, they had an ai-my to fight for them, to maintain that way of theirs, they had countenance from men of power, they had strength enough to crush any that should oppose them.

Obs. 3. When the outward strength of a kingdom goes along with a way of religion, men think it must needs be right, and that all its opponents are but weak men. Mark the connexion: “Thou didst trust in thy way;” that is, (as I find it generally interpreted,) their way of religion; and then “in the multitude of thy mighty men;” these two are put together: and generally men will ti’ust in, and incline thus to, the strongest side, and the scale would turn were the strength of the mighty men to go another way; as now, suppose that the strength of the kingdom of the ten tiibes had resolved to go up to Jerusalem to worship, and not to worship at Dan and Beth-el, do you think there would have been almost any considerable party that would not have gone up to Jerusalem, but worshipped at Dan and Beth-cl? but when the strength of the kingdom held the other way, when the mighty men and the way of religion countenanced each other, the generality of the peoi)le went that way that the mighty men went. This IS the vanity and the exceeding evil of men’s hearts, that which way soever the mighty men go, that way they will trust in. There are very few who will deliberately say, I will go that way in which I sec the mighty men; but there is a secret bias which inclines the minds of men to hearken to what may be said for that way, and not willingly to listen to what may be said for another. It is such a bias as makes them w iUing and ready to let in any probability; if there be but the least probability for the way m which the mighty men go, they take in that, and that makes way for another and another likelihood; and so, imbibing more and more, they become so confirmed for that way, as to put off the strength of any thing that can be said against it, except it be so apparent, as that they must be forced to sin against their consciences directly if they listen not to it. I say, when the spirits of men arc biased by seeing the strength of the kingdom go in a way, though (perhaps) they may lay some good at their hearts, yet there is that corruption in man’s heart, that except we can make the other way so clear, that, notwithstanding all possible shifts and every kind of reasoning, they shall be so self-condemned, th.it ihiir own consciences shall tell them they go directly against their light, I say, except we can come thus, we cannot prevail with men’s hearts, when t!-uj

Vet.. 13.

THE TROPHECY OF HOSEA.

sway of a kingdom goes another way. And there are many truths of God that concern his worship, which cannot be made so clear but that a man may have such a diversion to satisfy his conscience in this, That I in going another way do not go against my conscience: God would have us adopt that which is most likely to be his mind, without any consideration of any outward respects. Oh how will outward respects turn the balance! In Rev. xiii. 3, when power and authority were given to antichrist, “all the world wondered after the beast.” So it is ordinarily, that way which the mighty men go men’s hearts will generally follow. Oh the Uttle honom- that Jesus Christ has by us! Our hearts arc swayed for the most part by carnal arguments and carnal motives.

Obs. 4. Great armies are the confidence of carnal hearts. “In the multitude of thy mighty men.” AVhen they can get together a great army of a multitude of mighty men, let there be never such threats in the word, yet if they think they have strength enough to bear them out, they bless themselves therein. Oh! let us take heed of this carnal confidence. Through God’s mercy the Lord has given us now, that we have the multitude of mighty men on our side; let us take heed that our faith do not ebb and flow with our armies. I will give you one scripture that shows how far a gi’acious heart should be from making flesh his arm; “Cursed be the man,” saith Jer. xvii. 5, “that maketh flesh his arm.” And how far a godly man was from trusting in an army of mighty men, we have in 2 Chron. xiv. 11;” It is nothing” (saith Asa) “with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power.” Why, Lord, though we havQ no power, yet thou canst help us. Wiy did Asa speak thus? Had he no power? You shall find in the chapter a little before, that Asa had five hunch’ed and fourscore thousand valiant fighting men, almost six hundred thousand, at the very time when he is pleading with God, “Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power.” We account it a great army if we have twenty, or thirty, or forty thousand men; he has almost six hundred thousand men, and yet goes to God and prays, Lord, thou canst help where there is no power.

But yet further, from the connexion of these two, their trust in their way, and in the multitude of their mighty men: from thence,

06s. 5. Those who trust to any way of their own, had need of creatiu-e strengths to uphold them. They had indeed need of bladders under their arm-holes, if they trust in a way of their own. But now, if the way in which a man confides be the way of God, why then, though all outward helps and all worldly encouragements should fail him, though we should see the creatures at never so great a distance, yet the heart that puts its trust in God has enough to uphold it; here is the difi’erence between men trusting in their own way, and in God’s. Indeed when men trust in their own way, so long as the sun shines upon their path, and they have external helps, they can go on confidently; but let outward helps fail, and thcu- hearts sink within them.

