Hosea 2:8–13

Ver. 8. For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and mxdtiplied her silver and gold, ichich they prepared for Baal.

The Spirit of God returns here again to convincing, upbraiding, accusing, threatening of Israel. The sin of Israel went ver)- near to the heart of God, and God speaks here as a man troubled in spirit for the unkindness, unfaithfulness, unreasonableness of the dealings of his spouse with him. It runs in his thoughts, his heart is grieved at it, and he must vent himself, and when he has told his gi-ief and aggravated his wrong, he is upon it again and again, still con-i)acing, wpbraiding, charging Israel for dealing so unfaithfully and treacherously with him, all showing the trouble of his spii-it. These words depend upon the 5th verse, for the 6th and 7th are as a parenthesis: “She that conceived them hath done shamefully: for she said, I will go after my lovers, that give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax,” &c. She did thus and thus, “for she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine,” &c.

AVhat! was Israel worse than the ox or the ass, that knows his owner, and his master’s crib? It is impossible but Israel, who were the only people of God in those times, where God was most, nay, we may say, only known in the world, should know that God was the cause of all the good they had; certainly, they coidd not be ignorant of that, for in their creed (as Buxtorf and others mention) “”’i;’^ fT?; ^’’■ they had thu-teen articles, and this was the first article, I believe with a true and perfect faith, that God is the Creator, the Govei-nor, the Sustainer of all creatures, that he Awought all things, still works all things, and shall for ever work all things. And at their feasts they had these expressions. Blessed be thou. O Lord our God, King of the world, that dost create the fruit of the vine. The master of the feast himself came in publicly to bless God for the fruit of the lne; and yet the text saith that they did not know that God gave them wine. A’hen they came to take bread they had this speech. Blessed be thou, O God, that art the King of the world, that bringest forth bread out of the earth. And at the end of the feast this. Let us bless him who hath sent us of his own, of whose goodness we live. The question answered. And blessed be he of whose gooilness we live. Yea, to bless God solemnly

Ver. S.

for the sweet and fragrant smell of spices and herbs, was their constant way: and yet here God charges them that they did not know that he gave them bread, and wLnc, and oil; they did not lay it to heart.

■’e shall see afterward of what great use this is to us, to show what profession they made of acknowledging that God gave them all, and yet God charges them that they did not know that he gave them; what? “corn, wine, and oil, and multijjlied her silver and her gold.” Here God expresses himself more largely than they did before, in what they received from their idols: they talked in the 5th verse of receiving from their idols “bread, and water, and wool, and flax,” (Stc.; but here is ‘• wine, and oil, and silver, and gold,” more than they had from their idols. God sets out his mercy to them, to upbraid them.

“AVhich they prepared for Baal.”

We must inquire here, first, what this Baal was. The word lyi signifies primarily, a lord (and then a husband): because they attiibuted dominion, acknowledging then- idols to be lords, therefore they called them by this name; and because they chose them as their husband, therefore also they gave them this name: so with Bel too, for Baal and Bel are the same, the letter j? being omitted, and the points being altered in the Chaldee.

Now this Baal either Aias some special idol, or else a general name given to all idols: sometimes it is a name given generally to all, in the plural number, Baalim; Jer. ix. 14, They ‘“’ have walked after the imagination of then- own heart, and after Baalim.” But it likewise notes a special idol, an idol that was the same with that of the Zidonlans, which they called Jujiiter Thalassius, or their sea Jupiter; that idol was called Baal in a special manner. In 1 Kings xvi. 31, you may see how the worship of Baal came into Israel at that time. It is true it had been introduced in Israel a long time before, for in Judg. ii. 11, you find that they “served Baalim;” yet the idolatry of Baal was often cast out by the people of God: but see how it came in a fresh; “Ahab took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Eth-baal, king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipned him;” that was the occasion, Ahab marr)ing a Zidonian; to the end that he might ingratiate himself with his wife’s kindi-ed, he would worship his wife’s god.

And this Baal has divers additional names. Sometimes in Scripture he is called Baal-zebub, or Beelzebub, and that signifies the god of flies; the reason why Baal had that name was, because in those countries they were extremely peqilexed with flies, and they attributed the power of driving them away, and of helping them against their molestation, to their god Baal; hence they called him Baal-zebub. ‘We have other manner of deliverances by the goodness of our God than this, yet for this Baal-zebub was one of their principal gods, therefore it is said of Christ, that “he cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils,” which is, “by the god of flies;” and in Matt. x. 25, he is called B«X^{/3oiX, Beelzebul, which is as much as, the dung god, Zebel in the Spiao signifying dung. Then there was Baal-perazim, that addition was only from the place, the mountain where he was worshipped. There was also Baal-berith, that signified only the covenant they entered into with that god. So that it seems the very idolaters bound themselves to worship their god by solemn covenant, to teach us to be willing to bind ourselves in worshipping the true God by all the legal bonds we can, to make God to be the God of our covenant, as their god was. It is needless to name more who had this name. I shall afterward show’ how God hin;i?elf had once the name of Baal, for the word signifyirg li’.e name of husband, or lord, was as due to God a» 10 any other, and God himself took that name. But here we are to understand it of their idols.

They prepared them for Baal, SyaS wy they made them for Baal. It imports these two things:

Fii-st, that they sacrificed these things to then- Baal, for so f’acere, to make, is often as much as -wcri/icare, to sacrifice. And Bellarmlne, taking advantage of this word, when Christ saith, “Do this,” draws an argument that the Lord’s .supper is a sacrifice, for the word to do is used sometimes to sacrifice.

But, secondly, they prepared them, that is, of their gold and silver they made images of this their idol god Baal; they woidd not s])are then’ gold and silver, but laid aside and prepared it to make images of Baal, and they thought that gold and silver thus laid out as good as any in then’ purses.

Obi. 1. It is God that supplies all the outward good of his people. “They did not know that I gave them,’’ S:c. I gave not only mine ordinances, but I gave them com, and wine, and oil, and gold, and silver. It is the Lord himself that supplies all outward good to his people; he does not only prize the souls of his people, but he takes care of their bodies too, and outward estates. “He keepeth all his bones,” Psal. xxxiv. 20. Yea, he takes care of the very hair of their head.s. The bodies of the saints are precious in the eyes of God, the most precious of all corporeal things in the world: the sun, and moon, and stars are not so precious as the bodies of the saints; how much more precious are their souls!

Austin, upon Psal. lxiii. 1, “My soul thii-steth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee,” has this note: If the flesh has any need of bread, of wine, xo„,oij a„i„a„ of monev, or cattle, seek this of God, for ‘’“”• ne“s t«it, et God gives this too; tor mark,” iMy tlesn feccmnt? qui fecit longeth for thee.” Those who thirst for S .imbS.’’’Aug“in God must thirst for him every way; not ‘’’■ ‘^“‘• only their souls thirst for him, but their flesh must thirst for him; for, saith he, did God make the soul, and did the delils, or any idols, make the flesh? No, he that made both soul” and flesh feeds them both; therefore all Christians must say, “My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee.” If then we can trust God for our souls, and our eternal states, that he will prolide for them, we must trust him for our bodies also, for our flesh, for our temporal estates, that he will provide for them also.

Obs. 2. All our supply that we enjoy in this world, Ls the free gift of God. “They did not know that I gave them corn, and wine,” &c. AU of us live upon the mere alms of God; the greatest man in the world is bound to go to God’s gate and beg his bread every day; though he were an emperor over all the world he must do it, to show his dejiendence upon him, that he lives wholly upon alms. Men think it hard to live upon alms, and because they have so much coming in by the year, such an estate in land, they think they are well provided for many years. But whatever estate thou hast, though by “thy trading thou hast gotten much, yet God requires this of thee, to go to his gate, and beg thy bread of him even’ day; so Christ teaches,” Give “us tills day our daily bread:” and certainly, if we did but understand oui’ dependence upon God for all outward comforts, we could not but fear him, and seek to make peace with him, and keep peace with him. It woidd be a means that our hearts should be enlarged to give to others who need oiu- alms, seeing eveiy man and woman of us is an alms-man and an alms-woman.

Obs. 3. It is a duty that we owe to God, to know and take notice of God as the author of all our good. They know not, that implies they ought to have known. This” is a special duty of that worship we owe to God: it LS the end of God’s communication of all good to us, that he may have active as well as passive glory from his rational creature; and there is no creature else in the world that God has made capable of know-AN EXPOSITION OF

ing any thing of the first cause but the rational creature; therefore it is the excellency of such, that they not only enjoy the good which they have, but that they are able to rise up to the highest and first cause of all theii’ good. It is observed of doves, that at cverj’ gi’ain of corn they take in their bill they cast their eyes upward; and in the Canticles you find the eyes of the church are called “doves’ eyes,” because they look so much up to heaven upon every good they receive. They have not dogs’ eyes; the men of the world have dogs’ eyes: dogs, you know, look up to then- masters for meat, and when they have it they presently look down to the ground; so the men of the world T-ill pray to God when they want, but when they enjoy what they have, they look no more upward, but downward.

This taking notice of God to be the author of all otu’ good, and to give him praise, is all the rent we pay to God for what we enjoy, therefore it is fit we should do that. If we do any thing for God, God takes notice of that to the uttermost; yea, though he enables us to do it, yea, though it be but a little good mingled with a great deal of el, God takes notice of it, and will reward it; surely then we should take notice of the good that he gives out to us. This sweetens our comforts, to see that they all come from God. Observe the difl’erence between the expression of Jacob’s blessing and Esavi’s blessing; when Isaac came to bless Jacob, he expresses hunscif thus. Gen. xxvii. 28, “God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine.” Now when he comes to bless Esau, mark his expression then, ver. 39, “Thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;” but he never mentions God in that. It is not Esau’s blessing, “God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth,” though it is true Isaac meant so; but yet he does not mention the name of God in Esau’s, as in Jacob’s blessing. Certainly, my bretlu’en, the seed of Jacob count their blessing to be a double, a treble blessing, that they can see God in it. Carnal hearts do not much regard God, if they can have their flesh satisfied in what they desire, from what hand it comes they do not much care; but a gracious heart, a child of Jacob, rejoices more in the hand from whence it comes, than in any good he can possibly enjoy.

Obs. 4. God does a great deal of good m the world that is little taken notice of, or laid to heart. Many of God’s dispensations are invisible, the angels, Ezek. i. 8, are described with their hands under their wings. God does great things sometimes so invisibly that he cannot be seen; and when he does great things that we might see, yet, through the neglect, stupitlity, and di’ossmess of om- hearts, we do not see them. The most observing eye in the world, that takes the cxactest notice of God’s mercy, and has the greatest skill to set forth the riches of God’s goodness to himself and others, yet, alas, notices very little. It Ls with the quickest-sighted Christians as with a skilful geographer, who takes notice of and understands many parts of the world, and is able to set out the several parts distinctly to you in such a climate, in such a counfi-y, but yet leaves a great .space for a terra incognita, for an luiluiown world, and that unknown world, for aught we know, may be five times bigger than the known world. So they who have the most observant eye of God’s mercies, and take the most notice of them, who can best setiout the mercies he bestows, spiritual mercies, temporal mercies, preventing mercies, past mercies,

E resent mercies, delivering mercies, &c.; yet when they ave done all, they must leave a great space for the terra incognita, for the unknown mercies ot God.

The truth is, those mercies of God which are obvious to our knowledge every day, one would think were enough to melt our hearts: but besides the mercies we

notice, there are thousands and thousands of mercies that we know not of. As we daily commit many sins that we know not, so daily we receive many mercies that we know not likewise. And as, in our confession of sins, we should pray to God first to pardon the sins we know, and so to name them in particular; and when we have done, then. Lord, forgive us our unknown, our secret sins. So in om- thanksgiving, first bless God for the mercies before us, and when we.... .,.

Till 11 1 Scire tuum nihil est,

have done. Lord, blessed be thy name m.i te Kir. hoc ki for all thy unknoini mercies, of which I have taken little notice.

We soon grow cold and dead if we do good, and men take no notice of us. Neither what we know, nor what we do, is any thing to us, except others know it too; but this is the vanity and pride of men’s hearts. It is God’s ])rerogative above his creatures, to do all for himself, for his own glory, and yet he doth much good in the world that none see. We are bound to deny om’selves in what we do, not to seek our own glory. The most excellent piece in the most excellent of our works, is our self-denial in it; why should we not then do all the good we can cheerfully, though it be not known? Wo should do good out of love to goodness itself; and if we would do so, we should be encouraged m doing good secretly.

Obs. 5. In God’s account, men know no more than they lay to heai-t and make good use of. The schools distinguish between nescientia, and ignoralia: nescience is of such things as we are not bound to know, it is not our sin not to know them; but ignorance is of such things as we are botmd to know, and that ignorance is twofold. There is an invincible ignorance, let us take what pains we can, we can never know all that we are bound to know; and there is an affected ignorance, when tlu’ough carelessness we do not mind what is before us; and when we have minded it so far as to conceive it, yet if we lay it not to heart as we ought, in God’s accoimt we know it not; if we digest not what we know into practice, God accepts it not. As God is said not to know when he does not approve, “I know you not; “so when any man has a ti’uth in notion, and it is not embraced by the heart, God accounts that that man knows it not. Therefore, in Scripture it is said, The seer is blind; it is a strange expression, and seems to be a contradiction; but it is not so, because God accounts those that have never so much knowledge, if it do not sanctify the heart so as to give him the glory, blind. The knowledge of the saints is another kind of knowledge than other men have. We have, saith C)-])rian, no such notions as many of your phi,osophi smniu philosophers, but we are philosophers in J,”’’^^^^,’,“”’,!?’. om- deeds, we do not speak gi-eat tlungs, mur, .J »irimus. but we do great thmgs m om- lives. in 1 Thess. iv. 9, 10, you have an excellent example of this: “Ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.” What follows? “And indeed ye do it.” That is an evidence that you are taught of God when it prevails with yoiu- hearts; when it may be said, indeed so you do. ‘ATio is there in the world, but knows that we should love one another? but men are not taught of God to love one another, until it may be said of them, that indeed so they do.

There is nothing more obvious to the understanding of a man than the notion of a Deity, that there is a God: we may, as it were, grope after him, as the Holy Ghost .speaks; but yet, 1 John ii. 4, “He that saith, 1 know hmi, and kecpcth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Any man, whoever he be, though the greatest scholar in the world, if he say he knows God, and yet keeps not his commandment.s, he has the lie told him to his teeth, he does not know God at all. Though this be the most obvious thing to the understanding, yet Christ saith,” No man

knoweth the Father, saye the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him,” Matt. xi. 27. Hence, when a soul is converted, you shall hear the.se expressions; I never knew God before, I never knew what an infinite Deity meant, I never understood the infinite sovereignty and majesty of the great God, I never knew what sin meant before: yet if you had asked him before, he would say, I know God is a Spirit, that he is infinite and eternal: I know that sin is the transgression of the law. I never knew what Chi-ist was before; yet before he would have told you, that C’hi’ist was the Son of Mary, and came into the world to die for sinu 1, jj- ners. A German divine, when upon his

Hoc morbo didici.,,, i x i. t t i

quid sit peccatum, sick bed. Said, In this disease 1 have De^’ca’par’^oievt learned what sin is, and how gi-eat the ““”■ majesty of God is: this man, though a

preacher, and doubtless he could preach of sm and of the majesty of God, yet he professed he knew not these things until God came powerfully upon his heart to teach him what they were. The Hebrews say, words of sense carry with them the aflections, or else they are to no purpose: when men have notional knowledge, that comes not down into the heart, they ai’e like men who have weak stomachs and heads, when they (bink wine its fumes fly up to the head and make them giddy; but if the vnne went to the heart, it would cheer and warm it: so all this man’s knowledge flies up to his head and makes him giddy, whereas, if it were digested and got to the heart, it would warm and refresh, yea, it would sanctify it. Eli’s sous, 1 Sam. ii. 12, “knew not the Lord;” they were priests of God, yet they were “sons of Belial,” and “knew not the Lord.” Be not ofiended at great scholars, who have skill in languages, arts, and sciences. Do not say, Would such great and knowing men do thus, if tlungs wei-o as you say? They are not knoicing men; God saith that Eh’s sons did not know the Lord: the tilings of God are hid from them; “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”

Obs. 6. Affected ignorance coming through distemper of heart, is no excuse, but rather an aggravation. “They did not know.” It is a high degree of ingratitude not to prize God’s mercy, but not to take notice of God’s mercies, what a high ingratitude is this! That which shall be part of God’s charge against sinners, can be no excuse of their sin. God tlu-eatens to cut people off, to have no mercy upon them, for want of knowing, as well as for not doing: “It is a people of no understanding; therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will show them no favour,” Isa. xxvii. 11. Ampeccas, 6i diviiina’ brosc salth. Thou dost sin greatly, if thou contl!ml?i“™avi’” dost coutcmn the riches of God’s long-Ambro.’““”“”’ Suffering, but thou sinnest most of all if thou dost not know it.

Ohs. 1. The not taking notice of and considering God’s mercies, and laying them to heart, is the cause of vUe and shameful evils in men’s lives. Therefore they “did shamefuDy,” therefore they “went after thenlovers,” because they “did not know:” the cause of almost all the evil in the world is from hence. “They that know thy name will trust in thee;” those who know the Lord will fear him and his goodness. Isa. i. 4, “Ah sinfid nation,” saith God: God fetches a sigh under the bm-den of it, his spirit is laden and troubled with it. What was the matter? “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib, but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider,” they were more stupid than the brute creatures. O sinful soul, this is the cause of all thy inordinate walking, of all thy profaneness, of all the ungodliness in thy ways, because thou dost not know, thou dost not consider, thou dost not lay to heart the ways of God towards thee. In Jer.

ii. 5, God charges his people that they were “gone far from him;” and, verse 7, that they had “made his heritage an abomination.” What is the reason given for both these? It is in the 6th verse,” Neither said they. Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egj-pt? ‘’ They did not take notice of what the Lord had done for them, therefore they were gone far from him. If thou hadst but a heart to consider what God has done for thee, it is impossible thou shouldst go so far off from God as thou dost. For these deductions are easy and oblious to any fi’om such a principle.

1. Justice, common equity, requires living to God, seeing we live by and upon God.

2. Common ingenuousness calls for requiting good with good; the publicans and heathens will do good to those that do good to them.

3. If all be from God, then all still depends upon God.

4. How much good is there in God from whence all this good and mercy comes! When God shall show another day to men and angels, how he was the Fountain of all good, it wUl confound those who have not laid it to heart.

Obs. 8. God is more bountifid to his people than the idols can be.

The idols, by their own confession, gave them but then- bread, and water, and flax, and oil, &c.; but God gave them wine, and silver, and gold. God gives better pay a great deal than the devil, yet the devil usually has more servants to follow him than God has, though his wages be less and worse. It is usual for men to get soldiers fi-om adversaries, by giving them more pay: this is the way God takes, he offers a great deal better pay to those that will follow him, than they have that follow Satan, yet God can get few to follow him. This shows the vileness of man’s heart against God.

Obs. 9. ‘’Tien men get abundance, they soon grow wanton.

“^Tien I gave them corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied theii- silver and then- gold, then they followed Baal. This is the reason of so many solemn charges of God. Take heed when thou ai’t full, that thou dost not then forget the Lord. As they that are nearest the Sim are the blackest, so those to whom God is nearest in regard of outward mercies, are many times blacker than others. It is observed, that the fatter men’s bodies are, the less blood and the fewer spirits they have; so, often, the fatter men’s estates are, the less spirit they have to any thing that is good; God has less spfrit from them; sin has much more. We read of the sun melting the manna that fell down, but the same manna was able to bear the fire; so many a man’s heart is able to bear afiiictiou, and the affliction does him good, and prepares him for much good, as manna was prepared to be eaten by fii’e; but prosperity melts Mm, makes him useless. Many men, when they were poor and in a low condition-, were very useful; but when they grow high and rich, they are of very little use in the places where they dwell. Trajan, the emperor, w-as wont to liken a man who had become rich, to the spleen in the body; for as the spleen grows big, the body gi-ows less: so when men’s estates gi’ow bigger, they gi-ow less useftd. Evagi’ius notes it as a special commendation of Mauritius the emperor, that, notwithstanding his prosperity, he retamed his ancient piety: it is a levy rare thing to see men advanced to high places, who preserve thenformer devotedness.

Obs. 10. Even those creatm-es that wicked men abuse to then- lusts, God gives them. ““^^lich they prepai-ed for Baal.” Though he does not give them for that end, yet those creatures which they use for such an end are given of God. If thou art a di’unkard, that wine or drink which thou dost sacrifice to thy lust, who giveth it thee? does not God? Thou hast a good estate more

Ch-U-. n.

than other men, and all the use thou makest of thy estate, is merely that it might be but as fuel for thy lusts. Who gave thee this thy estate? did not God? God gives thee clothes, and thou sacrificest them to thy pride; thou hast more money than others, and so canst vent thy maUcc more than others; from whence hast thou this? Thou hast more strength of body than others, and thou ventcst it in uncleanness; where hadst - thou this? Consider this, and let this meditation prevail with thy heart to stop thee in thy sinful way; let it be seconded with the next; namely,

064’. 11. That it is most horrible wickedness and abominable ingi-atitude, for any men to take God’s crcatuies, and abuse them against God. A^Tiat! “I gave them corn and wine, and multiplied their silver and tlicir gold,” and have tlicy prepared these for Baal? God speaks of this as of a monstrous sin, as if God should saw. Let all my people lament my condition, that I should do so much for them, and they do nothing for me, but all against me, sacrifice all to Baal. Some of you have been kind to your friends, and have raised them, and made tlicm, as we say; if these men should turn your enemies, and that estate which they have obtained by you, they should use to do you a raiscliief, would you not call in your neighbours and friends, to join w ith you in lamenting your condition? AMiat! did you ever hear of such an example, that I should do so much for them, and they turn all against me? God does so here; he makes this his grievous complaint. This is as if a bird should be shot with an arrow whose feathers came out of her own body. AVe should even pity a bird in that case. ^lany men make no other use of their estates, but to turn them against God; they are not as the slothful servant who hid his talent in the napkin, that were not such guilt; but they take their talents and employ them against God. “Would it not go to your heart if one should sue you in law, and bear the charges of the suit out of your own estate? Vi’e complain, buch a man sues me, and it is my own money with which lie goes to law. So thou goest against God, and he is made as it were to bear all the charges. Is it not against the light of natm-e? The very heathens, pubKcans, and sinners will do good to those that do good to them. Thou art worse than a publican and sinner: wilt thou do hurt to God who does thee good? AMren JuUus Caesar saw Brutus come to give him a stab in the senate house, he cried out,.., “WTiat thou, my son, wilt thou do it? But

°’ “” ““”’ suppose that Julius Ctesar had given him the dagger with which he stabbed him, then, O thou. my son, what stab me with that dagger I gave thee 1 If, when Jonathan gave David his sword and bow, David had turned against Jonathan and killed him with his own sword and bow, would not the unkindness, or rather the abominable wickedness, have pierced deeper into his heart, than any swords or arrows possibly could? If you can find any creature that is not God’s, with which to fight against him, you may do it; but if all you have is from him, it is hoiTible wickedness to take that, and to sacrifice it to Baal. Certainly, God gives it for other ends. To cross God’s ends is an evil thing: when God aims at such a thing, for us not to join with God in the same end at which lie aims, is an evil; but for us to aim at a quite contrary end, is horrible wickedness.

Obs. 12. ATicn once superstition and idolatry have entered a place, though there be much done to oppose it, it is not easy to drive it out. Hence, God so often complains of Baal. In Judg. ii. 11, (I think that is the first place in which it is mentioned that they served Baal,) it appears that they fell off from Baal, yet they returned to him again; for in Judg. viii. 33, after Gideon’s death it came to pass” that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim,

and made Baal-berith their god.” It speaks as if it were a new thing now, that they shoidd worship Baal after they had left worshipping him; after his death. And, 1 Sam. vii. 4, “The children of Israel did put away Baalim;” yet, if you read chap. xii. 10, they confess that they had sinned, because they had “forsaken the Lord and served Baalim;” though they had put him away before, yet he had got up again. So in

1 Kings xvi., Ahab would serve Baal; it is introduced as a novelty, because Baal had been so much suppressed.

2 Kings X., Jehu sought to destroy Baal and all his priests; but yet liaal was not so driven out, but he got in again, for 2 Kings xxiii. 4, saith, that Josiah, who was long after that time, caused the vessels that were made for Baal to be taken away and burnt.

This is seasonable for our times. K superstition be opposed, though it be cast out, as we think, in a great degree, vet, if there be not a thorough refoi-mation, it will wind in one way or other again. If we think it enough to cut things short, and to take away their strength, and their enormities, we deceive ourselves; they will grow up again; it is but cutting the weeds a little; if branch and root be not taken away, Baal will rear uj) his head one way or other.

