dtB^^Jui£i^iiiiBaii2idA_ai s-. ^ y , Srom i^e Eifirarg of (pxoftBBot ^amuef (gXifPer in (glcmorg of %nb^c ^amuef (gttfPer (grecftinribge (J}rceenfeb 6|? ^amuef (Qliffer QSrecfttnribge feong fo t^ feiBrart of (prtncefon J^eofogicaf ^etntnarj / CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE HISTORICAL PASSAGES 7 OF TH OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT. BY ^ The Rev. JOSEPH HALL, LATE LORD BISHOP OF NORWIClt. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. II. GLASGOW: PRINTED Br DAVID NIVEN, rOR R. & J. HUTCHISON, BOOKBINDERS. MjOCCjXcyi; THE CONTENTS OF THE ■SECOND VOLUME. BOOK XV. Contemplation I. TTZZAH, an4 the Ark *-^ removed I H. Mephibolheth and Ziba 9 III. Hanun, and David's Ambafladors 15 IV. David with Bathfheba and Uriah 22 V. Nathan and David 30 VI. Amnon and Tamar 38 VII. Abfalom's Return and Confpiracy 45 BOOK XVI. I. Shimei cnrfing 52 II. Ahitliophel 58 III. The Death of Abfalom 64 IV. Sheba's llebellion 72 V. The Gibeonites revenp;ed 79 VI. The Numbering of the People S^ BOOK XVII. ,1. Adonijah defeated 93 II. David's End, and Solo- mon's Be^rinnin^ ICO HI. The Execution of Joab j and Shimei 107 j iV. Solomon's Choice, with I his Judgment upon I the two Harlots 112 V. The Temple 1 18 VI. Solomon and the Queen of Sheba VII. Solomo.i's Defeftion BOOK XVIII. I. Rehoboam II. Jeroboam III. The feduced Prophet 156 125 13^ 147 164 171 179 190 IV. Jeroboam's Wife V. A fa Vf. Elijah with the Sarcp- tan VII. Elijah with the Baal- ites VIII. Elijah running before Ahab, fleeing from Jezebel BOOK XIX. I. Ahab and Benhacad IF. Ahsband Naboth in. Ahab nrd Micaiah, or the Death of Ahab 232 IV. Ahaziah fick, and Eli- jah rf:vcnged 24.2 V. The rapture of Elijah 25 I VI. Elifha heaiing the Wa- ters,— Curfiiig the Children, R eliev- ing the Kings 262 VII. Eliflia with the Shi:- namite 274 A 2 Vlli. 2'3 223 CONTENTS. Vlir. EHiha with Naaman 285 IX. Elifha raifing the Iron, blinding the Afly- rians 300 X. The Famine of Samaria relieved 309 BOOK XX. I. The Shunamite fuing to Jehoram, EliOia conferring with Ha- zael 3 1 7 II. Jehu with Jehoram and Jezebel 327 HI. Jehu killing the Sons of Ahab, and the Priefts of Baal 338 IV. Athaliah and Joafh 348 V. Joafh with Elifha dying 359 VI. Uzziah leprous 366 VII. Ahaz with his new Al- ^^^ 373 VIII. The utter Deftruc- tion of the Kingdom of Ifrael 377 IX. Hezekiah and Senna- cherib 381 X. Hezekiah fick, recover- ed, vifited 393 XI. Manafleh 404 XII. Jofiah's Reformation 414 XIII. Jofiah's Death, with Defolation of the Temple and Jerufa- lem 417 BOOK XXI. I. Zerubbabel and Ezra 43 1 II. Nehemiah building the Walls of Jerufalem 448 III. Nehemiah redreffing the Extortion of the Jews 458 IV. Ahafuerus feaft;ing,Va(h- ti caft off, Efther chofen 467 V. Haman difrefpedted by Mordecai, Morde- cal's Meflage to Eft- her 478 VI. Either fuing to Aha- fuerus 493 VII. Mordecai honoured by Haman 498 VIII. Haman hanged, Mor- decai advanced 505 END OF THE CONTENTS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. CONTEMPLATIONS. BOOK XV. CoNTEMP. I. UzzAH, and the Ark removed. THE houfe of Saul is quiet, the Philiftines beatenj victory cannot end better than in devotion: Da- vid is no fooner fettled in his houfe at Jerufalem, than he fetcheth God to be his gueft there; the thoufands of Ifrael go now, in an holy march, to bring up the ark of Godtothe place of his reft. The tumults of war afforded no opportunity of this fervice; only peace is a friend to religion; neither is peace ever our friend, but when it is a fervant of piety. The ufe of war is not more per- nicious to the body, than the abufe of peace is to the foul; alas, the riot, bred of our long eafe, ratlier drives the ark of God from us; fo the ftill fedentary life is fubject to difeafes, and ftanding waters putrify. It may be juft with God to take away the blefling, which we do fo much abufe, and to fcour off our ruft with bloodv war, &c. The ark of God had now many years reftediin the obfcure lodge of Abinadab, without the honour of a tabernacle. David will not endure himfelf glorious, and the ark of God contemptible; his firfl care is to provide a fit room for God, in the head of the tribes, in his own city. The chief care of good princes mull be the advancement of religion ; what fliould the de- puties of God rather do, than honour him whom they reprefent ? It was no good that Ifrael could learn of Philiftines ; thofe Pagans had fent the ark back in a nev/ cart; the Ifraelites faw God bleffed that condu6t, and now they praclife it ai home : but that which God will take from Philiftines, he will not brook from A 3 Ifrael. 2 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book I. Ifrael. Aliens from God are no fit patterns for chil- dren. Divine inftitution had made this a carriage for the Levites, not for oxen : neither fhould thofe fons cf Abinadab have driven the cart, but carried that facred burden. God's bufmelTes muft be done after his own forms, which if we do, with the beft inten- tions, alter, we prefume. It is long fmce Ifrael faw fo fair a day as this, W-herein they went, in this holy triumph, to fetch the ark of God; now their warlike trumpets are turned into harps and timbrels; and their hands, inftead of wielding the fword and fpear, ftrike upon thofe mu- fical firings, .whereby they might exprefs the joy of their hearts ; here was no noife but of mirth, no mo- tion but pleafant. O happy Ifrael, that had a God to rejoice in, that had this occafion of rejoicing in their God, and an heart that embraced this occafion! There is nothing but this wherein we m.ay not joy immode- rately, unfeafonably ; this fpiritual joy can never be either out of time, or out of meafure: " Let him that " rejoiceth, rejoice in the Lord." But now, when the Ifraelites were in the midft of this angel-like jolli- ty, their hearts lifted up, their hands^ playing, their feet moving, their tongues finging and fliouting, God fees good to flrike them into a fudden dump by the death of Uzzah. They are fcarce fet into the tune, ■when God mars their mufic, by a fearful judgment, and changes their mirth into aflonifhment and confu- fion: there could not be a more excellent work than this they were about; there could not be more chear- ful hearts in the performing of it; yet will the mod holy God rather dafh all this folemn fervice, than en- dure an a£t of prefumptlon or infidelity. Abinadab had been the faithful hod of God's ark for the fpace cf twenty years: even in the midft^ of the terrors of Ifrael, v ho were juftly affrighted with the venge- ance iniiided upon Beth-fhenieih, did he give harbour unto CosTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 3 unto it; yet even the fon of Abinadab is ftricken dead,' in the firft departing of that blefl'ed gueft. The fandtity of the parent cannot bear out the fm of his fon. The Holy One of Ifrael will be fanctified in all that come near him: he will be ferved like himfelf. What then was the (in of Uzzah? what was the capital crime for which he fo fearfully perifhed? That the ark of God was committed to the cart, it was not his device only, but the common a£t of many; that it was not carried on the flioulders of Levites, was no lefs^he fault of Ahio, and the reft of their brethren. Only Uzzah is ftricken: the reft fmned in negligence, he in prefumption ; the ark of God flial^es with the agitation of that carriage, he puts forth his hand to hold it fteady; human judgment would have found herein nothing heinous. God fees not with the eyes of men; none but the priefts fhould have dared to touch the ark; it was enough for the Levites to touch the bars that carried it; an unwarranted hand cannot fo lightly touch the ark, but he ftrikes the God that dwells in it. No marvel, if God ftrike that man with death, that ftrikes him with prefumption ; there was well-near the fame quarrel againft the thoufands of Beth-ftiemeftj, and againft Uzzah ; they died for looking into the ark, he for touching it; left Ifrael fhould grow into a contemptuous familiarity with this teftimony of God's prefence, he will hold them in awe with judgments. The revenging hand of the Almighty, that, upon the return of the ark, ftaid at the houfe of Abinadab, upon the remove of the ark, begins there again. Where are thofe that think God will take up with a carelefs and flubbered fervice? He, whcfe infinite mercy ufes to pafs by our fms of infirmity, punifneth yet feverely our bold faults. If we cannot do any thing in the degrees that he requir- eth, yet we muft learn to do all things in the form that he requireth: doubtlefs Uzzah meant no other- A 4 wavs 4 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book. XV. ways, than well, in putting forth his hand to ftay the ark ; he knew the facred utenlils that were in it, the pot of manna, the tables of the law, the rod of Aaron, which might be wronged by that over-rough motion; to thefe he offers his aid, and is ftricken deadj the beft intention cannot excufe, much lefs warrant us, in unlawful a£lions. Where we do ought in faith, it pleafes our good God to wink at, and pity our weak- neffes; but, if we dare to prefent God with the well- meant fervices of our, own making, we run into the indignation of God. There is nothing moredangei^us, than to be our own carvers in matter of devotion. I marvel not, if the countenance of David were fuddenly changed, to fee the pale face of death in one of the chief adors in this holy proceffion. He, that had found God fo favourable to him in adions of lefs worth, is troubled to fee this fuccefs of a bufinefs fo heartily diredled unto his God; and now he begins to look through Uzzah at himfelf, and to fay, " How " fhall the ark of the Lord come to me?" Then only fhall we make a right ufe of the judgments of God upon others, when we lliall fear them in ourfelves, and, finding our fms at leaft equal, fhall tremble at the expectation of the fame deferved punifhments. God intends not only revenge in his execution, but reformation; as good princes regard not fo much the fmart of the evil paft, as the prevention of the future, which is never attained, but when we make applica- tions of God's hand, and draw common caufes out of God's particular proceedings. I do not hear David fay, Surely this man is guilty of fome fecret fm that the world knows not; God hath met with him, there is no danger to us ; why fliould I be difcouraged to fee God juft ? We may go on fafely and profper. But here his foot flays, and his hand falls from his inflrument, and his tongue is ready to tax his own unworthinefs ; " How fhall the ^' ark CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 5 " ark of the Lord come unto me?" That heart is car- nal and proud, that thinks any man v/orfe than him- felf. David's fear (lays his progrefs; perhaps he might have proceeded with goodfuccefs, but he dares not venture, where he fees fuch a deadly check. It is better to be too fearful, than too forward, in thofe affairs which do immediately concern God. As it is not good to refrain from holy bufmefies, fo it is worfe to do them ill; awfulnefs is a lafe interpreter of God's fecret adions, and a wife guide of ours. This event hath holpen Obed-edom to a gueft he looked not for; God iliall nov/ fojourn In the houfc? of him, in whofe heart he dv.elt before by a frrcng faith, elfe the man durft not have undertaken to re- ceive that dreadful ark, which David himfelf feared to harbour. O the coura2:e of an honefl and faithful heart! Obed-edom knew well enough what Haughtcr the ark had made among the Philiflines, and after that among the Beth-fliemites, and now he faw Uzzah lie dead before him, yet doth he not make any fcvuple of entertaining it, neither doth he iay. My neighbour Abinadab -was a c?.reful and religious hod to the ark, and is now paid with the blood of his fon; hov/ {hall I hope to fpeed better? But he opens his doors with a bold chearfulnefs, and, notwithdanding all thofe terrors, bids God welcome. Nothing can make God hot amiable to his own; even his very juilice is lovely. Holy men know hov/ to rejoice in the Lord with trembling, and can fear v.'ithout difcouragement. The God of heaven will not receive any thing from men on free coil; he will pay liberally for his lodg- ing, a plentiful blelnng upon Obed-edom, and all his houfehold. It was an honour to that zealous Gittite, that the ark fhould come under his roof; yet God re- \vards that honour v/ith benediction: never man was a lofer by true godlinefs. The houfe of Obtrd-edom cannot this while want obfer,T.ticn; the eyes of Da- vid 6 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. vid and all Ifrael were never off from it, to fee how it fared with this entertainment. And now, when they find nothing but a gracious acceptation and fen- fible bleffing, the good king of Ifrael takes new heart, and hailens to fetch the ark into his royal city. The view of God's' favours upon the godly is no fmall encouragement to confidence and obedience. Doubt- lefs, Obed-edom was not free from fome weakneffes: if the Lord fliould have taken the advantage of judg- ment againfl him, what Ifraelites had not been dif- heartened from attending the ark.'' Now David and Ifrael were not more affrifrhted with the venc^eance Upon Uzzah, than encouraged by the bleffing of O- bed-edom. The wife God doth fo order his juit and merciful proceedings, that the awfulnefs of men may be tempered with love. Now the fweet finger of If- rael revives his holy mufic, and adds both more fpi- rit and more pomp to fo devout a biifincfs. I did not before hear of trumpets, nor dancing, nor fliouting, nor facrifice, nor the linen ephod. The fenfe of Gcd's pad: difpleafure doubles our care to pleafe him, and our joy in his recovered approbation: we never iviake fo much of our health as aiter ficknefs, nor never are fo officious to our Iriend as after an un- kiudnefs. In the firft fetting out of the ark, David's fear \yas at lead an equal match to his joy; therefore, after the firft fix paces, he olTered a facrifice, both to pacify God and thank him: but now, Vv'hen they faw no fign of difiik^, they did more freely let theuifelves j.oofe to a ft-arlefs joy, and the body Itrove to exprefs the holy -c'fFeclio)! of the foul; there Vv'as no limb, no p:irt thm. did not profefs their mirth by motion, no r.pl'iii of voice or inftrument wanted to ailiil their fpi- riiual jollity: David led the way, dancing with all his might in his linen ephod. L'zzah was (till in his'eye, he duri^. not ufurp upon a garment c.i piiells, but will borrow their colour to grace their folemnity, though he CoMTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 7 he dare not the fafhion. White was ever the colour ' of joy, and lin^n was light for ufe; therefore he co- vers his princely robes with white linen, and means to honour himfelf by his conformity to God*s mini- fters. Thofe, that think there is difgrace in the e- phod, are far from the fpirit of the man after God's own heart; neither can there be a greater argument of a foul foul, than a diilike of the glorious calling of God. Barren Michal hath too many fons that fcorn the holy habit ^nd exercifes. She looks through her , window, and, feeing the attire and gefturts of her de- vout hufband, defpifeth him in her heart, neither can (he conceal her contempt, but, like Saul's daughter, cad it proudly in his face : " O how glorious was " the king of Ifrael this day, v/hich v/as uncovered " this day in the eyes of the maidens of his fervanrs, " as a fool uncovereth himfelf!'* Worldly hearts can fee nothing in actions of zeal, but folly and madnefs. Piety hath no reli(h to their palate, but diftafreful. David's heart did never fwell fo much at any re- proach, as this of his wife; his love v/as for the time iofl in his anc:er; and, as a man impatient of no affront fo much as in the way of his devotion, he returns a bitter check to his Michal; " It was before the Lord, ** which chofe me rather than thy father, and all his " houfe, &c.'* Kad not Michal twitted her huf- band with the fhame of his zeal, ihe had not heard of the fhameful rejection of her father; now, fince ihe will be forgetting whofe wife fhe v/as, Ihe fhall be put in mind whofe daughter fhe v/as. Contum.elies, that are cad upon us in the caufes cf God, may fafe- . ly be repaid. If v»e be meal-mouthed in the fcorns of religion, we are not patient, bur zeallefs : here we may not forbear her that lies in our bofcm. if Da- vid had not loved Michal dearly, he had never ftood upon thofe points with /ibner; he knew, that if Ab- ner came to him, the kingdom of Ifrael would ac- company 8 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. company himj and yet he fends him the charge of not feeing his face, except he brought Michal, Saul's daughter, with him; as if he would not regard the crown of Ifrael, while he wanted that wife of his ; yet here he takes her up roundly, as if fhe had been an enemy, not a partner of his bed. All relations are aloof off, in comparifon of that betwixt God and the foul. " He that loves father or mother, or wife, or " child, better than me, (faith our Saviour) is not " worthy of me.** Even the higheft delights of our hearts mufl: be trampled upon, when they will iland out in rivalty with God. O happy refolution of the royal prophet, and prophetical king of Ifrael! " I " will be yet more vile than thus, and will be low " in mine own fight.** He knew this very abafement heroical; and that the only way to true glory is not to be aftiamed of our lowed humiliation unto God. Well might he promife himfelf honour from thofe whofe contempt fhe had threatened. The hearts of men are not their own; he that made them over-rules them, and inclines them to an honourable conceit of thofe that honour their Maker: fo as holy men have oft-times inward reverence, even where they have outward indignities. David came to blefs his houfe, Michal brings a curfe upon herfeif : her fcorns fhali make her childlefs to the day of her death. Barren- nefs was held in thofe times none of the lead judg- ments. God doth fo revenge David's quarrel upon Michal, that her fudden difgrace fhall be recompenf- "id with perpetual: Ihe fhall not be held worthy to bear a fon to him whom fhe had unjuftly contemned, How juft is it with God to provide whips for the backs pf fcorners? It is no marvel, if thofe that mock at ffocdnefs be plagued with continual fruitlefnefs. Con- CoNTEMP. ir. CONTEMPLATIONS. 9 CoNTEMP. II. Mephibosheth and Ziba. O foon as ever David can but breathe himfelf from s the public cares, he caft back his thoughts to the dear remembrance of his Jonathan. Saul's fer- vant is likely to give him the bed intelligence of Saul's fons: the queftion is therefore moved to Ziba, " Re- " maineth there none of the houfe of Saul r" And, left fufpicion might conceal the remainders of an e- mulous line, in fear of revenge intended, he adds, *' On whom I may fhew the mercy of God for Jo- *' nathan's fake?'* O friendftiip worthy of the mo- numents of eternity; fit only to requite him whofe love was more than the love of women! He doth not fay, is there any of the houfe of Jonathan, but of Saul; that, for his friend's fake, he may (hew favour to the pofterity of his perfecutor. Jonathan's love could not be greater than Saul's malice, which alfo furvived long in his iflue, from whom David found a bufy and ftubborn rivalty for the crown of Ifrael; yet, as one that gladly buried all the hoflility of Saul's houfe in Jonathan's grave, he afks, " Is there any *' man left of Saul's houfe, that I may (hew him mer- *' cy for Jonathan's fake ?" It is true love, that, over- living the perfon of a friend, will be inherited of his feed; but to love the pofterity of an enemy in a friend, it is a miracle of friendft^l^. The formal amity of the world is confined to a face, or to the poffibility of recompenfe languiftiing in the difability, and dying in the deceafe of the party affeded. That love was ever falfe that is not ever cunftant, and the moft operative when it cannot be either known or requited. To cut off all unquiet competition for the kingdom of Ifrael, the providence of God had fo ordered, that there is none left of the houfe of Saul, befides the fons of his concubines, fave only young and lame Me- phibofliethj fo young, that he was but five years of age. lo . CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. age, v.'heii David entered upon the government of ifrael; fo lame, that, if his age had fitted, his impo- tency had made him unfit for the th?one. Ivlephibo- flieth was not born a cripple. It vi^as an heedlefs nurfe that made him fo. She hearing of thz death of Saul and Jonathan, made fuch hafle to fly,- that her young mafter was lamed with the fall. Certainly there need- ed no fuch fpeed to ran av/ay from David, v.'hofe love purfues the hidden fon of his brother Jonathan. How often doth our ignorant miftaking caufe us to run from our bell friends, and to catch knocks and maims of them that profefs our prote£lion! Mcphibofheth could not come otherwife than fear- fully into the prefence of David, whom he knew fo long, fo fpitefully oppofed by the houfe of Saul. He could not be ignorant, that the fafliion of the world is to build their own fecurity upon the blood of the op- pofite faction ; neither to think themfelves fafe, while anv branch remains fpringing out of that root of their emulation. Seafonably doth David therefore firft ex- pel all thofe unjufl doubts, ere he adminifler his fur- ther cordials; " Fear not, for I will furely fhew thee " kindnefs for Jonathan thy father's fake, and will " rellore thee all the fields of Saul thy father, and " thou (iialt eat bread at my table continually." David can fee neither Saul's blood, nor lame legs in Mephibofheth, while hjAfees in him the features of his friend Jonathan: how much lefs fliall the God of mercies regard our infirmities, or the corrupt blood of our fmful progenitors, while he beholds us in the face of his Son, in whom he is well pleafed. Favours are wontfo much more to affeci us, as they are lefs expecled by us. Mephiboflieth, as overjoyed with io comfortable a word, and confounded in him- felf at the remembrance of the contrary defervlngs of his family, bows himfelf to the earth, and fays, "What " is thy fervant, that thou fliouldft look upon fuch a " dead CoNTEMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. ,, " dead dog as I am?" I find no defeft of wit, though of limbs, in Mephibofheth, he knew himfelf the grand- child of the king of Ifrael, ihe fon of Jonathan, the lawful heir of both; yet in regard of his own impo- tency, and the trefpafs and rejeclion of his houle, he ^ thus abafeth himfelf unto David. Humiliation is a k^^ rightufe of God's afflidion. What iFlie was born great? If the fm of his grandfather hath loft his e- llate, and the hand of his nurfe hath deformed and difabled his perfon, he now forgets what he was, and calls himfelf worfe than he is, " A dog." Yet, " A li- *' ving dog is better than a dead lion." There is dig- nity and comfort in life; Mephibolheth is therefore a dead dog unto David. It is not for us to nourifh the fame fpirits in our adverfe ellate, that we found in our highefl profperity. What ufe have we made of God's hand, if we be not the lower with our fall.^* j/l/God intends we (hould carry our crofs, not make a fire of it to warm us: it is no bearing up our fails in a tempeft. Good" David cannot difefteem Mephibo- fheth ever the more for difparaging himfelf; he loves and honours this humihty in the fon of Jonathan. There is no more certain way to glory and advance- ment, than a lowly dejeftion of ourfelves. He that made himfelf a dog, and therefore fit only to lie un- der the table, yea a dead dog, and therefore fit on- ly for the ditch, is raifed vj> to the table of a king; his feat fhall be honourable, yea royal, his fare deli- cious, his attendance noble. How much more will our gracious God lift up our heads unto true honour before men and angels, if we can be fmcerely hum- bled in his fight? If we mifcal ourfelves in the mean- nefs of our conceits to him, he gives us a new name, and fets us at the table of his glory. It is contrary with God and men ; if they reckon of us as we fet ourfelves, he values us according to our abafements. Like a prince truly munificent and faithful, David pro- 12 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. pronines and performs at once : Ziba, Saul's fervant, hath the charge given him of the execution of that royal word ; *' He {hall be the bailiff of this great " hufoandry of his mafter Mephiboflieth." The land of Saul, however forfeited, fhall know no other ma- iler than Saul's grandchild. As yet, Saul's fervant had fped better than his fon. 1 read of twenty fer- vants of Ziba, none of Mephiboflieth." Earthly pof- feffions do not always admit of equal divifions. The wheel is ncjw turned up, Mephiboflieth is a prince, Ziba is his officer. I cannot but pity the condition of this good fon of Jonathan: into ill hands did honefl: Mephiboflieth fall, firft of a carelefs nurfe, then of a treacherous fervant; flie maimed his body, he would have overthrown his efl:ate. After fome years of eye- fervice to Mephiboflieth, wicked Ziba intends to give him a worfe fall than his nurfe. Never any court was free from detractors, from delators, who, if they fee a man to be a cripple, that he cannot go to fpeak for himfelf, will be telling tales of him in the ears of the great; fuch an one was thus perfidious Ziba, who, taking the opportunity of David's flight from his fon Abfalom, follows him with a fair prefent, and a falfe tale, accufing his impotent mafter of a foul and trai- terous ingratitude, labouring to tread upon his lame lord, to raife himfelf to honour. True-hearted Mephi- boflieth had as good a wi[V as the beft ; if he could have commanded legs, he had not been left behind David: now, that he cannot go with him, he will not be v/ell without him, and therefore puts himfelf to a wilful and fullen penance, for the abfence and dan- ger of his king; he will not fo much as put on clean cloaths for the time, as he that could not have any joy in himfelf for the want of his lord David. Un- confcionable mifcreants care not how they collogue, whom they flander for a private advantage. Lewd Ziba conies with a gift in his hand, and a fmopth tale in CoNTEMi*. II. CONTEMPLAtlONS. 13 in his mouth : O fir, you thought you had a Jonathan at home, but you will find a Saul ; it were pity but he fhould be fet at your table, that would fit in your throne ! You thought Saul's land would have con- tented Mephibofiieth, but he would have all yours ; though he be lame, yet he would be climbing: would you have thought that this cripple could be plotting for your kingdom, now that you are gone afide? Ifli- bofheth will never die while Mephibofheth lives. How did he now forget his impotence, and raifed up his fpirits in hope of a day ; and durfl fay, that now the time was come, wherein the crown fhould revert to Saul's true heir. O viper! if a ferpent bite in fe- cret when he is not charniedj no better is a ftander- er. Honefl Mephibofiieth, in good manners, made a dead dog of himfelf, when David offered him the fa- vour-of his board ; but Ziba would make him a very dog indeed, an iil-natur'd cur, that, when David did thus kindly feed him at his own table, would not on- ly bite his fingers, but fly at his throat. But what fhall we fay to this ? Neither earthly fovereignty,norholinefs,can exempt men from human infirmity. Wife and good David hath now but one ear, and that milled with credulity. His charity in believing Ziba, makes him uncharitable in diffcru fling, in cenfuring Mephibofheth. The detratlor hath not only fudden credit given him, but Saul's land. Jona- than's fonhath loft (^unheard) that inheritance which v;as given him unfought. Hearfay is no fafe ground of any judgment : Ziba flanders, David believes, Me- phibofheth fuffers. Lies lliall not always profper ; God will not abide the truth to be ever oppreifed. At lafl: Jonathan's lame fon fhall be found as found in heart as lame in his body; he, whofe foul "was like his father Jona- than's foulj whofe body was like to his grandfather Raul's foul, meets David, as it was high time^ upon Vol. IL B hi^ >i4 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. his return, beftirs his tongue to difcharge himfelf of fo foul a flander ; the more horrible the crime had been, the more villainous was the unjuft fuggeftion of it, and the more necefl'ary was a jufl apology ; fvveetly therefore, and yet paffionately doth he labour to greaten David's favours to him, his own obliga- tions and vilenefs; fliewing himfelf more afFe(Eled with his wrong, than with his lofs; v/elcoming David home with a thankful negle£t of himfelf, as not caring that Zlba had his fubftance, now that he had his king. David is fatished, Mephibofheth reftored to favour and lands : here are two kind hearts well met. Da- vid is full of fatisfaftion from Mephibofheth ; Mephi- boflieth runs over v/ith joy in David : David, like a gracious king, gives Mephibofheth, as before, Saul's lands to halves with Ziba ; Mephibofheth, like a king, gives all to Ziba, for joy that God had given him David ; all had been well, if Ziba had fared worfe. Pardon me, O holy and glorious foul, of a prophet, of a king, after God's own heart, I muft needs blame thee for mercy; a fault that the befl and moft gene- rous natures are moft fubjed: to : it is pity that fo good a thing fhould do hurt ; yet we find that the beft, mif- ufed, is mofl dangerous. Who fhould be the pattern of kings, but the king of God ? Mercy is the goodHefl flower in his crown, much more in theirs, but with a difference. God's mercy is infinite, theirs limited; he fays, " I will have mercy on v;hom 1 will;" they rauft fay, I will have mercy on v^'hom I fhould. And yet he, for all his infinite mercy, hath veflds of v/rath, fo muft they ; of whom his juftice hath faid, " Thine eye fliall not fpare them." A good man is pitiful to his beaft ; fliall he therefore make much of toads and fnakes ! O that Ziba fliould go away with any pofTefTion, fave of fliame and forrow, . that he fliould be coupled with a Mephibofheth in a partner- ■\ CoNTEMP. 11. CONTEMPLATIONS. 15 partnerfhip of eftates ! O that David had changed the word a little ! Adivifion was due here indeed; but of Ziba'sears from his head, or his head from his Ihoulders forgo- ing about fo maliciouily to divide Uavid from the fon of Jonathan : an eye for an eye was God's rule. If that had been true, which Ziba fuggefled again (l Me- phiboflieth, he had been worthy to lofe his head with his lands ; being falfe, it had been hut reafon Ziba fhould have changed heads with Mephiboiheth. Had not holy David himfelf been fo fbung with venomous tongues, that he cries out, in the bitternefs of his foul, " What reward fhall be given thee, O thou " falfe tongue ! even iharp arrov/s with hot burning " coals." He that was fo fenfible of himfelf in Doeg's wrong, doth he feel fo little of Mephiboflieth in Ziba's ? Are thefe the arrows of David's quiver ? are thefe his hot burning coals ? " Thou and Ziba divide." He that had faid, Their tongue is a fharp fword ; now, that the fword of ju(l revenge is in his hand, is this the blow he gives.'' " Divide the pofTeiTion." I know not whether excefs or want of mercy may prove moft dangerous in the great ; the one difcourages good in- tentions with fear, the other may encourage wicked practices through prefumption ; thofe that are in emi- nent place mull learn the mid-way betwixt both ; fo pardoning faults that they may not provoke them ; fo punifhing them, that they may not difhearten vir- tuous and well-meant actions ; they mufl learn to fmg that abfolute ditty, w"hereof David had here forgot- ten one part, of mercy and judgment. CoNTEMP. III. Hanun and David'^ AmbaJJadors* T is not the meaning of religion to make men un- civil. If the king of Ammon were heathenifh, vet his kindnefs may be acknowledged, may be return- B 2 ed. 1 6 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. ed by the king of Ifrael. I fay not, but that perhaps David might maintain too ftrait a league with that O O forbidden nation. A Httle friendfhip is enough to an idolater ; but even the favage Cannibals may receive an anfwer of outward courtefy. If a very dog fawn upon us, we flroke him on the head, and clap him on the fide ; much lefs is the common band of hu- manity untied by grace. Difparity, in fpiritual pro- feliions, is no warrant for ingratitude. He therefore, whofe good nature proclaimed to fliew mercy to any branch of Saul's houfe for Jonathan's fake, will now alfo fliew kindnefs to Hanun, for the fake of Nahafh his father. It was the fame Nahafli that offered the cruel con- dition to the men of Jabefh-Gilead, of thrufting out their right eyes for the admiffion into his covenant. He that was thus bloody in his defigns againfl Ifrael, yet was kind to David ; perhaps for no caufe fo much as Saul's oppofition; and yet even this favour is held worthy both of memory and retribution. Where we have the ads of courtefy, it is not neceflary we fliould enter into a drift examination of the grounds of it ; while the benefit is ours, let the intention be their own. Whatever the hearts of men are, wemuft look at their hands, and repay, not what they meant, but what they did. Nahafli is dead, David fends ambafladors to con- dole his lofs, and to comfort his fon Hanun. No Ammonite but is fadly affefted with the death of a father, though it gain him a kingdom. Even Efau could fay, " The days of mourning for my father " \ViIl come ;" no earthly advantage can fill up the gap of nature. Thofe children are worfe than Am- monites, that can think either gain or liberty worthy to countervail a parent's lofs. Carnal men are wont to meafure another's foot by their own lafl ; their ov.r. falfshood makes them un- julUy CoNTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 17 juftly fufpicious of others, The princes of Ammon, becaufe they are guilty to their own hollownefs and doublenefs of heart, are ready fo to judge of David and his melfengers : " Thinkell thou that David " doth honour thy father, that he hath fent com- " forters uivo thee? Hath not David rather fent " his own fcTvants to thee to fearch the city, and to " fpy it out, to overthrow it." It is hard for a wicked heart to think well of any other ; becaufe it can think none better than itfelf, and knows itfelf evil. The freer a man is from vice himfelf, the more charitable he ufes to be unto others. Whatfoevcr David was, particularly in his own per- fon, it was ground enough of prejudice, that he was an Ifraeiite. It was an hereditary and deep fettled hatred that the Ammonites had conceived againfl their brethren oi (ii-el; neither can they forget that fhameful and fearful foil which they received from the refcuers of Jabefii-Gilead ; and now dill do they ftomach at the name of Ifrael. Malice, once coiiccived in wordly hearts, is not eafily extinguifhed, but, upon all occafions, is ready to break forth into a flame of revengeful adlions. Nothing can be more dangerous, than for young princes to meet with ill counfel in the entrance of their government ; for both then are they mod prone to take it, and mofl: difficultly recovered from it : if we be fet out of our way in the beginning of our jour- ney, we wander all the day. How happy is that ftate, where both the counfellors are faithful to give only good advice, and the king wife to difcern good advice from evil. The young king of Ammon is eafily drawn to believe his peers, and to miftruft the melfengers ; and having now, in his conceit, turned them into fpies, entertains them with a fcornful dif- grace ; he (haves off one half of their beards, and cuts cff one hnlf of their garments, ejipofmg thein to the de- B •'. rifioii i8 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. rifion of all beholders. The Ifraelites were forbid- den either a fhaven beard, or a fhort garment ; in defpite, perhaps, of their law, thefe ambafladors are fent away with both ; certainly in a defpite of their mafber, and a fcorn of their perfons. King David is not a little fenfible of the abufe of his meffengers, and of hirafelf in them ; firfl therefore he defircs to hide their fliame, then to revenge it. Man hath but a double ornament of body, the one of na- ture, the other of art ; the natural ornament is the hair, the artificial is apparel ; David's meffengers are deformed in both : the one is eafily fupplied by a new fuit, the other can only be fupplied out of the ward- robe of time : " Tarry at Jericho till your beards be " grown." How eafily had this deformity been re- moved, if, as Hanun had fliaven one fide of their faces, fo they had (haven the other ? What had this been but to refemble their younger age, or that other fex, in neither of \vhich do we ufe to place any imagination of unbefeeming? Neither did there want fome of their neighbour nations, whofe faces age itfelf had not ■wont to cover with this fhade of hair. But fo re- fpeftive is good David, and his wife fenators, of their country forms, that they fhall, by appointment, ra- ther tarry abroad, till time have wrought their confor- mity, than vary from the received fafliions of their own people. Alas, into what a licentious variety of ftrange difguifes are we fallen ! The glory of attire is fought in novelty, in mifliapennefs, in monitroufnefs : there is much latitude, much liberty in the ufe of thefe in- dilferent things ; but, becaufe we are free, we may not run wild, and never think we have fcope enough, unlefs we out-run modefty. It is lawful for public perfons to feel their own indignities, and to endeavour their revenge. Now, David fends all the hoft of the mighty men to punifii Ammon for fo foul an abufe. Thofe, that received the meffengers CoNTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. ly meflengers of his love with fcorn and infolency, fliall now be feverely faluted with the meflengers of his wrath. It is juft both with God and men, that they, who know not how to take favours aright, fliould fmart with judgments. Kindnefs repulfed breaks forth into indignation ; how much more, when it is repaid with an injurious affront ! David cannot but feel his own cheeks fhaven, and his owncoatcut in his ambafladors; they did but carry his perfon to Hanun ; neither can he therefore but appropriate to himfelf the kindnefs or injury offered unto them. He that did fo take to heart the cutting off but the lap of king Saul's garment, when it was laid afide from him, how mull he needs be affected with this difdainful halving of his hair and robes in the perfon of his deputies ! The name of ambaifa- dors hath ever been facred, and, by the univerfal law of nations, hath carried in it fufficient proteclion from all public wrongs ; neither hath it been violated without a revenge. O God, what fhall we fay to thofe notorious contempts, which are daily cafl upon thy fpiritual meffengers ! Is it poffible thou fliouldft not feel them, thou fhouldft not avenge them ? We are made a gazing ftock to the world, to angels and to men, w-e are defpifed and trodden down in the dufl! '* Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the " arm of the Lord revealed ?" How obftinate are wicked men in their perverfe re- folutions ! Thofe foolifli Ammonites had rather hire Syrians to maintain a war againft Ifrael in fo foal a quarrel, befides the hazard of their own lives, than confefs the error of their jealous mifconftruftion. It is one of the mad principles of wickednefs, that it is a weaknefs to relent, and rather to die than yield. Even ill caufes, once undertaken, mull be upheld, although with blood ; whereas the gracious heart, finding his own miftaking, doth not only remit B A. of 29 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. of an ungrounded difpleafure, but ftudies to be re- venged of itfelf,and to give fatisfadion to the offended. The mercenary Syrian^ are drawn to venture their lives for a fee ; twenty thoufand of them are hired into the field againft Ifrael. Fond Pagans, that know not the value of a man ; their blood coH them no- thing, and they care not to fell it good-cheap ! How can we think thofe men have fouls, that efteem a lit- tle white earth above themfelves ? that never inquire into the juflice of the quarrel, but the rate of the pay ? that can rifle for drams of filver in the bowels cf their own flefh, and either kill or die for a day's wages ? Joab, the wife general of Ifrael, foon finds where the ftrength of the battle lay, and fo marfhals his troops, that the choice of his men fhall encounter the van-guard of the Syrians. Kis brother Abifliai leads the reft againft the children of Amnion, with this co- venant of mutual affiftance : " If the Syrians be too " ftrong for me, then thou fhalt help me ; but if the " children of Ammon be too ftrong for thee, then will ^' I come and help thee." It is an happy thing, when the captdins of God's people join together as brethren, and lend their hand to the aid of -each other againft the common adverfary. Concord in defence, or af- fault, is the way to viclory ; as, contrarily, the divi- fion of the leaders is the overthrow cf the army. Set afide fome particular adions, Joab was a wor- thy captain, both for wifdom and valour. Who could either exhort or refolve better than he? " Be of good " courage, and let us play the men, for our people, " and for the cities of our God ; and the Lord do " that which feemeth him good !" it is not either pri- vate glory or profit that whett- iiis fortitude, but the refpect to the caufe of God and his people. That fol- dier can never anfwer it to God, that ftrikes not more as a jufticiar, than as ^n enemy j neither doth he con- CoMTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 21 content himfelf with his own courage, but he ani- mates others. The tongue of a commander fights more than his hand. It is enough for private men to exercife what Ufe and Hmbs they have : a good leader piuft, out of his own abundance, put Hfe and fpirits into all others : if a lion lead flieep into the field, there is hope of viftory. Laftly, when he hath done his bed, he refolves to depend upon God for the iflue, not trufting to his fword, or his bow, but to the providence of the Almighty, for fuccefs, as a man religioufly awful, and awfully confident, while there {hould be no want in their own endeavours. He knew well that the race was not to the fwift, ncr the battle to the ftrong, therefore he looks up above the hills, whence cometh his falvation. A.11 valour is cowardice to that which is built upon religion. I marvel not to fee Jgab victorious, while he is thus godly. The Syrians iiy before him hke flocks of Iheep, the Ammonites follow them : the two fons of Zeruiah have nothing to do but to purfue and exe- cute. 1 he throats of the Ammonites are cut, for cutting the beards and coats of the Ifraelitifh meflen- gers : neither doth this revenge end in the field, Kab- bah, the royal city of Ammon, is ilrongly beleaguered by Joab : the City of Waters (after well-near a year's fiege) yieldeth, the reft can no longer held out, Now^ Joab, as one that defireth more to approve himfelf a loyal and a careful fubjeCt, than a happy general, fends to his mafler David, that he ihould come perfonally, and encamp againft the city, and take it ; " Left " (faith he) I take it, and it be called after my name.'* O noble and im.itable fidelity of a dutiful fervant, that prefers his lord to himfelf, and is fo far from ftealing honour from his mafter's deferts, that hs willingly re- mits of his own to add unto his ! The war was not his, he was only employed by his fovereign: the fame perlbn, that was wronged in the ambaifadors, reveng- eth 21 CONTEMPLx^TIONS. Book XV. eth by his foldiers. The praife of the act fhall, like fountain water, return to the fea whence it original- ly came. To feek a man's own glory is not glory. Alas, how many are there, who, being fent to fue for God, woo for themfelves. O God, it is a fearful thing to rob thee of that which is deareil to thee, glo- ry; which, as thou wilt not give to any creature, fo much lefs wilt thou endure that any creature fhould filch it from thee, and give it to himfelf! Have thou the honour of ail our actions, who giveft a being to our actions and us, and in both haft moft juftly re- garded thine own praife. CoNTEMP. IV. David ivitb Bathsheba and Uriah. "ITH what unwillingnefs, with what fear, do I ftill look upon the milcarriage of the man after God's own heart! O holy prophet, who can promife himfelf always to ftand, when he fees thee fallen, and maimed with the fall! Who can aifure him- felf of an immunity from the fouleft fms, when he fees thee offending fo heinoufly, fo bloodily? Let profane eyes behold tliee contentedly, as a pattern, as an excufe of finning; I Ihall never look upon thee but through tears, as a woful fpeclacle of human infirmity. While Joab and all Ifrael were bufy in the war a- gainft Ammon, in the fiege of Rabbah, Satan finds time to lay fiege to the fecure heart of David. Who- ever found David thus tempted, thus foiled in the days of his bufy vvars? Now only do 1 fee the king of Ifrael rifing from his bed in the evening : the time was, when he rofe up in the morning to his early de- votions, when he brake his nightly reft with public cares, with the bufinefs of the ftate ; ail that while he was innocent, he was holy : but now that he wallows in the bed of idlenefs, he is fit to invite temptation. The CoNTEMp. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 23 The induftrious man hath no leifure to fin. The idle hath neither leifure nor power to avoid fm. Exercife is not more wholefome for the body, than for the foul, the remiflion whereof breeds matter of difeafe in both. The water that hath been heated foonefl frcezeth. The mod active fpirit foonefl tireth with ilackening. The earth (lands (lill, and is all dregs: the heavens ever move, and are pure. We have no reafon to complain of theaffiduity of work; the toil of aftion is anfwered by the benefit: if we did lefs, we fhould fuffer more. Satan, like an idle companion, if he finds us bufy, flies back, and fees it no time to enter- tain vain ptirpofes with us: we cannot plenfe him better, than by calling away our work, to hold chat with him; we cannot yield fo far and be guiltlefs. Even David's eyes have no fooner the ileep rubbed out of them, than they rove to wanton profpefts: he walks upon his roof, and fees Bathfheba wafhirg her- felf, inquires tifter her, fends for her, folicits her to uncleannefs. The fame fpirit, that ihut up his eyes in an unfeafonable fleep, opens them upon an entice- ing object ; while fm hath fuch a folicitor, it cannot want either means or opportunity. I cannot think Bathflieba could be fo immodefc, as to v^^afli herfelf openly, efpecially from her natural uncleannefs. Luft is quick-fighted. David hath efpied her, where (he could efpy no beholder. His eyes recoil upon his heart, and have fmitten him with finful defire. Thefe can be no fafety to that foul, where the fenfes are let loofe. He can never keep his covenant with God, that makes not a covenant wiili his eyes. It is an idle prefumption to think the outward man may be free, while the inward is fafe. He is more than a man whofe heart is not led by his eyes; he is no regenerate man, whofe eyes are not reflrained by his heart. O Bath- r4 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. O BathHieba, how wert thou wafhed from thine uncleannefs, when thou yielded to go into an adul- terous bed! never wert thou fo foul, as now when thou wert new wafhed. The worfl of nature is clean- liners to the bed of fin. Thou hadft been clean, if thou hadfl; not wafhed ; yet for thee, I know how to plead infirmity of fex, and the importunity of a king: but what fhall I fay for thee, O thou royal prophet, and prophetical king of Ifrael? Where (hall I find ought to extenuate that crime, for which God himfelf hath not- ed thee? Did not thine holy profeffion teach thee to abhor fach a fin more than death? Was not thy juflice wont to punifh this fm with no lefs than death? Did not thy very calling call thee to a protection and pre- fervation of juHiice, of chaflity in thy fubjeds? Didfi: thou want (lore of v/ives of thine own? W^ert thou re- ftrained from taking more? Was there no beauty in Ifrael, but in a fubjed's marriage-bed? Wert thou o- vercome by the vehement folicitations of an adulte- refs? W^ert thou not the tempter, the profecutor of this uncleannefs? 1 Ihould accufe thee deeply, if thou hadfi: not accufed thyfelf; nothing wanted to gxeaten thy fin, or our wonder and fear. O God, whither do we go, if thou flay us not? Whoever amongil the millions of thy fervants could find himfelf furniflied with llronger prefervatives againft fin? Againft whom could fuch a fin find lefs pretence of prevailing? O keep thou us, that prefumptuous fins prevail not over us; fo only fhall we be free from great oirences. The fuits of kings are imperative i ambition did now prove a bawd to lufl:. Bathfheba yielded to of- fend God, to diflionour her hufband, to clog and wound her own foul, to abufe her body. Difllonefly grows bold, when it is countenanced with greatnefs. 3£mineut perfons had need be carefjiil of their de- rnands; they fin by authority, that are folicited by the miahty. CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 2^ Had Bathfheba been mindful of her matrimonial fidelity, perhaps David had been foon checked in his inordiiiate defire; her facility furthers the fin. The firlt moiioner of evil is mod faulty; but as in quarrels, f o in offences, the fecond blow (which is the confent) .n.ikes the fray. Good Jofeph was moved to folly by his great and beautiful miftrefs; this fire fell upon wet tinder, and therefore foon went out. Sin is not afted alone; if but one party be wife, both efcape. It is no excufe to fay, 1 was tempted, though by the great, though by the holy and learn- ed : alniofl: all (inners are milled by that transformed angel of light. The aclion is that we mufl regard, not the perfon. Let the mover be never fo glorious, if he ftir us to evil, he mull be entertained with de- fiance. The God, tbat knows how to raife good out of evil, bleffes an adulterous copulation with that increafe, which he denies to the chafie embracements of honeft wedlock. Bathfheba hath conceived by David; and now at once conceives a forrow and care how to fmo- ther the fliame of her conception: he, that did the facV, mufl hide it. O David, where is thy repentance! where is thy tendernefs and compun£:ion of heart 1 where arethofe holy meditations, which had wont to take up thy foul! Alas, inflead of clearing tljy fin, thou laboureft to cloke it, and fpendeft thofe thoughts in the conceal- ing of thy wickednefs, which thou fhouldfl rather have beflowed in pre' f.nting it. The bed of God's children may not oii-y fe drenched in the waves of fin, but he in them ror the 'ime, and perhaps fink twice to the bottom : v»hat hypocrite could have done w-orfe, than fiudy how to cover the face of his fin from the eyes of m»en, while he regarded not the lling of his fin in his foul? 26 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. As there are fome adls wherein the hypocrite is a faint, fo there are fome wherein the greatefl: faint upon earth may be an hypocrite. Saul did thus go about to colour his fm, and is curfed. The veflels of mercy and wrath are not ever diftinguifhable by their actions : he makes the difference, that will have mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardeneth. It is rare and hard to commit a fmgle fm. David hath abufed the wife of Uriah^ now he would abufe his perfon, in caufmg him to father a falfe feed. That worthy Hittite is fent for from the wars ; and now, after fome cunning and far fetched queftions, is dif- miffed to his houfe, not without a prefent of favour. David could not but imagine, that the beauty of his Bathftieba mull needs be attractive enough to an huf- band, whom long abfence in wars had with-held all that while from fo pleafmg a bed ; neither could he think, that fmce that face, and thofe breafts had power to allure himfelf to an unlawful lull, it could be pof- fible, that Uriah fhould not be invited by them to an allov/ed and warrantable fruition. Tiiat David's heart might now the rather ftrike him, in comparing the chafte refolutions of his fervant with his own light incontinence, good Uriah fleeps at the door of the king's palace, making choice of a itony pillow, under the canopy of heaven, rather than the delicate bed of her whom he thought as honeft as he knew fair, " The ark (faith he) and Ifrael, '• and Judah, dwell in tents, and my lord Joab, and *" t'he fervants of my lord abide in the open fields ; *' fhall I then go into my houfe to eat and drink, and " lie with my vv-ife?' by thy life, and by the life of thy '• foul, I will not do this thing." Who can but be aftonilhed at this change, to fee a foldier auflere, and a prophet wanton ? And how doth that foidier's auilerity fliame the prophet's wan- tonnefs ? CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. a^ tonnefs ? O zealous and mortified foul, worthy of a more faithful wife, of a more ju ft mafter, how didlt thou over-look all bafe fenfuality, and hatedil to be happy alone! War and lufl; had wont to be reputed friends; thy bread is not more full of courage than chaftity, and is fo far from wandering after forbidden pleafures, that it refufeth lawful. " There is a time to laugh, and a time to mourn; " a time to embrace, and a time to be far from em- " bracing." Even the beft aftions are not always feafonable, much lefs the indiiterent. He, that ever takes liberty to do what he may, fhall offend no lefs, than he that fometimes takes liberty to do what he may not. If any thing, the ark of God is fitted to lead our tunes; according as that is either diftreffed, or prof- pereth, fhould we frame our mirth or mourning. To dwell in ceiled houfes, while the temple lies wade, is the ground of God's jud quarrel. " How djall we fing a fong of the Lord in a drange " land? if I forget thee, O Jerufalem, let my right- *' hand forget her cunning; if I do not remember " thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my '* mouth; yea,if Iprefernotjerufalemtomychiefjoy.'* As every man is a limb of the community, fo mud he be affefted with the edate of the univerfal body, whether healthful or languidiing; it did not more ag- gravate David's fin, that while the ark and Ifrael was in hazard and didrefs, he could find time to loofe the reins to wanton d.efires and actions, than it magnifies the religious zeal of Uriah, that he abandons comfort till he fee the ark and Ifrael vidorious. Common dangers or calamities mud (like the rapt motion) carry our hearts contrary to the ways of our private occafions. He, that cannot be moved with words, foall be tried with wine. Uriah had equally proteded againd feading at home, and fociety with his 2 8 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV; his wife; to the one, the authority of a king forceth him abroad, in hope that the excefs thereof fhall force him to the other. It is like, that holy captain in- tended only to yield (o much obedience, as might confift with 'his courfe of aulterity. But wine is a mocker; when it goes plaufible in, no man can ima- gine how it will rage and tyrannize r he, that receives that rraitor within his gates, (hall too late complain of furp?iral. Like unto that ill fpirit, it infmuates fweet- ly, but in the end it bites like a ferpent, and hurts like a cockatrice. Even good Uriah is made drunk j the hoiieft foul may be overtaken : it is hard gainfav- ing, where a king begins an health to a fubjefl : where,. O where will this wickednefs end! David willl now procure the fm of another to hide his own. Uriah's drunkennefs is more David's offence than his. It is> weakly yielded to of the one, which was wilfully in- tended of the other. The one was as the finner, the other as the tempter. Had not David known that wine was an induce- ment to luft, he had fpared thofe fuperffuous cups^ Experience had taught him, that the eye, debauched with wine, v»ill look upon ftrange women. The drunkard may be any thing fave good. Yet in this the aim failed; grace is ftronger than wine : while that with-holds in vain fhall the fury of the grape at- tempt to carry Uriah to his own bed. Sober David is now worfe than drunken Uriah. Had not the king of Ifrael been more intoxicate with fin than Uriah with drink, he had not, in a fober intemperancfe, climb- ed up into that bed, which the drunken temperance of Uriah refufed. If David had been but hirafelf, how had he loved, . how had he honoured this honed and religious zeal, in his fo faithful fervant, v/hom now he cruelly feeks to reward' with death! That fact, which wine cannot hide, the fword (hall. Uriah (hall bear his own mit- timus • CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 29 timus unto Joab : " Pilt ye Uriah in the forefront cf " the ftrength of the battle, and retire back from " him, that he may be fmitten and die." What is become of thee, O thou good Spirit, that hadfl wont to guide thy chofen fervant in his former ways ? Is not this the man, whom we lately faw fo heart-frait- ten, for but cutting off the lap of the garment of a wicked mafter, that is now thus lavilli of the blood of a gracious and well-deferving fervant ^ Could it be likely, that fo worthy a captain could fall alone? Could David have expiated this fm with his own blood, it had but been well fpent; but to cover his fm with the innocent blood of others, was a crime above a- fconifliment. O the deep deceitfulnefs of fm ! If the devil fiiould have come to David, in tlie mod: lovely form of Bath- fheba herfelf, and at the firll fhould have directly, and in plain terms, folicited him to murder his bed fervant,' I doubt not but he would have fpit fcorn in that face, on which he ihould othei*wife have doted ; now,- by many cunning windings, Satan rifes up to that temptation, and prevails; that fhall be done for a co- lour of guiitinefs, v/hereof the foul would have hated to be immediately guilty : even thofe, that find a jult horror, in leaping down from fome high tov.'er, yet may be perfuaded to defcend by flairs to the bottom. He knows not where he fhall flay, that hath willingly flipt into a known wickedncfs. How many doth an eminent offender draw with him into evil ! It could not be, but that divers of the attendants, both of David and Bathfheba, mufl be confcious to that adultery : great mens fms are feldom fecret ; and now Joab mufl be fefcht in, as- acceffory to the murder. Hov/ mull this example needs harden Joab againPc the confcience of Abner's blood ? while he cannot but think, David cannot a= venge that in me, vvliidi he acteth hinifelf. Vol. II. C Hcrrcur 30 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. Honour is pretended to poor Uriah, death is meant This man was one of the worthies of David; their courage fought glory in the dijBcuhefl: exploits. That reputation had never been purchafed without attempts of equal danger. Had not the leader and followers of Uriah been more treacherous than his enemies were flrong, he had come off with victory. Now, he was not the firft or lalf that perilhed by his friends. David hath forgotten, that himfelf was in like fort betrayed in his mafler's intention, upon the dowry of the Philidines forefkins. I fear to afK, who ever noted fo foul a plot in David's rejefled pre- deceifor? Uriah mud be the melTenger of his own dedth, Joab mud be a traitor to his friend, the hod of God mud fiiamefuUy turn their backs upon the Am- monites, all that Ifraelitidi blood mud be fhed, that murder mud be feconded with diffimulation; and all this to hide one adultery. O God, thou hadd never fuiTered fo dear a favourite of thine to fall fo fearfully, if thou hadd not meant to make him an univerfal ex- ample to manldnd, of not prefuming, of not defpair- ing. How can we prefume of not fmning, or defpair for fmning. when we find fo great a faint thus fallen, thus rifen! CcNTEMP. V. Nathan and David. '\J'KY Bathflieba mourned for the death of that .E- liud^and, whom Ihe had been drawn to dilho- nour. How could die bedow tears enough upon that funeral, v/hereof her fm was the caufe! If flie had but a fufpicion of the plot of his death, the fountains of her eyes could not yield water enough to wafli off her hufband's blood; her fin was more worthy of forrow than her lofs. If this grief had been right placed, the hope of hiding her diame, and the ambi- tion to be a queen, had not fo foon mitigated it ; nei- ther CoiJTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 31 ther had flic, upon any terms, been drawn into the bed of her hufband's murderer. Every gleam of earth- ly comfort can dry up the tears of worldly forrow. Bathflieba hath foon loft her grief at the court; the remembrance of an hufband is buried in the jollity and ilate of a princefs. David fecurely enjoys his ill- purchafed love, and is content to exchange the con- fcience of his fm, for the fenfe of his pleafure. But the jult and holy God will not put it up fo; he that hates fm fo much the more, as tlie offender is more dear to him, will let David feel the bruife of his fall. If God's beft children have been fometimes fuffered to fleep in a fni, at laft he hath av^akened them in a fright. David was a prophet of God, yet he hath not only ftept into thefe foul fms, but fojourns in them. If any profeffion or ftate of life could have privileged from fin, the angels had not finned in heaven, nor man in Paradife. Nathan the prophet is fent to the prophet David for reproof, for conviction ; had it been any other man's cafe, none could have been more quick-fighted than the princely prophet; in his own he is fo blind, that God is fain to lend him others eyes. Even the phyfician himfelf, when he is fick, fends for the counfel of thole whom his health did mutually aid with advice. Let no man think himfeu' too good to learn; teachers themfelves may be taught thar, in their own particular, which, in a generality, they have often taught others: it is not only igno- rance that is to be removed, but mifaffedion. Who can prefcribe a juft period to the beft man's repentance? About ten months are paffed fince Da- vid's fin; in all which time I find no news of any fe- rious compunction; it could not be but fome glances of remorfe muft needs have paiTed through his foul long ere this; but a due and folemn contrition v/as not heard of till Nathan's meifage. and, perbaps;, had C 2 been 32 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. been further adjourned, if that monitor had been longer deferred. Alas, what long and dead ileeps may the holiefl: foul take in fearful fms! Were it not for thy mercy, O God, the bed of us fiiould end our fpiri- tual lethargy in ileep of death. It might have pleafed God as eafily to have fent Nathan to check David in his firfl; purpofe of finning; fo had his eyes been retrained, Bathfneba honell, Uriah alive Vvith honour: now the vvifdom of the Almighty knew how to win more glory by the per- mifiion of fo foul an evil, than by the prevention; yea, he knew how, by the permiffion of one fin, to pre- vent millions. How many thoufands had finned in a vain prefumption on their ovi'n fi:rength, if David had not thus oilended? how many thoufands had defpalr- ed, in the confcience of their own weakneffes, if thefe horrible fins had not received forgivenefs? It is hap- py for all times, that we have fo holy a finner, fo iinful a penitent : it m.atters not how bitter the pill is, but how well wrapped: fo cunningly hath Na- than conveyed this doze, that it begins to work ere it be tailed. There is no one thing wherein is more ufe of wifdom, than the due contriving of a reprehen- fion, which, in a difcreet delivery, helps the difeafe ; in an unwife. defiroys nature. liad not Nathan been ufed to the poifefTion of Da- vid's ear, this complaint had been fufpected. ' It well beieems a king to take information by a prophet. While v/ife Nathan was querulo.ufly difcourfing of the cruel rich man, that had fcrci'bly taken avvay the only lamb of his poor neighbour, how willingly doth Da- vid iirten to the irory, and bow fliarply, even above law, doth he cenfure the faft? " As the Lord liveth, " the man that hath done this thing flrall furely die." Full little did he think that he had pronounced ien- tence againfi hirnfelf; it had not been fo heavy if he had known on v.-hom i: t'houid have lighted. We have CoNTEMp. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. -J5 have open ears and quick tongues to the vices of o- thers; how fevere juflicers we can be to our very own crimes in others? how flattering parafites to another's crime in ourfelves ? The life of dcdrine h in application. Nathan might have been long enough in his narration, in his invedlive, ere David would have been touched with his own guiltinefs ; but now, that the prophet brings the word home to his bofom, he cannot but be affecled. We may take thepleafureto hear men fpeak in the clouds, we never take profit till v\'e find a propriety in the exhortation or reproof. There was not more cunning in the parable, than courage in the application; " Thou art the man.'* If Da- vid be a king, he may not look not to hear of his faults; God's meffages may be no other than impar- tial. It is a treacherous flattery, in divine errands, to regard greatnefs. If prophets mud be mannerly in the form, yet in the matter of reproof refolute : the words are not their own; they are but the heralds of the king of heaven, " Thus iaith the Lord God " of Ifrael!" How thunder-ftricken do we think David did now ftand.'^ hovvf did the change of his colour bewray the confufion in his foul, while hjs confcience faid the fame within, which the prophet founded in his ear? And now, left ought fiiould be wanting to his hum.ilia- tion, all God's former favours fliall be laid before his eyes, by way of exprobation. He is worthy to be up- braided with mercies, that hath abufed mercies unto wantonnefs. While we do well, God gives and fays no- thing; when we do ill, he lays his benefits in our difli, and cafts them in our teeth, that our fliame may be fo much the more, by how much our obligations have been greater. The blellings of God, in our unvvorthy car- riage, prove but the aggravations-of fin, and additions to judgment. C 3 ' I fee 34 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. I fee ail God's children falling Into fin, feme of them lying in fm, none of them maintaining their fm : David cannot have the heart, or the face, to fiand out againfl the meflage of God ; but now, as a man confounded and condemned in himfelf, he cries out, in the bitternefs of a wounded foul, " 1 have fm- *' ned againfl: the Lord." It was but a ihort word, but paffionate ; and fuch as came from the bottom of a contrite heart. The greatelt griefs are not moftverbal. Saul confeffed his fin more largely, lefs effe6lually. God cares not for phrafes, but for atteftions. The iirft piece of our amends to God for finning is the ac- knowledgment of fin ; he can do little that, in a juft offence, cannot accufe himfelf. If we cannot be fo good as we would, it is reafon we (hould do God fo much right, as to fay how evil we are. And why was not this done fooner ? It is ftrange to fee how eafily fm gets into the heart, how hardly it gets out of the mouth ; is it, becaufe fin, like unto Satan, where it hath got polTeilion, is defirous to hold it, and knows that it is fully ejected by a free confefTion .'* or be- caufe, in a guiltinefs of deformity, it hides itfelf in the breaft where it is once entertained, and hates the fight? or, becaufe the tongue isfo fee'd with felf-love, that it is loth to he drawn into any verdl6: againfi: the heart or hands? or is it out of an idle raifprifion of fliame, which, while it fhould be placed in offending, is mifplaced in difclofing of our offence ? However, fure I am, that God hath need even of racks to draw out confeffions, and fcarce in death it- felf are we wrought to a difcovery of our errors. There is no one thing wherein our folly fliews It- felf more than in thefe hurtful concealments. Con- trary to the proceedings of human juftice, it is with God, " Confefs and live;" no fooner can David fay, •• I have finned," than Nathan infers, " The Lord ^' alfo hath put away thy fiji. He that hides his fins Ml CoNTEMp. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 35 " fliall not profper ; but he that ccnfeiTeth and for- " faketh them fliall find mercy." Who would not ac- cufe himfetf, to be acquitted of God ? O God, who would not tell his wickednefs to thee, that knovveft it better than his own heart, that his heart may be eafed of that wickednefs, which, being not told, kill- eth ! Since we have finned, why fhould we be nig- gardly of that action, wherein we may at once give glory to thee, and relief to our fouls ? David had fworn, in a zeal of juftice, that the rich opprefTor, for but taking his poor neighbour's lamb, fhould die the death ; God, by Nathan, is more fa- vourable to David, than to take him at his word, " Thou flialt not die." O the marvellous power of repentance. Befides adultery, David had fhed the blood of innocent Uriah. The ftrifl law was, ''• Eye " for eye, tooth for tooth. He that fmiteth with the " fword, fliall perifii with the fword :" yet, as if a penitent confeffion had difpenfed with the rigour of jufliice, now God fays, " Thou flialt not die." Da- vid was the voice of the law, awarding death unto fin ; Nathan was the voice of the gofpel, awarding life unto the repentance for fin. Whatsoever the fore be, never any foul applied this remedy and died, never any foul efcaped death that applied it not. David himfelf fliall not die for this faft ; but his mifbegotten child fiiall die for him. He that faid, " The Lord hath put away thy fin," yet faid alfo, " The fword fliall not depart from thine houfe." The fame mouth, with one breath, pronounces the fentence both of abfolution and death ; abfolution to the perfon, death to the iflfue. Pardon may well fland with temporal afflictions. Where God hath for- given, though he doth not punifli, yet he may chafl:ife, and that unto blood ; neither doth he always forbear correction, where he remits revenge. So long as C 4 he 36 ■ CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. he fmltes us not as an angry JiidgCj we may endure to faiart from him as a loving Father. Yet even this rod did David deprecate with tears: hovv' fain would he fliake off fo eafy a load? The .child is firicken; the father fafts, and prays, and weeps, and lies all night upon the earth, and ab- hors the noife of comfort; that child, which was the fruit and monument of his odious adultery, whom he could never have looked upon without recog- nition of his fin, in whofe face he could not but have ftiil read the records of his own flianie, is thus mourned for, thus fued for: it is. eafy to obferve that good man over-paffionately affedled to his children. Who would not have thought, that David might have held himfelf well appaid, that his foul efeaped an eternal death, his body a violent; though God fliould punifli his fm in that child, in whom he fmned: yet even againft this crofs he bends his prayers, as if nothing had been forgiven him. There is no child that would be fcourged, if he might efcape for crvinc^; no aiiiifliion is for the time other than J CI' grievous; neither is therefore yielded unto, without lome kind of reludation; Far yet was it from the heart of David to make any oppofition to the will of God; he fued, he ilruggled not; there is no impatience in entreaties; he well knew that the threats of tempo- ral evils ran <~ommonly with a fecret condition, and therefore might perhaps be avoided by humble im- portunity : if any means under heaven can avert judg- ments, it is our prayers. God could not chufe, but like well the boldnefs of David's faith, who, after the apprehenfion of fo heavy a difpleafure, i^ fo far from doubting of the forgivenefs of his fin, that he dares become a fuitor unto God for his fick child. Sin doth not make us more flrange, than faith confident. But CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 37 But it is not in the power of the ftrongeft faith to prefeive us from all afflictions; after all David's prayers and tears, the child muft die. The careful lervants dare but whifper this fad news: they who had found their mader fo averfe from the motion of comfort in the ficknefs of the child, feared him un- capable of comfort in his death. Sufpicion is quicic-witted. Every occafion makes us mifdoubt that event which we fear. This fecrefy proclaims that which they were foloth to utter. Da- vid perceives his child dead, and now he rifes up from the earth whereon he lay, and waflies himfelf, and changeth his apparel, and goes firil into God's houfe to worfliip, and into his own to eat; now he refufes no comfort, who before would take none. The iflue of things doth more fully fliew the will of God ihan the prediction: God never did any thing but v/hat he vvould; he hath fometimes foretold that for trial, which his fecret will intended not; he would foretel it, he would not effeft it ; becaufe he would therefore foretel it, that he might not eiTecl it. His prediclion of outward evils are not always abfolute, his actions are. David well fees, by the event, what the decree of God was concerning his child, which now he could not ih'ive againft v/ithout a vain impa- tience. Till we know the determinations of the Al- mighty, it is free for us to ftrive in our prayers, to itrive with him, not againft himx; when once we knov/ them, it is our duty to fit down in a filent con- tentation. " While the child was yet alive, Ifafted and wept; " for I faid, who can tell whether the Lord will be *' gracious to me, that the child may live; but now *'• he is dead, wherefore fhould I fail? can 1 brincr " him back again?" The grief, that goes before an evil for remedy, can hardij be too much, but that vJiich follows an evil pail: 33 . CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. pad remedy cannot be too little. Even In the faddeft accident, death, we may yield fomething to nature, nothing to impatience: immoderation of forrow, for loffes pad: hope of recovery, is more fuUen than ufe- ful; our flomach may be bewrayed by It, not our wifdom. CoNTEMP. VI. Amnon and Tamar. IT Is not poiTible that any word of God fliould fall to the ground. David is not more fure of forglvenefs than fmart. Three main fms pafTed him in this bufmefs of Uriah, adultery, murder, diffimu- latlon: for all which he receives prefent payment; for adultery. In the deflowering of his daughter Tamar; for murder. In the killing of his fon Amnon; for dif- fimulation in the contriving of both ; yet all this was but the beginning of evils. Where the father of the family brings fin home to the houfe, It is not eafily fwept out. Unlawful lull propagates Itfelf by ex- ample. How juftly Is David fcourged by the fin of his fons, whom his aft taught to offend? Maacha was the daughter of an heathenlfh king; by her had David that beautiful, but unhappy Iffue, Abfalom, and his no lefs fair filler Tamar. Perhaps, thus late doth David feel the punlfliment of that unfit choice. 1 fliould have marvelled, if fo holy a man had not found crofies In fo unequal a match, either in his perfon, or at leaf! in his feed. Beauty, if it be not well difciplined, proves not a friend but a traitor; three of David's children are un- done by it at once. What elfe was guilty of Amnon's inceftuous love, Tamar's ravlfliment, Abfalom's pride? It is a biefling to be fair, yet fuch a bleffing, as, if the foul anfwer not to the face, may lead to a curfe. How commonly have we feen the fouleft foul dwell faireft. It was no fault of Tamar's that flie was beautiful; the candle CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 3^ candle offends not in burning, the foolifii fly ofFends in fcorching itfclf in the flame ; yet it is no fmall mi- fery to become a temptation unto another ; and to be made but the occafion of others ruin. Aninon is love- fick of his fifter Tamar, and languifhes of that unna- tural heat. Whither will not wanton lull carry the in- ordinate minds of pampered and ungoverned youths? None but this half-fifter will pleafe the eyes of the young prince of Ifrael. Ordinary pleafures will not content thofe whom the conceit of greatnef?, youth, and ea'e, have let loofe to their appetite. Perhaps yet this unkindly flame might in time have gone out alone, had not there been a Jonadab to blow thefe coals with ill counfel. It were fl:range, if great princes fliould want fome parafitical foUow^ers, that are ready to feed their ill humours. " Why art " thou, the king's fon, fo lean from day to day?" As if it were unworthy the heir of a king to fuflfer either law or confcience to (land in the way of his de- fires : whereas wile princes know well, that their places give them no privilege of finning, but call them in rather to fo much more flviclnefs, as their example may be more prejudicial. Jonadab was the coufm-german of Amnon. Ill ad- vice is (o much more dangerous, as the intereil of the giver is more. Had he been a true friend, he had bent all the forces of his difl'uafion agalnft the wicked motions of that finful lufl:; and had fliewed the prince cf Ifrael how much thofe lewd defires provoked God, and blemiflied himfelf, and had lent his hand to firangle them in their firfl: conception. There cannot be a more worthy improvement of friendfliip, than in a fervent oppofition to the fins of them whom we profefs to love. No enemy can be fo mortal to great princes, as thofe oHicious clients, whofe flattery fooths them up in wickednefs ; thefe are traitors to the foul, ^d, by a pleafmg violence, kill the befl: part eternally. How 40 CONTEMPL ACTIONS. Book, XV. How ready at hand is an evil fiiggeftion ? Good counfel is like unto well-water, that mud be drawn up with a pump or bucket. Ill counfel is like to con- duit-water, which, if the cock be but turned, runs out alone. Jonadab hath foon projefted how^ Amnon fhall accomplilh his lawlefs purpofe. The way mufl be to feign himfelf Tick in body, whofe mind was fick of luft ; and, under this pretence, to procure the prefence of her who had wounded, and only might cure him. The daily increaling languor and leannefs, and palenefs of love-fick Amnon. might well give colour to a kerchief, and a pallet. Now is it foon told Da- vid, that his eldeft fon is caft upon a fick-bed ; there needs no fuit for his vifitation. The careful father haftens to his bed-fide, not w-ithout doubts and fears. He that was lately fo afRiiled with the ficknefs of a child that fcarce lived to fee the light, how fenfible mufi we needs think he would be of the indifpofition of his firfl-born fon, in the prime of his age and hopes? It is not given to any prophet to forefee all things. Happy had it been for David, if An'inon had been truly lick, and fick unto death ; yet v.ho could have perfuaded this paflionate father to have been content with this fuccefiion of loiTes, this early lofs of his fuc- cefibr. How glad is he to hear, that his daughter Tamar's fkill might be likely to fit the diet of fo dear a patient. Conceit is wont to rule much, both in ficknefs and in the cure. Tamar is fent by her father to the houfe of Amnon; her hand only mull drefs that difh which may pleafe the nice palate of her fick brother. Even the children of king,^, in thofe home- lier times, did not fcorn to put their fingers to fonie v.'orks of houfewifery. " She took flour and did knead *' it, and did make cakes in his light, and did bake " the cakes, and took a pan, and poured them out " before him." Had fhe not been fometimes ufed to CoNTEMP. VL CONTEMPLATIONS. 41 to fuch domeftic employments, fhe had been now to feek ; neither had this been required of her, but ujDon the knowledge of her Ikill. She doth not plead the impairing of her beauty by the fcorching of the fire, nor thinks her hand too dainty for fuch mean fer- vices, but' fettles to the work, as one that had rather regard the neceilitles of her brother than her own ftate. Only pride and idlenefs have baniflied honeff and thrifty diligence out of the houfes of the great. This was not yet the difh that Amnon longed for. It was the cook, and not the cakes, which that wanton eye affeded. Unlawful . a£ts feek for fecrefy ; the company is difmiffed, Tamar only (fays. Good mean- ing fufpecls nothing ; while fine prefents the meat fhe had prepared to her fick brother, herfelf is made a prey to his outrageous luft. The modefl virgin en- treats and perfuades in vain : fhe lays before him the fin, the fhame, the danger of the facft; and, fince none of thefe can prevail, fain would win time by the fug- gefting of impolhble hopes. Nothing but violence can ftay a refolved fmner ; what he cannot by entrea- ty, he will have by force. If the devil were not more ftrong in men than nature, they would never feek pleafure in violence. Amnon hath no fooner fulfilled his beaftly defires, than he hates Tamar more than he loved her. Inordinate luil never ends but in difcon- tentment: lofs of fpirits, and remorfe of foul, make the remembrance of that act tedious, whofe expeda- tion promifed delight. If we could fee the back of fmful pleafures, ere we behold their face, our hearts could not but be foreftalled with a juft detellation. Biutifli Amnon, it was thyfelf whom thou Tnouldll have hated for this villainy, not thine innocent fifter!" Both of you lay together, only one committed inceft. What v.