But now, when the heart is upright with God, and trusts in the word and promises, then it is able to say with Habakkuk, chap. iii. 17, “-Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall 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.” AVhatsocver becomes of armies, and of the policy of men, of friends, and all outward things, yet I will bless myself in the Lord, and bless the time that ever I knew God and his ways; my heart yet is confident it is the way of God,

and upon this his way I can venture my state, my liberty, my life, yea, and my soul; let all things seem to be ‘under a cloud, and never so dismal, yet my heart is steady, and is fixed in this way of God into which the Lord God graciously has drawn my heart.

Oh, this is an excellent thing. Examine your hearts in this respect, whether, when at any time you have seen things go very cross, your hearts have not shaken.

I remember an observation which some make about John the Baptist. After he was cast into prison, he sends two of his disciples to know whether Christ were the Jlcssias, or no; they think that though before he was cast into prison he did know that he was so; “Behold the Lamb of God!” but when once he came to suff’crings, there was some shaking of his spirit. So it is ofttimes with men, when things do somewhat shine upon them, and they have some outward encouragements, they go on, and are persuaded that their way is right; but when things fall cross, and the hearts of men are opposed, and they are like to meet with more evils than ever they made account of, then they begin to call things into question, and ask. Is this the right way? Oh! it is a sign that there was much failing ia thy heart at first, when in the time of outward afflictions thou comest to call in question whether it be tha way of God or not.

Yer. 14. Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all tJiy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle: the mother icas dashed in pieces upon her children.

As if the prophet should say. You have the militia on your side, and you think you shall be able to cU’ive on your design, as having all the strength with you: but what if there should be seditious tumults within you? what though the power of the enemy without come not upon you, cannot God work your ruin in a way that you think not of? Oh how suddenly may God suflTer the discontentments of people to break forth into rage and fury, so that intestine tumults shall arise, and bring all into the most miserable confusion!

Obs. 1. Tumults are a token of the great wrath of God on a city or country. “Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people;” a threatening of God’s severe wrath against these people, who were so confident in their way. A man may avoid external dangers to his body, but a distemper within may be his death. Fearful miseries come upon cities and countries when tumults arise: these two things have been their main cause:

1. Great oppressions.

2. Engaging numerous parties in matters controversial.

These conjoined are very dangerous, for men will carry on what they have begun, if once they be engaged in it. To engage’ a rude multitude in a business, especially if it be controversial, is a very dangerous thing; for we know not what they may do to pursue and follow their engagements. AVhen the rauhitude is in a rage, they are like a tiled house on fii-e, which you cannot approach when once the flaiues have reached the tiles, as they fly so about your face: so in tumults, there is no com’ing near to talk to them, to convince them, but they are ready to fly presently upon you. And none are so cruel as the vilest of people when they are got together in a head: men of no blood care not what blood they shed. “A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food,” Prov. xxviii. 3. Oppressions are great, the evil of tyranny is very great; but the evil of tumults is still greater. We see it many times in men of mean rank, sometimes in those committees which some of you complain of. Now men could bear oppression a great

deal more easily from those who are much above them, but the oppression of our equals, or of abjects, is intolerable; if they come to get power any way, they are likely to be more oppressive than others. We have cause to bless God for delivering of us from tumults in this respect.

I might show you most dreadful examples of tumults in history. Josephus speaks of many, for when God was at last about to destroy the Jews by the Romans, their utter ruin was prepared by tumults and seditions among themselves. In his second Book of the Jewish Wars, chap. 11, he speaks of one Eleazar and Alexander that raised a tumult, and murdered as they went men, women, and children, and so made havoc of the countiy, that the nobles of Jerusalem were fain to come out clothed with sackcloth and ashes upon their heads, to beseech them that they would have pity ujjon their country, and upon their wives and children, and upon the temple; the nobles, with sackcloth and ashes upon their heads, came to assuage the rage of this tumult, so gi-ievous was it. And in his sixth Book, chap. 11, he saith, that being in some straits for food, if any places in the city had their doors shut U]). the)- suspected that there was meat in them, and would presently break in, and seize whosoever they found by the throat, so as to force the meat half chewed out of their very mouths; and if any of them should let it go down before they could lay hold on their throats, they would use them most cruelly for doing so. And in another place he saith. that the citizens suffered so much by them, that when the enemies took the city they thought it rather a relief than an increase to their misery. My brethren, we should rather bear much than foment tumults; take heed of that, you know not what the end of such things will be. In Amos ii. 2, it is said, “Moab shall die with tumult;” and here, “A tumult shall arise among thy people.”

“Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people.” When God intends utterly to destroy a people, he suffers tumults to arise among them, as one of his sorest scourges. I find some take the word “tumult” to refer primarily, if not altogether, to the confusion of the hearts of people, when the enemies should come upon them, that they should be all in a confusion, not knowing what to do through fear and terror. As suppose on a sudden an army should come against a city, people would be wringing their hands, and running up and down from place to place, pale and terror-stricKen, and confounded in theii’ minds. Thus God threatens it should be with them. As if he should say, You are jolly and brave now, but when the A.ssyrians come upon you, then shall your hearts fail, and terror and perjilexity shall possess you, your women and yoiuchildren shall erj- out for fear, and you shall-be unable to aid them. This is the sense which some give it, but the former is not to be rejected.

It is a mercy that God lias not tried us thus: we live in our houses, and follow our tradings, and lie down and sleep in quietness, and rise again; but we cannot imagine what woeful distractions there would be in the spirits of people in the city, if there were a considerable army encamped round about it. Perhaps some of you here have been in places where the enemies have come suddenly, so that you know what this tumult in the spirits of men and women means. Bless God (I say) that the Lord has delivered us from such tumults as these. The power and providence of God in the government of the world by a few, so keeping the people from tumults, and from bringing all to confusion, are to be acknowledged, and his name to be sanctified.

The word pse translated “tumult,” seems indeed to import this, signifying, the crying of fearful creatures, of those that are terrified and scared. Oh! it is a great mercy for men to be so stablished that, in the appreliensioii of dangers, they can find their hearts unperplexed, being stayed upon God. Of a righteous man it is said in Psal. cxii. 7, “He shall not be airaid of evil tidings: hi.s heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord:” but it is a still greater blessing, when we see the armies before us, and hear the neighings of horses and clattering of the s])ears, then to be fixed. Oh! ve should labour in the time of peace to make our calling and election sure. In Psal. lvii. 7 — 9, “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise. Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. I will praise thee, O Lord,” &c. M’hen does David thus cry to awake, and to give glory to God, and sing praise, and declai-e that his licart was fixed y When Saul persecuted him, and he was in danger of his life: Saul pursued him to take away his life, yet, even then, saith IJavid, “My heart is fixed, O God, mv heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” So in Psal. xlvi. 2, 3, “We will not 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 Selah.” This P.salm was wont to be called Luther’s Psalm, for in times of trouble he would say. Come and let us sing the 46th Psalm. Many scriptures we might cite to this pur))0se. Of Archimedes the mathematician it is recorded, that when the city of SjTacuse was taken, he continued, in the midst of the sack and carnage, intent upon the drawing of his lines, so that when the soldiers burst in on him with their naked swords he was drawing his mathematical figures. AVhich of you, if at prayer, or any serious duty, you should hear of the breaking in of adversaries, could have your hearts at such a time fixed in a settled, constant way uj)on God.

As outward tumults in cities and countries are very great evils, so are likewise spiritual tumults in the heart, when God seems to come against the soul as an enemy, or the apprehension of his absence causes trouble and distraction of the heart. Thus in Psal. xl. 2, “He brought me up also” (saith the psalmist) “out of an honible pit.” Now the word is in the original the very same that we have j.],,^ ,,^^uiSt here, from the pit of tumultuousness. It is as if he should say. My heart was sometimes fixed indeed, but at other times it was in a tumultuous condition, when I apprehended God not coming in according as I expected; yea, but the Lord did bring me up out of the pit of tumultuousness. Oh! has not this been the condition of some of you in time of trouble of your spirit, when you have apprehended the absence of God from you? Your hearts have been all in a tumult; has the Lord delivered you? Remember the Psalm, “The Lord has brought me up also out of the jiit of tumultuousness;” I was in a tumultuous condition, my heart was even overwhelmed, but the Lord has delivered me out of the pit of tumultuousness. And then in Psal. lxi. 2, “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when mv heart is overwliclmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Remember that scripture likewise.