Cluvei-us, a late historian, yet much approved, saith, that one gave this counsel concernuig home, when it was much annoyed with wolves; “There is no way to save Home from wolves, but to cut down the woods wherein these wohes breed and live, for otherwise you may kill, but they will breed again.” So certainly, this is the way to destroy superstition from amongst us, to take away the places and revenues of those men that have been maintainers and upholders of supei-stitious ways of worship. Let us, by cutting down the woods, destroy these wolves.

Ver. 9. Therefore tcill I return, and take aicay vpy com in the time thereof, and my icine in the season thereof, and tcitl recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.

In the former verse, Israel is accused for abusing her silver and gold in the service of Baal; now it follows, “Therefore I will take away my corn in the time thereof:” if there be a “therefore,” we must inquire wherefore it was; “because they did prepare their corn,” &c. for Baal.

Let us inquire, 1. What is the meaning of returning. 2. AATiat the meaning of the time and season thereof, “and take away my com in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof.” 3. Alniat that phrase imports, “I will recover my wool,” &c.

1. For the first, “Therefore will I retui-n,” that is, I will change the way of my administrations toward them; I will go out of my way of mercy, and turn into my way of judgment, I will go back again. I was in a way of judgment toward them, and they cried to me, and I turned into a way of mercy; but I will go back again into a way of judgment, “I will return.” Montanus remarks. Whereas God has heretofore bid them not to be afraid of all the tokens of the soothsayers: that is, when they saw by astrology some signs of death which might follow, ihcy were afraid; Be not afraid, saith the Lord, but know your corn, and wine, and oil depend on me, not on second causes; though second causes make against you, yet fear not, for I will give you com, and wine, and oil: but now it is quite contrarj% though second causes ])roniise all kind of plenty, so that there shall be abundance of com, and wine, and oil, yet I will take away your plenty, tlicre shall be a dearth of all tilings amongst you.

2. “1 will take away my com in the time thereof;” that is, first, irt the time of harvest, just when their com is to be gathered; and m the time of their vintage, I

will then take it away; whereas I might take it away in the seed, I will let it grow till the harvest, and then take it away. 2. In the time when they have most need of it, when they are in the gi-eatest straits, and know not what to do without those creatures. 3. In tempore suo, so some, in the time I have appointed, though I have let them go on and enjoy the creatm-cs in abundance, yet my time is come that I will take away all.

3. “And wUl recover;” the word ‘nSsn signifies, I will snatch it away, I will spoil you of it; and it has reference to two things.

First, I will recover it as out of the hands of usurpers; you have my corn, and wool, and flax, as usurpers, but I will recover them out of your hands: as a man that has his goods usurped by others, by some means recovers them; so, saith God, you have my coi’n and wine, and, as you have carried the matter, you are but usurpers, I will sue you for them, you shall not enjoy them long.

Secondly, “I will recover:” it has a reference to prisoners and bond-slaves; when the enemy gets any of our soldiers into their power, and makes them bond-slaves, a greater power goes against the enemy, and recovers them out of his hands; as Abraham recovered Lot and his goods. Gen. xiv. Or, as if mariners should recover those gaUey-slaves the Tm-ks have taken. And as if God should say. These creatures of corn, and wine, &c., are in bondage, and I will recover them out of yom’ hands. You know the creatures groan under their bondage while they are in the possession of wicked men. My creatures are in bondage to you, and they cry to me, and I will recover them out of your hands, Rom. viii. 22. There are many precious truths to be presented to you out of the words.

Obs. 1. Though God gives mercy out of free gi’ace without cause in ourselves, yet he takes not away mercy without cause; there is a ‘• therefore “for taking away mercy, but we have many mercies given without a” therefore.” When God takes away mercy we have cause to look into ourselves to find out a “therefore;” but for thousands of mercies which God gives to us, you shall find never a ‘• therefore “for them. It is not so gi’eat a wonder that thousands are in misery, as that any one enjoys mercy, for misery has a “therefore” in ourselves, for mercy there is reason onlv in the breast of God.

Obs. 2. Sin causes God to change the way of his administi’ations towards his people. Though God walk in the ways of mercy, yet sin may put him out of those ways, and make him return to a way of judgment again. How much better were it for sinners to return, than that sin should cause God to return! O sinner, return out of thy evil ways; if God return, it will be a sad return. Not long since God was in ways of judgment against us, and lately he has come into ways of mercy, and now he seems to return again to his former ways of judgment. Jer. xiv. 9 asks, ““Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied?” A man astonished stands still; or if he moves, it is up and down, as if he knew not which way to go. Though we have sufiered hard things, we cannot yet say, God is retm-ned, but he seems as a man astonished, that knows not which %vay to go. Thus God is pleased to speak of himself after the manner of men. Let us ciy to him that he may not tm-n out of his way of mercy into those sad ways of WTath to which he seems looking. -

Obs. 3. Abuse of mercy causes the removing of mercy. “Woe to the idol shqjherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened,” Zech. xi. 17. Has God given a right hand any abilities? take heed God does not strike that right hand: or right eve, any quickness of parts? take heed that, through abuse, it

be not put out. How many shepherds, when they were young, had many excellent parts, great abilities, but, having abused them to their lusts, God has taken them away! So in childi-en, there is no such way to lose your childi-cn as to abuse them; if your hearts be inordinately set upon them, God takes them away. I will relate a remarkable providence concerning this; and the rather, because I was an ej’e and car witness of it, living not far from the place. A godly man desu-ed his friends to meet and bless God for a plentiful harvest. After dinner was over a very lovely little child came in; Ah, said the father, I am afraid I shall make a god of this child. By and by the child was missing, and when they went to look for him, he was found (kowned in a pond. Consider this, ye pai-ents, who have yom” hearts inordinately set on your children.

Obs. 4. God keeps the propriety of all that we have. “I will take away my corn, and my wine, and my wool, and my flax.” Mark, in the former verse, they said they were their- o’ri; now, God challenges them for his. Here we have “my,” “my,” “my,” r&peated on God’s side, as often as before it was on theu-s. Though God gives all, yet he keeps the propriety of all in his own hand. God has a greater propriety in oiu- estates than any prince in the world has. Subjects have propriety in their estates, and enjoy them -ndth as ti-ue a right as their- sovereigns; but no creatm-e has any propriety in what it has, compared to God. Not only what we have, but what we do, and what we are, is all God’s: yea, says Luther, Even our thanksgiving to God for gifts is a gift of God; it is there- ii.sa ‘“n™ ;lo “ifore a vei-y vile thing to attribute to our- q’u”,to ma^lpS’ selves what is his. When God has en- i.’i“i’„„J’,^’l;”,„15. riched us, we add this odious phrase, I ‘Y/ ‘^““”^ ‘’“”” have done it, I have done it. By this .iddiiius,’’ego’VKi” you may see they are not your goods ‘’’’ which yoM abuse. It is a great argument to be bountiful and liberal for good uses, because what we have is God’s. “For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee,” 1 Chron. xxix. 14. David thought not much of his bounty towards the temple, because all was God’s.

06^. 5. The taking away the good things which we enjoy, is a means of making us retm-n to God. “Therefore I will take away.” “Therefore” has not only reference to the abuse of them, but to the 7th verse, “And she shall follow after her lovers, but shall not overtake them,” &c.: “then shall she say, I will go and return to my fii’st husband; for then was it better with me than now.” God makes this a means of working that frame of spirit in them of retm-ning to theu- fii-st husband. It is a special means to convince us of sin, when God comes with some special proridence against us. Some real expression of God’s displeasm-e works more upon us than when wo merely hear the threat. You that are tradesmen, and run into debt, and yomcreditors tell you they will come upon you, yet you go on, till the bailiff comes into yoiu- house, and takes away yom- bed from under you, and all ymir goods. AVhen you see all go, then you think of yom- negligence, and then the husband and wife wring their hands. So, though God threaten you for the abuse of the creature, that he will take it away, yet you are not sensiljle of it till Giod indeed takes away all, and then conscience begins to awake and fly in your face. When David saw God taking away his people, then his heart smote liira for numbering them: he was told of the evil of his way before by Joab, but he went on in it. When Samuel prayed for rain in wheat harvest, and there came thundering and lightJiing, then “the people feared exceedingly,” and acknowledged their sin in asking a king. Those who have abused their estates in these times, when the enemy comes, xvhat gratings of conscience will they have! Then these thoughts

will arise, Have I used my estate for God? have I done -nhat I might have done? have I not satisfied my lusts with those things -which God has now taken from me? There is usually a gi’ating of conscience for the abuse of any thing when God takes it away. Allien God takes away a wife, if the husband has any tenderness of conscience, his first thoughts are. Have I perfonned the duties of my relation to my wife as I ought? have I not neglected my dut)- towards her? When he takes away a child. Have I done my duty to this child? have I prayed for it, and instructed it, as I ought? This causes sad thoughts.

Obs. G. There is an uncertaintj- in all things in the world; though they promise fair, yet they are ready to fail us when they promise most. ’ “I will take away r’.y corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof.” A husbandman who has a good seed-time, promises much to himself; it comes up and thrives, and yet at harvest it is all blasted. Hab. iii. 1 7, “Though the labour- of the olive shall fail,” the phrase is. Though the labour of the olive B’ns “shall he;” that is, the oHve promised fair, it grew up, and looked very ftiir, and ripened; but it did lie, that is, it did not perform what it seemed to promise, for in the time thereof it vanished and came to nought. I had certain information from a reverend minister, of a singular work of God this way. In his own town there was a worldling who had a great crop of com; a good honest neighbour walking by his com, said, Neighbour, you have a very fine crop of com, if God bless it. Yea, saith he, speaking contemptuously, I will have a good crop; and before he could get it into the barn, it was blasted, so that the whole crop was not worth sixpence. Here we see the uncertainty of the creature in the time thereof, when it seems to promise never so fair, when we are ready to take it mto the barn, it depends on God, as well as when it is under the clods. Oh the blessedness of God’s servants, who ai-e sure of their good for time to come! We may promise ourselves certainty, even for the future, in the things of Chi-ist; but temporal things are never sure, no, not when men have them in theu- hands. Many things fall out between the cup and Up, as we have it in the proverb.

Obs. 7. God often shows his displeasure to those who provoke him, when they are at the greatest height of prosperit)-. When affliction seems to be farthest ofi’ from them, then it comes heaviest upon them; when they think least of it, when they think all suie, then God visits them with his displeasure, when it is most bitter to them; for that is the strength of the point, he will not only take them away in the time thereof, but when the affliction sliaU be most grievous to them. Job saith, chap. xx. 22, “In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits.” A man may seem to have sufficiency of the creatiu-e, and may have his fulness of sirfticiency, yet God saith, he shall lie in straits in the fuhiess of his sufficiency. I give you another admu-able work of providence to illustrate this very thing; it came from that worthy divine. Doctor Preston, and happened in the town where he was born. There was a man who of a long time had no child, but when God gave him one, at the weaning of it he called his friends and neighbours to rejoice with him for this great mercy; and while the nurse was dandling the child, the point “of a knife which she had placed in her bosom ran hito its bowels, when all his friends were about him to rejoice with him. When men think the bitterness of death to be past, (as Agag did,) the curse of God comes on them. ‘• While the meat was vet in their mouths, the %vrath of God came upon them”,” Psal. lxxviii. 30, 31.

Pope John XXII. said, ho knew by the ])osition of the stars that ho should live a long time, and boasted that he could cast his nativity; and the same night, by the fall of a chamber which “he had newlv built for his

solace, he was slain. I have heard credibly reported, that a dnuiken fellow in an inn was swearing most dreadfully, and one came in and said, Sir, what if you should cUe now? He replied, I shall never die; and going down-stairs from his chamber, he feU down and broke his neck.

“WTien Bibulus, a Roman, was riding in triumph in all his glory, a tile fell from a house in the street, and killed him. As, on the contrary. God’s ways and dealings with the saints are such, that when their condition is most dark and gloomy, he comes with mercy to them; so, when the wicked are in the height of their prosperitv’, God smites them. AMien” the iron entered into “Joseph’s” soul,” God delivered him. ‘ATien the apostle “had the sentence of death “in himself, God comforted him, 2 Cor. i. 9. When Abraham was lifting up his hand to slay Isaac, the angel of the Lord stayed his hand. As it is observed in nature, that a little before day-break it is darkest, so a little before the happiness of God’s people, there are some gi-eat afflictions.” At evemng-time it shall be light,’’ Zech. xiv. 7.

Obs. 8. When men abuse mercies, they forfeit then’ right in those mercies, they ai’e then only usurpers. ‘• I will recover my wool,” &c. They are not usurpers merely for the use of mercies, but for then- abuse: they are not charged for their right to use them, but for their not using them aright: there is great difierence between these two.

It has been taught by many, that all wicked men have no right at all to use any creattire, but are to answer as usurpers before God. But certainly there is a mistake. It is certam, man has forfeited all, but God has given a right by donation to all that they enjoy in a lawful way. They have not such a right as the saints have, a right in Christ; once in Christ, we may challenge of God all things that are good for us. Another man has right; but how? “WTien a malefactor is condemned to die for his offence, he has forfeited all his estate, and all the benefit of a subject. But if the king be pleased out of his bountj’ to allow him provision for a day or two, till the time of execution, he xannot be challenged as a usurper, for that which he has, he has it by donation: such a right all wicked men have; they are under the sentence of condenmation, and have forfeited their right, and all the good of the creature, only the Lord is pleased, out of his boimtv, to give them such and such enjoj-ments, they shall tave such houses and such lands for a time, till the day of execution comes.

This might daunt the hearts of wicked men: You look upon yourselves as great men, you have yomshops ftdl, you have lai’ge estates; you are like some malefactors, who have a better supper before execution than others. But, still, your not using them euight may make you usui-pers before God. You command yom’ servant to buy certain commodities; suppose yomservant run away with your money, do you not follow him as a thief? you trust him with a stock, to keep such markets, he has right to use your estate for you, but if he rim away mtli your estate, and use it against you, if you meet with him again you will say, Wiat a thief are you to run away with your master’s estate, and abuse it against him! “I will recover my wool,” i&rc.

Obs. 9. All the time the crcatui-e serves wicked men, it is in bondage, and God looks upon it with pit)’. God has made all things for his own praise. He gives the children of men many mercies, but for his own glor>-; when therefore these creatures which were given for the glory of God, are abused to thy lust, the creatme groans under thee. Thou drinkest wine, but the creature groans under thy abuse; never any galley slave groaned more under the bondage of the Turks, than thy wine and thy dishes on thy table groaned under thy

abuse, Rom. viii. 22. As God hears the ciy of the widow and fatherless, so he hears the groans of the creature.

Cornelius a Lapide states, that a famous preacher, showing this bondage of the ereatiu-e, brings in the creatures complaining thus: Oh that we coidd serve such as are godly! Oh that our substance and oui- flesh might be incorporated into godly people, that so we might rise into glory! but if oiu’ flesh be incorporated into the flesh of sinners, we shall go to hell; and would any creatm-e go to hell? The very creatui-es shall be in hell eternally which wicked men consume on thenlusts, being incorporated into then bodies. The creature one day will have a kind of revenge upon ungodly men, and divers thuik that hell will be atm-niug all creatui-es into a chaos, into a confusion again, as at the first, and the wicked put into that, and so tormented there; there shall not be an annihilation, but God shall take away all the beauty, comfort, and glory of the creature, and whatever shall be for the torment of ungodly men shall abide; and so they shall be tormented eternally by the very creatures which they abuse.

As in such a building as this, there are stones and mortar, and the art of man puts a beauty upon them; but suppose all the art of man were taken away from this building in an instant, what would become of us then? it would bury us in its rubbish; now it is useful and delightful, but if the art were taken away, it would be om- destruction. So the creatures of God, which God suffers wicked men to enjoy, have much of God’s wisdom, pov.-er, and goodness in them; but God will take away all his -n-isdom, beaut)’, and goodness, so that nothmg but the confusion and rubbish of the creatm-e shall be upon the wicked to all eternity.

Obs. 10. God gives his blessmgs to us, not for luxury, but for necessity. “I will recover my wool and my flax given to cover her nakedness.” ApToi’ eiiouff.oi.. ‘pjigj-efore when om- Saviour- teaches us to pray, it is for daily bread, or bread which is for our substance; so much bread as serves for our substance, and that but for a day. Most are abusive in then- desires after and use of the creatm’e, they look at luxm-y rather than necessity. As Cj-prian observes. It is not the heat of their clothes, 7ion calor, but color, the colour, is rather regarded by many. God expects now, especially, that we should cut off om- superfluities, when ombrethren want necessaries.

“To cover her nakedness.” Om- nakeehiess needs a covei-ing. Sin has made nakedness shameful. Hence, our bodies are called vile bodies; those bothes that we study so much to pamper and adorn, are bodies of vileness, as the apostle speaks, Phil. iii. 21; TaTTti^S/u/. y> °^ *’^^t vileness, with an article, or of the vileness: to be proud of om- clothes that cover om- nakedness is an um-easonable thing. Would you have your bodies adorned? labom- for godliness, and then you shall have bodies like the glorious body of Jesus Christ; you will then have bodies that shall not finally need a covering.

Obs. 11. “V^’iien abundance is abused, it is just with God that we should want necessaries. “I will take away my corn,” &c. How many are there who have lavished out then- estates, upon whom you may see God’s judgment so gi-ievous that they want a piece of bread! You often tell yom- wasting servants, they will be glad of a crust before they die; it proves ti-ue often of masters and mistresses also, who, out of pride and delicacy of spii-it, will be so fine and live above their rank, that God blasts them that they have not to cover their nakedness. Those who had gorgeous and splendid attire, are thi-eatened with “baldness,” and “a gu-ding with sackcloth,” Isa. iii. 24; and such as come to misery by their wasting superfluity have none to pity them.

Alfonsus, king of Spain, when a knight, fell into

want, and being arrested for debt, a petition was sent to the king to succour him: Yes, replied the khig, if he had spent his estate in my service, or in that of the commonwealth, it were reasonable he should be provided for by me, or by the commonwealth, but seeing he has spent all in riotousness, let him sufier.

Consider this, you who are so loth to part with your estates for the public good; you murmur at every thing required of you for that, but you are profuse in expenses for yom- lust; God has ways to bring you low enough in yom- estates.

Ver. 10. And now tcill I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.

“And now,” that is, when I recover my wool and flax, “I will discover her lewdness;” I will take then- coverings from their ovm eyes, and from the eyes of others. Wicked men, and especially idolaters, have divers coverings for then- lewdness. These people had three.

The first was then- outward prosperity: Do you speak so bitterly agamst us, as if we were idolaters, as if we had forsaken God? are we not in as good a condition as Judah, who you say has not forsaken God?

Secondly, their external worship, in that they yet retained something according to God’s mind, they yet kept the sabbath and some solemn days according to the law, in this covering they rested; as if they should say, ‘^Tiy do you accuse us as if we did not worship the true God? have not we God’s service with us, and omsolemn assemblies?

Thh-dly, they had other services which were not God’s, yet they covered them with pompous days of solemnity, pretended for God; but bemg of their own invention, they were hateful. Well, saith God, I will take away yom- prosperity, and I will take away those things in which you tlunk to put me off, I will take away yom- solemnities, and all the pomp in your ser’ices.

“I yyU cUscover then- lewdness.” The word nnSai lewdness, comes from Ssj which signifies to fall; it intimates the falling of the spirit to low, poor, ^-ile, and unworthy things. Hence the Hebrews use it for a fool; one that has a vUe spu-it, set upon base, contemptible things, is Nabal, a fool. Hence that speech of Abigail concerning her husband. As is his name, so is he; he is Nabal, and folly is with him. The Seventj’ translate this by another word, which, signifies uncleanness, the mixtm-e of their “”” “i“”“‘’- spirits with vUe things that make them unclean. The English word lewd, comes from loed, an old Saxon word, which signifies one that is of a servDe disposition. Some are of servile spu-its naturally, they are born to a kind of serviHty; they are inclined to baseness and vileness by their natm-al genius: others are of more sublime spu-its naturally,- as if they were born for eat thmgs: these people are lewd, they have vile spu-its, forsaking the blessed God and his glorious ways, tm-ning to vanities that can do no good. So we say of many, they are lewd, base fellows, that is, they are of such” sordid dispositions, that they seek only after such things as have no worth in them, and satisfy themselves with things beneath the excellency of a man, imseemly in a rational creatm-e to take content. The Greek word in Acts x-sdii. 10, translated lewdness, .p„3,„^p.„„„, elegantly sets forth the disposition of a a iiiiioi. ko. hlewd man, namely, one easUy drawn to ‘°“-”- any wicked way.

‘’I -wiU discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers.” “In the sight;” this is a great aggravation of then- shame. God will discover them, not before those who are strangers, but those before whom they would be honoured. Calvin’s remark seems to reach the meaning of the Holy Ghost, alluding to harlots who

have favovu-ites wiih princes at the court for their lovers; they rest on their power, and confide on their greatness, and care not what their husbands can do against them.

I will take away their confidence, though their lovers, the Ass)Tians and Egj-ptians, be never so great, they ihall have no power to help you, but I will discover your lewdness before their face. From hence take these obsen’atioiis.

Obs. 1. All wickedness, and especially idolatr)-, has many covers. Except we look veiy nan-owly to those who are superstitious and idolatrous, we shall not see the evil of that sin. Some covers are subtilly woven, but it may be said of them all, as Isa. xxviii. 20, “The bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it, and the covering naiTower than that he can wrap himself in it.”

Fust, Prosperity in a sinful way is a great cover. This glitters in so many men’s eyes, that the filth of .sin is hid; many a foul hand is under a fab-, perfumed glove; an ill complexion may have a painted face, and prosperity is no other to wicked men than a painted face to a foul woman. As a painted face is no argument of a fan- complexion, so neither is prosperit)’, of a good condition. Crooked and diseased bodies’ may have fine clothes. Green leaves on a tree may hide the rifts, the mosses, and blackness of the body which appears in whiter. Many men are abominably false in then- ways, cruel and bloody in their hearts against God and good men, their spirits are envenomed, they have given up themselves to most horrible sins; yet so long as they have power about them, all is covered: were all theu- prosperity taken from them, and all thengloiT and gi-eatness, and nothing but then- falsehood and hatred of the ways of God appeared, what di’eadful creatures they would be!

Secondly, Retaining some ti-uths in worship is a great cover to much falseness. ‘NMien some wicked persons have to pay a great sum, they shuffle in a counterfeit sixpence or shilling, or a light piece of gold: so some, though they retain many cn-ors, yet because they keep some truths, think to cover much superstition. False wares will be holpcn off amongst good, and a man accustomed to falsehood will sometimes tell some truths to put off a lie. A man that is a base self-seeker will often deny himself; the proudest spirits are as crouching and subject to their superiors as any, and so by seeming humility cover a gi-eat deal of pride. So the evil of ceremonies, and false discipline, pass without much contradiction: You must not trouble yourself about these things; have not we as wholesome, soul-saving doctrine as any church in the world? Because of this the corruption of the other is covered. Much h-])0crisy is covered under excellent gifts; the gifts are gifts of God’s Spii-it, but they often cover much vilencss.

Thirdly, Outward, pompous devotion in God’s worship is a p-eat coloiu- of notorious idolatry. Gilded crosses, painted churches, pompous ceremonies, have covered the piost desperate hati-ed to the power of godliness.

Obs. 2. God has a time to discover wickedness. “I will discover thy lewtbicss,” it shall ajipear one day in its colom-s! Vile and abominalilc wickethicss shall” not always go uncovered. God will not discover her infirmities, neither should we; we should do as God does, discover the lewdness of men, but not theu- infii-mities. Love covers a multitude of faults, if they be but infii-mities. And when you discover the lewdness of others, take heed you do not iliscover your own lewdness at the same time. Many who discover the lewdness of other men, manifest “such bitterness of s])irit, and such rejoicing that they have obtained an advantage against those who are religious, that, whether

true or false they care not, they relate it confidently. This is for men to discover their own lewdness, when they cry out against the lewdness of others. Those who are wise and discerning are able easily to see it; but if we would not have God discover our lewdness, let us get such a cover as shall never be uncovered. You may have many expecbents to cover your sins that are not lai’ge enough, but I will tell you of a cover amply sufficient to cover all. AMiat is that? The righteousness of .Tesus Christ. “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered,” Psal. xxxii. 1. l”hat is a cover which hides from the eyes of God and man for ever.

Obs. 3. When God discovers men’s lewdness, they shall do little hm-t. “I will discover her lewdnes’s in the sight of her lovers.” I will take such a way to manifest her vOe lewdness before her lovers, that she shall neither prevail with them, nor be upheld by them. “But they shall proceed no fm-ther: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men,” 2 Tim. iii. 9. There are many men who have secretly gained on the spirits of others by fair pretences, that they seek nothing but the public good, and desh’e only the furtherance of the gospel; but when opportunity serves, theii- intentions .are tUscovered to go another way than their words seem to import, and then they shall proceed no further, for they shall be vile and contemptible in the eyes of those with whom they prevailed before.