-as fcc but a patient in- that impotent fury of lull ? How unjuftly do carnal men mifplace their af- fedions ? No mdu can fay, whether that love or this- hatred 42 CONTEMPLATIONS. Baok XV. hatred were more unreafonable. Fraud drew Tamar into the houfe of Aranon, force entertained her with- in, and drove her out. Fain would flie have hid het fhame where it was wrought, and may not be allow- ed it. That roof, under which flie came with honour, and in obedience and love, may not- be lent her, for the time, as a flielter of her ignominy. Never any favage could be more barbarous. Shechem had ra- viflied Dinah, his offence did not make her odious; his afl'ection fo continued, that he is willing rather to drav.' blood of himfelr and his people, than forego her whom he had abufed; Amnon, in one hour, is in the excefs of love and hate, and is fick of her for whom he was fick. She, that lately kept the keys of his heart, is now locked out of his doors. Unruly paf- fions run ever iato extremities, and are then belt ap- paid, vv^hen they are furthefl off from reafon and mo- deration. What could Amnon think would be the event of fo foul a faft, v/hich. [is he had not the grace to pre- vent, fo he hath not the care to conceal? If he look- ed not fo high as heaven, what could he imagine would follow hereupon, but the difpleafure of a fa- ther, the danger of law, the indignation of a brother, the ibame and outcries of the world; all w^hich he might have hoped to avoid by fecrefy and plaufible courfes of fatisfaclion. It is the juft judgment of God upon prefumptuous offenders, that they lofe their wit, together with their honefty; and are either fo blind- ed, that they cannot forefee the iifue of their actions, or fo befoitcd, that they do not regard it. Poor Tamar can but bewail that which (lie could not keep, her virginity, not loit, but torn from her by a cruel violence. She rends her princely robe, and laid afhts on her head, and laments the fname of another's fui, and lives more defolate than a widow, in t]?,e houfe of her brother Abfalom, In CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 43 In the mean time, what a corrofive muft this news needs be to the heart of good David, whofe fatherly command had, out of love, caft his daughter into the jaws of this lion? What an infolent affront mufl he needs conftrue this to be offered by a fon to a father, that the father fliould be made the pander of his own daughter to his fon? He that lay upon the ground weeping for but the ficknefs of an infant, how vex- ed do we think he was with the villainy of his heir, with the ravifliment of his daughter, both of them worfe than many deaths ? What revenge can he think of for fo heinous a crime lefs than death; and what lefs than death is it to him, to think of a revenge? Rape was, by the law of God, capital, how much more when it is feconded with inceft ? Anger was not pu- nifliment enough for fo high an offence; yet this is all that I hear of from fo indulgent a father, faving that he makes up the reft with forrow, puniming his fon's outrage in himfeU. The better-natured, and m.ore gracious a man is, the more fubjecl he is to the dan- ger of an over-remifsnefs, and the excefs of favour and mercy. The mild injuftice is no lefs perilous to the commonwealth, than the cruel. If David, perhaps out of the ccnfcience of his own late offence, v/ill not puniffi this fact, his fon Abfa- lom fhall; not out of any care of juftice, but in a de- fire of revenge. Two whole years hath this fly cour- tier fmothered his indignation, and feigned kindnefs, elfe his invitation of Amnon, in fpeclal, had been fuf- pefted. Even gallant Abfalom was a great fheep-raa- ller. The bravery and magnificence of a courtier muff be built upon the grounds of frugality. David himfelf is bidden to this bloody ffieep-fnearing: it was no otherwife meant, but that the father's eyes fhould be the witneffes of the tragical execution of one fon by another : only David's love kept him from that horrible fpetlacle. He is careful not to be charge- able 44 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book. XV. able to that fon who cares not to overcharge his fa- ther's ftomach with a feafl of blood. Amnon hath fo quite forgot his fm, that he dares go tofeaft in that houfe where Tamar was mourning, and fufpe<5ls not the kindnefs of him, whom he had deferved, of a brother, to .make an enemy. Nothing is more unfafe to be trulled, than the fair looks of a feftered heart. Where true charity or juli fatisfac- tion have not wrought a found reconciliation, malice doth but lurk for the opportunity of an advantage. It was not for nothing that Abfalom deferred his revenge, which is now fo much more exquifite, as it is longer protracted. What could be more fearful, than, when Amnon's heart was merry with wine, to be fudd'pnly ftricken with death .? as if this execution had been no lefs intended to the foul, than to the bo- dy. How Yxlckedly foever this was done by Abfa- lom, yet how jufl was it with God, that he, v/ho in two years impunity would find no leifure of repent- ance, lliould now receive a punifhmcnt without pofli- biiity of repentance ^ O God, thou art righteous to reckon for thofe fms which human 'partiality or negligence hath omitted ; and, while thou punifliefl fin with fin, to punifii fin with death. If either David had called Amnon to account for this villainy, or Amnon had called him- felf, the revenge had not been fo defperate. Happy is the man, that, by an unfeigned repentance, acquits his foul from his known evils, and improves the days of his peace to the prevention of future vengeance^ which, if it be not done, the hand of God fliall as furely overtake us in judgment, as the hand of Satan hiih overtaken us in mifcarriaa'e unto fin. €oN' CoN'TEMP. Vir. CONTEMPLATIONS. 45 CoNTEMP. Vil. Absalom's return and ccnfpiracy. ^NE ad of injuftice draws on another: the in- juftice of David, in not punifliing the rape of Amnon, procures the injuftice of Abfalom, in punifh- ing Amnon with murder. That which the father Ihould have jnftly revenged, and did not, the fon re- venges unjultly. The rape of a fifler was no lefs worthy of death, than the murder of a brother; yea, this latter fm was therefore the lefs, becaufe that bro- ther was worthy of death, though by another hand ; whereas that fifter was guilty of nothing but modeft beauty: yet he that knew this rape palTed over whole two years with impunity, dares not trufl the mercy of a father in the pardon of his murder; but for three years hides his head in the court of his grand-father, the king of Gefhur. Doubtlefs, that heathenifh prince gave him a kind welcome, for fo meritorious a re- venge of the diihonour done to his own loins. No man can tell, how Abfalom fhould have fped from the hands of his otherwife over-indulgent fa- ther, if he had been apprehended in the hear of the' fa 61. Even the largefl: love may be over-flrained, and may give a fall in the breaking: thefe fearful efiFed:s of lenity might perhaps have whetted the feverity of David, to (hut up thefe outrages in blood. Now this difpleafure was weakened with age. Time and thoughts have digefted this hard morfel. David's heart told him, that his hands had a fhare in this of- fence; that Abfalom did but give that ftroke which himfelf had wrongfully forborne ; that the unrecover- able lofs of one fon would be but wofully relieved with the lofs of another ; he therefore, that in the news of the deceafed infant could change his cloaths, and wafh himfelf, and chear up his fpirits, with the- refolution of, " I fhall go to him. he Ihall not return Vol. II. D ' ''- to 46 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV. " to me," comforts himfeif concerning Amnon; and begins to long for Abfaloni. Thole three years banifhmentfeemsd not fo much a punifhment to the fon, as to the father. Now Da- vid begins to forgive himfeif; yet, out of his wifdom, fo inclines to favour, that he conceals it; and yet fo conceals it, that it may be defcried by a canning eye; if he had cafl out no glances of affection, there had been no hopes for his Abfalom; if he had made pro- feiTion of love after fo foul an a£t, there had been no fafety for others ; nou', he lets fall fo much fecret grace as may both hold up Abfalom in the life of his hopes, and not hearten the prelumption of others. Good eyes fee light through the fmalleft chink. The \vk of Joab hath foon difcerned David's referved affedion, and knows how to ferve him in that which he would, and would not accomplifh ; and now de- vifes how to bring into the light that birth of defire, v/hereof he knew David was both big, and afhamed. A woman of Tekoah (that fex hath been ever held more apt for wiles) is fuborned to perfonate a mourn- er, and to fay that, by way of parable, which, in plain terms, would have founded too harfhly ; and now, while (lie lamentably lays forth the lofs and danger of her fons, fhe fhews David his own; and, while flie moves companion to her pretended iifue, fhe wins David to a pity of himfeif, and a favourable fentence for Abfalom." We love ourfelves better than others, but we fee others better than ourfelves: whofo would perfeftly know his own cafe, let him view it in ano- ther's perfon. Parables fped well with David: one drew him to repent of his own fm, another to remit Abfalom's pimidiment: and now, as glad to hear this plea, and wiliing to be perfuaded unto that, which, if he durit, he would have fought for, he gratifies Joab with the grant of that fuit, which Joab more gratified him in CoNTEMP. VII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 47 in fuinrr for ; " Go, bring aeain the young man Ab- " falom." How glad k Joab, that he hath light upon one aft, for which the fun, both fetting and rifing, tliould fliine upon him ! and now he Ipeeds to Gefhur, to fetch back Abfalom to Jerufalem : he may bring the long-banilhed prince to the city ; but to the court he may not bring him. " Let him turn to his own houfe, " and let him not fee my face." The good king hath fo fmarted with mercy, that now he is refolved upon auderity, and will relent but by degrees ; it is enough for Abfilom that he lives, and may now breathe in his native air : David's face is no objedt for the eyes of murderers. What a dar- linf juftice, care of the commonwealth ! The world hath not fo complete a prince as Abfalom ! 'Lhus the hearts of the people are not won, but ftolen, by a elofe traitor, from their lawfully anointed fovereign. • Over- CoNTEMP. VII. CONTEMPLATIONS; 51 Over-fair fhews are a jud: argument of unfoundnefs; no natural face hath fo clear a white and red as the painted. Nothing wants now but a cloke of rehgion, to perfect the treachery of that ungracious fon, who carried peace in his name, war in his heart; and how eafily is that put on? Abfalom hath an holy vow to be paid in Hebron; the devout man had made it long fmce, while he was exiled in Syria, and now he hades to perform it: " If the Lord fhall bring me back again " to Jerufalem, then I will ferye the Lord." Wicked hypocrites care not to play with God, that they may mock men. The more deformed anv acl is, the fairer vizor it flill feeketh. How glad is the good old king, that he is bleffed with fo godly a fon, whom he difmifleth laden with liis caufelefs bleffings! What trufl is there in flefh and blood, when David is not fafe from his own loins! The confpiracy is now fully forged ; there lacked no- thing but this guilt of piety to win favour and value in all eyes ; and now it is a wonder, that but two hundred honeil citizens go up with Abfalom from Je- rufalem: the true hearted lie mod open to credulity. How eafy is it to beguile harmlefs intentions! The name of David's fon carries them«againft the father of Abfa- lom; and now thefe fimple Ifraelites are unwittingly made loyal rebels. Their hearts are free from a plot, and they mean nothing but fidelity in the attendance of a traitor. How many thoufands are thus igno- rantly mifled into the train of error; their fimplicity is as worthy of pity, as their mifguidance of indigna- tion. Thofe that will fuffer themfelves to be carried with femblances of truth and faithfulnefs, mud needs be as far from fafety as innocence. D 4 ■pOor._- 52 - CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVL BOOK XVI. CoNTEMP. I. Shimpi curf.ng. "^"^TITH an heavy heart, and a covered head, ^V 3^"d a weeping eye, and bare feet, is David gone away from Jerufalem ; never did he with more joy come up to this city, than now he left it with forrov/; how could he da otherwife, v^hom the in- furreftion of his own fon drove out from his houfe, from his throne, from the ark of God ! And nov/, when the depth of this grief deferved nothing but compaffion, the foul mouth of Shimei entertains Da- vid with curfes ! There is no fmall cruelty in the picking out of a time for mifchief; that word would fcarce gall at one feafon, which at another killeth. The fame fhaft flying with the wind pierces deep, which, againll: it, can hardly find flrength to ftick up- right. The valour and juftice of children condemns St, for injurioufly cowardly, to ftrike their adverfary when he is once down. It is the murder of the tongue to infult upon thofe whom God hath humbled, and to draw blood of that back which is yet blue from the hand of the Almighty. If Shimei had not prefumed upon David's dejetlion, he durfl not have been thus bold; now he, that perhaps durll not have looked at one of thefe worthies fingle, defies them all at once, and doth both call and fpeak ilones againll David and all his army. The malice of bafe fpirits fometimes carries them further than the courage of the valiant. In all the time of David's profperity we heard no news of Shimei ; his filence and colourable obedience made him pafs for a good fubjecl ; yet all that while was his heart unfound and traiterous. Peace and good fuccefs hides many a falfe heart, like as the fnow-drift covers CoNTEMP. r. CONTEMPLATIONS. 53 covers an heap of clung, which, once melting away^ defcries the rottennefs that lay within. Honour and welfare are but flattering glafles of mens afFed;ions. Adverfity will not deceive us, but will make a true report as of our own powers, fo of the difpoficion of others. He, that fmiled on David in his throne, curfeth him in his flight. If there be any quarrels, any. excep- tions to be taken againfl a man, let him look to have them laid in his diih when he fares the hardeft. Ihis practice have wicked men learned of their mafler, to take the utmoft advantages of our afflidions. He that fuffers had need to be double armed, both againfl pain and cenfure. Every word of Shimei was a llander. He, that took SauPs fpear from his head, and repented to have but cut the lap of his garment, is reproached as a man of blood. The man after God's own heart is , branded for a man of Belial. He, that was fent for out of the fields to be anointed, is taxed for an ufur- per: if David's hands were ftained with blood, yet not of Saul's houfe; it was his fervant,, not his mailer that bled by him; yet is the blood of the Lord^s anointed caft in David's teeth, by the fpite of a falfe tongue. Did we not fee David, after all the proofs of -his humble loyalty, fliedding the blood of that Amalekite, who did but fay he fhed Saul's? Did we not hear him lament pafTionately for the death of fo ill a m.ader, chiding the mountains of Gilboa on which he fell; and angerly wifhing, that no dew might fall where that blood was poured out; and charged the daughters of Ifrael to w^eep over Saul, who had cloth- ed them in fear let? Did we not hear and fee him en- quiring for any remainder of the houfe of Saul, that he might fhew him the kinclnefs of God? Did we not fee him honouring lame Mephibofneth with a prince- ly feat at his own table? Did we not fee him reveng- ing 54 CONTEMPLATIONS. Bcok. XVL ing the blood of his rival Ifhbofheth, upon the heads of" Rechab and Baanah? What could any living man have done more to wipe off thefe bloody afperfions? Yet is not a Shiinei afliamed to charge innocent Da- vid wifh all the blood of the houfe of Saul. How is it likely this clamorous wretch had fecretly traduced the name of David, all the time of his go- vernment, that dares thus accufe him to his face, before all the mighty men of jfrael, who were wit- neffes-of the contrary? The greater the perfon is, the more open do his aftions lie to mifmterpretation and cenfure. Every tongue fpeaks partially, according to the inter eft he hath in the caufe, or the patient. It is not pofiible that eminent perfons fliould be free from imputations : innocence can no more protect them than power. if the patience of David can di^eft this indignity, his train cannot; their fingers could not but itch to return iron for ftones. If Shimei rail on David, A- bifiiai rails on Shimei ; Shimei is of Saul's family, A- bifiiai of David's; each fpeaks for his own. Abilliai mod juftly bends his tongue againft Shimei, as Shimei againlt David mod unjufiily. Had Shimei been any other than a dog, he had never fo rudely barked at "■an harmlefs palTenger ; neither could he deferve lefs than the iofs of that head which had uttered fuch blaf- phemies againft God*s anointed. The zeal of Abi- fnai doth but plead for juftice, and is checked; " What " have I to do with you, ye fons of Zeruiah?" Da- vid faid not fo much to his reviler, as to his abettor: he well favv that a revenge was juft, but not feafon- able; he found the prefent a fit time to fufter v.Tongs, not to right them : he therefore gives way rather meekly to his own humiliation, than to the puiiifh- ment of another. There are feafons wherein lawful motions are not fit to be cherifiied ; anger doth not become a mourner; one paffion at once is enough for the CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. - 55 the foul. Unadvlfed zeal may be more prejudicial, than a cold remifTncfs. What it the Lord, for the corredion of his fervant, had faid unto Shimei, Curfe David ; yet is Shimei's curfe no lefs worthy of Abifliai's fword : the (in of Shimei's curfe was his own, the fmart of the curfe was God's. God wills that, as David's chaftifement, which he hates as Shimei's wickednefs : that lewd tongue moved from God, it moved lewdly from Sa- tan. Wicked men are never the freer from guilt or puniH^imenr, for that hand which the holy God hath in their offenfive actions ; yet David can fay, " Let '• him alone, and let him curfe, for the Lord hath " bidden him ;" as meaning to give a reafon of his own patience, rather than Shimei's impunity. The iffue ihewed, how well David could dillinguifli be- twixt the act of God, and of a traitor ; how he could both kifs the rod and burn it. There can be none fo ftrong motive of our meek fubmiffion to evils, as the acknowledgment of their original. He, that can fee the hand of God firiking him by the hand or tongue of an enemy, friall more awe the frri-; mover of his harm, than malign the inftrument. hven while r)avid iaments the rebellion of hisfon, he gains by it, and makes that the argument of his patience, which was the e;xercife of it. '•' Behold, my (on, which came " forth of my bowels, feeketh my life ; how much *' more now may this Benjamiie do it?" Tiie wick- ednefs of an Abfulotn' may rob his father of comfort, but Ihall help to add to his father's goodnefs. It is the advantage of great crofies, that they fwallow up the lefs. One man's fin cannot be cxcufed by ano- ther's, the IciTtr by the greater. If Abfalom be a traitor, Shimci may not curfe and rebel : but the paf- fion conceived from the indignity of a (Iranger, may be abated by the harder meafure of our own : if we can therefore fuffcr, becaufe we have fuftered, we have 56 CONrEMPLA.TIONS. Book XV f. have profited by our afflitlion. A weak, heart faints with every addition of fucceeding trouble; the flrong TecolIe«5ls itfelf, and is grown fo ikilful, that it bears oft" one mifchief with another. It is not either the unnatural infurreclion of Abfa- lom, nor the unjuft curfes of Shimei, that can put David quite out of heart : " It may be that the Lord " will look on mine afflidion, and will requite good " for his curfing, this day." So well was David ac- quainted with the proceedings of God, that he knew cherifhing was ever wont to follow (tripes; after ve- hement evacuation, cordials ; after a dark night, the clear light of the morning. Hope therefore doth not only uphold, but chear up his heart, in the midft of his ibrrow. If Vv^e can look beyond the cloud of our affliclion, and fee the fun-fliine of comfort on the other fide of it, we cannot be fo difcouraged with the pre- fence of evil, as heartened with the iffue: as, on the contrary, let a man be ever fo merry within, and fee pain and mifery waiting for him at the door, his expeccation of evil fliall eafily daunt all the fenfe of his pleafure. The retributions of temporal favours go but by peradventures; " it may be the Lord will " look on mine affliction;'* of eternal, are certain and infallible; if v/e fuffer, v/e fhall reign: why fliould not the affurance of reigning make us triumph in fuf- fering ? David's patience draws on the Infolence of Shimei. Evil natures grow prefumptuous upon forbearance. In good difpofitions, injury unanfwered grows weary of itfelf, and dies in a voluntary remorfe; but in thofe dogged (lomachs, which are only capable of the re- ftraints of fear, the filcnt digeflion of a former Vv'rong provokes a fecond. Mercy had need to be guided with wifdom, left it prove cruel to itfelf. O the bafe minds of inconflant time-fervers! Stay but a Vv'hile, till the wheel be a little turned, you -fnall CosTEMP. r. CONTEMPLATIONS. 57 (hall fee humble Shimei fall down on his face before David, in his return over Jordan: now his fubmilfion fhall equal his former rudenefs; his prayers fhall re- quite his curfes, his tears make amends for his ftones: " Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me ; neither " do thou remember that which thy fervant did per- " verfely, the day that my lord the king went out of " Jerufalem, that the king (hould take it to heart; " for thy fervant doth know that I have finned.'* Falfe-hearted Shimei, had Abfalom profpered, thou hadil not finned, thou hadft not repented; then hadft thou bragged of thine infultation over his miferies, whofe pardon thou now beggefl with tears. The changes of worldly minds are thanklefs, fmce they are neither wrought out of confcience nor love, but only by flavifli fear of juft punlfliment. David could fay no vAove to teftify his forrow, for his heinous fins againfi: God, to Nathan, than Shimei fays of himfelf to David, whereto may be added the advantage of a voluntary confeffion in this offender, which in David was extorted by the reproof of a pro- phet: yet is David's confeflion ferioufly penitent, Shimei's craftily hypocritical. Thofe alterations are juftly fufpected, which are fhaped according to the times and outv/ard occafions. The true penitent looks only at God and his fin, and is changed when all other things are themfelves. Great offences had need of anfvverable fatisfadlion. As Shimei was the only man, or the houfe of Benjamin, that came forth and curfed David in his flight, fo is he the firfi: man (even before thofe of the houfe of Jofeph, though nearer in fituation) that comes to meet David in his return with prayers and gratulations. No- torious offenders m.ay not think to fit down vi^ith the talk of ordinary fervices ; the retributions of their o- bedience mult be proportionable to their crimes. Con- 58 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVL ConTEMP. II. AlilTHOPHEL. O foon as David heard of Ahithophers hand in that confpiracy, he falls to his prayers, " O Lord, ^' I pray thee, turn thccounfel of Ahithophel into " fooUlhnefs." The known wifdom of his revoked coiinfellor made him a dangerous and dreadful adver- fary. Great parts mifemployed cannot but prove moft mifchievous. When v/ickednefs is armed wrih wit and power, none but a God can defeat it; when we are matched with a (Irong and fubtile enemy, it is high time, if ever, to be devout. If the bounty of God have thought good to furnifn his creatures with powers to war againll himfelf, his wifdom knows how to turn the abufe of thofe powers to the fhame of the owners, and the glory of the giver. O the poHcy of this Machiavel of Ifrael, no lefs deep than hell itfelf ! '^ Go in to thy father's concu- " bines, v/hich he hath left to keep the houfe; and " when all Ifrael ihall hear that thou art abhorred of " thy father, the hands of all that are v.'lth thee ihali " be ftrong." The firft care muft be to fecure the faction. There can be no fafety in fiding with a doubtful rebel. If Abfalom be a traitor, yet he is a fon. Nature may return to itfelf, Abfalom may re- lent, David may remit; v/nere then are we that have helped to promote the confpiracy.^ the danger is ours, while this breach may be pieced. There is no way but to engage Abfalom in fome further aft, uncapable of forgivenefs: befides the throne, let him violate the bed of his father; unto his treafonlet him add an in- ceft no lefs unnatural; now fnall the world fee that Abfalom neither hopes nor cares for the reconcilia- tion of a father. Our quarrel can never have any fafe end but victory, the hope whereof depends upon the refolution of our followers; they cannot be refoluts, but upon the unpardonable wickednefs of their lead- er: CoKTEMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. 59 er ; neither can this villainy be fhameful enough, if it be I'ecret. The clo'enefs of evil argues fear, or modeRy; neither of which can befeem him that would be a fuccefsFul traitor. Set up a tent on the top of the houfe, and let all ifraej be witnefles of thy fin, and thy father's fhanie. Ordinary crimes are for vul- gar offenders. Let Abfalom fin eminently, and do that which may make the world at once to blufli and wonder. Who would ever have thought that Ahithophel had lived at court, at the council-table of a David.? Who would think that mouth had ever fpoken well? Yet had he been no other than as the oracle of God to the religious court of Ifrael, even while he was not wife enough to be good. Policy and grace are not always lodged under one roof. This man, while he was one of David's deep counfellcrs, was one of Da- vid's fools, that faid in their hearts, " There is no " God ;" elfe he could not have hoped to m.ake good an evil with worfe, to build the fuccefs of treafon up- on inceft . Profane hearts do fo contrive the plots of their wickednefs, as if there were no over-ruling power to crofs their defigns, or to revenge them. He that fits in heaven laughs them to fcorn, and fo far gives way to their fins, as their fins may prove plagues unto themfelves. Thefe two fons of David met with peftilent coun- fel; Amnon is advifed to incefl: with his fifter, Abfa- lom is advifed to incefl with his father's concubines, that by Jonadab, this by Ahithophel ; both prevail. It is as eafy at leafl to take ill counfel, as to give it. Pronenefs to villainy in the great, cannot want either projectors to devife, or parafites to execute the mofl odious fins. The tent is fpread, left it fhould not be confpicu- ous enough, on the top of- the houfe. The aft is done 6o CONPEMPLATIONS. Book XVI. done in the fight of all Ifrael. The filthinefs of the iin was not fo great as the impudency of the manner. "When the prophet Nathan came with that heavy mef- fage of reproof, and menace to David, after his fin with Bathrtieba, he could fay from God, " Behold *' I will raife up evil againii thee, out of thine ovi^n " houfe, and will take thy wives before thine eyes, " and give them unto thy neighbour, and he fliall lie " with thy wives in the fight of this fun : for thou *' didft it iecretly, but I will do this thing before all *' Ifrael, and before this fun.'* The counfel of A- hithophel, and the lull of Abfalom, have fulfilled the judgment of God. O the wifdom of the Almigh- ty, that can ufe the worfl evils well ; and moil jultly make the fins of men his executioners ! It was the fin of Reuben that he defiled his father's bed ; yet not in the fame height of lewdnefs. What Reuben did in a youthful wantonnefs, Abfalom did in a malicioias defpite : Reuben finned with one, Ab- falom with ten: Reuben fecretly, Abfalom in the open eyes of heaven and earth ; yet old Jacob could fay of Reuben, " Thou fhalt not excel; thy dignity is gone:" while Ahithophel fays to Abfalom, " Thy dignity '• fhall arife from inceft ; climb up to thy father's " bed, if thou wilt fit in his throne." If Ahithophel was a politician, Jacob was a prophet ; if the one fpake from carnal fenfe, the other from divine reve- lation. Certainly, to fin Is not the way to profper : wha,tever vain fools promife to themfelves, there is no wifdom, nor underftanding, nor counfel againft the Lord. After the rebellion is fecured for continuance, the next care is, that it may end in victory; this alfo hath the v/orking head of Ahithophel projected. Wit and experience told him, that, in thefe cafes of aifault, ce- lerity ufes to bring forth the happieft difpatch; where- as protraaion is nofmall advantage to the defendant. " Let i CoNTEMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. 6t " Let me (faith he) chufe out now twelve thoufand '• men, and I will up, and foliow after David this " night; and I will come upon him while he is wea- " ry and weak handed." No advice could be more pernicious; for, befides the wearinefa and unreadinefs of David and his army, the fpirits of that worthy leader were daunted, and dejected with forrow, and offered way to the violence of a fudden alTiiult. The field had been half won ere any blow ftricken. A- hithophcl, cnuld not have been reputed fo v/ife, if he had not I'jarned the due proportion betwixt adions and limes. He that obferveth every wind ihall never fow ; but he that obferves no wind at all, fhall never reap. The likelieft devices do not always fucceed. The God that had appointed to eflablifli David's throne, and determined Solomon to his fucceffion, finds means to crofs the plot of Ahithophel by a lefs probable ad- vice. Hulhai was not fent back for nothing. Where God hath, in his fecret will, decreed any event, he in- clines the wills of men to approve that which may pro- mote his own purpofes. Neither had Hufhai fo deep an head, neither was his counfel fo fure as that of Ahi- thophel, yet his tongue fliall refell Ahithophel, and divert Abfalom. The pretences were fairer, though the grounds v»'ere unfound; firft, to fweeten his op- pofition, he yields the praife of witdom to his adver- fary in all other counfels, that he may have leave to deny it in this; his very contradiction in the prefent infinuates a general allowance. Then he fuggefts certain apparent truths concerning David's valour and fKiil, to give countenance to the inferences of his im- probabilities. Laflly, he cunningly feeds the proud humour of Abfalom, in magnifying the power and ex- tent of his commands, and ends in the glorious boafts of his fore-promifed victory. As it is with faces, fo with counfel, that is fair that pleafeth. He that gives Voj.. II. K the at CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVI. the utterance to words, gives alfo their fpeed. Fa- vour, both of fpeech and men, is not ever according to defert, but according to fore-ordination. The tongue of Hufhai, and the heart of Abfalom is guided by a power above their own; Hufhai fliall therefore pre- vail with Abfalom, that the treafon of Abfalom may not prevail. He that worketh all in all things, fo dif- pofeth of wicked men and fpirits, that, while they do mod oppofe his revealed will, they execute his fecret, and, while they think moil to pleafe, they overthrow themfelves. When Abfalom firft met Hufliai returned to Jeru- falem, he upbraided him pleal:mtly with the fcofF of his profefied friend fhip to David, " Is this thy kindnefs " to thy friend?" Sometimes there is more truth in the mouth than in the heart, more in jeft than in ear- ned:. Hufliai was a friend, his flay was his kindnefs; and nov,' he hath done that for which he was left at Je- rufalem, difappointed Ahithophel, preferved David ; neither did his kindnefs to his friend reft here, but, as one that was juftly jealous ot him with whom he was allovv^ed to temporize, he miftrufts the approba- tion of Abfalom: and, not daring to put the life of his mafter upon fuch an hazard, he gives charge to Za- dok and Abiathar of this intelligence unto David. We caniiot be too fufpicious, when we have to do with thofe that are faithlefs. We cannot be too curious of the f^ifety of good princes. Huihai fears not to defcry the fecrets of Abfalom*s counfel: to betray a traitor is no other than a com- mendable work. Zadok and Abiathar are faft within the gates of Jerufalem;. their fons lay purpofely abroad in the fields ; this meifage, that concerned no lefs than the life of David, and the whole kingdom of Ifrael, mud be trufled with a maid. Sometimes it pleaft^th the wifdom of God, who hath the variety of heaven and earth before him, to fnigle out weak in- firuments CoNTEMP. ir. CONrEMPLA^TIONS. 63 ilrunients for great fervices; and they fliall ferve his turn, as well as the bed. No counfellor of Hate could have made this diipatch more effcdual: Jonathan and Ahimaaz are fent, defcned, purfued, preferved. The fidelity of a maid inluu6led them in their meiliige, the fubtilty of a woman faved their lives. At the well of Rogel they received their melTage, in the well of Bahurim was their life faved: the fudden wit of a woman hath choked the mouth of her well with dried corn, that it might not bewray the meiTengers; and now David hears fafely of his danger, and pre- vents it; and, though weary v.'ith travel, and la len with forrow, he mull fpend the night in his remove. God's promifes of his deliverance, and the confirma- tion of his kingdom, may not make him neglefi the means of his falety. If he be faithful, we may not be carelefs, fmce our diligence and care are appointed for the factors oi that divine Providence: the a6is of God mu(t abate nothing of curs; rather mufl we la- bour, by doing that w^hich he requireth, to further that which he decreeth. There are thofe that have great wits for the pu- blic, none for themfelves. Such was Ahichophel, who, while he had power to govern a flate, could not tell how to rule his own paffions: never till now do we find his counfel baulked, neither was it now rejecled as ill, only Hufnai's was allowed for better: he can live no longer now, that he is beaten at his own weapon; this alone is caufe enough to faddle his afs, and to go home, and put the halter about his own neck. Pride caufes men both to mlfmterpret- dii'graces, and to over-rate them. Now is David's prayer heard, " Ahithophel's counfel is turned into " fooliflinefs." Defperate Ahithophcl, what if thou be not the wifed man of all Ifrael? even thofe that have not attained to the highell.pitch of wifdom have found contentment in a mediocrity : ' what if thy E 2 counfel 64 CONTEMPLATIONS. • Book XVI. counfel were defpifed? A wife man knows to live happily, in fpite of an unjuft contempt: what madnefs is this, to revenge another man's reputation upon thy- felf? and, while thou ftriveft: for the higheft room of wifdom, to run into the groiTefl extremity of folly? Worldly wifdom is no proted:ion from fharae and ruin. How eafily may a man, though naturally wife, be made weary of life! A little pain, a little fhame, a little lofs, a fmall affront, can foon rob a man of all comfort, and caufe his own hands to rob him of him- felf. If there be not higher refpefts than the world can yield, to maintain us in being, it fliould be a mi- racle if indignation did not kill more than difeafe. Now, that God, by whofe appointment we live here, for his mod wife and holy purpofes, hath found means to make life fweet, and death terrible. What a mixture do we hnd here of wifdom and madnefs! Ahithophel will needs hang himfelf 5 there is madnefs: he will yet fet his houfe in order; there is an aft of wifdom. And could it be poffible that he, who was fo v^'ife as to fet his houfe in order, fliould be fo mad as to hang himfelf! that he fhould be care- ful to order his houfe, who regarded not to order his impotent paflions! that he fnould care for his houfe, who cared not for either body or foul! Hov/ vain it is for a man to be wife, if he be not wife in God ! Mow prepofterous are the cares of idle worldlings, that prefer all other things to themfelves, and, while they look at what they have in their cofl'ers, forget Mhat they have in their breads ! CoNTEMP. III. The Death of Absalom. '"F^HE fame God, that raifed enmity to David from — his ov.n loins, procured him favour from fo- reigners ; (Irangers ftall relieve him, whom his own fon perfecutes: here is not a lofs, but an exchange of love. CoNTEMP.. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 6s love. Had Abfalom been a fon of Amnon, and Sho- bi a fon of David, David had found no caufe of com- plaint. If God takes with one hand, he gives with another; while that divine bounty ferves us in good meat, tliough not in our own diflics, we have good reafon to be thankful. No fooner is David ccnie to Mehanaim, than Earzillai, Machir and Shobi refrefli him with provifions. Who ever faw any child of God left utterly deflitute! Whofoever be the mefienger of our aid, we know whence he comes; heaven fliali want power, and earth means, before any of the houfehold of faith fliall want maintenance. He, that formerly was forced to employ his arms for his defence againft a tyrannous father-in-lavv', mufl now buckle them on againft an unnatural fon: nov/ therefore he mufters his men, and ordains his com- manders, and marfhals his troops; and, fince their loyal importunity will not allow the hazard of his per- fon, he, at once, encourages them by his eye, and reftrains them with his tongue, '' Deal gently with " the young man Abfalom for my fake." How un- reafonably favourable are the wars of a father ! O holy David, what means this ill-placed love, this un- juft mercy! Deal gently with a traitor! but of all traitors v^'ith a fon! of all fons with an Abfalom, the gracelefs darling of fo good a father; and all this for my fake, whofe crown, whofe blood he hunts after! For whofe fake fliould Abfalom be purfued, if he muft be forborne for thine! He was ftill courteous to thy followers, affable to fuitors, plaufible to all Ifrael, only to thee he is cruel. Wherefore are thofe arms, if the caufe of the quarrel mull be a motive of mercy? Yet thou fayeft, " Deal gently v/ith the young man " Abfalom for my fake." Even in the holi:jll pa- rents nature may be guilty of an injurious tcndernefs, of a bloody indulgence. E .3 Or, 66 'contemplations. Book XVI. Or, whether fhall we not rather think this was done in type of that unmeafurable mercy of the true King, and Redeemer of Ifrael, who prayed for his perfecutors, for his murderers; and, even while they were at once fcorning and killing him, could fay, *' Father forgive them, for they knovv' not what they " do." If we be Ions, we are ungracious, we are rebellious, yet ftill is our heavenly Father thus com- palTionateiy regardful of us. David was not fure of his fuccefs; there was great inequality in the num- ber; Abfalom's forces were more than double to his; it might have come to the contrary iiTue, that David fliould have been forced to fay, "" Deal gently with " the father of Abfalom ;" but, in afuppofition of that vidory, which only the goodnefs of his caufe bade him hope for, he faith, " Deal gently v/ith the young " man Abfalom." As for us, we are never but un- der mercy; our God needs no advantages to fweep us from the earth any moment, yet he continues that life, and thofe powers to us, whereby we provoke him, and bids his angels deal kindly Vv'ith us, and bear us in their arms, while we lift up our hands, and bend our tongues againft heaven. O mercy pad the comprehenfion of all finite fpirits, and only to be conceived by him whofe it is: never more refembled by any earthly atte6:ion, than by this of his deputy af.d type, " Deal gently with the young man Abfa- " lorn for my fake." The battle is joined; David's foilov.-ers are but an handful to Abfalom's. How eafily may the fickle mul- titude be tranfported to the wrong fide! What they wanted in abettors is fuppiied in the caufe. Unna- tural ambition draws the fword of Abfalom, David's a neceil^iry andjuft defence. They, that in fimplici- ty of heart followed Abfalom, cannot in malice of heart, perfecute the father of Abfalom. With what courage could any Ifraeike draw his fword againft a David ? .CoNTEMP. in. CONTEMPLATIONS. (5; David? or, on the other fide, \vho can want courao-e to fight for a righteous fovereign anei father, againft the confpiracy of a wicked fon ? The God of hoils, with whom it is all one to fave with many or with few, takes part with juffice, and lets Ifrael feel what it is to bear arms for a traitorous ufurper. The fword devours twenty thoufand of them, and the wood de- vours more than the fuord: it mud needs be a very univerfal rebellion, wherein fo niany perifhed. What virtue or merits can allure the hearts of the vulgar, when fo gracious a prince finds fo many revolters! Let no man look to profper by rebellion: the very thickets, and flakes, and pits, and wild bealls of the wood fhall confpire to the punifhment of traitors. Amongft the reft, fee hovv' a fatal oak hath fmgled out the ringleader of this hateful infurredion, and will at once ferve for his hangman and gallows, by one of thofe fpreading arms fnatching him away to fpeedy execution. Abfaloni was comely, and he knev/ it well enough; his hair was no fmall piece of his beau- ty, nor matter of his pride: it was his wont to cut it once a year; not for that it was too long, but too heavy; his heart would have borne it longer, if his neck had not complained; and now the juflice of God hath platted an halter of thofe locks ; thofe treffes had formerly hanged loofely difheveled on his flic ai- ders, now he hangs by them. He had wont to weigh his hair, and was proud to find it fo heavy; now his hair poifeth the weight of his body, and makes his burden his torm.ent. It is no marvel, i[ his own hair turned traitor to him who duril: rife up againfl his father. That part, which is mifufed by man to fin, is commonly employed by God to revenge; the re- venge that it worketh for God makes amends for the offence whereto it is drawn againft God; the very beaft whereon Abfalom fat, as weary to bear fo un- natural a burden, refigns over his load to the tree of £ 4 iuftice: m CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVI. juftice: there hangs Abfalom between heaven and earth, as one' that was hated, and abandoned both of earth, and heaven ; as if God meant to prefcribe this punifliment for traitors; Abfalom, Ahithophel and Judas die all one death: fo let them perifh that dare lift up their hand againfl God's anointed. The honeil foidier fees Abfalom hanging in the oak, and dates not touch him; his hands were held with the charge of David, *' Beware that none touch the " young man Abfalom." Joab, upon that intelligence, fees him, and fmites him, with no lefs than three darts. What the foidier forbore in obedience, the cap- tain doth in zeal; not fearing to prefer his fovereign's fafet)' to his command, and more tendering the life of a king, and peace of his country, than the weak af- fection of a father. I daie not fit judge betwixt this i:eal and that obedience, betwixt the captain and the foidier; the one was a good fubjetl, the other a good patriot; the one loved the king, the other loved Da- vid, and out of love difobeyed; the one meant as well, as the other fped. As if God meant to fulfil the charcvc of his anointed, without anv blame of his fubjecls, it pleafed him to execute that immediate re- venge upon the rebel, v.'hich would have difpatched him without hand or dart; only the mule and the oak ccnfpired to this execution; but that death would have required more leifure, than it was fafe for Ifrael to give, and ftiii life would give hope of refcue; to cut oil all fears, Joab lends the oak three darts to help forward fo needful a work of juftice. All Ifrael did not afford fo firm a friend to Abfalom as Joab had been: who, but Joab, had fuborned the witty widow of Tekoah, to fue for the recalling of Abfalom from his three vears exile.? who but he weftt to fetch him from Gefhur to Jerufalem.'' who but he went to fetch him from his houfe at Jerufalem, whereto he haci been tv/o years confined, to the face, to the lips CoNTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 69 of David ? Yet now he, that was his folicitor for the king's favour, is his executioner againft the king's charge. With honed hearts all reCpefts, either of blood or friendfliip, ceafe in the cafe of treafon; well hath Joab forgotten himfelf to be a friend to him, who had forgotten himfelf to be a fon. Even, civilly, the king is our common father, our country our com- mon mother; nature hath no private relations, which (hould not gladly give place to thefe ; he is neither father, nor fon, nor brother, nor friend, that confpires againfl the common parent. Well doth he, who {'pake parables for his mailer's fon, now fpeak darts to iiis king's enemy, and pierces that heart which was faille to fo great a father. Thofe darts are feconded by Joab's followers ; each man tries his weapon upon fo fair a mark. One death is not enough for Abfalom, he is at once hanged, fliot, mangled, fton-ed. Juitly was he lift up to the oak, w ho had lift up himfelf a- gainll his father and fovereign ; juftiy is he pierced with darts, who had pierced his father's heart with fo many forrows ; jufdy is he mangled, v/ho hath dif- membered and divided all lirael ; juftiy is he fconed, who not only curfed, but purfued his own parent. Now Joab founds the retreat, and calls oft his eager troops from execution; however he knew what his rebellious countrymen had deferved in fol!ov»'ing an Abfalom. Wife commanders know how to put a dif- ference betwixt the heads .of a faciion, and the mif- guided multitude; and can pity the one, while they take revenge on the other. So did Abfalom efteem himfelf, that he thought it would be a wrong to the world to want the memorial of fo goodly a perfon. God had denied him fons ; how jufl: it was that he fhould want a ion, who had robbed his father of a fon, who would have robbed himfelf of a father, his father of a kingdom? It had been pitv fo poifonous a plant (hould have been fruit- / * ' ful: 7© CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVI. ful: his pride fhall fupply nature, he rears up a (late- ly pillar in the king's dale, and calls it by his own name, that he might live in dead (tones, who could not furvive in living ilTue; and now, behold this curi- ous pile ends in a rude heap, which fpeaks no lan- guage, but the fliame of that carcafs which it cov^ers. Hear this ye glorious fools, that care not to perpetu- ate any memory of yourfelves to the world, but of ill-deferving greatnefs; the bed of this affectation is vanity; the word, infamy and difhonour ; whereas the memorial of the jufl Ihall be blefied: and if his humility fhall refufe an epitaph, and chufe to hide himfelf under the bare earth, God himfelf fhall en- grave his name upon the pillar of eternity. There now lies Abfalom in the pit, under a thou- fand grave flones, in every of which is written his e- verlafting reproach. Well rriight this heap over-live that pillar ; for when that ceafed to be a pillar, it be- gan to be an heap, neither will it ceafe to be a monu- ment of Abfalom's fhame, while there are ftones to be found upon earth. Even at this day, very Pagans and pilgrims that pafs that way, caft each man a flone unto that heap, and are wont to fay in a folemn exe- cration, Ciirfed be the parricide Abfalom, and cnrfed be all unjufi: perfecutors of their parents, for ever. Faften your eyes upon this woful fpedacle, O all ye rebeliicus and ungracious children, which rife up a- gainfi the loins and thighs trom which ye fell ; and know that it is the leaft part of your punilhment, that your carcafes rot in the earth, and your name in ig- nominy ; thefe do bat ihadow out thofe eternal fuffer- ings of your fouls, for your foul and unnatural difo- bedience. A^bfaiom is dead; who fiiall report it to his father? Surely Joab was not fo much afraid of the fad:, as of the meirage." There arc bufy fpirits that love to car- rv news, though thanklefs, though purpofelefs : fuch was CoNTEMP. III. CCNTEMPLATIOMS. 71 was Ahimariz the fon of Zadok, who importunately thruft huiiidlf into this fervice: wife Joab, who well faw how unwelcome tidings muft be the burden of the nrfl pofl, diffuades him in vain : he knew David too well, to employ a friend to that errand. An E- thiopian fervant was a fitter bearer of fuch a meflage than the fon of the pricft. The entertainment of the perfon doth fo follov/ the quality of the news, that David could argue afar off, " Keis a good man,hecom- *' eth with good tidings." O how welcome deferve thofe meffengers to be, that bring us the glad tidings of falvation, that afTure us of the foil of all fpiritual enemies, and tell us of nothing but victories, and crowns, and kinp;doms ! If we think not their Ket beautiful, our hearts are foul with infidelity and fe- cure worldlinefs. So wife is Ahimaaz grown by Joab*s intimation, that, though he out-v.^ent t. uflii in his pace, he fuffers Cufhi to out-go him in his tale, cunningly fuppreffing that part which he knev/ mufl be both neceflarlly de- livered, and unpleafmgly received. As our care is wont to be where our love is, David's firfl word is not, how fares the hofl, but " how fares '• the young man Abfalom ?" Like a wife and faith- ful meflenger, Cuflii anfwers by an honeft iniinuation, " The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rife " againft thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man " is:" implying both what was done, and why Da- vid fhould approve it being done. How is the good king thunderftruck with that word of his blackmoor ? who, as if he were at once bereaved of all comfort, and cared not to live, but, in the name of Abfalom, goes and weeps, and cries out, '' O mv fon Abfalom, " my fon, my fon xAbfalom, would God I had died ^' for thee ! O Abfalom, my fon, my fon !" What is this we hear? that he, whofe life Ifrael valued at ten thoufand of theirs, ihould be exchanged with a traitor's : 72 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVL traitor's : that a good king, whofe life was fought, fhould wiih to lay it down for the prefervation of his murderer. The beft men have not wont to be the ieaft paffionate. But what fliall we fay to that love of thine, O Saviour, who haft faid of us wretched traitors, not, " would God I had died for you ;" but I will die, I do die, I have died for ycu. O love, like thyfelf, infinite, incomprehenfible, whereat the angels of heaven ftand yet amazed, wherewith thy faints are raviflied ! " Tarn away thine eyes from " me, for they overcome me. O thou that dwell- *' eft in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy " voice ; caufe us to hear it ;" that we may in our meaiure anfwer thy love, and enjoy it for ever. CoNTEMP. IV. Sheba's Rebellion. "^T was the doom which God pafled upon the man Jl after his own heart, by the mouth of Nathan, that the fword fnould never depart from his houfe, for the blood of Uriah : after that wound healed by reraiffion, yet this fear remains. Abfalom is no fooner caft down into the pit, than Sheba the fon of Bichri is up in arms : if David be not plagued, yet he (hall be correcled ; firft by the rod of a fon, then of a fub- jed. He had lift up his hand againft a faithful fub- jecl ; now a faithlefs dares to lift up his hand againft him. Malice, like fomc hereditary ficknefs, runs in a blood ; Saul, and Shimei, and Sheba were all, of an houfe; that ancient grudge was not yet dead : the fire of the houfe of Jernini was but raked up, never thoroughly out ; and now that, which did but fmoke in Shimei, flames in Sheba ; although, even through this chaftifement, it is not hard to difcern a type of that perpetual fucceffion of enmity, which ftiould be raifed againft the true King of Ifrael. O fon of Da- vid, when didft thou ever want enemies! IIov^^ wert thou CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 7j thou defigned by thine eternal Father, for a fign that (hould be Ipoken agalnft? " How did the Gentiles rage, *' and the people imagine vain things ? The kings of " the eavih affembled, and the rulers came together " againft thee!" Yea, how do the fubjecls of thine own kingdom daily confpire againft thee ? Even thou, while thou enjoyeft peace, and glory at thy father's right hand, as foon fhalt thou want friends as ene- mies upon earth. No eye of any traitor could efpy a juft quarrel in the government of David ; yet Sheba blows the trum- pet of rebellion ; and, while Ifrael and Judah are ftriv- ing who fliould have the greateft part in their re-efta- blifhed fovereign, he Iticks not to fay, " We have no " part in David, neither have^we inheritance in the " ion of Jefie ;" and while he fays, " Every man to " his tents, O Ifrael," he calls every man to his own; fo, in proclaiming a liberty from a juft and loyal fub- jection, he invites Ifrael to the bondage of an ufurper. That a lewd confpirator (hould breathe treafon, it is no wonder ; but is it not wonder and fhame, that, upon every mutinous blaft, Ifrael fhould turn traitor to God's anointed ? It v/as tiTjir late expoftulation with David, why their brethren, the men of Judah, fhould have ftolen him from them : now might Da- vid more juftly expoftulate, why a rebel of their bre- thren fliould have ftolen them from him. As nothing is more unftable than the multitude, fo nothing is more fubjed to diftaftes thanfovereignty; for as weak minds feek pleafure in change, fo every light conceit of irritation feems fufhcient colour of change : fuch the falfe difpofitions of the vulgar are ! Love cannot be fecurity enough for princes, without the awful- nefs of power : w hat hold can there be of popularity, when the fame hands, that even now fought for Da- vid to be all theirs, now fight againft him, under the fon of Bichri, as noije of theirs r A_s bees, when they are 74 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book. XVL ars once up in a fwarm, are ready to light upon eve- ry bough; fo the Ifraelites, being llirred by the late commotion of Abfalom, are apt to follow every She- ba. 'It is unfafe for any ftate, that the multitude (hould once know the way to an infurrefbion ; the leaft track in this kind is eafily made a path. Yet, if Ifrael rebel, Judah continues faithful; neither (hall the Son of David ever be left deftitute of fome true fubjefl:s in the worft of apoftafies. He, that could command all hearts, Vvill ever be followed by fome: God had rather glorify himfelf by a remnant. Great commanders muft have active though rs: Da- vid is not fo taken up with the embroiled affairs of his ftate, as not to intend domeftic juftice. Kis ten concubines, which were fhamelefly defiled by his in- ceduous fon, are condemned to ward and widowhood. Had not that conftupration been partly violent, their puniftiment had not been fo eafy; had it not al- fo been partly voluntary, they had not been fo much puniOied: but how fo much foever the a£l did par- take of either force, or will, juftly are they fequell- red from David's bed: Abfalom was not more un- natural in his rebellioii than in his luft: if now Da- vid fiiould have returned to his own bed, he had fe- conded the inceil. How much more worthy of fe- paration are they, who have (tained the marriage-bed with their wilful fin ! Amafa was one of the witnefies and abettors of Ab- falom's filthinefs; yet is he, out of policy, received to favour and employment, while the concubines fuf- fer. Great men yield many times to thofe things, out of reafons of ftate, which, if they were private perfons, could not be eafily put over, ft is no fmall wifdom to engage a new reconciled friend, that he may be confirmed by his own act: therefore is Amafa com- manded to levy the forces of Judah. Joab, after many great merits and achievements, lies rufting in neglect: CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 75 neglect : he, that was fo entire with David, as co be of his counfel for Uriah's blood, and fo firm to David, as to lead all his battles againd the houfe of Saul, the Ammonites, the Aramites,, Abfalom, is nowcafhiered. and mufl yield his place to a ftranger, late an enemy. Who knows not that this fon of Zeruiah had fiied the blood of war in peace? But if the blood of Abfalom had not been louder than the blood of Abner, I fear this change had not been. Now Joab fmarteth for a loyal difobedience. How flippery are the fiations of earthly honours, and fubjeft to continual mutability? Happy are they who are in favour with him, in whom there is no fhadow of change ! Where men are commonly mofl: ambitious to pleafe with their firft employments, Amafa llackens his pace. The lead delay, in matters of rebellion, is perilous, may be irrecoverable. The fons of Zeruiah are not fullen ; Abifhai is fent, Joab goes unfent to the pur- fuit of Sheba. Amafa was in their way, whom no quarrel but their envy had made of a brother ah ene- my. Had the heart of Amafa been privy to any caufe of grudge, he had fufpected the kifs of Joab ; now his innocent eyes look to the lips, not to the hand of his fecret enemy ; the lips were fmooth, " Art thou '■'• in health, my brother?" The hand was bloody, which fmote him under the fifth rib; that unhappy hand knev/ Vv'ell this way unto death, which v/ith one wound hath let out the fouls of two great captains, Abner and Amafa; both they were fmitten by Joab, both under the fifth rib, both under a pretence of friendiliip. There is no enmity fo dangerous, as that which comes mafked with love. Open hoilility calls us to our guard; but there is no fence againft a truft- ed treachery. We need not be bidden to avoid an enemy; but who would run away from a friend? Thus fpiritually deals the world wi;h our fouls, it kiffes us, and ftabs us at once : if it did not embrace us ^6 CONTEMPLATION'S. Book XVL US with one hand, it could not murder us vvith the other : only God, deliver us from the danger of our truft, and we fiiail be fafe. Joab is gone, and leaves Amafa wallowing in blood; that fpe61:acle cannot but flay all palTengers. The death of great perfons draws ever many eyes : each man fays, " Is not this my lord Amafa?" AVhere- fore do we go to fight, while our general lies in the dull ? What a fad prefage is this of our own mifcar- riage. The wit of Joab's followers hath therefore foon both removed Amafa out of the way, and cover- ed him, not regarding fo much the lofs, as the eye- fore of Ifrael. fhus v/icked politics care not fo much for the commiflionof villainy, as for the notice. Smothered evils are as not done : if oppreffions, if murder, if treafons may be hid from view, the ob- dured heart of the offender complains not of remorfe. Bloody Joab, with what face, with what heart cand thou purfue a traitor to thy king, while thou thyfelf art fo foul a traitor to thy friend, to thy coufm-ger- man, and, in fo unfeafonable a daughter, to thy fo- vereign, v/hcfe caufe thou profeffefl to revenge ! if Amafa were now in an ad of loyalty, judly, on God's part, paid for the arrearages of his late rebellion, yet that it ihoLiId be done by thy hand, then and thus, it was flagiticully cruel : yet, behold, Joab runs away fecurely with the faft, hading to plague that, in ano- ther, whereof himfelf was no lefs guilty. So vail are the gorges of fome confciences, that they can fwallow the greatefl crimes, and find no Hirain in the paffage. It is poflible for a man to be faithful to fome one pcrfon, and perfidious to all others. I do not find Joab other than firm and loyal .to David, in the midft of all his private falfehoods, whofe jufl quarrel he purfues againfl Sheba, through all the tribes of Ifrael. None of all the (Irong forts of revolted Ifrael can hide the rebel from the zeal of his revenge. The city of Abel CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 7^ Abel lends harbour to that confpirator, whom all If- rael would, and cannot proted. Joab cafts up a mount againflit, and having invironed it with a fiege, begins to work upon the wall ; and now, after long chace, is in hand to dig out that vermin, which had earthed himfelf in this borough of Bethmaachah. Had not the city been ftrong and populous, Sheba had not cad himfelf for fuccour within thofe walls; yet, of all the inhabitants, I fee not any one man move for the prefervation of their whole body: only a woman un- dertakes to treat with Joab for their fafety. Thofe men, whofe fpirits were great enough to maintain a traitor agalnft a mighty king, fcorn not to give way to the wifdom of a matron: there is no reafon that fex fliould difparage, where the virtue and merit is no lefs than mafculine. Surely the foul acknowled^- eth no fex, neither is varied according to the outward frame. How oft have we known female hearts in the breafts of men, and'contrarily manly powers in the weaker veffels? It is injurious to meafure the ad by the perfon, and not rather to efleem the perfon for the ad. She, with no lefs prudence than courage, challenge eth Joab for the violence of his alfault, and lays to him that law, which he could not be an Ifraelite and difavow: the law of the God of peace, whofe charo-e it was, that, when they fhould come near to a city to fight againit it, they fhould offer it peace; and if this tender muft be made to foreigners, how much more to brethren ? Sons they mufl inquire of Abel ere they battered it. War is the extreme ad of vindicative jullice; neither doth God ever approve it for any o-^ ther than a defperate remedy, and, if it have anv other end than peace, it turns into public murder. It is therefore an inhuman cruelty to fhed blood, where we have not proffered fair conditions of peace, the refu- fal whereof is juftly puniflied with the fwordof reveng Vol. II. F joa 78 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVI. Joab was a man of blood, yet, when the wife wo- man of Abel charged him with going about to deftroy a mother in Ifrael, and fwallowing up the inheritance of the Lord, with what vehemency doth he depre- cate that challenge? " God forbid, God forbid it me, " that 1 (hould devour or deftroy it." Although that city, with the reft, had engaged itfelf in Sheba*s fedi- tion, yet how zealoufly doth Joab remove from him- felf the fufpicion of an intended vaftation? How fear- ful fhall their anfwer be, who, upon the quarrel of their own ambition, have not fpared- to wafte whole tribes of the Ifrael of God ! It was not the faihion of David's captains to aflault any city ere they fum- moned it ; here they did. There be fome things that, in the very faft, carry their own convidion; fo did Abel in the entertaining, and abetting a known cont^ fpirator : Joab challenges them for the offence, and requires no other fatisfadion than the head of Sheba. This matron had not deferred the name of wife and faithful in Ifrael, if fhe had not both apprehended the juftice of the condition, and commended it to her ci- tizens, whom file had eafily perfuaded to fpare their own heads, in not fparing a traitor's. It had been pity thofe walls (hould have ftood, if they had been too high to throw a traitor's head over. Spiritually the cafe is ours: every man's breaft is as a city inclofed ; every fm is a traitor that lurks within thofe walls; God calls to us for Sheba's head; neither hath he any quarrel to our perfon, but for our fm. If we love the head of our traitor above the life of car foul, we fhall juftly perifli in the vengeance. We cannot be more willing to part with our fm, than our merciful God is to withdraw his judgments. Now is Joab returned with fuccefs, and hopes, by Sheba's head, to pay the price of Amafa's blood; Da- vid hates the murder, entertains the man, defers the revenge; Joab had made himfelf fo great, fo necelTa- CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 79 ry, that David may neither mifs, nor punifli him. Policy led the king to connive at that which his heart abhorred. I dare not commend that wifdom, which holds the hands of princes from doing juRice. Great men have ever held it a point of worldly (late, not always to pay where they have been confcious to a debt of either favour or puni(hment ; but to make time their fervant for both. Solomon (hall once de- fray the arrearages of his father. In the mean time Joab commands and profpers, and David is fain to fmile on that face, whereon he hath, in his fecret deftination, written the characters of death. CoNTEMP. V. The GiBEONiTEs revcuged, THE reign of David was mod: troublefome to- wards the Ihutting up, wherein both war and famine confpire to afflid him ; almoft forty years had he fat in the throne of Ifrael with competency, if not abundance of all things ; now at laft are his people vilited with a long dearth : we are not at firft fenfible of common evils. Three years drought and fcarcity are gone over, ere David confults with God, con- cerning the occafion of the judgment ; now he found it high time to feek the face of the Lord. The conti- nuance of an affliflion fends us to God, and calls upon us to afk for a reckoning ; whereas, like men ftricken in their fleep, a fudden blow cannot make us to find ourfelves, but rather aftoniflieth than teacheth us. David was himfelf a prophet of God, yet had not the Lord, all this while, acquainted him with the grounds of his proceedings againft Ifrael ; this fe- cret was hid from him, till he confulted with the Urim; ordinary means fiiall reveal that to him, which no vifion had defcried ; and if God will have prophets to have recourfe unto the priefts, for the notice of his will, how much more miift the people ? Even thofe F 2 that 8o CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XV L that are inwardefl with God tnufl have ufe of the ephod. Juftly it is prefuppofed by David, that there was never judgment from God, where hath not been a provocation from men ; therefore, Vt'hen he fees the plague, he inquires for the fm. Never man fmarted caufelefly from the hand of divine juftice. O that, when we fufter, we could afk what we have done, and could guide our repentance to the root of our evils. That God, whofe counfels are fecret, even where his anions are open, will not be clofe to his prophet, to his prieft : without inquiry we (hall know nothing; upon inquiry nothing fhall be concealed from us, that is fit for us to know. Vv ho can chufe but wonder at once, both at Da- vid's flacknefs in confulting with God, and God's fpeed in anfwering fo flow a demand ! He, that fo well knew the way to God's oracle, fufiFers Ifrael to be three years pinched with famine, e-re he afks why they fuffer. Even the bell hearts may be overtaken with dulnefs in holy duties ; but O the marvellous mercy of God, that takes not the advantage of our weaknelTes ! David's queftion is not more flow, than his anfwer is fpeedy : " It is for Saul, and for his " bloody houfe, becaufe he flew the Gibeonites.'* Ifrael was full of fins, befides thofe of Saul's houfe j Saul's houfe was full of fms befides thofe of blood ; much blood was (hed by. them, befides that of the Gibeonites : yet the juftice of God fingles out this one fin of violence oftered to the Gibeonites, con- trary to the league made by JoOiua, fome four hun- dred years before, for the occafion of this late ven- geance. Where the caufes of offence are infinite, it is jufl with God to pitch upon fome; it is merciful not to punifh for all : well near forty years are pafl betwixt the commiffion of the fm. and ihe reckoning for CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 8i for it. It is a vain hope that is raifed from the dehiy of judgment ; no time can be any prejudice to the Ancient of Days : when we have forgotten our fins, when the world hath forgotten us, he fues us afrcfh for our arrearages. The {laughter of the Gibeonites was the fm not of the prefent, but rather of the former generation ; and now pofterity pays for their fore- fathers. Even we men hold it not unjufl to fue the heirs and executors of our debitors : eternal payments God ufes only to require of the perfon, temporary oft-times of fucceffion. As Saul was higher by the head and flioulders than the reft of Ifrael, both in ftature and dignity, fo were his fins more confpicuous than thofe of the vulgar. The eminence of the perfon makes the offence more remarkable, to the eyes both of God and m.en. Neither Saul nor Ifrael were faultlefs in other kinds; yet God fixes the eye of his revenge upon the maf- facre of the Gibeonites. Every fin hath a tongue, but that of blood over-cries, and drowns the reft. He, who is mercy itfelf, abhors cruelry in his creature above all other inordinatenefs : that holy foul, which was heavy preffed with the v/eight of an heinous adul- tery, yet cries out, *• Deliver me from blood, O " God, the God of my falvation, and my tongue " fliall joyfully fing of thy righteoufnefs." If God would take account of blood, he might have entered the aclion upon the blood of Uriah fpilt by David ; or. if he would rather infift in Saul's houfe, upon the blood ^of Abimelech the prieft, and fourfcore and five perfons that did wear a linen ephod : but it pleafed the wifdom and juftice of the Almighty, rather to call for the blood of the Gibeon- ites, though drudges of Ifrael, and a remnant of A.morites. Why this? There was a perjury attend- •ing upon this flaughter ? it was an ancient oath where- in the princes of the congregation had bound them- F 3 felves, 82 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVI. felves, upon Jofiiua's league, to the dibeonites, that they would fuffer them to live ; an oath extorted by fraud, but foiemn, by no lefs name than the Lord God of Ifrael. Saul will now, thus late, either not ac- knowledge it, or not keep it ; out of his zeal there- fore to the children of Ifrael and Judah, he roots out fome of the Gibeonitcs, whether in a zeal of re- venge of their firft impofture, or in a zeal of enlarg- ing the poffefiicns of Ifrael, or in a zeal of executing God*s charge upon the brood of Canaanites : he, that fpared Agag whom he fhould have fmitten, fmires the Gibeonites whom he fhould have fpared. Zeal and good intention is no excufe, much lefs a warrant for evil : God holds it an high indignity that his name Ihould be fworn by and violated. Length of time cannot difpenfe with our oaths, with our vows ; the vows and oaths of others mav bind us, how much more our own ? There was a famine in Ifrael ; a natural man would have afcribed it unto the drought, and that drought, perhaps, to fome conftellations : David knows to look higher, and fees a divine hand fcourging Ifrael for fome great offence, and over-ruling thofe fecond caufes to his mofl jufl executions. Even the mofl quick-fighted worldling is purblind to fpiritual ob- jeds, and the weakeft eyes of the regenerate pierce the heavens, and efpy God in all earthly occurrences. So well was David acquainted with God's proceed- ings, that he knew the removal of the judgment muft begin at the fa'isfadion of the wronged. At once therefore doth he pray unto God, and treat with the Gibeonites; " What fhall I do for you, and where- " with fhall I make the atonement, that I may blefs *' the inheritance of the Lord ?" In vain fhould David, though 'a prophet, blefs Ifrael, if the Gibeonites did not blefs them. Injuries done us on earth give us power CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 83 power in heaven ; the opprefTor is in no man's mer- cy, but his whom he hath trampled upon. Little did the Oibeonites think, that God had fo taken to heart their wrongs, that, for their fakes, all Ifraelfhould fuffer. Even, when we think not of it, is the righteous Judge avenging our unrighteous vexations. Our hard meafures cannot be hid from him ; his re- turns are hid from us. It is fufficient for us, that God can be no more negledive, than ignorant of our fuf- ferings. It is now in the power of thefe defpifed Ili- vites to make their own terms with Ifrael : neither filver nor gold will favour with them towards their fatisfaftion ; nothing can expiate the blood of their fathers, but the blood of feven fons of their deceafed perfecutor. Here was no other than a jufh retaliation: Saul had punifhed in them the oifence of their prede- ceffors ; they will now revenge Saul*s fm in his chil- dren. The meafure we mete unto others is, with much equity, re-meafured unto ourfelves. Every death would not content them of Saul's fons, but a curfed and ignominious hanging on the tree ; neither would that death content them, unlefs their own hands might be the executioners ; neither would any place ferve for the execution but Gibeah, the court of Saul; neither would they do any of this for the wreaking of their own fury, but for the appeafmg of God's wrath, " We will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah " of Saul." David might not refufe the condition: he mufl de- liver, they muft execute ; he chufes out feven of the fons and grand-children of Saul. That houfe had raifed long an unjufl: perfecution againft David, now God pays it upon another's fcore. David's love and oath to Jonathan preferves lame Mephiboflieth ; how much more (hall the Father of all mercies do good unto the children of the faithful, for the covenant made with their parents .'* F 4 The 84 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVI. The five fons of Adriel the Meholathite, David*s antient rival in his firfl love, which were born to him by Merab Saul's daughter, and brought up by her barren fifler Michal the wife of David, are yielded up to death ; Merab was, after a promife of mar- riage to David, unjuftly given away by Saul to Adriel j Michal feems to abet the match, in breeding the chil- dren ; now, in one a6l, not of David's feeking, the wrong is thus late avenged upon Saul, Adriel, Me- rab, Michal, the children. It is a dangerous mat- ter to offer injury to any of God's faithful ones ; if their meeknefs have eafily remitted it, their God will not pafs it over without a ieverc retribution. Thefe five, together with two fons of Rizpah, Saul's concubine, are hanged up at once before the Lord, yea and before the eyes of the world -, no place but an 'hill will ferve for this execution. The a£ls of juftice, as they are intended for example, fo they fliould be done in that eminent fafhion, that may make them both mod inftrudive, and mod terrifying; unwarrantable courfes of private revenge feek to hide their heads in fecrefy ; the beautiful face of juftice both aftedts the light, agd becomes it. It was the general charge of God's law, that no corps fhould remain all night upon the gibbet ; the Almighty hath power to difpenfe with his own com- mand ; fo doubtlefs he did in this extraordinary cafe; thefe carcafes did not defile^ but expiate. tSorrow- ful Rizpah fpreads her a tent of fackcloth upon the rock, for a fad attendance upon thofe fons of her womb ; death might bereave her of them, not them of her love. This fpedacle was 'not more grievous to her, than pleafing to God, and happy to Ifrael. Now the clouds drop fatnefs, and the earth runs forth into plenty. The Gibeonites are fatisfied, God recon- ciled, Ifrael relieved. How CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 85 Howblefied a thing it is for any nation, that juftice is unpartially executed, even upon the mighty. A few drops of blood have procured hirge fhov/ers from heaven. A few carcafes are a rich compoft to the earth ; the drought and dearth remove away with the breath of thofe pledges of the offender : judgment cannot tyrannize where juflice reigns : as, contrarily, there can be no peace where blood cries unheard, unregarded. CoNTEMP. VI. The numbering of the People. ISRAEL was grown wanton and mutinous; God pulls them down, firfl by the fword, then by fa- mine, now by peftilence. O the wondrous, and yet jufl ways of the Almighty ! Becaufe Ifrael had fm- ned, therefore David fliall fin, that Ifracl may be pu- niflied ; becaufe God is angry with Ifrael, therefore David fliall anger him more, and ftrike himfelf in Ifrael, and Ifrael through himfelf. The Spirit of God elfewhere afcribes this motion to Satan, which here it attributes to God ; both had their hand in the work ; God by permiiTion, Satan by fuggeftion ; God as a Judge, Satan as an enemy ; God as in a jufl punifiiment for fin, Satan as in an act of (in ; God in a wife ordination of it to good ; Satan in a malicious intent of confufion. Thus at once God moved, and Satan moved : neither is it any excufe to Satan or David, that God moved ; neither is it any blemifii to God, that Satan moved ; the ruler's fin is a punifliment to a wicked people; though they had many fins of their own, whereon God might have grounded a judgment, yet, as before, he had punifn- ed them with dearth for Saul's fin, fo now he will not puniih them with plagues, but for David's fin. If God were not angry with a people, he would not give up their governors to fuch evils, as whereby he is 86 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVI. is provoked to vengeaneej and if their governors be thus given up, the people cannot be fafe. The body idrowns net while the head is above the water, when that once finks death is near; juftly therefore are we charged to make prayers and fupplications, as for all, fo efpecially for thofe that are in eminent authority : when we pray for ourfelves, we pray not always for them; but we cannot pray for them, and not pray for ourfelves. The public weal is not comprifed in the private, but the private in the public. "What then was David's fm ? He will needs have Ifrael and Judah numbered. Surely there is no ma- lignity in numbers ; neither is it unfit for a prince to know his own flrength ; this is not the firft time that Ifrael had gone under a reckoning. The aft offends not, but the mifaffedion ; the fame thing had been commendably done out of a princely providence, which now, through the curiofity, pride, mifconfi- dence of the doer, proves heinoufly vicious. Thofe actions, which are in themfelves indifferent, receive either their life, or their bane, from the intentions of the agent. Mofes numbereth the people with thanks, David with difpleafure. Thofe fins which carry the fmoothefi: foreheads, and have the moft honefl ap- pearances, may more provoke the wrath of God, than thofe which bear the moft abomination in their faces. How many thoufand wickedneffes paffed through the hands of Ifrael, which we men would rather have branded out for judgment, than this of David's! The righteous Judge of the world cenfures fins, not by their ill-looks, but by their foul hearts. Who can but wonder to fee Joab the faint, and Da- vid the trefpaffer? No prophet could fpeak better than that man of blood; " The Lord thy God increafe the *' people an hundred-fold more than they be, and " that the eyes of my lord the king m.ay fee it; but *' why doth my lord the king defire this thing?" There is, CoNTEMP. Vr. CONTEMPLATIONS. 