“And all thy fortresses shall be spoiled.” What are strong holds for the safeguard of a people, when the strong God is against them? You have made lines and fortifications, yea, but the strong God is against you. •’ All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the first-ripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater,” Nah. iii. 12.

And now, my brethren, blessed be God we know this scrii)ture to be true in a way of mercy, God has made our enemies so to us; and not in a way of judgment: God might have made our strong holds so to them, this scripture might have been fulfilled thus, “All thy fortresses shall be spoiled,” that is, though we have

THE PKOPHJi-CY OF HOSEA. made fortresses, we might have heard, first of this and then of the other strong hold in such a place having been spoiled, this castle and the other castle taken, and we might have even been amazed with the news, and have said. How does God fight against us, that though we had such strong holds, and men enough to man them, yet for all that they have been but as “the first-ripe figs,” which, “if they be shaken, even fall into the mouth of the eater! “How were our hearts dejected when we heard but of one strong hold (Bristol) being taken from us. But I say, through God’s mercy, this summer the Lord has made this text good unto “us; all thy strong holds, not all ours, but all the enemies’, how have they been spoiled generally! Oh! the Lord has appeared glorious this way, and has made this last summer to be a continual miracle of mercy to us in this very respect. “All thy fortresses shall be spoiled.”

“As Shalman spoUed Beth-arbel.”

Jerome reads it, As Salmana was destroyed by the house of him that vindicated Baal in the day of battle. And so all that follow the Vulgate refer this to the story that we have in Judg. viii., where Gideon slew Zalmunna the prince of Jlidian; and so they take Aibel as an abbreviation for Jerubbaal. The Holy Ghost seems to make that great judgment of God upon Zalmunna to be exemplary, as in Psal. Ixxxiil. 11, ‘• Make all theii- princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna;” but

■-, I,, the letters m the Hebrew here are differ-

he did use very much severity upon Zebah and Zalmunna, that he dashed the mother upon the children.

Luther thinks it is meant of some notable act of cruelty upon some place very near to them, the particulars whereof we have not recorded in Scriptui’e. Indeed the name Beth-arbel we find not in the canonical Scripture; but in 1 Mace, ix.2, such a place is mentioned, which afterwards became very famous for the great overtlu’ow which Alexander the Great gave to Darius: so that it is as if the Holy Ghost should say, Did you not hear of that horrid, savage slaughter, which Shalman caused in Beth-arbel, when the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children? they regarded not sex nor condition, the tender-hearted mother, embracing her children, was dashed in pieces upon them: such dicadful wrath of God your Beth-el may expect.

t i<3 Beth-arbel signifies the house of the

domis del insidiiio- insnariug god, the god of policy and subtlety. It seems the people that called this city by this name, had a god which they honoured as the god of subtlety; and they trusted in it, expecting that thereby all their enemies would be insnared. Therefore called they their city Beth-arbel, the house of the insnaring god. But now this would not do, the more they sought by subtlety to undermine their enemies, the more were then’ enemies enraged; and therefore when they came upon them they spoiled them, and dashed the mother upon her own childi-eu. Vie might from this very word,

Obs. 2. “We should not think by our plots and policies to prevail, if God be against us. Do not think to put off God by plots and policies, and to avoid dangers that way: this people did so, because they had a Beth-arbel, a gud of policy, they thought to prevail, but their misery was so much the greater. ^lothers and childi’en were da.shed in pieces one against another. If you make Arbel, policy, to be your god, you may expect so much the more the rage of God, and of the insti’umcnts of his wrath against you.

And let men take heed how they seek to deceive and cozen other men, for there is no such way to encourage one man against another, as to attempt to undcnnine him by policy: deal not so with your friends, acquaintance, and neighbours, you will encourage them so much the more.