Oba.i. When God sets himself against his enemies, he will go through his work in the face of all those that seek the contraiy. “In the sight of her lovers.” God needs no tricks or de-s-iees to caiTy on his work, but he can carry it on in the sight of his adversaries, and shame them in the sight of their lo%ers, and bring them down. God can make use of the wisdom and policy of men, nor less of their indiscretion. The great works of God amongst us of late have been earned on with a high hand, in the sight of those who have been our adversaries: what discoveries have there been of the filth of men! how has their nakedness been made naked! what changes in their conditions! what contempt has God east in the face of those who were the great champions for lewdness, and that in the very face of their lovers! Their lovers looked on them, there was little or no change in then’ hearts, wliieh were as eager for them as ever, yet their shame has been discovered.

Obs. 5. Dishonour before those fi’om whom we expect honour, is a sad and gi’cat evil. “In the sight of her lovers.” Oh, said Saul, honour me before the people, 1 Sam. xv. 30. Saul cared not much if he were dishonoured before strangers, but he would be honoured before his own people. It is such a cUsgi-aceful thing to be dishonoured before those by whom we would be honoured, that the stronger a man’s spuit is, the more intolerable is the bmden: one of a mean and low spu-it cares not much for dishonom- any where, but a man of elevated spirit counts it the worst thing that can happen, to be (bshonoured before those that love him. Many tradesmen who are modest at home are lewd among strangers. Those who love C»od and tlic saints, are most afraid to have then- evil discovered before God and the saints, for a gracious heart desires honour from them most. A godly man can bear any contcmptlious aliuse from the jirofane, rather than from one that is g<idly. ^N’icked men care not for dishonour among the saints, because they cai’c not for their love. If dishonour before lovers be such a shame, what will dishonour before God at the great day be, and before the saints, and wicked men too who were your lovers!

Obs. 6. Carnal friends esteem men when they arc in [irospcrity, but when they are in adversity tlicy contemn them. “I will discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers.” M’lien I take away their com, and wine, and ffax, and tliesc things, their lovers will

be ashamtd of them. “When huntsmen -would single out a deer, they shoot her &-st, and as soon as the blood appears, all the rest go out of her company, and push her from them. It is’ so with carnal friends, if a man is in affliction, if they see then- friend shot, they look aloof from him. AVe have had woeful experience of this formerly; when many godly ministers were persecuted, those “who before seemed to be their lovers, gi-ew strange unto them. “Mien the sun shines, men that pass by look on a dial; but in a dark, stormy day, a hundred may ride by it and never look at it. AVTien we are in a sun-shine day of prosperity, men will look towards us; but if the gloomy day of adversity come, then they pass by without regard to us. If a man of fashion come to a house, the dogs will be quiet; but when a beggar comes m rags, they fly upon him. It is apparent, that men in their prosperity are not regarded for any thmg in themselves, but for their prosperity’s sake, for their money’s sake, for their clothes’ sake. Suppose when you go to a friend’s house, and your servant accompany you, if all the respect and kindness shown to you were only for your servant’s sake, you would take’ it iU. This is all the respect that men have from false lovers, it is not for any good in them, it is for their prosperity, for their servant’s sake. Oh how vain is respect from the world! K you be gracious, God will not deal with you thus; ii” you have yomestates taken fi-om you, God will not despise you as carnal fi-iends do. “For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,” Psal. xxii. 24. When the saints are afflicted. God does not hide his face fi-om them, but when they cry to him he hears them.

Obs. 1. Carnal hearts have much confidence in many things in which they titist; in time of danger they will not believe but they shall escape. “None shall deliver her out of my hand.” Let us not be troubled at the confidence of om- enemies; they expect to prevail; this is fi’om the curse of God upon them; their case is never so desperate, but they have something to shelter themselves in their- own thoughts. Oh what a shame is it that any thing is rather trusted in than God! The husbandman casts seed-corn, that costs dearer than other corn, into the ground. The merchant trusts all his estate to the winds and waves of the sea, and if they fail, all is gone. You ti-ust servants with matters of weight. K you go to “Westminster, you trust your lives in a boat half an inch thick. God is not trusted so much; that blessed God, who is the only true object of soid-confidence.

Obs. 8. Lastly, when God sets himself against a generation of men, or any individual, all the means in the world shall not help. The prophet Ezekiel (chap, ix.) had a ■-ision of six men with weapons of war in their hands: there were six principal gates in Jcmsalem, and God woidd set these six men ■nith weapons in their hands at each gate, that if they run to this, or the other, or any gate, the man with the weapon m his hand should be sm-e to take them, they should not escape. “Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion,” Amos v. 8; why are these named, “the seven stars and Orion? “the one is the extreme of cold, and the other of heat. The Lord has the power of l)oth: if they escape the heat, the cold shall take them; if the cold, the heat shall destroy them; and I, likewise, saith the Lord, can make both these helpful to you as I please. Hence there is such blasting of means, for the cursing of those whom God opposes; let us not be afraid, though oiu- adversaries have gi’eat assistance, they are in God’s hand, and none can deliver out of his hand; all their great strength is but as tow or flax before the flame of fire.” There is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?” Isa. xliii. 13. “VTierefore it is a fearful thing to

fall into the hand of God when he is in a way of wrath, and it is a blessed thing to be in his hand when he is in a way of mercy. Clu-ist holds the stars, not only ministers, but all “his elect, in his hand, and none can take them out. In the time of the massacre at Paris, a poor man for his deliverance crept into a hole, and when he was there a spider wove a cobweb before the hole. “UTien the officers came to search for him, one observed. Certainly he is got into that hole. No, said another, he cannot be there, for there is a cobweb over the place; and by this means the poor man was preserved. The hofpe of the wicked. Job saith, chap. viii. 14, is as the spider’s web; yet, if God please, he can make a cobweb to deliver his people. The least tilings shall deliver when he will, and the greatest means of deliverance shall not deliver when he pleases.

Ver. 11. / will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.

In this verse we have a sore threat against Israel, for it is in part spu-itual.

“Her mirth,” nwitfD ipocrivaQ, Sept. The word signifies the right temper and posture of the mmd; when the mind is in a right frame, then it may be merry; AATiosoever is merry, let him sing, James v. 13; the word, though not the same, signifies the ^,^ ^. same thing; whoever has his mind in a right frame, let him sing.

“I will cause all her mii’th.” God many times takes away from his saints much of the matter of their- mii-th, but never takes away all. This is a di-eadful threat, to cause all their mii’th to cease.

“I will cause it to cease.” I will turn it away, A;ro- ■rplil/w, Sept. I can soon have all theii- mfrth do-n-n, they shall never be able to rejoice more if I please; it is g”one with the turn of a hand. It appears that Israel, though an apostatizing people, designed to dreadful judgments, yet were a merry, jocund people, they went on stLU in then- mu-th and joviality.

That which is here implied, is more fully expressed in Amos, chap. vi. 4 — 6, who was contemporary with Hosea, and, like Hosea, he was the prophet of the ten tribes: see there how Amos sets forth the mii-th of this people; “That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; “that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like Daid; that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief omtments.” This was theii- condition when they were under such fearful guilt, and in such cfreadful danger. Sensual men, while they prosper, look upon themselves as above the word, and bless themselves in satisf)-ing then- o^^l carnal desires, as if it were but a poor, low, and mean tiling for them to fear sin and threatenings. Come, say they, let us sing away all care, let us live men-ily, let us take our pleasm-e for the present, and crown ourselves with rose-buds. This is the disposition of carnal hearts under all their guilt and danger. They swim delightfully in that river of Jordan, and suddenly fall into the Dead Sea; they spend their days in pleasure, and in a moment go down mto hell. This is all the portion of their cup which they receive from the Lord. They have a little joy here, this is all they are like to have”, and therefore they will take then- fill of what they have. But this will not hold, I will cause this mfrth to cease.

Obs. 1. Sin and mirth can never hold long together; there must be a separation between them. The union between sin and mirth at any time is a forced union; God never joins them together; and if you will join those things that God never joined, your joming cannot

Chaf.il

hold: sin is of such a canker-fretting nature, that it will soon fret out all the varnish of mirth and joy upon it. If you will not take away sin fiom your mirth, God will take away mirth from your sin. It is the happiness of the saints that they shall have everlasting joy; the “pleasures at God’s right hand” ai-e “for evermore,” but the pleasures of sin must cease.

Obs. 2. “VMien afflictions come upon the wicked they are all dejected, their joy and muth are gone. We say of fire, it congi’cgates tilings of the same kind, and separates things that are of diverse kinds. So the fire of affliction congregates tilings of the same nature, as sin, horror, trouble, anguish, sorrow, ve.xation, accusation of conscience, condemnation; these are of the same kind; sin and these are homogeneal; now, when affliction oomes, it congregates all these: you sin, but soiTOw, anguish, and hoiTor of conscience seem now not to unite with your sin; but when the fire of affliction comes, it joins all these together. On the other side, sin, and joy, prosperit)’, and peace, these aie heterogeneous things of another kind; now when the fii-e of affliction comes, it separates these heterogeneous things; then the hearts of the wicked sink as lead, they lie down in son’ow, the candle of the wicked is blown out, all theii- mii-th and joy are but the light of a candle, affliction makes all to be but as a snuff. ^AHien affliction comes, ungodly men have the poorest spirits of any men, they quickly die, they succumb, they fall down under the least weight of affliction; they seem to outbrave the word of God, but they have mean and low sph-its when they bear God’s hand upon them; affliction takes away all that they conceive and understand good. There is nothing within them to support them, but dai-kness and blackness; nothing but guilt and the gnawings of the worm: they look upon every suffering they endure but as the beginning of eternal suflering; and the venom and cm’se of God go with then- affliction, which ibinks up their sph-its.

Oh the happy advantage which the saints have in their attiictions above the wicked! They have sphits that may well be called brave spirits, which can stand under the greatest weight of affliction, and with joy in the midst of them. Paul can rejoice in tribulation, yea, and glory in it too. They have comfort in the creatine, but they are not beholden to the creature for comfort; they depend not upon the creature, theh joy is a great deal higher: that is precious light indeed, that no storm can blow out. See an example of a brave sphit, that in the midst of affliction can have the light of joy, Hab. iii. 17, 18: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the laboiu’ 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:” what then? ‘• yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Perhaps in times of affliction they may abate somewhat of their outward joy, but all their mirth shall not cease, there shall be joy within, though none without.

Obs. 3. All om- mirth depends upon God, he can take it away wlicn he pleases. “I will cause all their mhth to cease.” God is called in Scripture, “The God of all consolation.” Joy is God’s propriety, he gives it when he will, and takes it away when he will. “Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse mito them,” Lam. iii. 65. Mark, the word rjjn translated sorrow, comes from one which signifies a helmet, or a shield to fence off any tiling, or to cover a thing, as a thing is covered by a shield and helmet; and it notes to us that disease which ])liysicians call cardiaca passio, a disease whereby the licarl is so oppressed, and there is such a stopping, that it is, as it were, covered siott sculo, as with a shield, to keep out all things that should comfort the spirits: let the most precious cordials in the world be

given to those who have that disease, they cannot be refreshed by any of them; and so the heart is at last suffocated with sorrow. This is the meaning of the word here, Lord, “give them son-ow of heart;” put them in such a condition, that thek hearts may be so stopped and stifled with son-ow, that whatever means shall be used to bring any comfort to them, no creature in the world may be able to afford the least refreshment. They were wont to shield and fence off thy word, which contains the treasm-es of thy mercies, and they heard the sweet promises of the gospel opened, yet they fenced off thy word as with a shield; now, when they are in affliction, let there be such a fence put upon then- hearts, that though there be never so many promises brought to them, they may be fenced off by thy secret curse. We find many wretches who have lived under the gospel, and resisted the treasures of mercies when opened to them, who in affliction have been in horrible desperation, and whenever any comforts of the gospel have been presented to them, they have ingeniously fenced them off. Those who read the storv’ of Spira, will wonder w-hat eimning he possessed to fence off all comfort that was brought to him. This was from the Lord. Lord, “give them sorrow of heart,” that is. Lord, put such a shield upon then- lieai-ts, as all comfort may be fenced off from them.

AVe see, my brethien, how we depend upon God for comfort; we all cry for comfort, let us know oui- dependence upon God for it; God can fence om- hearts from comfort when he pleases, let us take heed we do not fence off his word from our hearts.

“I will cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days.” These two are put together; for the hearts of men, when they enjoy a more Uberal use of the creatm-e than ordinarj-, and are amongst cheerful company, are warmed, raised, and mflamed. If the heart of a man be gracious, and he feasts in a gracious way. Ins heai-t is warmed and cheered, and enlarged ui things that are good; so the hearts of the wicked, when they are at then- feasts, their lusts are warmed, and their spirits are. raised and strengthened in things that are evjl. You have a notable example of cheering and raising the hearts of men in good things, in the time of the feast that Hezekiah made for the people of Jerusalem in that gicat passover, they “kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with gi-eat gladness: the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept other seven days with gladness,” 2 Chron. xxx. 21, 23. Now mark how their hearts were raised mightily by this; chap. xxxi. 1, “Now when all this was fuiished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and tluew down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all.” Theii- feasts being in a gracious way, their hearts were so inflamed that now they took upon them a mighty courage in doing great things for God.

It were well if it were always so with us when God calls us to feasting, that our hearts were always wai-med and eidarged to do much good. That has been the honour of this city, that in their companies feasting yearly, they were wont when their hearts were up, to consult together what good to do for the coiuitries in which they were bora, and then to resolve to send the preaching of the word to one great town, and to another town. This was a gracious feasting, and for this they were much envied. And though these feasts were prohibited upon other ])retences, yet the hindering this good done at those times, lay at the bottom of that prohibition.

Feasting also warms the lusts and desperately inflames the wicked resolutions of imgodly men. When a company of ungodly men get together in a tavern, and there have drunk and eat liberall)’, how desperately are they set against the ways of godliness! then they scorn and jeer godly mmLsters, and parliament, and Christians: when their lusts are heated by wine and good cheer, they are then as if they were above God, their tongues are their own, and who shall control them? Mark that Scripture, Psal. sxxv. 16, “With liypocritieal mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.” Here is scorning and violence, gnashing upon the psalmist with their teeth, and this at their feasts. Hos. vu. 5, “Li the day of om- king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine: he stretched out his hand with scorners.” They brought bottles of wine, and when his lusts were heated with the wine and good cheer, he joined with them in scorning the w-ays and worship of God; they scorned at all those that would go up to Jerusalem to worship according to the institution. These must be so precise that they will not join with us, as if we had not the worship of God among us; they tell tales to Jeroboam, and the other princes, of the godly who would not yield to their idolatrous ways of worship: now, saith the text, the king “stretched out his hand with scorners;” takes them by the hand, and encourages them, and tells them he win take a course with them, not one of them shall be suffered to live in his dominions.

But God has a time to take away feasting times from a people, a time when those who have delighted themselves so in the use of the creatiu-es, shall have all those merry meetings cease, never feast more, never meet with such merry company more. As ^i^Mao”!ra,’quo Pope Adrian said, when he was dj-ing, O JocSdabS.’S!’’“” my soul, whither art thou going? thou shalt never be merry any more.

For kingdoms also, though there be times for feasting, yet there is a time of mourning; and God seems this day to be coming to us to take away our feasts, to call upon us to spend om- time in another way. It were good for us to do what we can to prevent God by voluntarily humbling om-selves, to take away our own feasts, and to change our festivities into humiliations. The times call for fasting now, rather than feasting; and it is a most di-eadful sin for men to give liberty to themselves for feasting, when God calls for mourning and fasting. You are not at liberty to feast when you will.

Isa. xxii. 12 — 14, might make the hearts of those who are guilty of this tremble: “And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mom-ning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: and behold joy and gladness, slaj-ing oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to-moiTow we shall die. Siu-ely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts.” “Tiile the bread is taken away from oui’ brethren, and the land is miserably spoiled, and when such a black cloud hangs over our heads, there is no time for festivities. “S^liatever your- customs have been, at the time now approaching, (I mean that which you call your Christmas festivity,) you are certainly bound to turn it mto a time of mourning. For if we should grant it lawful for men to appoint holy days for feasting, yet certainly it cannot but be sinful, so to set those days apart, that whatever providence of God happens they must be observed. You will all grant this, that if it be la-ful to keep this time of festivity, yet that God has not set it apart and enjoined it. AYe never have it requii-ed by Christ or by his apostles, that at the beginning of the year we should have days of festi-iti,-. Well then, at the most, if we suppose it law-ful, it is but the institution of man; if it be man’s institution, then it must give way to God’s work, to providence. For man to put so much upon his institution, because he has appointed such a day at the commencement of the year for rejoicing, that v.-hatever providence happens that calls for humiliation and fasting, yet he will hold to his own institution; what is this, my brethren, but to make the commandments of God to be of none effect thi’ough man’s traditions? It is the commandment of God now, that you should mom-n and fast; if then, because of man’s institution, you put by the command of God, and spend time in feasting and rejoicing, which ought to be only when God shines upon a kingdom in ways of mercy, know this is sin unto you. If you can say that God shines upon us now in present extraordinary mercies, then we may feast. I confess they are extraordinary mercies in regard of what we may hope to be the event and effect of them; but for the present administrations of God towards us, they are such as, if ever they called for fasting, they call for it at this day. Therefore, by God’s works amongst us, we know we have God’s wUl revealed to us, namely, to fast; the other, at most, is but man’s institution and tradition. Now the traditions of men must yield to the commandments of God.

AYith what conscience now can you take such a plentifid use of the creature, and suffer your brethi’en to want clothes and bread? If God have granted you such a comfortable estate that you have so much to npaie as to feast, know you are bound in conscience to lay that out in relieving yom- brethren who have been so cruelly used; therefore God brings them to you to be objects of your compassion. It would be very acceptalale to God, if so much as any of you have usually spent in feastings, or intended to spend in these twelve days, you would set it apart for the relief of those who want bread, and set the time apart also for mourning in your families, that God woidd pardon the sin of these times. And now, not only feasts in private families should cease, but the feasts of companies in your public halls likewise.

AAliat abundance of poor plundered people might be relieved, if all that were spent in one year in the feasts of your companies were laid aside for their use! These are times for mercy, not for festivity; if we will not cease our feastings, let us know, God has thousands of ways to take away feasts from a kingdom, and to bring “cleanness of teeth” among us: I will take away their feasts, saith the Lord.

The main thing in this verse to be opened to you is, what these feasts of the Jews were.

The words here are n-j.n feasts, and myic, solemn feasts; they are both in yom- Enghsh translated feasts, but the words in the Hebrew differ much, the fir-st comes from a word that signifies to rejoice and leap, the second from a word that signifies a stated, a settled time; om’ English word feast is derived fi’om the Greek iarla, the goddess which the Latins call Vesta, the goddess both of the earth and of fii’e.

The Jews had their cilil feasts, and their holy feasts. Amongst their holy feasts, some were of God’s appointment, and some of their ovlti. Of God’s appointment, some were more solemn, some less.

Their civil feasts were times wherein they took a more liberal use of the creatiu’e, in rejoicing one with another upon some special occasion, this they called a good day, not a holy day; Esth. viii. 17, “The Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day.” It wUl appear by examining that text, that though the day was appointed to be kept every year, yet it was but as a good day to them, and could not be said to be a holy-day; we do not read of any religious solemn exercise that they had for the day.” Such a day I take to be our fifth of November, a good day, not a holy-day, wherem we have a more liberal use of the creature than at other times, and remember the mercies of God with thanksgi-iiiig. But we know the day is not set apart for this end, so that it is milawful to be exercised in anv other thing.

Their religious feasts, which they presumed themselves to make holy, were their feasts, rather than God’s; for that, you have the example of Jeroboam, he appointed a feast of his own head, which the prophet speaks of, 1 Kings xii. 32, 33, “And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the chikhen of Israel.” Mark here, Jeroboam is rebuked for appointing a feast of his own heart, like the feast God had appointed; this is no excuse, that he would be an imitator of God. This reason, many think, will justify theu- superstitious way, they do but imitate what God did; as thus, God had an ephod for the priests, therefore they will have a holy garment; God had a temple consecrated, they will have one so too; God had his feast days and holy-days, they will have theh’s too in imitation of God. This veiT thing that Jeroboam did, he is rebuked for, that he would set up something as God did.

“Where God has set his .stamp upon any thing, we must take heed we presume not to set our own stamp. Su])pose any one should take a piece of silver, and stamp it as nesr as he can like the king’s coin. The silver is his own; well, but if he be examined. Why did you thus? “WTiat hurt, saith he, is there in it? I have done no more than the king did; why, may we not follow bis example? Will this answer, think you, serve his turn? It is as much as his life is worth. Just such a plea is this, they will do such and such things in God’s worship; why? God has done so before, and they do but imitate God; there is as much strength in the one as in the other. Therefore that word ‘-devised” in the Hebrew comes from a word that C”13 signifies to lie. Jeroboam did lie. So in

Mmjjcct. -^^^ ^jy 25, “That ftiistrateth the tokens of the liars.” Jeroboam, in setting this day apart, did it under a pretence to honoiu’ and worship God; but though it might seem to make God’s honour and worship better than before, yet the Scripture puts the lie upon it. I think this was the reason he set it apart in the eighth month; the feast of tabernacles was (lie fifteenth day of the seventh month; now he would not alter the day, but have it the same day that God appointed, but in the eighth month. The feast of tabernacles was appointed to praise God for the in-gathering of the fruits of the earth. It was as upon our Sc])- tember; now, upon the fifteenth of September, perhaps, all the produce was not gathered in, therefore Jeroboam might have this device, he would stay till every thing was gathered into theii’ bams and their vessels, and was fit to eat and to cbink; then saith Jeroboam, Now is the time to praise God; you praised God before when you were taking in the fruits, you could not use them, but now having them all in, and being able to make use of them, now is the time to praise God. This was Jeroboam’s wisdom, by which he thought to make a feast to please the people, rather than God’s feast. There are no sliperstitious men but will have some pica to induce the hearts of people to embrace their ways, rather than God’s simple, plain, and pure ordinances. But though Jeroboam did it under this pretence, yet he lied; so, those men who will take upon them to sanctify days, or places, or garments, or any vesture, that God never dia, though they say they do it for God’s honour, to make God’s worship more glorious and decent, yet it is a lie. Just as those who will make images, brave, golden images of God, (), say they, it is for the honour of God: but mark what is said, Hab. ii. 18, “AVhat profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it; the molten image and a teacher of lies?” If images be laj-men’s

books, they are books that have abtudance of errata in them, they are full of lies.

Now arises the question, whether there may be holy feasts (taken so in a proper sense) by man’s appointment? Jeroboam is accused of it plainly: and in Gal. iv. 10, 11, there is a very severe charge upon the Galatians, “Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed ujion you labour in vain.” It appears by this, that people’s hearts were mightily set upon their feasts, their days, and months, and years, they were loth to be taken off from them; so that the apostle speaks with bitterness of spirit, “I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.” And indeed when godly ministers take pains amongst people whose hearts are set upon such things as these, for the most part they lose their labour, little good is done.

Yes, some will say, to observe the Jewish days after they were aboUshed by God, was sinful and dangerous, but we do not keep Jewish days. But mark what these men saw, God abolishes his own, and yet they think he gives liberty to man to set up others. If upon God’s abolishing his olm, men have liberty to set up theirs, then C’lvristians are under a more heavy bondage, ami gi-ievous pedagogy, than ever the Jews were, for it i.4 better to have a hundred days of God’s appointing, than one of man’s, and more honourable. Further, if God appoint, there needs no scruple, as if man appoint: yea, if God appoint, we may expect a special blessing, and efficacy, and presence of God; we cannot expect such things in man’s appointment. Now, if when God has taken away Jewish ceremonies and days, man might lawfully appoint others as he pleases, we may jiray to God with good reason to bring us under the bondage of the law again, rather than to be thus under man’s power.

Thus far we grant, that upon any special work of j God, the revolution of the year naturally reminds d it; and so far as it is natural, it is good, I may make use of it. Therefore, I dare not say that it is altogether unlawful at such times to have some outward rejoicing, when God does not call for mourning some other way (except the argument from the extraordinary abuse there has been of it may be of force). Nay, that there may be advantage taken of the people’s leisure, to preach the word and to hear sermons upon such days, we deny not. We know that Christ was in the porch of the temple at the feast of dedication, which was one of the davs of their own appointing, not that he was there to countenance or honour the feast, but because he had been there before, at another feast of God’s a])])ointment. Now there being a multitude of people at that time also gathered together, he took advantage of the concourse, to come to the outer porch to preach to them. So much therefore as we may grant, we will not deny.

For the right imdcrstanding of setting apart days, I sup])Ose these two things will be questioned.

First, ANHiy may not governors of the church set apart days, as well as appoint times for preaching; or as well as others who appoint such times, as once a week so nuich time set apart for a lecture?