87 is no man fo lewd as not to be fometimes in good moods, as not to diflikefome evil: contrarily, no man on earth can be fo holy, as not fometimes to overlafh. It were pity that either Joab or David fliould be tried by every aft. How commonly have we feen thofe men ready to give good advice to others, for the a- voiding of fome fms, who, in more grofs outrages, have not had grace to counfel their own hearts.'' The fame man, that had deferved death from David for his treach- erous cruelty, diffuades David from an a6t that carried but a fufpiclon of evil; it is not fo much to be regard- ed, who it is that admoniiheth us, as what he brings. Good counfel is never the worfe for the foul carriage. There are fome diflies that we may eat, even from fluttifh hands. The puvpofe of fm in a faithful man is odious, much more the refolution. Notwithflanding Joab's difcreet admonition, David will hold on his courfe, and will know the number of the people, only that he may know it. Joab and the captains addrefs them- felves to the work. In things which are not in them- felves evil, it is not for fubjefts to difpute, but to o- bey. That, which authority may fin in commanding, is done of the inferior, not with fafety only, but with ■ praife. Nine months and twenty days is this general nuifter in hand; at laft the number is brought in. If- rael is found eight hundred thoufand flrong; Judah five hun4irfd thoufand; the ordinary companies which ferved by courfe for the royal guard, four and twenty thoufand each month, needed not be reckoned; the addition of them, with their feveral caprains, raifes the fum of Ifvael to the rate of eleven hundred thou- fand. A power able to puff up a carnal heart; but how can an heart that is more than flefh truft to an arm of fleO-i? O holy David, whether hath a glorious vanity tranfported thee! Thou which once didft fmg fo fweetly, " Put not your truft in princes, nor in " the 88 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVI. " the fon of man, for there is no help in him. His " breath departeth, and he returneth to his earth, " then his thoughts perifh. BlefTed is he that hath *' the God of Jacob for his help, whofe hope is in " the Lord his God.'* Ho\y canfl thou now ftoop to fo unfafe and unworthy a confidence? As fome ftomachful horfe that will not be flopt in his career with the fharpefl: bit, but runs on headily, till he coire to fome wall or ditch, and there (lands flill and trembles; fo did David: all the diffuafions of Joab could not reftrain him from his intended courfe; almoft ten months doth he run on impetuoully in a way of his own, rough and dangerous; at laft his heart fmites him ; the confcience of his offence, and the fear of judgment have fetched him upon his knees: " O " Lord, I have finned exceedingly in that I have *' done; therefore now. Lord, I befeech thee take " away the trefpafs of thy fervant, for I have done >*' very foolifhly." It is pofTible for a fm not to bait only, but to (c'yjurn in the holiefl foul: but, though it fojourn there as a ftranger, it fhall not dwell there as an owner. The renewed heart, after fome rov- ings of error, will once, ere over- long, return home to itfelf, and fall out with that ill guide wherewith it was milled, and with itfelf for being mifled; and now it is refolved into tears, and breathes forth nothing but lighs, and confeflions, and deprecations. Here needed no Nathan, by a parabolical circum- locution, to fetch in David to a fight and acknowledg- ment of his fm: the heart of the penitent fupplied the prophet; no other tongue could fmite him fo deep as his own thoughts : but though his reins cha- ftifed him in the night, yet his feer fcourges him in ■the morning; " Thus faith the Lord, I offer thee " three things, chufe thee vi'hich of them I (hall do " unto thee.'* But what fnall we fay to this? When upon the prophet's reproof, for an adultery cloaked with CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 89 with murder, David did but fay, " I have finned," it was prefently returned, " God hath put away thy " fin;'* neither did any fmart follow, but the death of a milbegotten infant; and now, when he volunta- rily reproved himfelf for but a needlefs mufter, and fought for pardon unbidden with great humiliation, God fends him three terrible fcourges, famine, fword, or peftilence; that he may chufe with which of them he had rather to bleed, he fhall have the favour of an election, not of a remiflion. God Is more angered with a fpiritual, and immediate affront offered to his majefty, in our pride and falfe confidence in earthly things, thail with a fieihly crime, though heinoufly fe- conded. It was an hard and woful choice, of three years fa- mine added to three fore-pafl; or of three months flight from the fv.ord of an enemy, or three days pe- flilence: the Almighty, that had fore-determined his judgment, refers it to David's vvill as fully as if it were utterly undetermined. God had refolved, yet David may chufe: that infinite wifdom hath forefeen the very will of his creature; which, ,:vhile freely inclines itfelf to what It had rather, unwittingly wills that which was fore-appointed in heaven. We do well believe, O David, that thou wert In a wonderful ftrait; this very liberty is no other than fetters: thou needeflnothavefamine, thou needeft not have the fword, thou needed not have peftilence; one of them thou muft have: there is mifery in all, there is mifery in any ; thou and thy people can die but once; and once they mufl die, either by famine^ war, or peftilence. O God, how vainly do we hope to pafs over our flns with impunity, when all the fa- vour that David and Ifrael can receive, is to chufe their bane! Yet behold, neither fms, nor threats, nor fears can bereave a true penitent of his faith; '* Let us fall now " Into- 90 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVI, " into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are " great.'* There can be no evil of punifhment wherein God hath not an hand; there could be no famine, no fword, without him: but fome evils are more immediate from a divine ftroke; fuch was that plague into which David is unwillingly willing to fall. He had his choice of days, months, years, in the fame number; and though the fliortnefs of time, pre- fixed to the threatened peftilence, might feem to of- fer fome advantage for the leading of his election; yet God meant, and David knew it, herein to proportion the difference of time to the violence of the plague; neither Ihould any fewer perifli by fo few days pefti- lence, than by fo many years famine. The wealthieft might avoid the dearth, the fwifteft might run away from the fword; no man could promife himfelf fafety from that peftilence. In likeHhood, God's angel would rather ftrike the moft guilty: however there- fore David might well look to be inwrapped in the common deftru£lion, yet he rather chufeth to fall in- to that mercy which he had abufed, and to fuffer from that juftice_,>vhich he had provoked; "Let us now *' fall into tae hands of the Lord." Humble confeflious and devout penance cannot al- ways avert temporal judgments: God's angel is a- broad, and, within that ftiort compafs of time, fweeps away feventy thoufand IfraeUtes. David was proud of the number of his fubjecls ; now they are abated, that he may fee caufe of humiliation in the matter of his glory. In what we have offended, we commonly fmart. Thefe thoufands of Ifrael were not fo inno- cent, that they fhould only perifh for David's fm : their fms were the motives both of this fm and punifh- ment ; befides the refped of David's offence, they die for themfelves. It was no ordinary peftilence that was thus fudden- ly and univerfally mortal. Conimon eyes faw the botch. CoNTEMp. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 91 botch, and the marks, but not the angel : David's clearer fight hath efpied him, after that killing pera- gration through the tribes of Ifrael, (baking his fword over Jerufalem, and hovering over mount Sion ; and now he, who doubtlefs had fpent thofe three difmal days in the faddeft contrition, humbly calls himfelf down at the feet of the avenger, and lays himfelf ready for the fatal ftroke of jultice : it was more ter- ror that God intended in the vifible fhape of his an- gel, and deeper humiliation ; and what he meant, he wrought. Never foul could be more dejeded, more anguilhed with the fenfe of a judgment, in the bitter- nefs whereof he cries out, " Behold, I have finned, " yea, I have done wickedly ; but thefe (heep, what " have they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be " agalnft me, and againft my father's houfe." The better any maq is, the more fenfible he is cf his own wretchednefs. Many of thofe Iheep were wolves to David. What had they done ? They had done that which was the occafion of David's fin, and the caufe of their own punifhment: but that gracious penitent knew his own fm, he knew not theirs; and therefore can fay, " I have finned, what have they done ?" It is fafe accufing, where we may be boldeft, and are bed acquainted ourfelves. O the admirable charity of David, that would have engrofled the plague to himfelf, and his houfe, from the reft of Ifrael, and fues to interpofe himfelf be- twixt his people and the vengeance : he that had put himfelf upon the paws of the bear and lion, for the refcue of his (heep, will now caft himfelf upon the fw^ord of the angel, for the prefervation of IfraeL There was hope in thofe conflids; in this yieldance there could be nothing but death. Thus didft thou, O Son of David, the true and great fhepherd of thy church, offer thyfelf to death for them who had their hands in thy blood ; who both procured thy death, and §2 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVI. and deferved their own. Here he offered himfelf, that had finned, for thofe whom he profeffed to have not done evil ; thou that didft no fiu vouchfafedft to offer thyfelf for us that were all fin : he offered and efcaped, thou offered 11 and diedft; and by thy death we live, and are freed from everlafting deftruclion. But, O Father of all mercies, how little pleafure doft thou take in the blood of finners ! It was thine own pity that inhibited the deftroyer. Ere David could fee the angel, thou hadft reftrained him ; " It " is fuiHcient, hold now thy hand." If thy compaf- fion did not both with-hold and abridge thy judgments, what place were there for us out of hell ! How eafy and jult had it been for God, to have made the fhutting up of that third evening red with blood ! His goodnefs repents of the flaughter, and calls for that facrifice wherewith he will be appeafed. An altar muft be built in the threfliing-floor of Arau- nah the Jebufite : lo, in that very hill, where the an- gel held the fword of Abraham from killing his fon, doth God now hold the fword of the angel from kill- ing his people ! Upon this very ground fliall the temple after Itand; here fliall be the holy altar, which fhall fend up the acceptable oblations of God's people in fucceeding generations. O God, what was the threfliing-floor of a Jebufite to thee above all other foils ! what virtue, what me- rit was in this earth? As in places, fo in perfons, it is not to be heeded what they are, but what thou wilt ; that is worthieft which thou pleafeft to accept. Rich and bountiful Araunah is ready to meet Da- yld in fo holy a motion, and munificently offers his Sinn for the place, his oxen for the facrifice, his carts and ploughs, and other utenfils of his hufbandry, for the wood. Two frank hearts are well met ; David would buy, Araunah would give: the Jebufite would not fell, David will not take. Since it was for God, and CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 93 and to David, Araunah is loth to bargain; fince it was for God, David wifhethto pay dear: " 1 will not *' offer burnt-oflerings to the Lord my God, of that " which doth cod me nothing.** Heroical fpirits do well become eminent perfons. He, that knew it was better to give than to receive, would not receive, but give; there can be no devotion in a niggardly heart ; as unto dainty palates, fo to the godly foul, that taftes fweeteft, that cofts mod: : nothing is dear enough for the Creator of all things. It is an heartlefs piety of thofe bafe-minded Chrillians, that care only to ferve God good-cheap. BOOK XVIL CoNTEMP. I. Adonijah defeated. AVID had not fo carefully hufbanded his years, as to maintain a vigorous age ; he was there-' fore what through wars, what with forrows, what with ficknefs, decrepit betimes. By that time he was feventy years old, his natural heat was fo wafted, that his cloaths could not warm him ; how many have we, known of more ftrength, at more age ? The holiefl foul dwells not in an impregnable fort ; if the reveng- ing angel fpared David, yet age and death will not fpare him ; neither his new altar, nor his coftly facri- hce can be of force againft decay cf nature : nothing but death can prevent the weakneffes of age. None can blame a people, if, when they have a good king, they are defirous to hold hfm. David's fervants and fubjefts have commended unto his bed a fair young virgin ; not for the heat of luft, but of life, that, by this means, they might make an out- ward fupply of fuel for that vital fire which was well- near extinguiflied with age. Vol. II. G Ag 54 CONTEMPLATIONS. 3ook XVII. As It is in the market, or the ftage, fo it is in our life; one goes out, another comes in: when David was withering, Adonijah was in his bloflbm;' that fon, as he was next to Abfalom, both in the beauty of his body, and the time of his birth, fo was he too like him in pradtice; he alfo, taking advantage of his father's infirmity, will be carving himfelf of the king- dom of Ifrael; that he might no whit vary from his pattern, he gets him alfo chariots and horfemen, and iifty men to run before him. Thefe two, Abfalom and Adonijah, were the darlings of their father; their father had not difpleafed them from their childhood, therefore they both difpleafed him in his age: thofe chikiren had need to be very gracious, that are not marred with pampering. It is more than God owes us, if we receive comfort in thofe children whom we have over-loved; the indulgence of parents at lafb pays them home in crofies. It is true that Adonijah was David's eldefl fon now remaining, and therefore might feem to challenge the jufteft title to the crown ; but the kingdom of Ifrael, in fo late an erefiiion, had not yet known the right of fuccefiion. God himfelf, that had ordained the go- vernment, was as yet the immediate eleiStor; he fetched Saul from amongft the fluff, and David from the Iheepfold, and had now appointed Solomon from the ferule to the fcepter. xVnd if Adonijah, which is unlike, had not known this, yet it had been his part to have taken his father with him in this claim of his fucceffion ; and not fo to prevent a brother, that he ihould fhoulder out a fa- ther, and not fo violently to pre-occupate the throne, that he fhould rather be a rebel than an heir. As Abfalom, fo Adonijah wants not furtherers in this ufurpation, whether fpiritual or temporal; Joab the general, and Abiathar the priefl, give both coun- fel and aid to fo unfeafonable a challenge; thefe two had CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 55 had been firm to David in all his troubles, in all in- furredions; yet now, finding him faftened to the bed of age and death, they fhew themfelves thus flippery in the loofe. Outward happinefs and friendfiiip are not known till our lad acl. In the impotency of ei- ther our revenge or recompenie, it will eafily appear who loved us for ourfelves, who for their own ends. Had not Adouijah knou'n that Solomon was de- figned to the kingdom, both by God and David, he had never invited all the reil of the king'sfons, hisb.rethren, and left out Solomon, who was otherwife the mod . unlikely to have been his rival in this honour; all the reft were elder than he, and might therefore have had more pretence for their competition. Doubtiefs the court of Ifrael could not but know, that, immediately upon the birth of Solomon, God fent him, by Nathan the prophet, a name and mellage of love; neither was it for nothing that God called him Jedidiah, and fore-promifed him the honourof buildingan houfe to his name; and, in return of fo glorious a fervice, the eftabliiliment of the throne of his kingdom over Ifrael for ever; notwithftanding all which, Adoni- jah, backed by the ftrength of a Joab, and the gravity of an Abiathar, will underwork Solomon, and juflle into the not-yet vacant feat of his father David. Vain men, while like proud and yet brittle clay, they will be knocking their fides againft the folid and eternal de- cree of God, break themfelves in pieces. Idonot find that \donijah fent any meffage of threats or unkindnefs to Zadok the prieft, or Nathan the prophet, or Benaiah the fon of Jehoaida, and the other worthies; only he invited them not to his feall with the king's fons and fervants : fometimes a very omifTion isan affront and a menace. They well knew, that, fmce they were not called as guefts, they were counted as enemies. Ceremonies of courtefy, though they be in themfelves flight and arbitrary, yet the G 2 negled: 96 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book. XVIL negled of them, in fome cafes, may undergo a dan- gerous coniiru6lion. Nathan was the man by whom God had fent that errand of grace to David, concerning Solomon, af- furing him both to reign and profper : yet now, when Adonijah's plot was thus on foot, he doth not fit ftill, and depend upon the iflue of God's decree, but he bedirs hira in the bufmefs, and confults with Bath- fheba, how at once to fave their lives, and to advance Solomon, and defeat Adonijah: God's predetermina- tion includes the means as well as the end ; the fame Providence that had ordained a crown to Solomon, a repulfe to Adonijah, prefe?vation to Bathlheba and Nathan, had fore appointed the wife and induflrious endeavours of the prophet to bring about his juft and holy purpofes. If we would not have God wanting to us, we muft not be wanting to ourfelves; even when we know what God hath meant to us, we may not be negligent. Xhe prophets of God did not look for revelation in all their affairs, in fome things they were left to the counfel of their own hearts ; the pohcy of Nathan v/as of ufe as well as his prophefy : that alone hath turned the dream into the right channel. Nothing could be more wifely contrived than the fending in of Bathfheba to David, with fo feafonable and forcible an expodulation, and the feconding of hers with his own. Though luft were dead in David, yet the refpeds of his old matrimonial love lived ftill ; the very pre- fence of Bathfheba pleaded ftrongly, but her fpeech more ; the time was, when his affeftion offended in excefs towards her being then another's, he cannot now neglect her, being his own, and if either his age, or the remorfe of his old offence fhould have fet him oft', yet fhe knew his oath was fure ; " My lord, " thou fwareft by the Lord thy God unto thine " hand- CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 97 " hand-maid, faying, AfTuredly Solomon thy fon fiiall " reign after me, and he (hall fit upon my throne ;" his word had been firm, but his oath was inviolable ; we are engaged if we have promifed, but, if we have fworn, we are bound. Neither heaven nor earth have any gyves for that man that can (hake off the fetters of an oath ; for he cares not for that God whom he dares invoke to a falfehood ; and he that cares not for God will not care for man. Ere Bathfheba can be over the. threfhold, Nathan, upon compaft, is knocking at the door. God's pro- phet was never but welcome to the bed-chamber of king David ; in a feeming ftrangenefs he falls upon the fame fuit, upon the fame complaint with Bath- fheba : honed policies do not mif-become the holielt prophets ; fhe might feem to fpeak as a vv^oman, as a mother, out of pafTion ; the word of a prophet could not be mifdoubted. He therefore, that had formerly brought to David that chiding and bloody meifage concerning Bathdieba, comes now to David to fue for the life and honour of Bathflieba, and he, that was fent from God, to David, to bring the news of a gra- cious promife of favour unto Solomon, comes now to challenge the execution of it from the hands of a fa- ther ; and he, whofe place freed him from fufpicion of a faction, complains of the infolent demeanour and proclamation of Adonijah ; what he began with an humble obeifance, (hutting up in a lowly and loving expodulation, " Is this thing done by my lord the *' king, and thou haft not Ihewed thy fervant who " fhould fit on the throne of my lord the king after '• him?" As Nathan was of God's counfel unto David, fo was he of David's counfel both to God and the ftate ; as God therefore, upon all occafions, told Na- than what he meant to do with David, fo had David ".vont to tell Nathan what he meant to do in his holy, G 3 and 98 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIL and mofi: important civil affairs. There are cafes wherein it is not unfit for God's prophets to meddle with matters of ftate ; it is no difparagement to reli- gious princes to impart their counfels unto them who can requite them with the counfels of God. That wood, which a fingle iron could not rive, is foon fplitted with a double wedge ; the feafonable im- portunity of Bathflieba and Nathan, thus feconding each other, hath fo wrought upon David, that now his love to Adonijah gives place to indignation, na- ture to an holy fidelity ; and now he renews his an- cient oath to Bathflieba v> ith a paffionate folemnity ; " As the Lord liveth, who hath redeemed my foul " out of all adverfity, even as I fv/are unto th^e by "" the Lord God of Ifrael, faying, AlTuredly Solo- " mon thy fon fliall reign after me, and he fhall fit *' upon my throne in my Head ; fo will I certainly do *' this day." In the decay of David's body I find not his intellectual pov>ers any whit impaired : as one therefore that from, his bed could, with a perfect, if weak hand, fteer the government of Ifrael, he gives wife and full directions for the inauguration of Solo- mon ; Zadok the prieft, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the captain, receive his grave and princely charge for the carriage of that fo weighty a bufinefs. They are commanded to take with them the royal guard, to fet Solomon upon his father's mule, to car- ry him down in fi:ate to Gihon, to anoint him with the holy oil of the tabernacle, Ip found the trumpets, and proclaim him in the ilreets, to bring him back with triumph and magnificence to the court, and to fet him in the royal throne with all the due ceremo- nies of coronation. How pleafing was this command to them, who, in Solomon's glory, faw their own fafety ? Benaiah ap- plauds it, and not fearing a father's envy, in David's prefence wiilies Solomon's throne exalted above his ; the CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 99 the people are ravifhed with the joy of fo hopeful a fucceflion, and break the earth, and fill the heaven with the noife of their mufic and fliouting. Solomon's guefts had now at lafl better chear than Adonijah's, whofe feaft, as all wicked mens, ended in horror ; no fooner are their bellies full of meat, than their ears are full of the found of thofe trumpets which at once proclaim Solomon's triumph, and their confufion : ever after the meal is ended comes the reckoning. God could as eafily have prevented this jollity, as marred it ; but he willingly fuffers vain men to pleafe themfelves for a rime in the conceited fuccefs of their own projects, that afterv/ards their difappointment may be fo much the more grievous. No doubt, at this feaft there was many an health drunken to Adonijah, many a conlident boaft of their profpering defign, many a fcorn of the defpifed faction of Solomon ; and now, for their laft difli, is ferved up aftonifhment, and fearful expectation of a juft revenge. Jonathan, the fon of Abiathar the prieft, brings the news of Solomon's folemn and joyful enthronization; now all hearts are cold, all faces pale, and every man hath but life enough to run away. How fuddenly is this braving troop difperfed ! Adonijah, their new prince, flies to the horns of the altar, as diftrufting all hopes of life, fave the fanctity of the place, and the mercy of his rival. So doth the wife and juft God befool proud and iafolent finners, in thofe fecret plots wherein they hope to undermine the true Son of David, the Prince of peace ; he fuffers them to lay their heads together, and to feaft themfelves in a jocund fecurity, and pro- mife of fuccefs ; at laft, when they are at the height of their joys and hopes, he confounds all their de- vices, and lays them open to the fcorn of the world, and to the anguifh of their own guilty hearts. G 4 CoN= loo CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIL CoNTEMP. II. David's End, and Solomon's Begijining, IT well became Solomon to begin his reign in peace. Adonijah receives pardon upon his good behavi- our, and finds the throne of Solomon as fafe as the altar. David lives to fee a wife fon warm in his feat; and now he, that yielded to fucceffion, yields to na- ture. Many good counfels had David given his heir; now he fums them up in his end. Dying words are wont to be weightiell. The foul, when it is enter- ing into glory, breathes nothing but divine. '* I go " the way of all the earth." How well is that prince- ly heart content to fubfcribe to the conditions of hu- man mortality ; as one that knew fovereignty doth not reach to the affairs of nature .'* Though a king, he neither expedls, nor defires an immunity from dif- folution, making no account to go in any other than the common track, to the universal home of mankind, the houfe of age. Whither fhould earth but to earth ? and why fhould we grudge to do that which all do ? '• Be thou Ifrong therefore, and fliew thyfelf a man." Even when his fpirit was going out, he puts fpirit in- to his fon. Age puts life into youth, and the dying animates the vigorous. He had well found, that ftrength was requifite to government, that he had need to be no lefs than a man that fliould rule over men. If greatnefs fnould never receive any oppofi- tion, vet thofe worlds of cares and bufmeffes that at- tend the chair of ftate are able to over-lay any mean powers. A weak man may obey, none but the flrong can govern. Gracelefs courage were buc the whet- flone of tyranny : " Take heed therefore to the charge ^'^ of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to " keep his ftatutes." The be(l legacy that David bequeaths to his heir, is the care of piety ; himfeif had found the fweetnefs of a good confcience, and now CoNTKMP. IL CONTEMPLATIONS. loi now he commends it to his fuccefTor. If there be any thing that, in our defires of the profperous condition of our children, takes place of goodnefs, our hearts ave not upright. Here was the father of a king, charging the king's fon to keep the ftatutes of the King of kings ; as one that knew greatnefs could nei- ther exempt from obedience, nor privilege fm; as one that knew the lead deviation in the greatell and high- eft orb, is both moft fenfible, and moft dangerous. Neither would he have his fon to look for any pro- fperity, fave only from well-doing. That happinefs is built upon fand or ice, which is raifed upon any foundation befides virtue. If Solomon was wife, Da- vid was good ; and if old Solomon had well remem- bered the counfel of old David, he had not fo foully mifcarried. After the precepts of piety, follow thofe of juflice, diftributing in a due recompenfe, as revenge to Joab and Shimei, fo favour to the houfe of Barzillai. The bloodinefs of Joab had lain long upon David's heart : the hideous noife of thofe treacherous murders, as it had pierced heaven, fo it ftill filled the ears of David : he could abhor the villainy, though he could not re- venge it ; what he cannot pay, he will owe, and ap- prove himfelf at laft a faithful debitor : novi' he will defray it by the hand of Solomon. The {laughter was of Abner and Amafa ; David appropriates it; " Thou knoweft what Joab did to me." The fo- vereign is fmitten in the fubjecl ; neither is it other than jufl:, that the arraignment of mean malefactors runs in the Ifyle of wrong to the king's crown and dig- nity : how much more doft thou, O Son of David, take to thyfelf thofe infolencies which are done to thy poorefl fubjects, fervants, fons, members here upon earth ! No Saul can touch a Chriftian here below, but thou feelefl it in heaven, and complaineft. But I02 CONTEMPLATIONS. 'Book XVIL But, what fhall we think of this ? David was a man of war, Solomon a king of peace; yet David refers this revenge to Solomon. How juft it was, that he who fhed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, fhouid have his blood (hed in peace, by a prince of peace? Peace is fitted to rectify the outrages of war : or whe- ther is not this done in type of that divine adminiftra- tion, wherein thou, O Father of heaven, haft com- mitted all judgment unto thine eternal Son ? Thou, who couldft immediately either plague, or abfolve finners, wilt do neither, but by the hand of a Medi- ator. Solomon learned betimes what his ripenefs taught afterwards, " Take away the wicked from the king, *' and his throne fhall be eftablifhed in righteoufnefs." Cruel Joab and malicious Shimei muft be therefore upon the firft opportunity removed, the one lay open to prefent juftice, for abetting the confpiracy of Ado- nijah, neither needs the help of time for a new ad- vantage; the other went under the prote£lion of an oath from David, and therefore muft be fetched in upon a new challenge. The hoary head of both muft be brought to the grave with blood, elfe David's head could not be brought to his grave in peace. Due pu- niftiment of malefactors is the debt of authority: if that holy king has run into arrearages; yet, as one that hat€S and fears to break the bank, he gives order to his pay-mafter, it fliall be defrayed, if not by him, yet for him. Generous natures cannot be unthankful. Barzillai had ftiewed David fome kindnefs in his extremity; and now the good man will have pofterity to inherit the thanks. How much more bountiful is the Father of mercies, in the remuneration of our poor unworthy fervices ! Even fucceflions of generations fhall fare the better for one good parent. The CoKTEMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. 103 I'he dyinfi; words and i:houj:>hts of the man after God's own heart did not confine themfelves to the ftraits of thefe particular charges, but enlarged them- felves to the care of God's public fervice. As good men are bed at laft, David did never fo bufily and carefully marflial the affairs of God, as when he was fixed to the bed of his age and death. Then did he load his fon Solomon v/ith the charge of building the houfe of God ; then did he lay before the eyes of his fon the model and pattern of that \\ hole facred work, whereof if Solomon bear the name, yet David no lefs merits it. He now gives the platform of the courts and buildings : he gives the gold and filv^er for that holy ufe, an hundred thoufand talents of gold, a thou- fand thoufand talents of filver, befides brafs and iron paffing weight : he w^eighs out thofe precious metals for their feveral defignments; every future vefiel is laid out already in his poife, if not in his form. He excites the princes of Ifrael to their affiftance in fo high a work: he takes notice of their bountiful ofier- ings: he numbers up the Levites for the public fer- vice, and fets them their tafes. He appoints the fing- ers, and other muficians to their ftations; the porters to the gates that fhould be; and now^, when h£ hath fet all things in a defired order and forv;ardnefs, he Ihuts up with a zealous blefiing of his Solomon, and his people, and fleeps with his fathers. O bleifed foul, how quiet a poliefiion haft thou now taken, af- ter fo many tumults, of a better crown! Thou that haft prepared all things for the houfe of thy God, how happily art thou now welcomed to that houfe of his, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens! Who now (liall envy unto good pi inces the honour of over- feeing the bufineffes of God and his church, when David was thus punctual in thefe divine provifixons? What fear can be of ufurpation, where they have fo glorious a precedent 1 ;|^ow i©4 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII. Now is Solomon the fecond time crowned king of Ifrael, and now in his own right, as formerly in his father's, (its peaceably upon the throne of the Lord : his awe and power come on fafter than his years. En- vy and ambition, where it is once kindled, may fooner be hid in the aflies than quite put out. Adonijah yet hangs after his old hopes, he remembers how fweet he found the name of a king; and now hath laid a new plot for the fetting up of his cracked title: he would make the bed a ftep to the throne; his old complices are fure enough; his part would gather much ftrength, if he might enjoy Abiftiag, the relift of his father, to wife. If it were not the Jewifh fafhion, as is pre- tended, that a king's widow (hould marry none but a "king ; yet certainly the power both of the alliance, and friendfhip of a queen, mufl: needs not a little ad- vance his purpofe. The crafty rival dare not either move the fuit to Solomon, or e£fe6t the marriage with- out him; but would cunningly undermine the fon by him. The weaker veflels are commonly ufed in the mofl dangerous fuggeflions of evil. Bathfheba was fo wife a woman, that feme of her counfels are canonized for divine; yet (he faw not the depth of this drift of Adonijah; therefore fhe both en- tertains the fuit, and moves it. But whatever were the intent of the fuitor, could (he chufe but fee the unlawfulnefs of fo inceftuous a match? It is not long fmce fhe faw her late hufband David abominating the bed of thofe his concubines that had been touched by his fon Abfalom; and can fhe hold it lawful, that his fon Adonijah iliould climb up to the bed of his fa- ther's wife ? Sometimes even the beft eyes are dim, and difcern not thofe things which are obvious to weaker fights: or whether did not Bathfheba well fee the foulnefs of, the fuit ; and yet in compaffion of A- donijah's late repulfe, v/herein flie was the chief a- gent, CoNTEMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. 105 gent, and, in a defire to make him amends for the lofs of the kingdom, (he yields even thus to gratify him. It is an injurious vveaknefs to be drawn, upon any by- refpefts, to the furtherance of fauky fuits of unlawful aftions. No fooner doth Bathfheba come in place, than So- lomon her fon rifes from his chair of (late, and meets her, and bows to her, and fets h-sr on his right hand, as not fo remembering himfelf to be a king, that he fhould forget he was a fon. No outward dignity can take away the rights and obligations of nature. Had Bathfheba been as mean as Solomon was mighty, ihe had carried away this honour from a gracious fon : yet, for all thefe due compliments, Bathflieba goes a- way with a denial : reverence (he (liail have, (lie fhall not have a condefcent. In the acls of magiftracy, all regards of natural re- lations mull give way. That which (he propounded as a fmall requefl, is now, after a general and con- fufed engagement, rejeded as unreafonable. It were pity we (hould be heard in all our fuits. Bathfheba makes a petition againft herfelf, and knows it not : her fafety and life depends upon Solomon's reign, yet (he unwittingly moves for the advancement of Adonijah. Solomon was too dutiful to check his mother, and too wife to yield to her. In unfit fupplications, we are moft heard when we are repelled. Thus doth our God many times anfwer our prayers with merciful denials ; and moft blelTeth us in eroding our defires. Wife Solomon doth not find himfelf perplexed with the fcruple of his promife; he that had laid, " Afk " on, for I will not fay thee nay," can now fwear, " God do fo to me, and more alio, if Adonijah hath " not fpoken this word againft his own life." His promife was according to his fuppofition; his fuppo- fition was of no other than of a fuit, honeft, reafon- able. io6 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIL able, expedient; now he holds himfelf free from that grant, wherein there was at once both fm and dan- ger. No man can be entangled with general words, againfl: his own jufl and honed intentions. The policies of wicked men befool them at lall: this intercellion hath undone Adonijah, and, inftead of the throne, haftens his grave. The fword of Benaiah puts an end to that dangerous rivalty. Joab and A- biathar dill held champerty with Adonijah; their hand was both in the claim of his kingdom, and in the fuit of Abifliag. There are crimes wherein there are no acceifories, fuch is this of treafon. Abiathar may thank his burden that he lives: had he not borne the ark of the Lord before David, he had not now car- ried his head upon his fhoulders; had he not been afliifted with David, he had periftied with Adonijah: ROW though he were, in his own merit, a man of death, yet he fliali furvive his partners, " Get thee *' to Anathoth unto thine own fields.'* The prieft- hood of Abiathar, as it aggravated his crime, fo it fliall preferve his life. Such honour have good prin- ces given to the minifters of the fanftuary, that their very coat hath been defence enough againfl the fword of judice, how much more fhould it be of proof a- gainft the contempt of bafe perfcns ? Befides his function, refpeft is had to his fufferings: the father and brethren of Abiathar were flain for Da- vid's fake, therefore for David's fake Abiathar, though worthy of death, iliall live: he had been now a dead man, if he had not been formerly affiicled. Thus doth our good God deal with us; by the rod he pre- vents the fword, and therefore will not condemn us for our fms, becaufe we have fuifered. If Abia- thar do not forfeit his Irfe, yet his office he fhall; he muft change Jerufalem for Anathoth, and the priefl:-. hood for a retired privacy. It was fourfcore years ago fmce the fentence of judgment was denounced a- gainft CoNTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 107 gainfl: the houfe of Eli; now doth it come to execu- tion. This juft quarrel againft Abiathar, the lad of that line, fliall make good the threatened judgment. The vvickednefs of Kli's houfe was neither purged by facrifice, nor obliterated by time. If God pay (lowly, yet he pays fure. Delay of moil certain pu- nilhment, is neither any hinderance to hisjuftice, nor any comfort to our miferies. CoNTZMP. III. The execution of Joab and Shimei. ABiathar mall live, though he ferve not. It Is in the power of princes to remit, at leaft, thofe punifliments which attend the breach of human laws; good reafon they fhould have power to difpenfe with the wrongs done to their own perfons. The news of Adonijah's death, and Abiathar's removal cannot but affright Joab, who now runs to Gibeon, and takes fancluary in the tabernacle of God; all his hope of defence is in the horns of the altar. Fond Joab, hadft thou formerly fought for counfel from the tabernacle, thou hadit not now needed to feek to it for refuge; if thy devotions had not been wanting to that altar, thou hadft not needed it for a flicker. It is the fafhion of our fooliih prefumption to look for protection where we have not cared to yield obedience. Even a Joab clings faft to God's altar in his ex- tremity, which in his profperity he regarded not. The word men would be glad to make ufe of God's ordinances for their advantage. NecefTity will drive the moft profane and lawlefs man to God: but what do thefe bloody hands touching the holy altar of God? Miferable Joab, what help canlt thou expect from that facred pile? Thofe horns, that were befprinkled with the blood of beafls, abhor to be touched by the blood of men; that altar was for the expiation of fm by blood, loS CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII. blood, not for the protedion of the fin of blood. If Adonijah fled thither and efcaped, it is murder that purfues thee mere than confpiracy. God hath no fanftuary for a wilful homicide. Yet fuch refpect doth Benaiah give to that holy place, that his fword is unwilling to touch him that touches the altar. Thofe horns fhall put off death for the time, and give protradion of the execution, though not prefervation of life. How fweet is life, even to thofe who have been prodigal of the blood of others, that Joab fliifts thus to hold it but fome fev/ hours? Benaiah returns with Joab's anfwer, inftead of his head; " Nay, but I will die here," as not dar- ing to unlheath his fword againft a man flieltered in God's tabernacle, without a new commillion. Young Solomon is fo well acquainted with the law of God, in fuch a cafe, that he (licks not at the fentence : he knew that God had enaded, " If a man come pre- " fumptuoufly upon his neighbour to flay him with " guile, thou flialt take him from mine altar, that *' he may die.** He knew Joab's murders had not been more prefumptuous than guileful, and there- fore he fends Benaiah to take away the offender, both from God and men, from the altar and the world. No fubjeft had merited more than Joab. When proclamation was made in Ifrael, that whoever fliould imite the Jebufites firfl:, he fliould be the chief and captain ; Joab was the man : when David built fome part of Jerufalem, Joab built the reft; fo that Jerufa- lem owes itfelf to Joab, both for recovery and repa- ration. No man held fo clofe to David ; no man was more intent. to the weal of Ifrael ; none fo fuccefsful in vidories ; yet now is he called to reckon for his old fms, and mud repay blood to Amafa and Abner. It is not in the power of all our deferts to buy off one fin, either with God or man: where life is fo deeply forfvilted, it admits of no redemption. The CoNTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. IC.9 The honeft fimplicity of tliofe times knew not of any infamy in the execution of juftice. Benaiah, who was the great marfhal under Solomon, thinks not his fingers defiled with that fatal flroke. It is a foolifli nicenefs to put more {hame in the doing of juitice, than in the violating of it. In one atl Solomon hath approved himfelf both a good magiflrate and a good fon, fulfilling at once the will of a father and the charge of God ; concluding wpon this juft execution, that, " Upon David, and " upon his feed, and upon his houfe, and upon his " throne, there fhall be peace for ever from the *' Lord;" and inferring, that without this there could have been no peace. Blood is a reftlefs fuitor, and will not leave cla- mouring for judgment, till the mouth be (topped with revenge. In this cafe favour to the offender is cruel- ty to the favourer. Now hath Joab paid all his arrearages by thefword of Benaiah; there is -no fuit againfl his corps, that hath the honour of a burial fit for a peer of Ifrael, for the near coufiii to the king. Death puts an end to all quarrels: Solomon ftrikes oft' the fcore when God is fatisfied; the revenge that furvives death, and will not be fhut up in the coffin, is barbarous, and unbe- feeming true Ifraelites. Only Shimei remains upon the file; his courfe is next, yet fo, as that it (hall be in his own liberty to haften his end. Upon David's remiflion, Shimei dwells fecurely in Bahurim, a town of the tribe of Benjamin; doubtlefs, when he faw fo round juftice done upon Adonijah and Joab, his guilty heart could not think Solomon's meffage portended ought but his execution; and nov/ he cannot but be well pleafed with fo eafy conditions of dwelling at Jerufalem, and not pafTmg over the brook Kidron; what more de- lightful place could he chufe to live in than that Vol. II. H city, no CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII. city, which was the glory of the whole earth? What more plearinvn oath; it was flill in his power, notwithftanding David's caveat, to have laid down his hoary head ia tiie grave, without blood; the juft God infatuates thofe whom he means to plague. Two of Shimei's fervants are fled to Gath; and nov.' he faddles his afs, and is gone to fetch them back: either he thinks this word of Solomon is forgotten, or, in the multi- tude of greater affairs, not heeded, "or this fo fmall un occurence will not com-e to his ears. Covetoufnefs, and prefamption of impunity, are the deilrudion of many a foul; Shimei feeks his fervants, and lofes him- felf. How many are there v/ho cry out of this folly^ am CoK-rEMP. ni. CONTEMPLATIONS. iii and yet imitate it ; thefe earthly things either are our fervants, orJLouId be; how commonly do we fee men run out oF the bounds, fet by God's law, to hunt after them, till their fouls incur a fearful judg- ' ment ? Princes have thoufands of eyes and ears ; if Shimei will for more fecrefy faddle his own afs, and take, as is Hke, the benefit of night for his pafTage, his journey cannot be hid from Solomon. How wary had thofe men need to be which are obnoxious ? .Without delay is Shimei complained of, convented, "*tharged with violation both of the oath of God, and 'the injunction of Solomon ; and that all thefe might appear to be but an occafion of that puniiliment.whofe •caufe was more remote ; now is all that old venom laid before him, which his malice had long fmce fpit at God's anointed : " Thou knowefl: all the wicked- *' nefs whereto thine heart is privy, that thou didft " to David my father." Had this old tally been (Irlcken off, yet could not Shimei have pleaded ought for his life ; for had he faid, Let not my lord the king be thus mortally dif- pleafed for fo fmall an offence ; v/ho ever died for paffmg over Kidron ? what man is the worfe for my harmlefs journey ? It had foon been returned, If the act be fmall, yet the circumftances are deadly ; the commands of fovereign authority make the flighteft duties weighty ; if the journey be harmlefs, yet not the difobedience ; it is -not for fubjefts to poife the prince's charge in the fcales of their weak conftruc- tions, but they mull: fuppofe it ever to be offuch im- portance as h pretended by the commander. Be- fides the precept, here v/as a mutual adjuration ; Shi- mei fwore not to go ; Solomon fwore his death, if-he went ; the cne oath muff be revenged, the other mufl be kept : if Shimei were falfe in. offending, Solomon will be juft in punifhing. Now therefore, that which H 2 Abifhai, 112 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII. Abifliai, the fon of Zeruiah, wiflied to have done in the greennefs of the wound, and was repelled ; after long feftering, Benaiah is commanded to do. The llones that Shimei threw at David, ftruck not fo deep as Benaiah's fword ; the tongue that curfed the Lord's anointed hath paid the head to boot. Vengeance againfl rebels may fleep, it cannot die ; a fure, though h\te judgment attends thofe that dare lift up either their hand, or tongue againfl the facred perfons of God's vicegerents. How much lefs will the God of heaven fuffer unrevenged the infolencies and blaf- phemies againfl his own divine Majefly ? It is a fear- ful word, he Ihould not be jufl, if he fhould hold thefe guiltlefs. CoNTEMP. IV. Solomon's Choice^ with his Judg- ment upon the two Harlots. .\ FTER ^o many melTages and proofs of grace, ^^ Solomon begins doubtfully, both for his match, and for his devotion. If Pharaoh's daughter were not a profelyte, his early choice was befides unwar- rantable, dangerous. The high places not only flood, but were frequented, both by the people and king: I do not find David climbing up thofe mif-hallowed hills, in an affection of the variety of altars ; Solo- mon doth fo, and yet loves the Lord, and is loved of God again. Such is the mercy of our God, that he will not fuffer our well-meant w^eakneffes to bereave us of his favours : he rather pities than plagues us for the infirmities of upright hearts. Gibeon was well worthy to be the chief, yea the only high place ; there was the allowed altar of God, there was the tabt^rnacle, though, as then, fevered from the ark ; thither did young Solomon go up ; and, as defiring to begin his reign with God, there he offers no lefs than a thoufand facrifices. Solomon CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. J13 Solomon worfliips God by day ; God appears to Solomon by night. Well may we look to enjoy God, when we have ierved him ; the night cannot but be happy, whofe day hath been holy. It was no unufual coiirfe with God, to reveal him- felf unto his fervants by dreams : fo did he here to Solomon, who faw more with his eyes fliut, than ever they could fee open, even him that was invifible. The good king had offered unto God a thoufand burnt-facrifices, and now God offereth him his op- tion : " Aflc what I fhall give thee." He, whofe the beafls are on a thoufand mountains, gracioufly ac- cepts a fmall return of his ovv^n. It ftands not with the munificence of a bountiful God to be indebted to his creature ; we cannot give him ought unrecom- penfed ; there is no way wherein we can be fo libe- ral to ourfelves, as by giving to the PoffefTor of all things. And art thou ftill, O God, lefs free unto us, thy meaner fervants, under the gofpel ! Hafl thou not faid, " Whatfoever ye fhall afk the Father, in my " name, it fhall be given you ?" Only give us grace not to be wanting unto thee, and we know thou canft not fuffer any thing to be wanting unto us. The night follows the temper of the day ; and the heart fo ufeth to fleep, as it wakes. Had not the thoughts of Solomon been intent upon wifdom by day, he had not made it his fuit in his dream : there needs no leifure of deliberation ; the heart was fo foreftalled with the love and admiration of wifdom, that, not abiding the leafl motion of a competition, it faflens on that grace it had longed for : " Give unto " thy fervant an underftanding heart to judge thy " people.'* Had not Solomon been wife before, he had not known the worth of wifdom, he had not pre- ferred it in his defires. The dung-hill cocks of the world cannot know the price of this pearl ; thofe that have it, know that all other excellencies are but H 3 trafli IT4 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII; trafh and rubblfli unto it. Solomon was a great king, and faw that he had povv-er enough ; but withal he found that royalty, without wifdom, was no other than eminent difhonour : there is no trade of life whereto there belongs not a peculiar wifdom, with- out which there is nothing but a tedious unprofitable- liefs ; much more to the highefi and bufieft vocation, the regiment of men. As God hath no reafontogive his belt favours unafked, fo hath he no will to with- hold them v.'here they are afked. He, that in his cradle hath the title of " Beloved of " God, "is now bfcloved more in the throne for the love and defire of wifdom; this foil could never have born this fruit alone ; Solomon could not fo much as have dreamed of wifdom, if God had not put it into him: and now God takes the fuit fo well, as if he were beholden to his creature for wifliing the beft to itfelf ; and becaufe Solomon hath afked what he fhould, he fhall now receive both what he aiked, and v/hat he aft^ed not ; riches and honour fliall be given him in to the match. So doth God love a good choice,that he recompenfes it with overgiving. " Could we but firfl " feek the kingdom of God, and his righteoufnefs, all *' thefeearthlv things fiiould befuperaddedtous." Had Solomon made wealth his boon, he had failed both of riches and wifdom ; now he afks the beft, and fpeeds of all. They are in a fair way of happinefs that can pray well. It was no difcomfort to Solomon, that he awaked and found it a dream; for he knew this dream was divine and oracular; and he already found, in his firft waking, the real performance of what was pro- mifed him lleeping : fuch* illumination did he fenfibly fmd in all the rooms of his heart, as if God had now given him anew foul. No marvel if Solomon, now returning from the tabernacle to the ark, teftified his joy and thankfuln'efs by burnt-offerings, and peace-of- ferings^ and public feaftings; the heart that hath found in CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. ii_^- in Itfelf the lively teftimonies of God*s prefence and favaur, cannot contain itfelf from outward expreffions. God likes not to have his gifts lie dead where he hath conferred them; Ifrael (hall loon witnefs that they have a king enlightened from heaven, in whom wildom doth not Itay for heirs, did not admit of any parallel in his predecelTors; the all-wife God will fi.id occafions to draw forth thof^ graces to ufe and light w^hich he hath beftowed on man. Two harlots come before young Solomon with a difficult plea; it is not like the prince's ear was the fird that heard this com- plaint; there was a fubordinate courfe of juftice, for the determination of thefe meaner incidences: the hardnefs of this decifion brought the matter, thrpugh all the benches of inferior judicature, to the tribunal of Solomon. The very Ifraelitifh harlots were not fo unnatural, as fome now-a-days that counterfeit hpnef- ty; thefe flrive for the fruit of their womb, ours to put them off; one fon is yet alive, two mothers con- tend for him. The children were alike for features, for age; the mothers were alike fgr reputation; here can be no evidence from others eyes, whether's now is the living child, and whether's is the dead. Had Solomon gone about to wring forth the truth by tor- tures, he had perhaps plagued the innocent, and ad- ded pain to the mifery of her lofs ; the weaker had been guilty, and the more able to bear had car- ried away both the child and the viciory. The countenance of either of the mothers bewrayed an eqijality of paffion ; forrow poffeffed the one for the fon fhe had loil, and the other for the fon fte was in danger to lofe: both were equally peremptory, and importunate in their claim. It is in vain to think, that the true part c^n be difcerned by the vehemence of their challenge; falfehood is oft-times more cla- morous than truth; no witneiTes can be produced; they two dwelt, apart under one roof; and if fome H 4 neigh- il6 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII. neighbours have feen the children at their birth, and circumcifion, yet how little difference, how much change is there in the favour of infants I How doth death alter more confirmed lines ^ The impoffibility of proof makes the guilty more confident, more impudent ; the true mother pleads that her child was taken away at midnight by the others but in her fleep ; fhe faw it not, fhe felt it not ; and if all her fenfes could have witneffed it, yet here was but the affirmation of the one, againfl: the denial of the other, which, in perfons alike credible, do but coun- terpoife. What is there now to lead the judge, fmce there is nothing either in the aft, or circumftances, or j^erfons, or plea, or evidence, that might fway the fentence? Solomon well faw, that, when all outward proofs failed, there was an inward afie£tion, which, if it could be fetcht out, would certainly bewray the true mother ; he knew forrow might more eafily be diflembled than natural love: both forrowedfor their own; both could not love one as theirs. To draw forth then this true proof of motherhood, Solomon calls for a fword. Doubtlefs, fome of the wifer hearers fmi- led upon each other,and thought in themfelves,What, will the young king cut thefe knotty caufes in pieces ! will hedivide juftice with edge tools! will he fmiteat hazard before conviftion ! The adions of wife princes are riddles to vulgar conflrudlions ; neither is it for the fhallow capacities of the multitude to fathom the deep projefts of fovereign authority: that fword which "had ferved for execution, (hall now ferve for trial ; " Divide ye the living child in twain, and give the " one half to theone,andtheother half totheother:" Oh divine oracle of juftice, commanding that which it would not have done, that it might find out that which could not be difcovered ; neither God, nor his deputies may be fo^ taken at their words, as if they alwavt CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. nj always intended their commands for aclion, and not fometimes for probation. This fword hath already pierced the bread of the true mother, and divided her heart with fear and grief, at fo kilHng a fentence; there needs no other rack to difcover nature; and now flie thinks, Woe is me that came for jufUce, and am anfwered with cru- eky; " Divide ye the living child!'* ^\las, what hath that poor infant offended, that it furvives and is fued for! How much lefs miferable had 1 been, that my child had been fmothered in my lleep, than mangled before mine eyes! If a dead carcafs could have fatisfi- ed me, I needed not to have complained; what a woful condition am I fallen into, who am accufed to have been the death of my fuppofed child already, and now fhall be the death of my own? If there were no lofs of my child, yet how can I endure this torment of mine own bowels! how can I live to fee this part of myfelf fprawling under that bloody fword! And while (he thinks thus, (he fues to that fufpeded mer- cy of her juft judge, " Qh my lord, give her the li- " ving child, and flay him not:" as thinking, if he live, he fhall but change a mother ; if he die, his mo- ther lofeth a fon: while he lives, it (hall be my com- fort that 1 have a Ton, though I may not call hini fo ; dying, he peri(heth to both; it is better he (liould live to a wrong mother, than to neither. Contrarily, her envious competitor, as holding herfelf Vv^ell fatis- fied that her neighbour fhould be as childlefs as her- felf, can fay, " Let it be neither mine nor thine, but *' divide it." Well might Solotnon, and every hear- er conclude, that either (he was no mother, or a monfter, that could be content with the murder of her child, and that if (he could have been the true mother, and yet have defired the blood of her infant, (he had been as worthy to have been (Iript of l^er child for fo foul unnaturalnefs, as the other had been worthy to enjoy 11.8 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII. enjoy him for her honed compafTion. Not more juft- ly than wifely therefore doth Solomon trace the true motherby thefootilepsoflovejandpity; and adjudgeth the child to thofe bowels that had yearned athis danger. Even in morality it is thus alfo; truth as it is one, fo it loves entirenefs; falfehood, divifion. Satan, that hath no right to the heart, would be content with a piece of it; God, that made it all, will have either the whole or none. The erroneous church ftrives with the true, for the living child of faving doftrine'; each claims it for ner own: herely, confcious of her own injuflice, could be content to go away with a leg, or an arm of found principles, as hoping to make up the reft with her own mixtures : truth cannot abide to part with a joint, and will rather endure to lofe all by vio- lence, than a piece through a wiUing.connjiycncy.i,,, iml-^t^'h-i^i. d j/j ov/j .TtonrshA ni dinoff- CoNTEMP-.''Vv^'fB>-^ Temple. '-f^ hriE' IT is a weak and injurious cenfure that taxeth St)- lomon's flacknefs in founding the houfe of God;- great bodies muft have but flow motions : he was wife that faid, The matters muft all be prepared without, ere we build within; and if David have laid ready a great part of the metals and timber, yet ma- ny a tree muft be felled and fquared, and many a ftone hewn and poliflied, ere this fouiidaiion could be laid: neither could thofe large cedars be cut, fawn, feafon- ed in one year ; four years are foon gone in fo vaft a preparation. David had not been fo entire a friend to Hiram, if Hiram had not been a friend to God ; So- lom.on's wifdom had taught him to make ufe of fo good a neighbour, of a father's friend; he knew that the Tyrians Ikill was not given them for nothing ; not jews only, but Gentiles muft have their hand in build- ing the temple of God ; only Jews meddled with the tabernacle, but the temple is not built without the aid CoNTEMr. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. . 119 aid of Gentiles ; they, together with us, make up the church of God. Even Pagans have their arts from heaven; how JLiftly may we improve their graces to the fervice of the God of heaven ; if there be a Tyrian that can work more.curioufly in gold, in fiher, in brafs, in iron, in purple, and blue filk, than an Ifraelite, why fhould not he be employed about the temple ? Their heathenifm is their own, their fkill is their Maker's : many a one works for the church of God, that yet hath no part in it. Solomon raifes a tribute for the work, not of mo- ney, but of men : thirty thoufand Ifraelites are levi- ed for the fervice ; yet not continuedly, but with in- tcrmiffion, their labour is more generous, and lefs preiling; it is enough if they keep their courfes one month in Lebanon^ two at home; fo as ever ten thou- fand work, while twenty thoufand breathe. So fa- vourable is God to his creature, that he requires us not to be over- toiled in the works of his own fervice. Due refpirations are requifite in the holieft ads. The main ftrefs of the work lies upon profelytes; whofe both number and pains was herein more than the na- tives : an hundred and fifty thoufand of thern are em- ployed in bearing burthens, in hewing ftones ; befides their three thoufand, three hundred overfeers. Now were the dgfpifed Gibeonites of good ufe, and in vain doth Ifrael wifli that the zeal of Saul had not robbed them of fo feryiceable drudges. There is no man fo mean but may be fome way ufeful to the houfe of God. Thofe that cannot wqrk in gold, and filver, and filk, yet may cut and hew; and thofe that can do neither, yet may carry burdens. Even the fervices that are more homely, are not lefs neccifary. Who can difliearten himfelf in the confci- ence of his own infufficiency, whtn he fees God can as well ferve himfelf of his labour, as o£ his Ikill. The ISO CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII. The temple is framed in Lebanon, and fet upon Sion : neither hammer nor ax was heard in that holy ftrufture ; there was nothing but noife in Lebanon, nothing in Sion but filence and peace. Whatever tu- mults are abroad, it is fit there (hould be all quiet- nefs and fweet concord in the church. O God, that the axes of fchifm, or the hammers of furious conten- tions, fhould be heard within thy fanftuary ! Thine houfe is not built with blows, with blows it is beaten down. Oh knit the hearts of thy fervants together in the unity of the Spirit, and the bond of peace, that we may mind and fpeak the fame things ; that thou, who art the God of peace, mayefl take pleafure to dwell under the quiet roof of our hearts ! Now is the foundation laid, and the walls rifmg, of that glorious fabric, which all nations admired, and all times have celebrated ; even thofe Hones which were laid in the bafe of the building were not ragged and rude, but hewn and coftly : the part that lies covered with earth from the eyes of all beholders, is no lefs precious, than thofe that are more confpicuous. God is not all for the eye, he pleafeth himfelf with the hidden value of the living (tones of his fpiritual temple. Kow many noble graces of his fervants have been buried by obfcurity ; not difcerned fo much as by their own eyes? which yet as he gave, fo he crown- etli. Hypocrites regard nothing butfhew; God, no- thing but truth. The matter of fo goodly a frame drives with the proportion, whether fnall more excel : here was no- thing but white marble without, nothing but cedar and gold within. Upon the hill of Sion ftands that glittering and fnowy pile, which both inviteth and daz- zleth the eyes of pafiengers afar off; fo much more precious within, as cedar is better than (lone, gold than cedar. No bafe thing goes to the making up of God's houfc. If Satan may have a dwelling, he cares not CoNTENP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 121 not though he patch it up of the rubbifh of ftone, or rotten Iticks, or drofs oi metals: God will admit of nothing that is not pure and exquifite; his church confifts of none but the faithful, his habitation is in no heart but the gracious. The faftiion was no other than that of the taber- nacle; only this was more coftly, more large, more fixed; God was the fame that dwelt in both; he vari- ed not ; the fame myftery was in both; only it was fit there fhould be a proportion betwixt the work and the builder. The tabernacle was erecled in a popular e- ftate, the temple in a monarchy; it was fit this fhould favour of the munificence of a king, as that of the zeal of a multitude; that was erecled in the flitting condition of Ifrael in the defert ; this, in their fettled refidence in the promifed laud: it was fit therefore that fhould be framed for motion, this for reft. Both of them were diftinguifhed into three remarkable divifions, where- of each was more noble, more referved than other. But what do we bend our eyes upon, ftone, wood, and metals! God would never have taken pleafure in thefe dead materials for their own fakes, if they had not had a further intendment: methinks I fee four temples in this one. It is but one in matter, as the God that dwells in it is but one; three yet more in refemblance, according to the divifion of them ia whom it pleafes God to inhabit; for wherever God dwells, there is his temple. O God, thou vouchfafeft to dwell in the believing heart. As we thy filly crea- tures have our being in thee, fo thou, the Creator of heaven and earth, haft thy dwelling in us. The heaven of heavens is not able to contain thee, and yet thou difdaineft not to dwell in the ftrait lodgings of our renewed fouls. So then, becaufe God's chil- dren are many, and thofe many divided in refped of themfelves, though united in their head, therefore this temple, which is but one in collc^icn, as God is one. 122 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book. XVII. one, is manifold in the diftribution, as the faints are many; each man bearing about him a little (lirine of this infinite Majefty: and for that the moft general divifion of the faints is in their place and eitate, fonie ftruggling and toiling in this earthly warfare, others triumphing in heavenly glory; therefore hath God two other, more univerfal temples; one the church of his faints on earth; the other, the higheft heaven of his faints glorified. In all thefe, O God, thou dwellefl for ever: and this material houfe of thine is a clear reprefentation of thefe three fpiritual; elfe what were a temple made with hands unto the God of fpi- rits ^ And though one of thefe was a true type of all, yet how are they all exceeded each by other ? This of ftone, though moft rich and coftly, yet what is it to the living temple of the Holy Ghoft, which is our ,, body? What is the temple of this body of ours, to 1 the temple of Chrifl's body, which is his church? And what is the temple of God's church on earth, to that which triumpheth glorioufiy in heaven? How eafdy do we fee all thefe in this one vifible temple; which, as it had three diflindions of rooms, the porch, the holy place, the holy of holies, fo is each of them anfwered fpiritually : in the porch wc find the regenerate foul entering into the blelTed foci- ety of the church; in the holy place, the communion of the true vifible church on earth, felefted from the world ; in the holy of holy of holies, wliereinto the high priefl entered once a year, the glorious heaven into which our true High Prieft, Chrilt Jefus, enter- ed once for all^ to make an atonement betwixt God and man. In all thefe what a meet correfpondence there is, in proportion, matter, fituation? In proportion ; the fame rule that fkilful carvers nbfervein the cuttingout of the perfeft ftatueofa man, that the height be thrice the breadth, and the breadth one third of tl#e height, was likewife duly obferved in CosTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 125 in the fabric of the temple, whofe length was dou- ble to the height, and treble to the breadth, as being fixty clibits long, thirty high, and twenty broad. How exquifite a fymmetry haft thou ordained, O God, betwixt the faithful heart, and thy church on earth, with that in heaven! how accurate in each of thefe, in all their powers and parts, compared with other ! Sq hath God ordered the believing foul, that it hath neither too much (hortnefs of grace, nor too much height of conceit, nor too much breadth of paffion: fo hath he ordered his vifible church, that there is a neccffary inequality, without any difproportion; an height of government, a length of extent, a breadth of jurifdiclion duly anfwerable to each other : fo hath he ordered his triumphant church above, that it hath a length of eternity, anfwered with an height of per- fection, and a breadth of incomprehenfible glory. In matter; all w^as here of the bell: the w'ood was precious, fweet, lafting; the ftones beautiful, coftly, infenfible of age ; the gold pure and glittering : io are the graces of God's children, excellent in tkeir nature, dear in their acceptation, eternal in their ufe ; fo are the ordinances of God in his church, holy, comfortable, irrefragable ; fo is the perfedion of his glorified faints incomparable, unconceivable. In fituation ; the outer parts were here more com- mon, the inner more holy and peculiarly referved. I find one court of the temple open to the unclean, to the uncircumcifed ; within that, another open only to the Ifraelites, and of them, to the clean; within that yet another, proper only to the priefts and Le- vites, where was the brazen altar for facrifice, and the brazen fea for wafhing ; the eyes of the laity might follow their oblations in hither, their feet might not. Yet more, in the covered rooms of the temple, there is whither the priefls only may enter, not the Le- vites; 124 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIL vites ; there is, whither the high priefl: only may en- ter, not his'brethren. It is thus in every renewed man, the individual temple of God ; the outward parts are allowed com- mon to God and the world ; the inwardeft and fecret- eft, which is the heart, is referved only for the God that made it. It is thus in the church vifible; the falfe and foul-hearted hypocrite hath accefs to the holy ordinances of God, and treads in his courts; only the true Chridian hath entire and private converiation with the Holy One of Ifrael ; he only is admitted in- to the holy of holies, and enters within the glorious vail of heaven. If from the walls we look into the furniture ; what is the altar, whereon our facrifices of prayer and prai- fes are offered to the Almighty, but a contrite heart ? What the golden candlefticks, but the illumined un- derdanding, wherein the Hght of the knowledge of God, and his divine will (hineth for ever ? What the tables of Ihew-bread, but the fanclihed memory, which ketpeth the bread of life continually? Yea, if we fliall prefume fo far as to enter into the very clofet of God's oracle ; even there, O God, do we find our unwor- thy hearts fo honoured by thee, that they are made thy very ark, wherein thy royal law, and the pot of thy heavenly manna is kept for ever ; and from whofe Propitiatory, (haded with the wings of thy glorious angels, thou giveft thygracious tedimonies of thy good Spirit, witneffing with ours, that we are the children of the living God. Behold, if Solomon built a temple unto thee, thou haft buiit a temple unto thyfelf in us : we are not on- ly, through thy grace, living ftones in thy temple, but living temples in thySion. Oh do thou ever dwell in this thine houfe, and in this thy houfe let us ever ferve thee 1 Wherefore elfe haft thou a temple, but for thv prefcnce with us, and for our Vv'orftiipping of thee? CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 125 thee? The time was, when, as thy. people, fo thy- felf didfl: lodge in flitting tents, ever fliifting, ever moving ; thence thou thoughtd: bcft to fojourn both in Shilo and the roof of Obed-edom ; after that, thou condefcendedft to fettle thine abode with men, and wouldft dwell in an houfe of thine own at thy Jerufa- lem. So didfl thou in the beginning lodge with our firft parents in a tent, fojourn with Ifrael under the law, and now makefl a conftant refidence, under the gofpel, in the hearts of thy chofen children, from whence thou wilt remove no more; they fliall remove from the world, from themfelves, thou fhalt not re- move from them. Wherefoever thou art, O God, thou art worthy of adoration; fmce thou ever wilt dwell in us, be thou ever worfhipped in us. Let the altars of our clean hearts fend up ever to thee the fweereft perfumed fniokes of our holy meditations and faithful prayers, and chearful thankfgivings. Let the pure lights of our faith, and godly converfation, fhine ever before thee and men, and never be put out. Let the bread of life (land ever ready upon the" pure and precious tables of our hearts. Lock up thy law and thy man- na within us, and fpeak comfortably to us from thy mercy-feat. Suffer nothing to enter in hither that is unclean: fandlify us unto thyfelf, and be thou fandi- fied in us. CoNTEMP. VI. S01.0U01;, and the ^een of ^UEfi A., OD hath no ufe of the dark lanterns of fecret and referved perfections ; weourfelvesdo not light up I candles to put them under buihels. The great lights, I whether of heaven or earth, are not intended to ob- I fcurity ; but as to give Hght unto others, fo to be feen ; themfelves. Dan and Beerfheba were too (Irait Vol. II. I bounds 12.6 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII. bounds for the fame of Solomon, which now hath flown over all lands and feas, and raifed the world to an admiration of his more than human wifdom. Even fo, O thou everlafting King of peace, thy name is great among the Gentiles ; there is no fpeech nor language, v/nere the report of thee is not heard ; '* The found of thee is gone forth through all the " earth ; thy name is an ointment poured out, there- " fore the virgins love thee." No doubt many, from all coalts, came to learn and wonder, none with fo much note as this noble daugh- ter of Ham, who herfelf deferves the next wonder to him whom (he came to hear and admire ; that a woman, a princefs, a rich and great queen, fliould travel from the remotefh fouth, from Sheba, a region famous for the greatefl: delicacies of nature, to learn wifdom, is a matchlefs example. We know merchanrs that venture to either Indies for wealth ; others we know daily to crofs the feas for wanton curiofity. Some few philofophers we have known to have gone far for learning ; and, amongfl; princes, it is no unufual thing to fend their ambailadors to far diflant king- doms, for tranfaftion of bufmeifes either of itate or commerce : but that a royal lady fhould in perfon un- dertake and overcome fo tedious a journey, only to obferve and inquire into the myfteries of nature, art, reliction, is a thing pafl both parallel and imitation. Why do we think any labour great, or any way long, to hear a greater than Solomon ? How juflly fliall the queen of the South rife up in judgment^ and condemn us, who may hear wifdom crying in our flreets, and neglect her ? Certainly fo wealthy a queen, and fo great a lover of wifdom, could not want great fcholars at home ; them (he had firft oppofed with her enigmatical de- mands; andnow,nnding herfelf unfatisfied,flie betakes berf&lf to this oracle of God. It is a good thing to doubt CoNTEMP. vr. CONTEMPLATIOrNS. 127 doubt,, better to be refolved: the mind that never doubts fhall learn nothing; the mind that ever doubts fhall never profit by learning. Our doubts only ferve to (tir us up to leek truth; our refolutions fettle us in the truth we have found. There were no pleafure in refolutions, if v/e had not been formerly troubled with doubts; there were nothing but difc imfort and difquietnefs in doubts, if it were not for the hope of refolution : it is not fafe to futfer doubts to dwell too long upon the heart ; there may be good ufe of them as paflVngers, dangerous as inmates: happy are we, if we can find a Solomon to remove them. Fame, as it is always a blab, fo oft-times a liar. The wile princefs found caufe to diftruft fo uncertain an informer, whofe reports are ftiil either doubtful or fabulous; and, like winds or flreams, iocreafe in pairing. If very great things were not fpoken of Solo- mon, fame fhould have wronged him; and, if bvit juft rumours were fpread of his wifdom, there needed much credulity to believe them. This great queen would not fufFer herfelf to be led by the ears, but comes in perfon to examine the truth of foreign rela- tions. How much more unfafe is it, in the molt im- portant bufineffes of our fouls, to trull the opinions and reports of others? Thofe ears and eyes are ill befhow- ed, that do not ferve to chufe and judge for their own- ers. When we come to a rich treafure, we need not he bidden to carry away what we are able. This wife lady, as fne came far for knowledge, fo, finding the plenty of this vein, fhe would not depart without her full load; there was nothing wherein llie would leave herfelf unfatisfied. She knevv' that fhe could not every day meet with a Solomon; and therefore fhe makes her bed ufe of fo learned a mafter: now (he empties her heart of ail her doubts, and fills it with infiruc- tion. It is not good neglecting the opportunities of I s furnifh- 128 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII. furnifliing our fouls with profitable, with faving know- ledge. There is much wifdom in moving a queftion well, though there be more in affoiling it : what ufe do we make of Solomon's teacher, if, fitting at the feet of c^hrift, we leave our hearts either ignorant or perplexed? As if the errand of this wealthy queen had been to buy wifdom, (lie came with her camels laden with gold, and precious (tones, and rich odour's, though to a mighty king, (lie will not come to fchool empty- handed ; if flie came to fetch an invaluable treafure, fhe finds reafon to give thanks unto him that kept it. As he is a fool that hath a price in his hand, to get wifdom, and wants an heart, fo is he unthankful, that hath an heart to get wifdom, and hath no price in his hand; a price not countervailable to what he feeks, but retributary to him of whom he feeks. How fliameful is it to come always with clofe hands to them that teach us the great myfteries of falvation. Expedation is no better than a kind enemy to good deferts. We lofe thofe objedls which we overtook. Many had been admired, if they had not been over- much befriended by fame; who now, in our judg- ment, are caft as much below their rank, as they were fore-imagined above it. This difadvantage had wife Solomon with this flranger, whom rumour had bid to look for incredible excellencies; yet fo won- derful were the graces of Solomon, that they over- came the higheft expectation, and the liberaleft belief: fo, as when fhe faw the architetture of his buildings, the provifions of his tables, the order of his attendants, the religion of hisfacrifices, flie confefTed both her un- juil credulity, in not believing the report of his wifdom, and the injury of report ia underftanding it. " i belioved not the words till I came, and mine " eyes had feen it, and lo the one half was not told " me.'* Her eyes were more fure informers than her CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 129 her ears. She did not fo much hear as fee Solomon's •wifdom in thefe real effeds. His anfwers did not fo much demonftrate it, as his prudent government. There are fome whofe fpeeches are witty, v/hile their carriage is weak; whofe deeds are incongruities, while their words are apophthegms, it is not worth the name of wifdom that may be heard only, and not feen. Good difcourfe is but the froth of wifdom; the pure and folid fubftance of it is in well-framed actions; " If we know thefe things, happy are we if *' we do them."- And if this great perfon admired the wifdom, the buildings, the domeftic order of Solomon, and chiefly his (lately afcent into the houfe of the Lord, how fhould Qur fouls be taken up with wonder at thee, O thou true Son of David, and Prince of everlafting peace, who receivedft the Spirit not by meafure! who haft built this glorious houfe not made with hands, even the heaven of heavens! whofe infinite provi- dence hath fweetly difpofed of all the family of thy creatures, both in heaven and earth; and who, laftly, didft *• afcend up on high, and ledft captivity captive, " andgaveft gifts to men!'