Obs. 3. When God lets out the fury and rage of war, the cruelty is great. “The mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.” We read in Psal. cxxxvii., concerning idolaters, that when the Lord lets out his wrath upon the parents, he will let it out upon the childien too; “Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.” It is a very strange phrase. And in Isa. xiii. 16, “Theu- children also shall be dashed to pieces before then- eyes.” I remember, Ursine, in his comment on that place of Isaiah, quotes this 137th Psalm; and he has first this note, That though God does thus execute his wrath, yet usually, because it is so dreadful, and there is so much savageness in the thing in man’s eye, therefore God is wont to do it by wicked men, and we never read that he made use of his own saints to execute that wrath. And then to that doubt. Is it not said in the Psalm, “Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones?” which words seem to approve of the deed; he, and Calvin, and others, answer thus. That it means not that they are blessed in their persons, or heirs of eternal blessings of mercy; but it is a prophetical wish that they might have the blessing of success in the work, as an execution of God’s wrath and God’s justice: though the instruments did it to execute their savage cruelty, and so sinned in it; yet the prophet looks upon the justice of God in it, and, speaking in the spirit of prophecy, wishes success to them in such a work, that the justice of God may go on and have its course.

Obs. 4. The sins of parents ofttimes come upon theii’ childi-en. What has the poor infant done? Oh! you tender-hearted mothers, consider of this, how far your sin may reflect upon your childi-en. If ever you should see bloody soldiers to come in in a terrible way, (as sometimes you have apprehended,) and they should dash you upon your childi-en, consider it is your sin that has done it.

But you will say, Shall the childi-en sufifer for the fathers’ sin?

Do not we read that God will visit the sins of idolaters mito the third and fourth generation? In/leed were yom- children innocent, had they no original sin, then it were another matter; but now, considering they have enough in them to make them subjects of God’s WTath, God may take advantage the rather because of thy sin; and therefore take heed, and especially take heed to God’s worship, for we do not find in Scriptm”e where any children are so threatened as the childi’en of idolaters are.

Obs. 5. The judgments of God near to us shordd awaken us; we should think, Why may it not be upon ourselves? This was a heavy judgment of God upon some city near, and God would awaken them. Oh, what we have heard has been upon our brethi’en in other parts, and we have been sottish, and not sensible of it, because it has not just come upon our gates: the Lord expects when we hear of any dreadful evil upon others, that we should tremble and fear before him. And then one thing fm-ther note from hence:

“The mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.”

Shalman ^cStf signifies, one that is peaceable; one that is peaceable, and yet he shall exercise his cruelty so as to dash the mother upon her children :this is not one that bears cruelty in his name, not a tiger, but a Shalman, a peaceable man, as his name signifies, and yet thus cruel when he comes to have power!

Obs. 6. Men who have peace in their names, and peace in their mouths, and peace in show, yet when they come to have power oftentimes are very cruel. We” were like to have found it so; if our adversaries had prevailed, this city especially might have been made a

Beth-arbcl, and mothers dashed upon their children. It is true, when the adversaries did prevail in any place they did not do so, but it was not through any pity, but out of fear; but had they gotten the day, then we might have expected even dashing of the mother against the children.

Ver. 15. So shall Beth-el do unto you because of your great u-icliedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.

“So shall Beth-el do unto you.” AVhat! shall Beth-el rise up against the rest of the ten tribes, and come and destroy mother and children together? That is not the meaning.

But Beth-el shall do it; that is, Beth-el is the cause of this, that ch-eadful slaughter that is like to be among you, it shall come from Beth-el. AVTio would ever have thought that?

Obs. 1. Miserable judgments ofttimes arise from causes we little think of. From Beth-el should come this slaughter and dreadful bloodshed. iVnd as that more generally, so more particularly this:

Obs. 1. From places of idolatry come the greatest evils to kingdoms. As it is very observable, on the contrary, from the places of God’s worship comes the greatest good. So Psal. lxxvi. 2, 3, “In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling-place in Zion. There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle.” Did God break them there? Was there a fight in Zion, and in Salem? No, that is not the meaning, but in Zion and Salem, where God’s tabernacle was, those servants of God w’ho were there worshipping and praying to God, got the victory. So we may say, that in such a place, that was fasting and praying in the time of our battles, there God brake the arrow and the bow. Where the true worship of God is, from thence comes the good of a kingdom. And so in Isa. xxxi. 9, “Wiose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem.” The Lord is there threatening the enemies of his people, and he saith, that “his fire is in Zion, and his furnace is in Jerusalem;” there God has his furnace, and from thence it shall go to destroy the adversaries. And so, on the contrary, where idolatry is set up, and false worship maintained, from thence come evils and miseries upon us.