Secondly, AA’e may ai)point fast days, and days of thanksgiving, these are set ajiart by man: how happens it that a man may a]ipoint a time for ])reaching constantly once a week, and he may appoint times of fasting, and days of thanksgiving, and yet not have this liberty, to make a day that may properly be called a holy-day?

AVe must clear that point from this objection, or else we do nothing; and for the clearing this we must know there is a gre.it deal of ditf’ercncc in these tnree things, the right understanding of which will clear all the matter:

Between the deputation, and the dedication, or sanctification of a thing.

I may depute a creatiwe to be used to help me in holy things, and yet this creature is not sanctified by its deputation; and so for a lecture, such an hour in such a day is deputed, but the time is not made holy by it; the place is deputed, but is not made holy by it. Yea, I will appoint such a garment when I am in such a service such a day to wear, but yet the garment is not made holy by it. A creatiu-e is not made holy merely by being used at a holy exercise, or in a holy thing. As thus, suppose I read the holy Scripture, I make use of a candle to read it by, I do not make the candle holy by this. K the using of a creature in a holy duty did niake the creature holy, then it woidd be the same in all creatures. I use the very light of the air when I am reading and speaking holy things in public assemblies, but I do not make the light and aii’ holy because I use them in holy things; so I use this hour to preach in, though I use it in a holy duty, I make it no fm-ther holy than a man does his spectacles that he reads the Scripture by. A de])utation is this, when such a creature as I shall think most commodious for such a service, shall be set apart for such a service; or when such a creature as I use for such a service, will be a natural and usefid help to me, to appoint it for that service upon that ground.

The second is dedication, that is, when I give a thing out of my own power for a pious use, so that I cannot use it for any thing again. As when a man has given so much of his estate to build a school or an hospital, it may be said to be a kind of dedication; he has devoted, given away, so much of his estate to that end, so that he cannot make use of it for another purpose. Now we do not so set apart the time of jjreaching, as that we cannot use this time for any other end, we may, as we see cause, alter it, where it is from nine to eleven we make it from two to foiu’; whereas, if it were a thing that we had dedicated, that is, given out of om- own power, then it cannot be changed by us. That is a second degree.

Now sanctification is beyond dedication, that is, when any creature or time is so set apart for holy things, as it must not be used in any thing but that which is holy; and though the same holy actions be done at another time, and with the use of another creatm’e, they shall not be accounted so holy as at this time, and when this creature was used. Sanctification is the setting apart of any day which God gives me to use for my ordinary avocations, and so to devote it for such a business that it may not, without sm to me, whatever happens, be used for any other occasion. And, secondly, when I have set it apart, if I so exalt it, as if the same holy actions performed at another time, shall not be accounted as holy as at this time, although that time has as much natural fitness in it, then I sanctify a time to myself; but this I cannot do without sin. There are two things in all holy feasts, and, indeed, in all things which are accounted holy. First, it was a sin for them to use that time for any other thing, or m any other way, than God had appointed. Secondly, the actions they did at that time were such as were more acceptable to God than if they had done the same thmgs at another time. Yea, it was so in their very days of humiliation. The day of expiation must not be used for any thing else; if they humbled themselves or fasted upon another day, that would not have been so acceptable to God as upon this day. So in all superstitions of men, when they set apart either days, or places, or things, they put these two upon them. As for places, they say we may appoint a place for people to meet in a religious way. Yes, but it becomes superstitious, fu-st, when it is so set apart, as I shall make conscience of using it for no other purpose. Secondly, when I am persuaded in my conscience, that God accepts the service in this place better than in any other, though as decent as this. So for superstitious garments. You say, May not ministers be decent? I have heard a great doctor give this argument for a surplice: Sometimes I ride abroad to preach, and my cloak is dirty, is it fit for me to come into a pulpit with a duty garment? and therefore there is always appointed somewhat to cover it; it is decent. Suppose it be so, but if this garment must be used only for such a holy exercise; and, secontUy, if I think the wearing of it honours the service, and that God accepts the service performed in such a garment rather than in another; this is supei-stition: as in one place in Suffollc, when that garment was lost, there was a strict injunction to the poor countrjTnen that there might not be any service or seimon till they had got another; for which they were appointed ten days, and this being upon a Friday, there were two sabbaths without any service; therefore it is apparent they put the acceptance of the duty upon it. So for days, if any man set apart a day, so that his conscience condemn him before God as sinning against him if he do any thing upon that day but such holy duties; secondly, that though the same holy duties be done upon another day, they shall not be accounted so acceptable to God as done upon that day; this is superstitious. Yet, certainly, of this nature have many of om’ days been, for if you opened your shops what distm-bance was there m the city! it was profaning the day, every proctor had power given him to molest you. Did not they also account it a greater honour to God to have service read that day than to have it read upon an ordinary Tuesday or Thursday? yea, preaching upon a lectm’e day that was not one of their holy-days, they accounted not so acceptable to God as upon one of them. Here comes then- institution, which puts more upon it than God does, and thus it becomes smful. So if you set apart the

time you call Christmas, so as to make conscience of not doing any other senice or work on that day, and think that to remember Christ, and to bless God for Clrrist, upon another day, is not so accoptable to God as to do it upon this day, here is the evil of man’s instituting days.

Well, but this is not cleared except we answer another objection: Do not the king and parliament command days of fasting and of thanksgiving, and are not they of the same nature? WiU not you say it is sin for us to open shops upon these days? I answer, om’ days for fasting and thanksgivmg have not those two ingredients in them, for, fu-st, if God by his providence call any individual to special business in his family, then he need not have his conscience condemn him though he spend all that day in that business. They may set apart a day to be spent publicly, yet with this limitation, not to enjoin every individual, that to whatever God’s providence specially calls him, he must leave off all, and make as much conscience of doing this as upon the Lord’s day.

You will say. Upon the Lord’s day, if any thing extraordinary happen, we may go a journey, or transact business, as a physician may ride up and down, works of mercy may be done, therefore this makes no difference between God’s day and these of man’s appointment. I answer, though a physician do a work of mercy upon the sabbath day, yet he is bound to do it with a sabbath day’s heart; whatever calls him fi-om those services that are God’s immediate worship, he sins against God if he follow it as the business of his calling, as upon another day; but if he do it with a sabbath day’s fi-ame of heart, as a work of mercy, he keeps the sabbath in that. But if there were a necessity to ride upon a fast day, a man’s conscience need not to condemn him before God, if he went about that work as the work of his calling. It is not therefore so dedi-Chap. H.

eated, but God’s providence may oblige us to do other civil actions, and that as the works of our calling. Secondly, neither is it so sanctified, as if the same works done on another day were not so acceptable to God as when done upon this day- Our fast days are fixed for the last Wednesday of the month, but to think that the work done upon another day were not so acceptable to God as done upon that day, is to sanctify the day, and such a sanctification is sin. The same answer may be given for days of thanksgiving.

Besides, there is another thing to be considered, that is, in stating the time. Though men may thus depute and appoint days to worship God, yet they cannot state any such days, but as God’s providence permits, according to the present occasion. Therefore it would be a sin for a state to appoint nominally a day for religious fasting: God did so, but men have no power to do so, because they do not know but God may call them to rejoicing upon that day, they have not knowledge of the times. All that we can do is this, when God calls us to fasting, we must appoint days of fasting; when God calls us to rejoicing, we must appoint days of rejoicing. Therefore to appoint the time of Lent as a religious fast is suiful, and the statute itself threatens a mulct upon that man who shall call it a religious fast: stated fasts, which arc not limited by Prolidence, are certainly evU. The monthly fasts now enjoined, if we should say we will have them once a month till this day twelvemonths, or two years, I persuade myself the state should sin; but to have it as long as God’s hand is upon us, as long as the occasion lasts, and God’s providence calls us to it, is justifiable.

Our brethi-en in Scotland wholly deny the appointment, both of stated fasts and feasts: nay, they will scarce agree to the monthly fasting we have, because they are so loth to yield to any xtala jejunia. King James once made a speech in Scotland, in which he blessed God that he was born in such a time, and was a member of such a church; the reason he gave was this: The chui-ch of Scotland exceeds in this all other chiu’chcs. England, though it has pm-o doctrine, has not pure discipline; other reformed chuixhes have pm-e doctrine and discipline, but they retain the observation of many holy-days; but the church of Scotland has ])in’e doctrine and discipline, and keeps no holy-days, and therefore it is a purer cluu’ch than any in the world.

Thus I have endeavoiu-cd to show you how far things may be set apart, and how far not, when it becomes a sin for any one to sanctify a day. By this we may see what a mercy it is to be delivered from those men who have robbed the kingdom of many days, and put many superstitious respects upon them, and so have involved us in much guilt; bless God for delivering us from them, and for those days in which God gives us liberty to exercise ourselves in his worship. Thus much for those feasts called their feasts, that were of their own appointment.

“Her new moons.” The ordinance of God in the new moons, is in Numb, xxviii. 11, “And in the beginning of your” new moons, or “months, ye shall offer a Inirnt ofiering unto the Lord,” kc. It was God’s ordinance, that the Jews at the beginning of every month, when they had a new moon, should keep that day holy to God. That which the Latins call the calends, were their new moons.

The holy solemnity of these days consisted in tlu-ee things.

First, The offerings that were there appointed by God particularly for that time, were many and chargeable; two young bullocks and one ram, seven lambs of

Benedictiis csto ConJitor tuns, 0 luna, bcncdictus esto Dominus tuus.

t Tcr siibsiliunt coeliim versus quod, qiianto sublimius possjnt tanto mehus est, lunamque sdloqucntes, quemadmodiitn,

the fii-st year without spot; besides their flour and oil for their drink-offerings, and one kid of the goats for a sin-offering.

Secondly, At these times they were wont to repair to the prophets for instruction, to know the mind of God. The nusband of the Shunammite said to his wife, “Wherefore wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath,” 2 Kings iv. 23: if it were new moon or sabbath, you might go, but since it is neither, why will you go? That implies, that to repair to the prophets for instruction, and to hear God’s word from them, upon those days was common among the Jews.

Thirdly, It was unlawful to buy and sell upon those days. Ajnos viii. 5, “‘ATien will the new moon be gone that we may sell com?” they were weary of it, it seems, because they might not buy and sell in it.

Buxtorf, who describes the Jewish customs, relates three other things they were wont to do in their new moons.

1. Those who vere most devout among them, set the day apart for fasting and prayer, to entreat God to bless the new moon to them.

2. As soon as there was an appearance of the new moon, one steps up, and cries, 0 thou Creator of the moon, be ever blessed,* and so he goes on in blessing God for this creature.

3. They used to leap and to reach toward the moon as soon as they saw it, speaking after this manner: AVe, stretching to the moon, cannot reach it; so all our enemies that aim at us, are as unable to reach us to our hurt, as we that-t

But why did God appoint this feast of the new moon? It was appointed for these fom- ends.

(1.) Because God would be acknowledged to have the govcmment of all inferior things in the world, and especially of all the changes of times. As the sabbath was to put us in mind of God’s creating the world, so the new moons were appointed for them to bless God for the government of the world. Many nations have attributed much of the government of the world to the moon; the tides, you know, ebb and flow according to the moon, the great works of God in the seas seem to be governed by God in the use of that creature; yea, things seem to be governed more sensibly by this creature than by others: that they miijht not rest therefore in the creature, but give God the glor)-, he appointed the feasts of the new moon; if they had any changes of times and seasons, God caused it, rather than lliis creature. As the heathens called the moon “the queen of heaven,” so did Israel; and would not be hindered from offering cakes to her, because they attributed all their prosperity to her, Jer. xliv. 17 — 19. Now from this God would take them off, therefore he a])pointed this solemn feast of the new moon.

(2.) God would hereby teach, that the bringing of any light unto us after darkness is merely from himself, and he must be acknowledged in it. The moon is a glorious creature, and causes much light; but soon after there is darkness, and after this darkness light springs up again: this is the work of God. We are taught a moral lesson from this feast; that is, has God at any time brought darkness upon a kingdom, or upon a family, or an individual? docs he begin to bring light? he must be acknowledged and praised for it.

(3.) God would teach them, also, that the beginnings of all mercies arc to be dedicated to him. When God renews a mercy, at the very first, before it comes to ]ierfection, it is to be given up unto God; they were to celebrate this feast upon the beginning of the light of the moon.

inquiunt, nos to versus subsilientes attingere te non possumus, sic hostes nostri omncsnus ad malum uttmgerc nobisquc nocere lion potcrunt. Buxtorf. Synag. Judaic, c. 17.

(4.) This aimed at Chxist, as all other ceremonies of the law (lid. It pointed out our condition in our depending upon Christ; for our light must be renewed by om- conjunction with Jesus Christ, who is the Sun of righteousness; as the light of the moon is renewed by her conjunction with the sun, that gives the great light to the world. And as the light of the moon increases as it takes it from the sun, so our light increases as we take it fi-om the Sun of righteousness. Thus this feast was typical, and thus we see these feasts were of special use.

But when they abused these feasts, God said, I -will take them away, you shall have no more; and therefore God professes a loathing of their feasts, and, amongst others, of their new moons, Isa. i. 14. Not but that they were holy in themselves, but when they abused them, by adding then- own superstitious vanities, or by not obser-ing the due end for which God appointed them, then God is oftended. Now, saith God, you acknowledge darkness and light to be from me, and change of time to be fi’om me, but what use do you make of your time? You seem to give up the mercies you receive to me, but you do not honour me with them, nor for them.

You seem to think of the Messias in these tilings, but your hearts are not with him, all your ways are after your lusts. I loathe your feasts. Just as when a man comes to God, and prays devoutly, Lord, lead me not into temptation; and as soon as he has done, immediately goes into wicked company. God loathes you for going quite cross to yom- prayers. You pray, Lord, give us this day our daily bread; as if you said, Lord, I depend upon thee every day for my bread, and for a blessing upon all my outward estate; and as soon as you have done, you overreach, and cheat, and go to Satan for your bread: God loathes these prayers of yours, as God loathed then- new moons, because when he appomted such worship for those ends, yet they went quite contraiy.

Yet there are two things very observable about these new moons. We often read these things, but pass them over and but little mind them.

1. God will have the glory of his creature, of the new moon, and that solemnly, yet it must be at that time when the moon is very little. God does not ask to be glorified in that creatm-e when it is fullest of glory; but when it is, as we may say, in the meanest condition, when it exhibits but little light, scarce any at all, then God will be glorified. This is the instruction and moral lesson from hence, which is no strained one, but I think intended by God himself, in appointing this feast; in that God will have the glory due to him fi-om this creature in the beginning of its light, rather than at any other time. We are taught in this,

Obs. That there is much danger when we are giving God the gloi-y of the creatm-e, of resting in the creature, and not passing through the creature speedily to God. God is very jealous of his glory this way. God has made many glorious creatm-es, and he would have us give due esteem to them all; but when we esteem them for any excellency, God is jealous lest any of his glory should rest in the creatm-e, therefore he calls for it at the time when the creatm-e is most mean. That is the reason why God’s ordinances are so plain, we have but plain bread, and plain wine, and a plain table, and no pompous attire, because God “saw that when we are to deal with him spiritually, if we had pompous things we should rest in them. We see men so attracted with pompous things, that they give not God that glory which is due to him, but honom- the creatm-e rather than God. It seems that the heathens who made the moon to be their goddess, looked at it when it was most light, as appears, Job xxxi.; therefore Job,

to clear himself from that idolatry, saith, ver. 26, “If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon -n-alking in brightness.” They used to worship the moon when they saw it “walking in brightness;” because they could not reach the moon, they kissed then- hand, and bowed to it in acknowledgment of a deity; therefore. Job would free himself from worshipping this creatm-e. When the creature is most glorious, there is danger of giving God the less. It is thus with us; God has often more glory fi-om us when om- estates are small, than when they are very great: many a man, when he has been in full light of prosperity, never minded God, but when God brought him into darkness, he gave God glory; and then it has been most acceptable, because then he sees God’s hand helping him without the creatm-e. God had most glory from the moon when it had the least light, so God may have glory fi-om us though our light be extinguished.

2. There is yet another remai-kable thing concerning this feast. You observe what difference there is between the feasts of the new moons by God’s appointment under the law, and the feasts of the new moons as they are set forth to us in Ezekiel. Those chapters in Ezekiel fi-om the fortieth and so on, though they seem to speak of the Jews’ ceremonies, and temple, and feasts; yet then- scope is to describe the glorious condition of the chm-ch of God in the time of the gospel; as in Isa. lxvi. 23, “And it shall come to pass, that fi-om one new moon to another, and fi-om one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship me, saith the Lord;” that is, their constant worship shall be in comparison as a sabbath, and they shall not only worship me at the beginning of the moon, but at all times, it shall be full and constant: therefore, though Ezekiel there speaks of new moons and other feasts, yet it is to set out the condition and blessed state of the times of the gospel under those shadows and tj-jjes, according to the phraseolog)- of the Jews. This being granted, let us compare the institution of the feast of the new moon, in Numb, xxviii., with what is said in Ezek. xlvi. In Numb, xxviii. they were to off’er for a burnt-offering, two bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs; but ui Ezek. xlvi. 6, in the days of the new moon, there should be but one bullock and six lambs. God himself had said, that m their new moons they shoidd offer tn-o bullocks and seven lambs: yet when the prophet sets out a more glorious condition of the church, they must not offer so much as they did before, but one bullock and six lambs. What are we taught fi-om this? Two excellent lessons, which are the reason of the difference.

First, that there is a blessed state of the gospel coming, which shall not be subject to such changes as heretofore, but a more settled condition of peace and rest; so that they shall not have the same occasion to bless God for his providence in the changes of times as before they had. Their solemnity of the new moon, was to do that spiritual thing in a ceremonial way, that is, to give God the glory for the change of times: but in the times of the gospel, they shall not have so many sacrifices, to make it such a solemn business. Why? Because the church shall be in a condition of more rest and safety, and more constancy in then- ways, not hurried up and down by men’s humom-s, and lusts, and wUl, as before.

Secondly, as the state of the gospel shall not be so subject to danger as it was before, there shall not be that occasion to bless God for bringing light immediately after darkness. After it had been dark a long time, and they could not see the moon, as if that ereatm-e had been lost out of heaven, when they saw it again they were to bless God for it: but in the time of the gospel that is coming, there shall be no such darkness; this time, however, is not yet come, we have

need of our seven lambs and two bullocks, for we have much darkness.

“And her sabbaths.” Plutarch thought that the

sabbath of the Jews was from Sabbos, a name of

Bacchus, that signifies, to live jovially

ioriSitavi’Tie. ^”’1 merrily. Indeed, the sabbaths which

many keep may have such a derivation:

their sabbaths are sabbaths of Bacchus, to be mcrrv,

and to eat, and drink, and i)lay, is the end of them ail.

But the word has a better root. God would have us upon the sabbath rest from all other works, that we may be free to converse with him; therefore it is so much the more inexcusable if, when we have nothing else to do, we shall refuse to converse with God as he requh-es of us. If a friend came to your house to converse with you, and he should know you have no bujiness to take up your time, yet you will scarce sec him, or spend a little time with him, will he not take it ill? If, indeed, you had an excuse that your business was extraordinary, it would not l)e so ill taken; but w hen he knows you have nothing to do, and yet you refuse time to converse with him, will not this be taken for slighting him? Thus you deal with God: had you indeed great business to transact u))on that day, though you did not converse with God in holy duties, God might accept of mercy rather than sacrifice. But when he appoints you a day to rest, wherein you have nothing to do but to converse with him, yet then to deny it, is a slighting the majesty of God.

Now the Jews had iivers sabbaths; amongst others, these were principal ones, the sabbaths of days, and the sabbaths of years.

The sahbatlis of days. Every seventh day they had a sabbath, and it was kept unto the Lord. Now this feast of theii’s had somewhat in it memorative, somewhat significative, and somewhat figui’ative. It was a memorial, a sign, and a figiu’e.

First, it was memorative; a memorial of two things:

1. Of the work of God’s creation. After God had finished his works of creation, then he rested, and sanctified the seventh day. Psal. xcii. is appointed for the sabbath, the argument of it is, the celebrating the memorial of God’s great works.

2. Of their deliverance out of Egypt, in remembrance of the rest that God gave them from theii” bondage. ‘■ Kemember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day,” Deut. v. 1<5.

Secondly, it was significative, a sign. Exod. xxxi. 17, “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever:” and ver. 13, “It is a sign between me and you, that I am the Lord that doth sanctifv you.” God made it a sign, that as this day was by his command to be sanctified, set apart from other days, so God had set apart this nation of the Jews from other nations.

Thirdly, it was figurative, it prefigured or ty])ified the rest that remained for the jjeople of God. Heb. iv. 9, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God,” both here, in the time of tire gospel, and in heaven eternally.

Now there was some specialty in this day of rest, in this sabbath of the Jews, more than in any other sabbath. As,

(1.) In the antiquity of it. It was the most ancient of all the days set apart for any holy use, being from the time of the creation.

(2.) It was WTitten with God’s owni finger in the tables.

(3.) God rained no manna upon thi’s day. and that even before the law was given in Mount Sinai for the honour of this day.

(4.) The whole week takes denomination from the

sabbath. Luke xviii. 12, ‘■ I fast twice in the week,” cif -oS (ra/3/3drou, twice a sabbath. So Mark xvi. 2, ‘• The fii-st day of the week,” the first of sabbaths, rqi; /iiaf oafifiuTuv.

(5.) This sabbath is called an everlasting covenant by way of eminency, as if nothing of God’s covenant were kept if this were not. Exod. xxxi. 16, “Ye shall keep the sabbath for a peii)etual covenant.”

(G.) Yea, God puts a remembrance upon this day, and not upon any other sabbath. If a friend who would fain converse with you, send to you a week beforehand, saying, I pray think of that day, I will come to you then and converse with you, we will enjoy communion together; now, if when he comes he find you employed in xranecessary businesses, will he take it well? God does so with you: I desire to converse with your souls, and I ajipoint you a day, think of it, remember that day, that you and I may be together, and converse sweetly one with another: if God find you then occupied in unnecessary busmesses, he will not take it well.

This sabbath the Jews rejoiced much in, and blessed God for it, Neh. ix. 14, as a great mercy. Philo Juda-us, speaking of the fourth commandment, Q,„rt<,m vvkt. saiih, It is a famous precept, and profit- ‘““> ‘gnjBium pw able to excite all kind oi virtue and piety, ntm nnuirm n-TIic Hebrews say we must sanctify the pltut’miero’prrsabljath at its coming in and going out, “‘“”’ and bless God who gave it to us. Yea, it is called by some of the Hebrews, the very desire of days. Drusius ttUs of a Jew, who, when the sabbath day ajHiroached, was wont to put on his best clothes, sajing. Come, my spouse, &c., as being glad of that day, as a bridegroom of his spouse. It is not my work to handle the point of the sabbath day, or Lord’s day now, but to o])en it as we have it here in the text, to show what kind of sabbath the Jews had. Only observe this one thing about this sabbath; if you compare Numb, xxviii. 9, with Ezek. xh-i. 4, you find that the ofi’erings in the i time of the gospel, were more than those in the time of the law. In Numbers, you find but two lambs; but in Ezekiel, six lambs and a ram, for the sabbath. This by way of type shows, that in the settled times of the gospel, God’s worship u])on the Christian sabbath should be solemnized more fully than it was in the time of the law.

The next is, the sabhallis of years, and they were of two sorts. There was one to be kept evei-y seven years, and another every -seven times seven, every fiftieth year. Every seventh year there was a rest of the land; as every seventh day there was a rest of the labour of then- bodies: Exod. xxiii. 10, 11, “Six yeai-s thou shall sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: but the’ seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still;” tlicy must not prune theii- -incs, nor gather their vintage’. The sabbath of days signified that they themselves were the Lord’s, therefore they ceased from then- own labours. But the sabbath of years, the resting of the land signified that the land was the Lord’s, at his disposal, and that they were to depend upon the providence of God for their food in the land. When they ])loughed, and when they sowed, and gathered in the fruits, God would dispose the land as he pleased.

And we must acknowledge, for that is the moral of it to ourselves, that all lands are the Lord’s, and the fruit that we enjoy from the land is at his disposing. If any man ask, A’hat should we eat that seventh year? seeing they might not plough, nor sow, nor reap, neither have vintage, nor harvest; the Lord answers thom. Lev. xxv. 21, “I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.” God, you see, will not have any to be losers by his service. Let us trust God then, though perhaps you have now one year in which you have no trading. People cry out. Oil this twelvemonth we have

had no ti’iiding in the city! we can get no rent out of the country! Do not murmur, trust God; it may be God has been before-hand with many of you, j’ou have had full ti’ading formerly which may preserve you comfortably now. K not before, trust God for the next: the Jews were to trust God eveiy seventh year, they had nothing coming in for one year in seven. If once in all youi- lifetime God takes away yom’ trading upon an extraordinary occasion, do not murmur, do not give less to the poor: I speak to those whom God has blessed in former years, so as that they are not only able to subsist, but to give too: “Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee,” Deut. xv. 9. If a poor company of distressed and plundered people come to you and desire your help, because you have not such a full income as you were wont to have in your ti-ading, you refuse to relieve them, if they cry unto God against you, it will be sin unto you.