* So well had this ftudious lady profited by the lectures of that exquifite mafter, that now flie envies, fne magnifies none but them who may live within the air of Solomon's wifdom : " Happy are the men, and " happy are thy fervants, which ftand continually " before thee, and that hear thy wifdom!" as if fhe could have been content to have changed her throne for the foot-flool of Solomon. It is not eafy to con- ceive, how great a blefhng it is to live under thofe lips, which do both preferve knowledge, and utter it. If we were not glutted with good counfel, we fhould find no relifh in any worldlv contentment, in comparifon hereof: but he that is lull, defpifeth an honey-comb. J -7 She ijo • CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIL She, whom her own experience had taught how happy a thing it is to have a ffellful pilate fitting at the flern of the ftate, blefleth Ifrael for Solomon, blelTeth God for HVaei, blefleth Solomon and Ifrael mutually in each other; " Bieffed be the Lord thy God which " delighteth in thee, to fet thee on the throne of If- " raeK Becaufe the Lord loved Ifraelfor ever, there- " fore made he thee king to do judgment and juftice." It was not more Solomon's advancement to be king of Ifrael, than it was the advancement of Ifrael to be governed by a Solomon. There is no earthly proof of God's love to any nation, comparable to the fub- flitution of a wife and pious governor: to him we owe our peace, our life, and, which is defervedly dearer, the life of our fouls, the gofpel. But, O God, how much hafl thou loved thine Ifrael for ever, in that thou haft fet over it that righteous Branch of Jeife, whofe name is " Wonderful, Counfellor, the Mighty " God, the Everlafting Father, the Prince of Peace, " in whofe days Judah fhall be faved, and Ifrael " (liall dwell fafelyi Sing, O heaven, and rejoice, O " earth, and break forth into finging, O moun- *' tains; for God hath comforted his people, and *' will have everlafting mercy upon his afflicted!" The queen of Sheba did not bring her gold and precious ftones to look on, or to re-carry, but to give to a wealthier than herfelf. She gives therefore to So- lomon an hundred and twenty talents of gold, befides coftly (lones and odours. lie, that made filver in Jerufalem as ftones, is yet richly prefented on all hands. The rivers ftill run into the fea; to him that hath ftiall be given. How (hould we bring unto thee, O thou King of heaven, the pureft gold of thine o-wn graces, the fweeteft odours of our obediences! Was not this withal a type of that homage which fliould be done unto th^e, O Saviour, by the heads of the nations \ CoNTEMP. Vr. CONTEMPLATIONS. 131 nations! " The kings of TarfliiHi and the illes bring " prefents; the kings of Sheba and Saba bring gifts; *' yea all kings fhall worfliip thee, all nations (hall " ferve thee!" They cannot enrich themfelves, but by giving unto thee. It could not (land with Solomon's magnificence to receive rich courtefies without a return; the greater the perfon was, the greater was the obligation of re- quital. The gifts of mean perfons are taken but as tributes of duty. It is diflionourable to take from equals, and not to retribute: there was not there- fore more freedom in her gift, than in her receipt; her own will was the meafure of both ; fhe gave what Ihe would, (he received whatfoever flie would a(k; and (he had little profited by Solomon's fchool, if (he had not learned to afk the beft. She returns therefore more richly laden than (he came: (he gave to Solo- mon, as a thankful client of wifdom; Solomon returns to her, as a munificent patron, according to the libe- raUty of a king. We (liall be fure to be gainers by whatfoever we give unto thee, O thou God of wifdom and peace! O that we could come, from the remote regions of our infidelity and worldlinefs, to learn wif- dom of thee, who both teachefl: and giveft it abundant- ly, without upbraiding, without grudging, and coul-d bring with us the poor prefents of our faithful defires and fmcere fervices! how would ft thou receive us with a gracious acceptation, and fend us away laden with prefent comfort, with eternal glory ! CoNTEMP. VII. Solomon's defection. QINCE the firft man Adam, the world hath not ^ yielded either fo great an example of wifdom, or fo fearful an example of apodafy, as Solomon What human knowledge Adam had in the perfection of na- ture by creation, Solomon had by infufion, both fully, I 4 both 132 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII. both from one founfain. If Adam called all crea- tures by their names, Solomon fpake, from the cedars of Lebanon, to the mofs that fprings out of the wall ; and, befides thefe vegetables, there was no beaft, nor fowl, nor fifh, nor creeping thing that efcaped his dif- courfe. Both fell, both fell by one means; as Adam, fo mightSolomonhave.laid, " The womandeceived me.'* It is true indeed, that Adam, fell as all, Solomon as one, yet fo as that this one is the pattern of the frailty of all. If knowledge could have given an im- munity from fm, both had flood. Affedions are thofe feet of the foul, on which it either ftands or falls; " Solomon loved many outlandifh women.'* I wonder not if the wife king mifcarried; every word hath bane enough for a man. Women, many wo- men, outlandifh, idolatrous, and thofe not only had, but doted on; fex, multitude, nation, condition, all confpired to the ruin of a Solomon. If one woman undid all mankind, what marvel is it, if many women undid one? yet, had thofe many been the daughters of Ifrael, they had tempted him only to luft, not to mifdevotion; now they were of thofe nations, where- of the Lord had faid to the children of Ifrael, " Go " not ye in to them, nor let them come in to you, " for furely they will turn your hearts after their " gods.*' I'o them did Solomon join in love; who can marvel, if they disjoined his heart from God? Satan hath found this bait to take fo well, that he never changed it hnce he crept into Paradife. How many have vi^e known, whofe heads have been broken with their own rib? In the firfl world, the fons of God faw the daughters of men, and took them wives of all they hked; they multiplied not children, but iniquities. Balaam knew well, if the dames of Moab could make the Ifraelites wanton, they fliould foon make them idolaters. All lies CoNTEMP. VI L CONTEMPLATIONS. 133 lies open, where the covenant is not both made with the eye, and kept. It was the charge of God to the kings of Ifrael, before they were, that they (hould not multiply wives. Solomon hath gone beyond the ftakes of the law, and now is ready to lofe himfelf amongft a thoufand bed- fellows. Whofo lays the reins in rhe neck of his car- nal appetite, cannot promife where he will reft. O Solomon, where was thy wifdom, while thine affec- tions run away with thee into fo wild a voluptuouf- nefs ! What boots it thee to difcourfe of all things, whiles thou mifknoweft thyfelfl The perfections of fpeculation do not argue the inward power of felf- government: the eye may be clear, while the hand Is palfied. It is not fo much to be heeded, how the foul is informed, as how it is difciplined ; the light of knowledge doth well, but the due order of the affec- tions doth better. Never any meer man, fmce the firil, knew fo much as Solomon ; many, that have known lefs, have had more command of themfelves. A com- petent eliate, well hufbanded, is better than a vafi: pa- trimony neglefted. There can be no fafety to that foul, where is not a Arait curb upon our defires. If our lufts be not held under as flaves, they will rule as tyrants. Nothing can prevent the extremity of our mifcarriage, but ear- ly and flrong denials of our concupifcence; had Solo- mon done thus, delicacy, and lawlefs greatnefs, had not led hirn into thefe bogs of intemperance. The ways of youth are deep and flippery, where- in as it is eafy to fall, fo it is commonly relieved with pity; but the wanton inordinations of age are not more unfeafonable than odious; yet, behold, Solo- mon's younger years were ft'udious, and innocent, his over-haflened age was licentious and mifgoverned: " For, when Solomon was old, his wives turned a- ** way his heart after other gods." If any age can fecure f34 CONTEMPLf\TIONS. Book XVII. fecure us from the danger of a fpiritual fall, it is our laft : and if any man's old age might fecure him, it was Solomon's, the beloved of God, the oracle, the mimcle of wifdom : who would have looked but that the bloifoms of fo hopeful a fpring (hould have yield- ed a goodly and pleafant fruit in the autumn of age? Yet behold even Solomon's old age vicious. There is no time wherein we can be fafe, while we carry this body of fm about us ; youth is impetuous, mid- age fiubborn, old age weak, all dangerous: fay not now, " The fury of my youthful flaflies is over, I " iliall henceforth find my heart calm and impregna- " ble ;" while thou feed old Solomon doting upon his concubines, yea upon their idolatry. It is no prefuming upon time, or means, or ftrength. Hov/ many have begun and proceeded well, who yet have fhamed themfelves in their laft ftage ? if God uphold us not, we cannot ftand : if God uphold us, we cannot fall. When we are at the ftrongeft, it is the beft to be weak in ourfelves; and, when at our weak- eft, ih'ong in him, in whom we can do all things. I cannot yet think fo hard of Solomon, that he would project his perfon to /^fhtaroth, the goddefs of the Sidonians, or Milchom the idol of the Ammonites, or Chemofli the abomination of Moab. He, that knew all things from the fhrub to the cedar, could not be ignorant that thefe flatues were but ftocks, or flones, or metals, and the powers refembled by them devils. It is not like, he could be fo infenfate to adore fuch deities; but fo far was the uxorious king blinded with affeclion, that he gave not paffage only to the idola- try of his heathenifli wives, but furtherance. So did he dote upon their perfons, that he humour- ed them in their fms : their act is therefore his, be- caufe his eyes winked at it, his^hand advanced it. He, that built a temple to the living God, for himfelf and Ifrael, in Sion, built a temple to Chemofh in the mount of CcNTEMP. VII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 135 of Scandal, for his miftrefles of Maab, in the very face of God's houfe. No hill about Jerufalem was free from a chapel of devils ; each of his dames had their puppets, their altars, their incen.fe : becaufe So- lomon feeds them in their fuperftition, he draws the fin home to himfelf, and is branded for what he fhould have forbidden. Even our very permifficn appropri- ates crimes to us. We need no more guiltinefs of any fm, than our willing toleration. Who can but yearn, and fear, to fee the woful wrack of fo rich and goodly a vefTel ? O Solomon wert not thou he whofe younger years God honoured with a melTage and (tyle of love! to whom God twice appear- ed, and, in a gracious vifion, renewed the covenant of his favour ! whom he Tingled out from all the ge- neration of men, to be the founder of that glorious temple vv hich was no lefs clearly the type of heaven, than thou wert of Chrift the Son of the ever-living God ! Wert not thou that deep fea of wifdom, which God ordained to fend forth rivers and fountains of all divine and human knowledge to all nations, to all ages ! wert not thou one of thofe feleft fecretaries, whofe hand it pleafed the Almighty to employ in three pieces of the divine monuments of facred fcriptures ! Which of us dares ever hope to afpire unto thy gra- ces? which of us can promife to fecure ourfelves from thy ruins? We fall, O God, we fall to the loweft hell, if thou prevent us not, if thou fuftain us not ! " Uphold thou me, according to thy word, that I " may live, and let me not be aOiamed of m.y hope. " Order my fteps in thy word, and let not any ini- " quity have dominion over me." All our weaknefs is in ourfelves, ail our llrength is in thee. O God, be thou llrong in our weaknefs, that our weak knees may be ever fteady in thy ftrength. But, in the midft of the horror of this fpectacle, a- ble to affright all the fons of men, behold fome glimpfe of ijS CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII. of comfort. Was it of Solcmm. that David his father pfophefied: " Though he fall, he ihnil not be utter- *' ly cafl: down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his ** hand ?" If fenfible grace, yet final mercy was not taken from that beloved of God; in the hardeft of this winter, the-fap was gone down to the root, though it fhev/ed not in the branches. Even whiles Solo- mon removed, that word ftood faft, " He fliuil be " my fon, and I will be his Father." He. that for- faw his fm, threatened and limited his correction. " If he break my Itatutes, and keep not my command- " ments, then will I vifit his tranfgreffion with a rod, " and his iniquity with- ilripes : neverthelefs, my lov- " ing kindnef« will I not utterly take from him, nor " fuii'er my faithfulnefs to fail : my covenant will I " not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of *' my mouth." Behold, the favour of God doth not depend upon Solomon's obedience ! If Solomon fliall fuffer his faithfulnefs to fail towards his God, God will notrequite him with the failing of his faithfulnefs to So- lomon ; if Solomon break his covenant with God, God willnot break his covenant with the father of Solomon, with the fon of David: hefhall fmart, he flrall not perifh. O gracious word of the God of all mercies, able to give jflrength to the languifhing, comfort to the defpairing, to the dying Hfe ! Whatfoever we are, thou wilt be ftill thyfelf, O Holy One of Ifraei, true to thy covenant, conftant to thy decree ; the fins of thy chofen can nei- ther fruftrate thy counfel, nor out-ftrip thy mercies. Now I fee Solomon, of a wanton lover, a grave preacher of mortification ; I fee him quenching thofc inordinate flames with the tears of his repentance. Mefhinks I hear him fighing deeply, betwixt every word of that his folemn penance which he would needs enjoin hi mfelf before all the v/orld. *' I have apply- " ed my heart to know the wickednefs of folly, even " the fooliihnefs of madnefs, and I find more bitter " than J CoKTEMP. VII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 137 " than death the woman whofe heart is as nets and " fnares, and her hands as bands : whofo pleafeth " God (hall be delivered from her, but the fmner iliall • ' be taken by her." Solomon was taken as a fmner, delivered as a pe- nitent. His foul efcaped as a bird out of the fnare of the fowlers ; the fnare was broken, and he delivered. It is good for us that he was both taken, and deliver- ed; taken, that we might not prefume; and, that we might not defpair, delivered. He fmned, that we might not fin; he recovered, that we may not fink under our fin. But, O the juftice of God, infeparable from his mer- cy; Solomon's fin (hall not efcape the rod of men: rather than fo wife an offender fhall want enemies, God /hall raife up three adverfaries unto Solomon; Hadad the Edomite, Bezon the king of Aram, Jero- boam the fon of Nebat; whereof two were foreign, one domeftical. Nothing but love and peace found- ed in the name of Solomon, nothing elfe was found in his reign, while he held in good terms with his God; but, when once he fell foul with his Maker, all things began to be troubled. There are whips laid up againft the time of Solomon's forefeen offence, which are now brought forth for his correction. On purpofe was Hadad, the fon of the king of Edom, hid in a corner of Egypt, from the fword of David and Joab, that he might be referved for a fcourge to the exorbitant fon of David. God would have us make account that our peace ends with our innocence. The fame fin, that fets debate betwixt God and us, arms- the creatures againft us; it were pity we (hould be at any quiet, while we are fallen out with the God of peace. BOOK 138 CONTEMPLA^TIONS. Book XVIII. BOOK XVllI. CONTEMP. I. ReHOBOAM. WHO would not but have looked that (even hundred wives, and three hundred concu- bines fhould have fyrnifhed Solomon's palace with choice of heirs, and have peopled Ifrael with royal ifl'ue ? and now, behold, Solomon hath by all thefe but one fon, and him by an Ammonitefs ! Many a poor man hath an houfeful of children by one wife, while this great king has but one fon by many houfe- fuls of wives. Fertility is not from the means, but from the author : it was for Solomon, that David fung, of old, " Lo, children are an heritage of the '* Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward !" How oft doth God deny this heritage of heirs, where he gives the largeft heritage of lands, and gives moft of thefe living poffeflions, where he gives leaft of the dead, that his bleffings may be acknowledged free un- to both, entailed upon neither ? As the greateft perfons cannot give themrelves chil- dren, fo the wifeft cannot give their children wifdom. Was it not of Rehoboam that Solomon faid ? *' I hat- '* ed all my labour which I had taken under the fun, " becaufe 1 (liould leave it to the man that fhall be •" after nie : and who knoweth whether he fhall be a *' wife man or a fool : yet fhall he rule over all my " labour, wherein I have laboured, and fhevv-ed my- " felf wife under the fun !" All Ifrael found that So- lomon's wit was not propagated : many a fool hath had a wifer fon than this wifeft father : amongft many foRs, it is no news to find fome one defeftive; Solomon hath but one fon, and he no miracle of wifdom. God gives purpofely fo eminent an inflance, to teach men to look up to heaven, both for heirs and graces. Solomon CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 139 Solomon was both the king of Ifrael, and the father of Rehoboarn, when he was fcarce out of his childhood: Rehoboain enters into the kingdom at a ripe age; yet Solomon was the man, and Rehoboarn the child. Age is no jufl meafure of wifdom; there are beardlefs fages, and grey-headed children; not the ancient are wife, but the wife are ancient. Ifrael wanted not for thoufands that were wifer than Reho- boarn; yet, becaufe they knew hira to be the fon of Solomon, no man makes queftionof his government: in the cafe of fucceflion into kingdoms, we may not look into the qualities of a perfon, but into the right. So fecure is Solomon to the people's fidelity to Da- vid's feed, that he follows not his father's exam- ple, in fetting his fon by him in his own throne; here was no danger of a rivalty to enforce it, no eminen- cy in the fon to merit it: it fufFiceth him to know that no bond can be furer than the natural allegiance of fubjed^s. I do not find that the following kings flood upon the confirmation of their people ; but, as thofe that knew the way to their throne, afcended their fteps without aid. As yet the foverelgnty of David's houfe was green, and unfettled; Ifrael therefore doth not now come to attend Rehoboam, but Rehoboarn goes up to meet ifrael : they conie not to his Jerufa- lem, but he goes to their Shechem: " To Shechem '• were all Ifrael come to make him king." if loyal- ty drew them together, why not rather to Jerufalem ? there the majefty of his father's temple, the magnifi- cence of his palace, the v^rv (tones in thofe walls, befides the ftrength of his guard, had pleaded (trongly for their fubjetlion. Shechem had been many ways fatal, was every way incommodious. It is an infinite help or difadvantage that arifes from clrcumfi:ances : the very place puts Ifrael in mind of a rebellion; there Abimelech had raifed up his treacherous ufurpationi over, and againll his brethren ; there Gaol againfl A- bimelechj 140 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. bimelech ; there was Jofeph fold by his brethren ; as if the very foil had been ftained with perfidioufnefs. The time is no fefs ill chofen; Rehoboam had ill counfel ere he bewrayed It; for had he fpeedily call- ed up Ifrael, before Jeroboam could have been fent for out of Egypt, he had found the way clear; a little delay may lofe a great deal of opportunity ; what Ihall we fay of both, but that mifery is led in by infatu- ation? Had not Ifrael been fomewhat predifpofed to a mu- tiny, they had never fent into Egypt for fuch a fpokef- man as Jeroboam, a fugitive, a traitor to Solomon : long had that crafty confpirator lurked in a foreign court. The alliances of princes are not ever neceffary bonds of friendfliip : the brother-in-law of Solomon harbours this fnake in his bofom, and gives that heat, which is repaid with a (ling to the pofterity of fo near an ally; and now Solomon's death calls him back to his native foil. That Ifrael would entertain a rebel, it was an ill fign; worfe yet, that they would counte- nance him; worlt of all, that they would employ him. Nothing doth more bewray evil intentions, than the choice of vicious agents. Thofe that mean well, will not hazard either the fuccefs, or credit of their ani- ons upon offenfive inftruments; none but the fluttifh will wipe their faces with foul clothes. Upright hearts would have faid, as David did to God, fo to his anoint- ed ; " Do not I hate them that hate thee? yea, I " hate them with a perfed hatred." Jeroboam's head had been a fit prefent to have been tendered unto their new king; and now, inftead thereof, they tender them- felves to Jeroboam, as the head of their faction. Had not Reheboam wanted fpirits, he had firft, after Solomon's example, done juftice to his father's traitor, and then have treated of mercy towards his fubjetts: the people foon found the weaknefs of their new fovereign, elfe they durft not have fpoken to him CuNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 141 him by fo obnoxious a tongue : *' Thy father made *' our yoke grievous, make thou it lighter, and we " will ferve thee." Douhtlefs the crafty head of Je- roboam was in this fuit which his mouth uttered in the name of Ifrael : nothing could have been more fubtile ; it feemed a promife, it was a threat ; that which feemed a fuppllcation was a complaint : humi- lity was but a vail for difcontentment; one hand held a paper, the other a fv/ord. Had they faid, Free us from tributes, the capitulation had been grofs, and ftrongly favouring of fedition ; nov/ they fay, " Eafe " us," they profefs his power to impofe, and their willingnefs to yield ; only craving favour in the weight of the impofition. If Rehoboam yield, he blemifnes his father ; if he deny, he endangers the kingdom ; his wilfulnefs fhall feem worthily to abandon his fcepter, if he flick at fo unreafonable a fuit : furelv Ifrael came with a purpofe to cavil ; Jeroboam had fecretly troubled thefe waters, that he might fiin more gainfully. One mal-content is enough to embroil a whole kingdom. How hardily muft it needs found in the ears of Re- hoboam, that the firll word he hears from his people is a querulous challenge of his father's government ; " Thy father made our yoke grievous." For ought I fee, the fuggeftion was not more fpiteful than unjuft. Where was the weight of this yoke, the toil of thefe fervices ? Here were none of the turmoils of war ; no trainings, marchings, encampings, entrenchings, watchings, minings, fieges, fortifications; none of that tedious world of work that attends hoftility : Solo- mon had not his name for nought; all was calm, during that long reign ; and if they had paid dear for their peace, they had no caufe to' complain of an hard match ; the warlike times of Saul and David had ex- haufled their blood, together with their fubftance : what ingratitude was this to cry out of eafe ? Yea, Vol. II. K but 142 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIIL but that peace brought forth coftly and laborious buildings : God's houfe, and the king's, the walls of Jerufalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer, the cities of ftore, the cities of defence, could not rife with- out many a fhoulder ; true, but not of any Ifraelites ; the remainders of Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hi- vites, and Jebufi^es, were put to all the drudgery of thefe great works ; the tafl^-s of Ifrael were eafy and ingenuous, free from fervility, free from painfulnefs. But the charge was theirs, whofoever's was the la- bour. The diet of fo endlefs a retinue, the attend- ance of his feraglio, the purveyance for his forty thoufand (tables, the cod of his facrifices, muft needs weigh heavy, certainly, if it had lain on none but his own. But wherefore went Solomon's navy every three years to Ophir ? to what ufe ferved the fix hundred threefcore and fix talents of gold, that came in one year to his exchequer ? wherefore ferved the larire tributes of foreign nations ? How did he make filver to be in Jerufalem as (tones, if the exactions were fo preflive ? The multitude is ever prone to pick quarrels with their governors ; and whom they feared alive, to cenfure dead. The benefits of fo quiet and happy a reign are pa(t over in filence ; the grievances are recounted with clamour. Who can hope that merit or greatnefs can fhleld him from obloquy, when Solomon is traduced to his own loins ? The propoficion of Ifrael puts Rehoboam to a de- liberation : " Depart ye for three days, then come " again to me." 1 hear no other word of his that argued wifdom ; not to give fudden refolutions, in cafes of importance, was a point that might well be- feem the fon of Solomon. I wonder that he, who had fo much wit as to call for leifure in his anfwer, fhould lliew fo little wit in the improving of that leilure, in the return of that anfwer. Who cannot but hope well to fee the grey heads of Solomon's fecret coun- cil CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 143 cil called to Rehoboani*s cabinet ? As counfellors, as anciertt as Solomon's, they cannot chufe but fee the belt:, the lafeft courle for their new fovereign : they had learned of their old mafter, that " A foft anfwer " appeafeth wrath ;'* wifely therefore do they ad- vife him, " If thou wilt be a fervant to this people this *' day, and fpeak good words to them, they will be " thy fervants for ever.'* It was an eafy condition, with one mouthful of breath to purchafe an everlaft- ing horn-age ; with one gentle motion of his tongue, to bind all peoples hearts to his allegiance for ever. Yet, as if the motion had been unfit, a new council- table is called. Well might this people fay, What will not Rehoboam grudge us, if he think much to to give good words for a kingdom ? There is not more wifdom in taking variety of advice, where the matter is doubtful, than folly, when it is plain. The young heads are confulted ; this very change argues weaknefs : fome reafon might be pleaded for palling from the younger council to the aged ; none for the contrary. Age brings experience ; and it is a fiiame, if with the ancient be not wifdom. Youth is com- monly ralh, heady, infolent, ungoverned, wedded to will, led by humour, a rebel to reafon, a fubjeft to paflion, fitter to execute than to advife. Green-wood is ever (lirinking and warping, whereas the v/ell-fea^ foned holds a conftant firmnefs. Many a life, many a foul,manyaflourifl"jing date hath been ruined byundif- ciplined monitors ; fuch were thefe of Rehoboam, whofe great ftomach tells them, that this conditionating of fubjefts was no other than an affront to their ne\v mafter, and fuggefts to them, how unfit it is for ma- jefty to brook fo fancy a treaty ; how requifite and princely to crufh this prefumption in the Gg^. As fcorning therefore to be braved by the bafe vulgar, they put words of greatnefs and terror in their new prince : " My little finger Ihall be thicker than my K 2 . " father's 144- CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. " father's loins ; my father made your yoke heavy, " I will add to your yoke. My father hath chaftifed " you with whips, 1 will chaftife you with fcorpions.'* The very words have (lings : now muft Ifrael needs think, Hov/ cruel will this man*s hands be, w^hen he thus draws blood with his tongue ? Men are not wont to fpeak out their word ; who can endure the hopes of him that promifeth tyranny ? There can be no good ufe of an indefinite profeflion of rigour and feverlry ; fear is an unfafe guardian of any ftate, much lefs of an unfettled : which was yet worfe, not the fms of Ifrael were threatened, nor their purfes, but their perfons; neither had they defired a remiffion of juftice, but of exadions ; and now they hear of nothing but burdens, and fcourges, and fcorpions. Here vvas a prince and people v^^ell met ; I do not find them fenfible of ought, fave their own profit ; they do not fay. Religion was corrupted in the fhut- tlng up of thy father's days ; idolatry found the free favour of priefts, and temples, and facrifices. Be- gin thy reign with God ; purge the church, demo- lidi thofe piles of abomination, abandon thofe idol- mongers, reftore devotion to her purity. They are all for their penny, for their eafe. He, on the other fide, is all for his will, for an imperious fovereignty, with- out any regard either of their reformation or fatif- faftion : they were worthy of load, that cared for no- thing but their backs; and he worthy of fuch fubjeds, who profefTed to affed: their mifery and torment. Who would not but have looked any whither for the caufe of this evil, rather than to heaven ! yet the holy God challenges it to himfelf ; the caufe was from the Lord, that he might perform this faying by Abi- jah the Shilonite to Jeroboam. As fin is a punilh- ment of fin, it is a part of juflice : the Holy One of Ifrael doth not abhor to ufe even the grolfefl fins to his own juit purpofes. While our wills are free to our i CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 145 our own choice, his decrees are as neceflary as juft ; Ifrael had forfaken the Lord, and worfhipped Afhta- roth the goddefsof the Sidonians, and Chemofli, and Milchom : God owes them and Solomon a whipping; the frowardncfs of Rehoboam fliall pay it them. I fee Jeroboam's plot, the peoples infolence, the young mens mifadvice, the prince's unreafonable aufterity meeting together, through the wife Providence of the Almighty, unwittingly to accomplifh his mod juft decree. All thefe might have done other wife, for any force that was offered to their will ; all would no more do otherwife, than if there had been no predetermination in heaven ; that God may be mag- nified in his wifdom and juftice, while rtian wittingly perifheth in his folly. That three days expectation had warmed thefe fmoking Ifraelites, and made them ready for a com- buftion : upon fo peremptory a refolution of rigour, the flame burfls out, which all the waters of the well of Bethlehem could never quench. The furious mul- titude flies out into a defperate revolt : " What por- " tion have we in David, neither have* we inheri- " tance in the fon of Jeffe. To your tents, O If- " rael ; now, fee to thine own houfe, David. How durft thefe feditious mouths mention David in defiance? One would have thought that very name had been able to have tempered their fury, and to have contained them within the limits of obedience. It was the father of Rehoboam, and the fon of Da- vid, that had led Ifrael into idolatry ; Solomon hath drawn contempt upon his father, and upon his fon. If Ifrael have caft oft' their God, is it marvel that 1 they fhake off his anointed ? Irreligion is the way to I difobedience ; there can be no true fubjection, but I out of confcience ; they cannot make confcience of I civil duties, who mak^ none of divine. ill i4<5 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. In vain fhall Rehoboam hope to prevail by his of- ficer, when himfelf is rejeded. The perfons of princes carry in them characters of majefty ; when their pre- fence works not, how Ihouid their melTage ? If Ado- ram foHcit the people too late with good words, they anfwer him with Hones. Nothing is more untraft- able and violent than an enraged multitude. It was time for Rehoboam to betake himfelf to his chariot ; he faw thofe {tones were thrown at him in his Ado- ram. As the meflenger fuffers for the mafler, fo the mafter fuffers in his meifenger.- Had Rehoboam been in Adoram's cloaths, this death had been his ; only flight can deliver him from thofe that might have been fubjeds ; Jerufalem muft be his refuge againft the confpiracy of Shechem. Blefled be God for lawful government: even a mu- tinous body cannot want an head. If the rebellious Ifraelites haye cafl off their true fovereign, they muft chufe a falfe : Jeroboam, the fon of Nebat, muft be the man. He had need be ikilful, and fit fure, that fhall back the horfe which hath caft his rider. Ifrael could not have anywhere met with more craft and courage than they found in this leader. Rehoboam returns to Jerufalem lighter by a crown than he went forth j Judah and Benjamin ftick ftill faft to their loyalty : xhc example of a general rebel- lion cannot make them unfaithful to the houfe of Da- vid : God will ever referve a remnant free from the common contagion. Thofe tribes, to approve their valour no lefs than their fidelity, will fight againft their brethren for their prince, and will hazard their lives to reduce the crown to the fon of Solomon. An hundred and fourfccre thoufand of them are up in arms, ready to force Ifrael to their denied fubjeftion. ISTo noife founded on both parts but military; no man thought of any thing but blood ; when fuddenly God fends his prophet to forbid the battle, Shemaiah comes with CoNTtMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. 1-47 with a meffage of ceiTation: " Ye Ihall not go up, ** nor figiit againfl your brethren the children of If- *' rael, return every man to his houfe ; for this thing " is from me, faith the Lord." .The word of one filly prophet difmiifes theie mighty armies : he, that v/ould not lay down the threats of his rigour, upon the ad- vice of his ancient counfellors, will lay down his fword upon the word of a feer. Shall we envy or fhame to fee how much the prophets of the Old "^l efta- ment could do ; how little thofe of the New ? If our couuniffion be no lefs from the fame God, the dif- ference of fuccefs cannot go away unrevenged. Th^re was yet fome grace in Rehoboam, that he would not fpurn againfl that which God challenged as his own work. Some godlefs ruffian would have faid, Whofoever is the author, I will be reveno;ed on the inftruments. Rehoboam hath learned this leiTon of his grandfather, " I held my peace, becaufe thou " Lord haft done it." If he might ftrive with the multitude, he knew it was no ftriving with his Maker : quietly therefore doth he lay down his arms, not daring, after that prohibition, to feek the recovery of his kingdom by blood. Where God's purpofes are hid from us, we muft take^thefaireft ways of all lawful remedies; but where God hath revealed his determinations, we muft fit down in an humble fubmiffion ; our ftruggling may aggravate, cannot redrefs our miferies. CoNTEMP. II. Jeroboam. AS there was no public and univerfal conflict be- twixt the ten tribes and the two, fo no peace. Either king found reafon to fortify the borders of hie own territories : Shechem was worthy to be dear to Jeroboam ; a city, as of old, feafoned vv^ith many trea- fons, fo now aufpicious to his new ufurpatian. The K 4 civil 148 CONTEMPLATIONS. Booic XV III. civil defeftion was foon followed by the fpiritual. As there are near refpefls betwixt God and his anointed, fo there is great affinity betwixt treafon and idolatry; there is a connection betwixt, " Fear God" and " Ho- " nour the king;" and no lefs betwixt the negledts of both. In vain (liall a man look for faith in an irreli- gious heart. Next to Ahithophelj I do not find that Ifrael yield- ed a craftier head than Jeroboam's: fo hath he plotted this confpiracy, that, whatever fall, there is no place for a challenge; not his own intrufion, but Ifrael's election hath raifed him to their throne : neither is his cunning lefs in holding ,a ftolen fceptre. Thus he thinks in himfelf; If Ifrael have made me their king, itisbutapangof difcontentment; thefe violent thoughts will not laft always; fudden ftts have commonly fud- den recoveries; their return to their loyalty fhall forfeit my head, together with my crown; they cannot return to God and hold off from their lawful fovereign; they cannot return to Jerufalem, and keep cfffrom God, from their loyalty; thrice a year will their devotion call them up thither, befides the exi- gence of their frequent vows ; how can they be mine, while that glorious temple is in their eye, while the magnificence of the royal palace of David and Solo- mon fliall admonifh them of their native allegiance; while, befides the ftrlicitation of their brethren, the priells and Levites fiiall preach to them the neceflity of their due obedience, and the abomination of their facrifices in their wilful difobedience ; while they fhal!, bv their prefence, put themfelves upon the mercy, or juftice, of their lawful and forfaken prince ? Either therefore I muft divert them from Jerufalem, or elfe I cannot live and reign; it is no diverting them by a direct reftraint ; fuch prohibition would both endanger their utter diftaile, and whet their defire to more ea- gernefs : I may change religion, I may net inhibit iti So CoNTEMP. ir. CONTEMPLATIONS. ,49 So the people have a God, it fufficeth them ; they fhall have fo much formality as may content them : their zeal is not fo fliarp but they can be well pleafed with eafe. 1 will proffer them both a more compendious, and more plaufible worfliip; Jerufalem fhall be fup- plied within mine own borders. Naturally men love to fee the objeds of their devotion ; 1 will therefore feed their eyes with two golden reprefentalions of their God, nearer home ; and what can be more proper, than thofe which Aaron devifed of old to liumour Ifrael ? Upon this peftilent ground, Jeroboam fets up two calves in Dan and Bethel, and perfuades the people, " It is too much for you to go up to Jerufalem, be- " hold thy gods, O Ifrael, which brought thee out '' of the land of Egypt." Oh the mifchief that comes of wicked infidelity ! It was- God's prophet that had rent Jeroboam's garment into twelve pieces, and had given ten of them to him, in token of his (haring the ten tribes ; who, with the fame breath alfo, told him, that the caufe of this diftraclion was their idolatry. Yet now will he inftitute an idolatrous fervice for the holding together of them, whom their idolatry had rent from their true fovereign to him. He fays not, God hath promifed Tie this kingdom; God hath con- ferred it ; God (hall find means to maintain his own act; I will obey him, let him difpofe of me. The God of Ifrael is wife and powerful enough to fetch about his own defigns : but, as if the devices of men were ftronger than God's providence and ordination, he will be working out his own ends by profane poli- cies. Jeroboam being born an Ifraelite, and bred in the court of a Solomon, could not but knov/ the ex- prcfs charge of God againft the making of images, againft the erecting of any rival altars to that of Jeru- falem : yet now, that he fees both thefe may avail piuch to the advancing of his ambitious projeft, he fets up I50 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. up thofe images, thofe altars. Wicked men care not to make bold with God, in cafes of their own comrrio- dity. If the laws of their Maker lie in the way of their>profit or promotion, they either fpurn them out, or tread upon them at pleafure. Afpiring minds will know no God but honour. Ifrael fojourned in Egypt, and brought home a golden calf; Jeroboam fojourns there, and brought home two : it is hard to dwell in Egypt untainted. Not to favour of the fmsof the place we live in, is no lefs ftrange, than for wholefome li- quor, tunned up in a mufty velTe!, not to fmell of the cafk. The beft body may be infefted in a contagious air. Let him beware of Egypt that would be free from idolatry. No fooner are Jeroboam's calves up, than Ifrael is down on their knees : their worfhip follows imme- diately upon the ereclion- How eafily is the unliable vulgar carried into whatfoever religion of authority ! The weather-cock will look w hich way foever the "wind blows : it is no marvel if his fubjeds be brutifli, who hath made a calf his god. Every acceffary to fm is filthy, but the firfl authors of fm are abominable. How is Jeroboam branded in -every of thefe facred leaves ! how do all ages ring of his fact, wiih the accent of difhon,our and indignation! " Jeroboam the fon of Nebat, that made Ifrael to " fm." It was a Ihame for Ifrael that it could be made to fm by a Jeroboam : but, O curfed name of Jeroboam, thatwould draw Ifrael to fm. The followers and abettors of evil are worthy of torment, but no hell is too deep for the leaders of public wickednefs. Religion is clothed with many requifite circurri' fiances. As a new king would have a new god, fo that new god mud have new temples, altars, fervices, priefts, folemnities : all thefe hath Jeroboam inlli- tuted ; all thefe hath he cad in the fame mould with his golden cajves. Falfe devotion doth not more crofs i GoNTEMP. 11. CONTEMPLATIONS. 151 crofs than imitate the true. Satan is no lefs a coun- terfeit than an enemy of God ; he knows it is more eafy to adulterate religion, than to abolifh it. That which God ordained, for the avoidance of idolatry, is made the occafion of it ; a limitation of his holy fervices to Jerufalem. How mifchievoufly do wicked men pervert the wholefome inftitutions of God to their fin, to their bane ? Jeroboam could not be ignorant, how fearfully this very ad was revenged upon Ifrael in the wildernefs ; yet he dares renew it in Dan and Bethel. No ex- ample of judgment can affright wilful offenders. It is not the metal that makes their gods, but the vvorHiip, the facrifices. What facrifices could there be without priefts ? No religion could ever want facred mafters of divine ceremonies : God's clergy was fe- left and honourable, branches of the holy flem of Aaron ; Jeroboam rakes up his priefts out of the chan- nel of the multitude ; all tribes, all perfons were good enough for his fpurious devotion. Leaden priefts are well fitted to golden deities. Religion receives either much honour or blemifh, by the quality of thofe that ferve at her altars. We are not worthy to profefs ourfelves fervants of the true God, if we do not hold his fervice worthy of the beft. Jeroboam's calves muft have facrifices, muft have folemn feftivities, though in a day and month of his own devifing. In vain fhall we pretend to worfliip a god, if we grudge him the juft days and rites of his worlhip. It is ftrange, that he, who thought the dregs of the vulgar good enough for that priefthood, would grace thoTe gods by acting their prieft him.feif ; and yet be- hold where the new king of Ifrael ftands before his nevv' altar, with a fcepter in one hand, and a cenfer in the other, ready to facrifice to his nev/ gods, when the man of God comes from Judah v/ith a mef- fage 15» CONTEMPLATIONS. Book. XVIII. fage of judgment ! O defperate condition of Ifrael, that was fo far gone with impiety, that it yielded not one faithful monitor to Jeroboam! The time was, that the erefting of but a new altar, for memory, for monument, on the other fide of Jordan, bred a chal- lenge to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manafles ; and had coft much Ifraelitilh blood, if the quarrelled tribes had not given a feafonable and pious fatisfac- tion: and now, lo, how the ftronger ftomach of de- generated Ifrael can digeft new altars, new temples, new gods ! What a difference there is betwixt a church and kingdom newly breathing from affliftion, and fettled upon the lees of a mifufed peace ? But, O the patience and mercy of our long-fuffering God, that will not ftrike a very Jeroboam unwarned! Judgment hovers over the heads of fmners, ere it light. If Ifrael afford not a bold reprover of Jero- boam, Judah fhall. When the king of Ifrael is in all the height both of his ftate and fuperftition, honour- ing his folemn day with his richeft devotion, fteps forth a prophet of God, and interrupts that glorious fervice with a loud inclamation of judgment. Doubt- lefs the man wanted not wit to know what difpleafure, what danger mufb needs follow fo unwelcome a mef- fage ; yet dares he, upon the commiflion of God, do this affront to an idolatrous king, in the midft of all his awful magnificence. The prophets of God go upon many a thanklels errand. He is no meffenger for God, that either knows or fears the faces of men. It was the altar, not the perfon of Jeroboam, which the prophet thus threatens; yet not the (tones are flricken, but the founder, in both their apprehen- fions. So dear are the devices of our own brain to us, as if they were incorporated into ourfelves. There is no oppofition whereof we are fo fenfible as that of religion. I'tiat CoNTEMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS/ ,53 That the royal altar (hould be thus polluted by dead mens bones, and the blood of the priefts, was not more unpleafing, than that all this fhould be done by a child of the houfe of David; for Jeroboam well faw, that the throne and the altar muft (land or fall together; that a fon of David could not have fuch power over the altar, without an utter fubverfion of the government, of the fucceffion; therefore is he thus galled with this comminatory prediclion. The rebellious people who had faid, " What portion have " we in David," hear now, that David will perforce have a portion in them; and might well fee, what beads they had made themfelves in worfhipping the image of a beaft, and facrificing to fuch a god, as could not preferve his own altar from violation and ruin. All this while I do not fee this zealous prophet lay- ing his hand to the demolition of this idolatrous altar, or threatening a knife to the author of this deprava- tion of religion; only his tongue fmites both, not with foul, but fharp words, of menace, not of reproach. It was for Jofias a king to fhed the blood of thofe fa- crificers, to deface thofe altars: prophets are for the tongue, princes for the hand : prophets mud only denounce judgment, princes execute. Future things are prefent to the eternal. It was fome two hundred and fixty years, ere this prophefy fliould be fulfilled; yet the man of God fpeaks of it as now in a6ling. What are fome centuries of years to the Ancient of days? How flow, and yet how fure is the pace of God's revenge ? It is not in the power of time to fruftrate God's determinations; there is no lefs juftice, nor feverity in a delayed punifh- ment. What a perfect record there is of all names in the roll of heaven, before they be, after they are pad I Whatever feeming contingency there is in their impo- fition. 154 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVilL fition, yet they fall under the certainty of a decree, and are better known in heaven ere they be, than on earth while they are. He, that knows what names we fhall have, before we or the world have a being, doth not oft reveal this piece of his knowledge to his creature; here he doth, naming the man that (liould be two hundred years after ; for more afl'urance of the event, that Ifrael may fay, this man fpeaks from a God who knows what Ihall be. There cannot be a more fure evidence of a true Godhead, than the fore- knowledge of thofe things, whofe caufes have yet no hope of being ; but becaufe the proof of this prediction was no more certain than remote, a prefent demon- itration (hall convince the future : " The altar fliall *' rend in pieces, the afhes fhall be fcattered.'* How amazedly muft the feduced Ifraelites needs look upon this miracle ! and why do they not think with them- felves. While thefe (tones rend, why are our hearts whole ! Of what an over-ruling power is the God •whom we have forfaken, that can thus tear the altars of his corrivals ! How (hall we (land before his ven- geance, when the very (tones break at the word of his prophet ! Perhaps fome beholders were thus af- fected ; but Jeroboam, whom it mod concerned, in- if ead of bowing his knees for humiliation, (tretcheth forth his hand for revenge, and cries, Lay hold on him. Refolute wickednefs is impatient of a reproof, and, inftead of yielding to the voice of God, rebelleth. [u(t and difcreet reprehenfion doth not more reform fmners than exafperate others. How eaiy is it for God to cool the courage of proud Jeroboam? the hand, which his rage (tretches out, dries up, and cannot be pulled back again ; and now Itandi the king of Ifrael, like fome antic (tatue, in a pofture of impotent endeavour, fo difabled to the hurt of the prophet, that he cannot command that piece of him- fclf. What are the great potentates of the world, in the CoNTEMP. II. COiNTEMPLATIONS. 15J the powerful hand of the Almighty! Tyrants cannoc be fo harmful, as they are malicious. The flrongeft heart may be brought down with affliction : now the flout ftomach of Jeroboam is fallen to an humble deprecation : *' Intreat now the face •' of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my *' hand may be reflored me again." It muft needs be a great flrait that could drive a proud heart to beg mercy, where he bent his perfecution ; fo doth Jero- boam, holding it no fcorn to be beholden to an ene- my. In extremities, the word men can be content to fue for favour, where they have fpent their malice. It well becomes the prophets of God to be merci- ful. I do not fee this feer to ftand upon terms of ex- probation, and overly conteflations with Jeroboam, to fay. Thine intentions to me were cruel ; had thine hand prevailed, I fhould have fued to thee in vain : continue ever a fpeclacle of the fearful juftice of thy Maker, whom thou hafl provoked by thine idolatry, whom thou tvouldfh have fmitten in my perfecution ; but he meekly fues for Jeroboam's releafe, and, that God might abundantly magnify both his power and mercy, is heard and aafwered with fuccefs. We do no whit favour of neaven, if we have not learned to do good for evil. When both wind and fun, the blafls of judgment and the beams of favour, met together to work upon. Jeroboam, who would not look that he fhould have caft off his cumberous and mif-befeeming cloak of his idolatry, and have faid. Lord, thou hafl ftricken me in juftice, thou haft healed me in mercy ; I will pro- voke thee no more. This hand, v^'hlch thou haft re- ftored, ftiall be confecrated to thee, in pulling down, thefe bold abominations ; yet now, behold he goes on in his old courfes, and, as if God had neither done him good nor evil, lives and dies idolatrous. No iftone is more hard or infenfate than a fmful heart: the changes 156 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVII L changes of judgment and mercy do but obdure it, inftead of melting. CoNTEMP. III. The /educed Prophet. Jeroboam's hand is amended, his foul is not; that continues ftill dry and inflexible: yet, while he is unthankful to the author of ois recovery, he is thankful to the inftrument ; he kindly invites the prophet whom he had threatened, and will remune- rate him whom he had endeavoured to punifh. The word men may be fenfible of bodily favours. Civil refpects may well ftand with gracelefnefs. Many a one would be liberal of their purfes, if they might be allowed to be niggardly of their obedience. As God, fo his prophet, cares not for thefe wafle courtefies, w^here he fees main duties neglecled. More piety would have done well with lefs compliment. The man of God returns a blunt and peremptory de- nial to fo bounteous an offer: " If thou«wilt give me " half thine houfe, I will not go in with thee, neither *' will I eat bread or drink water in this place." Kind- nefs is more fafely done to an idolater, than taken from him; that which is done to him obligeth him, that which is taken from him obligeth us: his obli- gation to us may be occafion of his good, our obli- gation to him may occafion our hurt; the furelt way is to keep aloof from the infectioufly wicked. The prophet is not uncivil, to reject the favour of a prince without fome reafon : he yields no reafon of his refufal but the command of his God. God hath charged him, " Eat no bread, nor drink no water, nor turn *' again by the fame way that thou cameil." It is not for a prophet to plead human or carnal grounds for the adions of his function : he may not move but upon a divine warrant. Would this feer have looked with the eyes of flelh and blood, he might have found many CoNtEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 157 many arguments for his yielding : He is a king that invites me; his reward, by enriching me, may benefit many ; and who knows how much my further con- verfation may prevail to reform him ? how can he be but well prepared for good counfel by a miraculous cure ? how gainfully fhould my receipt of a temporal courtefy be exchanged with a fpiritual to him ? all Ifrael will follow him either in idolatry, or reforma- tion ; which way can be devifed of doing fo great fer- vice to God and the church, as by reclaiming him? What can yield fo great likelihood of his reclamation, as the opportunity of my further entirenefs with him i* But the prophet dares not argue cafes, where he had a command ; whatever become of Jeroboam and Ifrael, God muft be obeyed; neither profit, nor hopes may carry us crofs to the word of our Maker. How fafe had this feer been, if he had kept him ever upon this fure guard, which he no fooner leaves than he mifcarries. So deeply doth God deteft idolatry, that he for- bids his prophet to eat the bread, to drink the water of a people infected wath this fin ; yea, to tread in thofe very (leps Vv^hich their feet have touched. If this inhibition were perfonal, yet the grounds of it are common. No peftilence (hould be more fhunned than the converfation of the mifreligious, or openly fcandalous. It is no thank to us, if their familiarity dp not infect us with their wickednefs. I know not what to think of an old prophet that dwells in Bethel, within rhe air of Jeroboam's idol^ within the noife of his facrifices ; that lives where the man of God dares not eat ; that permitted his fons to be prefent at that idolatrous fervice. If he were a prophet of God, what did he now in Bethel ? why did he wink at the fm of Jeroboam? what needed a feer to come out of Judah, for the reproof of that fm, which was adted under his nofe? w^hy did he lie? Vol. U. h why I 158 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. why did his family partake with idolaters ? if he were not a prophet of God, how had he true vifions, how had he true meifages from God ? why did he fecond the menacing word of that prophet, whom he feduced ? why did he defire tha' his own bones n.ight be honoured with his fepulchre ? Doubtlefs he was a prophet of God, but corrupt, refty, vicious. Pro- phefy doth not always prefuppofe " fan(5lItic;:"!on ; many a one hath had vifions from God, who fhall ne- ver enjoy the vifion of God. A very Balaam, in his extafies, hath fo clear revelation of the MelTiah to come, as fcarce ever any of the holieft prophets ; yea, his very af? hath both her mouth miraculoufly open^ ed, and her eyes, to fee and notify that angel, which was hid from her mafler : yea, Satan himfelf fome- times receives notice from God of his future anions ; which e!fe that evil fpirit could neither foretel, nor forefee. Thefe kinds of graces are both rare and com- mon ; rare, in that they are feldom given to any ; common, in that they are indifferently given to the evil and to the good. A little holinefs is worth much illumination. Whether out of envy, to hear that faid by the feer of Judah, which he either knew not or fmother- ed ; to hear that done by another, which he could not have effefted, and could not chufe but admire; or w^hether out of defire to make trial of the fidelity of fo povverful a meffenger, the old prophet hadens to overtake, to recall that man of God, who had fo de- fied his Bethel, whom he finds fitting faint and weary under an oak in the way, taking the benefit of that fhade which he hated to receive from thofe conta- gious groves that he had left behind him : his habit eafily bewrayed him, to a man of his own trade ; nei- ther doth his tongue fpare to profefs himfelf. The old prophet of Bethel invites him to return, to a re- pafl J and is anfwered with the fame words, where-r. with CoKTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. ,59 with Jeroboam's offer was repelled : the man of God varies not a fyllable from his mellage. It concerns us to take good heed of our charge, when we go on God's errand. A denial doth but invite the impor- tunate ; what he cannot do by intreaty, the old man tries to do by perfuaiion: '* 1 am a prophet alfo as thou " art, and an angel fpake to me by the word of the " Lord, laying. Bring him back with thee into thine " houfe, that he may eat bread and drink water." There is no temptation fo dangerous, as that which comco (hrouded under a veil of holinefs, and pretends authority from God himfelf. Jeroboam threatens, the prophet Itands undaunted; Jeroboam fawns and pro- mifes, the prophet holds conllantf^now comes a grey- headed feer, and pleads a counter meffage from God, the prophet yields and tranfgreffes. Satan may af- fright us as a fiend, but he feduces us as an angel of Who would have looked for a liar under hoary- hairs, and an holy mantle ? who would not have trufted that gravity, when there was no colour of any gain in the untruth? Nothing is fo apt to deceive as the faireft fembiances, as the fweeteft words. We cannot err, if we believe not the fpeech for the per- fon, but the perfon for the fpeech. Well might this man of God think, an aged man, a prophet, an old prophet, will not, fure, belie God unto a prophet; no man will forge a lie, but for an advantage. What can this man gain by this match, but the entertain- ment of an unprofitable guefl. Perhaps though God would not allow me to feafb with Jeroboam, yet, pity- ing my faintnefs, he may allow me to eat with a pro- phet. Perhaps now that I have approved my fideli- ty in refufmg the bread of Bethel, God thinks good to fend me a gracious releafe of that ftricl charge. Why fliould I think, that God's revelations are not as free to others, as "to me ? and if this prophet hath re~ I. 3 ceived i5o CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. ceived a countermand from an angel of God, how Ihall I not difobey God, if I do not follow him? Upon this ground he returns with this deceitful hoft ; and, when the meat was now in his mouth, receives the true meffage of death, from the fame lips that brought him the falfe meffage of his invita- tion ; thus faith the Lord, " For as much as thou haft " difobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and haft not " kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, but " cameft back and haft eaten bread, and drunk wa- " ter in the place forbidden thee, thy carcafs ftiall *' not come to the fepulchre of thy fathers." O wo- ful prophet ! when he looks on his hoft, he fees his- executioner ; while he is feeding of his body, he hears of his carcafs : at the table he hears of his denied fe- pulchre ; and all this, for eating and drinking where he was forbidden by God, though bidden as from God» The violation of the leaft charge of a God is mortal. No pretences can warrant the tranfgreffion of a divine command: a word from God is pleaded on both fides; the one was received immediately from God, the other related mediately by man: one the prophet was fure of, the other v/as queftionable. A fure word of God may not be left for an uncertain : an exprefs charge of the Almighty admitteth not of any check: his will is but one, as himfelf is ; and therefore it is out of the danger of contradiction. Methinks I fee the man of God change countenance at this ftiarp fauce of his pleafmg morfels ; his face before-hand is dyed with the palenefs of death. Me- thinks I hear him urging many unkind expoftulations with his injurious hoft, who yet difmiffes him better provided for the eafe of his journey than he found him. Perhaps this officioufnefs was out of defire to make fome amends for this late feducement. It is a poor recompence when he hath betrayed his life, and wronged- CoNTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. r6i ■uTonged the foul, to cafl fome courtefies upon the body. This old Bethelite, that had taken pains to come and fetch the man of God into fm, will not now go back with him to accompany his departure. Doubtlefs he was afraid to be enwrapped in the judgment which he faw hanged over that obnoxious head. Thus the mifchievous guides of wickednefs leave a man, when they have led him to his bane ; as familiar devils for- fake their witches, when they have brought them once into fetters. The man of God returns alone, careful, no doubt, and penfive for his offence, when a lion out of the wood meets, affaults, and kills him. O the juft and Jevere judgments of the Almighty, who hath brought this fierce bead out of his wild ranges, into the high- way, to be the executioner of his offending fervant ! Doubtlefs this prophet was a man of great holinefs, of fmgular fideUty, elfe he durft not have been God's herald to carry a meffage of defiance to Jeroboam, king of Ifrael, in the midft of all his royal magnifi- cence; yet now, for varying from but a circum- flance of God's command, though upon the fuggef- tion of a divine warrant, is given for a prey to the lion. Our intereft in God is fo far from excufing our fm, that it aggravates it : of all others the fin of a prophet fhall not pafs unrevenged. The very wild beafls are led by a providence ; their wife and powerful Creator knows how to ferve himfelf of them. The lions guard one prophet, kill an- other, according to the commifiion received from their Maker. What finner can hope to efcape unpunifhed, when every creature of God is ready to be an aven- ger of evil? The beafls of the field were made to ferve us, we to ferve our Creator. When we forfake our homage to him that made us, it is no marvel if the fceafts forget their duty to us, and deal with us not as L 3 mafters, iSi CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIIL rriafters, but as rebels. When an holy man buys fo dearly fuch a flight frailty, of a credulous miftaking, what fhall become of our heinous and prefumptuous fins ! I cannot think but this prophet died in the favour of God ; though, by the teeth of the lion, his life was forfeited for example, his foul was fafe ; yea, his very carcafs was left, though torn, yet fair, after thofe deadly graJps ; as if God had faid, I will only take thy breath from thee, as the penalty of thy difobe- dience : a lion fhall do that which an apoplexy, or fever might do. I owe thee no further revenge than may be fatisfied with thy blood. Violent events do not always argue the anger of God ; even death itfelf is to his fervants a fatherly caftigation. But, O the unfearchable ways of the Almighty ! the man of God fms, and dies fpeedily ; the lying prophet that feduced him furvives; yea, wicked Jero- boam enjoys his idolatry, and treads upon the grave of his reprover. There is neither favour in the de- lay of flrlpes, nor difpleafure in the hafte ; rather ' whom God loves he chaftifes, as fnarply, fo fpeedily, while the reic profpers to condemnation : even the rod of a loving father m.iy draw blood. How much happier is it for us, that we die now to live for ever, than that we live a while to die ever ! Had this lion fet upon the prophet for hunger, why did he not devour as well as kill him ? why did he not rather kill the beafl than the man, fmce we know the nature of the lion fuch, that he is not wont to aflTail man, fave in the extreme want of other prey ? Certainly the fame power that employed thofe fangs relirained them, that the world might fee, it was not appetite that provoked the beaft to that violence, but rhe over-ruling comm.and of God. Even fo, O Lord, ihy powerful hand is over that roaring lion, that goes about CcNTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 165 about continually feeking whom he may devour! thine hand with-holds him, that though he may (lied the blood of thine elecl, yet he cannot hurt their fouls; and while he doth thofe things which thou permitted, and ordereft to thy jufl: ends, yet he can- not do lefler things which he defireth, and thou per- mirteft: not. The fierce beafl: (lands by the carcafs, as to avow his own a"ct, and to tell who fent him, fq to prefer ve that body which he had flain. O wonderful work of God! the executioner is turned guardian; and, as the officer of the Higheft, commands all other crea- tures to fland aloof from his charge, and commands the fearful afs, that brought this burden thither, not to (lir thence but to fland ready preft, to carry it to the fepulchre : and now, when he hath fufficiently wit- nelTed to all paffengers, that this adl was not done up- on his ou n hunger, but upon the quarrel of his Ma- ker, he delivers up his charge to that old prophet, who was no lefs guilty of this blood than himfeif. This old feducer had fo much truth, as both to give a right commentary upon God's intention in this aft, for the terror of the diiobedient, and to give his voice to the certainty of that future judgment which his late gueft had threatened to Ifrael: fomecimes it pleaf- eth the wifdom of God to exprefs and juftify himfeif, even by the tongues of faulty inftruments. Withal, he hath fo much faith and courage, as to fetch that carcafs from the lion, fo much pity and' corapallion as to weep for the man of God, to inter him in his own fepulchre, fo much love as tawifh himfeif joined in death to that body v/hich he had haflened unto ^eath. It is hard to find a man abfolutely wicked : fome grace will bewray itfelf in the mofl forfaken breads. It is a cruel courtefy to kill a man, and then to help him to his grave: to betray a man wdth cur breath, L 4 and 164. CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIIL and then to bedew him with our tears: The prophet had needed no fach friend, if he had not met with fuch an enemy : " The mercies of the wicked are *' cruel." CoNTEMP. IV. Jeroboam's Wife, IT is no meafuring of God's favour by the line of outward welfare : Jeroboam, the idolatrous ufurp- er of Ifrael, profpers better than the true heirs of Da- vid; he lives to fee three fucceffions in the throne of Judah; thus the ivy lives, while the oak is dead. Yet could not that milbegotten crown of his keep his head always from aching; he hath his crofles too. God whips fometimes more than his own; his enemies fmart from him as well as his children; his children in love, his enemies in judgment. Not fimply the rod argues love, but the temper of the hand that wields it, and the back that feels it. Firfl: Jeroboam's hand was flricken, now his fon; Abijah the eldeft, the bell fon of Jeroboam, is fmitten with ficknefs. As chil- dren are but the pieces of their parents in another ikin, fo parents are no lefs flricken in their children, than in their natural limbs ; Jeroboam doth not more feel his arm, than his fon : not wicked men only, but beads may have natural aifedions. It is no thank to any creature to love his own. Nature wrought in Jeroboam, not grace; he is e- nough troubled with his fon's difeafe, no whit bet- tered: I would have heard him fay, God follows me with his afflliSlions, it is for mine impiety; what other .meafure can I expeft from his juftice.'' while mine idols iland how can 1 look that my houfe fhould prof- per? I will turn from my wickednefs, O God, turn thou from thy wrath. Thefe thoughts were too good for that obdurate heart : his fon is fick, he is forrow- |"ul; but, as an amazed ma,n feeks to go forth at the wronff CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 165 wrong door, his diftraclion fends him to a falfe help: he thinks not of God, he thinks of his prophet; he thinks of the prophet that had foretold him he fhould be a king, he thinks not of the God of that prophet who made him a king. It is the properly of a car- nal heart to confine both his obligations and his hopes to the means, neglefting the author of good. Vain is "the refpecl that is given to the fervant, where the mafter is contemned. Extremity draws Jeroboam's thoughts to the pro- phet, whom eife he had not cared to remember. The king of Ifrael had divines enow of his own, elfe he muft needs have thought them miferable gods that were not worth a prophet: and, befides, there was an old prophet, if he yet furvived, dwelling within the fmoke of his palace, whofe vifions had been too well approved : why fhould Jeroboam fend fo far to au Ahijah ! Certainly his heart defpifed thofe bafe priefts of his high places, neither could he truft either to the gods, or the clergy of his own making : his confcience refts upon the fidelity of that man whofe doctrine he had forfaken. How did this idolater flrive airainfl his own heart, whihl he inwardly defpifed thofe whom he pro- feffed to honour; and inwardly honoured them whom he profefTed to defpife! Wicked breafts are falle to themfelves; neither trufting to their own choice, nor making choice of ihat which they may dare to truft. Thsy will fet a good face upon their fecretly unplea-^ fmg fms, and had rather be felf-condemned than wife and penitent. As for that old feer, it is like Jerobo- am knew his fkill, but doubted of his fmcerity; that man was too much his neighbour to be good, A- hijah's truth had been tried in a cafe of his own. He, whofe word was found jult in the prediction of his kingdom, was well worthy of credit in the news of his fon. Experience is a gre:i: encouragement of our i66 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. our truft. It is a good matter to be faithful ; this loadftone of our fidelity fhall draw to us even hearts of iron, and hold them to our reliance; as, contrarily, deceit doth both argue and make a bankrupt. Who can truft where he is dil'appointed ! O God, fo oft, fo ever have we found thee true in all thy promifes, in all thy performances, that, if we do not feek thee, if we do not truft thee in the fequel, we are worthy of our lofs, worthy of thy defertions. Yet I do not fee that Jeroboam fends to the pro- phet for his aid, but for intelligence. Curiofjty is guilty of this meffage, and not devotion j he calls not for the prayers, nor for the benedidion of that holy man, but for mere information of the event. He well faw what the prayers of a prophet could do: that which cured his hand, might it not have cured his fon ? yet he that faid to a man of God, " Intreat the face of the " Lord thy God, that he may reftore my hand,'* fays not now, in his meflage to Ahljah, IntVeat thy God to reftore my fon. Sin makes fuch a ftrangenefs be- twixt God and man, that the guilty heart either thinks not of fuing to God, or fears it. What a poor content- ment it was to foreknow that evil which he could not avoid, and whofe notice could but haften his mifery,? Yet thus fond is our reftlefs curiofity, that it feeks cafe in the drawing on of torment : he is worthy of forrow that will not ftay till it comes to him, but goes to fetch it. Whom doth Jeroboam fend on this meffage but his w ife, and how, but difguifed ? why her, and \vhy thus ? Neither durft he truft this errand with another, nor with her in her own form : it v/as a fecret that Jeroboam fends to a prophet of God ; none might knov/ it but his own bofom, and (lie that lay in it ; if this had been noifed in L^ael, the example had beeijt, dangerous : who would not have Hiid, the king is glad to leave his counterfeit deities, and feek to the true; why CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 167 why fliould we adhere to them whom he forfakes ? As the meflage muft not be known to the people, fo (he that bears it muft not be known to the prophet; her name, her habit muft be changed ; (he muft put off her robes, and put on a ruflet coat ; (he mufl put off .the queen, and put on the pealant ; inftead of a fcepter, (he muft take up a baiket, and go a mafked pilgrimage to Shiloh. O the fondnefs of vain men, that think to juggle with the Almighty, and to hide their counfels from that all feeing eye ! If this change of habit were neceftary at Bethel ^ yet what needs it at Shiloh ^ though die would hide her face from her fubjecls, yet why ihould fhe not put off her muffler, and (hew herfelf to the prophet ? Certainly, what po- licy began, guiltinefs muft continue. Well might fhc think, there can be no good anfwer expeded of the wife of Jeroboam ; my prefence will do no lefs than folicit a reproof. No prophet can jpeak well to the confort of a founder of idolatry ; 1 may perhaps hear good as another, though, as for myfch, I can look for nothing but tidings of evil. Wicked hearts know they deferve ill at God's hands, and therefore they do all they can to avoid the eyes of his dirpleafedjuf- tice, and if they cannot do it by colours of dilTimuIa- tion, they will do it by imploration of fhelter ; they ftiall fay to the rocks, " Fall on us, and cover us." But, O the grofs folly mixt with the craft of wick- ednefs ! could Jeroboam think that the prophet could know the event of his fon's difeafe, and did he think he could not know the difguife of his wife? the one was prefent, the other future; this was but wrapt in a clout, that event was wrapt in the counfel of God ; •yet this politic head prefumes that the greater (hall be revealed, where the lefTer fhall be hid. There ypas never v/icked man that was not infatuate, and in nothing more than in thofe things wherein he hoped mod to tranfceiid the reach of oth'rTs. Ahijah i68 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIIf. Ahljah, fhunning the iniquity of the times, was re- tired to a folitary corner of 8hiloh ; no place could be too private for an honeft prophet, in fo extreme depravednefs ; yet even there doth the king of Ifrael take notice of his reclufion, and fends his wife to that poor cell laden with prefents, prefents that dilfembled their bearer ; had fhe offered jewels or gold, her greatnefs had been fufpefted ; now (he brings loaves and cracknels, and honey ; her hand anfwers her back ; fhe gives as (he feems, not as Ihe is. Something fhe muft: give, even when fhe afts the pooreft client. The prophets of God were not wont to have empty vifitations : they who hated bribes, yet refufed not to- kens of gratitude. Yea the God of heaven, who nei- ther needs our goods, nor is capable of our gratifica- tions, yet would have no man to come to him giftlefs. Wo to thofe facrilegious hands, that, inftead of bring- ing to the prophets, carry from them. Jeroboam was a bad man, yet, as he had a to- wardly fon, fo he had an obedient wife, elfc fhe had not wanted excufes to turn off both the journey and the difguife ; againfl the difguife, fhe had pleaded the unbefeemingnefs of her perfon and flate ; againfl the journey, the perils of fo long and folitary a walk. Perhaps a lion might be in the way, the lion that tore the prophet in pieces ; perhaps robbers ; or, if not they, perhaps her chaftity might be in danger : an unguarded folitarinefs in the weaker fex might be a provocation to fome forced uncleannefs. She cafls off all thefe fhifting projedtions of fear ; according to the will of her hufband, fhe changes her raiment, fhe fets upon the journey, and overcomes it. What need- ed this difguife to an old prophet, whofe dim eyes were fct with age ? all clothes, all faces were alike to a blind feer. The vilions of Abijah were inward, neither was his bodily fight more dufky, than the eyes of his mind were clear and piercing. It was not thQ CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 169 the common light of men whereby he faw, but divine illumination : things abfent, things future were no lefs obvious to thofe fpiiitual beams, than prefent things are to us. Ere the quick eyes of that great lady can difcern him, he hath efpied her ; and, fo foon as he hears the found of her feet, fhe hears from him the found of her name, " Come in, thou wife of Je- " roboam." How God laughs in heaven at the fri- volous fetches of crafty politicians, and, when they think themfelves mofl; fure, fhames them with a de- teftion, v/ith a defeat ! What an idlenefs it is for foolifli hypocrites, to hope they can dance in a net, unfeen of heaven ? Never before was this queen troubled to hear of herfelf, now fhe is ; her very name ftruck her with aftonifliment, and prepares her for the aflured horror of following judgments, " I am fent to thee with hea- " vy tidings ; go tell Jeroboam, Thus faith the Lord " God of Ifrael.** Could this lady lefs wonder at the mercy of this ftyle of God, than tremble at the fequel of his juftice? Lo, Ifrael hath forfaken God, yet God ftill owns Ifrael. Ifrael hath gone a whoring, yet God hath not divorced her. O the infinite good- nefs of our long-fuffering God, whom our fouleft fins' cannot rob of his compaflions ! By how much dearer Ifrael was to God, fo much more odious is Jeroboam that hath marred Ifrael. Terrible is that vengeance which God thunders againft him by his prophet, whofe paffionate meifage upbraids him with his promotions, chargeth him with his fins, and laftly denounceth his judgments. No mouth was fitter to call this royalty in the teeth of Jeroboam, than that by which it was firfl; foretold, fore-promif- ed : every circumftance of the advancement aggra- vates the fin, " I exalted thee ;" thou couldfl not rife to honour alone. " I exalted thee from among " the people," not from the peers j thy rank was but I70 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVUI. but common before this rife : " I exalted thee from " among the people to be a prince :" fubordinate height was not enough for thee, no feat would ferve thee but a throne; " yea, to be a prince of my people " Ifrael.'" No nation was for thee but my choferi one, none but my royal inheritance: neither did I raife thee into a vacant throne; a forlorn and forfaken principality might be thanklefs; but '• I rent the king- " dom away from another for thy fake," yea, from what other than the grandchild of David? out of his hands did I wreft the fceptre, to give it into thine. O what high favours doth God fometimes cad away upon unworthy fubjefts! How do his abufed bounties double both their fm and judgment ? The fms of this prince were no lefs eminent than his obligations, therefore his judgments (hall be no lefs eminent than his fms. How bitterly doth God exprefs that, v/hich (hall be more bitter in the execu- tidn; "Behold, i wU bring evil upon the houfe of " Jeroboam, and will cut oif from Jeroboam him " that pifl'eth againfl the wall, and him that is ihut up " and left in Ifrael, and will take away the remnant " of the houfe of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away " dung, till it be ali gone. Him that dieth of Jero- " boam in the city fhall the dogs eat, and him that " dieth in the field fliall the fowls of the air eat.'