“Because of your great wickedness.”

The words arc, csnyn ryi ‘jso because of the wickedness of your wickedness; so the Hebrews express the superlative degree, by a genitive case, the evil of the evil, the wickedness of the wickedness.

Obs. 3. False worship is the great sin by which especially God is jjrovokcd against a people. Wience, let us not make light account of the worship of God, for how little soever God’s worship is in our eyes, yet in his sight it is a great matter; and though you think that the sins against God in the matter of his worship be but small, yet God saith, it is the “great wickedness,” it is the wickedness of wickedness. And great wickedness it may be called, not only in respect of its nature, but from its many attendant aggravations.

Obs. 4. God takes notice not only of men’s sins, but of the aggravation of their sins. Oh! let us do thus; not only look upon your sins and acknowledge yourselves to be sinners, but look upon the aggravations of your sins; This sin committed against so many mercies, so many prayers, and resolutions, arid vows, and covenants, and so many deliverances that I have had: labour to lay the aggravations of your sins upon your hearts; this is the way to humble them before the Lord. Indeed the saints of God need not seek to excuse their sins, they need not be afraid to lay them in all their aggravations on their hearts, in all their aggravations. Greaten your wickedness before the Lord; do

not, as ordinarily people do, extenuate your sins, for if there be any possible extenuation, Jesus Christ will find out that in his pleading. Christ is your advocate who sits at the right hand of the Father, and it is his work to plead your cause, and therefore if there can be any thing to extenuate a sin he will do it. You know that, in his sojoiu-n in this world, when his disciples did offend very much in that sleepiness of theirs, so that when their Master was to suffer they could net watch with him one hour, that sin might have been aggravated with abundance of circumstances, but saith Christ, “The miX. indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak,” Matt, xxvi. 41; he extenuates and excuses. Now that which Christ did there, he will be ready to do in heaven, for thou that art a saint.

Obs. 5. Wrath is proportioned to the greatness of the sin. Great wickedness and great wrath go together, and therefore according to the greatness of our sins should be the greatness of our humiliation. For so it is said of Manasses, that he humbled himself “greatly:” and in Lam. i. 20, where the church is humbling it.self before God for the great wickedness and the great wrath that was upon them; “Behold, O Lord; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled.”’ Mark, here you have these two points together; the church aggravates her sin, “I have grievously rebelled;” and what then? “O Lord; I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me.” Oh! remember this text, you whose consciences tell you of grievous rebellions.

“In a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.”

Now, to understand this, we must consider to what it refers, what king of Israel this was, and when this was fulfilled. It refers to the account in 2 Kings xvii., and the king of Israel here spoken of is Hoshea, Israel’s last king, therefore it is said that he shall “utterly be cut off;” for ho and all his family were utterly cut off, there was an end of the kingdom of Israel, that had continued so long provoking God. I have forborne, saith God, the kings of Israel a long time, but now they shall” utterly be cut off’’ in Hoshea.

Tills king of Israel’s spirit was stout enough against God and his prophets. My brethren, it is not the stoutness of the greatest men ujion earth to say, they will, and they will; yea, they will venture their lives and kingdoms. Why, if they will, God will too, he has a will as well as they; at length God’s will grows as strong as theu-s, and proceeds against them, and against their very families: “the king of Israel shall be utterly cut off.”

Kings of the earth suffer little from men. AVliat a brave thing is it for a man to be able to go up and down in countries, and rend, and tear, and opjiress, and bring thousands into woeful miseries and extremities, and yet be afraid to suffer nothing at all himself! Therefore it is fit for God to take in hand those men that are above the power of their fellow men; when men cannot deal with them, the Lord himself takes them in hand, and they are so much the more under the immediate justice of the infinite God.

“Shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.’’

But when shall this be? “In a morning.” There is a sad morning coming.

Cyril interprets it thus: God in his jiaticnce is compared to a man asleep, and in the execution of judgment he is said to awake; God brings his righteous judgments to light every morning. But that is a little too forced.