This rest of the land was also to put them in mind that there was a time coming when God will free them from labom’. Now they were fain to eat their bread in the sweat of their brows, but God would supply them once in seven years, without the sweat of their brows in tilling the land, showing, that there was a time wherein God would bring his people to such a rest, that they should have fidl supply of all things without labour.

The second thing in this seventh year was, all debts that their brethren owed to them were to be released. Deut. XV. 2, it is called there, “the Lord’s release;” the Lord is merciful to those that are in debt. God knows what a gi-ievous burden it is for his people to be in debt; rich men, who are full-handed, do not understand what a bm-den it is to be in debt to every man they deal with; they cannot sleep quietly, they can have but little joy and comfort in then’ lives, the burden is so grievous. Now God, in mercy to his people, that they might not all their days go under such a burden, and so have little joy of then- lives, granted this favour to them, that once in seven years then- debts were to be released. But it was the debt of a Hebrew, Deut. xv. 12; foreigners’ debts they were not bound to release. By that we are to learn, that there should be more pity and commiseration shown to those who are om’ brethi’en in the ilesh, or in the Lord, with respect to their- debts, than others. There is a complaint that many of the gocUy have little care and conscience in paying theu- d’ebts; the justness of that complaint I know not, but there may be slothfulness, if not unfaithfulness, and if there be cai-elessness and unfaithfulness in some, it is enough to cast an aspersion upon all. Though those who are godly should be more careful to pay their debts than others, yet Lf you see them godly and laborious in their calling, and the providence of God only prevent, and not any negligence of theirs, it must be a vile and wicked heart that would take advantage of then- being godly, to ojipress them; no, you are bound to show them much commiseration. Beware there be not an evil heart in thee, to be less mercifid to thy poor brother because of the seventh year’s rest of the ground, or because the debt w-as to be released that seventh year: but “thou shalt sm-ely give him, and thy heart shall not be gi-icvedwhen thou givest unto him; “because for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto,” Deut. xv. 10. Notwithstanding there must be a cessation of ploughing, and sowing, and vintage, in the seventh year, yea, notwithstancUng they were bound to release theii- debt in the seventh year, yet they must do this, and not do it grudgingly; they must not mm-mur and say. Docs God require of us that we must neither plough nor sow, and

that we must release our debts, and give too, nay, and give, and not have oui- hearts grieved too, that we must not complain of this? O my brethren, God loves exceedingly cheerful givers, and hearts enlarged with bowels of compassion, not hearts grumbling and oljjecting against giving. ISIany men have no quickness of understanding in any thing else but against works of mercy; how quick are they in theii- objections, and find such subtle ways to save their pui-ses, that we are astonished! Against this there is a solemn charge, Deut. XV. 11, “Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to the needy, in thy land.”

The thhd thing to be done once ru seven years was the release of servants, they too must go free, and they must not be sent away empty neither; “It shall not seem hard unto thee, -n-hen tnou sendest him away free from thee,” Deut. xv. 18; you must give them liberty, as ver. 14. It is true, we are not bound to the letter, every seven years to do thus, but there is a moral equity in it; when servants have done you faithful service, you must not think that it is enough that you give them meat, and di-ink, and clothes, but you must be cai-eful of youi- servants how they should live after they are gone from you. This was the fb-st sabbath of years.

But the second was the most famous, and that was the rest that was every seven times seven years, the fiftieth year, w-hich was called the year of jubilee, from the trumpet by which they were wont to proclaim that year, which, as the Jews tell us, was of a ram’s horn. In this year clivers of the same things were done as in the seventh year, as the release of debts, the release of servants. But there are some things observable that were done at this time beyond what was done every seventh year.

As for servants, the release of them was not only of such as had then served seven years, yea, if they had served any time, they were then to be released; but there were some that would not be released, and there was a command given by God respecting it, Exod. xxi. 6, if there were a servant that loved his master and would not go free, then his master should bring him to the post of the door, and with a nail bore his ear, and then the text saith, “he shall serve him for ever.” Now, that “for ever” is by interpreters interpreted but for the time of jubilee, and then he should have rest. Here it is to be understood of the fiftieth year, the year of jubilee.

There are some kind of spirits so slavish, that when they may have liberty they will not; they deserve to have their ears bored, to be slaves to the filtieth year, if not for ever. Many amongst us at this day have such spu-its. God ofli’ers us a release from bondage; how many of us love servitude still! It is just with God that we should have our ears bored, and that we should be slaves even for ever; but we hope there w-iU be a jubilee come at length for our deliverance. God would have a jubilee even to deliver those that were of the most servile spii-its. AMien God began with us at the commencement of oiu- parliament, Kke the seventh year he ofl’ered to us a release, and we refused it then, and we deserve that om- ears should be bored; but God is infinitely merciful, though we be of servile spirits, and know not how to pity ourselves, we hope the Lord w ill pity us, and grant us, out of free and rich grace, a jubilee, even to deliver those who have a mind to be bond-slaves. I am sure God does so sphitually; if God did not deliver those who at-e wiUuig to be slaves, he -ffould deliver none.

It was a great mercy so to provide for servants, that they might thus be delivered. The greater, because servants endm-ed a great deal of hardship then, more than now; they were bought and sold, not only other nations, but the Hebrews were bought for servants also, as you find it, Exod. xxi. 2. Besides, servants

were in such bondage then, that if the masters beat them -w-ith a rod until they had killed them, yet they mast only be punished, they must not have blood shed for their blood; yea, though the servant died under hk ma-ster’s hand, yet the master was only to be punished; and if the servant lived but two or three days after, the master was not to be punished at all: “And if a man smite his serlant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money,” Exod. xxi. 20, 21.

Oh that servants woidd consider this, and bless God for the liberty they have now, more than servants had in former times I It was so likewise with the Romans, t’ue word “servant” comes from senando, because the Komans used to have such for servants as were preserved in time of war, who would otherwise have been put to death; whether they were those or others, yet the condition of all was very servile both amongst Jews and Komans. This may justly rebuke the pride of senants now; if they be but crossed in the least thing, they make such a complaint as if they were exceedingly WTonged. Let servants rather bless God for their condition, than murmur at a Utile hardship; the hardship of servants in former times was more severe than any you can endure now, who have the hardest masters, hence, in the time of jubilee the servants so rejoiced. Jewish antiquities tell us, that nine days *’bq“Li).’’rJMa” before their release, the servants feasted and made merry, and wore garlands, because of their freedom approaching.

The second thing extraordinary in the day of jubilee was, that not only debts, but lands were released: Lev. XXV. 23, “The land shall not lie sold for ever.” And there were divers reasons, why the land must not be sold for ever, but must return to the first possessors in the year of jubilee.

1. One reason is in Lev. xxv. 23, “For the land is mine,” saith God, “for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.” God would hereby teach them that thoy must not account themselves aljsolute lords of the land; “the land is mine,” and you that are the greatest landlords of all, are but as strangers and sojourners with God, the land is still God’s. Ver. 28, “But if he be not able to restore it to him,” nor his kinsman for him, it shall remain unto the year of jubilee, and m the jubilee it shall go out, and lie shall return unto his possession. If he could redeem his land himself, or a kinsman for him, he was to redeem it before; but if a man was so poor that he -could not give any thing to redeem it, yet in the year of jubilee it should return to him.

2. God would not have his people too greedy to bring the possession of the country in to themselves, to have a perpetual inheritance to themselves and theuposterity. This is the greediness of many covetous and ambitious men, they lay land to land, and house to house, to get a perpetual inheritance for themselves and posterity. God would not have his people be of so greedy dispositions, for a few of them to get the whole

»country into their own possession; therefore no man gained a possession for ever, but once in fifty years that possession must return to the original owner again.

3. The land was to return to the first owner, that the distinction of tribes might be continued, which was known much by continuance of the possessions that belonged to every tribe and family. God had great care before Christ’s time to keep the distinction of tribes, that it might be clear out of which tribe Christ came.

But further, this year of jubilee aimed at something higher, it was a t)-])e of Christ, to set out the blessed redem|>tion we have by him. The trumpet of the gosuel which ministers blow is a triunpct of jubilee. Isa.

lxi. 1, 2, seems to have reference to a jubilee. Christ was appointed to proclaim Uberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord; now that acceptable year was the year of jubilee, there was the opening of the prison, and the releasing of them that were bound. “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound,” Psal. lxxxix. 15; that hear and know the jubilee. Oh blessed are our ears who live at such times, to hear the trumpet of jubilee blowing in one congregation or other ahnost every day! Now, first, we have a release of our debts and bondage, this is the joyful sound. We are all by nature in debt, (sins, you know, are called debts in the Lord’s prayer,) every soul is bound over to God’s eternal justice to answer to the law, for not obeying it; now comes this jubilee and releases all debts. And, secondly, we are all bond-slaves, in bondage to sin, to the law, and to the devil; now comes the gospel, this jubilee, and releases our bondage, sets us at liberty. And, thirdly, we have forfeited our right to the creature, yea, to heaven itself; the gospel comes and restores all, we have right now to the comforts of this world, and to heaven. Canaan was a t)i)e of heaven, and the loss of their inheritance was a tvpe of the loss of heaven, and the bringing of them again to the possession of it, a type of the restoring of right to heaven. Oh happy are they who hear this joyful sound, not only with the ears of their body, but who have it sounding in their hearts, by the work of the Spirit of God in them!

In this vear of jubilee, there is one thing further very remarkable, and that is, the time when this trumpet was to blow that proclaimed this year. Lev. xxv. 9, the trumpet was “to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month.” “VMiat remarkable thing is there in this that the trumpet must be blown the tenth day of the seventh month? The tenth day of the seventh month was their day of expiation, (the’ day of atonement, their public fast,) this day was appointed every year for all Israel to afflict their souls before God, to humble themselves for their sins, and so to seek mercy from God. It is a strange tiling, that upon the day in which they were to afflict their souls before God, and to mourn for their sins, the trumpet of jubilee was to sound, that was to proclaim joy and mirth, things of a contrary nature to humbling and mourning. Yea, but this afibrds us chvers excellent instructions. As,

1. God would have his people so to mourn, as to know there is joy coming. In the darkest day they had, wherein they were bound to afllict their souls most, yet they were so to mourn, as to know there was a jubilee at hand. We are not to moiun as those without hope; in our most grievous mournings, we must not have our hearts sink in desperation, we must so mourn as to expect a jubilee.

2. The saints’ mourning is a preparation for a jubilee. Joy then is near at hand, when the saints most mourn in a godly manner. Did not the Lord deal graciously with us the last fast day, when we were mourning before him? There was, amongst our brethren in other parts, a kind of trumpet of jubilee blown; the Lord was then working for us; what great dchvcrance did God grant that very day at Chichester! God shows that the mournings of his people make way for joy.

3. The sound of the trumpet of jubilee is sweetest, when we are most afflicted for our sins. When we are most apprehensive and sensible of the evil of sin, then the joy of God, the comforts of the gospel, are sweetest to the” soul. When the trumpet of jubilee is blown in congregations, if it meets not with hearts sensible of sin, they are not delighted with its sweet sound, it is not melody in their ears, it rejoices not their hearts: but let a poor soul be brought down, and made sensible of the evil of sin and God’s vtTath, then let but one promise of the gospel be sovmded forth, how sweet, how joyful is it!

4. Pardon of sin is the only foundation of every jubilee. For this tenth day of the seventh month, wherein the trumpet of jubilee was to be sounded, was a day of atonement. ^Tiat is that? A day of covering, (as the word means,) of pardon of sin to the people of God. Many men keep a continual jubilee, live merrily, do nothing but eat, and drink, and play, and dance, and laugh, and cannot endure these sad melancholy people. ■Vhat is the foundation of this thy jubilee? Art thou sure there is an atonement made between God and thy soul? Art thou sure thy sin is pardoned? Is this the foundation of thy rejoicmg? Know it will not last, it 13 not God’s, but the devil’s jubilee, except there be an atonement made between God and thee, as the foundation of it.

5. When God has pardoned us, then our hearts are in a fit frame to pardon others. Now, now comes the jubilee; and now you must release your debts, and your lands, and forgive those that owe you any thing. This is the day wherein God testifies his mercy in pardoning your sins. They might well say, Now, Lord, command us what thou wilt, in showing mercy to our brethren; we are ready to pardon, to release them, to extend the bowels of our compassion towards them, for thou hast pardoned our sins. The reason of the rigidness, cruelty, and hardness of the hearts of men, and straitness ot their spirits to their brethren, is, because God has not witnessed to their souls the pardon of their own sins; an atonement between God and them.

Their -solemn feasts.” Among their feasts, they had three that were especially more solemn than others: and they were the feast of passover, pentecost, and tabernacles.

These three were imited in one thing; that is, upon these three feasts all the males were to ascend up to Jerusalem to worship in the place which God chose. “Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, (that was the passover.) and in the feast of weeks, (that was pentecost,) and in the feast of tabernacles,” Deut. xvi. 16.

But how could the ten tribes then keep these feasts,

for they went not to the temple? You may as well say,

. How had they an ephod? Jeroboam was

° ‘’■ “^ wise enough to keep the feasts, though

not in the way God appointed; he could tell them that

going to the temple was but a circumstance of place.

From the cormexion of these three together in their solemn feasts, there are divers things to be noted.

First, We may see a reason why there were sometimes so many believers at Jerusalem. An argument is brought by some from Acts xxi. 20, to prove that there may be in one church more than can possibly assemble together in one congregation; “Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe,” Trdaat iivpiah. how many myriads. Now, say they, so many could not join in one congregation. The answer to this is clear, that the time of which the passage speaks, was when the people of the Jews were all assembled together at Jerusalem to keep the feast of pentecost; for chap. xs. 16, states, that the apostle “hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of pentecost.” Now, reading the story on, it plainly appears that, by hastening his journey, he arrived at Jerusalem at the day of pentecost, and being there at that time, no marvel they said imto him, “Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe;” for all the males of the people of the Jews were together at Jerusalem, according to that law to which as yet they submitted. They were not in a church state at Jerusalem, therefore there is no strength in that objection against congregational churches.

Secondly, AMiere there is a national church there must be a uniting of the nation in some way of national worship. The Jews, by institution from God, were united in national worship thi-ee times in a year at the temple. And there should be some kind of individual worship not in the same species; that is, as others are praying, so are we, and as others are hearing, so are we; for so all the churches in the world may be joined; but to join in one act of worship together, as that was of going up to the temple, that made the Jews a national church. But we have no such institution now; no nation in the world can, in a proper sense, be said to be a national church as theirs was; in some figurative sense we may so call it, but not in that proper sense as it was among the Jews.

Thirdly, There are some ordinances that caimot be enjoyed but in the way of church fellowship. The Jews could not enjoy these feasts as they ought, unless they went together to Jerusalem in the way that God appointed. As among the Jews there were some ordinances they might enjoy in their synagogues and private houses, but some which they could not enjoy but m the temple; so there are some ordinances we may enjoy in our families, but others that we cannot enjoy but in church communion, of which Jerusalem is a tyjie.

Fourthly, These three times, wherein they were to go up together to Jerusalem, were all in summer. The first, which was the feast of the passover, was in the latter end of our March, and the beginning of April: the feast of pentecost was fifty days after; the feast of tabernacles was about the middle of our September. It was very laborious for them to go up to Jerusalem to worship; but God so commiserated them, that they were not to go in winter time. That is the reason of that phrase in Acts xx-ii. 9, “Sailing was now dangerous, because the feast was now already past;” that is, the feast of tabernacles was past, which was about the fifteenth of September, and so it began to be winter. It would be an afiliction to go up to Jerusalem in the winter, and therefore God would be so indulgent to his people, that they should go in summer time. Oh what an affliction is it, then, to fly from Jerusalem before our enemies in the winter time I We had need pray the more hard now for those that are in danger of the enemy, that God would be merciful to them in this.

Fifthly, When they went up to these three feasts they must not go empty, but fuU-handed: “They shall not appear before the Lord empty,” Deut. xvi. 15; noting thus much, that whenever we come to acknowledge God’s mercy for any thing, we must come with full hands and liberal hearts, with hearts ready to distribute, or otherwise we only take God’s name in vain.

Sixthly, The wonderful providence of God toward them, that though all the males in the whole countr’ were to come up to Jerusalem three times in the year, yet their country should not be in danger of the enemies. The Jews had not such walls of seas about their country as we have, but they lived in the very midst of their enemies, who surrounded them; on the east, the Ammonites and Moabites: the west, the Philistines: the south, the Egyptians, Idumeans; the north, the Assyrians, to whom the prophet seems to have reference, Zech. L 18. Now they might say, If all our males go up to Jerusalem three times a year, then our enemies that lie close in our borders, (for they lay as near them as Y’ork is to us.) may come upon us and destroy us: therefore God made provision for their encouragement; “Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year,” Exod. xxxiv. 24. God took care that none should desire their land. Let us go on in God’s service, and he will take care to deliver us

CiiAP. II.

from our enemies. Oflcn out of slavish fear of enemies, and the disturbance they are able to make among us, we are ready to betray the cause of God, and neglect his worship. Let us learn from hence to go on in God’s ways, and not fear anv injury which our enemies can do us. God saith he will take care, when they are all at Jerusalem in the exercise of his worship, that none should desire their land.

Now, by opening these several feasts, you may be helped to read the Old Testament profitably, for much of it is spent in things that concern some of these.

The first was the passover. You have the history of it Xunib. xxviii. 16, 17, and in divers other scriptures. That feast was in the beginning of the year. It is true, our September was the beginning of their ciWl year, but the month Abib, which was the middle of pfarch and part of April, was the ecclesiastical year; and upon their deliverance out of EgJTit, when God commanded them to celebrate their passover, he apppointed that that month should be unto them the beginning of months, the first month of the year. lielivcrance from great evils are mercies that we are highly to prize; the Jews were to begin their year in memorial of the mercy they received in that month.

The name “passover” arose from God’s sending forth a destroying angel that “passed over” the houses of the Israelites that night; he went through the land and destroyed all the firstborn of the Egyptians, but saved the Israelites. This feast was also called “the feast of unleavened bread,” Luke xxii. 1, because they were to go out of EgjiJt in haste, and could not have time to leaven their bread. Josephus tells us that they took only a little flour mingled with water, that might sers-e them with great economy for thirty days. God taught them thus to depend upon him. We are ready to murmuiif we see not enough to serve us for many years, if our annies have not enough for so long a time; but many hundreds of thousands had but a little meal and water to serve them for thii-ty days, and they knew not where to have more when that was spent: no marvel that it is said of Moses, Ileb. xi. 27, “by faith he forsook Egy])t.” This bread is called “the bread of affliction,” Deut. xvi. 3; and it was unleavened bread, not only to tyjrify that we must not have om- hearts leavened with malice, but to put them in mind of the sore affliction they endured both when they were in Egj-jit, and when they went out of Egv’jit.

Now this passover was partly memorative, and partly figurative.

Memorative. First, To remember the deliverance of their first-born.

SeconiUy, To remember their deliverance from the bondage of Egjnit.

06.V. 1. “NA’lien others are smitten and we are “passed over,” it is a ifieat mercy.

Obs. 2. Deliverance from the bondage of the out- ^7ard man, and from bondage in respect of religion and conscience, is a mercy for ever to be celebrated. God is pleased now to offer us this mercy of deliverance from both these kinds of bondage; certainly we are a people devoted to misery if we take not God’s offer of mercy. We have been in bondage in our estates and liberties, God offers us freedom, and freedom also from antichristian bondage, which is worse than F.gv-])tian Iwndage. The text saith, when they were delivered from the bondage of Egypt, “Moses sang;” and in the Revelation, when they were delivered from antichristian bondage, “they sing the song of Moses,” Rev. xv. 3. We were long since delivered fiom a great part of this bondage, now the Lord offers to deliver us altogether.

‘Tcmplum tuurn brevi, valde cito, vatdc cito, in dicbiisnostrls, eitisiinc. nunc sdifica tcmplum luum brevi. Misericors Dcus, magnc Ueus. beiiignc iJeiis, pulchcr Dcus, Uultis Deus, virtuc&e Deus, JuUaicc Deus, uunc xdifica tcmpliiin

Obs. 3. AMien God offers us mercy of deliverance we should not go forth slowly. They were to eat this passover with then- staves m their hands, this was to note their hasty going out of Egj’jrt. Our misery at this day is, that the Lord offers deliverance, and we lie slugging on our beds, and are like that foolish child the prophet speaks of, that sticks in the birth: we have stuck these two years in the birth, whereas we might have been delivered long before this. It concenis us all to consider what the cause is, and to lament it before the Lord, that we may make our peace with him.

06.V. 4. In thank.sgiving for a mercy, we are ever to remember what we were before that mercy. They must eat unleavened bread at this feast, the bread of affliction, to remind them of the afflictions they were in before they had this mercy. AMien we bless God for a deliverance, we must really present before our souls the sad condition we were in before we were delivered.

But the special thing aimed at in the passover was, that it should be a tlpe of Christ, who was the ])aschal Lamb that was to take away the sins of the world; he that was roasted in the fire of God’s wrath for our sins, as that lamb that was to be eaten in the passover was roasted in the fire. And if ever the angel of God’a vengeance jiass over us, it is thi’ough the blood of that Lamb sprinkled upon our hearts, which was signified by sprinkling the blood of the lamb upon the posts of then’ houses. In the Lord’s supper we celebrate, in effect, the same feast of the passover they did; and by this we may learn,

Obs. 5. There is little comfort in the remembrance of our outward deliverances, except we can see them all in Chiist. They were in this feast to remember their deUverance out of Egjiit, but they were in it to have a figure and tii-pe of Christ. That sweetened their remembrance, that made the feast a joyful feast, when they could see it as a fruit of Christ’s sufferings; when this lamb that put them in mind of it, put them in mind likewise of Christ the paschal Lamb. If you would have the remembrance of deliverances from any kind of affliction sweet unto you, you must look upon them all ui the blood of Christ, and then yom- hearts will be enlarged to bless God.

This was the ortlinanee of God in the passover; but besides God’s ordinance, the Jews added divers other things.

The first thing they added, was earnest prayer to God for the building of the temple, which many of them observe to this day. Buxtorf tells us, that because the temple is destroyed where they were to go up thrice in the year to solemnize these feasts, therefore they pray earnestly and mightily for the temple in this manner: they cry all together to God,* Lord, build thy temple shortly, very quickly, veiy quickly, most quickly in our days. And then they go over it again, Merciful God, great God, kind God, high God, sweet God, with divers other epithets, now build thy temple quickly, vei-y quickly, &c. Now, now, now, five times together. They teach us how much the temple concerns us. Their mistake was, they rested in the material temple, and did not consider that this temple was a type of Christ; therefore as earnestly as they prayed for the building of their material temple, let us ))ray for the building up of the mystical body of Christ; Now, Lord, build quickly, do not defer it, even in our days do it!

A second thing they added was the manner of casting out unleavened bread. In this they obseiTed three things, their inquisition, their extermination, their execration. First, with a candle they would narrowly search every corner of the house to see if they had the

tuum brevi, vaUle cito, in <1icbus nostris, vaMo cito, vaUle cito nunc odtfica. nunc (edifica, nunc aulttica, nunc ODilitica, nunc a-dilica tcmplum tuum cito. robustc Dcus, furtis, potciis Dcus, SiC. Baatoti. dc Synag. Jud. c. 13.

least crumb of leaven; if any were found they cast it out with solemnity: and then they used to wish a curse upon themselves if there were any left in their houses that was not cast out.

This moral observation may be taught from it; it should be our care when we are to receive the sacrament, to make narrow inquisition, to get the candle of the word, and to search every corner of our hearts, every facidty of the soul, to see if there be no leaven in it. 2. ‘WTiatcvcr we see, to cast it out of doors. And, 3. To be so much set against sin, as to be willing to take a curse upon oui’selves, if we should willingly let any knoi-n sin be in our hearts, and to acknowledge that God might justly curse us in his ordinance if we be false in this.

Thii-dly, they used to display all their treasures; if they had any splendid clothes, or furniture, or curiosity, they woidd show all at this feast. By their superstition we may learn, that in the time of our coming before God, it is fit for us to exercise and manifest all those beautiful graces with which the Lord has endowed us by the work of his Spirit; for in them the riches of a Christian, his splendid clothing, his jewels, and all his excellences, consist.

Fourthly, after the passover was at an end, they fasted three days, to humble themselves for their failings in keeping that feast. This was not God’s institution, but it was then- custom; and we may learn from it, (though we do not bind om’selves to do as they did,) to look back to our receiving the sacrament, and to bewail all our miscarriages: I believe, if things were examined to the quick, in our receiving the sacrament, we should find matter enough lo fast and pray, and to humble om- souls for oiu’ miscaniages.