* O heavy load that this difguifed princefs muft carry to her hulband! But becaufe thefe evils, though griev- ous, yet might be remote, therefore, for a prefent hanfei of vengeance, fhe is difmiifed with the fad tid- ings of the death of her fon; " When thy feet enter " into the city the child fliall die." It is heavy news for a mother that fhe muft lole her fon, but worfe yet that fhe may not fee him. In thefe cafes of our final departures, our prefence gives fome mitigation to our grief. Might Ihe but have clofed the eyes, and have received the lafl breath of her dying fon, I ths CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. ,71 the lofs had been more tolerable; I know not how our perfonal farewell eafes our heart, even while it increafes our paflion; but now ilie fhall no more fee, nor be feen of her Abijah. She fhall no fooner be in the city, than he fhall be out of the world. Yet niore, to perfect her forrow, fhe hears, that in him alone there is found fome good, the reft of her ilTue are gracelefs; fhe muft lofe the good, and hold the gracelefs; he fhall die to afflict her, they fliall live to alflicl her. Yet what a mixture is here of feverity and favour in one act ? favour to the fon, feverity to the father; feverity to the father, that he muft lofe fuch a fon, favour to the fon. that he fhall be taken from fuch a father. Jeroboam is wicked, and therefore he fhall not enjoy an Abijah ; Abijah hath fome good things, therefore he fhall be removed from the danger of the depravation of Jeroboam. Sometimes God ftrikes in favour, but more often forbears out of feverity. The beft are fitteft for heaven, the earth is fitteft for the worft; this is the region of fm and mifery, that of im- mortality. It is no argument of disfavour to be taken early from a well-led life, as not of approbation to age in fm. As the foul of Abijah is favoured in the removal, fo is his body with a burial; he ftiall have alone both tears and tomb, all the reft of his brethren fhall have no grave but dogs and fowls, no forrow but for their life. Though the carcafs be infenfible of any porti- on, yet honeft fepulture is a blefllng. It is fit the bo- dy fhould be duly refpeded on earth, whofe foul is glorious in heaven. , CoNTEMP. V. Asa. "" I 'HE two houfes of Judah and Ifrael grow up now -^ together in an ambitious rivalty; this fplitted plant branches out fo feverally, as if it had forgotten that ^72 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIIL that ever it was joined in the root. The throne of !David oft changerh the poffeffors, and more complain- eth of their iniquity than tiieir remove. Abijam in- herits the fms of his father Rehoboam, no lefs than his crown ; and fo fpends his three years, as if he had been no whit of kin to his grandfather's virtues. It is no news that grace is not traduced, while vice is 5 therefore is his reign fhort, becaufe it was wicked. It was a fad cafe, when both the kings of Judah and If- rael, though enemies, yet confpired in fin. Reho- boam, like his father Solomon, began graciouily, but fell to idolatry ; as he followed his father, fo his fon, fo his people followed him. O what a face of a church was here, when Ifrael worfhipped Jeroboam's calves, when Judah built them high places and ima- ges, and groves on every high hill, and under every green tree ! On both hands God is forfaken, his temple neglefted, his worfhip adulterate; and this, not for fome fliort brunt, but during the fuccellion of two kings : for, after the firft three years, Rehobo- am changed his father's religion, as his fhields, from gold to brafs ; the reft of his feventeen years were led in impiety. His fon ii^bijam trod in the fame miry freps, and Judah with them both. If there were any, doubtlefs there were fome, faithful hearts yet remain- ing in both kingdoms, during thefe heavy times; what a corrofive it mufl needs have been to them, to fee fo deplored and miferable a depravation ? There was no vifible church upon earth but here ; and this, v^hat a one ? O God, how low doft thou fometimes fuffer thine own flock to be driven ! what woful wanes and eclipfes hafl thou ordained for this heavenly body ! Yet, at laft, an Afa (hall aril'e from the loins, from the grave of Abijam, he (hall revive David and reform Judah. The gloomy times of cor- luption fhall not laft always : the light of truth and pe^ce CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 173 peace fhall at length break out, ami blefs the fad hearts of the righteous. It is a wonder how Afa (hould be good, of the feed of Abijam, of the foil of Maachah, both wicked, both idolatrous. God would have us fee that grace is from heaven, neither needs the helps of thefe earthly- conveyances. Should not the children of good pa- rents fometimes be evil, and the children of evil pa- rents good, virtue vi^ould feem natural, and the giver would lofe-his thanks. Thus we have feen a fair flower fpring out of dung, and a well-fruited tree rife out of a four ftock : education hath no lefs power to corrupt, than nature. It is therefore the jufl: praife of Afa, that, being trained up under an idolatrous Maachah, he maintained his piety ; as, contrarily, it is a fhame for thofe, that have been bred up in the precepts and examples of virtue and godlinefs, to fall off to lewdnefs or fuperftition. ■ There are four prin- cipal monuments of Afa's virtue, as fo many rich ftones in his diadem ; he took away fodomy, and idols out of Judah. "Who cijnnot wonder more that he found them there, than that he removed them! what a ftrange incongruity is this, Sodom in jerufalem! idols in Judah ! Surely debauched profeffion proves defperate ; admit the idols, ye cannot doubt of the fodomy. If they have changed the glory of the un- corruptible God into an image, made like to cor- ruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beaflsj and creeping things, it is no marvel, if God give them up to uncleannefs, through the lufl of their own hearts, to diHionour their own bodies between themfelves. If they changed the truth of God into a lie, and worfhipped and ferved the creature more than the Creator, w^ho is blelfed for ever, no mar- vel if God give them to vile afF»;ctions, to change the natural ufe into that which is againft nature^ Vol. II. M bumincr 1*74 CONTEMPLATIONS. Boor XVIII. burning in lufl one towards another, men with men, working that which is unfeemly. Contrarily, admit the fodomy, ye cannot doubt of the idols ; unnatural beaftlinefs in manners is pu- nifhed jullly with a fottifh dotage in religion, bodily pollution with fpiritual. How fiiould the foul care to be chafte, that keeps a Itew in the body ! Afa be- ,gins with the banifhment of both, fcouring Judah of this double uncleannefs. In vain fhould he have hoped to reflore God to his kingdom, while thefe abo- minations inhabited it. It is juflly the main care of worthy and religious princes to clear their coafls of the fouled fms. O the impartial zeal of Afa ! There were idols that challenged a prerogative of favour, the idols that his father had made ; all thefe he de- faces : the name of a father cannot proteft an idol ; the duty to his parent cannot win him to a liking, to a forbearance of his mifdevotion ; yea, fo much the more doth the heart of Afa rife againft thefe puppets, for that they were the fin, the fhame of his father. Did there want, think we, fome courtier of his fa- ther's retinue, to fay. Sir, favour the memory of him that begot you; you cannot demolilh thefe fta-, tues, without the diflionour of their ereftor; hide your diflike at the leaft ; it will be your glory to lay vour finger upon this blot of your fathers reputation; ir you lift not to allow his ad:, yet wink at it. The godly zeal of Afa turns the deaf ear to thefe monitors, 7\nd lets them fee, that he doth not more honour a father, than hate an idol : no dearnefs of perfon fhould t.ike off the edge of our dcteilation of the fm. Na- ture is worthy of forgetfulnefs and contempt, in op- pofition to the God of nature ; upon the fame ground, as he removed the idols of his father Abijam, fo, for idols, he removed his grandmother Maachah ; fhe would not be removed from her obfcene idols, fhe is therefore removed from the ftation of her honour. That CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 175 That princefs had aged, both in her regency and fu- perflition ; under her rod was Afa brought up, and fchooled in the rudiments of her idolatry ; whom (he could not infecl, (he hoped to overawe ; fo, as if Afa will not follow her gods, yet fhe prefumes that ihe may retain her own. Doubtlefs no means were ne- glefted for her reclamation; none would prevail. Re- ligious Afa gathers up himfelf, and begins to remem- ber, that he is a king, though a fon ; that (he, though a mother, yet is a fubjedl ; that her eminence could not but countenance idolatry; that her greatnefs fup- prelTed religion, which he fliould in vain hope to re- form, while her fuperflition fwayed: forgetting there- fore the challenges of nature, the awe of infancy, the cuftom of reverence, he drips her of that com- mand, which he faw prejudicial to his Maker. All refpects of flefh and blood mud be trampled on, for God. Could that long fettled idolatry M^ant abettors? Quellionlefs fome or other would fay. This was the religion of your father Abijam,this of your grandfather Rehoboam, this of the latter days of your wife and great grandfather Solomon, this of your grandmother Maachah, this of your great grandmother Naamah ; why fhould it not be yours ? why fliould you fufpeft either the wifdom, or piety, or falvation of fo many predeceflbrs ? Good Afa had learned to contemn pre- icription againll adire£t law; he had the grace to know it was no meafuring truth by fo modern antiquity ; his eyes fcorning to look fo low, raife up themfelves to the uncorrupt times of Solomon, to David, to Sa- muel, to the Judges, to Jofliua, to Mofes, to the Patriarchs, to Noah, to the religious founders of the firft world, to the fiift father of mankind, to Para- dife, to heaven. In comparifon of thefe, Maachah's God cannot overlook yeflerday; the ancienteft error is but a novice to truth ; and if never any example could be pleaded for purity of religion, it is enough M 2 ' that 176 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. that the precept is exprefs. He knew what God faid in Sinai, and wrote in the tables, " Thou {halt not " make to thyfelf any graven image, nor any fimili- "-' tude ; thou fhalt not bow down to them, nor wor- ** fiiip them." If all the world had been an idolater, ever fmce that word was given, he knew how little that precedent could avail for difobedience. Pradice muft be corrected by law, and not the law yield to pradice : Maachah therefore goes down from her ieat, her idols from her grove, fne to retirednefs ; they to the lire, and from thence to the water : wo- ful deities that could both burn and drown ! Neither doth the zeal of Afa more magnify itfelf in thefe private weedings out of the corruptions of religion, than in the pofitive afts of an holy plantation. In the falling down of thofe idolatrous flirines, the temple of God flourifhes ; that doth he furnilli with thofe facred treafures, which were dedicated by himfelf, by his progenitors ; like the true fon of David, he would not ferve God coft-free : Rehoboam turned Solomon's gold into brafs ; Afa turns Rehoboam's brafs into gold. Some of thefe veffels, it feems, Abi- jim, Afa's father, had dedicated to God; but, after his vow, inquired, yea with-held them. Afa, like a good fon, pays his father's debts, and his own. It is a good fign of a well-meant devotion, v/hen we can abide it chargeable ; as, contrarily, in the affairs of God, a niggardly hand argues a cold and hollow heart. All thefe were noble and excellent acts, the extir- pation of fodomy, the demolition of idols, the remo- val of Maachah, the bounteous contribution to the temple ; but that which gives true life unto all thefe, is a found root. " Afa's heart was perfeft with the " Lord all his davs." No lefs laudable works than thefe have proceeded from hypocrify, which, while they have carried away applauie from men, have loft their CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 17; their thanks with God. All Afa's gold was but drofs to his pure intentions. But, O what great and many infirmities may confiH: with uprightnefs ! What alloys of imperfection will there be found in the mod refined foul ? Four no fmall faults are found in true-hearted Afa ; firfl:', the high places flood ftill, unremoved ; what high places ? There were fome dedicated to the worfliip of falfe gods, thefe Afa took away ; there were fome mifde- voted to the worfhip of the true God, thefe he lets (land. There was grofs idolatry in the former, there was a weak will-worfhip in the latter ; while he op- pofes impiety, he winks at miftakings : yet even the variety of altars was forbidden by an exprefs charge from God, who had confined his fervice to the temple. With one breath doth God report both thefe ; '* The *? high places were not removed, yet neverthelefs *' Afa's heart was perfetl." God will not fee weak- neifes v.'here he fees truth ; how pleafing a thing is fincerity, that, in favour thereof, the mercy of our juft God digefts many an error 1 O God, let our hearts go upright, though our feet Hide ; the fall cannot, through thy grace, be deadly, however it may fharae or pain us. Befides, to confront his rival of Ifrael, Baa (ha, this religious king of Judah fetches in Benhadad the king of Syria into God's inheritance, upon too dear a rate ; the breach of his league, the expilation of the temple. All the wealth, wherewith Afa had endowed the houfe of the Lord, was little enough to hive an Edomite to betray his fidelity, and to invade Ifrael : leagues may be made with infidels; not at fuch a price, upon fuch terms ; there can be no warrant for a wil- ful fubornation of perfidioufnefs : in thefe cafes of outward things, the mercy of God difpenleth with our true neceflities, not with the affected. O Afa, where was thy piety, while thou robbed God, to cor- M 3 rupt 5 78 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. rupt an infidel, for the ilaughter of Ifraelites ! O prin- ces, where is your piety^ while ye hire Turks to the flaughter of Chriftians ! to the fpoil of God*s church ! Yet, which was worfe, Afa doth not only employ the Syrian, but relies oh him, relies not on God ; a confidence lefs fmful cod his grandfather David dear; and when Hanani, God's feer, the herald of hea- ven, came to denounce war againfl him for thefe fms, Afa, inftead of penitence, breaks into choler : fury fparkles in thofe eyes, which fliould have gufhed out with water; thofe lips, that fnould have called for •mercy, command revenge ; how ill do thefe two a- gree, the heart of David, the tongue of Jeroboam ? That holy grandfather of his would not have done fo ; when God's melTenger reproved him for fm, he con- demned it, and himfeli for it ; I fee his tears, I do not hear his threats. It ill becomes a faithful heart to rage where it fliould forrow, and inflead of fubmiflion, to perfecute. Sometimes no difference appears betwixt a fon of David, and the fon of Nebat. Any man may do ill, but to defend it, to outface it, is for rebels ; yet even upright Afa im.prifons the prophet, and crufh- eth his gainfayers. It were pity that the bed man ftould be judged by every of his actions, and not by all ; the courfe of our life muft either allow or condemn us, not thefe fudden eruptions. As the hfe, fo the death-bed of Afa wanted not infirmities ; long and profperous had his reign been; now, after forty years health and happinefs, he, that imprifoned the prophet, is imprifoned in his bed. There is more pain in thofe fetters which God put upon Afa, than thofe which Afa puts upon Hanani : and now, behold, he that in his war feeks to Ben- hadad, not to God, in his ficknefs feeks not to God, t)ut to phyficians. We cannot eafily put upon God a greater wrong than the alienation of our truft. Earthly means J CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 179^ means are for ufe, not for confidence ; we may, we mufl employ them, we may not rely upon them. Well may God challenge our truft, as his peculiar, which, if we call upon any creature, we deify it. Whence have herbs, and drugs, and phyficians, their being and efficacy, but from that divine hand ! No marvel then if Afa's gout (Iruck to his heart, and his feet carried him to his grave, fince his heart was mif- carried, for the cure of his feet, to an injurious mifcon- fidence in the means, with neglect of his Maker. 'to' CoNTEMP. VI. Elijah with the Sareptan. WHO fhould be matched with Mofes In the hiil of Tabor but Elijah ? furely, next after Mofes, there was never any prophet of the Old Tefla- ment more glorious than he ; none more glorious, none more obfcure : the other prophets are not men- tioned without the name of their parent, for the mu- tual honour both of the father and the fon ; Elijah, as if he had been a fon of the earth, comes forth' with the bare mention of the place of his birth. Meannefs of defcent is no block in God's way to the moil ho- nourable vocations ; it matters not whofe fon he be, whom God will grace with his fervice. In the great- eft honours that human nature is capable of, God for- gets our parents : as when v/e fhall be raifed up to a glorious life, there fhall be no refpecb had to the loins v/hence we camej fo it is proportionally in thefe fpi- ritual advancements. Thefe times were fit for an Elijah ; an Elijah was fit for them : the eminentefl prophet is referved for the corrupted age. Ifrael had never fuch a king as A- hab for impiety, never fo miraculous a prophet as E- lijah; this Elijah is addreffed to this Ahab. The God of fpirits knows hov/ to proportion men to the occafions, and to raife up to himfelf fuch witneffes, as may be M 4. moft i8o CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. mofl; able to convince the world. A mild Mofes was for the low eftate of afflitled Ifrael; mild in fpirit, but mighty in wonders : mild of fpirit, becaufe he had to do with a perfecuted, and yet a touchy and perverfe people ; mighty in wonders," becaufe he had to do with a Pharaoh. A grave and holy Samuel was for the quiet confiftence of Ifrael ; a fiery -fpirited Elijah was for the defperateft declination of Ifrael. And if, in the late times of the depraved condition of his church, God have raifed up fome fpirits, that have been more warm and flirring than thofe of common mould, we cannot cenfure the choice, when we fee the fer- vice. The firft word that we hear from Elijah is an oath, and a threat to Ahab, to Ifrael : " As the Lord God " of Ifrael liveth, before whom I (land, there fhall '' not be dew nor rain thefe years, but according to " my word." He comes in like a tempeft, w^ho went out in a whirlwind ; doubtlefs he had fpoken fair and peaceable invitations to Ifrael, though we hear them not ; this was but the florm which followed his re- pulfe, their obftinacy. After many folicitations and warnings, Ifrael is ftricken by the fame tongue that liad prayed for it; Elijah dares avouch thefe judgments to their head, to Ahab. I do not fo much wonder at the boldnefs of Elijah, as at his power ; yea, whofo fees liis power, can no whit wonder at his boldnefs : how could he be but bold to the face of a man, who was thus pow^erful with God ? As if God had lent him the keys of heaven to (hui it up, and open it at pleafure, he can fay, " There (hall be neither dew, nor rain, ^' thefe years, but according to my word.'* O God, how far it hath pleafed thee to communicate thyfelf to a weak man ! what angel could ever fay thus ! Thy hand, O Lord, is not Shortened ; why art thou pot thus marvellous in the minifters of thy gofpel ! is it for that their miracles were ours ! is it for that thou wouldrr 4 CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. i8i wouldfl: have us live by faith, not by fenfe ! Is it for that our tafl'L is fpiritual, and therefore more ab- ftrafted from bodily helps ! We cannot command the fun with Jolliiia, nor the thunder with Samuel, nor the rain with Elijah ; it fliall content us, if we can fix the fun of righteoufnefs in the foul, if we can thunder out the judgments of God againfl: fin, if we can wa- ter the earthen hearts of m.en with the former and lat- ter rain of heavenly dodrine. Elijah's mantle cannot make him forget his flefli ; while he knows himfelf a prophet, he remembers to be a man : he doth not therefore arrogate his power, as his own, but publifheth it as his mailer's ; this re- itraint muft: be according to his word, and that word was from an higher mouth than his. Ke fpake from him by w^hom he fware, whofe word was as fure as his life ; and therefore he durft fay, " As the Lord " liveth, there fhall be no rain." Man only can de- nounce what God will execute, which, when it is once revealed, can no more fail than the Almighty himfelf. He that had this intered and power in heaven, what needed he fly from an earthly purfuit t could his prayers redrain the clouds, and not hold the hands of flefh and blood ! yet behold Elijah muft fly from Ahab, and hide him by the brook C^herith. Thewif- 4om of God doth not think fit fo to make a beaten path of miracles, as that he will not walk befide it : he will have bur own endeavours concur to our pre- fervation. Elijah wanted neither coiira':i;e of heart, nor ftrength of hand, and yet he mui'l trail to his feet for fafety ; how much more lawful is it, for our impo- tence, to fly from perfecution ? Even that God fends him to hide his head, who could as eafily have pro- tecled as nourifl-ied him. He, that wilfully (lands Hill to catchdanfjers^temptethGod infteadof trufting; him. The. i82 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. The prophet muft be gone, not without order taken for his purveyance: O the ftrange caterers for Elijah! " I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.** I know not whether had been more miraculous, to preferve him without meat, or to provide meat by fuch mouths. The raven, a devouring and ravenous fowl, that ufes to fnatch away meat from others, brings it to him. He, that could have fed Elijah by angels, will feed him by ravens. There was then in Ifrael an hofpitable Obadiah, that kept a fecret table, in two feveral caves, for an hundred prophets of God. There were feven thoufand faithful Ifraelites, in fpite of the devil, who had never bowed knee to Baal : doubt- lefs, any of thefe would have had a trencher ready for Elijah, and have thought himfelf happy to have defrauded his own belly for fo noble a prophet ; God rather chufes to make ufe of the moft unlikely fowls of the air, than their bounty, that he might give both to his prophet, and us, a pregnant proof of his abfolute command over all his creatures, and win our trufl in all extremities. Who can make queftion of the pro- vifions of God, when he fees the very ravens ihall forget their own hunger, and purvey for Elijah ? O God, thou that provided meat for the fowls of the air, w'iit make the fowls of the air provide meat for man, rather than his dependence on thee fhall be dif- appointed ! O let not our faith be wanting to thee j thy care can never be wanting to us ! Elijah might have lived for the time with bread and water ; neither had his fare been worfe than his fel- lows in the caves of Obadiah ; but the munificence of God will have his meals better furniflied. The ra- vens fliall bring him both bread and fiefli twice in the day. It is not for a perfecuted prophet to long after delicates : God gives order for competency, not for wantonnefs ; not out of the dainty compofitions in Je- zebel's kitchen, not out of the pleafant wines in her cellar. CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. ,85 cellar, would God provide for Elijah ; but the ravens fhall bring him plain and homely viftuals, and the ri- ver fhall afford him drink ; if we have vvherevi'ith to fuftain nature, though not to pamper it, we owe thanks to the giver. Thofe of God's family may not be curious, not difdainful. Ill doth It become a fer- vant of the Highefl to be a flave to his palate. Doubt- lefs, one bit from the mouth of the raven was more pleafing to Elijah, than a whole table-full of Ahab's. Nothing is more comfortable to God's children, than to fee the fenfible demonftrations of the divine care and providence. The brook Cherith cannot lafl always ; that flream fhall not, for Elijah's fake, be exempted from the u- niverfal exficcation: yea, the prophet himfelf feels the fmart of this drought, which he had denounced. It is no unufual thing with God, to fuffer his own dear children to be inwrapped in the common calamities of offenders. He makes difference in the ufe and iffue of their ftripes, not in the infliction. The corn is cut down with the weeds, but to a better purpofe. When the brook fails, God hath a Sarepta for Elijah ; inftead of the ravens, a widow fhall there feed him, yea herfelf by him. Who can enough wonder at the pitch of this fele6live providence of the Almighty! Sarepta was a town of Sidon, and therefore without the pale of the church : poverty was the bell of this widow, fhe was a Pagan by birth, heathenifhly fuperflitious by inftitution. Many wi- dows were in Ifrael In the days of Elijah, when the heaven was fliut up three years and fix months, when great famine was throughout all the land ; but unto none of them was Elijah fent, fave unto this Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. He, that firft fed the prophet by the mouth of un- clean fowls, will now feed him by the hand of an heathenifh hoftefs j his only command fan^lifies thofc crea- r84 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. creatures, which, by a general charge, were legally impure. There were other birds befides ravens, other wi- dows befides this Sareptan ; none but the ravens, none but the Sareptan (hall nourifli Elijah. God's choice is not led in the ftring of human reafons, his holy will is the guide, and the ground of all his eleftions. " It is not in him that wills, nor in him " that ru'is, but in God that fhows mercy.'* The prophet follows the call of his God ; the fame hand that brought him to the gate of Sarepta, led al- fo this poor widow out of her doors ; flie fliall then go to feek her ft'cks, when (he fhall be found of Eli- jah ; (he thought of her hearth, (he thought not of a prophet, when the man of God calls to her, '' Fetch me a little water, I pray thee, in a veffel, " that I may drink.'* It was no eafy fuit in fo droughty a feafon ; and yet, at the firil fight, the prophet dares fecond it with a greater, " Bring me '■ a morfel of bread in thine hand." That long drought had mads every drop, every crumb precious; yet the prophet is emboldened by the charge of God to call for both water and bread ; he had found the ravens fo ofHcious, that he cannot make doubt of the Sareptan. She (licks not at the v/ater ; (he would not flick at the bread, if necefiity had not prelled her. *' As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, " but an hap.dful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil " in a crufe ; and behold I am gathering two flicks, " that I may go in and drefs it for me and my fon, *' that we may eat it and die." If fhe knew not the man, how did fhe knov/ his God ! and if ihc knew not the God of Elijah, how did file fwear by him ! Certainly though fhe were with- out the bounds of Ifrael, yet Cne was within the bor- ders ; fo much file had gained by her neighbour- hood, to know an Ifraclite, a prophet by his habit ; to CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. i§j to know the only living God was the God of the pro- phet, the God of Ifracl; and if this had not been, yet it is no marvel if the widow knew Elijah, fince the ra- vens knew him. It was high time for the prophet to vifit the Sareptan; poor foul, (he was now making her laft meal; after one mean morfel flie was yielding herfelf over to death. How opportunely hath God provided fuccours to our diftrefies! It is his glory to help at a pinch, to begin where we have given over; that our relief might be fo much the more welcome, by how much it is looked for. But, O what a trial is this of the faith of a weak profelyte, if ihe were fo much! " Fear not, go do " as thou hafl: faid; but make me thereof a little cake " firft, and bring it to me; and, after, make for thee " and thy fon : for thus faith the God of Ifrael, " the barrel of meal fhall not wafte, nor the crufe *' of oil fail, till the day that God fend rain upon the *'• earth." She muft go fpend upon a ffranger part of that little (he hath, in hope of more which (lie hath not, which (he may have; (he muft part with her prefent food which (he faw, in trufl: of future which (he could not fee ; (he muft rob her fenfe in the exer- cife of her belief^ and (horten her life in being, upon, the hope of a protraftion of it in promife; (he mud believe God will miraculoufly increafe what fhe hath yielded to confume; (he mufl firft feed the (Iranger with her laft vi6:uals, and then, after, herfelf and her fon. Some (harp dame would have taken up the prophet, and have fent him away with an angry re- pulfe: Bold Ifraelite, there is no reafon in this re- queft; wert thou a friend or a brother, with what face couldft thou require to pull my laft bit out of my mouth? had I fuperiiuity of proviiion, thou mightefi: hope for this effect of my charity; now, that 1 have but one morfel for myfelf and ray fon, this is an in- jurious importunity; what can induce thee to think thy 185 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. thy life, an unknown traveller, (hould be more dear to me than my fon's, than my own? how uncivil is this motion, that I fhould firfl: make provifion for thee, in this dying extremity? it had been too much to have begged my lail fcraps. Thou tellefl me, the meal (hall not wafle, nor the oil fail; how ftiall 1 believe thee? let me fee that done before thou eateft; in vain ftould I challenge thee, when the remainder of my poor ftore is confumed. If thou canft fo eahly mul- tiply victuals, how is it that thou wanted? Do that before-hand, which thou promifeft fliall be afterwards performed, there will be no need of ray little. But this good Sareptan was wrought by God, not to mif- trufb a prophet ; fhe will do what he bids, and hope for what he promifes; fhe wuU live by faith rather than by fenfe, and give away the prefent, in the confi- dence of a future remuneration : firfl, fhe bakes Eli- jah's cake, then her own, not grudging to fee her laft morfels go down another's throat, while herfelf was famifliing. How hard precepts doth God lay, where he intends bounty. Had not God meant her prefer- vation, he had fuffered her to eat her lafl cake alone, uithout any interpellation; now the mercy of the Al- mighty purpofmg as well this miraculous favour to her, as to his prophet, requires of her this tafk, which fielh and blood would have thought unreafonable. So we are wont to put hard queflions to thofe fcholars, whom we would promote to higher forms. So, in all achievements, the difficulty of the interprife makes way for the glorv of the aftor. Happy was it for this widow, that flie did not fliut her hand to the man of God, that fhe was no niggard of her lait handful: never corn or olive did fo increafe in growing, as here in confuming. This barrel, this crufe of her's had no bottom, the barrel of meal wall- ed not, the crufe of oil failed not: behold, not get- ting, not faving, is the way to abundance, but giving. The CoNTEMp. Vr. CONTEMPLATIONS. 187 The mercy of God crowns our beneficence with the bleiling of ftore; who can fear want by a merciful li- berality, when he fees the Sareptan had famifhed, if fhe had not given, and by giving abounded? With what thankful devotion muft this woman every day needs look upon her barrel and crufe, wherein fhe faw the mercy of God renewed to her continually ? Doubt- lefs her foul was no lefs fed by faith, than her body with this fupernatural provifion. How welcome a guelfc muft Elijah needs be to this widow, that gave her life and her fon's to her for his board! yea that, in that woful famine, gave her and her fon their board for his houfe-room. The dearth thus overcome, the mother looks hope- fully upon her only fon, promifmg herfelf much joy in his life and profperity, when an unexpected fick- nefs furprifeth him, and doth that which the famine but threatened. When can we hold ourfelves fecure from evils ? no fooner is one of thefe ferjeants com- pounded withal, than M^e are arrefted by another. How ready are we to miftake the grounds of our afflictions, and to call them upon falfe caufes. The paffionate mother cannot find whether to impute the death of her fon, but to the prefence of Elijah, to whom fhe comes diflrafted with perplexity, not with- out an unkind challenge of him, from whom fhe had received both that life fhe had lofl, and that fhe had ; *' What have 1 to do with thee, O thou man of God, " art thou come to me to call my fin to remembrance, '* and to flay my fon?'* As if her fon could not have died, if Elijah had hot been her guefl, whereas her fon had died, but for him; why fhould fhe think that the prophet had faved him from the famine, to kill him with ficknefs? as if God had not been free in his actions, and muft needs ftrike by the fame hands by which he preferv- ed. She had the grace to know that her affliction was for tBS CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIIL for her fin; yet was fo unwife, to irnaglne the arrear- ages of her iniquities had not been called for, if Eli- jah had not been the remembrancer; he, who had appeafed God towards her, is fiifpefted to have incen- fed him: this wrongful mifconftrudlion was enough to move any patience. Elijah was of an hot fpirit; yet his holinefs kept him from fury : this challenge rather increafed the zeal of his prayer, than flirred his choler to the offendent. He takes the dead child out of his mother's bofom, and lays him upon his own bed, and cries unto the Lord, " O Lord my God, " hail thou brought evil alfo upon the widow with " whom I fojourn, by flaying her fon ?" Inflead of chiding the bareptan, out of the fervency of his foul, he humbly expoilulates with his God: his only re- medy is in his prayer; that which fiiut heaven for rain, mud open it for life. Every word inforceth; firft, he pleads his intereft in God, " O Lord my *' God;" then the quality of the patient, " a widow,'* and therefore both mofli diftrelTed with the lofs, and moft pecuHar to the charge of the Almighty. Then his intereft, as in God, fo in this patient, "with whom *' I fojourn;" as if the ftroke weje given to himfelf, through her fides; and lafily, the quality of the pu- nifliment, " by flaying her fon,'* the only comfort of her life : and in all thefe implying the fcandal that mufl: needs arife from this event, wherever it fliould be noifed, to the name of his God, to his own; when it fliould be faid, Lo, how Elijah's entertainment is rewarded : furcly the prophet is either impotent, or imthankful. Neither doth his tongue move thus only; thrice ' doth he fl:retch himfelf upon the dead body, as if he could wifli to infufe his own life into the child, and fo often calls to his God for the reftitution of that foul. What can Elijah aflv to be denied? the Lord heard the voice of the prophet, the foul of the child came CoNTFMP. Vr. CONTEMPLATIONS. iSc, came into him again, and he revived. What miracle is impoifible to iaithful prayers? There cannot be more dill'erence betwixt E]ijah*s devotion and ours, than bttwixt fupernatural and ordinary adils; if he therefore obtained miraculous favours by his prayers, do v^^e doubt of thofe which are within the fphere of nature and ufe? What could we want, if we did not fiack to ply heaven with our prayers? Certainly Elijah had not been premonifhed of this fudden ficknefs and death of the child ; he who knew the remote affairs of the world, might not know what God would do within his ov.n roof. The greateft prophet mud content himfelf with fo much of God*s counfcl, as he will pleafe to reveal ; and he will fome- times reveal the greater fecrets, and conceal the lefs, to make good both his own liberty, and man's humili- ation. So much more unexpected as the flroke was, lb much more welcome is the cure. How joyfully doth the man of God take the revived child into iiis arms, and prefent him to his mother? how doth his heart leap within him, at this proof of God's favour to him, mercy to the widow, power to the child. What life and joy did now (liow itfelf in the face of that amazed mother, when ihe faw again the eyes of herfon fixed upon her'sj when fhe felt his flefli warm, his motions vital! Now fhe can fay to Elijah, " 3y *' this I know that thou art a man of God, and that " the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth." Did (he not till now know this? had fhe not faid before, " What have 1 to do with thee, O thou man of God ?" i Were not her crufe and her barrel fufficient proofs of i his divine comrniflion? Doubtlefs, what her meal and I oil had affured her of, the death of her fon made her j to doubt; and now the reviving did re-afcertain. Even I the ftrongeft faith fometimes ftaggereth, and needeth I new acls of heavenly fupportation ; the end of mi- .' racles is confirmation of truth. It feems, had this Voi,. 11. N widow's 190 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. widow's fon coniinued dead, her belief had been bu- ried in his grave : notwithftanding her meal and her oil, her foul had languiflied. The mercy of God is fain to provide new helps for our infirmities, and gra- ciouily condefcends to our own terms, that he may work out our faith and falvation. CoNTEMP. VII. Elijah %vitb the Baalites. •^"^HREE years and an half did Ifrael lie gafping -^ under a parching drought and miferable famine. No creature was fo odious to them as Elijah, to whom they afcribed all their mifery. Methinks I hear how they railed on, and curfed the prophet : how much envy mud the fervants of God undergo for their mafter ? nothing but the tongue was Elijah's, the hand was God's ; the prophet did but fay what G(.)d would do. 1 do not fee them fall out with their fins, that had deferved the judgment, but with the meflenger that denounced it. Baal had no fewer fervants, than if there had been both rain and plenty.. Elijah fafely fpends this ftorm under the lee of Sarep- , ta ; feme three years had he lain clofe in that obfcure corner, and lived upon the barrel and crufe which he had multiplied : at lad God calls him forth, " Go fliew thvfelf to Ahab, and I will fend rain " upon the earth ;" no rain muft fall till Elijah v.-as fcen of Ahab ; he carried away the clouds with him, he mud bring them again. The king, the people of Ifrael, fhall be witneiles that God will make good the word, the oath of his prophet. Should the rain have.fallen in Elijah's abfence, who could have known it was by his procurement? God holds the credit of his mefiengers precious, and neglects nothing that may grace them in the eyes of the world ; not the necellity of feven thoufand religious Ifraelites could crack the v/ord of one Elijah. There is nothing whejeln God is GoNTEMP. Vir. CONTEMPLx\TiONS. 19: is more tender, than in approving the veracity of him- lelf in his minifters. Lewd Ahab hath an holy Reward ; as his name was, fo was he a fervant of God, while his mafler was a flave to Baal. He, that referved feven thou- fand in the kingdom oflfrael, hath referved anOba- diah in the court of Urael ; and, by him, hath referved them. Neither is it likely there had been fo many free hearts in the country, if religion had not been fecretly backed in the court : it is a great happinefs when Cod gives favour and honour to the virtuous. Elijah did not lie more clofe in Sarepta, than Obadiah did in the court ; he could not have done fo much fervice to the church, if he had not been as fecret as good. Policy and religion do as well together, as they do ill afunder. The dove, without the ferpent, •"is eafily caught ; the ferpent, without the dove, flings 'deadly. Religion, without policy, is too fimple to be fafe; policv, without religion, is too fubllle to be good: their match makes therafelves fecure, and niany happy. O degenerated eflate of Ifrael ! any thing was nov/ lawful there, faving piety. It is vi/ell if God's pro- phets can find an hole to hide their heads in ; they mufl: needs be hard driven, when fifty of them are fain to crowd together into one cave; there they had both (hade and repail. Good Obadiah hazards his own life to preferve theirs, and fpends himfelf in that extreme dearth, upon their neceilary diet_: bread and water was more now, than otiier whiles wine and delicates. Whether (hall we wonder more at the mercy of God in referving an hundred prophets, or in thus fullaining them being referved ? When did God ever lea.ve his Ifrael unfurnifhed of fome pro- ; phets ? when did he leave his propliets unprovided ' of feme Obadiah ? How worthy art thou, O Lordj :o be trufted with thine own charge ! while there are N 2 mea u)Z CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. men upon earth, or birds in the air, or angels in hea- ven, thy meffengers cannot want provifion. Goodnels carries away truil, where it cannot have imitation. Ahab divides with Obadiah the furvey of the whole land ; they two fet their bwn eyes on work,, for the fearch of water, of pafture, to preferve the horfes and mules alive. O the poor and vain cares of Ahab! he cafts to kill the prophet, to fave the cattle; he neve,r feeks to fave his own foul, to de- flroy idolatry; he takes thought for grafs, none for mercy. Carnal hearts are ever either groveling on the earth, or delving into it; no more regarding God or their fouls, than if they either were not, or were worthlefs. Elijah hears of the progrefs, and offers himfelf to the view of them both. Here was wifdom in this courage; firfl, he prefents himfelf to Obadiah, ere he v/ill be feen of Ahab, that Ahab might, upon the report of fo difcreet an informer, digell the expecta- tion,of his meeting ; then he takes the opportunity of Ahab's prefence, when he might be fure Jezebel was - away. Obadiah meets the prophet, knows him, and, as if he bad feen God in him, falls on his face to him, when he knew his mafter perfecuted : though a great peer, he had learned to honour a prophet. No refpeft was too much for the prefident of that facred college. To the poor boarder of the Sareptan, here was no lefs than a proftration, and my lord Elijah, from the great high ftcward of Ifrael. Thofe that are truly gracious cannot be niggardly of their oblervances to the meifengers of God. Elijah receives the reverence, returns a charge j "-• Go tell thy lord, Behold Elijah is here." Oba-; diah finds this load too heavy; neither is he more ftricken with the bcldnefs, than with the unkindnefs of this command; bcldn:ifs in rofpecl of Elijah, un- kindnefs CoNTEMP. VII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 193 kindnefs in refpect of himfelf : for thus he thinks if Elijah do ccir.e to Ahab, he dies; if he do not come, I die : if it be known that I met him, and brought him not, it is death; if I fay that he will come vohintarily, and God fliall alter his intentions, it is death. Mow unhappy a man am I, that mult be cither Elijah's executioner, or my own! \Ver were both bad enough, yet Ahab yields to that work of God, which Jezebel (hibbornly oppofeth : Ahab melts with that water, with that fire, Wiierewith Jezebel is hardened; Ahab was bafhfully, Jezebel audacioufly impious. The weaker fex is ever commonly ftronger in paffion, and more vehemently carried with the fway of their defires, whether to good or evil : fhe fwears and (lamps at that whereat Ihe fliould have trembled ; (he fwears by thofe gods of her's, which were -not able to fave their prophets, that (he will kill the prophet of God, who had fcorn- ed her gods, and llain her prophets. It is well that Jezebel could not keep counfel : hef threat preferved him whom (he had meant to kill. The wifdom and power of God could have found e- vafions for his prophet, in her greatefl fecrecv; but now, he needs no other means of refcue but her own lips. She is no lefs vain than the gods (he fwears by. In fplte of her fury, and her oath, and her gods, E- lijah (hall live; at once fliall flie find herfelf fruftrate and forfworn : (he is now ready to bite her toncrue, to eat her heart,- for anger, at the difappointment of her cruel vow. It were no living for godly men, If the hands of tyrants were allowed to be as bloody as their hearts. Men and devils are under the reftraint of the Almighty; neither are their defignsmore lavifh, than their executions (hort. ' Holy Elijah flies for his life; we hear not of the command of God, but we would willingly prefunpofe it. So divine a prophet (hould do nothing without God : his heels were no new refuge; as no w here fafe Vol. II. O within 2o6 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. within the ten tribes, he flies to Beerfheba, in the territories of Judah; as not there fafe from the machi- nations of Jezebel, he flies alone, one day's journey> into the wildernefs; there he fits him down under a juniper tree, and, as weary of life no lefs than of his way, wifhes to rife no more : " It is enough now, " O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better " than my fathers." O ftrange and uncouth muta- tion! what is this we hear! Elijah fainting and giving up ! that heroical fpirit dejeded and profl:rate 1 He that durft fay to Ahab's face, " It is thou and thy father's " houfe that troubleth Ifrael ;" he that could raife the dead, open and fliut the heavens, fetch down both fire and water with his prayers; he that durfl: chide and contefl with all Ifrael, that durft kill the four hun- dred and fifty Baalites with the fword, doth he fhrink at the frowns and threats of a woman! doth he wifli to be rid of his life, becaufe he feared to lofe it! Who can expect an undaunted conftancyfromflefli and blood, when Elijah fails! The ftrongell and holieft faint upon earth is fubjedt to fome qualms of fear and infirmity: to be always and unchangeably good is proper onl) to the glorious fpirits in heaven. Thus the wife and hor ly God will have his power perfefted in our weaknefs. It is in vaiu for us, while we carry this fleih about us, to hope for fo exaft health, as not to be caft down fometimes with fits of fpiritual difleraper. It is no new thing for holy men to wifii for death : who can either marvel at, or blame the defire of advantage? for the weary traveller to long for reft, the prifoner for liberty, the baniflied for home, it is fo natural, that the contrary difpofitlon were monftrous. The benefit of the change is a juft motive to our appetiti- on; but to call for death out of a fatiety of life, out of an impatience of fulfering, is a weaknefs unbefeem-, ing a faint. It is not enough, O Elijah, God hath more work CoKTEMP. Vlir. CONTEMPLATIONS. 207 \^'ork yet for thee; thy Gcd hath more honoured thee than thy fiithers, and thou fhalt live to honour him. Toil and for row hath lulled the prophet afleep un- . der this juniper-tree ; that wholefome fhade v.as well chofen for his repofe : while death was called for, the cozen of death comes unbidden; the angel of God waits on him In that hard lodging. No wildernefs is too folitary for the attendance of thofe bleffed fplrits. As he is guarded, fo is he awaked by that melTenger of God, and ftirred up from his relt to his repail: while he flept, his breakfafl is made ready for him by thofe fpirltual hands; " There was a cake baked on " the coals, and a crufe of water at his head." O the never-ceafing care and providence of the x^lmigh- ty, not to be barred by any place, by any condition i "When means are wantinoj to us, when we arewantinr^ to ourfelves, when to God, even then doth he follow us with his mercy, and cad favours upon us, beyond, againft expectation! What variety of purveyance doth he make for his fervant ! One while the'ravensj then the Sareptan, now the angel fnall be his caterer; none of them without a miracle : thofe other provid- ed for him waking, this ileeplng. O God ! the eye of thy providence is not dimmer, the hand of thy power is not ihorter ; only teach thou us to ferve thee, to truft thee. "" Needs mufl: the prophet eat, and drink, and fleep, with much comfort, while he faw that he had fuch a guardian, attendance, purveyor ; and now the fecond time is he raifed, by that happy touch, to his meal, and his way : " Arife, and eat, becaufe the journey is tcoi great for thee.*' What needed he to travel further, fmce that divine power could as weii protect him in the i wildernefs, as in Horeb r What needed he to eat, j fmce he, that meant to fuftain him forty days with one I meal, might as well have fudained him without it? I Q 3 God 2o3 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIIL God is a moft free agent, neither will he be tied to the terms of human regularities. It is enough that he knows and approves the reafons of his own choice and commands : once in forty days and nights Ihall Elijah eat, to teach us what God can do with httle means ; and but once, to teach us what he can do without means. Once (hall the prophet eat. " Man " lives by bread ;" and but once, " Man lives " not by bread only, but by every word that pro- " ceeds out of the mouth of God." Mofes, Elijah, our Saviour, faded each of them forty days, and for- ty nights : the three great failers met glorioully in Tabor. I find not where God ever honoured any man for feafting. It is abftinence, not fulnefs, that makes a man capable of heavenly vifions, of divine glory. The journey was not of itfelf fo long ; the pro- phet took thofe ways, thofe hours which bis heart gave him. In the very fame mount where Mofes firfl: faw God, fliall Elijah fee him : one and the fame cave, as is very probable, was the receptacle to both. It could not be but a great confirmation of Elijah, to renew the fight of thofe fenfible monuments of God's favour and proteftion, to his faithful prede- ceflfor. Mofes came to fee God in the bufh of Ho- reb. God came to find Elijah in the cave of Horeb. What doft thou here, Elijah? The place was direft- eJ by a Providence, not by a command. He is hid fure enough from Jeztsbel ; he cannot be hid from the all-feeing eye of God. " Whither fhall I go from " thy Spirit ? or, whither fhall I fly from thy pre- " fence ? If I afcend up into heaven, thou art there j " if i make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. i " If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in *' the utmott parts of the fea, even there fliall thine " hand find me, and thy right-hand fliall hold me." Twice hath God propounded the fame rueftion to CoNTEMP. VIII. COMTEMPLATIONS. 209 Elijah ; once in the heart, once in the mouth of the cave. Twice doth the prophet anfvver in the fame words. Had the firil anfuer fatisfied, the queltion had not been re-demanded. Now, that fullen anfwer, which Elijah gave in thedarknefsof the cave, is chal- len'i^ed into the light, not without an awful preface. The Lord firft paiTeth by him wich the terrible de- mohflrations of his power. A great and ftrong wind rent the mountains, and brake the rocks in pieces : that tearing blaft was from God, God was not in it ; fo was he in it as in his other extraordinary works ; ■not fo in it, as by it to impart himfelf to Elijah : it was the ufher, not the carriage of God. After the wind, came an earthquake more fearful than it : that did but move the air, this the earth ; that beat upon fome prominences of earth, this fliook it from the center. After the earthquake came a fire more fear- ful than either. The other aifecled the ear, the feel-. ingi but this lets in horror into the foul, by the eye, the quickefl: and mod apprehenfive of the fenfes. Elijah fhall fee God's mighty power in the earth, air, fire, before he hear him in the foft voice : all thefe are but boifterous harbingers of a meek and flill word. In that God was ; behold ! in that gentle and mild breath there was omnipotency ; there was but power- fulnefs im thofe fierce reprefentations : there is not always the greaEeft efficacy, where is the greateft noife. God loves to make way for himfelf by terror, but he conveys himfelf to us in fweetnefs. It is hap- py for us, if, after the gulls and flafnes of the law, we have heard the foft voice of evangelical mercy. In this very mount, with the fame horror, God had delivered his law to Mofes and Ifrael. It is no mar- vel, if Elijah wrapt his face in his mantle : his obedi- ence draws him forth to ths mouth of the cave, his fear flill hides his head. Had there noc been much 'Courage in the prophet's faith, he had not flood out O 3 thcfe 2IO CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. tbefe afFrlghtful forerunners of the divine prefence, though with his face covered. The very angels do no Id'f, before that all-glorious Majefty, than vail thernlelves with their vi^ings. Far be it from us, once to think of that infinite and omnipotent Deity, with- out an humble awfulnefs. Fear changes not the tenor of Elijah's anfwer : he hath not left one word behind him in the cave. " I ?• have been very jealous for the Lord God of hofls, *' becaufe the children of Ifrael have forfaken thy " covenant, throw^n down thine altars, and (lain thy *' prophets with the fw^ord, and I, even I only, am *' left, and they feek my life to take it away." I hear not a diredt anfv/er from the prophet to the 4^- mand of God ; then he had faid, I run away from the threats of Jezebel, and here I hide my head from her malicious purfuit. His guiltinefs would not let him fpeak out all : he had rather fay, " 1 have been '^^ more jealous for the Lord God of holts," than I was fearful of Jezebel. We are all willing to make the bell 1 of our own cafe; but what he wants of his own accu- '■' fation, he fpends upon the complaint of Ifrael. Nei- ther doth he more bemoan himfelf, than exclaim a- gainft them, as apoftates from God's covenant, viola- ■ tors of his altars, murderers of his prophets. It mud needs be a defperate condition of Ifrael, that drives Elijah to indi£t them before the throne of God. 1 hat tongue oi his was ufed to plead for them, to fue for ' their pardon ; it could not be but a forcible wicked- - nels that makes it their accufer. Thofe idolatrous ' Ifraelites were well forward to reformation : the fire ; and rain from heaven, at the prayers of Elijah, had i won them to a fcorn of Baal ; only the violence of [ Jezebel turned the ftream, and now they are re-fettled ;, in impiety, and perfecute him for an enemy, whom l they almoit adored for a benefa6lor, otherwife Eli- ' jah had not complained of what they had been. Whc> woul4 CojJTEMP. VIII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 211 \vould think it ? Jezebel can do more than Elijah. No miracle is fo prevalent with the vulgar, as the fway of authority, whether to good or evil. Thou art deceived, O Elijah, thou art not left alone ; neither is all Ifrael tainted. God hath chil- dren and prophets in ifrael, though thou fee them • not : thofe clear eyes of the feer difcern not the fe- cret (lore of God ; they looked not into Obadiah's caves, they looked not into the clofets of the reli- gious Ifraelitcs. He, that fees the heart, can fay, •' t have left me feven thoufand in Ifrael," all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth wliich hath not kiffed him. According to the falhion of the wealthy, God pleafeth hirnfelf in hid- den trealures ; it is enough that his own eyes behold his riches. Never did he, never will he leave him- .^felf unfurnifhed with holy clients, in the midd of the .>fpiileft depravations of his church. The fight of his .faithful ones hath fometimes been loft, never the be- jing. Do your worft, O ye gates of hel), God will '^iJiave his own. He, that could have more, will have ^,fome : that foundation is fure, " God knoweth who *' are his." . It was a true cordial. for Elijah's folitarinefs, that j;he had feven thoufand invifible abettors ; neither is it a fmail comfort to our weaknefs, to have compa- nions in good. For the wickednefs of Ifrael God hath another receipt, the oil of royal and prophetical . unttion ; Elijah muft anoint Hazael king of Syria, , Jehu king of Ifrael, Elifiia for his fucceifor. All thefe fhall revenge the quarrels of God, and him ; one ihall begin, the other fliall profecute, the third fhall 'f perfect the vengeance upon Ifrael. A prophet (hall avenge the wrongs done to a pro., phet. Elifha is found, not in his ftudy, but in the ikid ; not with a book in his hand, but a plough. His father Shaphat was a rich farmer in Abel-meholah, O 4 him=> iX2 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XVIII. himfelf was a good hufbandman, trained up, not In the fchools of the prophets, but in the thrifty trade of tillage ; and behold, this was the man whom God will pick out of all Ifrael for a prophet : God feeth not as man» feeth ; neither doth he chufe men becaufe they are fit, but therefore fits them, becaufe he hath chofen them : his call is above all earthly inftitution. I hear not of ought that Elijah faid ; only he calls his cloak upon Eliiha in the paffage : that mantle, that afit was vocal. Together with this fign, God's inflintt teacheth this amazed fon of Shaphar, that he was defigned to an higher work, to breaV up the fallow-grouiid'of Ifrael by his prophetical funftion. He finds a flrange virtue in that robe ; and, as if his heart were changed with that habit, forgets his team, and runs after Elijah ; and fues for the leave of a farewell to his parents, ere he had any but a dumb command to follow. The fecret call of God offers an inward force to the heart, and infenfibly draws us beyond the povv^er of our refi fiance. Grace is no enemy to good nature : well may the refpefts to our earthly parents (band with our duties to our Father in heaven. I do not fee Eliflia wring his hands, and deplore his condition that he fhail leave the world, and lollow a prophet, but, for the joy of that change, he makes a feall : thcfe oxen, thofe utenfils of huf- bandry, whereon his former labours had been be- •/lov\'ed, ihall now be gladly devoted to the celebra- tion of that happy day, wherein he is honoured with fo bleffed an employment. If with defire, if with cheerfalnefs we do not enter into the works of our heavenly mafi:er, they are not like to profper in our hands. He is not worthy of this fpiritual fiation, who holds not the fervice of God his highest, his richeft preferment, * BOCK CoNTiMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 21 j BOOK XIX. CoNTEMP. I. Ahab and Bznhadad. THERE is nothing more dangerous for any flate, than to call in foreign powers, for the fuppreiling of an home-bred enemy ; the remedy hath oft, in this cafe, proved v/orfe than the dif- eafe. Afa king of Judah implores the aid of Benha- dad the Syrian, againfi: Baaflia king of Ifrael. That flranger hath ^ood colour to fet his foot in fome out- fkirt towns of Ifrael ; and now thefe ferv'e him but for the handfel of more. Such fweetnefs doth that Edomite find in the foil of Ifrael, that his ambition will not take up with lefs than all : he, that entered as a friend, will proceed as a conqueror ; and now aims at no lefs than Samaria itfelf, the heart, the head of the ten tribes. There was no caufe to hope for bet- ter fuccefs of fo perfidious a league with an infidel. Who can lock for other than war, when he fees Ahab and Jezebel in the throne, Ifrael in the groves and temples of Baalim ! The ambition of Benhadad was not fo much guilty of this war, as the idolatry of that wicked nation. How can they expect peace from earth, vtho do v*'ilfully fight againft heaven? Rather will the God of hofts arm the brute, the fenfelefs creatures againft Ifrael, than he will fuffer their de- fiance unrevenQ-ed. Ahab and Benhadad are well matched, an idolatrous Ifraelite with a paganifh Idu- mean : well may God plague each with other, who means vengeance to them both. Ahab finds himfelf hard preiTcd with the fiege, and therefore is glad to enter into treaties of peace. Benhadad knows his own. flrength, and offers infolent conditions, '"' Thy filver " and thy gold is mine, thy wives alfo and thy chil- " dren, evtn the goodliert are mine.** It is a fear- ful thing to be in the mercy of an enemy j in cafe of hcfti- 214 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. hoftility, might will carve for itfelf. A hah now, af- ter the divifion of Judah, was but half a king. Ben- hadad had two and thirty kings to attend him : what equality was in this oppofition ? Wifely doth Ahab therefore, as a reed in a temped, ftoop to this vio- lent charge of fo potent an enemy. " My lord, O ** king, according to thy faying, I am thine, and all •* that I have.'* It is not for the over-powered to capitulate. Weaknefs may not argue, but yield. Tyranny is but drav/n on by fubmillion ; and where it tinds fear and deje(Stion, infulteth. Benhadad, not content with the fovereignty of Ahab's goods, calls for the poiTellion : Ahab had offered the dominion, •with refervation of his fubordinate intereft ; he will be a tributary, fo he may be an owner. Benhadad imperioufly, befides the command, calls for the pro- priety, and fuffers not the king of Ifrael to enjoy thofe things at all, which he would enjoy but under the favour of that predominancy. Over-ftrained fub- jedion turns defperate. If conditions be impofed worfe than death, there needs no long difputation of the remedy. The elders of Ifrael, whofe fhare was proportional in this danger, hearten Ahab to a de- nial; which yet comes out fo fearfully, as that it ap- pears rather extorted by the peremptory indignation of the people, than proceeding out of any generofity of his fpirit ; neither doth he fay, I will not, but, I may not. The proud Syrian, who would have taken it in foul fcorn to be denied, though he had fent for all the heads of Ifrael, fnuffs up the wind like the wild afs ill the wildernefs, and brags, and threats, and fvvears ; " The gods do fo to me, and more alfo, if " the duft of Samaria fhall fuffice for handfuls for all ^' the people that follow me." Not the men, npt the goods only of Samaria fliall be carried away captive^ but the very earth whereon it ftands ; and this, with how rtiueh eafe ? No foldier fhall need to be charg-ed with CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. aiy with more than an handful, to make a valley where the mother city of Ifrael once (tood. O vain boaiier ! in whom I know not whether pride or folly be more eminent. Vidory is to be achieved, not to be fworn ; future events are no matter of an oath : thy gods, if they had been, might have been called as witntiTes of thy intentions, not of that fuccefs whereof thou wouldlt be the author without them. Thy gods can do nothing to thee, nothing for thee, nothing for themfelves ! All thine Aramites (hall not carry away one corn of fand out of Ifrael, except it be upon the foles of their feet, in their fhameful flight : it is well, if they can carry back thofe fkins that they brought thither. " Let not him, that girdeth on his harnefs, " boaft himfelf as he that putteth it off." There is no caufe to fear that man that trufls in himfelf. Man may caft the dice of war, but the difpofition of them is of the Lord. Ahab was lewd, but Benhadad was infolent : if therefore Ahab fhall be fcoyrged with the rod of Ben- hadad's fear, Benhadad fliall be fmitten with the fword of Ahab's revenge. Gf all things, God will not endure a prefumptuous and felf-confident vaunter ; after Elijah's flight and complaint, yet a prophet is addrefled to Ahab, " Thus faith the Lord, haft thou " feen all this great multitude? behold, I will deli- " ver it into thine hand this day, and thou fhalt know *' that 1 am the Lord." Who can wonder enough at this unweariable mercy of God ? After the fire and rain fetched miraciiloufly from heaven, Ahab had promifed much, performed nothing, yet again will ■God blefs and folicit him with vlftory : one of thofe prophets, whom he perfecuted to death, fhall comfort his dejection with the news of his deliverance and tri- umph. Had this great work been yrought without premonition, either chance, or Baal, or the golden '^alves h^d carried away the thanks. Before-hand there- zi6 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. therefore fhall Ahab know both the author and the means of his vidory ; God for the author, the two hundred thirty-two young men of the princes for the means ; what are thefe for the van-guard, and feven thoufand Ifraehtes for the main battle, againft the trOops of three and thirty kings, and as many centu- ries of Syrians as Ifrael had fingle foldiers ? An equa- lity of number had taken away the wonder of the event ; but now, the God of hofts will be confeffcd in this iifue, not the valour of men. How indifferent is it with thee, O Lord, to fave by many or by fev/, to deftroy many or few ! A world is no more to thee than a man ; how eafy is it for thee to enable us to be more than conqiierors over principalities and powers : to fubdue fpiritual wickednefs to flefh and blood? Through thee we can do great things ; yea, we can do all things through thee that ftrengtheneft us. Let us not want faith, we are fure there can be no want in thy power or mercy. -There was nothing in Benhadad's pavilions but drink, and furfeit, and jollity, as if wine fhould make way for blood. Security is the certain ulher of de- ftruftion. We never have fo much caufe to fear, as when we fear nothing. This handful of Ifrael dares look out, upon the prophet's aifurance, to the valt boil of Benhadad. It is enough for that proud pagan to fit fliil, and command amongft his cups. To de- file their'fingers with the blood of fo few, feemed no maftery ; that aft would be inglorious on the part of the viftors : more eafily might they bring in three heads of dead enemies, than one alive. Imperioufiy enough therefore doth this boafter, out of his chair of (late and eafe, command, *' Whether they be come " out for peace, take them alive, or Vv'hcthcr they be *' come out for war, take them alive :" there needs no more, but, " Take them ;** this. field is won with ^xword. O the vain and ignorant prefumptions of wretched CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 2*7 wretched men that will be reckoning without, againil their Maker. Every Ifraelite kills his man ; the Syrians fly, and cannot run away from death: Benhadad and his kings are more beholden to their horles than to their gods, or themfelves, for life and fafety, elfe they had been either taken or ilain, by thofe whom they command- ed to be taken. How eafy is it for him that made the heart to fill it with terror and conlternation, even where no fear is ? Thofe whom God hath deftined to flaughter, he will fmite ; neither needs he any other enemy or exe- cutioner, than what he finds in their own bofom : we are not the mafters of our own courage or fears ; both are put into us by that over -ruling power that created us. Stay now, O ftay, thou great king of Syria, and take with thee thofe forgotten handfuls of the duif of Ifrael ; thy gods will do fo to thee, and more alfo, if thy followers return without their vow- ed burden. Learn now of the defpifed king of Ifrael, from henceforth, not to found the triumph before the battle, not to boaft thyfelf in the girding on of thine harnefs, as in the putting off. I hear not of either the public thankfgiving, or amendment of Ahab. Neither danger nor victory canchange himfromhimfelf. Benhadad and he, though enemies, agree in unrepentance ; the one is no more moved with mercy, than the other with judgment : neither is God any changeling in his proceedings to- wards both ; his judgment fnall ftill follovv^ the Syrian, his mercy Ifrael ; mercy, both in forewarning and re- delivering Ahab ; judgment, in overthrowing Benha- dad. The prophet of God comes again, and both foretels the intended re-encounter of the Syrian, and advifes the care and preparation of Ifrael : " Go " ftrengthen thyfelf, and mark, and fee what thou " doll J for, at the return of the year, the king of " Syria f!3 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. " Syria will come up againfl thee." God purpofeth the deliverance of Ifrael, yet may not they neglect their fortifications : the merciful intentions of God to- wards them may not make them carelefs; the indultry and courage of the Ifraelites fall within the decide of their vidlory. Security is the bane of good^'fuccefs. It is no contemning of a foiled enemy ; the fhame of a former difgrace and mifcarriage whets his valour, and fharpens it to revenge. No power is fo dreadful as that which is recollefted from an overthrow. The hoflility agaiaft the Ifrael of God may fleep, but will hardly die. If the Aramites fit flill, it is but till they be fully ready for an aflfault ; time will fliew that their ceflation was only for their advantage. Nei- ther is it otherwife with our fpiritual adverfaries ; fometimes their onfets are intermitted ; they tempt not always, they always hate us : their forbearance is not out of favour, but attendance of opportunity. Happy are vv^e, if, out of a fufpicion of their filence, we can as buhly prepare for their refiftance, as they do for our impugnation. As it is a fliame to be beaten, fo yet the fhame is' lefs- by how much the vi6lor is greater ; to mitigate the grief and indignation of Benhadad's foil, his para- fites afcribe it to gods, not to men ; an human power could no more have vanquiflied him, than a divine power could by him be refilted: " their gods are gods *' of the hills.'* Ignorant Syrians, that name gods and confine them, varying their deities according to fitu- ations : they faw that Samaria, whence they were re- pelled, flood upon the hill of Shemer ; they faw the temple of Jerufalem flood upon mount Sion ; they knew it ufual with the Ifraelites to facrifice in their high places, and perhaps they had heard of Elijah's altar upon mount ('armel, and now they fottilhly meafure the effeds of the power by the place of the worfnip, as if he, that was omnipotent on the hill, was CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 215 Vas impotent in the valley. "What doltifh conceits dodi blind Paganifm frame to itfelf of a Godhead ? as they have many gods, fo finite ; every region, every hill, every dale, every flream, hath their feveral gods, and each fo knows his own bounds, that he dares not oft'er to eiicroiich upon the other ; or, if he do, buys it with lofs. Who would think that fo grofs blockilh- nefs Ihould find harbour in a reafonable foul ! A man doth" not alter with his ftation; he, that wreftled ftrong- ly upon the hill, lofeth not his force in the plain ; all places find him alike adive, alike valorous : yet thefe barbarous Aramites fliame not to imagine that of God, which they would blufh to affirm of their own cham- pions. Superflition infatuates the heart out of mea- lure J neither is there any fancy fo abfurd or mon- llrous, which credulous inhdelity is not ready to en- tertain with applaufe. In how high fcorn doth God take it, to be thus bafe- ly under-valued by rude heathens ! This v^ry mif-opi- nion concerning the God of ifrael fhall coft the Syri- ans a fhameful and perfect deftruclion ; they may call a council of war, and lay their heads together, and change their kings into captains, and the hills into valleys, but they (hall find more graves in the plains than in the mountains. This very mifprifion of God. fhail make Ahab, though he were more lewd, victo- rious : an hundred thoufand ::>yrians (hall fall in one day by thofe few hands of Ifrael ; and a dead wall in Aphek, to whofs fheiter they fled, fliall revenge God upon the reft that remained. The ftones in the wall niail rather turn executioners, than a blafphem- ous Aramite fhall efcape unrevenged ! So much doth the jealous God hate to be robbed of his glory, evea by ignorant Pagans, whofe tongues might feetii no ilan- der. That proud head of Benhadad, that fpoke fuch big words of the duft of Ifrael, and fwore by his gods^ that he would kill and conquer, is now glad to hide kfelf 220 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. itfelf In a blind hole of Aphek ; and now, inflead of queftioning the power of the God of Ifrael, is glad to hear of the mercy of the kings of Ifrael : " Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the houfe of Ifrael are merciful kings ; let us, I pray thee, put fackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Ifrael, peradventure he will fave thy life." There can be no more powerful attra£live of humbly fubmiffion, than the intimation and conceit of mercy ; we do at once fear, and hate the inexorable. This is it, O Lord, that allures us to thy throne of grace, the knowledge of the grace of that throne ! with thee is mercy and plenteous redemption : thine hand is open before our mouths, before our hearts. If we did not fee thee fmile upon fuitors, we durft not prefs to thy footftool. Behold now, we know that the king of hea- ven, the God of Ifrael, is a merciful God ; let us put fackcloth upon our loins, and drew alhes upon our heads, and go meet the Lord God of Ifrael, that he may fave our fouls. How well doth this habit become infolent and blafphemous Benhadad and his followers, a rope and fackcloth ! a rope for a crown, fackcloth for a robe ! Neither is there lefs change in the tongue, " Thy '* fervant Benhadad faith, I pray thee let me live ;'* even now the king of Ifrael faid to Benhadad, " My " lord, O king, I am thine; tell my lord. the king, " all that thou didfl fend for to thy fervant I will do:'" Now Benhadad fends to the king of Ifrael, " Thy " fervant Benhadad faith, I pray thee let me live.** He, that was ere while a lord and king, is now a fervant ; and he that was a fervant to the king of Syria, is now , his lord : he, that would blow away all Ifrael in dull, „ is now glad to beg for his own life at the door of a.; defpifed enemv. No courage is fo haughtv, which the « God . CosTEMF. I. CONTEMPLATION'S. 22 1 God of hoiVs cannot eafily brinor under ; what are men or devils in thofe almighty hands ! 'ihe greater the dejeclion was, theflronger was the motive of conimiferation ; that halier pleaded for life, and that plea, but for a life, fUrred the bowels for favour. How readily did Ahab fee, in Benhadad's fudden mifery, the image of the inltabillty of all hu- man things, and relents at the view of fo deep and palFionate a fubmiffion ! Had not Benhadad faid, *' Thy fervant," Ahab had never faid, " My bro- " ther :" fcldom ever was there lofs in humillry. How much lefs can we feardifparagement in theannihilating of ourfelves before that infinite iVIajefly ! The drown- ing man fnafches at every twig ; it is no marvel if the mclfcngers of Benhadad catch haflily at that lafl: of grace, and hold it fait, " Thy brother Benhadad.** Favours are wont to draw on each other ; kindneffet breed on themfelves; neither need we any other per.» fuafion to benificence, than from our own afts. A- hab calls for the king of Syria, fets him in his ov/a chariot, treats with him of an eafy yet firm league, gives him both his life and his kingdom. Neither is the crown of Syria fooner lofl than recovered ; only he, that came a free prince, returns tributary; only hi? train is clipped too fliort for his wings; an hundred twenty feven thoufand Syrians are abated of his guard honiev.-ard. Blalphemy hath efcaped too well. A- hab hath at once peace with Benhadad, war with God;- God proclaims it by his herald, one of the fons of the prophets; not yet in his own form, but difguifedy both in fafhion and complaint : it vvas a firange fuit of |l a prophet, "Smite me 1 pray thee:" many a pro- ic phet was fmitren and v/ould not, never any but this wifhed to be fmitten. The reft of his fellows were glad to fay, " fave me;" this only fays, '• fmite me.'^ His honeil: neighbour, out of love and reverence, for- bears to {f rike : there are too many, thinks he, that VcjL. W. P fmite; A 22 2 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. fmite the prophets, though I refrain : A^hat wrong haft thou done that I fnould repay with blows? Hadft thou fued for a. favour, I could not have denied thee; now thou fued for thine hurt, the denial is a favour. Tiius lie thought, but charity cannot excufe difobedi- ence. Had the man of God called for blows upon" his own head, the refufal had been juft: and thank- worthy; but now that he fays, " In the word of the '• Lord fmite me," this kindaefs is deadly, " Becaufe *' thou hall not obeyed the voice of the Lord, be- " hold; as foon as thou art departed from me, a lion " fliall ilay thee." It is not for us to examine the charges of the Almighty ; be they never fo harfn or improbable, if they be once known for his, there is no w^ay but obedience or death. Not to fmite a pro- phet, when Gcd commands, is no iefs fin than to fmite a prophet when God forbids, h is the divine precept or prohibition that either makes or aggravates an evil : and if the Ifraelite be thus revenged that fmote not a prophet, what ihall become of Ahab tliat fmote not Benhadadl Every man is not th'js indulgent, an ea- fy requefl will gain blows to a prophet from the next hand, yea, and a wound in fmiting. 1 know not whether it were an harder taUv for the prophet to require a wound, than for a well-meaning Ifraelite to give it; both muft be done: the prophet hath what he would, what he mull will, a fight of his own blood; and novr difguifed herewith, and with allies upon his face, he w^aylays the king of Ifrael, and fadly corn-plains of himfetf in a real parable, for difmilnng^./ Syrian prifoner delivered into his hands, upon no Iefs . charge than his life; and foon receives fentence of death from his own mouth; well was that wound be*- uowed that ftruck Ahab's foul through the fielh of the prophet : the difguife Is removed, the king fees not a foldier but a feer; and now finds that he hath una^ ' wares palled fentence upon himfelf. There needs n» CoNTtMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. ?rj ro other doom than from the lips of the offender : *' Thus faith the Lord, Btcruife thou haft let go out *' of thy hand, a man whom I appointed to utter " deftriiction, therefore thy life fiiall go for his life, " aTid thy people for his people." Had not Ahab known the will of God concerning Benhadad, tlrat had been mercy to an enemy, which was now cruel- ty to himfelf, to Ifrael. His ears had heard of the blafphemies of that wicked tongue. liis eyes had feen God go before him, in the example of that revenge. No prince can ftrike fo dee\) into his ftate, as in not flriking : in private favour there may be public un- tnercifulnefs. CoNTEMP. IL Ahab ^;^(i Naeoth. l^ABOTH had a fair vineyard; it had been bet= V*-^ ter for him to have had none ; his vineyard yielded him the bitter grapes of death Many a one hath been fold to death by his lands and goods ; wealth hath been a fnare, as to the foul, fo to the life : why do we call thofe goods, which are many times the bane of the owner ^ Naboth's vineyard lay near to the court of Jezebel; it had been better for him ir "had been planted in the wildernefs; Doubtlefs this 'Vicinity made it more comimodious to the pofleiTor, but more envious and unfafe. It was now the per- petual object of an evil eye, and ftirred thofe defires wliich could neither be well denied,' rior fatisiied : cminency is ilill joined with peril, obfcurity with peace. There can be no worfe annoyance to an in- heritaiice, than the greatnefs of an evil neighbour- hood. Naboth's vines ftood too near the fmcke of Jezebel's chininies, too much within the profpcdl of Ahab's window. Now, lately, had the king of If- rael been twice victorious over the Syriar.s ; no fooner is he returned home, than he is overcome with evil *''' P 2 defires 2 24 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. dePires: the foil lie gave was not worfe than that he took. There is more true glory in the conqucft of our lufls, than in all bloody trophies. In vain fhali Ahab boall of fubduing a foreign enemy, while he is fubdued by a domeflic enemy within his own breafl: : opportunity and convenience is guilty of many a theft. }-Iad not this ground lain fo fair, Ahab had not been tempted; his eye lets in this evil gueft into the foul, which now dares come forth at the mouth : " Give ** me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden " of herbs, becaufe it is. near to my houfe, and I will " give thee a better vineyard for it ; or, if it feem good " to thee, I v./ ill give thee the worth of it in money.'* Yet had Ahab fo much civility and juftice, that he would not wrinp^ Naboth's patrimony out of his hands by force, but requires it upon a fair cora- pofition, whether of price, or of exchange. His go- vernment was vicious, not tyrannical: propriety of goods was inviolably maintained by him; no lefs was Niboth allowed to claim a right in his vineyard, than Ahab in his palace. This we owe to lawful fovereign- ty to call oyght our own; and well worthy is this pri- vilege to be repaid with all humble and loyal refpecls. The motion of Ahab, had it been to any other than an Ifraelite, had been as juil, equal, reafonable, as the repulfe had been rude, churliPn, inhumane. It IS fit that princes (hould receive due fatisfadion in the juil: demands, not ouly of their neceflities, but con- venience and pleafure; well may they challenge this retribution to the benefit of our common peace and protedion. If there be any fweetnefs in our vine- yards, any flrength in our heids, we may thank their* " icepters; juftly may they expect from us the commp- , diry, the delight of their habitation; and if we gladly yield not to their full eioou-rooin, both of fite and provifion, we c^n be r.o other than ingrateful Yet dares not Naboth give any other anfwer to fo plaufible' a motiofl CoNTFMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. 225 a motion, than, " 1 he Lord forbid it nie, that I *' fliould give thee the inheritimce of my fathers." The honed Ilraelite faw violence in this ingenuity : there are no ftronger commands than the requeft of the great. It is well that Ahab will not wreft away this patrimony, it is not well that he defired it; the land was not fo niuch flood upon as the law. One earth might be as good is another, and money equiva- lent to either; the 1-ord had forbidden to alien their inheritance. Naboth did not fear lofs, but fm; what Naboth might not lawfully do, Ahab might not law- fully require : it pleafed God to be very puiitlual and cautelous, both in the diftinftion and prefcrva- tion of the entirenefs of thefe Jewifli inheritances. Nothing but extreme neceOlity might warrant a fale of land, and that but for a time : if not fooner, yet, at the jubilee, it muft revert to the firfl owner. It was not without a comfortable fignification, that whofo- cver had once his part in the land of promife, could never lofe it. Certainly *Ahab could not but know this divine reflridlion, yet doubts nor to fay, " Give " me thv vineyard.