Secondly, “” In a morning;” that is, early, betimes. So in Jcr.’xxi. 12, “O house of David, thus saith the Lord; Execute judgment in the morning.” So the king of Israel shall be curly cut off; and indeed this king of Israel was early cut off, he did not reign above

eight or nine years at mo<t. God takes some in the morning of then’ time, in their youth, -n-hen their day is but as it were dawning; some sinners he apprehends sooner than others. “In a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.”

Thirdly, “In a morning;” that is, even when the light comes, when they have hopes of further good, then he shall “utterly be cut off;” which comes yet nearer and more full to the sense and scope of the Spirit of God here. And so if you read the story in the book of Kings, you find, when Hoshea was about to be cut oflf, he had entered into a league with the king of Egypt, and thought that now “a morning” would arise, and he should have a bravo day, and live many merry days now; and when he thought the light of this morning was beginning to dawn, God came to cut him off.

Obs. 6. ‘^^’^len people think that now light is breaking out, after a long night of darkness, then God’s displeasm’e breaks forth upon them. We cannot but acknowledge that the Lord has granted us a morning light, but let us fear and tremble, for the time of God’s displeasure is sometimes in the morning. When we think we have light breaking forth, God may have other ways to bring darkness upon us than we are aware of; we know how dreadful a day it was with Sodom after a sunshine morning. It is very observable, the difference of God’s dealing with his own people, and with those that are carnal and of the world. Compare this scripture with Zech. xiv. 7. Here, “In a morning shall he be utterly cut off.” But in Zech. xiv.

7, where God is speaking of mercy to his people, he speaks of a day that should be known to God, and saith, “At evening time it shall be light:” he comforts his people thus; but when he threatens the wicked he saith. When the morning comes it shall be darkness. The Lord is wont to turn the darkness of the saints into light, and to turn the light of the wicked and ungodly into darkness. Oh, let us learn to fear that God then who is able to turn light into darkness, and darkness into light. “Seek him,” saith Amos v.

8, “that turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night.” He can “turn the shadow of death into morning.” Suppose there be the greatest darkness upon you, God can make that a morning of light; and suppose there be a morning of light, God can turn that into darkness. Many, because they have a morning, bless themselves, and think all must needs go on according to their desires; it is very customary for men, especially when compassing some notable design of their own, if it prosper in the beginning, they think all will go on. Oh, thou mayst be utterly deceived; thy designs may have a morning, and then God may cut off thee and thy designs, and all thy thoughts may even then perish. AVe read that Saul had many victories after that God had pronounced that he should be rejected. And therefore we had need fear that God, who can turn the morning into darkness, and darkness into light.

Obs. 1. God loves to di-aw forth great sinners to the light; not to come upon them in the dark, but to bring forth his judgments in the morning, openly and clearly. God discomfited the host of Egj-pt “when the morning appeared,” Exod. xiv. 27.

Obs. 8. God will be quick in his work. “In a morning he shall be cut off;” that is, suddenly. They thought by their power to hold it out; No, saith God, I will not make a day’s work of it, it shall be in the morning; so the Vulgate turns it. It shall pass as the morning, as the light of the morning quickly passes over. As the king of Israel is compared to the “foam,” so he is here compared to the “morning.” Now, my brethren, to close this chapter, Oh what alteration of things God is able to make in a morning! They (it

may be) the day before, and over-night, were jolly and merry, and blessed themselves in their way; they had confidence in their “way-, and in the multitude of their mighty men;” but “in a morning” all is spoiled. God can “in a morning” make mighty alterations in a kingdom, and in cities, and families, and individuals. My brethi-en, who knows what a day may bring forth? who knows what a morning may bring forth? “Thus saith the Lord God; n evil, Aan only evil, behold, is come. An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come. The morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near,” Ezek. vii. 5 — 7. As if God should say. All this while that thou hast been in the act of the pride of thy heart and vanity of thy spirit, I did determine, that such a morning such an evil should come; and it is come, it is come, saith God; the morning is come. O think, when you lie down at night, what thou hast done this day; do not dare to lie down, but first make thy peace with God; thou knowest not what may be in the morning: and whentliou risest up in the morning, look up to God, and seek blessing and mercy from the Lord, for though thine eyes be opened, and thou come to see the morning light, yet, before it be qidte gone, thou knowest not what may befall thee. Seek, therefore, to make thy peace with God, both in the night and in the morning, for great changes may come to thee both in the night and in the morning, that thou never thoughtest of in all thy life.