Lastly, in the passorer they used to read the book of the Canticles, because that book ti’eats especially of the conjunction of the soul with the Messiah, which is sealed up specially in the passover. And that, indeed, is a special meditation for us when we come to the Lord’s supper, to meditate upon our conjunction with Christ.

The next is the feast of pentecost. This feast is called also the feast of weeks, because there were seven weeks to be reckoned, and at the end of them it was solemnly to be kept, Lev. xxiii. 15. In the feast of the passover, the first day of seven, and the last day of seven, were solemnly kept; now they were to count from the morrow after the first sabbath, seven sabbaths, that is, seven weeks complete; the fii’st sabbath of the passover was the fifteenth day of the month Abib, and the next day from that they were to count seven weeks, and at the end of seven weeks the feast of pentecost was to be kept. Now in this fir’st day, wherein they began to count their weeks, you find the fij’st-fi-uits were to be offered up to God; it was a kind of distinct feast, called the feast of the fii-st-fruits, in which they were to bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of their harvest to the priest, to be offered to God; and the reason was, because now then- harvest began: as soon as the passover was killed, and they had kept the first sabbath of the passover, (for they were to keep it seven davs,) they began theii’ harvest; they must not put a sickle into the corn, nor reap any thing of their ground, until they had kept the passover.

Now their harvest began in the month Abib, that is, jiart of our March and part of April, and thence it has its name, for Abib signifies, an ear of corn. Hars’est began so soon in the land of Canaan, not only because it was a hot country, for it is observed that Africa was a hotter country than theirs, and yet their harvest began later, but because of the blessing of God upon

‘3S n’jn: *’’“* ^^’^^> therefore, Jer. iii. 19, it is call-Htreditj’ipm eie- ed, “a goodly heritage,” because of the

^“‘’”’- timely bringing forth the fruit; the words

translated “goodly heritage,” signify an heritage of comeliness; the same word translated “goodly,” signifies “a roebuck,” to which this land was compared, and so it may be said to be a land of a roebuck, because of the speedy and swift ripening of the corn.

06s. 1. It is the blessing of the church to have their fruit ripe betimes, for Canaan was a tj-pe of the church. You young ones, consider this, the Lord loves to have the fruits of Canaan ripe betimes: if you grew in the wUdemess, though you did not bring forth fruit in your youthful days, God would not so much regard it; but if you live in his church, in Canaan, the Lord expects you should begin betimes, in the very spring of yovu’ years, to bring forth fruit unto God. Men rejoice much in early fruits, they are lovely; yea, and God rejoices in them too, Micah vii. 1, “My sold desired the first-ripe fruit;” this is true of God himself. Y’our parents and godly friends may say. Our soul desfres that grace may spring up betimes in these young ones: so it may be said of God, his very soul desires to see the first-fruits; fruit in young ones is that which is pleasing to God’s soul.

Obs. 2. “We cannot enjoy any sweetness or blessing” from any fruits of the earth, but through the blood of Jesus Christ. After they had solemnized the memorial of the blood of Christ, then they might put a sickle in the corn and reap it, not before; and as soon as they had solemnized the remembrance of Christ in the passover, they might go with comfort and take the fruits of the earth and rejoice in them, but not before.

Obs. 3. ‘ATien we have had communion with God in holy things, then we may have a holy and more comfortable use of the creatures. As when we have solemnized the blood of Christ, then we may enjoy sweetness from the comforts of the earth; so when we have enjoyed communion with God in his ordinances, it is a fit time to have a holy use of the creatures, yea, then you must be careful to have a holy use of the creatures; as soon as ever they came from the passover, the first day they were to celebrate the first-fruits unto God.

Obs. 4. After the blood of Christ is sprinkled upon the conscience, men will be ready to dedicate things unto God. Then, as Zaccheus said, ‘• Half of my goods I give to the poor,” Luke xix. 8; here ai-e my goods, here is my estate: does the church, do my brethren, stand in heed of help? lo, we are ready to ofier them up to God.

06.$. 5. The first of blessings arc to be offered up to God. God gives them charge, that the fu-st of the first of all the fruits of their land should be otl’ei-ed to him, all that come afterward should be the more blessed. Learn this, you young ones, dedicate the first of your years unto God, the verj’ first of your first, the dawning of your years, Exod. xxiii. 19.

06y. 6. If you dedicate your young days to God, when the consummation of your years comes, how may you keep a feast of pentecost! The Jews dedicated the first-fruits fifty days before, and at the fifty days’ end kept their joj-ful feast of pentecost: so might you if you dedicated yom- young years unto God. On the other side, what a sad thing” will it be for old men that but now begin to think of God and Christ! it is well you do so, but you cannot do it so comfortably as you might have done, if you had begun in your younger years. If the Jews, when their harvest was done, had brought two loaves to God, might God say, ATiy did you not bring the fii-st-fruits unto me? God might so upbraid you; but, however, come in to God, and he will not upbraid you, he upbraids no man; but the comfort will not be s’o much, because your consciences will upbraid you.

06s-! 7. Happy is that man, who, when he comes to reap the fruit of his actions, shall have a feast of joy. Thus it was with the Jews, the very begimiing of their

han-est -was with a feast, and the conclusion with a feast too. All the actions of our lives are a sowing of seed, if you sow sparingly, you shall reap sparingly; and happy those men when they come to reap, who find both the beginning and conclusion of then- reaping a joyful feasting. Many sow merrily, but they reap honor and anguish; but when the saints come to reap, they shall have a feast of joy. “At thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.”

04s. 8. Much praise is due to God for the fruits of the earth, for outward comforts. On the fiftieth day they were to solemnize the mercy of God in giving them the fruits of the earth for their harvest. How much praise then is due for Jesus Christ, and all spiritual mercies in him! Though we ought to bless God for the things of the earth, yet we should be so swallowed tip in blessing God for’his word and ordinances, and spiritual mercies, that in comparison om- hearts should be above the fruits of the earth. Therefore, observe that when Ezekiel prophesies of the blessed state of the church, by the Jewish feasts, though he mentions the passover, and new moons, and sabbaths, and the feast of tabernacles, yet not the feast of pentecost; there is no mention of keeping a feast for blessing God for these things. Not but” that they should do so, but that thcu- hearts should be so carried li with abundance of spiritual mercies, that then they should be all for Christ, and for heaven, and for etcmitv.

Obn. 9. It was a gi-cat engagement to them rightly to use the creatures, when they had fu-st dedicated them to God, and in the conclusion of harvest had solemnized his mercy in giving them. For God thereby taught them that they might be fui-ther engaged to use all creatures for his service. If God give a heart to dedicate the beginning of a mercy to himself, and when the mercy is fvdfilled, in a solemn manner to bless God for it, it is a mighty engagement to make use of this mercy for God’s honour. The reason why many are so loose in their conversations, and do not employ the creatures of God to his glory, is, because they do not in a solemn manner bless God for that they enjoy. As in yom- trading, if you have comfortable incomes, and you take these comforts, and thank God in a slight manner for them, how do you use them afterwards? only for yourselves and for” the flesh. But when you hear of riches flowing in upon you, if you can immediately take the first-fruits and give some part to God’s service as a testimony of thankfulness, and in your families and closets in a solemn manner give God the glorj- for the good success you have had in your estate, this will be a mighty engagement to you to use your estates for his serlice.

Mark that at the first, in their preparation, they were to bring but a sheaf, but afterward. Lev. xxiii. H, they were to bring “tvo wave loaves;” in the first they were to offer “one he lamb without blemish,” but afterward “seven lambs, and one young bullock, and two rams,” &c., both burnt-offerings, and sin-offerings, and peaeeofferings, when they had received the full harvest.

Obx. 10. Though you arc forward to give God glorj’ when you are young, the first-fruit of your years, yet when you come to be old, you should “still flourish” in the courts of God’s house. “First they offered but a little unto God, afterward abundance.” Do you so? I appeal to all old men who arc here this day, if God gave you heart to give up your young years to him, bless him for it; but now when you are old, are you as forward as ever you were? You ought to be not only so, but much more abundant in the work of the Lord. Nay, cannot others witness against you, that there was a time wherein you were more forward, and that now you begin rather to temporize? The Lord forbid this should be spoken of any old men. God expects more aftenard than at the first-fruits; and though nature

may decay, yet there is a promise that in theii- old age they shall flourish in the courts of God’s house, and shall manifest the graces of his Spirit much more. We are ready at the first-fruits to offer unto God somewhat, when his mercy comes first; but when mercy comes afterward more fully, we should be more full in our offerings.

You will say, ‘What is the meaning of this, that there is a burnt-offering, a sin-offering, and a peace-offering in the feast of pentecost? what is the difl’ereuce of these three offerings?

The difference is this; the bumt-offering was in testimony of their high respect to God, that is, they tendered up something to God as a testimony of the high and honoui’able esteem they had of his majesty, it was wholly to be given up to him. Now in the other they had respect to themselves, the sin-offering was not to offer a sacrifice merely to testify respect to God, but to be a typical signification of Christ’s sacrifice for sins; they were to look through their sacrifice to Christ, and their sin-offering was to be an atonement for their sin. The peace-offering was in thanksgiving for a mercy, or when they would petition to God for a further mercy. All this must be done in the day of pentecost.

But, beside solemnizing the mercies of God in their harvest, there is another object that is constantly affkmed by the Jews, and I find many divines making no question of it; but it is not so clearly laid domi in the word. They say, God in this feast solemnized the giving of the law, and this is their gi-ound; because fifty days after their coming out of EgJ^pt, God gave the law, and so they say pentecost was appointed to bless God for giving the law. The Jews say that God dealt with them as a king might deal with a poor man in prison, first he releases him of his bondage, and then tells him, that after such a time he -nill marry him to his daughter; now. say they, will not this man count cvei-y day till this time come? so, when God delivered us out of Eg5-])t, he told us, that after such a time he would give us his law, and many us to his daughter, which is the law; and this is the reason why we count so diligently the very weeks, nay, the days, as longing for that time when we are to be married to the law.

04*. From whence we may note, that we are not only to keep God’s law, but to rejoice in it: not only to look at what is commanded as a duty, but as a high privilege, and so bless God for the law. It is a higher thing to love God’s law and rejoice in it, than to obey it: Great peace shall they have that love thy law. David professed that he loved the law of God more than silver and gold, that it was sweeter to him than the honey, and the honeycomb. The Jews at this day rejoice when the law of God is read, and in their synagogues, when the law of God is brought out, they lift up their bodies in a kind of exultation, rejoicing that God gave this law to them.

Further, the time of their pentecost was the time of the descending of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles: as God at that time gave the law by Moses, so the Spirit at that time came by Christ, to show that we are in the gospel to receive the Spirit of God, to enable us to fulfil the law. They had the letter of the law, but, in compai-ison of what we have, they had not the Spirit, but now the Holy Ghost is come in a full measure; as he then came upon the disciples, so he comes now in the time of the gospel in a fuller way than formerly, there is a continual pentecost.

But the works of God do not of themselves sanctify any time; hence observe, that we may nin into a thousand absurdities if we argue, because the Jews had such a time, we may have such a time, or because there were such blessings at that time, therefore we may sanctify that day. No, the works of God do not sanctify any time, of themselves; it must be either the

word written, or some immediate dictate of the Spii’it, that must sanctify any day. Certainly, the work of our redemption itself is not enough to change the sabbath, if we had not some footing for a new institution. We usually give this gi’oimd for the change of the day, because of the greatness of the work; but though the works of God be never so great, we sin in sanctifnng any .set and stated time for such work; except there come an institution, it will be but will-worship in us, and God will not be put off with this. AVhat! is not this as gi-eat a work as the Jews had, and may not we celebrate the memory of it as they did? But God will say, “WTio required these things at yom- hands?” Thus far you may do, that is, bloss God for those works all the days of yom- lives; but to sanctify any particular day for them, certainly that cannot be done without sin: we have oiu’ waiTant for the Lord’s day, as well as the greatness of the work, because of the practice of the apostles, who were inspired by the Holy Ghost.

The next is the feast of trumpets: oidy one particidar about it at this time, because Providence makes it so seasonable. In the seventh month (which was the first month of their annus civilis) there were three feasts; of trumpets, of expiation, and of tabernacles.

The first was THE feast of trumpets. There was a tlu’ccfold use of trumpets among the Jews: 1. For the calling of the congregation together, as we do with bells. 2. The calling of them to war. .3. For the solemnizing of their feasts.

There are fom- ends given by divines for the feast of trumpets; some I confess are very improbable, but there are two very probable. The one is, this feast was to celebrate the new year with them; as every new month they had the feast of the new moon, to celebrate the beginning of the month, so in the beginning of the year they had a feast to celebrate its commencement; that was this feast, for it was on the first day of their ci’il year: so that it is very probable this feast was appointed to bless God for the new )“ear, as well as one to celebrate the new month. Yet this can be no gromid for us now to consecrate the beginning of every new year to God: that was Jewish, and it ceased: if we will have any consecration of a new year, it must be by virtue of some institution or other; let who can, show the institution: we must not think because it has a show of wisdom, and seems reasonable, therefore it may be; this is not enough in matter of worship, you must strictly tie yourselves to an institution. As it is Jewish, so it is heathenish; the heathens consecrated their new year to the honour of their god Janus; and we read in C’oncilimn Antisiodorense, in France, m obserTatio’Saycre the year six himdred and fourteen, it vacTre’ocntUibm“’ was “the judgment of that council, that Sla&wL it is not lawfid to observe the festivities cingere domos. of the Geutilcs, to keep thou- worsTiip

Omnls enim hfPC ,,,’.,,. i

observatio paganis- and oDservo their calends, (that is, the mies. anon.. j5go.if,jj;j[g gf they). months.) to adom houses with lam-els and green bays, for all these practices (saith the council) savom- of paganism. And likemse an ancient -rn-iter saith, that the calends of January are rather to be taken heed of, than to be accounted calends, and so to be sanctified. And further, he saith, stat-jit imivereaiis chuTch has appointed a solemn feast ecciesiijci’mium to bc upon that verv day, because of the

publicum in isto die.. i i ’ -^,

fieri. Air.iinus notOHOus abuses there w-ere wont to be deDiviiii. Office. 4. ^pon ^gy Polydore Virgil

saith, that these solemnities of laurel, and bays, and ma.sks, and mummings, and such vanities, come from the heathens’ BacchanaUa and Saturnalia, that were wont to be at that time of the year. However, therefore, we think we honour Christ, and call it the cu-cumcision day of Chi’ist, yet by those customs we dishonour him, for they are rather heathenish than Christian.

Though there may be some natural reason of rejoicing, yet no ground for consecration.

Let no man object and say, These solemnities have been a long time in the church. It is true these ai-e ancient, but from whence comes the antiquity? From hence, because Christians, being newly converted from paganism, kept as much as possible of the pagan customs, only they gave them a tm-n to Christian solemnities; therefore all the argument of antiquity, either for these days, or ceremonies, or prelatical government, comes from their pagan customs. They lived among pagans, and having been lately pagans, they savoured and smelt of heathenism still. So now, many plead that such things were in the tu’St reformation: no marvel they retained them, for they w’ere newly come out of popery, and they savoured and smelt of popery. ladeed to plead the antiqiuty of these things, which men must show when they are put to it, is one of the greatest arguments against them. Thus the feast of All-saints was tm-ned from the heathens’ feast Pantheon; and on the feast of the pm’ification of the yu-gm Mary, which they call Candlemas, the heathens had the festivity of their goddess Februa, (who was the mother of ^lars,) from whence comes the name of om- month February, and they celebrated that time with candles, and such tilings as papists do now.

The like may be said for the argument of antiquity for the prelates. O, say some, such government has been ever since the Chi-istian religion has been in England. Grant that there has been some kind of bishops ever since, but from whence came they? AYe find in histories, that when the pagans were in England they had their flamins, and then- archflainins, London was one, and Y’ork was another: and when they were converted to the Christian religion, still keeping some of their heathenish customs, instead of theii- archflamins they made archbishops, and of their flamins, bishops, and that in their very places, as London and York, and some say Chester. This is the very ground of the antiquity of them; therefore, my brethren, let not us be put off with such arguments as these; men delude you, and baffle you by these arguments.

The second reason of that feast, the Hebrews think, was a remembrance of Isaac’s deliverance, when he should have been sacrificed, and the ram was caught by the horns to be sacrificed in his stead; they draw it from this argument, because that feast is called a memorial, (say they,) to remember the deliverance of Isaac, and it must be by the trumpets of rams’ horns, to call this to remembrance; but it seems to be far- from the meaning of the Holy Cihost. A thfrd reason of the feast of trumpets, some say. (Cajetan among others,) was instituted for a memorial of God’s giving the law by sound of the trumpet. But that is not likely, because this feast was not kept at the time of God’s giving the law; if there were any time for the celebration of giving the law, it must be at the feast of pentecost. A fom-th, it was for a celebration of a memorial of all the mercies of God to them in their wars, which was declared by the blowing of the ti-umpcts. But I rather take another reason, to be a main and principal reason of God’s institution of this feast; to be a preparation to the feast of atonement and expiation. It is called “a memorial,” saith Calvin, Lev. xxiii. 24. for this reason, to put them in mind to humble themselves before God, “to afflict their souls” in the day of atonement; and, secondly, “a memorial” before God, that God may remember them for mercy; so the Jews observe, that from the fii-st day of the seventh month to the tenth day, there were more than ordmary exercises in giving of alms, in prapng, in going to their synagogues; they were very devout for those ten days in preparation for the day of atonement. From whence

Obs. Ministers should blow their trumpets to the

people to prepare them for the day of fasting. God has accepted those poor fasts that we have kept, abundance of mercies we have received on them; scarcely one, but we hear good news after it; if we had kept fast days as we ought, if we had been prepared as we should, oh what might we have obtained of God by this time! If God accepts such poor things as we do, (as God knows they are ])Oor and mean,) if we had every time a trumpet blown before us to prepare us for the day of atonement, what atonements might England have made with God before this time!

The n(»ct feast was, the FE.ST OF EXPIATION, in the tenth day. I thought not to have spoken of that, because the feast of expiation is a fast rather than a feast; but that is meant here as well as any of the other, for this reason, though it were a fast, yet the Hebrew word translated solemn feasts, signifies only a settled, stated, solemn time. And, secondly, it was a great mercy to them to have such a fast day; though the day of atonement was a day for afflicting themselves, yet it is the cause of rejoicing to a nation that God grants them such a day of atonement; it is a special means to make way to the joy of a nation, and therefore is included amongst the other: now the histor)- of that you have in those two famous scriptures. Lev. xvi. and xxiii. In this day of atonement, there are divers things very observable and useful.

1. The solemn charge that God gave for afflicting men’s souls upon that day. In a few verses, tlu’ee several times God charges them to afflict their souls, to humble theh- souls. Lev. xxiii. 27, 29, 32. God appointed one day in the year for all the Jews to afflict their souls, to make an atonement between God and them in a day of fast, and they were charged to afUict their souls; and that soul that did not, God tiu-eatcned to cut it ofl’.

2. The priest was to go into the holy of holies, where he went but once a year; Lev. xvi., the beginning and the latter end compared together, you shall find it. This may teach us, that if ever we are to look upon Jesus Christ in the presence of God, in the holy of hoUes, making intercession for us, it is in the day of atonement. In the day of a public fast of tlic kingdom, we are to exercise our faith upon Christ, as entering before God into the holy of hohes for us. After we have charged upon our soids our sins, and afflicted them, we must likewise cast up an eye of faith, beholding Jesus Christ our High Priest at that day before the Father, making intercession for us.

3. On that day the priest was to make an atonement for all the holy things; in Lev. xvi. 20, “AVlien he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar,” Sec, the priest was not only to seek to make reconciliation between God and the ])eople, but to reconcile the holy places; even the holy of holies, and the tabernacle, and the altar had a kind of pollution in them, and must be reconciled: so infectious is the sin of man. This teaches us, that in a day of atonement, of fasting, we are to hale a special care to seek mercy from CJod, to be reconciled to us, in res])ect of all oiu’ holy duties and offerings; we are to seek then to get the best services that ever we ])erformed in all our lives cleansed, that God may be ])acified in regard of the filth and uncleanncss that cleaved even to them. In the day of a fast, you are not only to confess your notorious sins to God, those which in their own nature are sinful: but ■lovi arc to examine all your holy duties, and seek to make ))eaec with God in regard of the uncleanncss that has been in them. This few think of; in the day of a fast, they confess such sins as are vile in themselves; but to be sensible of the uncleanness of holy duties is as necessary.

4. In their day of atonement the priest was to lay the sins of the congregation upon the scape-goat. The

stor- of the scape-goat was this, the priest must come and confess the sins of the congregation, lajing his hand upon the head of the goat, and then he must send this goat into the wilderness. The meaning is of great use to us; Jesus Clu-ist is the scape-goat, and in the days of our humiliations we are to come and lay our hands upon Jesus Christ, and confess all our sins over him, and look upon all our sins as laid upon him. Now the scape-goat was to be sent into the wilderness. MTiat is that? That is, sent into a land of forgetfulness, so as the Jews should never see that goat again upon which their sins were laid; it signified to them, that their sins were now so forgiven, that they should never hear of them again. Thus are our sins upon Christ, as we shall never see nor hear more of them. In the day of our fasts we should thus exercise our faith upon Christ.

5. A fifth thing that was to be done, was to sprinkle the blood of the slain goat U])on the mercy-seat, and before it. It is the blood of Christ that is upon and before God’s mercy-seat, that procures mercy from thence for us.

6. The priest must “take a censer full of burning coals of fii-e from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands fidl of sweet incense beaten small,” Lev. x. 12; to teach us, that in the day of our solemn fasts we must be sui’e to get our hearts full of burning coals from the altar, full of afi’ection and zeal, full of mighty workings of spirit to God. Although you that are godly, and so are priests to God, at other times come with few coals from the altar, yom’ affections scarce heated; but in a day of atonement you must come with your hearts full of coals, and be sure it be fu’e from the altar, do not satisfy yom-selves in natural afiections then, but be sm’e you be full of s])iritual afiections. And then, “full of sweet incense.” A’hat was that? It tjijically represented om- prayer; you must be sm“e to have your hearts full of ])rayer, to send up abundance of incense before God. The incense must be of .S2)ices “beaten small.” What is that? The prayers that we are to send up to God in the day of atonement, must come from much contrition of sjjirit, our hearts must as it were be beaten small to powder, then they are able to send forth such incense as is a sweet savour to God. Many of you in the day of a fast seem to be full of prayer, but is this ])rayer a sweet incense to God or no? How shall I know that? By this; God has appointed the incense upon the day of atonement to be such as must come from spices beaten; if thy heart be beaten to powder, and thy prayers be the savom- and odour of thy graces, which are as spices, and heated by the fu’e of God’s Spirit, then there will be incense that pleases God: fii-st, graces, which are the spices; secondly, the contrition, that is the beating small; then the fire of God’s Spii’it, to cause the incense to rise up before God as a sweet savour.

7. In the day of atonement, the cloud of the incense must cover the mercy-seat, ver. 13; and then the blood both of the bullock and the goat must be “sprinkled upon the mercy-seat,” and that “seven times;” and, ver. 15, the blood of the goat must be sprinkled, not only “upon the mercy-seat,” but “before the mercy-scat.” AVhat is the meaning of this? must our mercjseat be clouded in the day of atonement? we had need have it appeal- to us, and not be clouded. Yes, in the day of atonement it must be clouded, but with incense; the incense that was sent up was a ty])C of the sweet perfume of the merit of Jesus Christ. Now, in days of atonement, we must look uj) to the mercy-seat, and see the merit of Jesus Christ round about it as a cloud covering it; to teach us, that no man must dare to look upon the mercy-seat of God as it is in itself, but must have the incense of the merit of Christ round about it. The reason was given why the Lord must have the in-THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA.

cense as a cloud, “lest he die;” if he had entered into the holy place and there looked upon the mercy-scat, not clouded by incense, he must have died for it. Those who think to come into God’s presence, and to receive mercy from God out of Christ, they die for it. This is the damnation of men’s souls. Mercy is an atti-ibute of God, but if we, who are sinfvd creatures, dare to look upon this attribute of mercy, and not have the incense of Christ’s merit, it is the way to destroy our souls. Oh how many thousands are in hell for this! Many who are afflicted for their sins, and cry to God to forgive them, and think to exercise their faith upon God as merciful, yet not looking upon the mercy-seat as clouded with the merit of Christ, it proves the destruction of their souls. In a fast, you must not look upon God as the Creator of heaven and earth, or as merciful in himself barely, but upon God’s mercy in his Son, and so exercise your faith; or else you can S,”, wdttiS“” never make an atonement, but rather will chrisuun” “iute. pMCure God’s wrath. It is not only dan-Luti.er in rfai. gerous, but horrible, once to think of ‘^“‘”’ God without Christ, says I,uther.