** The unconfcionable will know no other law, but their profit, their pleafure. A iawlefs greatnefs hates all liuiitations, and abides not to hear men fhould need any other warrant but^ will. Naboth dares not be thus tradable. Ho'.v gladly would he be quit of his inheritance, if God would acquit him from the fm? not our of wilfulnefs, but obedience dot!) this faithful Ifraelite hold off from this demand of his fov^reign, not daring to pleafe an ^earthly king with off'^nding the heavenly* vVhon 'princes commanvl lawful" things, God commands by "them; when unlawful, rhey ccnmand againil God: paffive obedience we muft give, active we may not; we folio. V them as fubordinate, not as oppufite to the higheft. P 3 Who 326 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. Who cannot but fee and pity the ilraits of honeft Naboth ? Ahab requires what God forbids; he maft fall out either with his God, or his kins:. Confcieacc carries him again it policy, and he relolved not to fin, that he might be gracious : for a world he may not give his vineyard. Thofe, who are themfelves gcd- lefs, think the holycare of others but idlely fcrupulous. The king of Ifrael could not chufe but fee, that only God's prohibition lay in the way of his defigns, not the flomach of a froward fubjed ; yet he goes away into his houfe heavy and difpleafed, and cafts himfelf down upon his bed, turns away his face, r.nd refufcs his [I. eat; he hath taken a furfeit of Naboth's grapes,* which mars his appetite, and threats his life. How ill can great hearts endure to be croffed, though upon the mod reafonable and iufl: prounds. Ahab's place called him to the guardianfnip of God's law; and now his heart is ready to break, that this parcel of that law may not be broken. No marvel if he made not dainty to tranfgrefs a local ftatute of God, who did fo fliamefuily violate the eternnl law of both tables. I know not v hether the fpleen, or the gall of Ahab be more affecled ; whether more of anger or- grief, 1 cannot fay ; but Tick he is, and keeps his bed, and baulks his meat, as if he iliouid die of no other death, than the falads that he would have had. 0 the impotent paiTion, and infatiable i^iefires of co- vetoufneis ! Ahab is lord and king of all the territo- ries of Ifrael, Naboth is the owner of one poor vine- yard ; Ahab cannot enjoy Ifrael, if Naboth enjoy his vineyard. Befides Samaria, Ahab was the great lord paramount of Damafcus and all Syria, the viclor oi him that was attended with two and thirty kings. Naboth was a plain tovvnfman of .Jezreel, the good hufband of a little vineyard. Whether is the wealthier? 1 do not hear Naboth wiui for any thing of Ahab's ; i hear Ahab wKhing, not without indignation of a repulfe, CoKTEMP. -11. . CONTEMPLATIONS. 227 repulfe, for foniewhat from Naboth. Riches and po- verty is no more in the heart than in the hand : he is wealthy that is contented ; he is poor that wanteth more. O rich Naboth, that careli not for all the large poflejGions of Ahab, h thou niayclt be the lord of thine own vineyard ! O miferable Ahab, that careft not for thine own polTeflions, while thou mayefl: not be ihe lord of Naboth's vineyard ! He, that caufed the difeafe, fends him a phyfician. Satan knew of old how to make ufe of fuch helpers. Jezebel comes to Ahab*s bed-fide, and calls cold wa- ter in his face, and puts into him fpiriis of her x)wn extracting : " Doft thou now govern the kingdom of *•' Ifrael ? Arife, eat bread, and let thine heart be " merry, I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth." Ahab wanted neither wit nor wickednefs ; yet is he in both a very novice to this Sidonian dame. There needs no other devil than Jezebel, whether to pro- je£i: exll, or to v/ork it. She chides the pufdlanimity of her dejected hufoand, and perfuades him his rille cannot be free, unlefs it be licentious ; that there fhould be no bounds for fovereignty, but will. Al- ready hath die contrived to have, by fraud and force, what w3ls denied to intreaty. Nothing n^eds but the name, but the feal of Ahab ; let her alone with the reft. How prefent are the wits of the weaker fcx for the devifing of wickednefs ! (he frames a letter in Ahab's name to the fenators of Jezreel, wherein fhe requires them to proclaim a faft, to fuborn two falfe witneffes againft Naboth, to charge him with biafphe- my againft God and the king, to ilone him to death ; a reudy payment for a rich vineyard. Whofe indig- nation, rifeth not, to hear Jezebel name a fall ! The graat contemners of the moft important laws of God, . &t can be content to make ufe of fome divine both " tatutes and cuPioms, for their own advantage. She knew the Ifraielites had fo much remainder of grace, ' ' . P 4 as siS CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XiX. as to Hold blafphetny worthy of death ; fbe knew their manner was fo expiate thole crying fins with public humiliatinn ; /he knew that two witneffes at ler-il muft cnf^ the oil^nder : all thefe One urges to her own pur- pofe. There is no mlichief fo deviliih, as that which is cloak'jd with piefy. Simulation of holinefs doubleth a villainy. This murder had not been half fo foul, if it had not been thus inafked with a religious "Sbferva- tion. BefidcS dtvo'ion, what a fair pretence of lega- lity is here ! blafphemy againil God and his anointed irsay no^ paFs unre^'enged. Ihe offender is con vent- ed refore the fad and ievere bench of magiftracy; the juf^i e of jirael aiiows not to condemn an abfent, ati -unheard maiefadtcw. Witneffes come forth, and agree in the intcntation of the crime ; the judges rend their garments, and ilrike their breaits as grieved, not m.ore for th^ fin than the punlfhment : their very counte- nance muil fay, Naboth fhould not.die, if his offence did not force our juftice: and now, he is no good fuhjefl:, no true ifraelite, that hath not a- ftone for Naboth. Jezebel knew well to whom (he wrote. Had not thofe letters fallen upon the times of a woful degene- ranon of Ifrael, they had received no lefs ftrong de- nials from the elders, than Ahab had from Naboth. ^' God forbid, that the fenate of Jezreel (hould forge " a perjury, -belie truth, comitmn innocencv, brook " rorrcption.** Command jufl: things, we are ready to die in the zeal of our obedience, we dare not im- brae our h^nds in the blood of an innocent. But ihe knew whom flie had engaged, whom fhe had marred, by making confcious. It were flrange, if they, who can countenance evil with greatnefs, fh.ouid want factors for the unjufteil defigns. TviifeT- ?.ble is tpat peopie, whofe rulers, inftead of puniHi- ". .j^-, plot and encourage wickednefs ; whcri a diftil- lation of evil falls from the head,- uncn the lunq;s of any CoNTEMf. 11. CONTEMPLATIONS. 2^9 any fiai/e, there mud needs follow a deadly confump- tioi). Yet perhaps there wanted not fome colour of pre- tence tor this proccedihg ; they could not but hear, that ibiac. words had pailed betwixt the king and Na- both : haply it v/as fuggelted, that Naboih had fe- cretiy over-lalhed into laucy and contemptuous terms to his fovereign, luch as neither might be well borne> nor yet, by reafon ot their privacy, legally convin- ced. The bench of'Jezreel (bould but fupply a form to the jult matter and defert of condemnation; what was it for them to give their hand to this obfcure midwife- ry of jullice? it is enough that their king is an accu- fer and witnefs of that wrong, which only their fen- tence can formally revenge. All this cannot wafli their hands from the guilt of blood; if juflice be blind, in relpect of partiality, fl-.e may not be blind in re,- fpecl ot the grounds of execution. Mad Naboth been a blafphemer, or a traitor, yet thefe men were no better than murderers. What dittcrence is there be- twixt the flroke of magillracy, and of man-Haughter, but due convi<^l:ion ? Wickedneis never fpake out of a throne, and com- plained of the dekct of inftruments. Naboth was, it feeras, tlriitly confcionable, his fellow-citizens loofe and lawlcis ; they are glad to have gotten fuch an opportunity of difpatch. No. claufe of Ahab's let- ter is not obferved ; a fall is warned, the city is af- fembled, Naboth is convented,. acculed, confronted, fentenced, (loned. liis vineyard is efchea'^cd to the crown ; Ahab takes fpeedy and quiet poileffion. How , iiili doth God fit in heaven, and look upon the com- . plots of treachery and villanies, as if they c'id not concern him! ihe fuccefs fo anhvers their d-efires, as if both heaven and earth were ihcir friei'ds. It is > the plague, which feems the felicity of tin- ers, to vfpeed w ell in their lewd enterprifes . no reckoning is t^Q CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. is brought in the midft of the meal, the end pays for all. While Ahab is rejoicing in his new garden-plotj aTid promifmg himfelf contentment in this commo- dious enlargement, in comes Elijah, fent from God, with an errand of vengeance. Methinks I lee how the king's countenance changed, with what aghail eyes and pale cheeks he looked upon that unwelcome prophet. Little pleafure took he in his profpecl, while h was clogged with fuch a guefl: ; yet his tongue be- gins firil, " Hafl thou found me, O mine enemy ?'* Great is the power of confcience. Upon the kft meeting, for ought we know, Ahab and Elijah parted friends. The prophet had lacqueyed his coach, and took a peaceable leave at this town's end ; now A- hab's heart told him (neither needed anv other mef- fenger) that God and his prophet were fallen out v/ith him : his continuing idolatrv, now feconded witli blood, bids him look for nothing but frowns from heaven. A guilty heart can never be at peace. Had not Ahab known how ill he had deferved of God, he had never faluted his prophet by the name of an ene- my ; he had never been troubled to be found by Eli- jah, if his own breaft had not found him out for anJJj enemy to God. Much good may thy vineyard d< thee, O thou king of Ifrael ; many fair flowers, an< favoury herbs may thy new garden yield thee ; pleafej thyfelf with thy Jezebel, in the triumph over the caj-i oafs of a fcrupulous fubje^Sl: ; let me rather die withf Naboth, than rejoice with thee : his turn is over, thine is to come. The flones that overwhelmed in- nocent Naboth, were nothing to thofe that fmite thee, " Kafl thou killed, and alfo taken poileffion ? Thus " faith the Lord, in the place where dogs licked the •' blood of Naboth, fhall dogs lick thy blood, even " thine.'* What meaneit thou, O Elijah, to charge this murder upon Ahab.'* he kept his chamber, Je- zebel wrote, the elders ccndemned? the people ffon- ed J CoNTtMP. ir. CONTEMPLATIONS. a^j - ed ; yet thou fayeil, " Haft thou killed ?" Well did Ahab know, that Jezebel could not give this vineyard with dry hands ; yet was he content to wink at what fiie would do: he but fits iUll while Jezebel works, only his' fignet is fuiFered to walk tor the I'ealing of this unknown purchafe. Thofc, that are trufled with aiuhoiity, may oifjnd no le(s in connivancy or ne- glect, than others in z6i, in participation : not only command, confent, countenance, but very per- niiirion feoffs public perlbns in thofe fins, which they might, and will not prevent. God loves to pu- liith by retaliation; Naboth and ^.hab fl^iall both bleed ; Naboth by the . ilones of the Jezreelites, Ahab by the fliafcs of the Aramites ; the do^';s fhall fade of the blood of both. What Ahab hath done in cruelty, he (hall fuffer in juflice ; the cale and the end make the difference happy on Naboth's fide, on Abac's wofui ; Naboth bleeds as a martyr, Ahab as a murderer. Whatever is Ahab's condition, Nacoth changes a vineyard on earth, for a kingdom m heaven. Never any wicked man gained by the periecution of an innocent ; never any innocent man was a loier by fuflering from the v;Jcked. Neither v/as this judgment perfcnal, but heredita- ry ; *' 1 will take away thy poltcrity, and will make *' thine houfe like the houJe of Jt-'roboLim." Him that dieth of Ahab in the city, '• the dogs dial! eat ;'* and him that dieth in the field, *' Hiail the fowls of the *' air eat.'* Ahab fuall not need to rake thoupht for ihe traducing of tni*; ill-gotten inberi'"ance; God liath r;iken order for his heirs, Vv'hom hie: Cm hath made no leis the heirs of his curfe, than of his body. 'Iheir "father's cruelty to Naboth hath made them, togetiier wi.h their mother Jezebel, dogs meat. The revenge of God doth at laft make aincnas for the delay. \Vhe.'her now is Naboth's vineyard paid for? The 232 CONTEMPLATiONTS. Book XIX. The man that had fold himfelf to work wlckednefs, yet rues the bargain. I do not hear Ahab, as bad as he was, revile or threaten the prophet, but he rends his deaths, and wears and Hes in fackcloth, and fads, and walks foftly. Who that had feen Ahab would not have deemed him a true penitent.'' All this was the vizor of forrow, not the face ; or if the face, not the heart ; or if the lorrow of the heait, yet not the repentance ; a forrow for the judgment, not a repentance for the fm. The very devils howl to be tormented. -Grief is not ever a fip^n of grace. Ahab rends his cloaths, he did not rend his heart ; he puts on fackcloth, not amendment; he lies in fack- cloth, but he lies in his idolatry; he walks foftly, he walks not fincerely. Worldly forrow caufeth death; happy is that grief for which the foul is the holier. Yet what is this 1 fee ? this very iliadow of peni- tence carries away mercy. It is no fmall mercy to defer an evil ; even Ahab's humiliation fliall prorogue the judgment : fuch as the penitence was, fuch fhall be the reward ; a temporary reward of a temporary penitence. As Ahab might be thus forrowful, and never the better ; fo he may be thus favoured, and never the happier. O God, how gracioufly art thou ready to reward a found and holy repentance, who art thus indulgent to a carnal and fervile dejection. CoNTEMP. III. Ahab and Micaiah : or. The Death of AiiA's,. 'KTHO would have looked to have heard any| ^ mere of the wars of the Syrians with Ifrael, after fo great a fiaughter, after fo.firma league; ,a ^ league not of peace only, but of brotherhood ; thel halters, the fackcloth of Benhadad's follov/ers w^ex latters, tne lacivciotii oi jocmuiaLiu s loiiov/ers w^eicM vorn cut, a^ of ufe, fo of memory, and now they \,re changed for iron and fteel. It'is but three years ' that CoNTEMF. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. igj thar this peace lafls ; and now that war begins which fliall make an end of Ahab. The king of Ifrael rues his unjuft mercy : according to the word of ther pro- phet, that gift of a life was but an exchange ; be- caufe Ahab gave Benhadad his life, Benhadad ihall take Ahab's ; he muit forfeit in himfelf what he hath given to another, i here can be no better fruit of too much kindnefs to infidels. It was one article of the league betwixt Ahab and his brother Benhadad, that there fhould be a fpeedy relfitution of all the If- raelitifh cities ; the reft are yielded, only Ramoth- gilead is held back, unthankfully, injurioufly. He that begged but his life, receives his kingdom, and now refts not content with his own bounds. Juftly doth Ahab challenge his own, juftly doth he move a war to recover his own from a. perfidious tributary : the lawfulnefs of adlions may not be judged ,by the events, but by the grounds. The v.-ife and holy Ar- biter of the world knows why, rsany times, the better caufe hath the worft fuccefs. Many a juft bufinefs is croiTed, for a punifhment to the assent. Yet Ifrael and judah were now pieced in friend- ship. Jehofliaphar, the good king of Judah, had made affinity with /\hab the idolatrous king of Ifrael ; and, befides a perfonal vifitation, joins his forces with his new kinfman, againft an old confederate. Judah had called in Syria againft Ifrael ; and now Ifrael calls in. Judah ag?.inft Syria : thus rather fliould it be, It is' fit that the more pure church fhould join with the mere corrupt, againft a common paganilh enemy. Jehoflvaphat hath matched with Ahab ; not with a divorce of his devotion. Ke v/ill fight, not vvithout "God ; " Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the " Lord to-day.'* Had he done thus fooner, I fear, Athaliah had never called him father : this motion was news in Ifrael. It was v;ont to be fald, Inquire of .Baal. The good idng of Judah v/ill bring religion^ into- i34 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. into Eiiliion in the court of Ifrael. Ahab liad inquired of his counfellor ; what needed he be fo devout, as to inquire of his prophets? Only Jehofhaph'.\t'sprefence. made him thus godly. It is an happy thing to con- verfe with the virtuous ; their counfel and example cannot but leave fome tincture behind them of a good profeflion, if not of piety. Thofe that are truly re- ligious dare not but take God with them in all their affairs ; with him they can be as valiant, as timorouii without him. Ahab had clergy enough, fuch as it was ; four hundred prophets of the groves were referved from appearing to Elijah's challenge: thefe are now con- fulted- by Ahab ; they live to betray the life of hi?ii "who faved theirs. Tliefe care not fo much to inquire what God would fav, as Vv^hat Ahab would have tliem fay; they faw v^?hich way the king's heart was bent,, that way they bent their tongues : " Go up, for the- " I.crd (hall deliver>it into the hands of the king." Falfe pi-ophets care only to pleafe ; a plaufible falfe^ hood paiTes with them above an harfii truth. Had^ they feen Ahab fearfid, they had faid, " Peace," '* peace ;" nov/, they fee him refolute, war and vic- tory. It is a fearful prefage of ruin, when the pro-- pheis confpire in aflentation. Their number confent; confidence halh eafily won* credit with Ahab; we do all willingly believe what . we wiili. Jeholhaphat is not fo foon fatished ; thefe , prophets were, it is like, obtruded to him (a iiranger)? for the true prophets of the true God. The judi-^ cious king xtQi caufe to fufpe^: them, and now, pet^^' '| ceiving at what altars they ferved, hates to relt iiC* their teitimony ; " Is there not here a' prophet <:^^i thtfj " Lord befides, that we might inquire ol hiinr" On^J fingic prophet, fpeaking from the oracles of God, \\ more worth than four hundred Baalites : truth may BOt ever be meafured bv the poll. It is not number, but CoNTEMP. III. COiNTEivlPLATIONS. i-jj but weight that mull carry it in a council cf pro- phets. A foHd verity in one mouth is worthy to pre- ponderate light hilfehood in a thoufand. Even king Ahab, as bad as he was, kept ta!s of his prophets, and could gi veaccount of one that was milling ; " There is yet one man, Micaiah the fon of Imlaii, " by whom vv^e may inquire of tlie Lord ; but I hate " him, for he doth not prophefy good concerning " me, but evil." It is very probable that Micaiah was tliat difguifed prophet, who brought to Ahab the fearful mefiage of difpleafure, and death for dif- miirmcr Benhadad, for which he was ever fmce fall in prifon, deep in difgrace. O corrupt heart of felf- condemned Ahab ! If Micaiah fpake true to thee, how was it evil? If others faid fahc-, how was it good? And if Micaiah fpake from the Lord, why dolt thou hate him? This hath wont to be the ancient lot of truth, cenfure, and hatred \ cenfure of the meiTagc, hatred of the bearer. To carnal ears the njefiage is evil, if unpleafing ; and, if plaufible, good; if it be fweet, it cannot be poifon ; if bitter, it cannot be who]erome. The diftemper of the receiver is guilty of this mifconceit : in irfelf every truth as it is good, fo amiable ; every falfehood loathfcme, as evil. A fick palate cries out of the taife of thofe liquors which are well allowed of the healthful. It is a fign cf a good Plate of the foul, when every verdure can re- ceive his proper judgment. Wife and good JehoOiaphat difTuades Ahab from fo hard an opinion, and fees caufe fo much more to urge the conlultation of Micaiah, by hov/ much he finds him more unpleafing. The king of Ifrael, to fatisfy the importunity of fo great and dear an ally, fends an officer for Micaiah : he knew well, belike, where to nnd hiin ; v. ithin thofe four walls, where unjuft cruelty had difpofcd of that i^mocent feer ; • ©ut of the obfcurfry of the prifon, is the poor pro- phet 23(? CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. phet fetcht in the light of fo glorious a confcflion of two kings, who thought this convocation of pro- phets not un'vvorthy of their greateft reprefentation cf ftate and majefty : there lie finds Zedekiah, th'c leader of that falfe crew, not fpeaking only, but Ticling his prediction. Signs were no lefs nfed by the prophets, than words ; this arch-flatterer h^th made him horns of iron ; the hern is forcible, the iron ir- refilHble ; by an irrefillible force fliall Ahab pufli the Syrians^ as if there were more certainty in this man's hands, than in his tongue. If this fon of Che* naanah, had not had a forehead of brafs for impu-^ dency, and a heart of lead for flexiblenefs to hu- mours and times, he had never devifed thefe horns of iron wherewith his king was gored unto blood. However, it is enough for him that he is believed, that he is fecondedi All this great inqueft of thefe prophets gave up their verdicl to this f-ereman ; not one of four hundred dilTented. Unanimity of opinion in the greatefi; ecclefiadical afTembiies, is not ever an argument of truth ; there may be as common, and a» iirm agreement in error. The meifenger, that came for Micaiah, like a carnal friend, fets him in a way of favour ; tells him what the ^eft had faid, how they pleafed ; how uH- fafe it Vv'ould be for him to vary, how beneficial to afTent. . Thofe that adore earthly greatnefs think e- very man fiiould dote upon their idols, and hold no term? too high for their ambitious purchafes. Faith- ful Ivlicaiah icorns the motion ; he knows the price of the word, and contemns it; " As the Lord liv- *' eth, what the Lord faith unto me, that will I " fpeak." Neither fears, nor favours, can tempt the holily refolutc :• they can trample upon dangers, or.i'*,' honours, with a carelefs foot ; and, whether they btf /"miled or frov.'ned on by the great, dare not either alter or conceal their errand. The GoNTKMi-. Ilf. CONTtMPLATlONS. 237 The qaeftion is moved to Micaiah : he at fir ft yields, then he cdntradicls; yields in words, contfa- diils in pronunciation; the I'yllables are for them, ihe found againft tliem : ironies deny ftrongeft in af-* firming. And now, being prefTed home, he tells them, that God had (hewed him thofe (bctp of Ifrael fi-jould, ere long, by this means, want their lliep- herd. The very refemblance, to a good prince, had been affective: the ilieep is an helplefs creature, not able either to guard or guide irfcif; all the fafervj all the direftion of it, is from the keeper, without whom every cur cliafes and worries it, every track feduceth it; fuch fnall Ifrael foon be, if Ahab be rul- ed by his prophets. The king of Ifrael doth not believe, but quarrel; not at himfelf, who had defer- ved evil, but at the prophet, who forefignified it; and is more careful that the king of Judah (hould mark how true he had foretold concerning the pro^ phet, than how the prophet had foretold concerning him. Bold Micaiah, as no whit difcouraged v''[n the unjiill checks of greatnefs, doubles his predic'tion, and, by a fecond viiion, particularizeth the means of this dangerous error. Whiles the two kings fat me- I jeftically in their thrones, he tells them of a more j gioTious throne "than theirs, whereon he faw the King of gods fitting 1 while they were compafTed I with fome hundreds of prophets, and thoufands of I fubje«fts, and foldiers, he tells them of all the hod of" i heaven, attending that other throne; while they ij were deliberating of a war, he tells them of a God 1 of heaven jullly decreeing the judgment of a deadly i deception to Ahab. The decree of the liigheO, is- fiot more plainly revejded, than exprefTed paraboli- earlly. The wife and holy God is reprefented, airei" the manner of men, confuiring of that ruin whicli I he intended to the wicked kin^^r of Ifrael.- That in- I ! Vet. II.- Q^ " created 2?S CONTEMPLATIONS. ^ B-ook XIX. created and infiiiiie wifdorn needs not the advice of any finite and created powers to direct him, needs not the aflent nor aid of any fpirit for his execu- tion, much lefs of an evil one; yet, here an evil fpirit is brought in, by way of vifion mixt with parable, proffering the fervice of bis lie, accepted, employ- ed, fuccefsfub Thefe figures are not void of truth : the a£tion'and event is reduced to a decree; the de- dree is fhadowed out by the refemblance of human proceedings. All evil motions, and counfels,. are origin ■illy from that'malignant fpirit; that evil fpirit could have no power over men, but by the permif- fion, by the decree of the Almighty. That Almigh- ty, as he is no author of fin, fo he ordains all evil to good : it is good that is juft; it is jult that one fm fhould be punifiied by~ another : Satan is herein no other than the executioner of that God, who is as far from infufmg evil, as from not revenging it. Nov/ Ahab fees the ground of that applauded con- fent of his rabble of prophets; one evil fpirit hath no lefs deceived them, than they their mafcer : he is one, therefore he agrees with himfelf; he is^evil, therefore both he and they agree in deceit. Ol the noble and undaunted fpirit of Micaiah; nei- ther ,the thrones of the kings, nor the number of the prophets, could abate one word of his true, though difpleafing, meffage : the king of Ifrael fhall hear, that he is milled by liars, they by a devil. Surely Jehofliaphat cannot but wonder at fo unequal a con- tention, to fee one filiy prophet afiVonting four hun*- dred: with whom, le'it confidence fhould carry i^, behold Zedekiah, more bold, more zealous : if Mica- iah have given him, with his fellows, the licy he gi^'es Micaiah the fift. Before thefe two great guar- dians of peace and juflice, fwaggering Zedekiah fmites Micaiah on the face; and with the blow ex-^^ poftulatesj " Which way went the Spirit of the Lori] " from CosTEMP., III. CONTEMFLATI0\3. 2-9 " from me to fpeak unto thee?*' For a prophet to fmire a prophet, in the face of two kings, was into- lerably inl'olent : the -d^t was much unhefeeming the per Ton, more the prcfence; prophe;s may re- prove, they may not (hike. It was enough for Ahab to punifli with the hand; no weapon was for Zede- kiah, but his tongue; neither could this rude pre- fnmption have been well taken, if malice had not made magiltracy infenfible of this ufurpation. Ahab was well content to fee that hated mouth beaten by; any hand. It is no new conditioji of God's faithful meifengers to fmart for faying truth. Falfehood doth not more bewray itfelf in any thing than in blows ; truth fuffers, while error perfecutes. Nond are more ready to boall of the Spii it of God, than thofe that have the lealt ; as in veiTels, the full are filent. Innocent Micaiah neither defends- nor complains : it would have well befeemed the religious king of Ju- Tdah to have fpoken in the caufe of the dumb, to have checked infolent Zedekiah. He is content to give way to this tide of peremptory and general oppofition : the helplefs prophet ftands alone, yet lays about him with his tongue : "Behold thou fhalt fee, in that day *' v/hen thou fhalt go into an inner chamber to hide *' thyfelf." Now the proud Baalite Ihewed himfelf too much, ere long he ftiall be glad to lurk unfeen; his horns of iron cannot bear orT his danger. The fon of Ahab cannot chufe, but, in the zeal of revenging, his father's deadly feducement, call for that falfe head of Zedekiah ; in vain Ihall that impoftor feek to hide himfelf from jufllce ; but, in the mean while, he goes av.-ay with honour, Micaiah v/ith cenfure : "lake •' Micaiah, and carry him back to Ammon the gover- •* nor of the city, and to Joafh the king's fon ; and *' fay. Thus faith the king, put this fellow in prifon. *' and feed him Vrith bread of affliction, and with wa-^ ter of affiidion, until I come in peace/* 0^,2 Ar^ 24© CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. An hard doom of truth; the jail for his lodging, coarfe bread and water for his food, (hall but referve Tvliciiiah for a further revenge : the return of Ahab Ihall be the bane of the prophet. Was not this he that advifed Benhadad not to boafl in the putting on his ar- mour, as in the ungirding it; and doth he now pro- mife himfelf peace and vi6lory, before he buckle it on! No warning will difmade the wilful; fo afTured doth Ahab raake himfelf of fuccefs, that he threatens ere he go, what he will do vvhen he returns in peace. How juilly doth God deridethemifreckoningsof proud and foolini men; if Ahab had no other fins, his very confidence (liall defeat him, yet the prophet cannot be overcome in his refolution; he knows his grounds cannot deceive him, and dares therefore cad the cre- dit of his funftion upon this ilTue : " If thou return '* at all in peace, the Lord hath not fpoken by me:'* and he faid, " Hearken, O people, every one of you." Let him never be called a prophet that dare not trud his God. This was no adventure therefore of repu- tation cr life; fmce he knew whom he believed, the event v/as no lefs fure than if it had been paft. He is no god that is not conftant'to himfelf: hath he fpo- ken, and (hall he not perform? what hold have we 1 for our fouls, but his eternal word ? The being of God is not more fure than his promifes, than his fentences of jud\rment. Well may we appeal the teflimony of the world in both : if there be not plagues for the wjcked, if there be not rewards for the righteous, God halh not fpoken by us. Not Ahab only, but good Jehofhaphat is carried with the multitude; their forces are joined againfl: Ramoth. The king of Ifrael doth not fo trull his prophets, that he dares trull himfeif in his own cloaths: thus fnall lie elude Micaiah's threat; I wifli the judg'- nicnt of God, the Syri-.Mi (liafts cannot find him out in tiiis unfulpcdted difgr.ife. Kow fondly do vain men CosTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 241 inen imagine to (hift off the juil revenges of the Al- mighty ! The king of Syria gives charge to his captains to fight againft none but the king of Ifracl. Tiius doth the unthankful inridel repay the mercy of his late vic- tor; ill was the fnake faved, that requires the favour of his life with a fting : thus Hill the greateft are the fair- eft mark to envious eyes. By how much more enii- nent any man is in the Ifrael of God, fo many more, and more dangerous enemies mod he expect; both earth and hell confpirein their oppofition to the wor- thiefh Thofe, who are advanced above others, have fo much more need of the guard both of their own vigilancv, and others prayers. Jehoihaphat had like to have paid dear for his love: he is purfued for him, in whofe amity he ofi'ended ; his cries deliver him, his cries, not to his purfuers, but to his God; whofe mercy takes not advantage of our infirmity, but ref- cues us from thofe evils which we wilfully provoke. It is Ahab, againlf whom, not the Syrians only, but God himfelf intends this quarrel; the enemy is taken off from Jehoihaphat. O the juiT: and mighty hand of that divine Providence, which dire^leth all our ac- tions to his ov/n ends, which takes order where every fliaft fliall light; and guides the arrow of tlie ftrong archer into the joints of Ahab's harnefs! it was fnot at a venture, falls by a deftiny ; and there falls, where it may carry death to an hidden debtor. In all ac- tions, both voluntary and cafual, thy will, O God, (hall be done by us, with whatever intentions. Little 4iid the Syrian know whom he had ftricken, no ■inore than the arrow wherewith he liruck : an inv'fi- ble hand difpofeth of both, to the punifhment of Ahab, to the vindication of Micaiah. How worthily, O -trod, art thou to be adored in thy juftice and wifdom,^ to be feared in thy judgments! Too late doth Ahab ^ow thiuk of the fair warnings of Micaiah, which he i 0^3 unwifely 242 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XTX. unwifely contemned; of the painful fiatteries of Ze- dckiah, which he fl-ubbornly believed: that guil- ty biood oi his runs down, out of his wound, into the inidft of his chariot, 2nd psys Naboth his arrear- ages. O Ahab, v/hat art thou the better for thi; e ivory houfe, whi^e thou haft a black foul! what com- fort haft thou now in thofe flattering prophets, which tickled thine ears, and fecured thee of vidorie;-! what joy is it to thee now, that thou waft great! Who had not rather be a Micaiah in the jail, than Ahab in the chariot! Wicked men have the advantage of the way, godly men of the end. The chariot is waihed in the pool of Samaria, the dogs come to claim their due; they lick up the blood of the great king of Ifrael. The tongues of thofe brute creatures ftiall make good the tongue of God's prophet: Micaiah is juftified, Naboth is revenged, the Baalites confounded, Ahab judged ; " Righteous art thou, O God, in all thy ^^ ways, and holy in all thy works!" CoNTtiMP. IV. Ah AZi AH^^y^j ^wJ Elijah revenged. H A Z I A H fucceeded his father Ahab, both in his throne and in his fm. Who could look for better ilfue of thofe loins, of thofe examples! God follows him with, a double judgment, of the revolt of Moab, and of his own ficknefs. All the teign of Ahab, had Moab been a quiet tributary, and' furaiftied Ifrael with rich flocks and fleeces; now their fubje<^lion dies with that warlike king, and will not be inherited. This rebellion took advantage, as from the weaker fpirits, fo from the ficklv body of Ahaziah, whofe difeafe was not natural, but cafual : walking in his palace of Samaria, fome grate in the floor of his chamber breaks under him, and gives way to that fail, wheieby he is bruifed, and languiflieth. The fame CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 243 fame hand, that guided Ahab's fliaft, cracks Ahazi- ah's lattice. How infinite variety of plagues hath the jufl God for obftinate fmnersl whether in the field or in the chamber, he knows to find them out. llow fearlefsly did Ahaziah walk on his wonted "pavement! The Lord hath laid a trap for him' whcreunto, while he thinks lead, he falls irrecoverably. No place is fafe for the man that is at variance with God. The body of Ahaziah was not more fick, than his foul was gracelefs: none but chance was his enemy, none but the god of Ekron muft be his friend. He looks not up to the omnipotent hand of divine juftice for the difeafe, or of meicy for the remedy ; an idol is his refuge, whether for cure or intelligence. We hear not till now of Baal-zebub : this new god of (lies is, perhaps, of his making, who now is a fuitor to his own eredion. All thefe heathen deiiies were but a devil, with chapge of appellation ; the influence of that evil fpirit deluded thofe miferable c'ients; elfe, there was no fly fo impotent as that out fide of the god of Ekron. Who would think' that any Ifraelite could lO far dote upon a ftock or a fiend ? Time ga- thered much credit to this idol ; in fo much as the Jews afterwards flyled Beelzebub the prince of all the regions of darknefs. Ahaziah is the fir ft that brings his oracle in requeft, and pays him the tribute of his devotion : he fends mefl'engers, and fays, "• Go in- *' quire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I *' fhall recover of this difeafe.*' The meffage was ei- ther idle or wicked ; idle, if he fent it to a ftock ; if to a devil, both idle and wicked. What can the mqfl intelligent fpirits know of future things, but what they fee either in their caufes, or in the light of parti- cipation ? What a madnefs was it in Ahaziah to feek to the poilern, while the fore-gate flood open ! Could thole evil fpirits truly foretel events no way pre-exif- tent, yet they might notj w^ithout fin, be confulted ; 0^4 the H-4^ CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX, the evil of thek nature debars all the benefits of their iaforoidtioii : if not as intelligencers, much lefs may thev be fought to as gods. Who cannot bludi to hear anl fee that even the very evansjelical Ifrael fhould yield pilgrims, to the llirines of darknefs ! How many, att^r this cle^r light of the gofpel, in their lones, in their hcitntlfes, lend to thefe infernal oracles, and d:^'n thenritives wiltully in a vain curiofity 1 The mcliave of the jealous God intercepts them with a jull fli'uiiin, as here by Elijah : '• Is it not becaufe there ^' is not a God ip Ifratl, that ye go to inquire of Baal- ^' zcbub the god of Ekron ?'* What can be a greater difparagtm:-T,t to the true God than to be negleded, than to Hand afide^ and fee us make love to an hellifh rival! were there no God in ifrael, in heaven, what could we do other, what worfe! This attVont, of what- ever kind, Ahaziah cannot efcape without a revenge : " Therefore thus faith the Lord, thou Ihalt not ^' come clown from that bed on v»hich thou art gone ^- up, but ilialt furely die." It is an high indignity to the true God, not to be fought to in our neceflities, but io to be calhiered from our devotions, as to have ji falfe god fhruit in his room, is fuch a fcorn, as it is well if it can tfr:ipe with one death : let now the fa- mous god of Kkroa rake oif that brand oi feared mor- talitv, vvhich \ht living God harh let upon Ahaziah; let Baal-zt_bub make good f<;me better news to his diilrftfed fupplicant : rather the king of Ifrael is him- leif, wi:hout his repentance, hading to Baal-zebub, This errand is lOon done; the meffengers are return- edj '^'^^ they go. Not a little were they amazed to IieftritheJr fecret meirage from another's mouth; nei- ther could chufc but think, he that can tell what Ahaziah faki, v;hat he thought, can foretel how he {hall fpe^ch.;; fWe have met vyith a greater God than •we went to feek ; what need 've inouire for another anfvver? With thii conceit, with this report, they re- turn CoNfEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 245 turn to their Tick lord, and afton'.fh him with fo Qiort, io fad a relanrm. No marvti, if the king inquired cu- rii'ufiy of the habit and fafliion of tl.e man that could Jtiiow this, that durit fay this. Ihey defcribe him p. man wh;erher. ot an hairy ikin, or of rough, coarfe, jcaifclefs attire ; thus drefl, thus eirdcd. ^haziah rea- dily apprehends ii.to be Elij:\h; the old friend of his father Ahab, of his mother Jezebel : more than once had he feen hisn, an unwelcome gueft, in the court of Ifrael. i he times had been fuch,. that the prophet could not at once fpeak true^ and pleafe : nothing but reproofs and menaces founded Irom the mouth of E- lijah : Micaiah and he were ilill as welcome to the eyes of that guilty prince, as the Syrian arrow was into his fieih. Too well therefore had Ahaziab noted that querulous feer, and now is not a little troubled to fee himfelf, in fucceiTion, haunted with that bold and ill-boding fpirit. Behold the true fon of Jezebel ; the anguifli of his difeafe, the expedation of death, cannot take off his perfecution of Elijah : it is aguinfl his will that his death-bed is net bloody. Had Ahi-iziah meant any- other than a cruel violence to Elijah, he had fer.t a peaceable mefTenger to call him to the court ; he had not fent a captain, with a band of foldiers, to fetch him ; the inftruments, which he ufeth, carry re- venge in their face: if he had not thought Elijah more than a man, what needed a band of fifty men to apprehend one ? and if he did think him fuch, why would he fend to apprehend him by fifty ? Surely A- haziah knew of old, how miraculous a prophet Elijah was ; what power that man had over all their bafe deities, what command of the eiementf;, of the hea- vens ; and yet he fends to attack him. It is a ftrange thing to fee how wilfully godlefs men ftrive again it the itream of their own hearts, hating that which they know goodj fighting againf!: that which they know divine. 246 CONTEMPLA.'VlOMS. Book XIX. divine. What a grofs diiagreement is in the meffagc of this Tfraelitilh captain? " Thou man of God, " the king haih laid, come down :" if he were a man of God, how hath he offended ? and if he have juilly offended the ariointed of God, how is he a rnsn cf God ? and if he be a man of God, and have no»- offended, why llK^uid he come down to punifh- meni ? Here is a kind confeffion, with a falfe heart, with bloody handt ; the world is fidl of thefe windy couriefies, real cruelties. Deadly m-aiice lurks- un- der fair com.plitT»ents, and, while it flatters, killeth. The prophet hides not hiinfelf from the purfuit of Aiiaziah ; rather he fits where he may be mod ccn- fpicuous, on the top of an hill: this band knows well where to find him, and climbs up, in the fight of Elijah, for his arreft. The (leepnefs of the afcent, when they drew near to the higheft reach, yielded a convenience both of refpiration and parly : thence doth the captain imperioufly call down the prophet. Who would not tremble at. the dreadful anfwer of Flijah ? " if ! be a man of God, then let fire come " down from heaven, and confume thee, and thy fif- " ty." What (hall we fay ? that a prophet is revenge- ful, that foldiers fuffer while a prophet ftrikes ; that a prince's command is anfv>'ered with imprecation ; •words with fire ; that an unarmed feer fhould kill one and fifty at a blow ? There are few tracks of Eli- jah that are ordinary^ and fit for common feet : his • aclions are more for wonder, than for precedent; not in his own defence would the prophet have been the death of fo many, if God had not, by a peculiar in- flincl, made him an inftrument of this jufi: vengeance. The divine juflice finds it meet to do this for the ter- ror of Ifraei, that he might teach them, what it was to contemn, to perfecute a prophet, that they might learn to fear him whom they had forfaken, and con- Ms^ that heaven was fenfible of their infolencies and impietieSa CaKTEMP. TV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 247 impieties. If not as vifibly, yet as certainly, doth God piinifli the violations ot his ordinances ; the af- fronts offered to his melTengers, ftill and ever ; not ever with the fame fpeed, fometimes the punifh- ment overtakes the at:!, fometimes dogs it afar off, and feizeth upon the offender, vihen his crime is for- gotten. Htre, no fooner is the word out of Elijah's mouth, than the fire is out of heaven. O the won- derful power of a prophet ! There fits Elijah in his coarfe mantle, on the top of the hill, and commands the heavens, and they obey him : " Let fire fall " down from heaven.'* He needs no more but fay what he would have done : the fire falls down, as before, upon the facrifice in Carmel,, fo now upon the foldiers of Ahaziah. Vv'hat is man in the hands of his Maker ? One flafli of lio-htenlnrr O O hath confumed thefe one and fifty : and if all the hofts of Ifrael, yea of the world, had been in their rooms, there had needed no other force. What mud- nefs is it for him. whofe breath is in his noftrils, to contend with the Almigh«-v? The time was, when two zealous difciphs would fain have imitated this fiery revenge of Elijah, and were repelled with a check ; the very place puts them in mind of the judgment : not far from Samaria was this done by Elijah, and wiiht to be done by the diCciples. So churlifh a rejection of a Saviour feemed no lefs hei- nous, than theendeavour of apprehending a prophet: *' Lordy wilt thou, that we corr.m.and fire to come " down from heaven, and confume them, as Elias " did?" The world yielded bur one Elias: that, which was zeal in him, might be fury in another ; the leaft variation of circumftance may make an example dangerous; prefently therefore do they hear, " Ye " know not of what fpirit ye are.'* It is the calling that varies the fpirit: Elijah was God's miinider for the execution of fo fevere a judgment j they were but the fervants 248 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. fervants of their own impotent anger ; there was fire in their breads which God never kindled. Far was it from the Saviour of men, to fecond their earthly fire with this heavenly. He came indeed to fend fire upon earth, but to warm, not to burn ; and if to burn, not the perfons of men, but their corruptions. How much more fafe is it for us to follow the meek prophet of the New Tc^ament, than that fervent pro- phet of the old ? Let the matter of our prayers be the fweet dews of mercy, not the fires of venj>;eance. Would not any man have thought- Ahaziah fufE- clently v/arned by fo terrible a judgment. Could he chufe but fay. It is no meddling with a man that can fpeak lightening and death ! What he hath faid con- cerning me is too well approved, by what he hath done to my mefiengers ; God's hand is with him, mine fliall not be againft him. Yet now, behold, the rage of Ahaziah is fo much the more kindled by this fire from heaven ; and a more refolute captain, with a fe- cond band, is fent to fetch Elijah' to death. This man is in hafte, and commands not only his defcent, but his fpeed ; " Come down quickly." The charge implies a threat ; Elijah muft look for force, if he yield not.. There needs no other weapon for defence, for otience, than the fame tongue, the fame breath. God hath fire enough for all the troops of Ahaziah. Immediately dcth a fudden flafne break out of hea- ven, and confume this forward leader, and his bold followers. It is a juft prefage and defert of , ain, not to be warned. Worthily are they made examples, that w^iil not take them. What marble or flint is harder than a wicked heart? As if Ahaziah would defpitefully fpit in the face of heaven, and wrefile a fall with the Almighty, he will needs yet again fet a third captain upon fo defpe- Hate an employment! How hot a fcrvice muff this commander needs think himfelf put upon, v/ho can but CoNTEMf. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. J4, but pity his ftraits r there is death before him, death behind him: it" he go not, the king's wrath is ths ineiVenger of death : if he go, the prophet's tongue is the executioner of death. Many a hard taf^ will follow the fervice of a prince wedded to his pafTion, divorced from God. Unwillingly, doubtlefs, and fearfully doth this captain climb up the hill to fcalc that impregnable fort ; but now, when he comes near to the afiault, the battery that he lays to it is his prayers ; his fureft fight is upon his knees. " He *' went up, and came, and fell upon his knees before " Elijah, and belbught him, and faid unto him., O " man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the *' life of thefe fifty thy fervants, be precious in thy " fight." He ccnfeiTes the judoment that befel his predeceflors; the monuments of their deftrudion were in his eye, and the terror of it in his heart ; of an. enemy therefore he is become a fupplicant, and fues not fo much for the prophet's yieldance, as for his own life. This was the way to offer violence to the prophet cf God, to the God of that prophet, even humble fupplications ; we mult deprecate that evil, which we would avoid : if we would force blefTmgs, we mufl intreat them. There is nothing to be got- ten from God by ftrong hand, any thing by fuir. The life of the captain is preferved : Elijah is by the angel commanded to go down with him fpeedily, fear- lefsly. The prophet cafls net with himfeif, What fafety can there be in this journey ? I fliall put my- feli into the hands of rude, foldiers, and, by them, into the hands of an enraged king ; if he did not eagerlv fhirft after my blood, he had never fought it with fo niuch lofs. But, fo foon as he had a charge from the angel, he walks dov/n refolutely, and, as it were, dares the dangers of fo great an hoftiiity. He knew that the fame God, who had fought for him upon th^ - hill, would not leave him in the valley ; he knew the IS& CONTErvIPLA.TIONS. Book Xllt. the angel, which bade hi in go, was guard enough a* gain ft a world of enemies. Faith knows not how to fear, and can as eafily contemn the fuggeftion of perils, as infideHty can raife them. The prophet looks boldly upon the court, which doubtlefs was not a little difarFeO.ed'ro him, and comes confidently into the bed chamber of Ahaziah, and (licks not to fpeak over the fame words to his head, ■which he had fent him, not long fince, by his firfl mef- fengers. Not one fyllable will the prophet abate of his errand. It is not for an herald of heaven to he out of countenance, or to mince ought of the mod killing meffages of his God. Whether the unexpefted confidence, both of the' man and of the fpeech, amazed the fick king of If- rael ; or whether the fear of fome prefent judgment (wherewith he might fufpecl Elijah to come armed, upon any a6l of violence that (hould be offered) over- awed him ; or whether now, at laft, upon the fight and hearing of this man of God, the king's heart began to relent, and check itfelf for that fin, for which he was juHily reproved, I know- not; but fure I am, the prophet goes away untouched : neither the furious purpofes of Ahaziah, nor the exafperations of a Jezebel, can hurt that prophet, whom God hath in- tended to a fiery chariot. The hearts of kings are not their own ; fubjecls are not fo much in their hands, as they are in their' Maker's. How eafily can God tame the fiercenefs of any creature, and, in the midft of their mod heedy career, (top them on the fudden, and fetch them upon the knees of their humble fubmifiioii? It is good truiling God with the events of his own commands, who can, at pleafure, either avert evils, or improve them to good. According to the word of the prophet, Ahaziah dies : not two whole years doth he fit in the throne of ifrael, which he now mult yield, in the want of children. CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. ajt children, to his brother. Wickednefs fhoriens his reign ; he had too much of Ahab and Jezt;bsl, to ex- pect the blelling, either of length or profperity of go- v;2rnment. As always in the other, fo oft-times ia this world, doth God teftify his anger to wic'sed men. Some live long, that they may aggravate their judg- ment J others die foon, that they may haflen it. Con TEMP. V. The Rapture of Elijah. LONG and happily hath Elijah fought the wars of hiii God ; and now, after his noble and sjlo- rious victories, God will fend him a chariot of triumph: not fuddenly would God fnatch away his' prophet without warning, -without expectation ; but acOjUaints him, beforehand, with the determination of his glo- ry. How full of heavenly joy was the foul of Elijah, while he foreknew, and looked for this inftant hap- pinefs ! with what contempt did he cad his eyes upon that earth, which he was now prefently to leave 1 with what ravifhment of an inward pleafure did he look upon that heaven which he was to enjoy ! For a meet farev/ell to the earth, Elijah will go viht the fchools of the prophets, before his departnre : thsfe were in his way ; of any part of the earth they were neareft unto heaven. In an holy progrefs there- fore he walks his lafl: round, from GiJgal, near Jor- dan, to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, from Jericho to Jordan again. In all thefe facred colleges of di- •vines, he meant to leave the legacy of his love, coun- fel, confirmation, blefling. How happy a thing iris, while we are upon earth, to improve our time and gifts to the bed behoof of God's church i and, after the afTurance of our own bleffednefs, to help others to the fame heaven ! But, O God, who can but won- der at the courfe of thy wife and povv'erful admini- •flrations ! Even ia the midll of the degeneration and idola- tji CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX, idolatries of Ifrael, lad thou referved to thyfelf whole, fociaties of holy prophets ; and, our of thole finful and revolted tribes, haft raifed the two great niiracles of prophets, Elijah and EHflia, in an immediate fuc- cefTion. Judah itfelf, under a religious Jehofhaphat, yielded not fo eminent and clearly illuminated fpi- rits. The mercy of our provident God will neither be confined nor excluded ; neither confined to the places of public profellion, nor excluded from the depraved congregations of his own people ; where lie hath loved, he cannot eafily be eftranged : rather^ where fni abounds, Kis grace aboundeth much mofe, 'and raifeth fo much (Ironger helps as he fees the dan^ gers greater. Happy was Eliilia in the attendance of fo gracious a mailer, and the more happy that he knows" it. Fain would Elijah fhake him off at Gilgal ; if not there, at Bethel ; if not yet there, at Jericho. A private meffage, on v/hich Elijah muft go alone, is pretended from the Lord. Whether fliall we fay the prophet did this for the trial of the conftant aifeclion of his careful and diligent fervant ; or, that it Vv^as concealed from Elijah, that his departure was reveal- ed to Eliraa. Perhaps he, that knew of his own recep- tion into heaven, did not know what witncffes would be allowed to that miraculous act ; and now his humble modefty airefted a filent and unnoted palTage ; even Eiifha knew fomething that v/as hid from his mailer, now upon the threfhold of heaven. No mere creature was ever made of the whole counfel of. the Highefl : fome things have been difclofed to babes and novices^ that have been clofed up to the mofl wife and judi- /;!ous. In natural fpeculations the greater wit and' deeper judgment ftill carries it ; but,- in the revela- tions of God, the favour of his choice fvvays all, not . tbiQ power of our apprehenfion. The mafter may both command and intrest his lervants (lay in vainv EHfhar CoKTEMP. V. -CONTEMPLATIONS. if^ Ellfha rriiift be pardoned this holy and zealous difohe- dience, '•' As the Lord liveth, and as thy foul liverh, " I will not leave thee." His maftcr may be with- drawn from him, he will not be withdrawn from his mailer. He knew that the blefiing was at the part- ing; and if he had diligently attended all his life, and now ilacked in the lalt ad, he had loft the reward of his fervice. The evening prnifes the day, and the chief grace of the theatre is in the laft fcene. " Be " faithful to the death, and I will give thee a crown " of life." That Elijah fnould be tranfiated, and what day he fiiould be tranfiated, God would have no fecret : the fons of the prophets at Bethel, at Jericho, both know it, and alk Eiiflia if he knev/ it not : " Xnow- " eft thou that the Lord will take away thy mafter " from thy head this day?" and he anfwtfred, " Yea, " I know it, hold ye your peace." How familiarly da thefe prophets interknow one another! How kind- ly do they communicate their vifrons! Seldom ever was any knowledge given to keep, but to impart r the grace of this rich jewel is loft in concealment; The removal of an Elijah is fo important a bufinefs, thatit isnotfit to be done withoutnoife : many ftiall h?n'e their (hare in his lofs ; he muft be milled on the fudden ; it was meet therefore, that the world (hould know his rapture fliould be divine and glorious. I do not find,^ where the day of any natural death is notified to fo many; by how much more wonder there was in thrs^ aflumption, by fo much more ftiail it be fore-revealed.' It is enough for ordinary occurrents to be known by their event: fupernatural things have need of premoni- tion, that mens hearts may both be prepared for their receipt, and confirmed in their certainty. Thrice was Llifha intreated, thrice hath he denied, to ftay behind his now departing mafter ; on whom both his eyes and his thoughts are fo fixed, that he cannot Vol. IL R give 254 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. give allowance fo much as to the interpellation of a queftion of his fellow prophets : together therefore are this wonderful pair come to the lad ftage of their reparation, the banks of Jordan. Thofe, that were not admitted to be attendants of the journey, yet will not be debarred from being fpettators of fo marvellous an ifi'ue. Fihy men of the fons of the prophets went and flood to view afar off; I marvel there were no more : how could any fon of the prophets flay with- in the college walls that day, when he knew what was meant to Elijah ; perhaps, though they knew that to be the prophet's lafi day, yet they might think his difpariiion fliould be fudden and infenfible; befides, they found how much he affecled fecrecy in this intended departure : yet the fifty prophets of Jericho will make proof of their eyes, and with much intention elTay who fhall have the lafl fight of Elijah. Miracles are not purpofed to filence and obfcurity : God will not work wonders without wit- neiles, fmce he doth them on purpofe to win glory to his name ; his end were fruflrate without their notice. Even fo, O Saviour, when thou had ft raif- ed thyfelf from the dead, thou wouldfl be feen of more than five hundred brethren at once ; and when thou wouldfl raife up thy glorified body from earth into heaven, thou didft not afcend from fome clofe valley, but from the IMount of Olives ; not in the night, not alone, but in the clear day, in the view of many eyes, which were fo fixed upon that point of thine heaven, that they could fcarce be removed by the check of angels. Jordan mufl be croffed by Elijah in his way to heaven : there mufl be a meet paralk 1 betwixt the two great prophets, that fhall meet Chrift upon Ta- bor, Mofes and Elias : both received vifions on Ho- reb, to both God appeared there in fire, and other forms of terror : both were fent to kings, one to Pharaoh, CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 255 Pharaoh, the other to Ahab; both prepared miracu- lous tables; the one oF quails an J manna in tha defert, the other of meal and oil in Sarepta; both opened heaven, the one for that nourifhing dew, the other for thofe refrelhiiig (bowers : both reveno;ed i- dolatries with the fword, the one upon the worPnip- pers of the golden calf, the other upon the four hun- dred Baalites : both quenched the drought of Ifrael, the one out of the rock, the other out of the cloud; both divided the waters, the one of the Red-fea, the other of Jordan; both of them are fore- warned of their departure; both mufl: be fetcht away beyond Jordan; the body of Elijah is tranflated, the body of Mofes is hid : what Mofes doth by his rod, Elijah doth by his mantle; with that he fmites the waters, and they, as fearing the divine power which wrought with the prophets, run away from him, and (land on heaps, leaving their dry channel for the paflage of thofe awful feet : it is no4: long fince he mulcted them with a general exficcation; mnv he only bids them ftand afide, and give way to his laft walk, that he might with dry feet mount up into the celeflial chariot. The waters do not now firfi: obey him; they know that mantle of old, which hath oft given laws to their falling, rifing, (landing; they are pad over, and, now when Elijah (inds himfelf treading on his la(t earth, he proffers a munificent boon to his faithful fervant, " Alk what I (hall do for thee, before I am *' taken from thee;" I do not hear him fay, Aik of me when I am gone; in my glorified condition, 1 (hall be more able to befiead thee ; but, Aflv before I go. We have a communion with the faints departed, not a commerce : when they are en- abled to do more for us, they are lefs apt to be foli- cited by us : it is fafe fuing where we are fure to be heard. Had not Elijah received a peculiar inflinifl: R 2 for 256 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. for this proffer, he had not been thus liberal : it were prefumption to be bountiful on another's coft, with- out leave of the owner. The mercy of our good God allows his favourites not only to receive, but to give; not only to receive for themfelves, but to convey bleffings to others ; what can that man want that is befriended of the faithful. KliHia needs not go far to feek for a fuit, it was in his heart, in his mouth. " Let a double portion of " thy fpirit be upon me." Every prophet muft be a fon to Elijah; but Elifha would be his heir, and craves the happy right of his primogeniture, the double ihare to his brethren. It was not wealth, nor fafety, nor eafe, nor honour that EH{ha cares for; the world lies open before him, he may take his choice, the reft he con- temneth, nothing will ferve him but a large meafure of his matter's fpirit : no carnal thought was guilty of this facred ambition. Aifeclation of eminence was too baft a conceit to fall into that man of God. He faw that the tim^jo needed ftrong convictions, he faw that he could not otherv/ife weild the fuccellion to fuch a mafter, therefore he fues for a double portion of fpirit; the fpirit of prophefy to foreknow, the fpi- rit of power to work. We cannot be too covetous, too ambitious of fpiritual gifts, fuch efpecially as may enable us to win moft advantage to God in our voca- tions. Our wiflies are the true touch-ftone of our eftate; fuch as we wifn to be; we are. Worldly hearts affeft earthly things; fpiritual, divine. We cannot better know what we are indeed, than by what we would be. Elijah acknowledges the difficulty, and promifes the grant of fo great a requeft, fufpended yet upon the condition of Elilha's eye-fight. " If thou fee me " v^heh I am taken from thee, it/fhall be fo unto thee; *' but if not, it fliall not be.'* What are the eyes to the furniture of the foul.'* what power is there in thofe vifivc CoNTRMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 257 vlfive beams to draw down a double portion of Elljali's fpirit ? God doth not always look at efEcacy and merit in the conditions of our a,v* n thus, O Saviour, when thou (halt defcend froiT' i eaven with a fhout, with the voice of an arch- angel, and Vvirh the trumpet of God, we that are alive and remiiin fhall be caught up, together with the rai.'cd bodies of thy faints, into the clouds, to meet thte ii; ihe air, to dwell with thee in glory. Many forms have thofe celeftial fpirits taken to themfelves, in their apparitions to men : but, of all other, mofl often hath the Almighty made his mef- fengers " a flame of fire ;" never more properly than here. How had the Spirit of God kindled the hot fires of zeal in the breaft of Elijah ? How had this prophet thrice commanded fire from heaven to earth? How fitly now at lad do thefe feraphical fires carry him from earth to heaven ? What do we fee in this rapture of Elijah, but vio- lence and terror, whirlwind and fire ? two of thofe fearful reprefentations which the prophet had in the rock of Horeb. Never any man entered into glory with eafe ; even the mcfl favourable change hath forne equivalency to a natural dilfolution. iilthough, doubtlefs, to Elijah this fire had a lightfomenefs and refpltndence, not terror; this whirlwind had fpeed, not violence, 'i hus haft thou, O Saviour, bidden us, w'hen the elements fliall be diffolved, and the heavens fliall be flaming about our ears, to lift up our heads with joy, becaufe our redemption draweth nigh. Come dtath, come fire, come whirlwind, they are worthy to be welcome, that fliall carry us to immortality ! 'I his arreption was fudden, yet Eliflia fees both the chariot and the horfes, and the afcent ; and cries tQ his now changed mafter, between heaven and earth, Cgntemp. v. contemplations. 259 earth, " My father, my father, the chariot of Ifrael, *' and the horfemen thereof.** Shaphat of Abel-me- holah hath yielded this title to Elijah, the nafural father of Elifha, to the fpiritual : neither of thtni may be negleded ; but, after the yoke of oxen killed at the farewell, we hear of no more greetings, no more bewailings of his bodily parent ; and now, that Elijah is taken from him, he cries out like a diftref- fed orphan, " My father, my father ;" and, ■when he hath loft the fight of him, he rends his deaths in pieces, according to the fafliion of the moft paflionate mourners : that Eliflia fees his mafter half way in heaven, cannot take away the forrow of his lofs. The departure of a faithful prophet of God is worthy of our lamentation : neither is it pri- vate affeciion that muft fway our grief, but refpecls to the public. Elifna fays not only, " My father," but, " the chariot and horfemen of Ifrael." That we have forgone a father, fhould not fo much trouble us, as that Ifrael hath loft his guard. Certainly the \iew of this heavenly chariot and hoifes, that came •for Elijah, puts Elifna in mind of that chariot and horfemen which Elijah was to Ifrael. Thefe were God's chariots, Elijah was theirs : God's chariot and theits are, upon the fame wheels, mounted into hea- ven. No forces are fo flrong as the fpiritual ; the prayers of an Elijah are more powerful, than all the armies of flefh. The firft thing that this feer dif- cerns, after the feparation of his mafter, is the na- kednefs of Ifrael in his lofs. If we mufter foldiers, and lofe zealous prophets, it is but a woful ex- change. Elijah's mantle falls from him in the rifing ; there was no ufe of that, whither he was going ; there was, whence he was taken. Elifha jultly takes up this dear monument of his glorified mafter : a good fup- ply for his rent garments. This was it which, in R 4 prefsge »6o CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XlX. prefage of his future right, Elijah inverted him with- all upon the firft fight, when he was ploughing with the twelve yoke of oxen ; now it fails from heaven to his polleflion. I do not fee him adore fo precious a relique, 1 fee him take it up, and caft it about him. Peiinve and mafterlefs doth he now come back to the banks of Jordan, whofe ftream he Tiiuft pafs in his return to the fchools of the prophets. Ere while he faw what way that river gave to the mantle of Elijah, he knew that power was not in the cloth, but in the fpirit of him that wore it. To try therefore whether he were no lefs the heir of that fpirir, than of that garment, he took the mantle of Elijah, and fmote the waters, and faid, " Where is '' the Lord God of Elijah ?" Eliflia doth not expo- ftulate and challenge, but pray : as if he had faid, X-oid God, it was thy promife to me by my depart- ed mailer, that if I fliould fee him in his laft paf- fage, a double portion of his fpirit fhould be upon me : I followed him with my eyes in that fire and whirlwind : now therefore, O God, make good thy gracious word to thy fervant ; fliew fome to- k< a unto me for good ; make this the firll proof of the miraculous power wherewith thou fhalt endue me : let Jordan give the fame way to me, that it gave to my mailer. Immediately the flream, as acknowledging the fame mantle, though in another h^.nd, divides itfelf, and yields paffage to the fuc- ceiTor of Elijah. Tht fifty lens of the prophets, having been afar- pff witnelTt.s of thefe admirable events, do well fee that i/.lij-'h- though tranflated in body, hath yet left his fpirir beliind him : 1 hey meet KliOia, and bow them- felvu., ro t^he ground before hi ra. it was not the out- f'de 11 Elijah which they had wont to floop unto \vuh io rn-jch v.?n4ran*on, it was his fpirit, which, fmce I'x.' y aow find in another lubjc61, they enter- tain CoNTFMr. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. ' 261 tain viith equal reverence: no envy, no emulation raifeth up thtir itoniachs againfl: Elijah's fervant, bur, where they fee eminent graces, they are willing- ly prolcrare. Thofe that are truly gracious, do no lefs rejoic'- in the riches of others gifts, than humbly under-value rheir own. Thefe men were trained up in the fchools of the prophets, f^lifr.a at the plough and cart ; yet, now they ftand not upon terms of their worth, and his meannefs, but meekly fall down before him whom God had honoured : it is net to be regarded who the man is, but whom God would make him. The more unlikely the means are, the more is the glory of the workman : it is the praife of an holy ingenuity to magnify the graces of God, wherever it finds them. Ihcfe young prophets are no lefs full of zeal, than reverence ; zeal to Elijah, reverence to tlifna. They fee Elijah carried up in the air ; they knew this was not the lii ft time of his fupernaiural removal: imagining it therefore polTible, that the Spirit of God had cafl him upon fome remote mountain, or valley, they prolfer the labour of their fervants to feek him. In iom.e things, even profefied feers arc blind : could they think God would fend fuch a chariot and horfes for a lefs voyage than heaven. Elifha, knowing his mafter beyond all the fphere of mortality, forbids them ; good wiii makes them unmannerly, their importunity urges him till '^e is afnamed ; not his approbation, but their vehemence carries at laft a condefcent, elfe he might, perhaps, have feemicd envioufly unwilling to fetch back fo ad- mired a mailer, and loth to forego that mantle. Some things may be yielded for the redeeming of our own vexation, and avoidance of others mil-conftruclion, which, out of true judgment, we fee no caufe to af- fecl. The 262 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. The meffengers, tired with three days fearch, turn back as wife as they went. Some men are bed fatis- fied when they have wearied themfelves in their own ways : nothing will teach them wit but difappoint- ments. Their painful error leads them to a right conceit of Elijah's happier tranfportation. Thofe that would find Elijah, let them afpire to the heaven- ly paradife ; let them follow the high ftcps of his fin- cere iaithfulnels, ft:rong patience, undaunted courage, fervent zeal 5 fhonly, let them walk in the ways of his holy and conftant obedience ; at laft, God fhall fend the fiery chariot of death to fetch them up to that heaven of heavens, where they fhall triumph in everlailing joys. CoNTEMP. VI. Elisua bealifig theWaters^-^ — Curfing the Children.^ — Relieving the Kings, IT is good making ufe of a prophet while we have him. Elilha flayed fomewhile at Jericho, the citizens refort to him with a common fuit: their ftruc- ture was not more pleafant than their waters unv/hole- fome, and their foil by thofe corrupt waters : they fue to Eliflia for the remedy. Why had they not all this while made their moan to Elijah ? Was it that they 1 were more awed with his greater auiterity ? or was it, that they met not with fo fit an opportunity of his commoration amongft them ? It was told them what power Elifha had exercifed upon the waters of Jor- dan, and now they ply him for theirs. Examples of beneficence eafily move us to a requeft, and expecta- tion of favours. What ailed the waters of Jericho ! furely originally they were not ill affefted : no men could be fo foolifh as to build a city where neither earth nor water were ufeful : mere profpect could not carry men to the negled of health and profit. Hiel the Bethelite would never CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 163 never have re-edified it with the danger of a curfe, fo lately as in the days of Ahab, if it had been of old notorious for fo foul an annoyance : not therefore the ancient malediflion of Jofhua, not the neighbourhood of that nolfome lake of Sodom, was guilty of this dif- eafe of the foil and waters, but the late fins of the in- habitants. " He turneth the rivers into a wildcrnefs, *' and water-fprings into a dry ground ; a fruitful land *' into barrennefs, for the wickednefs of them that *' dwell therein." How oft have we feen the fame field both full and fami(hing ? How oft the fame wa- ters both fafe, and, by fome eruption, or new tin£lure, hurtful? Howfoever natural caufes may concur, heaven and earth, and air and waters, follow the temper of cur fouls, of our lives, and are therefore indilpofed becaufe we are fo. Jericho began novv- to make itlelf capable of a better ftate, fince it was now become a receptacle of prophets : Elifha is willing to gratify his hofts ; it is reafon that any place fhould fare the bet- ter for the prefence of divines. The medicine is more ftrange than the difeafe: " Bring me a new crufe " and put ialt therein." Why a crule! why new! why fait in that new ciufe ! How fhould fait make water potable ! or, if there were any fuch virtue in it, what could a crufeful do to a whole current ! or, if that meafurewere fufficient, what was the age of the crufe to the force of the fait ! Yet Elifha calls for fait in a -new crufe. God, who wrought this by his prophet, is a free agent; as he will not bind his power to means, -fo will he, by his power, bind unlikely means to per- form his will. Natural proprieties have no place in miraculous works : no lefs eafy is it for God to woi k by contra- ry, than fubordinate powers. The prophet doth not cafl the fait into the chanr nel, but into the fpring of the waters. If the fountain jbe redrelTed, the flreams cannot be faulty ; as, con- trarilv. 254 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. trariiy, the purity and foundnefs of the ftream avails nothing to the redrefs of the fountain. Reformation muft begin at the well head of the abufe. The order of being is a good guide to the method of amending. Virtue, doth not run backward. Had Ehflia call the fait into the brooks and ditches, the remedy mull: have ilriven againft the ftream to reach up to the fpring,; now it is but one labour to cure the fountain. Our heart is a wlH of bitter and venomous water, our aftions are the dreams : in vain (laall we cleanfe our hands, while our hearts are evil. The crufe and the fait mud be their own ; the acl muft be his, the power God's. " He cad the fait *' into the fpring,** and faid, " Thus faith the Lord, " I have healed thefe waters ; there (liall not be " from thence any more death or barrennefs.** Far was it from Eliiha to challenge ought to himfelf. Be- fore, when he fnould divide the waters of Jordan, he did not fay, Where is the power of Elidia, but, V/here is the Lord God of Elijah ? and now, when he fnould cure the waters of Jericho, he fays not. Thus filth EUfha, but thus faith the Lord, " I have " healed thefe waters." How careful is the man of God that no part of God's glory fliould dick to his own fingers. Jericho fhall know to whom they owe the bleffmg, that they may duly return the thanks. EliOya profeffes he can do no more of himfelf than that fait, than that crufe; only God diall work by him, by it; and whatever that almighty hand under- takes, cannot fail, yea is already done; neither doth he fay, " I will heal," but, " I have healed." Even fo, O God, if thou cad into the fountain of our hearts but one crufe-ful of the fait of thy Spirit, we are whole, no thought can pafs between the receipt and the remedy. As the general vifitor of the fchools of the prophets, EHiha paileth from Jericho to that other college at Bethel. - CoNTEMP VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 2<^5 Bethel. Bethel was a place of ftrange compofition; there was at once the golden calf of Jeroboam, and the fchool of God ; true religion and idolatry found a free harbour within thofe walls. I do not marvel that God's prophets would plant there ; there was the moft need of their prefence, where they found the fpring-head of corruption: phyficians are of moft ufc where difeafes do abound. " As he was going up by " the way, there came forth little children out of " the city, and mocked him, and faid to him, Go " up thou bald-head ; Go up thou bald-head." Even the very boys of Bethel have learned to feoff at a prophet ; the fpite of their idolatrous parents is eafily- propagated; children are fuch as their inftitution ; in- fancy is led altogether by imitation, it harh neither words nor a£tions, but infufed by others ; if it have good or ill language, it is but borrowed, and the (hame or thank Is due to thofe that lent it them. What was it that thefe ill-taught children upbraided to the prophet, but a flight natcral defeft, not wor- thy the name of a blemifh, the want of a little hair j at the bed a comely excrement, no part of the body. Had there been deformity in that fmoothnefs of the head, which fome great wits have honoured with praifes, a faultlefs and remedilefs eye-fore had been. no fit matter for a taunt. How fmall occafions will be taken to difgrace a prophet! if they could have faid ought worfe, Eliiha had not heard of this; God - had crowned that head with honour, which the Bethe- litifli children loaded with fcorn. Who would have thought the rude terms of waggifh boys worthy of any thing but negled: ! EHlha looks at them with fevere brows, and, like the heir of him that called dov/n fire upon the two captains and their fifties, curfes them in the name of the Lord ; two (lie-bears, out of the wood, haften to be his executioners, and tear two and forty of them ij:i pieces. O fearful ex- ample 266 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX, ample of divine juftice! This was not the revenge of an angry prophet, it was the puniihment of a righte- ous judge. God and his feer looked through thefc children at the parents, at all Ifrael; he would pu- nifti the parents mifnurturing their children, to the contemptuous ufage of a prophet, with the death of' thofe children which they had mif-taught. He would teach Ifrael what it was to niifufe a prophet; and, if he would not endure thefe contumelies unrevenged in the mouths of children, what vengeance was enough for aged perfecutors ? Doubt lefs fome of the children efcaped to tell the news of their fellows: what lamentation do we think there was in the ftreets of Bethel! how did the di- ftreflfed mothers wring their hands for this woful or- bation! And now when they came forth to fetch the remnants of their own flefh, what a fad fpedacle it was to find the fields ftrewed with thofe mangled carcafes! It is an unprofitable forrow that follows a judgment. Had thefe parents been as careful to train up their children in good difcipline, and to correft their diforders, as they are now paffionate in bemoan- ing their lofs, this ilaughter had never been. In vain do we look for good of thofe children, whofe e- ducation we have negletled. In vain do we grieve for thofe mifcarriages which our care might have pre-; vented. Eliiha knew the fuccefs, yet doth he not baulk the city of Bethel. Do we not wonder that the furious impatience of thofe parents, whom the curfe of Eli- ' fha robbed of their children, did not break forth to fome malicious praftice againft the prophet? would ve not think the prophet might mifdoubt fome hard meafure from thofe exafperated citizens? There lay his way; he follows God without fear of men, as well knowing that either they durft not, or they . could CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPT.ATIONS. ^6^ could not a6t violence. They knew there were bears in the wood, and fires in heaven, and, if their malice would have ventured above their courage, they could have no more povi'er over Elifha in the ftreets, than thofe hungry beads had in the way. Whither dare not a prophet go when God calls him? Having yifited the fchools of the prophets, Eliflia retires to mount Carmel, and, after fome holy folita* rinefs, returns to the city of Samaria. He can ne- ver be a profitable feer, that is either always or ne- ver alone. Carmel fhall fit him tor Samaria, con- templation for adion: that mother city of Ifrael, nuill needs afford him moft work; yet is the throne of Ahaziah fucceeded by a brother lefs ill than himfelf, than the parents of both. Ahab's impiety hath not a perfed heir of Jehoram : that fon of his hates his Baal, though he keeps his calves. Even into the moft wicked families it pleafeth God to caft his pow- erful reflraints, that all are not equally vicious. It is no news to fee lewd men make fcruple of fome fms: the world were not to live in, if all fms were affected by all: it is no thank to Ahab and Jezebel that their fon is no Baalite. As no good is traduced from parents, fo not all evil: there is an almighty hand that flops the foul current of nature, at his pleafure; no idolater can fay, that his child fhall not be a convert. The affinity betwixt the houfes of Ifrael and Ju- dah, holds good in fucceffion ; Jehoram inherits the friendfhip, the aid of Jehofhaphat; whofe counfel, as is moft likely, had cured him of that Baaliim. It was a good war whereto he folicits the good king of Judah. The king of Moab, who had been an an- cient tributary from the days of David, falls now from his homage, and refufes to pay his hundred thou- fand lambs, and hundred thoufand rams with flee- ces, to the king of Ifraelj the backs of Ifrael can ill mils i6S CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. inifs the wool of Moab, they will put on iron to re- cover their cloth. Jehoihaphat had been once well chid, well frighted, for joining with Ahab againfl A- ram; yet, doth he not (tick now again to come into the field with Jehoram, againft Moab : the caufe is more favourable, lefs dangerous. Baal is call down ; the images of the falfe gods are gone, though the falfe images of the true God ftand Hill : befides, this rebellious Moab had joined with the Syrians former- ly againfl Judah, fo as Jehofhaphat is intereded in the revenge. After relblution of the end, wifely do thefe kings deliberate of the way. It is agreed to pafs through Edom ; that kingdom was annexed to the crown of Judah; well might Jehofliaphat make bold with his own. It was, it feems, a march far about in the meafure of thp way, but neared to their purpofe; the affault would be more eafy, if the palTage were more tedious. The three kings of Ifraei, Judah, E- dom, tcfgether with their armies, are upon foot; they are no fooner come into the parching wilds of Edom, than they are ready to die for third. If the channels Vv'ere far off, vet the waters v^ere farther'ji the fcorching beams of the fun have dried them up^^ J and have left thofe rivers more fit for walk than en- tertainment. What are the greated monarchs of the^j world, if they want but water to their mouths^' "What can their crowns-, and plumes, and rich arms'* avail them, when they are abridged but of that ^ which is the drink of beads ? With dry tongues and lips, do they now confer of their common mifery.- ^ Jehoram deplores the calamity into which they were ,7'; fallen, but Jehofliaphat aiks for a prophet ; every man can bewail a mifery, every man cannot find ,' the way out of it: dill yet I hear good Jthofhaphat fpeak too late ; he fiiould have inquired for a pro- phet, ere he hnd gone forrh, fo had he avoided thefe CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. if^ thefe ftraits. Not to confult at all with God is-Je- horam's fin, to confult late is jchofhaphat's; the former is atheoiis carelernefs, the latter forgetful o- ter-fight. The beil man may flacken good duties, the worll contemns them. Not without fome fpecialify from God, dothJEliflia follow the camp; elfe, that had been no element for a prophet; little did the good king of Judah think that God was fo near him ; purpofely, was this holy feer fent for the fuccour of Jehoihaphat and his faithful followers, when they were fo far from' dreaming of their delivery, that they knew not of a danger. It would be wide with the befl men, if the eye of divine Providence were not open upon them, when the eye of their care is fliut towards it. How well did Elilha in the wars? the ftrongeft fqua- dron oflfrael was within that breaft: all their ar- mour of proof had not fo much fafety and protedi- on as his mantle. Though the king oflfrael would take no notice of the prophet, yet one of his courti- ers did; " Here is ITifha the fon of Shaphat, which *' poured water on the hands of Elijah;" this fol- lower of jehoram knows Elifha by his own n^ime, by his father's, by his mafter's. The court of Ifrael was Drofane and idolatrous enough; yet, even thercj God's prophet had both knowledge and honour; lis very fervice to Elijah w-as enough to win him re- verence. It is better to be an attendant of fome inan, than be attended by many; that he had pour- ed water on Elijah's hands was infinuation enough, fliat he could pour out w^ater for thofe three kings, ^^he three kings walked down, by the motion of Jeho-> fhaphat, to the man of God: it was new^s to fee three kings going down to the fervant of him who ran before the chariot of Ahab. Relii;ion and neceffity have both of them much power of humiliation, f Vol. it, S know 270 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX, know not whether more; either zeal, or need, will make a prophet honoured. How (harply dares the man of God to chide his fovereign, the king of Ifrael ! The Hberty of the pro- phets was no lefs fmgular than their calling; he that would borrow their tongue, mufl fhew their com- miffion. As God reproved kings for their fakes, fo did not they ftick to reprove kings for his fake. Thus much freedom they mufl: leave to their fucceilbrs, that we may not fpare the vices of them, whofe per- fons we mufl fpare. Juftly is Jehoram turned oft to the prophets of his father, and the prophets of his mother. It is but right and equal, that thofe, which we have made the comfort and ilay of our peace, fliould be the refuge of our extremity. If our profperity have made the world our -god, how worthily fhall our death-bed be choaked with this exprobation ! Neither would the cafe bear an apology, nor the time an expoflulation ; Jehoram Cannot excufe, he can complain; he finds that now three kings, three kingdom^s are at the mer- cy of one prophet ; it was time for him to fpeak fair ; nothing founds from him but lamentations and entre^^- ties ; ." Nay, for the Lord hath called thefe three kings^ " together to deliver them into the hand of Moab." Je- '\ horam hath fo much grace as to confefs the impotency of thofe he had' trufted, and the power of that God whom he had negledled ; every finner cannot fee and acknowledge the hand of God in his fufferings. Al- ready hath the diftreffed prince gained fomething by his mifery : none complains fo much as he, none feels fo much as he ; all the refl fuffer for him, and therefore he fuffers in them all. The man of God, who well fees the infufficiency of Jehoram's humiliation, lays on yet more load; " As the Lord liveth before whom I (land, furely, *' were it not that I regard the prefence of Jehoflia- " phat CoiiTEM^. Vi. CONTEMPLATIONS. i-ji *' phat the king of Judah, I would not look toward *' thee, nor fee thee." Behold the double; fpirit of iKlijvih ! the mafter was not more bold with the father, than the fervant was with the fon. Elifha was a fub- jett and a prophet ; he itiuft fay that as a prophet, which he might not as a fubje6l ; as a prophet he would not have looked at him, whom as a fabje6: he would have bowed to. It is one thing when God fpeaks by hiTn, another when he fpeaks of himTelf ; that it might well appear his diflike of fin flood with his honour of fovereignty. Jehofhaphat goes away with that refped which Jehoram miifed ; no lefs doth God and his prophet regard religious fincerity, than they abhor idolatry and profanenefs. What fhall not be done for a Jehoifiaphat ? for his fake fhall thofe two other princes, and their vafl armies, live and jprevail. Edom and Ifrael, whether fingje or con- joined, had perifhed by the drought of the defert, by the fword of Moab; one Jehofhaphat gives them both life and viclory. It is in the power of one good man to obKge a world ; we receive true, though infenfible, favours from the prefence of the righteous. Next to being good, it is happy to converfe with them that 'are fo: if we be not bettered by their example, we are bleft by their protection. Who wonders not to hear a prophet call for a min- 'ftrel in the midfl of that mournful diftrefs of lirael 'and Judah ! who would not have expected his charge "tlf tears and prayers, rather than of mufic ! how ■^unreafonable are fongs to an heavy heart ! It was ^iiot for their ears, it was for his own bofom, that Elifha called for mufic; that his fpirits, after their zealous agitation, might be fv/eetly compofed, and '^ut into a meet temper for receiving the calm vi'fions *'6f God. Perhaps it was fome holy Levite that fol- ^iowed the camp of Jehofhaphat, whofe minflrelfy was l^eqiiired for fo facred a purpofe. None but a quiet ''"''■ 'S ■2. bread 272 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. bread is capable of divine revelations; nothing is more powerful to fettle a troubled heart than a melodious harmony ; the fpirit of prophefy was not the more invited, the prophet's fpirit was the belter difpofed, by pleafmg founds. The fame God, that will reveal his v/ill to the prophet, fuggefts this demand, " Bring " me a minfirel." How many fay thus, when they would put God from them! Profane mirth, wanton mufic, debauches the foul, and makes no lefs room for the unclean fpirit, than fpiritual melody doth for the divine. No prophet had ever the fpirit at command. The hand of the minftrel can do nothing without the hand of the Lord: while the mufic founds in the ear, God fpeaks to the heart of Eliflia ; " Thus faith " the Lord, make this valley full of ditches ; ye *' fnall no-> fee wind, neither (hall ye fee rain, yet *' that valley fhall be full of water,'* &c. To fee wind and rain, in the height of that drought, would have feeraed as v/onderful as pleafmg; but to fee a- bundance of water, without wind or rain, was yet more miraculous. 1 knov/ not how the fight of the means abates our admiration of the effed; where no caufes can be found out, we are forced to confefs omnlpotency. Elijah relieved Ifrael with water, but it was out of the clouds, and thofe clouds rofe from the fen; but whence EHflia fliall fetch it, is not more marvellous than fecret. All that evening, all that night, mufl: the faith of Ifrael and judah be exercifed with expectation. At the hour of the morning facrifice, no fooner did the blood of that oblation guih forth, than the dreams of water guilied forth into their new channels, and fiiled the country with a refrcdiing moiflure: Eli- jah fetched down his fire at the hour of the even-- ing facrifice; Elillia fetched up his water at the hour of the morning facrifice. God gives refpecl to his owa CoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 273 own hours, for the encouragement of our obferva- tion : if his wifdom hath fet us any peculiar time?, we cannot keep them without a blefTmg : the devo- tions of all true Jews, ail the world over, were in that hour combined. How feafonably doth the wif- dom of God pick out that inftant, wherein he might at once anfwer both Eliiha's prophefy, and his people's prayers. The prophet hath aflured the kings, not of water only, but of vidory. Moab hears of enemies, and is addreifed to war ; their own error fliall cut their throats ; they rife foon enough to beguile them- felves ; the beams of the rifing fun, gliflering upon thofe vaporous and unexpected waters, carried, in the eyes of fome Moabites, a femblance of blood ; a few- eves were enough to fill all ears with a falfe noife ; the deceived fenfe mifcarries the imagination. " This " is blood, the kings are furely flain, and they have " fmitten one another ;*' now therefore Moab to the fpoil. Civil broils give jufl advantage to a common enemy ; therefore mud the camps be ipoiled, becaufe the kings have fmitten each other. Thofe that fliall be deceived are given over to credulity; the Moabites do not examine either the conceit or the report, but fly in confufedly upon the camp of Ifrael, v/honi they find, too late, to have no enemies but thsmlVlves; as if death would not have hadened enough to them, they come to fetch it, they come to challenge it ; it feizeth upon them unavoidably ; they are fmitten, their cities razed, their lands marred, their wtlls flopped, their trees felled, as if God meant to wairc them but once. No onfets are fo furious as the lad aifaults of the defperate. The king of Moab, now hopelefs 01 re- covery, would be glad to fliut up v/ith a pleafing re- venge ; with feven hundred refolute follower;;, he fuflies into the battle towards the king of Edora, as S .^ if 174 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. if he would bid death welcome, might he but carry with him that defpited neighbour ; and now, mad with the repulfe^ he returns ; and, whether as angry with his dciliny, or as barbaroiifly afFe£ting to win his cruel gods with fo dear a faciifice, he offers them, with his own hand, the blood of his eldeft fon in the fight of ifrael, and fends him up in fmoke to thofe hellifli deities. O prodigious adl, whether of rage or pf devotion [ What an hand hath Satan over his mi- ferable vaffals ! What marvel is it to fee men faciifice their fouls, in an unfelt oblation, to thefe plaufible tempters, when their own flefli and blood hath not been fpared ! There is no tyrant to the prince of dark- nefs. CoNTEMP. VII. Elisha loithjhe Shunamite. THE holy prophets, under the Old Teftament, did not abhor the marriage-bed ; they did not think thernfelves too pure for an inftitution of their Maker, The dillveifed widow of one of the fons of the pro- phets comes to Llifha to bemoan her condition ; her hulband is dead, and dead in debt ; death hath no fooner feized on him, than her two-fons, the remain- ing comfort of her hfe, are to be feized on, by his cre- ditors, for bond-men. How thick did the miferies of this poor afflicted woman light upon her ! Her huf- band is lofl, her eifate clogged with debts, her chil- dren ready to be taken for fiaves. Her hulband was a religious and worthy man ; he paid his debts to na- ture, he could not to his creditors ; they are cruel, and rake in the fcarce-clofed v/ound of her forrow, paiTmg an arreil, worfe than death, upon her fons : widowhood, poverty, fervitude,haveconfpired to make her perfectly mifeiable. Virtue and goodnefs can pay no debts. ^ he holied man may be deep in arrearages, and break the bank ; not through lavilhnefs, and riot of CoNTEMP. VII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 27; of expence, (religion teaches us to moderate our hands, to fpend, within the proportion of our eftate) but through either iniquity of times, or evil cafualties. Ahab and Jezebel were lately in the throne, who can marvel that a prophet was in debt ,'' It was well that any good man might have his breath free, though his eftate were not : wilfully to overlafh our ability, cannot ftand with vvifdom and good government; but no Providence can guard us from croifes. Holinefs is no more defence againft debt, than againft death. Grace can keep us from unthriftinefs, not from want. "Whither doth the prophet's widow come to bewail her cafe, but to Elifha. Kvery one would not be fenfible of her allliclion, or if they would pity, yet could not relieve her ; Elifha could do both ; into his ear doth fhe unload her griefs. It is no fmall point of wifdoni to know where to plant our lamentation ; otherwife, inflead of comfort, we may meet with fcorn and in- ful ration. None can fo feelingly compaffionate the hard terms of a prophet as an Elilha ; he finds that fhe is not que- rulouily impatient, expreffing her forrow without murmuring and difcontentment, making a loving and honourable mention of that hufband who had left her diftrefled ; readily therefore doth he incline to her fuccour. " What fhall 1 do for thee ? Tell me what " haft thou in thine houfe ?" Eliflia, when he hears of her debts, afks of her fubftance. Had her houfe been furnifhed with any valuable commodity, the prophet implies the neceffity of felling it for fatisfac- tion : our own abundance can ill ftand with our en- gagement to others. It is great injuftice for us to be fuU of others puifes : it is not our own which v/e owe to another ; what is it other than a plaufible ftealth 10 feed our riot with the want of the owner ^ He that could -multiply her fubftance could know it : God j^nd his prophet love to hear our neceffities out of our S 4 own f^^ CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. own months. " Thine hand-maid hath not ^ny thing ?' m the h -jure, fave a pot of oil." It is neither news nor (lianie for a prophet to be poor ; grief and want perhaps haftened his end ; both of them are left for the dowry of his careful widow. She had not com- plained, if there had been any poflibility of remedy at home ; baflifulnefs had flopt her mouth thus long, and fiiould have done yet longer, if the exigence of her childrens fervirude had not opened it. No want is fo worthy of relief, as that which is lotheft to come forth. " Then he faid, Go borrow thee velTels abroad " of all thy neighbours, even empty veil'els, borrow " not a few ; and when thou art come in, thou fliait ?' fhur the door upon thee, and upon thy fons, and " fhait pour out into all thofe vefTels, and thou ihalt " fet afide that which is full." She that owed much, and had nothing, yet muft borrow more, that fhe may pay all. Poverty had not fo difcredited her with her neighbours, that they flior.ld doubt to lend her thofe veifels empty, which tbcv had grudged full. Her want was too well known ; it could net but fetm ftrange to the neighbours, to fee this poor widow fo bufilv peftering her houfe with pmptv tubs, which they knew flie had nothing to till; they knew well enough, flie had neither field nor vineyard, nor orchard, and therefore muft needs marvel at fuch unprofitable diligence. If their curi- oiity would be inquiring after her intentions, Ihe is counnanded fecrecy. The doors mufl be ftiut upon herfeif, and her fons, while the oil is increaling. No eye fhall fee the miracle in working, enow fliall fee it, once wrought. This act v/as no lefs a proof of her faith, than an improvement of her eftate ; it was | an exercife of her devotion, as well as of her diligence y it was fit hrr doors fhould be (hut, while her heart and lips were opened in an holy invocation. Out of Qiie fmall jarr was poured out fo much oil, as by a " • • jniracu- CosTFMP. Vr. CONTEMPLATIONS. t-jj niiraculous multiplication filled all thofe empty calks. Scarce had that pot any bottom, at leaft the bot- tom that it had was to be meafured by the brims of all thofe velTeh ; this was fo deep, as they were hi£,h ; could they have held more, this pot had not been empty. Even fo the bounty of our God gives grace and glory, according to the capacity of the receiver ; .when he ceafeth to infufe, it is for want of room iri the heart that takes it in ; could we hold more, O God, thou v/ouldit give more: if there be any de- fect, it is in our veflels, not in thy beneficence. How did tie heart of this poor widow^ run over, as with wonder, fo v.ith joy and thankfulnefs, to fee fuch a river of oil rife out of fo fmall a fpring, to fee all her vefiels fvvimming full with fo beneficial a liquor! Judly is fhe affcded with this fight, (lie is not tran- fported from her duty. I do not fee her run forth into the ftreet, and proclaim her (lore, nor calling in her neighbours, whether to adniire or bargain ; I fee her running to the prophet's door, and gratefully ac- knowledging the favour, and humbly depending on his dire<^tions, as not daring to difpofe of that which was fo wonderfully given her, without the advice of him, by whofe pov/erful means (he had received jt ; her ov.'n reafon might have fufficifently fuggefted what to do; (he dares not trufl it, but confults Vvith the oracle of God. If we would walk lurely, we mud do nothing without a word ; every aciion, every mo- tion muft have a warrant : v.e can no niore err with this guide, than not err without him. The prophet fets her in a right way : " Go fell ^' the oil, and pay thy debt, and live, thou, and •' thy children, on the rc(f." The firil care is of her debts, the next, of her maintenance. It fliould be grofs injuftice to raife m.eans for herfelf, and her charge, ere (Ire have difcharged the arrearages of her hufDand. None of the oil was hers, till her credit tors 21$ CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. tors were fatisfied ; all was hers that remained. It is but ftealth to enjoy a borrowed fubftance : while fhe had nothing, it was no fin to owe ; but, when once her veflels were full, (lie could not have been giiiirlef's, if flie had not paid, before (he flored. God' and his prophets were bountiful ; after the debt's' paid, they provide not only againft the thraldom of her charge, but againfl the want. It is the juft care of a religious heart to defend the widow and chil- dren of a prophet from diftrefs and penury. '''•" Behold the true fervant, and fucceffor of Elijah ! what he did to the Sareptaa widow, this did to the widow of a prophet. That increafe of oil was by degrees, this at once ; both equally miraculous ; this fo much more charitable, as it lefs concerned him- felf. He, that gives kindnefles, doth by turns receive them. Eliiba hath relieved a poor woman, is re- lieved by a rich. The Shunamite, a religious and' •wealthy matron, invites him to her houfe ; and now, af:er the firfl entertainment, finding his occafions to call him to a frequent palTage that way, moves her huiband to fit up, and furniih a lodging for the man of God : it was his holinefs that made her defirous of fuch a gueft ; well might Ihe hope that fuch an inmate would pay a bieffing for his houfe-rent. O' happy Shunamite, that might make herfelf the hoft- efs of Eliiha! As no lefs dutiful than godly, fhe'im- parts her defire to her hufband, whom her fuit hath drawn into a partnerlhip in this, holy hofpitality : bleffed of God is that man, whofe bed yields him an help to heaven. The good Shunamite defires not' to ha.rbour Elifha in one of her wonted lodgings ; fhe follcits her hufband to build him a chamber on the wall a-part ; fhe knew the tumult of a large family unfit for the quiet meditations of a prophet. Re-' tirednefs is mod meet for the thoughts of a feer : nef- tjier i GoNTEMP. VII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 279 ther would fl:e bring the prophet to bare walls, but lets ready for him a bed, a table, a (tool, and a candleitick, and whatever neceffary utenfils for his enrertainment. The prophet doth not afieft delicacy; iht takes care to provide for his convenience. Thofe, that are truly pious and devout, think their houfcs and their hands cannot be too open to the meffen- gers of God, and are mod glad to exchange their earthly commodities for the other's fpiritual. Super- fluity Ihould not fall within the care of a prophet, ne- ceiuty mufl : he, that could provide oil for the wi- dow, could have provided ail needful helps for him- Iclf. What room had there been for the charity and beneficence of others, if the prophet fhould have al- ways maintained himfelf out of power ? The holy man is fo far fcciable, as not to negle6: the friendly offer of fo kind a benefaclor : gladly docs he take up his new lodp-ins?, and, as v;ell Dlea!'- ed with fo quiet a repofe, and careful attendance, he fends his fervant Gehazi with the mefxage of his thanks, v/ich a treaty of retribution ; " Behold, thou " hall been careful for us, with all this care ; '* what is to be done for thee ? wouldfl: thou be fpo- " ken for to the king, or to the captain of the ^* hofl ?" An ingenoous difpofition cannot receive favours without thoughts of return. A wife debtor is defirous to retribute in fuch kind, as may be moft acceptable to his obligers. W'ichout this difcretion, we may offer fuch requitals as may feem goodly to us, to our friends, worthlefs : every one can chufe bell for himfelf. EUiha therefore, who had never been wanting in fpiritual duties to fo hofpitable a friend, gives the Shunamite the eleclioh of her fuit, for temporal recompenfe alfo ; no man can be a lofer by his favour to a prophet. It is good hearing that an JbJifha is in fuch grace at the court ; that he can promife himfelf accefs to the king in a friend's fuit : i83 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. fuit ; It was not ever thus : the time was, when his mafter heard, " Hall thou found me, O mine ene- '• my !" Now, the late miracle, which EhTna wrought in gratifying the three kings with water and victory, hath endeared him to the king of Ifrael ; and now, who bat Eiiiha? Even that rough mantle finds re- fpect amongft thofe filks and tiffues. As bad as Je- horam was, yet he honoured the man of God. He thaf could not prevail with an idolatrous king, in a fpiritual reformation, yet can carry a civil fuit. Nei- ther doth the prophet, in a fullen difcontentment, fly off from the court, becaufe he found his labours un- profitable, but flill holds good terms with that prince, whom he cannot reclaim, and will make ufe, notvvithftanding, of his countenance, in matters whether of courtefy, or juftice. We m.ay not call off our due refpe>£is even to faulty authority, but muil flill fubmit and perfift, where we are repelled. Not to his own advancement doth Elifha delire to improve the king's favour, but to the behoof, to the relief of others. If the Shunamite have bufmefs at the court, (he fnall need no other folicitor. There cannot be a better ofhce, nor more befeeming a pro- phet, than to fpeak in the caufe of the dumb ; to befriend the oppreffed, to win greatnefs unto the pro- tection of innocence. The good matron needs no fnelter of the great : ^' I dv.ell among mine own people ;" as if fhe faid, The courtefy is not fmall in itfelf, but not ufeful to me : I Hve here quietly, in a contented obfcurity, out of the reach either of the glories, or cares of the court ; free from wrongs, free from envies. Not (o high as to 'provoke an evil eye, not fo low as to be trodden on : 1 have neither fears nor ambitions, my neighbours are my friends, my friends are my pro- teclors ; and, if I ihould be fo unhappy, as to be the fubjed of main injuries, would not ftick to be mine ad- vocates: CoNTEMP. Vir. CONTEMPLATIONS. jSi vocates: this favour is for thofe that either affecl greatncfs, or groan under oppreflion ; I do nei- ther, for " 1 live among my own people." O Shu- namite, thou (halt not efcane envy! who can hear of thine happy condition, and not fay, why am 1 not thus? If the world afford any perfect contentment, it is in a middle eilate, equally diftant from penury, from excefs; it is in a calm freedom, a fccure tran- quillity, a fweet fruition of ourfelves, of ours. But what hold is there of thefe earthly things ? how long is the Shunamite thus blefled with peace. Stay but a while, you fhall fee her come on her knees to the king of Ifrael, pitifully complaining that flie was dripped of houfe and land ; and now Gehnzi is fain to do that good office for her, which was not accepted from his mafter. Thofe, that (land fafiefl upon earth, have but ilippery footing ; no man can fay that he fnall not need friends. Modelty fealed up the lips of the good Shunamite, flie was afli;amed to confefs her longing: Gehazi ca- fily gueffed that her barrennefs could not but be her afflidion; (lie was childlefs, her hufband old; Eiiflia gratifies her with the news of a fon: " About this "• feafon, according to the time of life, thou flialt *' embrace a fen." How liberal is God, by his pro- phet, in giving beyond her requefts ; not feldom doth his bounty over-reach our thoughts, .and meet us with thofe benefits v/hich w^e thought too good for us to afk. Greatnefs and inexpedlation makes the blefling feem incredible; " Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do- *' not lieto thinehandmaid." We are never fure enough of what we defire; we are not more hard to believe, than loth to diftruft beneficial events : fhe well knev/ the prophet's holinefs could not (land with wilful falfe- hood ; perhaps flie. might think it fpoken by way of trial, not of ferious affirmation ; as unwilling there- fore that it (liould not be, and v/iliing to hear that s?2 CONTEMPLATIONS. Boox Xi:5^, pleafing word feconded, flie fa)'s, " Do not He to *' thine handmaid.'' Promifes are made good, not by iteration, but by the effed; the Shunamite con- ceives, and bears a fon at the fet feafon : how glad a mother fhe was, thofe knew befi: that have mourned under the difcomfort of a fad fterihty. The child grows up, and is now able to find out his father in the field, amongft his reapers; his father now grew young again with the pleafure of this fight, and more joyed in this ipringof his hopes, than in all the crops of his harveu; but what (lability is there in thefe earthly delights? -The hot beams of the fun beat upon that head which too much care had made tender, and de- licate ; the child complains to his father of his pain y O that grace could teach us, what nature teaches in- fants, in all our troubles to bemoan ourfelves to our heavenly Father ! lie fends him to his mother ; upon her lap, about noon, the child dies, as if he would return his foul into that bofom from w'hich it was de- rived to him. The good Shunamite hath lofl: her fon, her faith flie had not lofl ; paiiion hath not robbed her of her wi'fdom: as not diftrafted with an accident fo fudden, fo forrowful, flie lays the dead child upon the prophet's bed, (lie locks the door, fne hides her grief, led that confternation might hinder her defign j. fhe hadens to her hufoand, and as not daring to be other than oScious in fo didrefsful an occafion, ac- quaints him with her journey, though not with the caufe, requires of him both attendance and convey- ance ; fne poiis to mount Carmel ; fiie cannot lo foon find out the man of God as he hath found her, he fees her afar off, and, like a faithful gued, fends his fer- vant hadily to meet her, to inquire of the health of herfeif, her hufoand, her child : her errand was not to Gehazi, it vvastoEiidia; nom.eifenger fliallinterrupt her, no ear Ihall receive her complaint but the pro- phet's: down flie falls paffionately at his feet, and, for- getting CoNTEMP. Vll. COxNTEiMPLATlONS. agj getting the fafhlon of her bafiiful flrangenefs, lays hold of them, whether in an humble veneration of his per- fon, or in a fervent defire of fatisfaclion. Gehazi, V ho well knew how uncouth, hovv unfit this gefture of falutation was for his mafter, offers to remove her, and admonifheth her of her diftance; the merciful pro- phet eafily apprehends that no ordinary occafion could lb tranfport a grave and well-governed matron; as therefore pitying her unknown paffion, he bids, " Let *' her alone, for her foul is vex'd within her, and the " Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.'* If extremity of grief have made her unmannerly, wife and holy Elifha knows how to pardon it; he dares not add forrow to the afflidted ; he can 'better bear an un- feemlinefs in her greetings than cruelty in her molef- tation. Great was the familiarity that the prophet had with his God, and as friends are wont mutually to impart their counfels to each other, fo had the Lord done to him; Eliiha was not idle on Mount Carmel; what was it that he faw not from thence? not hea- ven only, but the world was before him. Yet the Shu- namite's lofs is concealed from him, neither doth he fhame to confefs it : oft-times thofe that know greater matters may yet be ignorant of the lefs. It is no dif- paragement to any finite creature not to know fome- thing. By her mouth will God tell the prophet, what by vifion he had not; " Then (he faid. Did I defire " a fon of my Lord? did I not fay, do not deceive me:'* Deep forrow is fparing of words : the expoftulation could not be more fliort,. more quick, more pithy; had I begged a fon, perhaps my importunity might have been yielded to in anger : too much defire is juft- ly puniihed with lofs. It is no marvel if what we wring from God profper not : this favour to me was of thine own motion; thy fuit, O Elifha, made me a mother, couldft thou intend to torment me with a bleflingi How much more eafy had the want of a foa been at?4 Contemplations. Book xix. been than the mifcarriagc? barrennefs than abortion?- Was there no other end of my having a fon, than that I might lofe him? O man of God let me not complain of a cruel kindnefs; thy prayers gave me a fon. let thy prayers reftore him; let not my dutiful refpefts to thee be re- paid with an aggravation of mifery ; give iiot thine hand-maid caufe to widi that I were but [o unhappy as thou founded me : O vvoful fruitlefnefs, if I muft now fay that I had a fon! I know not whether the mother or the prophet were more afflicted, the prophet for the mother's fake, or' the mother for her own. Not a word of reply do we hear from the mouth of Elifha, his breath is only fpent in the remedy; he fends his fervant with all fpeed to lay his liaff upon the face of the child, char- ging him to avoid all the delays of the way. Had not the prophet fuppofed that ftaff of his able to beat away death, why did he fend it? and if upon that fuppofi- tionhefent it, how was it that itfaited of effect? was this act done out of human conceit, not out of inflinft from' God, or did the want of the mother's faith hind-er the fuccefs of that cure? (lie. not regarding the ftaiF, or the man, holds fad to Elifiia; no hopes of his meflage-. can loofe her fingers: " As the Lord liveth, and a? " thy foul liveth, I will not leave thee." She ima- '^' gined that the fervant, the ftaff, might be fevered from Elifha; fhe knew that wherever the prophet was, there was power: it is good relying upon thofe helps that cannot fail us. Merit and importunity have drawn Eliflia from Car- mel to Shunem; he finds his lodging taken up by that pale carcafs, he (huts his door and falls to his prayers j this ftaff of his, whatever became of the other, was long enough, he knew, to reach up to heaven, to knock at thofe gates, yea to wrench them open : he applies his body to thofe cold and fcnfelefs limbs, by ths fervour of his foul he reduces that foul by the heat GoNTKMP. VII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 28^- heat of his body he educeth vvcirmth out of that corps ^^ the child fneezeth feven times, and as it Ins fpirit had been but hid for the time, not departed, it falls to work afrefh; the eyes look up, the lips and hands move. The mother is called in to receive a new life in her twice-given fon; die comes in, full of joy, full of won- der, and bows herfelf to the ground, and falls down before thofe feet which (he had fo boldly laid hold ot in Carmel. O ilrong faith of the Shunamite, that could not be difcouraged with the feizure and conti- nuance of death; raifing up her heart (till to an expec- tation of that life, which to the eyes of nature had been impoffible, irrecoverable! O infinite goodnefs of the Almighty, that would not fuffer fuch faith to be fruflrated, that would rather reverfe the laws of na- ture, in returning a guelt from heaven, and raifmg a corps from death, than the confidence of a believing heart fhould be difappointed. How true an heir is EHfna of his mafter, not in his graces only, but in his actions! both of them divided the waters of Jordan, the one as his laft ace, the other as his firil; Elijah's curfe was the death of the cap- tains and their troops, Eliiha's curfe was the death' of the children; Elijah rebuked Ahab to his face, Eli- fiia Jehoram; Elijah fupplic-d the drought of Ifrael by rain from heavQn, Eliiha fupplied the drought of the three kings by waters guOiing out of the earth;- Elijah increafed the oil of the Sareptan, Eliiha increaf- cd the oil of the prophet's widow; Elijah raifed from death the Sareptan's fon, Eliflia the Shunamue's : both of them had one mantle, one fpirir; both of them climbed up one Carmel, one heaven. Con TEMP. Vin. Elisha with Naawan. F the ("uU fhowers of grace which fell upon If- rael and Judah, yet fome drops did light upon Vol. H. T their i?^6 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. their neighbours. If Ifrael be the worfe for her riear- refs to Syria, Syria is the better for the vicinity of If- rael. Amongft the word of God's enemies, fome are fmgled out for mercy. Naaman was a great warrior, an honourable courtier, yet a leper : no difeafe inci- dent to the body is fo naily, fo loathfome as leprofy. Orcatnefs can fecure no man from the mofl: odious and wearifome condition. How little pleafure did this Syrian peer take to be (looped tob)'' others, while he hated to fee himfelf? Even thofe that honoured hiirt avoided him, neither was he other than abhorred of thof^ that flattered him; yea his hand could not move to his month, without his own deteftation; the bafeft ilave of Syria would not change Huns with him, if he might have his honour to boot; thus hath the wife God thought meet to fauce the valour, dignity, re- nown, viftories of the famous general of the Syrians. Seldom ever was any man ferved with firaple favours;; thefe compofitions make both our croffes tolerable, and our blefilngs Vv'hoiefome. The body of Naaman was not more tainted with- his leprofy, than his foul was tainted with Rimmon, and, belides his idolatry, he was a profcffed enemy to ]frael, and fiiccefsfui in his enmity. How far doth God fetci) about his nurpofes.f' The leprofy, the ho- iiiliry of Naaman, fhali be the occafions of his falva- tlon; that leprofy fliall make his foul found, that ho- iiilitv fnall adopt him a fon of God : in fome profue- rous in-roads that the Syrians under Naaman*s con- du6l, have made into the land of Ifrael, a little m.aid is taken captive, flie fnall attend on Naaman's wifey and Ihall fuggslt to her miflrefs the miraculous cures* of Elilha. A'fmall chink may fcrve to let in much light; her report finds credit in the court, and begetsi b-nh a letter from the king, and a journey of his peer.* Vv^hiie the Syrians thought of nothing but their booty,; they bring happineis to the houfe of Naaman : the i captivity 'J CosTEMP. VIII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 2«7 captivity of a poor Hebrew girl is-a means to make the greateft lord of Syria a fubjcct to God : it is good to acquaint our children with the works of God, with the praifes of his prophets. Little do we know how they may improve this knowledge, and whither they may carry it; perhaps the remotelt nations may light their candle at their coal; even the weakeft intima- tions may not be neglected; a child, a fervant, a flran- ger may fay that which we may blefs God to have heard. How well did it become the mouth of an If- raelite to extol a prophet, to wiiTi the cure of her ma- fter, though an Aramite, to advife that journey unto the man of God, by whom both body and foul might be cured? True religion teacheth us pious and chari- table refpecls to our governors, though aliens from the commonwealth of God. No man that I hear blames the credulity of Naa- man; upon no other ground doth the king of Syria fend his chief peer, with his letters to the king of If- rael, from his hands requiring the cure : the Syrian fuppofed, that whatever a fubjeci could do a fove- reign might command; that fuch a prophet could nei- ther be out of the knowledge, nor out of the obedi- ence to his prince; never did he dream of any ex- emption, but imagining Jehoram to be no lefs a king I of prophets than of people, and EUlha no lefs a fub- ]e(Cl than a feer, he writes ; " Now when this letter is *' come to ihee, behold I have herewith fent Naa- " man my fervant to thee, that thou mayft recover " him of his leprofy." Great is the power of prin- ces, every man's hand is theirs, whether for fKill, or for rcrengih ; befi Jes the eminency of their ov/n gifts, all the fubordinate excellencies of their fubjefts are ho lefs at their fervice, than if they were inherent in- their perfons. Great men are wanting to their own. perfections, if they do not both know, and exercife the graces of their inferiors. T ^ The 28S CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. The king of If?ael cannot read the letter without amazement of heart, without rending of garments, and fays, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, " that this man fends to me, to recover a man of his *' lepro-'y? wherefore confider, and fee, I pray you, " how he feeketh a quarrel againft me?'* If God have vouchfafed to call kings gods, it well becomes ki]ngs to call themfelves men; and to confefs the di- fianee wherein they Hand to their Maker. Man may kill, man cannot kill and make alive j yea, of hini- felf, he can do neither; with God, a worm or a fiy may kill a man; without God no potentate can do it; much lefs can any created power both kill and revive; fmce to reftore life is more than to bereave it, more than to continue it, more than to give it; and if le- profy be a death, what human power can either in- flid or cure it? It is a -trouble to a well-affected heart to receive impoiTible commands; to require that of an inferior which is proper to the Higheil, is a deroga- tion from that fupreme power whofe property it is. Had Jehoram been truly religious, the injury done to his Maker, in this morion, as he took it, had more afflicced him, than the danger of his own quarrel. Be- like. Eiiilia was not in the thoughts of the king of Ifrael; he might have heard, that this prophet had made alive one whom he killed not. Himfeif, with the two other kings, had been eye-witneffes of w^hat Eliilia could do; yet now the calves of Dan and Bethel have fo often taken up his heart, that there is is no room for the memory of Elifha; whom he fued to in his extremity, now his profperity hath forgot- ten. Carnal hearts, when need drives them, can think of God and his prophet; when their turn is fer- ved, can as utterly negleft them, as if they were not. Yet cannot good PJiiha repay negleft and forget- fulnefs. He liitens what is done at the court, and finding CoKTEMP. Vlir. CONTEMPLATIONS. 2S9 finding the diftrefs of his fovereign, proffers that fervice, which ftould have been required : " Wherefore haft thou rent thy cloaths ? Let him " come now to me, and he fliall know that there is *' a prophet in Ifrael." It was no fmall fright from which Eliiha delivers his kin^. Jehoram was in a\v6 of the Syrians, ever fince their laft viclory, wherein his father Ahab was flain, lirael and Judah difcom- fited : nothing was more dreadful to him. than the frowns of thefe Aramites. The quarrel, which he fu- fpetted to be hatched by them, is cleared by Eliiha j their leper Ihall be healed ; both they and Lirael iliall know, they have neglected a God, whofe pro- phet can do wonders. Many eyes, doubtlefs, are faftened upon the ifiue of this melTao;e. But what ftate is this that EliPna takes upon him. : he doth not fay, " I will come to him ;*' but, " Let him come now " to nie." The three kings came down once to his tent; it is no marvel, if he prevent not the jour- ney of a Syrian courtier. It well befeems him that will be a fuiter for favour, to be obfequious : we may not (land upon terms of our labour or dignity, where we expedl a benefit. Naaman comes richly attended with his troops of fervants and horfes, and waits in his chariot at the door of a prophet. I do not hear Elifha call him in ; for though he were great, yet he was leprous ; neither do 1 fee Elifha come forth to him, and receive him with fuch out- ,ward courtefies, as might be fit for an honourable ftranger : for in thofe rich cloaths the prophet faw an Aramite, and, perhaps, fome rindure of the late- ihed blood of Ifrael. Rather, that he might make a -perfeiEl trial of the humility of ;hat man, whom he jMeans to gratify and honour, after fome fliot atten- -dance at his door, he fends his fervant with a i.,ef- 4age to that peer, who could not but think die T 3 meaneii ftgo CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XlX". meanefl of his retinue a better man than Gehazi*8 mailer. What could the prophet have done other to the lac- quey of Naaman's man ? Re, that would be a meet fubjecl of mercy, muft be thoroughly abafed in his own conceit, and muft be willingly pliable to all the conditions of his humiliation. .Yet, had the mef- fage carried in it either refpeft to the perfon, or pro- bability of effect, it could not have been unwelcome : but now it founded of nothing but fullennefs and unlikelihood : " Go and wafli in Jordan feven times, " and thy flefh fiiall come again to thee, an^ thou " Ihalt be clean." What wife man could take this for any other than a mej"e fcorn, and mockery ? " Go, wafh r" alas, what can water do ? it can cleanfe from filthinefs, not from leprofy : and why in Jordan? what differs that from other ftreams .? and why juft feven times? what virtue is either in that channel, or in that number? Naaman can no more put oft' nature than leprofy. In what a chafe did he fling away from the prophet's door, and fays. Am I come thus far to fetch a flout from an Ifraelite? is this the iffue both of my journey, and the letters of my king ? could this prophet find no man to play upon but Naamian ? had he meant ferioufly, why (did he think himfelf too good to com.e forth unto nie? why did he not touch me with his hand, and blefs with his prayers, and cure me with his bleliing? Is my mifery fit for his derifion ? If water could do it, what needed I to come fo far for this remedy? have I not oft done this in vain ? have we not better fhreams at home, than any Ifrael can afford ? " are *' not Abana and Pharphar, rivers of Damafcns, bet- f' ter than all the waters of Ifrael ?'' Folly and pride ftrive for place in a natural heart, and it is hard ; io fay whether is more predominant : folly in pieafuring the power of God's ordinances by the rule CoNTEMP. VTII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 291 rule of human difcourfe and ordinary event ; pride, in a fcornful valuation of the inftitutions of God, in coinparifon of our own devices. Abana and Phar- phar, two for one ; rivers, not waters, of Danialcus, a {lately city, and incomparable ; are they not ? Who dares deny it ? better, not as good, than the waters, not the rivers; ail the waters, Jordan, and all the reft of Ifrael, a beggarly region to Damal'cus. No where fliall we find a truer pattern of the difpo- fition of nature ; how flie is altogether led by fenle and reafon, how flie fondly judges of all objeds by the appearance, how fhe acquaints herfelf only with the coainion road of God's proceedings, how fhe flicks, to her own principles, how flie mifconftrues the intentions of God, how flie over-conceits her own, how fhe difdains the mean conditions of others, how file upbraids her oppofites with the proud com- parifon of her own privileges. . Nature is never but like herfelf. No marvel, if carnal minds defpife the foolifimefs of preaching, the ^rimplicity of facraments, the homelinefs of ceremo- ^nies, the feeming inefficacy of cenfures. Thefe men look upon Jordan with Syrian eyes, one drop of whofe water, fet apart by divine ordination, hath more vir- tue than all the ftreams of Abana and Pharphar. It is a good matter for a man to be attended with wife and faithful followers. Many a one hath had better counfel from his heels, than from his elbows, Naaman's fervants were his beft friends, they came to him, and fpake to him, and faid, " My father, if . f. the prophet had bid thee do fome great thing, " wouldft thou not have done it ? how much rather ^^ then, when he faith to thee, Wafli, and be clean." Thefe men were fervants, .not of the hum.our, but of the profit of their mafter. Some fervile fpirits would have cared only to foothe up, not to beneiit their go- yernor, and would have encouraged his rage by their T 4 own ; ?52 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. own ; Sir, will you lake this at the hand of a bafc fel'ow? v/as ever man thus flouted? will you let him carry it away thus? is any harmlefs anger fuffi- ci'.ni revenge for fuch an inlolence ? Give us leave at leari to pull him out by the ears, and force him to do that by violence, which he would not do out of good jnanners : let cv.r fingers teach this fancy prophet, whiu it is to offer an aiiVont to a prince of Syria. But thct'V' men loved more their mailer's health than his pallion ; and had rather therefore to advife, than flat- ter ; to draw him to good, than follow him to evil : fjnce it was a prophet from v/hom he received this prefcription, they perfuade him not to defpife it ; in- timating, there could be no fault in the flightnefs of the receipt, fo long as there was no defect of power in the commander ; that the virtue of the cure fhould be in his obedience, not in the nature of the remedy. They perfuade and prevail. Next to the prophet, Naam.an may thank his fervants, that he is not a leper. He goes down, upon their intreaty, and dips feven times in Jordan, his flefli rifeth, his leprofy vanifhetho Not the unjufl fury and techinefs of the patient (hall crofs the cure ; leif, while God is fevere, the prophet fhould be difciedited. Long enough might Naaman have wafhed there in vain, if Lliiha had not fent him. Xvlanv a leper hath bathed in that flream, and hath come forth no lefs impure. It is the word, the ordi- Hivnce of the Almighty which puts efficacy into thofe means, which of ihemfelve? are both impotent and imprabable. What can our font do to the wafhing a- ^vay of fin ^ If God's inftitution fhall pqt virtue into our Jordan, it ihall fcour off the fpiritual leprofies of our liearts, and Iliall rnote cure the foul, than cleanfe the •ace. How joyful is Naaman to fee this change of his iliin, this renovation of his fleih, of his life 1 never did CoNTErMP. Viri. CONTEMPLATIONS. 29$ .did his heart find fuch warmth of inward gladnefs, as in this ftream. Upon the fi,G;ht of his recovery, he doth not port: Jbome to ilie court, or to "his family, to call for wit- nefies, for partners of his joy, but thankfully returns to the prophet, by whofe means he received this mer- cy : he comes back with more contentment, than he departed with rage. Now will the man of God be {ten of that recovered Syrian, whom he would not fee leprous : his prefence (liall be yielded to the gra- tulati -n, which was not yielded to the fuit. Purpofe- \y did Elilha forbear before, that he mfo;ht fhare no part of the praife of this work with his Maker, that God might be fo much uiore magnified, as the means were more weak and defpicable. The miracle hath its due work. Firll, doth Naaman acknowledge the God that wrought it, then the prophet by whom he wrought It. " Behold, now I know there is no God in all the " earth, but in Ifrael." O happy Syrian, that was at once cured of his leprofy, and his mifprifion of God! Naaman was too wife,* to thir.k that either the water had cured him, or the man ; he faw a divine power working in both, fuch as he vainly fought from his heathen deities ; with the heart therefore he believes, with the mouth he confeffes. While he is thus thankful to the Author of his cure, he is not unmindful of the infirument. " Now '* therefore, I pray thee, take a bleffing of thy fer- •' vant.*' Naaman came richly furnilhed with ten talents of fdver, fix thoufand pieces of gold, ten changes of raiment : all thefe, and many more, would the Syrian peer have gladly given to be de- livered from fo noifome a difeafe : no marvel if he . importunately offer fome part of them to the prophet, nov/ that he is delivered ; fome teilimony of thankful- nefs did well, where all earthly recompence was too lliort. The hands of this, man were no lefs full o? thanks ?9+ CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. thanks than his mouth. Dry and barren profeffions of our obhgations, where is power to requite, are un- fit for noble and ingenuous fpirits. Naaman is not more frank in offering his gratuity, than Eliflia vehement in refufmg it, ,". As the Lord *' liveth, before whom I iland, I will receive none." Not that he thought the Syrian gold impure ; not that he thought it unlawful to take up a gift, where he hath laid down a benefit : but the prophet will re- mit of Naaman's purfe, that he may win of his foul. The man of God would have his new convert fee caufe to be more enamoured of true piety, which teacheth her clients to contemn thofe worldly riches and glories which bafe w^ovldlings adore ; and would have him think, that thefe miraculous powers are fo far tranfcending the valuation of all earthly pelf, that thofe glittering treafures are worthy of nothing but contempt, in refpeft thereof. Hence it is, that he, who refufed not the Shunamite's table, and ftool, and candleltick, will not take Naaman's prefent. There is much ufe of godly difcretion in directing us when to open, when to fhut our hands. He, that will not be allowed to give, defires yet to take. *' Shall there not, I pray thee, be given to thy " fervant two mules load of earth .? for thy fervant "' will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor fa- " crifice to other gods, but unto the Lord." Ifrael- itiili mould lay open to his carriage, without leave of Elifha ; but Naaman regards not to take it, unlefs it may be given him, and given him by the prophet's hand. Well did this Syrian find that the man of God had given a fupernatural virtue to the water of Ifrael ; and therefore fuppofed he might give the like to his earth : neither would any earth ferve him but Elifha's, elfe the mould of Ifrael had been more properly craved of |.he king, than the prophet of ifrael. Doubt* CoNTEMP. VIII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 295 Doubtlefs it was devotion that moved this fuit. The Syrian faw God had a propriety in Ifracl, and ima- gines that he will be belt pleaied with his own. On the fudden was Naaman halt" a prolciyte ; (till here was a weak knowledge with ftrong intentions : he will facrifice to the Lord, hut where ^ in Syria, not in Jc- rufalem : not the mould, but the altar is what God re- fpedts, which he hath allowed no where but in his cho- fen Sion. This honcft Syrian will be removing God home to his country ; he ihould have refolved to re- move his home to God ■ and though he vows to offer no facrifice to any other god, yet he craves leave to offer an outward courtefy to Rimmon, though not for the idol's fake, yet for his mafter's. " In this *' thing the Lord pardon thy fervant, that when my *' mailer goeth into the houfe of Rimmon to worfhip " there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow my- '' felf in the houfe of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy ^' fervant in this thing.*' Naaman goes away refo- lute to profels himfelf an Ifraelite for religion ; all the Syrian court fhall knov.' that he facrifices upon Ifraelitifti earth to the God of Ifrael : they fhall hear him protell to have neither heart nor knee for Rim- mon. If he muft go into the houfe of that idol, it fhall be as a fervant, not as a fupplicant ; his duty to his mader fnall carry him, not his devotion, to his mailer's god, if his mailer go to worfhip there, not he ; neither doth he fay, " When I bov/ myfelf to the " image of Rimmon, but, in the houfe :" he fhall bow to be leaned upon, not to adore : yet had not Naaman thought this a fault, he had not craved a pardon; his heart told him. that a perfect convert fiionld not have abide the roof, the fight, the air of Rimmon ; that his obfervance of an earthly mafter fhould not dravv him to the femblance of an aft of p;;tward obfervance, to the rival of his Mafter in heaven. «f6 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. . heaven, that a fincere deteftation of idolatry could not ftand with fo unl'eafonable a courtefy. Far therefore is Naanian from being a pattern, fave of weaknefs ; fince he is yet more than half a Syrian; fince he willingly accufes himfeif, and, inflead of de- fending, deprecates his offence. It is not for us to expedt a full llature in the cradle of converfion. As nature, fo grace rifes, by many degrees, to perfec- tion. Leprofy was in Naaman cured at once, not corruption. The prophet, as glad to fee him but thus forward, difmifles him with a civil valediftion. Had an Ifraelite made this fuit, he had been anfwered with a check. Thus much from a Syrian was worthy of a kind fare- well ; they are parted. Gehazi cannot thus take his leave; his heart is mauled up in the rich cheils of Naaman, and now he goes to fetch it. The prophet and his man had not looked with the fame eyes upon the Syrian treafure ; the one w^itfi the eye of contem.pt, the other with the eye of admiration and covetous defire. The difpofi- tion of the mafter may not be meafured by the mind, by the aft of his fervant. Holy Eliflia may be at' tended by a falfe Gehagi : no examples, no counfels, will prevail with fome hearts. Who would not have thought, that the follower of Elifha could be no other than a faint ? yet, after the view of all thofe miracles, this man is a mirror of worldlinefs. He thinks his n:iafter either too fnnple, or loo kind, to refufe fo juft a prefent from a Syrian ; himfelf will be more wife, more frugal. Defire haftens his pace, he doth not go, but run after his booty : Naaman fees him, and, as true noblenefs is ever courteous, alights from his chariot to meet him. -The great lord of Syria comes forthof hiscoach to falutea prophet's fervant; not fear- ing that he can humble himfelf overmuch to one of I)li- flia's family. He greets Gehazi with the fame word where- CoNTEMP. Vlir. CONTEMPLATIONS. 297 wherewith he was lately demitted by his raafter : " Is it peaKie ?" So fudden a meflenger might feem to argue fome change. He Toon receives, frorn the breath- lefs bearer, news of his mailer's health and requeft : " All is well ; my mailer hath fent me, faying, Be- *' hold, even now there be come to me, from mount " Kphraini, two young men of the fons of the pro- " phets : give me, I pray thee, a talent of filver, and " two changes of garrrjf^nts." Had Gehazi craved a reward in his own name, Calling for the fee of the prophet's fervant, as the gain, fo the otfence had been the lefs ; now, reaching at a greater fum, he belies his mailer, robs Naaman, burdens his own foul. What a round tale hath the craft of Gehazi devifed, of the number, the place, the quality, the age of his mailer's gueils ? that he might fet a fair colour upon that pretended requeft ; fo proportioning the value of his demand, as might both enrich himfelf, and yet .well ftand with the moderation of his mafter. Love cf money can never keep good quarter with honefty, with innocence. Covetoufnefs never lodged in the heart alone ; if it find not, it will breed wickednefs. What a mint of fraud there is in a worldly breafti how readily can it coin fubtle falfehood for an advan- tage ! How thankfully liberal was this noble Syrian ; Gehazi could not be more eager in taking, than he was in giving; as glad of fo happy an occafion of leav- ing any piece of his treafure behind him, he forces two talents upon the fervant of Elifha, and binds them in two bags, and lays them upon two of his own fervants ; his own train fhall yield porters to Gehazi. Chearfulnefs is the juft praife of our bene- ficence. Bountiful minds are as zealous in over-pay- ing good turns, as the niggardly are in fcanting retri- butions. What 2Q,n CONTEMPL/ITIONS. Book XIX/ What projecls do we think Gehazi had all the way? how did*he pleafe himfelf with the waking dreams of purchafes, of traffic, of jollity? and now, when they are come to the tower, he gladly difburdens, and difmiffes his tw^o Syrian attendants, and hides their load, and wipes his mouth, and (lands boldly before that mafter whom he had fo foully abufed. O Ge- hazi, where didlt thou think God was this while ! Couldft thou thus long pour water upon the hands of Elifha, and be either ignorant or regardlefs of that undeceivable eye of Providence, which was . ever fixed upon thy hands, thy tongue, thy heart ? couldft thou thus hope to blind the eyes of a fcer ? Hear then thy indictment, thy fentence, from hint whom thou thoughted to have mocked with thy con- cealment : *' Whence corned thou, Gehazi? Vhy fer- *' vant went no whither." He, that had begun a lie to Naaman, ends it to his mafter : whofo lets his tongue once loofe to a wilful untruth, foon grows impudent in multiplying falfehoods. Of what metal is the forehead of that man, that dares He to a pro- phet ? what is this but to out-fact the fenfes ? " Went *' not my heart with thee^ when the man turned " again from his chariot to meet thee?" Didfl thou not, till now, knovi^, O Gehazi, that prophets have fpi- ritual eyes, which are not conhned to bodily profpeds I didfl thou not know that their hearts were often where they were not ? didfl thou not know that thy fecretefl ways were over-looked by invifible wit- neffes ? Hear then, and be convinced : hither thou wentfl, thus thou faidil, thus thou didfl, thus thou fpedfl. What anfwer was now here but confufion ? Miferable Gehazi, how didfl thou (land pale and trembling before the dreadful tribunal of thy fevere mafler, looking for the v.oful fentence of fome griev- ous judgment for fo heinous an offence ! " Is this a " time CoNTEMP. VIII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 299 " time to receive money, and to receive garment?, " and (which thou hadfl: already purchafed in thy *' conceit) olive-yards, and vineyards, and fiieep, and *' oxen, and men-lervants, and maid-lervants?" Did my mouth refufe, that thy hands might take ? Was 1 fo careful to win honour to my God, and credit to my profellion, by denying thefe Syrian prefents, that thou mightell dalli both in receiving them r was there no way to enrich thyfelf, but by belying thy mailer, by difparaging this holy function in the eyes of a new convert ? Since thou wouldlt needs there- fore take part of Naaman's treafure, take part with him in his leprofy : " 1 he leprofy of Naaman fhall " cleave unto thee, and unto thy feed tcr ever.'* O heavy talents of Gehazi ! O the horror of this one unchangeable fuit, which fhall never be but loathfome- ly white, noilbmely unclean ! How much better had been a W'jht purfe and an homely coat, with a found body, a clear foul ? Too late doth that wretched man now find, that he hath loaded himfelf with a curfe, that he hath clad himfelf with fhame : his fm fhall be read ever in his face, in his feed: all pafTengers, all pofterities fhall now fay. Behold the charafters of Ge- hazi's covetoufnefs, fraud, facrilege ! The acl over- takes the word : " He went out of his prefence a le- *' per as white as fnow." It is a woful exchange that Gehazi hath made with Naaman ; Naaman came a leper, returned a difciple ; Gehazi came a difciple, returned a leper ; Naaman left behind both his dif- eafe and his money ; Gehazi takes up both his money and his difeafe. Now fnail Gehazi never look upon himfelf, but he (hall think of Naaman, whofe fein is transferred upon him with thofe talents, and fnall wear out the reft of his davs in fhame, in pain and foirow. His tears may wafn off the guilt of his fin, fnail not, like another Jordan, wafn off his leprofy, that fliall ever remain as an hereditary monument c-f divine jeo CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. divine feverity. This fon of the prophet fnall more loudly and lively preach the juftice of God by his face, than others by their tongue. Happy was it for him,- if, while his fkin was fnow-white with leprofy, his humbled foul was wafhed white as fnow with the wa- ter of true repentance. CoNTEMP. IX, Elisha raifing the Iron, blindhi^ the Assyrians. THERE was no lofs of Gehazi, when he was gone the prophets incrcafed: an ill man in the church is but like fome flirubby tree in a garden, whofe ihade keeps better plants from growing r a blank doth better in a room than an ill filling. The view of God's juft judgments doth rather draw clients unto him, than alienate them. The kings of Ifrael had fucceeded in idolatry and hate of fincere religion, yet the pro- phets multiply : perfecution enlargeth the bound-!, of the church. Thefe very tempeftuous fhowers bring up flowers and herbs in abundance. There would have been neither fo many, nor fo zealous prophets in the languiniment of peace. Befides, what marvet is it, if the immediate fucceffion of two fuch noble leaders, as Elijah and Elifha, eftablifhed, and augment- ed religion, and bred multitudes of prophets ? rather who can marvel, upon the knowledge of all their mi- racles, that all Ifrael did not prophefy ? It is a good hearing that the prophets want elbow room, out of their ftore, not out of the envy of neighbours, or in- competency of provifion : where vifion fails, the peo- ple perifli ; they are bielTed where it abounds. \Vhen they found themfelves flraiteiied, they did not prefume to carve for themfelves, but they craved the leave, the counfel of Eliflja : " Let us go, we " pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man ** a beam, and let us make us a place where we may dwell J CoNTFMP. IX. CONTEMPLATIONS. ^i •' dwell : and he faid, Go ye.*' It well becomes the Tons of the prophets to enterprize nothing without the allowance of their fiiperiors. Here was a build- in"- towards none of the curiofcli; I do not fee them making means for the procurement of fome cunning artiiicers, nor for the conquifition of fonie coftly mar- bles and cedars, but every man fhall hew and fquare. and frame his own beam. No nice terms were flood upon by thefe fons of the prophets; their thoughts were fixed upon the perfection of a fpiritual building : as an homely roof may ferve them, fo their own hands fhall raife it. The fingers of thefe contemphuive men did not fcorn the axe, and mallet, and chifel : it was better being there than in Obadiah's cave; and they^ that dwell now contentedly under rude flicks, will not refufe the fquared (tones, and polifhed contigna- tions of better times. They (hall be ill teachers of others, that have not learned both to want, and to abound. The mafter of this facred fociety, Elifha, is not (lately, nor aullere: he gives not only paiTage to this motion of his collegiates, but afTiftance. It was fif the fons of the prophets (hould have convenience of dweUing, though not pomp, not coftlinefs. They fall to their work, no man goes (lackly about the build- ing of his own houfe. One of them, more regarding the tree than the tool, lets fall the head of the axe into the river: poor men are ienfible of fmall loffes; he makes his moan to Elifiia, " Alas, mafter for it was *' borrowed." Had the axe been his own, the trou- ble had been the lefs to forego it; therefore doth the mifcarriage afliict him, becaufe it v/as of a borrowed axe. Honed minds are more careful of v»'hat they have by loan than by propriety. In lending there is a truft, which a good heart cannot difappoinr without vexa- tion. Alas, poor novices of the prophet, they would be building, and were not worth their axes; if they Vol. II. IJ M'ould SC2 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX, would give their labour, they muft borrow their in- ftruments. Their wealth was fpiritual; outward poverty may well ftand uith inward riches : he is rich, not that hath the world, but that can contemn it. Elilha loves and cherifhes this juft fimplicity; ra- ther will he work a miracle, than a borrowed axe (hail not be reflored. It might eafily be imagined, he that could raife up the iron out of the bottom of the wa- ter, could tell where it fell in; yet even that power- ful hand calls for direction. In this one point the fon of the prophet knows more than Elifha. The notice of particularities is neither fit for a creature, nor communicable: a mean man may befl know his own cafe: this novice better knows where his axe fell, than his mafler, his mafter knows better how to get it out than he. There is no reafon to be given of fu- pernatural actions: the prophet borrows an axe to cut an helve for the loil axe, why did he not make ufe of that handle which had cad the head? Did he hold it unworthy of refpecl, for that it had abandoned the metal wherewith it was trufled? or did he make choice of a new ilick, that the miracle might be the more clear and unqueftionable? Divine power goes a contrary way to art : we firil would have procured the head of the axe, and then would have fitted it with an helve: Elifha fits the head to the helve, and caufeth the wood, which was light, and knew not how to fmk, to fetch up the iron, which was heavy, and naturally uncapable of fupernatation. Whether the metal were flripped of the natural weight, by the fame power which gave it being, or whether retain- ing tiie wonted poize, it was raifed by fome fpiritual operation 1 inquire not, only 1 fee it fwim like cork upon the ftream of Jordan, and move towards the hand that loil it. What creature is not willing to put olF the properties of nature, at the command of the God of CoNTEMP. IX. CONTEMPLATIOMS. 363 of nature! O God, how eafy is it for thee, when this hard and heavy heart of mine is funk down into the mud of the world, to fetch it up again by thy mighty word, and caufe it to float upon the flreams of Hfe, and to fee the face of heaven again ! Yet ftill do the fides of Ifrael complain of the thorns of Aram ; the children of Ahab rue their fa- ther's unjufl mercy. From an enemy, it is no mak- ing queflion whether of iirength or wile. The king of Syria confults with his fervants, where to enci-mip for his greatefl advantage ; their opinion is not more required than their fecrecy. Elilha is a thoufand fcouts ; he fends word to the king of Ifrael of the projedls, of the removes of his enemy : more than once had Jehoram faved both his life, and his hofl, by thefe clofe admonitions : it is well, that in fome- thing yet a prophet may be obeyed. What flrange ftate-fervice was this which Elifna did, befides the fpiritual ? The king, the people of Ifrael owe them- felves, and their fafety, to a defpifed prophet. The man of God knew, and felt them idolaters ; yet how careful and vigilant is he for their refcue, if they were bad, yet they were his own ; if they were bad,> yet not all ; God had his number amongfl their word. If they were bad, yet the Syrians were worfe. The' Ifraelites mif-worfliipped the true God, the Syri-ans' worlhipped a falfe ; that, if it were poiTible, he might win them, he will prefer ve them ; and, if they will needs be wanting to God, yet Elifha will not be wanting to them. Their impiety fhall not make him tmdutiful. There cannot be a jufler caufe of difpleafure, thari the difclofmg of thofe fecret counfels which are Jaid up in our ear, in our bread. The king of Syria,, not without reafbn, flomachs this fuppcfed treachery, Vv' hat prince can bear, that an adverfe power fliould Kave a party, a penfionary in his own court ? How U 2 famous 304 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. famous was Elifiia, even in foreign regions? Befides Naaman, others of the Syrian nobility take notice of the miraculous f^iculties cf this prophet of Ifrael. He is accufed for this fecret intelligence.. No words can efcape him, though fpoken in the bed-chamber, Q Syrian! whofoever thou Vv'ert, thou faidft not e- ncugh: if thy mailer do but whifper in thine ear, if he fmother his words within his own lips, if he do but fpeak within his own bofom, Elifiia knows it from an infallible information. What counfel is it, O God, that can be hid from thee! what counfel is it that thou wilt hide from thy feer! Even this very word, that accufeth the prophet, is known to the ac-- cufed. He hears this tale while it is in telling; he hears the plot for his apprehenfion. How ill do the projefts of wicked men hang together! They, that confefs EHfha knows their fecreteft words, do yet confer to take him. There are fpies upon him, whole efpials have moved their anger and admira- tion. He is defcried to be in Dothan, a fmall town of ManalTch's. A whole army is fent thither to fur- prife him: the opportunity of the night is chofen for the exploit. There (hall be no want either in the namber,or valour, orfecrecy of thefe confpired troops: and now, when they have fully girt in the village with a (Irong and exquifite fiege, they make them- felves fure of EHfha, and pleafe themfelves to think how they have incaged the miferable prophet; how they fliould take him at unawares in his bed, in the midft of a fecure dream, how they fhould carry him fettered to their king, what thanks they fhould have J for.fo welcome a prifoner. The fucceiTor of Gehazi rifeth early in the morn- ing, and feeth all the city encompafTed with a fear- ful hofl of foot, horfe, chariots; his eyes could meet with nothing but woods of pikes, r.nd v/alls of harnefs, and luflre of metals j and now runs in affrighted to I CoNTEMP, IX. CONTEMPLATIONS. 305 to his mafter, " Al;is, my niaflcr, what fiiall we do?" He had day enough to fee they were enemies that environed them, to fee himfelf helplefs and defpe- rate ; and hath only fo much life left in him, as to lament himfelf to the partner of his mifery. He can- not flee from his new mafter, if he would ; he runs to him with a woful clamour, " Alas, my mailer, " what fnall we do r" O the undaunted courage of faith ! Elidia fees all this, and fits in his chamber fo fecure, as if thefe had only been the guard of Ifrael, for his fafe protec- tion. It is an hard precept that he gives his fervant, " Fear not." As well might he have bid him not to fee when he faw, as not to fear when he faw fo dreadful a fpeclacle. The operations of the fenfes are no lefs certain than thofe of the affedions, where the objects are no lefs proper. But the tafk is eafy, if the next word may find relief, " For there arc " more with us than with them." Multitude, and other outward probabilities, do both lead the confi- dence of natural hearts, and fix it. It is for none but a David to fay, '* I will not be afraid of ten " thoufands of people, that have fet themfelves *' againft me round about." Flefh and blood rifcth and falleth, according to the proportion of the ftrength, or weaknefs of apparent means. Elifha's man look'd about him; yet his mafler prays, *' Lord open his eyes that he may fee." Natu- rally vve fee not wliiie we do fee ; every thing is fo feen as it is : bodily eyes difcern bodily objefts, on- ly fpiritual can fee the things of God : fome men want both eyes and light. Elifha's fervant had eyes, wanted illuminstion : no fooner were his eyes open, than he faw the mountain full of horfes and chariots of fire round about Etifha. They were there be- fore ; neither doth Elifha pray that thofe troops may be gathered, but that they may be feen : not till now U 2 were 3o6 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX, were they defcried. Invifible armies guard the fer- vants of God, while they feem mod forfaken of earthly aid., molt expofed to certain dangers. If the eyes of our faith be as open as thofe of our fenfe, to fee an- gels as well 'as Syrians, we cannot be appalled with the mod unequal terms of hoftility. Thofe bleffed fpirits are ready either to refcue our bodies, or to car- ry up our fouls to bleffednefs ; whether ever fhall be enjoined by their Maker, there is juft comfort in t)oth, in either. Both thofe chariots that came to fetch Elijah, and thofe that came to defend Elifha, w^ere fiery. God is not iefs lovely to his own in the midft of his judg- ments, than he is terrible to his enemies in the de- monftration of his mercies. Thus guarded, it is no marvel, if Elifha dare walk forth into the midft of the Syrians. Not one of thofe heavenly prefidi- aries flruck a ftroke for the prophet, neither doth he require their blows ; only he turns his prayer to his God, and fays, " Smite this people, I pray thee, " with blindnefs.'* With no other than deadly in- tentions did thofe Aramites come down to Eliflia, yet doth not he fay, fmite them with the fword, but, " Smite them with blindnefs ;'* all the evil he wiflieth to them is their repentance: there was no way to fee their error, but by blindnefs. He that prayed for the opening of his fervant's eyes, to fee his fafe- guard, prays for the blinding of the eyes of his ene- mies, that they might not fee to do hurt. As the eyes of Eliflia's fervants were fo fiiut that they faw not the angels, when they faw the Syrians ; fo the eyes of the Syrians fhall be Hkewife fhut, that, when they fee the man, they fl:iall not fee the pro- phet. To all other objecls their eyes are clear, only to Elifha they fhall be blind, blind rot through darknefs, but through mif-knowledge : they fliall fee, and mif- take both the perfou and place. Ke, that made ' ' ' th§ CoNTEMP. IX. CONTEMPLATIONS. 307 the fenfes, can either hold, or delude thern at plea- fure : how ealily can he offer to the fight oth-r re- prefentaticns, than thofe which arife'from the vifible matter, and make the heart to believe them ? Juftly now might EliOia fay, " This is not the way, " neither is this the city," wherein Elilha (liall be dcfcried. He was in Dothan, but not as Elifha ; he iliall not be found but in Samaria, neither can they have any guide to him but himfelf No fooner are they come into the ftreets of Samaria, than their eyes have leave to know both the place and the prophet. The tirll fight they have of themfelves is in the trap of Ifrael, in the jaws of death. Thofe (lately pala- ces, which they now wonder at unwillingly, carry no refemblance to them, but of their graves. Every llraelite feems an executioner, every houfe a jail, e- very beam a gibbet ; and now, they look upon Elifha, transformed from their guide to their common mur- derer, with horror and paienefs. It is moft juft with God to intangle the plotters of wickednefs in their own fnare. How glad is a mortal enemy to fnatch at all advan- tages of revenge ? Never did the king of Ifrael fee a more pleafmg fight, than fo many Syrian throats at his mercy ; and, as loth to lofe fo fair a day, as if his fingers itched to be dipt in blood, he fays, " My *' father, fliall I fmite, ihall I fmite them?" The repetition argued defire, the compellation reverence. Not without allowance of a prophet, would the king of Ifrael lay his hand upon an enemy, fo miraculoufly trained home. His heart was (lill foul with idolatry, yet would he not taint his hand with forbidden blood. Hypocrify will be flill fcrupulous in fomething ; and, in fome awful reftraints, is a perfect counterfeit of confcienc.e. The charitable prophet foon gives an angry pro- .hibitioii of flaughter ; " Thou (halt not fmite them' : U /t " wouldil S98 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. " wouldfc thou fniire thofe whom thou haft taken ■" cap;ive with thy Iword, and with thy bow?" as if he had laid, thefe are viod's captives, not thine ; and if they were thine ovxn, their blood could not be flied without cruehy : th'^-ug^h in the hot chafes of war, ex- ecuticns may be juftiftable ; yet in the coolnefs of de- liberation, it cm he no other than inhuman, to take thofe lives which have been yielded to mercy. But here, thy bow and thy fword are guiltlefs of the fuc- ceis ; only a llrange providence of the Almighty hath cait them into thine hands, v.'hom neither thy force nor thy fraud could have compaifed. If it be victory thcu aimeft at, overcome them with kindnefs : " Set " bread and water before them, that they may eat ^' and drink." () noble revenee of liliflia, to feafi: his perfecutors! to provide a table for thcie, who had provided a grave for }iim ! Thefe Syrians came to Dothan full of bloody purpofes to Elifha : he fends them from Samaria full of good chear and jollity. Thus, thus fliould a prophet punifli his purfuers. No vengeance but this is heroical and fit for Chrii- tian imitation. " If thine enemy hunger, give him ^' bread to eat ; if he thirft, give him v/ater to drink; " for thou (halt heap coals of fire upon his head ; and ~ " the Lord ihall reward thee. Be not overcome with f evil, but overcome evil with good." The king of Ifrael hath done that by his feaft, which he could not have done by his fv/crd. The bands ot Syria will no more come by way of ambudi I or incurtioii into the bounds of Ifrael. Never did a charitable act go away without the retribution of a bleiTing. In doing fome good to our enemies, we d^ moll imod to ourfe'ves. God cannot but love in us this imii.uion of his mercy, who bids his fun ftine, and his rain fall where he is moft Drovoked ; and that iove is never fruitlers. Con- CoNTEMp. X. CONTEMPLATIONS. 309 CoNTEMP. X. The Fatuinc cf ^AyiAKi A reUcved. OT many good turns are written in marble. N' Soon have thele Syrians forgotten the merciful beneficence of Ifrael. After the forbearance of feme hoilile inroad, all the forces of Syria are muflered againfl Jehoram. That very Samaria, which had re- lieved the diilrefled Aramites, is by the Aramites be- fieged, and is famiihed by thofe whom it had fed. The famine within the walls was more terrible than the fword without. I heir word enemy vi-as fhut within, and could not be difiodged of theirown bowels. Whither hath the idolatry of Ifrael brought them ? Before they had been fcourged with w^ar, with drought, with dearth, as with a fingle cord, they remain incor- rigible, and now God twIPiS two of thefe bloody ladies together, and galls them even to death : there needs no other executioners than their own maws. Thofe things which in their nature were not edible, at leaft to an llVaelite, were now both dear and dainty. The afs was, befides the untoothfomenefs, an impure crea- ture. That which the law of ceremonies had made unclean, the law of neceflity had made delicate and precious. The bones of fo carrion an head could not be picked for Id's than four hundred pieces of filver. Neither was this fcarcity of viduals only, but of ail other neceffaries for human ufe ; that the belly might not complain alone, the whole man was equally pinched. The king of Ifrael is neither exempted from the judgment, nor yet yields under it. He walks upon the v/alls of his Samaria, to overfee the watches fet, the engines ready, the guards changed, together with the poliure of the enemy. When a woman cries to him out of the city, '• Help, my lord, O king." Next to God, what refuge have v/e in all our neceflities, but his anointed ? Earthly fovereignty can aid us in the 3te CONTEMPLATION'S. Book XIX. the cafe oF the injuftice of men, but what can it do againfl the judgments of God ? " If the Lord do not *' help thee, whence fliall 1 help thee ? out of the *' barn-floor,or out of the wine-prefs?" Even the great- eft powers muft (loop to affiidlions in themfelves, how fliould they be able to prevent them in others? To fue for aid, u'here is an utter impotence of redrefs, is but to upbraid the v^eaknefs, and aggravate the mifery of thofe whom we implore. Jehoram miftakes the fuit ; the fupplicant calls, to him for a woful piece of juftice : two mothers have agreed to eat their fons; the one hath yielded hers to be boiled and eaten ; the other, after (he hath taken her part of fo prodi- gious a banquet, withdraws her child, and hides him from the knife. Hunger and envy make the plaintiif importunate ; and now fhe craves the benefit of royal juilice. She that made the firft motion, with-holds her part of the bargain, and flies from that promife, whofe truft had made this mother childlefs. O the direful effects of famine ! that turns off all refpeds of nature, and gives no place to horror, caufmg the tender mother to lay her hands, yea her teeth, upon the fruit of her own body, and to receive that into her fliomach, which flie hath brought forth of her womb. What fhould Jehoram do ? the match was monftrous, the challenge was juft, yet unnatural,- This complainant had purchafed one half of the li-' ving child, by the one half of hers dead. The mo- ther of the furviving infant is prefled by covenant,' by hunger ; reftrained by nature. To force a mother l>;^ to deliver up her child to voluntary {laughter, hadlf been cruel ; to force a debitor to pay a confeiTed arrearage, feemed but equal. If the remaining child be not dreffbd for food, this mother of the devoured child is both robbed and famiflicd : if he be, inno- cent blood is (lied by authority. It is no marvel, if the queftion aftonidied the judge j not fo. much for the CoNTEMP. X. CONTEMPLATIONS. 