Again, the blood of the bullock and the goat must be sprinkled “seven times “upon the mere v-seat. AVhen we come to make our atonement with God, we must exercise faith in the blood of Christ, and sprinkle it seven times, that is, again and again, upon the mercy-seat. “We look upon God, when we pray to him, as a God of mercy, and we ])resent ourselves in humiliation before the mercy-scat; but know this, that the mercy-scat will do us no good without the blood of Christ; faith must take this blood of Christ, and sprinkle it, tender it up to God the Father for the atonement of our souls, and procuring our mercy. Not only so, the blood of the bullock and the goat must be sprinkled upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat; we must not only think there can be no mercy obtained from God but by the blood of Christ, but we cannot so much as have access to God’s mercy-seat. AVe must know, that all sinners are banished from the presence of God, and cannot have access to God’s presence as they are in themselves.

8. Lastly, this day divers times is called “a sabbath of rest,” that is, a sabbath of sabbaths; so it is in the original, as one of the principal sabbaths they had. I did not handle it amongst the sabbaths, because it comes in now more fully amongst these solemn feasts. There must be more rest in the day of atonement, than in thcli- other solemn days. That was ])ermitted in others that was not permitted in this, to teach us, that in the day of fasting, above any day, we must get our souls separated from the world, there must be a rest in our hearts, a rest from sin, a rest from the world; it must be a sabbath of sabbaths unto us.

Now, notwithstanding God had given this .solemn charge for this day of atonement, yet, Theodoret tells us, that in his time they had so degenerated, that they spent it in sports, and made it a day of mii-th. God grant, that fi’om the ordinariness of our days of atonement this abuse may not spring, as in some places it docs; by the wickedness of men’s natures, the most solemn things that ever God gave us in charge in time degenerate.

One note more from this feast of expiation. We find in Grecian history, that yearly the Grecians were wont to have a kind of expiation for their cities, in imitation of the custom of the Jews. Certain condemned persons w°re brought forth, with garlands in manner of sacrifices, and were cast down from some steep place into the midst of the sea, and offered to suijaj Neptune the god of the sea, with these

words. Be thou a Trtpiiluifta for us. In times of public infection in their cities, to make an atonement between them and their gods, certain men

were brought to be sacrificed to their gods, for an expiation for the whole city; and they were called KaSapfiara: this word was used to signify, that that man who was to expiate for all the sins of their cities to then- gods, having all their sins upon him, was accounted as filth and ofi’scouring. The apostle, in 1 Cor. iv. 13, uses the same expression, by which we may understand the meaning of those two words he employs; “AVe are (saith he) made as the filth of the world, and are the ofi’scouring of all things;” Tripil/tj/ia, Kai nipiicaOapfiaTa, alluding to the custom of the Grecians. AVe, for our parts, (saith he,) are made as despicable and odious in the sight of the people, and are as much loaded with curses, as those condemned persons who had all the sins and curses of the people laid upon them, and were offered to theu- gods for expiation.

The feast of tabeexacles. The history of this feast is in Lev. xxiii. 34. The Jews were to take houghs off the trees, and make booths of them; and those that WTite the history of their manners tell us, because they could not make booths and tabernacles for all the people, some of them thought it sufficient to carry boughs in their hands, and those boughs they used to call hosanna; Do thou fold, or jirepare, the hosanna. Therefore, when Christ came to Jerusalem, they cried, “Hosanna to the Son of David;” the meaning was not a prayer, Save us, O thou Son of David, as some would have it; but, Hosanna to the Son of David; that is, AVe hold forth these boughs to the honour of the Messiah, the Son of David. Now for those boughs, vcr. 40, there was a command of God, that they should be of goodly trees, palm trees, or willows of the brook; but why so? It denoted, that whereas they had lived forty years in the lilderness, in a dry place, they were now brought to a fruitful land, that had much water, which was a great advantage in those hot countries; and therefore they were to bring boughs of the willows of the brook, and of goodly trees, that might most testify the goodness of God in delivering them from the wilderness, and ui bringing them to a land filled with sweet and pleasant brooks. Observe the reasons why God would have this feast kept. He aims at these three things chiefly.

I. God would have them bless his name for his mercies to them in the wilderness, when they dwelt in booths. He appointed, that once a year they should call to mind the great mercies of God in his dispensation towards them, who for forty years were in the wilderness, and had not a house all that time, but dwelt in tabernacles. This was a mighty work of God! That so many hunched thousands should live forty years without a certain dwelling, manifested his exceeding protection over them, and his movidence every way to supply necessaries for them, even as well as if they had had the strongest houses. God would declare thereby, that the church in this world is not to expect any settled condition, but to be as men that dwell in tents, removing up and down, and so seek after a city that hath foundations, as is said of Abraham. At this feast, the Jews were wont to read the Book of Ecclesiastes, principally because it speaks so much of the works of God’s providence. All the while God’s people dwelt in booths and tabernacles, God himself would dwell in a tabernacle. God would not have a house built unto him, till he had brought his own people to be settled in houses of theu- own; and therefore when David began to think that he had a house of cedar, and sm-ely God must have one too, God tells him. Did I ever speak, saying, “Why build ye not me an house of cedar?” as” if he had said, As long as my people went up and down in booths and tabernacles, I was content to have a tabernacle for my dwelling. Thus God is willing to suit himself to the condition of his people: saith God,

If your conditions be afflicted and unsettled, I will be so too. In all their afflictions, God was afflicted; in all their unsettledness, God seemed to be so too. Afterwards, wlten God’s people were settled in Jerusalem, then God would have a house built him. God would hereby teach us, that if he be content to be in a condition like us, then we must be content to be in a condition like him; as thus, when we are afflicted, will God be afflicted with us? when we are unsettled, will God be (as it were) unsettled with us? then let us not think it much, if God’s truth and gospel suffer, to suffer with God. AVhen God is magnified and praised, oiu” hearts should be enlarged too, and rejoice in his ijraise. We should consider the condition that God is in in the world, and suit ourselves with that.

Obs. 1. It is good to have a real remembrance of our former low and mean condition. Does God now bring us into a more settled condition than heretofore? Let us not forget our former afflicted and unsettled condition, how ready we were to fleet up and down. If God should grant his people to think themselves settled in their own kingdoms, yet let them never forget the time when they were imsettled in this and other countries. !Many of the people of God have thought, what shall become of them, and whither shall they go, unless there be some special mercies of God to prevent their scattering; and yet that may be the condition of thousands in the land, before a year has closed. If God should prevent you, ever remember your fleeting condition. It was God’s great care of the people of Israel, that they should never forget then’ dwelling in tabernacles.

Obs. 2. After our humiliations for our sins, and making up our peace with God, it is good to keep our hearts low with meditation of the uncertainty of all tilings in the v.-orld. Note, the time of their feast of tabernacles, they were to dwell in booths upon the fifteenth day of their month, which was but five days after theu- day of atonement; as if God had said. You have been humbling yourselves, and making your peace with God, yet, when your hearts are comforted with the hope of atonement made, keep them low, take heed of pride; the feast of tabernacles must be kept. And one special means to keep our hearts low, is to remember the uncertainties of the comforts of this world. If your hearts are lifted up, and conceive some excellences in things here, go into your booths, and work your hearts down, keep your feast of tabernacles.

Obs. 3. To keep those humbled who are raised from a low condition to a high one, it is good actually to go into the houses of the poor, and look into their cupboards, and see what provision they have. This will be a means to humble your hearts, when you consider. This was once, or might be now, my condition. God woidd have Israel’s hearts kept low by actually going into booths and tabernacles. Though they had fair and sumptuous houses in the city, yet they were to go out, and live in their booths a while. You might think, Was it not enough for the jiricst to bid them remember their dwelling in tabernacles, but they must go forth from their houses, and abide in booths?

II. A second end of this feast was, to bless God for all the fruits of the earth they had received, when they had gathered in their vintapfe. The feast of pentecost was to bless God for their first-fruits, and their harvest; but now they were to join all together, and to bless God for all the fruits ot the earth. That this is God’s end, is clear in Deut. x•i. 13 — 15, “Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy com and thy wine: and thou shalt rejoice,” &c.; “because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thy hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.”

From hence there is this lesson.

It is useful to remember what a poor condition we were once in, and the uncertainty of all things we have, even when we have got om- riches into our houses. We think them uncertain when they are growing in the field, but after the vintage was gotten in, then they were to keej) the feast of tabernacles, to remember the uncertain condition of all tilings in the world: this we are very loth to do, it is unsuitable to our natures, and therefore this feast of tabernacles was much neglected among the Jews. AMicn God carried them into Babylon, and brought them back again into their own country, they kept the feast of tabernacles more solemnly than ever they had done; Neh. viii. 17, “Since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the childi-cn of Israel done so;” they never kept the feast of tabernacles so solemnly from their first coming into Canaan, as then they did. Now, having come out of prison, they could remember the uncertainty of things in the world; men forget this, but if they be driven from house and home, and lose all, then they remember what they have heard and confessed of the uncertainty of all worldly things. Some of oiu- brethren who are plundered and driven from their habitations, if God should ever restore them to their habitations again, their hearts would be enlarged in blessing God, they would be more sensible of the uncertainty of the comforts of the creature than before.

III. The feast of tabernacles had an aim at Christ and the state of a Christian. It was to tj-pify- Jesus Christ coming into the world, and pitching his tent amongst us; as John i. 14, he “dwelt amongst us;” he came and pitched his tabernacle amongst us, i(TKi)vioaiv h itn’iv. ‘The state of a Christian, likewise, is a tabernacle; 2 Cor. V. 1, “If om- earthly house of this t.ibernacle be dissolved:” till we go where Jesus Christ is gone before us, to prepare mansions for us, our dwelling is in tabernacles.

In the ofleriiigs that God appointed to offer in this feast. Numb. xxix. 12, there are some things very observable, but it is difficult to understand their precise meaning. The feast was to be kept seven days; the first day was a great day, and the last day a gre.at day; the first day thirteen bullocks were to be ofiered, and fourteen lambs; the second day but twelve bullocks, the third day but eleven, the fourth day but ten, every day ore decreased, and the last day there was but one ottered. Now, divers expositors have sought to find out the meaning of this. Calvin confesses that he does not understand its meaning, and rather than guess, I will, saith he, be silent in it; and yet he ventures upon a very unlikely conjecture, therefore I shall not name it. I That which is most likely seems to be in two things: the fiist is, they must offer even,’ day less and less, that is, (saith another interpreter.) to show their increase in sanctification, that they should gi-ow to more and more perfection every day of their feast, and so have less need of sacrifices than they had before. Thus, it will ] afford a good note to us, that when we keep days to God, eveiT day we should grow more and more in sanctification, and have less and less sin to answer for, than we had before.

Another intei-pretation is, that it was to show the cc — sation of tlic sacrifices of the Jews, that they were to decrease day by day; and this I take rather to be the meaning, because the last day but one bullock was offered, and yet that was the great day of the feast. “In the la-’ day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying. If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and j drink,” John vii. 37. There is somewhat to be noted i about Christ there: though it is true it was the feast of dedication, which was their own feast, from when( many would prove the lawfulness of holy-days, yet thi truth is, upon examination you shall find there is scarcistrength enough from that place to prove it, though it

be lawful to take the advantage of such times; but it will appear there, that it was the feast of tabernacles, as in 2 Clu-on. viii. 9. Theia- feast of the dedication of the temple was at the same time as the feast of tabernacles. One thing is to be observed fi-om Christ’s being at the feast. Why did Christ upon the great day of the feast crv out thus, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and di-inlv? “One reason may be, because when men are most strongly possessed with the uncertainties of all outward things in the world, they are fit to entertain the gospel, fit to hear of Jesus Clu-ist. “When their hearts are taken off from the world, and they look upon all things here as unsettled, the conclusion of that feast is a special preparation to the gospel. Isa. xl. 6, 7, &c., the preparation to the good tidings of the gospel, is the proclamation that “All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field;” yea, the withering of the grass and the fading of the flower must be proclaimed again and again. And then seasonably and acceptably it follows, ver. 9, “O Zion, that bringest good tidings,” &c., “say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”

Tremelius thinks, that the expression of Chi-ist at this time had reference to the custom of the Jews at this feast. At the feast of tabernacles the Jews were wont with great joy to bring water out of the river of Shiloh to the temple, where, being delivered to the priest, he poured it out upon the altar, together with wine, and all the people sung that song of Isaiah, “With joy shall ye di’aw water out of the wells of salvation.” Isa. xii. 3. Though it was their own invention, Clu-ist improves it, as if he said, AVhat do you expect fi’om this ceremony of yours? your custom will die and perish in the use of it, but come to me, and there you shall have water; I am the well of salvation; a spring of grace shall be continually in the heart of that man that believeth in me.

One note more is observable in this feast. We have a prophecy, that the feast of tabernacles should be kept in the times of the gospel, that is, in the truth of it, not in the ceremony. In Zech. xiv. 16, there is a prophecy, that when Christ comes, then all people shall “worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and keep the feast of tabernacles.” Why is it there prophesied that all people shall come and keep that feast? The reason this feast is named may be this; because in the times of the gospel, men shall acknowledge their outward comforts to be fi’om God, and the uncertainty of all things here, and that they are strangers and pUgrims on earth. In the times of the gospel this shall be made more evident to the hearts of people than ever before. The more Jesus Christ is known in the world, the more shall the hearts of men be taken up with this knowledge, and of the imcertainty of every creature, and have them taken off from the comforts of the world, and never expect any settled condition here, but account themselves pilgrims and strangers. It is a sign that the gospel has pi’evailed with yoiu- spirits, if you have your hearts taken off from the crcatm-e, and you look upon yourselves as sti-angers in the world, and expect an abiding city; then do you keep, in an evangelical sense, this feast of tabernacles.

Thus yoti have had a view of the chief of the Jewish feasts, which God threatens here shall cease.

There are only these three observations to be di-a-mi from all together.

Obs. 1. Even those things which are appointed by God himself, if once abused, God will not own theni, they are then accounted ours rather than God’s. “Her sabbaths;” why not my sabbaths? why not God’s sabbaths? God appointed them, but because they were abused, God would not own them: “her sabbaths, and her solemn feasts.” The ordinances of God, though never so good in themselves, if you pollute them, God rejects them, they are your onlinances then, and not

God’s. See then that all ordinances are as God would have them.

Obs. 2. It is a grievous and lamentable aiHiction upon any people, for God to deprive them of his sabbaths and ordinances. His ordinances are included in their solemn feasts. Nay, (saith God,) you will go on in your wickedness, and would put me off with your sabbaths and solemn meetings, which were once my ordinances, and attempt to satisfy me with them, though you continue in yoiu- %vickedness; no, you shall be deprived of them, you shall have no more sabbaths, no more solemn feast days. It is a sad affliction for a people to have no more sabbaths. How many of you neglect solemn meetings of God’s people! Time liiav come, when God will rend these privileges from you, and then your consciences will grate upon you: Oh the sabbaths that once we had! oh the solemn meetings that once we enjoyed! but om- hearts were vain and light; we did not make use of them, and now they are gone. Perhaps thou mayst be cast into a jail, or a dungeon, and there thou shalt keep thy sabbaths, and think upon thy solemn meetings. Oh how unworthy is this land of sabbaths! how did many persecute those that kept sabbaths! never any such thing occurred in any Christian nation: other places, though they arc somewhat loose upon their sabbaths, yet they never persecute them that will keep sabbaths. How justly might God have taken away our sabbaths I let us aoknov.iedge God’s free grace. What reproach has it been in England to assemble to hear sermons! how justly might God have taken away these solemn assemblies from us long before this! Let us pray, that whatever judgment God sends upon us, he will not take away our sabbaths, nor our solemn assemblies; but that we may still enjoy those we have, and enjoy them to better purpose than ever we have done.

Obs. 3. God has no need of oirr services. If God call upon us to worship him, it is for our good, not for any need he has of what we do. What do I care, saith God, whether I have any sabbath kept or no? I can provide for my glory, whatever becomes of your duties; I need them not, I can be glorious without you.

But these threats are but to take away spiritual things; carnal hearts think, if they may live and prosper in the world, what care they for sabbaths, and for solemn meetings? Tell them of taking away ordinances, or removing the truth of God’s worship, what is that to them? Let us have our peace, oui- trading, and omoutward blessings, and truth will follow. O no, a gi’acious heart will rather reason thus; O Lord, let us have thy ordinances, let us have thy gospel, and then for our vines and fig trees, our tradings and om’ outward blessings, we will leave them to thy disposal; if thou wilt give us thy sabbaths and thy ordinances, we will trust thee for om- vines and for our fig trees. But if the Lord be so angi-y as to deny us his ordinances, how can we think that he will be so merciful to us, as to continue our peace, or oiu’ civil liberties? No, be sm-e, if truth be gone, vines and fig trees will not stay long: the next words therefore are, “I will destroy her vines and her fig ti’ees.” The Lord may suffer those places that never had sabbaths and ordinances to prosper in theii- civil peace a long time; but where they had these, and the ■OTath of God is so incensed as to take them away, it cannot be expected that outward peace and plenty can hold long there. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” saith Christ, “and all these things shall be added unto you.” No, (say they.) let us m-st seek the kingdom of earth, and the things of heaven will be added to us; which shows the slightness of thefr account of heaveirly things. As the paper and the tlu-ead in a shop is given in with the commodity, if a man bargain for the paper ,and thread, and think the commodity will be given in, what a folly

AX EXrOSITION OF

were it? Many men have their thoughts altogcflicr upon the things’ of this life, ami they think the gospel vill be given into the bargain; as, if they have i)eace, they shall, no question, have truth; as if the gosi)cl vere the paper and the thread, and the things of the world were the commochties. It is your wisdom, if you would enjoy outward peace, to fix youi- hearts on ordinances, to crj’ to God for ordinances, and then God will take care you shall sit under your vines and under yoiu- fig trees in peace.

Ver. 12, 13. Jiid I iri/l destroi, her vines and her Jig trees, uhereof she hath said, These are mi, reuards that vti, lovers have given me: and I will male litem a forest, and the beasts of thejield shall eat them. And I trill lisit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself tcith her earrings and hcrjeuels, and she went after her lovers, andforgat vie, saith the Lord.

In the former verse God threatens Israel to take away spiritual mercies, their sabbaths, and ordinances, and solemn feasts; but because such a judgment would not be so gi’icvous to many as the desti’oying of the fiuit of the ground, the spoiling of then’ land, and the loss of those things wherein then- riches and outward comforts lay, therefore God joins this threat with the former, “And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees.” In vines and fig trees there is n sviiecdochc, by these are meant all her outward prosperity; I will not lop their vines, I will not cut down some branches of their fig trees only, but destroy them.

04*. If God stays long before a judgment comes, he comes fearfully indeed, he comes with destroying judgments; then he strikes at the verj- root of a peoi)le’s l)rosperity, and leaves them hopeless of ever recovering themselves. It concerns us to hural)lc oui-selves under God’s hand, when he only cuts off some branches of our vines and fig trees, of our outward comforts, lest ere long there follows a destroying judgment, cutting to the very root. Does God come into your families, and cut off a branch or two, a child or two? Humble your souls before him, he may cut downi the tree, stub up the root ere long, come to the mother or the father, and so root out the family. So in a nation: that is a very remarkable passage in F.zek. xxi. 27, ‘• I will overturn, overturn, overturn.” This was spoken to Israel, and to Israel when they were in cajitivitv, and yet God threatens them thus even there, “I will overturn, overturn, overturn.”

“Whereof she hath said. These are my rewards that my lovers have given me:” the word n:n translated ‘• rewards,” signifies merces meretricia. It comes from n:n which signifies to hue with wages, but such wages as arc given to harlots; and yet idolatry makes her so impudent, that she uses that verj’ word, “These are my rewards.”

Obs. 1. Wioredom is a costly sin to many a man. Many men secretly waste and consume their estates, and their neighbours wonder how they come to be so low. Uncleanness is as a gangrene, as it will consume the body, so the purse; it beggars many men, when the world little thinks the cause.

Obs. 2. God may suffer men in wickedness to prosper, to gain their hearts’ desires. “These are my rewards;” (hese, that you call idols, give me liberal rewards, I have what 1 served them for.

Obs. 3. It is a dangerous thing for sinners to look back to the sins which they have committed, and then to liless themselves, as if they had gained by them. Before a sin is committed, the sinner by temptation may be persuaded there is much gain to be had; and in th(» very act of commission, he may find some tlash of false couteiUraent and delight; but usually after the

act is over, when he looks back, he sees nothing but shame, guilt, and horror. Sinners dare scarcely look back to their sins, after they are committed, except such as are most desperately hardened; but here you see, they look at w hat they have done, and bless themselves, as if they had obtained a goodly reward by it. As the sight of the evil consequences of sin is a means to humble, so the apprehending of gain by sin is a special means to harden in sin. Judas thought it a brave thing to get the thirty pieces of silver, yet when he saw the evil fruit his sin had produced, he looked with horror upon his sin, and his soul sunk under the burden of it. If Judas, looking back upon his sin, has his spirit filled with horror, what hojie is there then of any one, who, looking back upon it, blesseth himself as a gainer by it? If a man prospers, either at the time he sins, or more a little after he has committed it than he did before, or so prospers as that he conceives his sin to be some way instrumental to bring in the gain that he obtained; this hardens exceedingly.

Obs. 4. It is a provoking sin to attribute the blessings of God to our own wicked, sinful ways, and thereby to harden our hearts in those ways. “These are tny rewards that my lovers have given me.” It is too much to attribute any of God’s blessings to second causes, even to our lawful endeavours, to our industry, to oiur care, to any instruments; but to attribute them to our wickedness is abominable. God ex])ccts glory in the acknowledgment of eveiy mercy, and im])rovement of it to him: where then there is not only a denial of this to him. but a giving it to his enemy, to wickedness, to the devil, whom he hates; this goes exceeding near to the heart of God. It is a great part of our sanctifying of God’s name in the use of all the creatures, to acknowledge him in all, that all depends upon him, and thereby to be quickened in his service: but to think all de])en(ls upon that which is contraiy to God, and therefore, if we want what we would have, to begin to think we have not served our lusts enough, and to be urged to serve them more; this exceedinf;ly ])rovokes him. I will give you a notable example oi this WTctchedness of man’s heart. There was a consultation of many of the Lutheran ministers of Germany, in Hamburgh, to find out the cause why the hand of God was so heavy in those parts of Germany where they lived, that so they might reform what was amiss, and make their peace with God. The issue of their consultations came to this, that the reason of all their calamities and troubles was. because the images of their churches were not adorned enough; and therefore, for jiieventing the continuance of those calamities, they unanimously consented to improve all the strength they had. to beautify and adorn the images in their churches more. It was a sad thing for ministers who profess against popery, as the Lutherans do, to keep images in churches. But could it be thought that they should be thus vain, yea wicked, a.s to attiibute the unfruitfulness of their vines and fig trees to the want of their superstitious vanities, and to bring their consultations to this conclusion, that if they were more zealous in the one, they should be more prosperous in the other? was not this a sore and a grievous evil, going near the heart of God?

^lany attribute the increase of their estates to their lying, their overreaching, and their swearing, and rejoice. This I have gained by these ways. Zeph. i. 0, God threatens to “punish all those lliat leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit;” that is, the servants of great men, who by oi>- iirtBsion and fraud bring in gain to their masters* nouses, and then they leap upon the threshold for joy. apjilauding themselves in the success they have haa in their wicked ways. It is usual if men meet with pros- ]H’rous success, to bless themselves, as if this success came because of their ways, let them be never so

V£K. 12, 13.

wicked. Of late, have not some made the world believe they have had great success, and ha■e argued that their ways were good, and that God had blessed them on account of them, though we know their ways are such as bring most fearful guilt u])on themselves and their families; we have all cause to tremble for them, and to pray, “O Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do:” and as for the success of which they boast, who would not, if he might, wish such success to his enemy?

Obs. 5. Idolaters encourage themselves in their ways from the good they suppose they derive by them; how much more should the saints encourage themselves in the rewards they have from their lover, from the Lord Christ! Psal. cxix. 56, “This I had,” (saith David,) “because I kept thy i)recepts;” this is the reward I have had from my lover; I bless God, I have in some measure got my heart to break before the I^ord, and to melt after him, and the Lord has come mercifully to me. Though there is no worthiness in what I have done, yet the Lord has been gracious, he has encouraged his poor servant in his way: these and these mercies the Lord has given me as a fruit of seeking him; he has not said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain; I have sought for comfort, for peace, and at last it is come; I will call upon the name of the Lord as long as I live. We should consider what mercies fi’om God we have, and rejoice in them; these are the rewards, these are the love-tokens, that come from our deai’ly beloved. Hereafter, when the saints come to heaven, how will they bless God, and bless themselves in theii’ God, for those glorious things, those blessed rewai’ds, that they shall then receive from their beloved, and enjoy for ever with him! Then they shall triumphantly say, The world said heretofore, “WHiat profit is there in serving of the Lord? But blessed be God that I went on, notwithstanding, in the ways of God, and now I see there is profit to purpose: O these joys! 0 this gloiy! O this cronNii! O this happiness! these ai’e the rewards that I have from my beloved.

Obs. 6. Whatever any man gets by sin, or looks upon as gotten by sin, or uses as a means to harden himself in sin, the curse of God is in it, and it will rend him from it, or he shall never enjoy it. “I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said. These are my rewards that my lovers have given me.” Ahab blessed himself in getting Naboth’s vineyard by the device of Jezebel; 1 Kings xxi. 16, he “rose up to go down to take the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it;” but, ver. 19, “Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.” What! you have got the vineyard, you have obtained possession; how? by wickedness. Though you bless yourselves in it now, as a reward of your vile ways, certainly the Lord will either force you, in the anguish and terror of your soids, to vomit up those sweet morsels again, or some fearful judgment of God upon you will rend them from you. That which many have obtained by unjust and sinful ways, they have rejoiced in for a while; but after a while that estate has been in their consciences, as drops of scalding lead in the very apple of a man’s eye: so terriljle has it been unto them. I will give you a late example, that came to my own hands, in restoring that that was wrongfully obtained many’ years ago, from one near myself. I name it because the party desired that the thing might be made known to the gloi-y of God. He sent that which he had Tongfully obtained, many years after, with a letter, with these expressions; “Many a throb of conscience had I about it, many an aching heart, and many promises have I made of restitution, and thousands of times have I wished unto you voursUver again, ‘hat shall I do? to keep it, it is to continue in sin; to give it to the poor, alas, it is not mine own, or at least the evil purchase of gain hoarded up in the stuff of my iniquity; to send it home, the owner is dead: I would to God I had sent it before, that it might not have lain so hard upon me; but seeing that is past, and cannot be recalled, here I send it you; I ask God forgiveness, and I ask you forgiveness, and pray you fail not to pray for me. Sweet Jesus, forgive me.” It was kept divers years, but was biting all the while in the conscience of the poor man, and at length it must break forth in such expressions as these. Consider this, every one who has obtained any thmg dishonestly, and has blest himself in it; This is the reward I have got by such a cunning device, by such an unjust and deceitful way: you got it cleverly, and have enjoyed it, and been merry with it; well, one day it may thus lie grating in your consciences. Oh then how terrible will it be to you! The best way to be rid of the rewards of sin, when they begin to cause aching in your consciences, is to cast them out yourselves; all your praying to God for forgiveness will never ease you without, if you be able to restore; but if you will not do so, God may come by some hideous judgment, and force them from you in spite of your heart.s; and then howterrible will it be to you when you look upon them as being rent by God from you! Oh, now I must part with all that gain and sweetness, that such ways of sin have brought me! the gain, the sweet is gone; but the guilt, the curse, the th-egs, the filth remain upon my spirit, and, for aught I know, must stick by me to all eternity. God’s judgments will come upon you one day, as strainers, to let out whatever is sweet and delightful to you, and to keep in the filth and th-egs. Remember this, you that have got rewards by sinful ways, jour rewards of sin may now delight you, but there is a time you shall have rewards for your sins that will not ])lease you.

“I will make thei)i as a forest.” God threatens his people to make them as a forest; the Seventy read, 6/;ffo/i«t avrd f7i; ^unpTvpiov, that is, fiia9uiara, I will put those things (the rewards) as a witness. You will say, Here is a great difference; “I will make them as a forest,” and, I will put those things as a witness: those things, that is, those rew-ards; they rejoice in the rewards of their iniquity, but I wUl make them as a witness against them. Certainly there is a truth in this; those things in which you rejoice, as obtained by sin, the Lord wUl make rise up and witness against you. Be sure now you cast them out, they will else be witnesses against you another day. A guilty man w-ould be glad, when he knows one that woidd witness against him was dead, or out of the w-ay: have you gamed any thing by a sinful course? put it out of the way, for otherwise it will be a witness against you, either u])on your sick bed, or at the great day of judgment. 15ut how- can these two readings be reconciled, I will make them as a witness against you, and “I will make them as a forest.” It is true the English words seem to be very wide from the Septuagint, but there is an easy mistake that might cause the Seventy to render them thus, I will ]nit them as a witness, for ij?’ signifies a forest in the lleljrew, and iy to witness, so it is used Zech. iii. 6. IMontanus reads those words, conlestabalur angelus: now those that are skilful in the Hebrew know that, there being no more cUft’erence in the words than in those letters i and l which are so like one another, there might easily be a mistake. But we take it as it is here, “I will make them as a forest.” The church is God’s garden, hedged in with God’s protection, but God threatens to take away the hedge, and let in the wild beasts. The wild beasts are one of God’s sore judgments often threatened; those who will not be subject to the blessed holy God, shall be subject unto the ravening and rage of beasts; and it is probable the

Seventy understood it literally of the judgment of noisome beasts to be let in upon them; for I find that they add to the words, “the beasts of the field shall eat them,” icai ra Triruva roii ovpavov Kai to. fprerd rijf yi)C, and the fowls of the heaven and the creeping things of the earth shall devour; but they are not in the Hebrew text, and therefore we must let them pass, and only speak of what wo have here, of the beasts’ eating. Now, according to most interpreters, I am persuaded that it is the intention of the Holy Ghost, to express a judgment beyond the interpretation, of letting in noisome beasts, namely, the Assyrians, the adversaries of Israel, who should come upon them as ravening beasts to devour them.

Obs. 1. Sin makes men lilie beasts, the beasts of the earth. He means the Assyrians, great ones, and yet he calls them the beasts of the earth. To be like a beast is worse than to be a beast; for to be a beast is but to be as God made the creature, it is no dishonour to it; but to be like a beast is the con-uption of a creatuie, and the deformity of it, the worst deformity that possibly can be. Chrj’sostom shows it thus. Beasts (saith he) have but some particular evil, take the worst of all, as the swine, sensuality; the tiger and the bear, cruelty; the fox, subtlety, &c.; but wicked men have all evils that all beasts of the world have in them. One wicked man has the sensuality of a swme, and cruelty of a tiger, of a bear, the subtlety of a fox; and whatever is set out emblematically by any beast, a wicked man has it all in his heart; yea, and further, wicked men ai’e worse than beasts in this, that they corrupt themselves in those things which they have in common with beasts, more than beasts do. As the di’unkard corrupts himself in his di’ink, which a beast will not do; a glutton corrupts himself in his meat, more than ordinarily a beast will do: and that I think is the meaning of that text in the Epistle of Jude, ver. 10, “These speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those tilings they con’upt themselves.” As for their intellectual parts, they will take upon them as if they knew much; but the truth is, they understand little, and yet will speak evil of that they know not. It is a (b-eadfid text against such, as ciy out against men and then- ways, when in truth the)- know not what they are. But, further, “what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves;” that is, in things they know merelj’ by sense, as they know by tasting, and by smelling, as brute beasts do, in those very things they corrupt themselves more than brute beasts, that is, by excess in meats and di’inks.

“Would not any account it to be one of the greatest judgments that could befall him, if God should turn him into the fashion of a beast while he lives in this world, though he should still retain the mind of a man? Su])- pose God should inflict this judgment upon a ckunkard, he would still have his intellectual parts as he now has, but his body shoidd be turned into the form of a swine, or a railer into the foi-m of a dog, as they say Hecuba the wife of Priam was, for her railing: would not this be a fearful judgment? Lactanfm“ri”mn“io”am tius, from Cicero, obscrvcs, If it would conTcrtiuiriiquam jjg jucli a judgment as a man woidd be

nguram bestia!, .,,,, i, i

qu«mTi» homims Willing to endure any misery in the world, t!l“<|u»”” frt ‘. rather than to have his body turned into n’liu’ii’anlmi’SSe”’^ the fashion of a beast; is it not as great rflirato. Laciimt. 1. misery to keep the fashion of llic body, and to have the mind become like a beast, to keep a human shape with the soul of a beast? surely it is worse than to have the shape of a beast with the soul of man.

Obs. 2. God looks upon wicked men, who do great things in the world, with a contemptible eye. “The beasts shall devoiu’;” that is, the great king of Assyria,

and all his corn-tiers above him, and cavaliers with him, shall come lo devour them; they are but beasts. God speaks in a contemptible manner, as he does against Sennacherib king of AssjTia; in Isa. xxxvii. 29. God threatens to “put a hook in his nose, and a bridle in his lips,” because of his rage and of his tumult; that is, he would use him as a beast, to hook his nose, and to put a bridle into his jaws. Mark, likewise, how contemptibly God speaks of the great king of Babylon, and his whole army, Joel ii. 20, “His stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.” And so in Psal. lix. 7, “They belch out with their mouth,” (saith David,) “they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.” David means his adversaries that were about Saul in his court. And in Ezek. xxxvLii. 3, 4, God says to -’the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, I will put hooks in thy jaws.” In Dan. vii. the four great monarchies, Babylonian, Persian, Grecian, Roman, are described by four beasts, and the fourth monarchy, which is by most interpreted the Roman empire, Dan. vii. 7, is described to be “dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great u-on teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse fi’om all the beasts that were before it.” Now, tills beast raged first in the heathen empii’e, and after it gave its power to the beast antichi’ist, as you may read in Rev. xiii., and that beast was like a leopard, spotted, full of uncleanness and filth; or, as some translate it, a panther, who by his scent draws other beasts to him, but devours them; and his feet like a bear, and his head like a Hon. Thus, you see how God describes the great ones of the world as beasts, and looks with contempt upon them.

Obs. 3. It is a sore and heavy judgment for a people to be delivered up to the rage of cruel adversaries. “ITie beasts shall devour them.” I will give you up to cniel, wicked men, who will bring you under; you will not be obedient to me, but to them you shall. Hence David prayed, •’ Let me not fall into the hand of man;” when God put him to choose what judgment he would have, he was quickly resolved to refuse to be given up to the hands of men; that he knew was dreadful: and, Psal. Iv. 6, 7, he prays, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I flee away and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness.” In the wilderness! why he would be among the wild beasts in the wilderness, and yet he cries. Oh that I had the wings of a dove! AAHiat is the rea.son? It was because of the cruelty of Saul and his corn-tiers: David apprehended that he had better fall into the hands of tigers and wild beasts in the wilderness, than mto theirs, len Scipio came against Numantia in Sjiain, and the inhabitants were afi-aid it would be taken, all the )oimg men fii-st took all the old people in the city, and killed them with as easy a death as they could; then they brought all the riches and treasure of the city to the market-place, and set all on fii-e; and after that they all took poison; and thus, in one day, old and young, and all in the city, were quite destroyed, rather than they woidd fall into the hands of their enemies. ‘■ Deliver my soul,” saith David, “from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog,* Psal. xxii. 20. The jiower of the dog, and the sword, is but one the inteqiretation of the other. Paul declares, 1 Cor. xv. 32,” If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus: “some interpret this literally, that he did indeed really fight with beasts, as being one way of torment to which they subjected the Oiristians; but most interjireters think that the meaning is, with men that were beastlv, with cruel men; and Estius thinks the men to be those who are mentioned in Acts xix. 9, “Divers were hardened, and spake evil of that way before the multitude.” Paul then” departed from them,

and separated the disciples.” Paul saw that it was a most devilish design, to get the multitude together, and there to speak against hini and his doctrine, and against Christ; upon which the spiiit of Paid was so provoked, that “he departed from them, and separated the disciples.” Thus with many, the more sedition is raised, the better are their designs furthered. Chi-ist tells his disciples, Mark xvi. 17, 18, that serpents shall do them no hurt, poison shall not injure them, and they shall have power over devils; but in ]SIatt. x. 17, ‘•Beware of men:” they might say, Wiy, blessed Master, serpents shall do us no hurt, we shall have power over devils, what need we be afraid of men? But Chi’ist bids them take heed of men; as if there were more danger from wicked men, than fi-om devils, or from serpents. Therefore St. Paid, in 2 Thess. iii. 2, prays that they may be delivered from aTon-uiv, absui-d men; those that had lost the very principle of reason, and were even as beasts. There is a generation risen up amongst us, who have sucked the poison of the old serpent, who are set on fhe of hell, and the poison of asps is vmder thefr lips. As Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were, as reported, suckled by wolves; so these, who desfre to bmld up Rome again, are Kke the first founders of that Rome, they seem to be men suckled by wolves; or as the poets feign of Lycaon, tui-ned into wolves for their cruelty; or as it is said of then- St. Dominic, who was the father of the Dominicans, that before he was born, his mother cbeamed that she brought forth a wolf, with a fh-ebrand in his mouth; and according to that representation in her dream, so he proved afterwards. K we look at the cruelty and rage of these men, we may think, that then- mothers have indeed brought forth wolves with fii-ebrands in their mouths: Satan rages in them, and we hope therefore his time is but very short. Had they prevailed, to bring every thing under their power, no chi’onicle of any nation under heaven, would afford similar stories of horrid cruelties, as the chronicles of these times. ^Vliere they have prevailed, in Ireland, such barbarisms have commenced, as here woidd have risen to the perfection of cruelty. The Lord deliver us fi-om being scourged with these scorpions. Let us humble our souls before God, that God may not humble us before such beasts; that he may not say that England shall be as a forest, and these beasts shall devom- them. In the mean time, let us not be offended at their prevailing in some places, for then we should be as beasts om-selves. “So foolish was I and ignorant, I was as a beast before thee,” saith David. God saith. He will requii’e of the beasts the blood of his people. Gen. ix. 5. Certainly, God wUl require of these beasts the precious blood they have daimk: had it been coiTupt blood, God woidd not so much have cared for it, but it is the blood of his saints. Let us believe that God wUl turn the rage of man, the rage of beasts, to his praise, Psal. lxxvi. 10. Surely the Lord cannot possibly behold without indignation his lambs, who are so precious in his eyes, torn and won’ied by such beasts as these. We may well say with the prophet, Hab. i. 2 — i, “O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wUt not hear! even ciy out imto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for .spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.” When the Jews made use of Philo to apologize for them to Caius the emperor, Cains used him very ruggedly; when he came out of his jjresence, to encourage the Jews he said, Smely Caius will arm God against himself for us. But, some may say, surely these men are not beasts.

for they are skilful wai’riors: mai’k that text of Ezek. xxi. 31, ‘• I will deliver thee into the hand of brutish men, and sldlful to destroy;” they ar-e skilful to destroy, and yet brutish men. We have a promise fi-om God, and om- prayers shoidd hasten its fulfilment; “I will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land; — the beast of the land shall no more devom- them,” Ezek. xxxiv. 25, 28. Oh that that time were come! Oh that the Lord would so work for us as to cause om- beasts to cease out of om- land, that they might no more devom:! Such a time is coming; ‘■ No lion shall be there, nor ravenous beast shall be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there,” Isa. xxxv. 9. In the mean time, though om- brethi-en endm-e hard things by these cruel beasts, and though God may perhaps bring some of us under the rage of them, let us be patient, and comfort ourselves in these promises.

Ver. 13. And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, tcherein she bunted incense to them, and she decked herself uilli her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, andforgat me, saith the Lord.

This is the conclusion of the tlu-eatenings in this chapter; now God wUl punish them for all their sins together. If a generation succeed in wickedness, God may justly come upon that generation, for all the sins of former generations; all the blood from Abel to Zachariah shall be requu-ed of this generation. “I will visit upon her all the days of Baalim;” ever since they served Baal. Let men take heed of continuing in the ways of sin: who can tell what sin may put a period to God’s patience with a nation, a famUy, or an individual? Though God has spared heretofore, upon the next sin committed he may put such a period to forbeai-ance as to come upon the famUy, not oiUy for that sin, but for all the sins it has committed since it was a famUy; and so for all the sins of a nation, since it was a nation; and for all thy sins, ever since thou wast a simier! Men go on awhUe in the ways of sm prosperously, but when God visits, what will become of them? ““V^Tiat will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come fi-om far? to whom wUl ye flee for help? and where will ye leave yom- glory?” Isa. x. 3. Now you are men-y, now you fear nothing, but “what will je do in the day of visitation?” what will become of you then? -whither wUl you flee then? “and where wUl you leave your glory?”

‘• i -wUl visit upon her the days of BaaKm;” m the plm-al number, Baalim; by which some thiiJi, and not improbably, that their inferior gods are meant, which they caUeil Baalim; for the heathen had theii- chief gods, and then- Dii minores, then- lesser gods, who were as mediators to then- chief gods; and so om- papists have their Dii minores, lesser gods, who are tutelar gods, either over nations, or over families, or over particular diseases, &c. As they say, for England, St. George; for France, St. Dennis; for L-eland, St. Patrick; for AVales, St. David; for Scotland, St. An(b-ew, &c. These saints are in imitation of the heathens. Baal, or, in the Clialdee dialect, Bel, was the fii-st king of Babylon after Nimrod, the fii-st that was deified, and reputed as a god after death; whence those men who were deified after then- death, and worshipped as gods, as the papists worship their saints, they called Baalim; as from Julius Ca-sar, those kings who followed after were called Casars. This intei-iiretation tlu-ows light upon 1 Cor. -iu. 5, 6, “Though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we m him; and one Lord Jesus Christ.” If the “apostle had spoken in Hebrew, it -n-ould have been, “Though there be many Baalim, there is to us but one God, and one Baal;” for

in Hebrew, Baal is Lord; there are many gods, (say they,) i. e. divers gi-eater gods, and many lords, i. e. many Baalim, wliicli are mediators to their- chief gods; but to us (saith he) there is but one God, and but one Lord, but one Baal; we have not Baalim, not many meiliators between us and God; but as we have but one God, so we have but one Lord, but one Mediator, who in regard of his human nature is inferior to the Father, but vet such a Lord, “by whom are all things, and we by him:” the papists acknowledge but one God, but they have many lords, many mediators, many that must stand between God and them. This is a heathenish opinion.

Again, Baalim, in the plm-al number. Another reason not improbable, given by some, is, that it intimates the several images they had of their Baal, in various places, even in their private houses; for idolaters did not satisfy themselves with worshipping their gods in public, but worshipped them in their private houses also. Now, though the Jews had only tw’o idols set up, one in Dan, and another in Bethel; yet they had some representations of those images in their private houses, which may be grounded upon Hos. x. 5, “Because of the calves of Beth-aven,” that is, of Bethel, calves of Bethel. ^VTiy, how many calves were there there? there was but one calf set up there, and yet here it is plural: now the reason of that is given, that though there was but one calf set up for ])ublic worship, )’ct they had in their private families the picture of that calf, and so brought the worship of Baal into their families. A good lesson for Christians, not to satisfy themselves with public worship, but to bring as much of the worship of God as they can into their families.

“‘WHierein she burned incense to them.” Incense was a tj-jjical signification of prayer, in two respects. First, in the sweet savour of it. And secondly, in its ascending by fu’e: so all our prayers should be as incense, sweet before the Lord, and ascend up with the fervency of zeal and faith: it is proper to God alone to have such incense bui’nt to him: the heathens bunit incense to their idols, imitating the worship of God.

“She decked herself with her earrings and her jewels.” They worshipped their idols in a sumptuous manner, adorning themselves with costly apparel, especially in front: the word neu translated jewels, signifies the nose jewel; and in Isa. iii. 21, is translated “nose jewels:” they hanged upon their faces jewels to make themselves beautiful before their idols. Harlots adorn themselves more pomjiously than grave matrons. By this many simple peojile are dralm to the love of idolatry, which is spiritual whoredom. They thought that God would accejit of their service the rather, because of the costly jewels, that hung about their ears and nostrils. From whence

Obs. To think that God will accept our service the rather because of any apparel, or any thing of our own devising, is to deal with God as the heathens with their idols. AVe must take heed of that. The heathens instituted garments that they might be accepted. A council in the year of Christ 3:S.’J, by r°“n«ihcrm.uLnt’”” OHB of its canous, anathcmatizcs all those i™1di’«TOnciiorrin ‘^’^’^ shuW judge One vcstm’e more holy aui pim faccrc a<i than another. AVe are to learn from ’ ‘” ’ idolaters to beautify and adorn our souls

when we come into the presence of God; did they deck their bodies and hang jewels about ears and noses, when they came before their idols for acceptance? let us beautify our soids every time we come before the living God. And would you know what fine clothes you should wear when you come into God’s ])rescnce? I will tell you, and especially those women who delight so much in fine clothes, 1 I’et. v. o,” Be clothed with humility: ‘’ the word iyKoiijiwaaoBi, means, to clothe ■nith a dress that gentlewomen used to wear in those

times, of ribands about their heads: “Well, (saith the apostle,) would you have a fine dress, ye women? “be clothed with humility,” the finest di-ess you can possibly have. I will tell you of another gannent, 1 Pet. iii. 4, adorned with “a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price,” TrokvnKig, much set by of God, so translated in some of yoiu- books. If you come into God’s presence with quiet and meek spu-its, and clothed with humility, you will be beautiful in the verj’ eyes of God; but withal remember, both men and women, except you come clothed and decked with the robe of Chi’ist’s righteousness, you can never find acceptance.

“She went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.” Their lovers were remembered, but I was forgotten, saith God. God here speaks as a man bemoaning his sad condition; as if he had said. How am I slighted by my people! the idols can be followed, they can be remembered; but I am neglected, I am forgotten; they have activity for their idols, but none for me; memory for them, but none for me!

Obs. God takes it very ill, when men can find memory, strength, and activity enough for their sinful ways, but none for him. Many complain of weakness, but who was ever so weak, but had strength enough to sin? though memories are weak, yet sinful ways can be recollected.

“Forgat me;” that is, first, they have forgotten what a God I am; secondly, what I have done for them, the great works I have done before them; thu’dly, all their engagements to me. Many follow wicked ways, yet sometimes they have checks of conscience, some remembrances of God, and so long there is hope; but when a sinner has so far departed from God, and followed his ungodly ways, as that God is quite worn out of his thoughts, then he is in a sad case indeed. I appeal to you, is it not the case of some here? There was a time when you had mighty impressions of God upon your spirits, and then you could never ti“ansact your business, or go into the streets and fields, or awake in the night season, but the thought of God was in yom’ hearts; but there was some haunt of wickedness which you hankered after, temptation came, and you have given way to it, and now, friend, you can go one day after another, and scarce think of God at all. Why have you no thoughts of God now, as you were wont to have? Now and then there come darting in some thoughts of him, but yotu’ guilty conscience knows they are very terrible to you; now you can never have a thought of God, but it is as a dagger at youi’ heart. Well, take heed what thou doest, O sinner, go not on in thy sinful ways, till thou wearcst out all thoughts of God. Some have done so, though they had checks of conscience. When they have been in wicked company, God has come into their thoughts, and troubled them; but they have gone to wicked company again, and some thoughts of God have followed them; but they have gone again and again, and now they have forgotten God as much if there were no God in heaven; as if God had nothing to do with them, and they nothing to do with God. Oh this is a sad condition indeed! If any of you are decUning into such a condition as this, the Lord stop you this day; the Lord awaken your consciences! Ordinarily, the more prosperity men have, the more forgetful they are of the Lord. They “forgat me.” As, Gen. xlviii. 20, Jacob sot E))hraira before Manassch, first Ephi’aim, then Manasseh; Ephraim signifies fruitfulness, and Manasseh signifies forgetfulness: thus it is with men; Ephraim comes first, fruitfulness, God is fruitful to you, and blesses your estates; and then comes Manasseh, forgetfidness. Aly brethren, if always we had such inqu’essidns of God as we have sometimes, oh how liapjiy were it! AAHien God shall again present himself to you, and cause you to remember what impressions of his Divine majesty once you had, it will terrify you. I will give you this rule for your lives: Live such lives, as by them you may hold forth to your brethren such remembrances of God, that they may conclude by what they see in your conversation, Certainly there are deep impressions of the Divine majesty upon the heart of this man; there was a time when he walked lightly, vainly, and foolishly; but now he is serious, considerate, heavenly, and walks with fear. If we act so, how jojful will it be to us hereafter, when God shall appear in his glory! Then to have our consciences tell us, I now see the glory of the great God shining, and, blessed be his name, even this God that appears so gloriously, has appeared often to my soul before; I have kept the impressions of his glory upon my heart, and he was continually in my thoughts. It is a wonder that God should ever thinlc of us, who are so forgetful of him. Psal. viii. 4, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?” What is man? The word U’ljs translated man, some would derive from ntt’3 which signifies forgetfulness. I find Eusebius taking it thus: “AVhat is man, that thou shouldst remember him?” that is, what is forgetfid man, that thou shouldst remember him? Yet 1 think it comes rather fi-om WJN which signifies weakness, sickness: what is weak man, what is sick man? yet if this word come not from the root that signifies to forget, I am p.^ji, sm’e there is a word derived from such a

“As women!” jer. root, used for womcu, becausB of their forgetfidness. We would be glad to have God remember us in the day of our adversity; let us remember God now. All you young ones, remember your Creator in the days of yoiu’ youth: you old people, whatever you forget, forget not the Lord: let us all remember the Lord, who has remembered us all; who has remembered England in her low estate, for his mercy endureth for ever.