311 the difficulty of the demand, as the horror of the oc- cafioii. To what lamentable dillrefs did Jehoram find his people driven ? not without caufe did the king of Ifracl rend his garments, and fliew his fackcloth ; well might he fee his people branded with that ancient curfe, which God had denounced againll the rebelli- ous : " The Lord fiiall bring a nation againil thee of " a fierce countenance, which (hall not regard the " perlon of the old, nor fhew favour to the young ; " and he fiiall befiege thee in all thy gates ; and thou " flialt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flefh of *' thy Tons, and of thy daughters. The tender and de- " licate woman, her eyes fliall be evil towards her " young one that cometh out from between her feet, " and toward the children which fhe fnall bear, for *' ihe fhall eat them for want of all things, fecretly " in the fiege and firaitnefs." He mourns for the plague, he mourns not for the caufe of this plague, his fin, and theirs : I find his forrow, I find not his repentance. The worft man m.ay grieve for his fmart, only the good heart grieves for his offence. Inllead of being penitent, Jehoram is furious, and turns his rage from his fins, againft the prophet : " God do fo *' to me, and more alfo, if the head of Eliflia, the *' fon of Shaphat, fhall (land on him this day." Alas, v/hat hath the righteous done ! Perhaps Eiiflia, that we may imagine fome colours of this difpleafure, fore- threatened this judgment, but they deferved it ; per- haps he might have averted it by his prayers, their unrepentance difabled him. Perhaps he perfuaded Jehoram to hold out the fiege, though through much hardnefs he forefaw the deliverance, in all this, how hath Elifha forfeited his head? Ail Ifrael did not afford an head fo guiltlefs, as this that was defi:ined to {laugh- ter. This is the fafliion of the world ; the lev.'d l)lames the innocent, and will revenge their own fins ypor; others uprightnefs. la 5^2 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. . In the midft of all this fad eftate of Samaria, and thefe ftorms of Jehoram, the prophet fits quietly in his own houfe, amongft his holy conforts, bewail- ing, no doubt, both the fins and mifery of their people, and prophetically conferring of the iifue ; ■vx'hen fuddenly God reveals to him the bloody intent and melfage of Jehoram, and he at once reveals it to his fellows ; " See ye how this fon of a murderer " hath fent to take away mine head ?" O the inimi- table liberty of a prophet ! The fame God, that (hew- ed him his danger, fuggefted his words ; he may be bold, where we muil be awful. Still is Naboth's blood laid in Jehoram's difli ; the foul facl of Ahab blemiftieth his pollerity ; and now when the fon threats violence to the innocent, murder is objefted to him as hereditary. He, that forefaw his own peril, provides for his fafety ; " Shut the door, and hold him faft at the *' door." No man is bound to tender his throat to an unjuit ilroke ; this bloody commifiion was prevent- ed by a prophetical foresight. The fame eye that faw the executioner coming to fmite him, faw alfo the king haftening after him to flay the blow; the prophet had been no other than guilty of his own blood, if he had not rcferved himfelf awhile, for the refcue of authority. O the inconllancy of carnal hearts ! It - v.-as not long fmce Jehoram could fay to Elifha, " My " father, (liall I fmire them ?" now he is ready to fmite him as an enem.y, whom he honoured as a fa- ther; yet again his lips had no fooner given fentence of death againil the prophet, than his feet ftir to recall it. It (hould feem that Elifna, upon the challenges and expoftuiations of Jehoram's meifenger, had fent a per- fuafive meffage to the king of Ifrael, yet a while to wait patiently upon God for his deliverance ; the dif- contcnted prince flies oil' in an impotent anger, " Be- " hold this evil is of the Lord, what fiiould I wait for " the CoNTEMP. X. CONTEMPLATIONS. 313 " the Lord any longer r" O the defperate refolutions of impatient minds 1 They have llinted God both for his time and his meafure ; if he exceed either, they either turn their backs upon him, or fly in his face. The pofition was true, the inference deadly. All that evil was of the Lord ; they defcrved it, he fent it. What then ? It fliould have been therefore argued, He, that fent it, can remove it ; I will wait upon his merCy, under whofe jultice I fuffer. Im- patience and diilruft (hall but aggravate my judg- ment ; " It is the Lord, let him do what he will." But now, to defpair becaufe God is juft, to defy mer- cy becaufe it lingers, to reject God for correction, it is a prefumptuous madnefs, an impious pettifhnefs. Yet in fpite of all thefe provocations, both of king and people, Elifha hath good news for Jehoram ; *' Thus faith the Lord, To-morrow, about this time, " {hall a meafure of fine flour be fold for a fhekel, *' and two meafures of barley for a fhekel, in the " gate of Samaria:'* miferable Ifrael now fees an end of this hard trial ; one day's patience fhall free them both of the fiege and famine. God's deliverances may over-flay cur expedation, not the due period of his own counfels. O infinite mercy! when man fays, no longer, God fays, " To-morrow ;" as if he v/ould condefcend where he might judge, and would pleafe them who deferved nothing but punifliment. The word feemed not more comfortable, than incre- dible : " A lord, on whofe hand the king leaned, *' anfwered the man of God, and faid, Behold, if " the Lord would make windows in heaven, might ''• this thing be ?'* Prophefies, before they be fulfil- led, are riddles ; no fpirit can aread them, but that by which they are delivered. It is a foolifh and in- jurious infidelity, to queflion a poflibility, where we know the melTage is God's : how eafy is it for that omnipotent hand to effect thofe things, which furpaiTes , all 314 CONTEMPLATIONS. i^doK Xl^, all the reach of human conceit ? Had God ihtetided a miraculous multiplication, was it not as eafy for him to increafe the corn or meal of Samaria, as the widow's oil ? was it not as eafy for him to give plen- ty of viduals, without opening the window's of hea- ven, as to give plenty of water, without wind or rain? The Almighty hates to be diftrufted. This peer of Ifrael fhall rue his unbelief: " Behold, thou *' (haft fee it with thine eyes, but flialt not eat there- " of:'* The fight (hall be yielded for conviftion, the fruition {hall be denied for punifliment. Well is that man worthy to want the benefit which he would not believe : who can pity to fee infidelity excluded from the bleffings of earth, from the glory of heaven ? Hov/ ftrange a choice doth God make of the intel- ligencers of fo happy a change ? Four lepers fit at the entering of the gate, they fee nothing but death before them, famine within the walls, the enemy without. The election is woful ; at lad they refolve upon the leffer evil, famine is worfe than the Syrian : in the famine there is certainty of perifhing, amongft the Syrians hazard ; perhaps the enemy may have feme pity, hunger hath none; and, were the death equally certain, it were more eafy to die by the fword, than by famine. Upon this deliberation they come down into the Syrian camp, to find either fpeed of mercy, or difpatch. Their hunger would not give them refpite till morning ; by twilight are they fallen upon the uttermoft tents : " Behold, '* there was no man :" they marvel at the filence and folitude, they look and liiien, the noife of their J own feet affrighted them ; their guilty hearts fup- plied the Syrians, and expelled, fearfully, thofe which were as fearfully fled. How eafily can the Almigh- ty confound the power of the ftrong, the policy of the wife ! God puts a panic terror into the hearts ©f the proud Syrians ; he makes them hear a noife of CoNTEMP. X. CONTEMPLATIONS. 51^ of chariots, and a nolfe of horfes, even the noife of a great hoft ; ihey fay one to another, " Lo, the *' king of Ifrael hath hired againft us the kings of the " Jlittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come *' upon us !" They arilc therefore in a confufed rout, and leaving all their fubflance behind them, flee for their lives. Not long before, Elifha's fervant faw chariots and horfcs, but heard none ; now, thefe Sy- rians hear chariots and horfcs, but fee none : that fight comforted his heart, this found difmayed theirs. The ifraelites heard no ncife within the walls ; the lepers heard no ncife without the gates; only the Sy- rians heard this noife in their camp. What a fcorn doth God put upon thefe prefumptuous Aramites ? he will not vouchfafe to ufe any fubftantial ftrata- gem againi-l them ; nothing but an empty found ihall fcatter them, and fend them home empty of fub- ftance, laden with fname, half dead with fear; the very horfes, that might have hallened their flight, are left tied in their tents ; their very garments are a bur- then ; all is left behind, fave their very bodies, and thofe breaihlefs lor Ipecd. Doubtlefs thefe Syrians knew well, to what mife- rable exigents the inclofcd Ifraelites were brought, by their liege ; and now made full account to fack and ranfack their Samaria ; already had they divided, and fwallowed the prey ; when fuddenly God puts them into a ridiculous confufion, .and fends them to feek fafety in their heels : no booty is now in price with them, but their life, and happy- is he that can run fafteft. Thus the Almighty laughs at the defigns of info- knt men, and fhuts up their counfels in fhame. The fear of the four lepers began now to give way to fecurity ; they fill their bellies, and hide their trea- fures, and pafs from one tent to another, in a fafti- dious choice of the bed commodities : they, who ere while 3x6 CONTEMPLaTIONS. Book XIX. while would have held it happinefs enough to have been blefled with a cruft, now wantonly rove for dainties, and from necefliry leap into excels. How far felf-love carries us in all our actions, even to the negled of the public ? Not till their own bel- lies, and hands and eyes were filled, did thefe lepers think of imparting this news to Ifrael. : At lad, when themfelves are glutted, they begin to remember the hunger of their brethren, and now they find room for remorfe ; " We do not well ; this day is a day of *' good tidings, and we hold our peace." Nature teaches us, that it is an injury to ingrofs bleillngs, and fo to. mind the private, as if we had no relation to a community. We are worthy to be fhut out of the city-gates for lepers, if the refpe£ls to the public good do not over-fway with us in all our defires, in all our demeanor ; and well may we, v^ith thefe covetous lepers, fear a mifchief upon ourfelves, if we fhall wilfully conceal bleffings from others. The confcience of this Vvrong and danger fends- back the lepers into the city ; they call to the porters, and foon tranfmit the news to the king's houfehpld. The king of Ifrael complains not to have his fleep broken with fuch intelligence ; he arifeth in the night, and, not contemning good news, though brought by lepers, confuhs with his fervants of the bufinefs. ^ We cannot be too jealous of the intentions of art , enemy. Jehoram wifely fufpecls this flight of the Sy- rians to be but fimilatory and politic, only to draw Ifrael out of thdr city, for the fpoil of both. There may be more peril in the back of any enemy than in his face; the cruelleft fiaughters have been in retir- ing. Iiafily therefore is the king perfuaded to adven- ture fome few forlorn fcouts for further. aiTurance. The word of Elitha is out of his head, out of his heart,- elfe there had been no place for this doubt. Timo- rous I CoNTEMP. X. CONTEMPLATIONS. . 317 reus hearts never think themfelves fure; thofc, that have no faith, had need of much fenfe. 'i^hofe fevi^ horfcs th;it remain are font forth for tiifcovery; they find nothing but nuniumentsot frii^ht- fulnefs, pledges of feturity. Now Ifrael dares ifl'ue forth to the prty; there, as if the Syrians had come thither to enrich thern, they find granaries, ward- robes, treafufes, and whatever may ferre either for ufe or oftentation. Every Ifraelite goes away filled, laden, wearied with the wealthy fpoil. As fcarcity breeds dearth, fo plenty cheapnefs. To-day a meafure of fine iiour is lower rated, than yefterday of dung. The diftruflful peer of Ifrael fees ihis abundance, according to the word of the prophet, but enjoys it not. He fees this plenty can come in at the gate, though the windows of heaven be not open. The gate is his charge; the famiihed Ifraelites preffed in upon him, and bear him down in the throng. Ex- treme hunger hath no refpeft to greatnefs. Not their rudenefs, but hi;? own unbelief, hath trampled him un- der feet. He that abafed the power of God by, his diftruft, is abafed worthily to the heels of the mul- titude. Faith exalts a man above his ow^n fphere; infidelity depreffes him into the dufl , into hell. *' Ke '• that believes not is condemned already/' BOOK XX. GONTEMP. L The ShuNAMITE fuln^ to JEnORAMj Elisha conferring iviib Hazael. J o OW royally hath Elifha paid the Shunamite ^ for his lodging! to him already fiie owes the life of her fon, both given and reftored; and how again, after fo many years, as might well have' yforvi out the memory of fo fmall a courtefy, herfelfy Vol. J.L X fre? 3iS CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. her fon, her family owe their lives to fo thankful a guefl. That table and bed, and flool, and candie- iiick was well bellowed. ' That candleftick repaid her the light of her future life and condition, that table the means of maintenance, that ilool a feat of fafe a- bode, that bed a quiet reft from the common calami- ties of her narion. He is a niggard to himfelf that fcants his beneficence to a prophet, whofe very cold water (hall not go unrewarded. Elijah preferved the Sareptan from famine, 'F.lifha the Shunamire; he, by provifioh of oil and meal; this, by premonition: " A- *' rife, and go, thou and thine houfehold, and fojourn *' wherefoever thou canll fojourn." The Sareptan was poor, and driven to extremes, therefore the pro- phet provides for her from hand to mouth. The Shu- namire was wealthy, and therefore the prophet fends her to provide for herfelf. The fame goodaefs, that relieves our necellity, leaves our competency to the hand of our own counfel ; in the one he will make life of his own power, in the other of our providence. - The very prophet advifes this holy client to leave the hounds of the church, and to feek life, where Ihe fliould not find religion. Extremity is for the time a jud difpenfation with fome common rules of our out- ward demeanour and motions, even fiom better to worfe. All ifrael and Judah fhall be famifhed : the body can be preferved nowhere, but where the foul ihall want. Sometinies the conveniencies of the foul mufl yield to bodily neceluties. Wantonnefs and cu- riofity can find no advantage Irqm that which is done out of the power of need. It is a long famine that (hall afflict Ifrael. He, up- on whom the fpirit of Elijah v^as doubled, doubled the judgm.ent infiiftsd by his Mafler. Three years and an half did Ifrael gafp under the drought of Eli- iah : feven vears dearth ihall it fuffer under Elifha. The Con it MP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. ^uj The trials of God are many times not more grievous for their fliarpnefb", thuii for their continuance. This fcarcity fliall not come alone; God iliall call for it : whatever be the fecond caufe, he is the firfl:. The executioners of the Ahnighty, fuch are his judg- ments, Hand ready waiting upon his juft: throne; and do no fooncr receive the watch-word, than they fly upon the world, and plague it for fin. Only the cry of our has moves God to call for vengeance; and, if God once call, it rhuft come. How oft, how ear- neftly are we called to repentance, and Ilir not? I'he mencn;:;^crs of God*s wrath fly forth at the lead beck, and fulfil the will of his revenge upon thofe, whofe .; obedience would not fulfil the wdll of his command. After fo many proofs of fidelity, the Shunamite :annot dlftrufl the prophet; not ftaylng therefore to ^,e convicted by the event, {i-io. removes her family into the land of the PhilifHnes. No nation was more Oppofite to Ifrael, none more worthily odious; yet there doth the Shunamite feek and find llielter : even the {hade of thofe trees that are unwholefome may keep us from a fl:orm. Every where will God find room for his own. The fields of Philiflines flourifli, while the foil of Ifi-ael yields nothing but weeds and barrennefs. Not that iiVael was more finful, but that, the fin of Ifrael is more intolerable. The offers of grace are fo many aggravations of wickednefs. In e- qual oifences, thofe do jufUy fmart more, who are more obliged. No peftilence is fo contagious, as that which hath taken the pureft air. Thefe Phlliftine neighbours w-ould ilever have en- dured themfelves to be peftered with foreigners, ef- pecialiy Ifraelites, whom they hated, befides religi- on, for their ufurpation : neither were they, in all. likelihood, prefied with multitude. The reft of ifra 1 were led on with hopes, prefuming upon the amends of the next harveft, till their w^ant grew defperafe and X 2 iYre'-' ^20 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. irreniediabie; only the forewarned Shunamite prevents the mifchief; now fhe finds, what it is to have a pro- phet her friend. Happy are thofe fouls, that upon all occafions confult with God's feers! they Ihall be freed from the plagues wherein the lecure blindnefs of others is heedlcfiy overtaken. Seven years had this Shunaniite fojourned in Pale- ftine, now fhe returns to her ov^n, and is excluded. She, that found 'harbour among Philiiiines, finds op- preffion and violence among Ifraelires; thofe of her kindred, taking advantage of her abfence, had fiiared her polTefiions. ■ How oft doth it fall out, that the worfi enemies of a man are thofe of his own houfe? All went by contraries with this Shunamite; in the famine fije had enough, in the common plenty fne was fcanted: Phiiiftines were kind unto her, Ifrael- jtes cruel. Both our fears and our hopes do not fel- dcm difappoint us. It is fafe truflingc to that ftav which can never laii us, who can eafily provide us both of friendiiiip in Paleftine, and of juiiice in Ifrael. We may not judge of the religion by particular a«51:Ions : a very PhiliRine may be merciful, when an Ifraelite is unjuft. The perfon may be faulty, when the profef- ficn is holy. It was not lonsr fince the prophet m.ade that friend- ly oftcr to the Shunamite, out of the defire of a thankful requital: " What is to be done for thee? *' wouldil thou be fpoken for to the king, or to the " captain of the hofl?" and fhe anlwered, " I " dwell among my brethren." Little did fhe then think of this injurious rneafure; elfe (lie might have faid, 1 dwell among my enemies, 1 dwell among robbers. It is like they were then friendly, who w ere now cruel and oppreflive : there is no truft to be repofed in RtCn and blood. How fliould their favours be conflanr, vvho are, in their nature and dif- pontion, variable.? It is the fared way to rely on him, who CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 321 who is ever like hiiufelf, the meafure of ^\hofe love is eternity. Whither flionld the Shunamite go to complain of her wrong, but to the court? there is no other re- fuge of the oppreffed, but public authority. All jultice is derived from fovereignty: kings are not cal- led gods for nothing; they do both fentence and exe- cute for the Almighty. Doubtlefs now the poor Shunamite thought of the courteous ])roft'er of Eliiha, and, milling a friend at the court, is glad to be the prefenter of her own pe- tition. How happily doth God contrive all events for the good of his! ihis fupplicant fliall fall upon that in- flant for her fuit, when the king fnali be talking with Gehazi, when Gehazi fhall be talking of her to the kincr : the words of Gehazi, the thou<:hts of the kinjr, the defires of the Shunamite, fnall be all drawn toge- ther, by the wife providence of God, into the center of one moment, that his opprelTed fervant m.ight re- ceive a fpeedy juftice. O the infinite wifdom, power, mercy of our God, that infenfibly orders all our ways, as to his own holy purpofes, fo to our befl; advantage! What doth Jehoram the king talking with Gehazi the leper ? that very prefence was an eye-fore. But if the cohabitation with the infectious were forbidden, yet not the conference: certainly I be- gin to think of fome goodnefs in both thefe. Had there not been fome goodnefs in Jehoram, he had not taken pleafure to hear, even from a leprous mouth, the miraculous afts and praifes of God's prophet. Had there not been fome goodnefs in Ge- hazi, he had not, after fo fearful an infliction of judg- ment, thus ingenuoufly recounted the praifes of his fevere mafter. He that told that dear-bought lie to the prophet, tells now all truths of the prophet to ' - X 3 the 32S CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX.-^ the king. Perhaps his leprofy had made him clean; if fo, happy was it for him, that his forehead was white with the difeafe, if his foul became hereuportJ| white with repentance : but we may well know thg,t^ the defire, or report of hiftorical truths, doih not al- ways argue grace. Still Jehoram, after the inqui-j^ ry ol" the prophet's miracles, continues his idolatry.^ He, that was curious to hearken after tlie wonders of Elifha, is not careful to follow his doftrine: theref fore are Gehnzi and the Shunamite met before him, that he may be convifted, who will not be reformed. Why was it elfe, that the prefence of the perfons fhould.thus unexpededly make good the relation, if God had not meant the inexcufablenefs of Jehofam, while he mufl: needs fay within himfelf, Thus potent is the prophet of that God, whom I obey not. Were, not Eli{lia*s the true God, how could he work fuch wonders? and, if he be the true God, why is he not mine ? But what ? fhali I change Ahab's God for • Jehofhaphat's ? No, 1 cannot deny the miracles, I will not admit of the author : let Kliflia be powerful, I will be conflant. O wretched Jehoram, how much better had it been for thee never to have feen the face of Gehazi, and the fon of the Shunamite, than to go away unmoved with the vengeance of leprofy in the one, with the merciful refufcitation of the o- ther ! Therefore is thy judgment fearfully aggravat- ed, becaufe thou wouldfl: not yield to what thou couldfl not oppofe. Had not Ahab's obduratenefs been propagated to his fon, fo powerful demcnffra- tions of divine power could not have been uneffec- tual. Wicked hearts are fo much worfe, by how nuich God is better : this anvil is the harder by be- ing continually beaten upon, whether with judgments or mercy. Yet this good ufe will God have made of this re- port, and this prefence, - that the poor Shunamite • ' " fnall CoNTEMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 32^ iliall have juftlce. That km^ whcfe life was reftored ihall have his inheritance revived : his edate iliall fare the better for l.lHha's miracles. How much more will our merciful God fecond his ovi'n blefiings, when the favours of unjufi: men are therefore drawn to us, becaufe we have been the fubject of divine be- neficence ! It was a large and full award, that this occurrence drew from the king; " Reilore all that was hers, " and all the fruits of the field, fmce the day that " (he left the land, even until now." . Not the prcfent pcinfeiTion only is given her, but the arrear- Nothing hinders, but that outward juilice mav (land with grofs idolatry. The widow may thank Eliflia for this : his? miracle wrought (till, and puts this new life in Tier dead eflate ; his abfence did that for the prefervation of life, which his prefance did for the refloring it from death. She that was fo ready to expoftulate Vvith the man of God, upon the lofs of her fon, might, perhaps, have been as ready to impute the, lofs of her eftate to his advice. Now, that for his fake line is enriched with her own, hovv doth (he blefs God for fo happy a gueft ? When we have forgotten our own good turns, God remembers :ind crowns them. Let us do good to all while we have time, but efpecially to the houfehold of faith. Could Ifrael have been fenfible of their own con- dition, it was no fmall cnhappinefs to lofe the pre- fence of Elifha. Whether for the idolatries, or for the famine of Ifrael, the prophet is gone into Syria, no doubt Naaman welcomed him thither, and now would force upon him thanks for his cure, which the man of God would not receive at home. How famous is he now grown that was taken from the team! His name is not confined to his own nation ; foreign countries fake notice of it, and kings are glad X 4 to 324 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. to \i{[en after him, and woo him- with prefents. Ben- hadad, the king of Syria, whofe couniels he had de- tected, rejoiceth to hear of his prefence ; and now, as havino- forootren chat he had fent a whole hod to be- fie;:;e th'.j pi ophet in Dothan, fends an honourable mef^ fenger to him, laden wiih the burden of forty camels^ to confiilt with this oracle concerning his ficknefs andl recovery. This Syrian, belike iii his diflrefs, dares not truft- to his own gods ; biit, having had good proof of the power of the God of Ifrael, both in Naaman's cure, and in the miraculous defeats of his greateil forces, is glad to fend to that fervant of God whom he had perfecu'.ed. Vvicked men are not the fame in health, and in ficknefs ; their affliction is worthy of the thanks, if they be well minded, not themfelves. Doiibtlefs^the errand of Benhadad was not only to inquire of the iffue of his difeafe, but to require the prayers of the prophet for a good iffue. Even the worfl man doth fo love himfelf, that he can be con- ten f to make a benencial ufe of thofe inltruments whofe ooodnefs he hateth. Hazael, the chief peer of Syria, is defigned to this mefl'age ; the wealth of his prefent ftrives with the humility of his carriage and fpeech : " Thy fon Ben= *' hi.drid, king of Syria, hath fent me to thee, faying, " Shall I recover of this difeaie?" Not long fmce, Jeho!'am king of Ifrael had faid to EliOia, " My fa- *' ther, IhaH I fmite them?" and now Benhadad king of Syria fays, " My father, (hall 1 recover?" Lo, how this poor Meholathite, hath kings to his fonsl K'ow great is the honour of God*s prophets with I'^agans, vvith princes ! Who can be but confounded to fee evangelical prophets defpifed by the meanefl Chrillians. It is more than a lingle aniwer that the prophet re- turfis to this meilage ; one anfwer he gives to Ben- hadad CoNTKMP. I. CONTEMPLATIONS. 325 hadad that fent it, another be gives to Hazael that brings it : that to Benhadad is, " Thou mayell fure- " ly recover;" that to Hazael, " The Lord hath fhew- " ed ine that he fnall furely die." What (hall we fay then ? Iji there a lie, or an equivocation in the holy mouth of the prophet ? God forbid. It is one thing what fhall he the nature and ilTue of the dif- eafe ; another thing what may outwardly befal the perfoQ of Benhadad : the queUion is moved of the former, whereto the anfwer is direct. The difeafe is not mortal ; but, withal, an intimation is given to the bearer of an event beyond the reach of his demand, which he may know, but either needs not, or may not return: '* The Lord hath (liewed me that he fhali " furely die," by another means, though not by the difeafe. The feer of God defcries more in Hazael, than he could fee in himfeif ; he fixes his eyes therefore (ted- faftlv in the Svrian's face, as one that in thofe lines read the bloody itory of his life. Hazael bluihes, Elifha weeps : the intention of thofe eyes did not fo much amaze Hazael, as the tears; as yet he v/as not guilty to himfeif of any wrong that might flrain out this juice of forrow : '• Why weepeth my Lord?" The prophet fears not to foretel Hazael all the villanies v.hich he fliculd once do to Ifrael ; how he .fliould fire their forts, and kill their young men, and rip the mothers, and dafli the children. 1 marvel not now at the tears of thofe eyes, which forefaw this mifcrable vaftation of the inheritance of God ; the very mention whereof is abhorred of the future au- thor : " What, is thy fsrvant a rl'2ig^ that I (hculd do '■ this great thing ?" they are favage cruelties where- of thou fpeakeif ; it were more fit for me to weep, that thou ihouldft repute me fo brutifh : I fhould no lefs condemn myfelf for a beail, if I could fufped my CVvIl 325 CONTEMPLATIONS. ;Book XX. own degeneration fo far. Wicked men are carried into tliofe heights of impiety, which they could not, in their good mood, have poflibly believed ; nature is fubjeft to favourable opinions of itfelf, and will rather millrufl a prophet of God than her own good difpcfition. How many, from honellbefjinnings. have lifen to incredible licentioulnefs, whofe lives are now fuch, that it were as hard for a man to believe they had ever been good, as to have perfuaded them once, fhould prove fo defperately ill. To give fome overture unto Hazael of the oppor- tunity of this enfuing mifchief, the prophet foretels him, from God, that he lliall be the king of Syria. He that (hews the event, doth not appoint the means. Far was itfrom the fpirit of God's prophet to fet, or encourage a treafcn ; while he faid there- fore, " Thou (halt be king of Syria," he faid not, Go home, and kill thy mailer. The wicked ambition of Hazael draws this damnable conclufion out of holy pre- mifes ; and now, having fed the hopes of his fovereign with the expectation of recovery, the next day he fmothers his mafter. The impotent defire of rule bruiks no delay. Had not Hazael l^een gracelelly cruel, after he had received this prediciion of the feer, he fliould have patiently wailed for the crown of Syria, till lawful means had fet it upon his head ; now he will, by a clofe execution, make way to the throne : a wet cloth hath flopt the mouth of his fick fovereign, no noife is heard, the carcafs is fair ; who can complain of any thing but the difeafe ^ O Hazael, thou flialt not thus eafily flop the mouth of thine own confcience ; that Ihall call thee traitor, even in thy chair of ftate, and fliall check all thy royal triumphs wkh, *' Thou hail founded thy throne in " blood !" I am deceived, if this v/ct cloth {hall not wipe thy lips in thy jollieil feafls, and make thy belt jtworiels unfavoury. Sovereignty is painful upon tlic ^ fairell CoNTEMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. 327 faired terms ; but, upon treachery and murder, tor- menting. Wofiil is the c?Ae ot that man, whofe public cares are aggravated with private guiltinefs ; and happy is he that can enjoy a little with the peace of an honelt heart. CoNTEMP. II. 'Jehu it'/V/j Jehoram <7;2<^ Jezebel. YET Ilaza&l began his cruelty with lofs. Ra- moth-gilead is won from him ; Jehoram the foa hath recovered that, which Ahab his father attempt- ed in vain. That city was dear bought of Ifrael, it coft the life of Ahab. the blov:>d of Jehoram ; thofe wounds were healed with vi«Slory ; the king tends his health at Jezreel, while the captaiiis were enjoying, and feconding their fuccefs at Ramoth. Old Elifha hath neither cottage ncr foot of land, yet, fitting in an obfcure corner, he gives order for kingdoms ; not by way of authority, (this ufurpation had been no lefs proud than uhjuft) but by way of mell'age from the God of kings ; even a mean herald may go on a great errand. The prophets of the go- fpel have nothing to do but with fpiriiual kingdoms; to beat down the kingdoms of fin and Satan, to tranf- late fouls to the kingdom of heaven. He, that renewed the life of the Shimamite's fon, mufl ftoop to age ; that block lies in his way to Jehu; the aged prophet employs a fpeedier meifenger, who mufl: alfo gird up his loins for hade. No common pace will ftrve us, when we go on God's meii'age; the very lofs of minutes may be unrecoverable. This great feer of God vieW faw a prefent concurrence of all opportunities. The captains cf the hoii: were then readily combined for this exploit ; the army was on foot, Jehoram abfent : a fmall delay might have troubled the v.'ork ; the difoerfion of the captains and hoiU 3:8 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. hoft, or the prefence of the king, might either have defeated or flacked the difpatch. He is prodigal of his fuccefs, that is flow in his execution. The diredions of EHflia to the young prophet are full and punftual, whither to go, what to carry, what to do, where to do it, what to fay, what fpeed to make, in his ail, in his return. In the bufincffes of God, it matters not how little is left to our difcre- tion ; there is no important bufmefs of the Almighty, wherein his precepts are not (tricl and exprefs ; look how much more fpeciality there is in the charge of God, fo much more danger is in the violation. I he young prophet is curioufly obedient, in his hade, in his obfervation and carriage ; and finding Jehu, according to Eliflia's prediction, fet amongfl the captains of the hoft, he fmgles him forth by a re- verent compellation, " I have an' errand to thee, O " captain." Might not the prophet have ftayed till the table had rifen, and then have followed Jehu to his lodginp; ? Surely the wifdom of God hath purpofe- ly pitched upon this feafon, that the public view of a facred meffenger, and the hafty evocation of fo noted a perfon to fuch a fecrecy, might prepare the hearts of thofe commanders of Ifrael to the expeda- tion of feme great defign. The inmoil room is but clofe enough for this aft ; ere many hours, all Ifrael fliall know that, which yet may not be truited with one eye : the goodnefs of God makes wife provifion for the fafety of his mef- ft'iigers, and, while he employs their fervice, pre- vents their dangers. But how is it that, of all the kings of the ten tribes, none v/as 'ever anointed but jehu ? Is it for that the God, Vv-ho v;oald not countenance the ereftion of that lifurpcd throne, would countenance the alteration.'* or i^ itj that by this vifible tet>lraony of divine ordi- nation, CoNTEM?. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. 3:9 nation, the coura;^e of the Ifraelitifh captains might be lailed up to fecond the high and bold attempt of him whom they faw deftincd from heaven to rule.'* Togetljer with the oil of this unclion, here was a charge of revenge ; a revenge of the blood of the prophets upon Jezebel, of wickednefs and idolatry upon Ahab : neither v/as the extirpation of this lewd family forc-prophefied only to Jehu, but enjoined. . Elijah foretold, and the world expecled, fome fear- ful account of the abominable cruelty and impiety of that accurfed houfe ; now it is called for, when it feemed forgotten. Ahab fhall have no poiterity, Je- zebel fhall have no tomb but the dogs. This woful doom is committed to Jehu's execution. O the fure, though patient juiiice of the Almigh- ty ! Not only Ahab and Jezebel had been bloody and idolatrous, but Ifrael was drawn into the partner- fhip of their crimes : all thefe (hall fhare in the judg- ment. Elijah's complaint in the cave novv^ receives this late anfwer ; Hazael (hall plague Ifrael, Jehu (liall plague the houfe of Ahab and Jezebel : Elifha's fervant thus feconds Elifha's mailer. When wicked- nefs is ripe in the field, God will not let it fiied to grow again, but cuts it up, by a juft and feafonable vengeance. Ahab's drooping under the threat hath put oif the judgment from his own days ; now it coiues, and 1 weeps away his wife, his iiTue, and falls hea\'^ upon his fubjecls. Pleafe yourfelves, O ye vain fmncrs, in the flow pace of vengeance ; it will be neither lefs certain, nor more eafy, for the delay ; ra- ther it were to pay for ihat leifure in the extremity. The prophet hath done his errand, and is gone. Jehu returns to his fellows, with his head not more wet with oil, than bufied with thoughts : nci doubt, his face bewrayed fome inward tumults and dlllrac- tions of imagination, neither feemed he to return the fame he w^ent out. They afk therefore, " Is all v»'ell? *• Where- 330 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX\ " Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee r" The prophets of God were to thefe idolatrous Ifraelites like comets, who were never feen wiuiout the por- tendment of a mifchief. When the priefts of their Baal were quietly facrincing, all was well ; but now, when a prophet of God comes in fight, their guilti-" nefs afks, " Is all well?" All would be well but for their fms; they fear not thefe, they fear their reprover. lirael was come to a good pafs, when the prophets of God went with them for madmen. O ye Baalitidi rufSans, whither hath your impiety and profanenefs carried you, that ye fhould thus blafpheme the fer- vants of the living God ? Ye, that run on madding after vain idols, tax the fober guides of true worfliip for madnefs. Thus it becomes the godlefs enemies of truth, the heralds of our patience, to mifcal our innocencCj to revile our mod: holy profefiion. What wonder is it that God's mefi'engers are madmen unto' thofe to whom the witdom of God is fooliflinefs ? The mefiage was not delivered to Jehu for a con- cealment, but for publication. Silence could not ef- fedl the word that was told him, common notice muft, " Ye know the man, and his communication." The habit fiiows you the man, the calling fhews you his errand. Even prophets were diflinguifhed by their cloaths ; their ^iiantle was not the common wear : w^hv (hould not this facred vocation be known by a peculiar attire? Thefe captains had not called him a madman, if they had not known him a prophet: by the man therefore they might guefs at his niei- fage. Prophets do not ufe tp appear, but upon feri- ous errands, whether of reprooi, or. of prediction. Nice civilities of denials were not then known to the world : they faid, " It is falfe» tell us now." A- mongft thefe captains no combat, no unkindnefs fol- lows upon a word fo rudely famiilr.r. Jell- CoNTEMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. 33T jehu needs not tell them, that the man was a pra- phet ; he tells them the prophefy of the man, what he had faid, what he had done. Their eyes had no fooner ften the oil, their ears had no fooner heard, " Thus faith the Lord, I have " anointed thee king over Ifrael," than they rife from their feats, as wrapt with a temped, and are hurl- ed into arms : fo do they hafte to proclaim Jehu, that they i'carce (lay to fnatch up their garments, which they had perhaps left behind them for fpeed, had they not meant, with thefe rich abulziements, to garnifli a ftate for their new fovereign, to whom, having now erected an extemporal throne, they do, by the found of trumpets, give the (lyle of royalty, " Jehu is king.'* So much credit hath that mad fellov/ with thefe gallants of Iliael, that upon his word they will pre- iently adventure their lives, and change the crown. God gives a fecret authority to his defpifed fervants, fo as they which hate their perfon, yet reverence their truths : even very fcorners cannot but believe them. If, when the prophets of the gofpel tell us of a fpiri- tual kingdom, they be diftrufted of thofe which pro- fefs to obferve them, how ihameful is the difpropor- tion ? how juft fhall their judgment be ? Yet l cannot fay, whether mere obedience to the prophet, or perfonal diflikes of Jehoram, or partial reipects to Jehu, drew the captains of Ifrael. The will of God may be done thanklefiy, when, fulfilling the fubilance, we fail of the intention, and err in cir- cumftance. Only Ramoth is confcious of this fudden inaugura- tion : this new princedom yet reaches no further than the found of the trumpet. Jehu is no lefs fubtile than valiant ; he knew, that the notice of this unexpected chiiHge might work a bufy and dangerous refiitance ; he therefore gives order, that no meffenger of the news may prevent his perfonal execution, that fo he might 332 CONTEMPLATIONS, Book XX. might furprlfe Jehoram in his palace of Jczreel, whe- ther tending his lare wounds, of fecurely feafling his friends, and dreaming of nothing lefs tlian danger ; and might be feen and felt at once. Secrecy is the fafed guard of any defign ; difclofed projeds are ei- ther fruftrated, or made needlelly difficult. Neither is Jehu more clofe than fwift ; that very trumpet, with the fame wind, founds his riiarch; from the top of the ftairs, he fteps down into his chariot. That man means to fpeed, who can be at once referv- ed in his own counfels, and fefolvite and quicli in his performances. "vVho could but pity the unhappy and unfeafonable vifitation of the grandchild of fehofhaphat, were it not that he was de^renerate into the famiiv of Ahab ? A- hsziah king of Jadah is com.e to vifit Jehoram king of Ifrael ; the knowledge of his late received wounds hath drawn thither this kind ill-matched ally. He, who was partner of the war, cannot but be a vifitor of the wounds. The two kings are in the height of their compli- ment and entertainments, when the watchman of the tower of Jczreel efpies a troop afar off. For ought was known, there was nothing but peace in all the land of Ifrael ; and Judah was now fo combined with it, that both their kings were feaftirtg under one roof; yet, in the midit of this fuppofed i'afety, the watch- tower is not unfurnifhed with heedy eyes. No fecu- rity of peace can free wife governors from a careful fufpicion of what may come, and a providence againfl the woril. Even while w.e know of no enemies, the watch-tov."cr of due intelligence may not be empty. In vain are dangers forefeen, if tliey be not pre- monifned ; it is all one to have a blind and a mute watchman ; this fpeaks when he fees, " I fee a com- " pany.'* Doubt- Con TEMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. 333 Doubtlefs Jehoram's head was now full of thoii;^hts, neither knew lie what conHruclion to put upon this approaching troop. Perhaps the Syrians, he thinks, may have recovered Ramoth, and chafed the garrifon of Ifrael ; neither can he imagine,, whether thefe (hould be hollile victors, or vanquifhed fubjecls, or confpiring rebels. Every way this rout was dreadful. O Jehoram, thou beginnefl; thy fears too late : hadlt thou been afraid to provoke the God of Ifrael, thine innocency had yielded no room to thefe terrors! An horfeman is difpatched to difcover the meaning of this defcried concourfe. He meets them, and in- quires of peace; but receives a fhort anfwer, " What " haft thou to do with, peace? turn thee behind me." A i'econd is addrelTed with the fame fuccefs. Both attend the train of Jehu, inftead of returning. Indeed, it is not for private perfons to hope to reclify the pu- - blic affairs, when they are grown to an height of dif- order, and from thence to a ripenefs of mifcarriage. Sooner may a well-meaning man hurt himfelf, than redrefs the common danger. Thefe meffengers were now within the mercy of a multitude, had they but endeavoured to retire, they had periihed as wilfully as vainly. Whofoever will be ftriving againft the torrent of a juft judgment, muft needs be carried dov/n in the ftream. Sometimes there is as much wifdom in yielding, as courage iii reliftarice. Had this troop been far off, the watchman could not have defcried the arrival of the meifengers, their turning behind, the manner of the march. Jehu was, a noted captain, his carriage and motion was obferved fnore fall of fire than his fellows : '' The driving is " like Jehu's, for he driveth furiouily." God makes choice of fit inftruments, as of mercy, fo of revenge.- Thefe fpirits were needful for fo tragical a fcene, as^ was now preparing in Ifrael. Vol. II. Y jehorani- 334 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX, jehoram and Ahaziah, as nettled with this forced patience of expeftation, can no longer keep their feats, but will needs haften their chariots, andj'etch that coftly fatisfa6lion which would not be fent, but given. They are infatuated which fhall periih, otherwife , Jehorain had been warned enough, by the forcible re- tention of his mefl'engers, to expeft none but an ene- my. A friend or a fubjed could not have been un- willing to be knov/n, to be looked for. Nov/, for- getting his wounds, he will go to fetch death. Yet when he fees Jehu, whom he left a fubjeft, hopes drive with his doubts, " Is it peace, Jehu?" What may be the reafon of this fudden journey? is the army foiled by the Syrians? is Ramoth recover- ed? or hath the flight of the enemy left thee no fur- ther work? or is fome other ill news guilty of thy hafle? what means this unwifhed prefence, and re- turn?" There needs no flay for an anfwer; the very face of Jehu, and thofe fparkling eyes of his, fpeak fury and death to Jehoram, v/hich yet his tongue anger- ly feconds: " What peace, fo long as the whore- " doms of thy mother Jezebel, and her witchcrafts *' are fo many?" "Wicked tyrant, v/hat fpeakeft thou of peace with men, when thou haft thus long waged war with the Almighty? that curfed mother of thine hath nurfed thee with blood, and trained thee up in abominable idolatries. Thou art no more hers, than her fm is thine; thou art polluted with her fpiritual whoredoms, and inchanted with her hellifh witchcrafts: now that ju(l God, whom thou and thy parents have fo heln- oufly defpifed, fends thee by me this laft meflage of his vengeance: which, while he fpake, his hand is drawing up that deadly arrow, which Ihall cure the former wounds with a worfe. Too CoNTEMP. n. CONTEMPLAtlONS.- ^j| Too late now doth wretched Jehoram turn his chariot and flee, and cry trealbn, O Ahaziah! There was treauon before, O Jehoram! thy treafon againft the majefty of God is now revenged by the treafon of Jehu againft thee. That fatal (haft, notwithftanding the fwift pace of both the chariots, is diredled to the heart of Jehoram'; there is no erring of thofe feathers which are guided by the hand of deftiny. How juft are the judgments of God? it was in the field of Naboth, wherein Jehoram met with Je- hu; that very ground called to him for blood. And now this new avenger remembers that prophefy which he heard out of the mouth of Elijah, in that very place, following the heels of Ahab, and is careful to perform it. Little did Jehu think, when he heard that meflage of Elijah, that his hands fhould ad it. Now, as zealous of accomplifhing the word of a a prophet, he gives charge to Bidkar his captain, that the bleeding carcafs of Jehoram (hould be caft upon that very plat of Naboth. O Naboth's blood well paid for! Ahab*s blood is licked by dogs, in the very place where thofe dogs lick'd Naboth's ; Jehoram's blood {hall manure that ground, which was wrung from Naboth, and Jezebel ihall add to this compoft. O garden of herbs dearly bought, royally dunged! What a refemblance there is betwixt the death of the father and the fon, Ahab and Jehoram? both are (lain in their chariot, both with an arrow, both repay their ^lood to Naboth : and how perfeft is this retaliation? not only Naboth mifcarried in that cru- el injuftice, but his fons alfo; elfe the inheritance of the vineyard had defcended to his heirs, notwith- ftanding his pretended offence. And now, not only Ahab forfeits his blood to this field, but his fon Je- horam alfo. Face doth not more anfwer to face, than punifbment to fin. Y 2 336 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XIX. It was lime for Ahaziah king of Judah to flee. Nay, it had been time long before to have fled from their fins, yea, from the houfe of Ahab. That brand is fearful which God fets upon him : " He " did evil in the fight of the Lord, as did the houfe " of Ahab," for he was the fon-in-Iaw of the houfe of Aihab. AfEnity is too often guilty of corruption : the fon of good J'^hofliaphat is loft in Ahab's daugh- ter. Now he pays for his kind alliance, accoirpany- ii»T the fon of Ahab in his death, whom he confort- ed with in his idolatry. Young Ahaziah was fcarce warm in his throne, when the niif-matched blood of Athaliah is required from him. Nothing is more dangerous than to be imped in a wicked family, this relation too often draws in' a fliare both of fin and punifiiment. Who would not have look'd that Jezebel, hearing of this bloody end of her fon, and purfuit of her al- ly, and the fearful proceedings of this profperous confpiracy, fliould have put herfelf into fackcloth and afhcs ; and now, finding no means either of defence or efcape, fliould have caft herfelf into fuch a pofture of humiliation, as might have moved the compafllon of Jehu? Her proud heart could not fuddenly learn to fl.oop; rather flie recolleds her high fpirits, and indead of humbling her foul by repentance, and addrefling herfelf for an imminent death, (lie pranks np her old carcafs, and paints her wrinkled face, and, as one that vainly hopes to daunt the cou- rage of an ufurper, by the fudden beams of majeft"y, file looks out, and thinks to fright him with the chal- lenge of 'a traitor, \vhofe either mercy or juftice could not be avoided. Extremity finds us fuch as our peace leaves us. Our laft thoughts are fi^ent up- on that we care nioft for. Thofe that have rcfiarded O I Heir face more than their foul, in ineir latter end arc CosTEMP. II. CONTEMPLATIONS. 337 are more taken up with defire of feeming fair, than being happy. It is no marvel, if an heart, obdur- ed with the cuflom of fin, fluit up gracelefsly. Coun- terfeit beauty agrees well with inward uncleannefs. Jehu's refolution was too ilrongly fettled, to be re- moved with a painted face, or an opprobious tongue. He looks up to the window, and lays, " Who is *' on my fide, who?" There want not thofe every where, which will be ready to obferve prevailing greatnefs. Two or three eunuchs look out; he bids them " throw her down :" they inftantly lay hold on their lately adored miftrefs, and, notwithftanding all her flirieks and prayers, call her down headlong into the (Ireet. What Iieed is to be taken of the deep profeffed fervices of hollow-hearted followers? All this while they have humbly, with fmiles and officious devotions, fawned upon their great queen; now, upon the call of a profperous enemy, they forget their refpecls, her royalty, and call her dov^n, as willing execu- tioners, into the jaws of a fearful death. It is hard for greatnefs to i^nov/ them whom it may trufl: perhaps the faireft femblance is from the falfeft heart. It was a jufi: p'ague of God upon wicked Jezebel, that flie was inwardiv hated of her own. He, whofe fer- vants fhe perfecuted, raifed up enemies to her from her own elbow. Thus muft: pride fall; infolent, idolatrous, cruel Jezebel befprinkles the walls and pavement with her blood; and now thofe brains, that devifed mifchief a- gainft the fervants of God, are ftrewed upon the Itones; and (he, that infulted upon the prophets is trampled upon by the horfes heels : " The wicked is " kept for the day of deftruction, and fhall be brought " forth to the day of wrath." Heath puts an end commonly to the highcft dif- pleafure. He, that was fevers in the execution of Y 3 the 138 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. the living, is merciful in the fepulture of the dead ; ** Go fee now this curfed woman, and bury her, " for (he is a king's daughter." She that upbraided Jehu with the name of Zimri, fhall he interred by Jehu as Omri's daughter-in-law, as a Sidonian prin- cef?; fomewhat mull be yielded to humanity, fome- what to ftate. The dogs have prevented Jehu in this purpofe, and have given her a living tomb, more ignoble than the worft of the earth; only the fcull, hands and feet of that vanilhed carcafs yet remain; the fcull, which was the roci of all her wicked devices, the hands and f-=,et, which were the executioners, thefe fhall remain as the monuments of thofe fhameful exequies; that future times, feeing thefe fragments of a body, might fay, the dogs were worthy of the reft; thus Jezebel is turned to dung, and dogs meat ; Elijah is verified, Naboth is revenged, Jezreel is purged, Jehu is zeaU GuSj and, in all, God is jufl. CoNTEMP. III. Jf.hu killing the Sons of Ahab, and the Briefts of Baal. THERE were two prime cities of the ten tribes, which were the fet courts of the kingdom of Ifrael, Samaria and Jezreel, the chief palace of the kingdom was Jezreel, the mother city of the king- dom was Samaria; Jehu is poffelTed of the one, with- cu; atiy fword drawn againfl him: Jezreel willing- ly changes the mailer, yielding itfelf to the vidor of two kings, to the avenger of Jezebel; the next care is Samaria; either policy or force fhall fetch in that head of the ti'bes. i he plentiful iffue of princes is no fmall afmrance to the people j Ahab had fons enough to furnifli the thrones of all the neighbour nations, to maintain the hopes CoNTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 339 b.opes of fucceffion to all times; how feciire did he think the perpetuation of his pofterity, when he faw Itventv fons from his own loins ! Neither was tliis royal iifue trulted either to weak walls, or to one roof; but to the ftrong bulwarks of Samaria, and therein to the feveral guards of the chief peers; it was the wife care of their parents not to have, them obnoxious to the danger of a common mifcarriage, or of thofe emulations which wait upon the cloyednefs of an undivided converfation, but to order their repa- ration fo, as one may refcue other- from the peril of aiVnult, as one may refpecc other out of a familiar iLrangenefs. Had Aiiab and Jezebel been as wife for their fouls, as they were for their feed, both had profpered. Jehu is yet but in his firft act; if all the fons of Ahab bleed not, the prcphelyisunanfwered; there ihall be no need of his fword, his pen (hall work all this ihiughter. He writes a challenge to Samaria, and therein to the guardians of the fons of Ahab, daring them, out of the confidence in their defenced city, in their chariots and horfes, in their aflfociates and arms, to fet up the bed of their mafter's fons on his father's throne, and to fight for his fuccellion. All the governors of Ahab's children confpire in one common fear; no doubt, there wanted not, in that numerous brood ot kings, fome great fpirits, that, if at leaft they attained to the notice of this defign, longed for a revenge, and fuggefled counfeis ot re- folurion to their cowardly guardians. Shall an auda- cious ufurper run thus away with the crov^m of Ifrael? Shall the blood of Jezebel be thus trairoroufly Ipilt, thus wilfully forgotten? O Ifraelites, can you be fo bafe, as to be ruled by my father's fervani! Where are the merits of Ahab and Jehoram? V hat is become of the loyal courage of ifrael? Doubtlefs you (hall ret want able feconds to your valour; do you think the Y 4 royal S,4® CONTEMPLATIONS. Book X] royal and potent alliances of our mother Jezebel, an( the remaining heirs of Judah, can draw back thei| hands from our aid? will they endure to fwallo> fo cruel an indignity? (lir up your aftonifhed fortiJ tude, O ye. nobles of Ifrael; redeem your bleeding.i honour, revenge this treacherous confpirator, and es ftabliili the right of the undoubted heirs of your fovei reign. But as warm cloaths to a dead man, fo ar^ the motions of valour to a fearful heart. " Behold " two kings flood not before him, how then ft^all we " Hand?" Fear afirights itfelf rather than it will want bugs of terror. It is true, two kings fell before Jehu, but two kings unarmed, unguarded. Had not the fur- prifal of Jehu taken advantage of the unfufpicious nakednefs of thefe two princes, his victory had not been thus fuccefsfal, thus eafy. One of thofe two kings, upon advertifement and preparation, had abated the fury of that hot leader. It is the fafhion of fear to reprefent unto us always the worft, in eve- ry event, not looking at the inequality of the advan- tages, but the mifery of the fuccefs : as, contrarily, it is the guife of faith and valour, by the good iffue of one enterprife, to raife up the heart to an expeftation and alTuranee of more. Thefe mens hearts are dead with their kings, nei- ther dare entertain the hope of a fafe and profperous refiflance, but bafely return, " We are thy fervants, " and will do all that thou fhalt bid us ; ,we will not " make any king; do thou that which is good in thine « eyes." Well may Jehu think, Thefe men, which are thus diiloyal to their charge, cannot be faithful to me ; it is their fear that draws them to this obfervation : were they not cowards, they would not be traitors to their princes,- fiibjedls to me : I may ufe their jiands, but I will not trufl them. It is a thanklefs obedi- CoKTLMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 341 obedience that is grounded upon fear j there can be no true fidelity without love and reverence. Nei- ther is other betwixt God and us : if out of a dread of hell we be officious, uho (liall thank us for thefe refpefts to ourfclves.'' As one that had tailed alreadv the fweetnefs of a re- folute expedition, Jehu writes back inftantly, " If ye *' be- mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, " take ye the heads of the men your mailer's fons, " and come to me to Jezreel to-morrow this time." Valiant Jehu was fo well acquainted with the nature of fear, that he well knew this paffion, once grown defperate, would be ready to fwailow all conditions ; fo far therefore doth his wifdoni improve it, as to make thefe peers his executioners, who prefently, upon the receipt of his charge, turn cruel, and. by a joint confent fetch oir the feventy heads of thofe princes, whom they undertook to guard, whom they had flattered with the hopes of greater honour. No doubt, but am.ong fo many fons of Ahab, fome had fo demeaned themfelves, that they had won zealous profeflions of love from their guardians. Except, perhaps, death dole upon them in fleep, what tears, what iiitreaties, what conjurations mufl here needs have been ! What have we done, O ye peers of Ifrael, that might deferve this bloody meafure \ we are the fons of Ahab, therefore have ye hitherto profeffed to ob- ferve us; what change is this ? uhy fhould that, vvhich hath hitherto kept you loyal, new make you cruel? is this the rev^ard of the long peaceable government of our father ? are thefe the trophies of Ahab's victo- ries again-l Benhadad, Jehoram's agaiiifl Hazael ? If v;e may not reign, yet at leafl: let us live : or, if we muft die, why will your hands be imbrued in that blood which ye had wont to term royal and facred r why will ye of tutors turn murderers."^ All pleas are ' ■ - in 34* CONTEMPLATIONS. Boor XX. in vain to them that are deafened with their own fears. Perhaps thefe expoftulations might have fetched feme dews of pity from the eyes, and kifl'es from the lips of thefe unfaithful tutors, but cannot prevent the ftroke of death. Thefe crocodiles weep upon thofe whom they mud kill ; and if their own fons had been in the place of Ahab's, doubtlefs they had been facrificed to the wdll of an ufurper, to the parent's fafety. It is ill relying upon timorous natures ; upon every occafion thofe crazy reeds will break, and run into our hands. How worthy were Ahab and Jezebel of fuch friends ? They had been ever falfe to God, how (hould men be true to them? They had fold themfelves to work ■wickednefs, and now^ they are requited with a mer- cenary fidelity : for a few lines have thefe men fold all the heads of Ahab's pofterity. Could ever the policy of Jezebel have reached fo far, as to fufpefl the poffibility of the extirpation of fo ample an iffue, in one night, by the hands of her truftieft fubjecls? Now ihe, that by her letter fent to the elders of Jezreel, fiied the blood of Naboth and his fens, hath the blood of all her fons flied, by a letter fent from Jezreel to the elders of Samaria. At lad, God wdll be fare to come out of the debt of wicked fmners, and will pay them with that coin, which is both moil pro- per, and leail looked for. Early in the morning, in that gate of Jezreel where Ahab had paffed many an unjuft fentencs, is prefent- ed unto Jehu the fearful pledge of his foverelgnty, fcvenry ghaftly heads of the fons of Axhab. Some carnal eye, that had feen fo many young and fmooth faces befmeared with blood, would have melt- ed into compaffion, bemoaning their harmlefs age, their untimely end. It Is not for the jultice of God to fland at the bar of our corrupted judgment. Ex- cept we include fome grand-children of Ahab within this nun)ber5 none of thefe died before they were fea- fcned •CoNTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 343 foned with horrible idolatry ; or, if they had, they were in the loins of Ahab when he fold himfelf to work wickednefs ; and now it is jull with God to pu- nifli Ahab's wickednefs in this fruit of his loins. The holy leverity of God, in the revenge of fin, fometimes goes fo far, that our ignorance is ready to midake it For cruelly. The wonder and horror of thofe two heaps hath eafily drawn together the people of Jezreel. Jehu meets them in that feat of public judgmen.t ; and, finding much amazednefs and paffionate confufiop in their faces, he clears them, and fends them to the true original of thtfe fudden and aflonifhing maiTacres. Hovfever his own confpiracy, and the cowardly treachery of the princes of Ifrael had been, not with- out their heinous fm, the vifible means of this judg- ment, yet he direfts their eyes to an higher authori- ty, the jull decree of the Almighty, manifefted by his fervant Elijah, who, even by the willing fins of men, can mod wifely, mod hoftilely fetch about his molt righteous and bleffed purpofes. if the peers of Samaria out of a bafe fear, if Jehu out of an ambition of reigning, (hed the foul blood of Ahab's poflerity, the fin is their own, but, in the mean time, the aft is no other than what the infi- nite juftice of God would juftly work by their mif- intentions. Let thefe Ifraelites but look up from earth to heaven, thefe tragical changes cannot trouble them ; thither Jehu fends them, wiping off the envy of all this blood, by the warrant of the divine pre-or- dination. in obedience whereunto, he fends after thefe heirs of Ahab all his kinsfolks, favourites, prieds that remained in Jezreel ; and now, having cleared thefe coads, he hadens to Samaria ; whom fhould he meet with in the way, but the brethren of Ahc^ziah king of Judah, they are going to vifit their coufins the ions of Ahab. This young troop was thinking of nothing 344- CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. nothing but jollity, and courtly entertainment, when they meet with death. So fuddenly, fo fecretly had Jehu difpatched thefe bold executions, that thefe princes could imagine no caufe of fufpicion. How could they think it might be dangerous to be known for the brethren of Ahaziah, or friends to the bre- thren of Jehoram? The juft providence of the Al- mighty hath brought all this covy under one net. Je- hu thinks it not fafe to let go fo many avengers of A- haziah's blood, fo many corrivals of his fovereignty. The unhappy affinity of Jehofliaphat with Ahab is no lefs guilty of this (laughter than Jehu's ambition : this match, by the inoculation of one bud, hath taint- ed all the fap of the houfe of Judah. The two and forty brethren of Ahaziah are therefore fent after the feventy fons of Ahab, that they m^y overtake them in death, whom they came to vifit ; God will much lefs brook idolatry from the loins of a Jehofnaphat. Our entirenefs with wicked men feoffs us both in their fms and judgments. Doubtiefs, many Ifraeiites, that w^ere devoted to the family and allies of Ahab, looked (what they durft) awry at this common effufion of royal blood ; yet, in the worft of the depravednefs of Ifrael, there were fome which both drooped under the deplored idolatry of the times, and congratulated to Jehu this fevere vindication of God's inheritance : amongfl the reft, Jonadab ths fon of Rechab was moii: eminent. That man was by defcent derived from Jethro, a Mi- dianite by nation, but incorporated into Ifrael, a man whofe piety and ftrict converfation did both teach and fliame thofe twelve tribes to which he was joined. He was the author of an auftere rule of ci- vility to his pofterity, to whom he debarred the ufe of wine, cities, poffelTions. This old and rough friend of Jehu, out of his moving habitations, meets him», and applauds his fuccefs. ' He that allowed not wine to CoNTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 345 to his feed, allows the blood of Ahab's feed poured out by the hand of Jehu : he, that fliunned the ciiy, is carried in Jehu's chariot to the palace of Samaria. How eafily might Jehu have been deceived ? Ma- ny a one profeffes uprightnefs, who yet is all guile, ]onadab*s carriage hath been fuch, that his word me- rits truft. It is a bleiling upon the plain-hearted, that they can be believed. Honeil Jonadab is admitted to the honour of Jehu's feat, and called, inftead of many, to witnefs the zeal of the new anointed king of Ifrael. While Jehu had to do with kings, his cunning and his courage held equal pace together ; but now, that he is to deal with idolatrous priefts, his wile goes alone, and prevails. He calls the people together, and, diflembling his intentions, fays, " Ahab ferved *' Baal a little, but Jehu fhall ferve him much : now " therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all " his fervants, and all his priefts, let none be want- " ing ; for I have a great facrifice to do to Baal : *' whofoever fhall be wanting, he fhall not live.'* AVhat a dead palenefs was there now in the faces of thofe few true-hearted Ifraelites, that looked for an happy reflauration of the religion of God? How could they chufe but think, Alas, how are we fallen from our hopes ? is this the change we looked for ? was it only ambition that hath fet this edge upon the fword of Jehu ? it was ilot the perfon of Ahab that we dif- liked, but the fins ; if thofe muil flill fucceed, what have we gained ? Wo be to us, if only the author of ^our mifery be changed, n6t the condition, not the caufe of our mifery. On the other fide, what infuitations and triumphs founded every where of the joyful Baalites ! what glorying of the truth of their profefTion, becaufe of the fuccefs ! what fccrns of their dejected oppofites ! what exprobations of the difappointed hopes, and pre- didlions 54^ CONTEMPLATIONS. :6ook XX. didions of their adverfe prophets ! what promifes to themfelves of a perpetuity of Baalifm ! How did the difperfed priefts of Baal now flock together, and ap- plaud each others happinefs, and magnify the devo^ tions of their new fovereign ? Never had that idol fo glorious a day as this for the pomp of his fervice ; be- fore, he was adored fingly in corners, now folemn facrifices fhall be ofl'ered to him by all his clients, in the great temple of the mother city of Ifrael. I can commend the zeal of Jehu, I cannot commend the fraud of Jehu. We may come to our end, even by crooked ways. He that bade him to fmife for him, did not bid him to lie for him. Falfehood, though it be but tentative, is neither needed nor approved by the God of truth. If policy have allowed officious untruths, religion never. By this device the houfe of Baal is well furnifli=» ed, well filled ; not one of his Chemarim either might or would be abfcnt : not one of thofe w,hich were prefent might be unrobed. Falfe gods have ever affected to imitate the true : even Baal hath temples, altars, priefts, veftments : all religions have allotted peculiar habits to their higheft devotions. Thefe veftments, which they mlf-called facred, are brought forth and put on, for the glory of this fer- vice. Jehu and Jonadab are firft careful that this fe- paration be exaft : they fearch and fee that no fer- vant of the Lord be crept into that throng. What fhould a religious Ifraelite do in the temple of Baal ? were any fuch there, he had deferved their fmart^ who would partake with their vi'orfliip ; but if curi- ofity fhould have drawn any thither, the mercy of Jehu feeks his refcue. How much more favourable is the God of mercies, in not taking advantage of our infirmities ! Well CoNTEMP. III. CONTEMPLATIONS. 3-4:7 Well might this fearch have bred fufpicion, were it not, that in all thofe idolatrous facrifices, the firfk care was to avoid the profane : Even Baal would ad* mit no mixture, how (hould the true God abide it? Nothing wanted now, but the facrilice. No doubt, whole herds and flocks were ready for a pretence of fome royal hecatombs, whereof fome had now al- ready fmoaked on their altars. O Jehu, what means this dilation ? if thou abhorred Baal, why didil thou give way to this laft facrifice ? why didft thou not cut off thefe idolaters, before this upihot of their ■wickednefs ? was it, that thou mighteft be fure of their guiltinefs ? was it that their number, together ■with their fm, might be complete ? what acclama- tions were here to Baal ? what joy in the freedom of their revived worfhip ? when all on the fudden, thofe, that had facrificed, are facrificed. The foldiers of Jehu, by his appointment, ru(h in with their fwords drawn, and turn the temple into a flaughter-houfe. How is the tune now changed ? what ihrieking was here ? what out-cries ? what running from one iword to the edge of another ? what fcrambling up the walls and pillars? what climbing into the windows? what vain endeavours to efcape that death which would not be {hunned ? whether running, or kneeling, or proftrate, they muft die. The fir ft part of the facrifice was Baal's, the lat- ter is God's. The blood of beafts was offered in the one, of men in the other : the fhedding of this was fo much the more acceptable to God, by how much thefe men were more beafts than thofe they facrificed. O happy obedience! God was pleafed with a facrifice from the houfe of Baal : the idolaters are fiain, the idols burnt, the houfe of Baal turned to a draught, though even thus lefs unclean, lefs noifome, than in the former perfumes j and, in one word, Baal is deftroyed out of Ifrael. Who 34? CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. Who that had feen all this zeal for God, would not have fa'id, Jehu is a true Ifraelite ? Yet he, that rooted out Ahab, would not be rid of Jeroboam : he, that deftroyed Baal, maintained the two calves of Dan and Bethel. That idolatry was of a lower rank, as being a mif-worfnip of the true God ; whereas the other was a worfhip of the falfe. Even the eafier of both is heinous, and (hall rob Jehu of the praife of his uprightnefs. A falfe heart may laudably quit itfelf of fome one grofs fm, and in the mean time hug fome leifer evil that may condemn it ; as a man recovered of a fever may die of a jaundice, or a dropfy. We lofe the thank of all, if we wilfully fail in one. It is an entire goodnefs that God cares for : per- haps, fuch is the bounty of our God, a partial obe- dience may be rewarded with a temporal bleffing ; (as Jehu's feverity to Ahab iliall carry the crown to his feed for four generations) but we can never have any comfortable affurance of an eternal retribution, if our hearts and ways be not perfeft with God. Wo be to us, O God, if we be not all thine ! we cannot biit everlaftingly depart from thee, if we depart not from every fin. Thou haft purged our hearts from the Baal of our grofs idolatries ; O clear us from the golden calves of our petty coiTuptions alfo, that thou mayeft take pleafure in our uprightnefs, and we may reap the fweet comforts of thy glorious remuneration. CONTEMP. IV. AtI-IALIAH a7ld JOASH. ,H the wcful ruins of the houfe of good Jehofha- phat !* Jehu hath flain two and forty of his ilTue; Athaliah hopes to root out the reft. This daughter of Ahab v/as not like to be other than fatal to that holy line ; one drop of that wicked blood was enough, both to impure and fpill all the reft, which affinity had mixed with it. It C.>NTtMP. IV'. CONTEMPLATIONS. 3^.9 It is riot unlike, th.it Ahazlah, betaking himfelf to. the fociety of Jehornni's wars, Gominitttd the! way of <'f his fceptre to his .mother Achaliah. The daughter of Jezebel cannot but be plotting: when flie, hears of tt]'^ death of Ahaziah and his brethren, inflided by the heavy hand of Jehu, Die (traight caffcs for the king- dom of JuJah. The true heirs are infants; t-heir mi- nority gives her both colour of rule, and opportuni- ty of -an eafy extirpation. Perhaps her ambition was nor more guilty, than her zeal of Baalifm: fhe faw Jehu, out of a detellation of idolatry, trampling oit the blood of Jehorain, Jezebel, Ahaziah, the f-ns of Ahab, the brethren of Ahaziah, the priefts and pro- phets of Baal, and, in one word, triumphing in the deflrudion both of Ahab and his gods out of Ifrael; and now (lie thinks, Why fliould not I deftroy Jeho- fhaphat and his God out of Judah: \Vhoever faw an idolater that was not cruel? Atha- iiah mufl needs let out fome of her o-.vn blood out of the throat of Ahaziah's fons; yet (lie fpares not to fhed it out of a third of fovereignty. O God, how worthy of wonder are thy jufi: and merciful difpenfations! in that thou fufFcrett the feed of good Jehofhaphat to be delir<)yed by her hand, in whofe affinity he offend- ed, and yet favefl one branch of this (lock of Jeho- fnupliat, for the fake of fo faithful a progenitor. Wicked Alhaliah, couldil thou think God would fo far forget his fervant David, though no other of thofe loins had feconded his virtues, as to fuffer all Jus feed to be rooted out of the earth? This venge- ance was for thy father Ahab. The man, according •to God's own heart, (ball have a lineal heir to iuc- ceed in his throne, when thou and thy father's houfe" (hall have vaniPned into forgetfulnefs. For this purpofe hath the wife Providence of God ordained a Jchofheba, and matched her in the prieftly tribe. Such reverence did Jehorani king of Judah, Vol.. ilv Z thousli' 350 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX, though degenerated into the idolatry of his father-in- law Ahab. bear to this facred funclion, that he marries his daughter to Jehoiada the pried. Even princeiTes did not then fcorn the bed of thofe that ferved at God's ahar. Why Hiould the gofpel pour contempt upon that which the law honoured ? That good lady had too much of Jeholhaphat in her, to fulfer the utter extirpation of that royal feed : die could not, doubtlefs, without the extreme danger of her own life, fave the life of her nephew Joafli; with what a loving boldnefs doth Ihe adventure to fteal hi;n from amongft thofe bleeding carcaifes in the chamber of death! Her match gave her opportunity to affecl that, which both nature and religion moved her to attempt: neither know I, whether more to wonder at the cunning of the device, or the courage of the enterprife; or the fecrecy of the concealment, or the happinefs of the fuccefs. Certainly Athaliah was too cruelly careful to forget this fo late born fon oF Ahaziah ; of all the reft his age would not fuifer liim to be out of her eye. In all likelihood therefore Vne muft needs have miffed fo noted a corps, had there not been a fubftitution of fome other dead child in his room: in that age, the favour is not fo di- ilinguiihable, efpecially of a dead face. ^Vithout fome pious deceit, this work could never have been etfefted; elfe had the child been fecretly fubduced, and miffed bv his bloody grandmother: her perpetual jealoufy had both expected a furviving heir, and con- tinued a curious and unavoidable fearch; both which were now (hunned at once, v/hilft Athaliah reckons ' him for dead, whom Jehofheba hath preferved. Mil- chief fometimes fails of thofe appointments, wherein it thinks to have mnde the fureil work, God laughs in heaven at the plots cf tyrants, and befools them in their deepeil projecls. lie had faid to David, " Of " the CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATION'S. ^5, •■■ the fruit of thy body will I fet upon thy feat;" in vain Hiall earth and hell confpire to fruflrate it. Six years hath Joafh and his nurfe been hid in a t lofe cell of the temple : thofe rooms were daflined only to the holy tribe; yet now rejoice to harbour fiich a guei'l : the rigour of the ordinary law mud yield to cafes of fo important neceiFity. Alt this could not poiTibly be done, and continued, without the privity of many faithful priefts and Le- vitts, who were as careful to keep this counfel, as hopeful of the iifue of it. It is not hard for many ho- ned hearts to agree in a religious fecrecy; needs mud thofe lips be fliut, which God hath fealed up. Judah hath not been ufed to fuch a yoke; long had it groaned under the tyranny, not of a woman only, but of an idolatrous Sidonian: if any of that fex might have claimed that fceptre, none had fo much right to it as Jehc(heba herfelf. But good Jehoiada the pried, who had rather to be a loyal guardian to the king, than an hufband to a queen, now finds time to fet on foot the jud title of Joafli, and to put him in- to the mif-ufurped throne of his father Ahaziah. In the feventh year, therefore, he fends for the captains, and the guard; and, having fwora them fe- crecy, by undoubted witncdes, makes faith unto them of the truth of their native prince, thus happily refcued from the bloody knife of his mercilefs grand- mother, marlhals the great budnefs of his inaugura- tion, gives every one his charge, fets every ^ne his ftation, and fo difpofes of his holy forces, as v/as mod needful for the fafety of the king, the revenge of ths ufurper, the prevention of tumults, the edabliuiraenc of the crov/n upon the owner's he?.d in peace and ihere w,as none of all thefe agents, who did not hold the budnefs to be his own; every true fubjeifl of Jadah was feelingly intereded in this fervice; neither Z 2 \\'?,s 55 ^ CONTEMPLATIONS. Book X^. was there any of them, who was not fecretly heart- burned, all this while, with the hateful government of this idolatrous tyrannefs: and nov/ this inward fire is j:;lad to find a vent; how gladly do they addrefs them- felves to this welcome employment! The greateft part of this fecret band were Levites, who might therefore both meet together with lead fufpicion, and be more fecurely trufted by Jehoiada, under whom they ferved. Even that holy prieft of God, inftead of teaching the law, fets the guard, orders the cap- tains, ranges the troops of Judah; and, inftead of a cenfer, brings forth the fpears and fhields of David ; the temple is for the prefent a field, or an artillery- yard; and the ephods are turned into harnefs. , That houfe, in the rearing whereof not the noife of an hammer might be heard, now admits of the clafhing of armour, and the fecret murmurs of feme military achievement. No circumftances, either of place or calling, are fo punftual, as that public neceiTity may not difpenfe with their alteration. All things are now ready for this folemnity; each man rejoices to fix upon his own footing; and longs to fee the face of their long-concealed fovereign, and vows his blood to the vindication of the common li- berTy. to the punifhment of a cruel intruder. Now Jehoiada brings forth unto them the king's fon, and prefents him to the peers and people; hardly can the multitude contain itfelf from fliooting out too focr. ; one fees in his countenance the features of his father Ahaziah, another of his grandfather Jehoram, a third profelies to difcern in him fome lines and fa- ihlon of his great-grandfather Jehofiiaphat; all find ill his face the natural imprcfiions of myjefiy, and read in it the hopes,- yea the pro})hefies of their future happinefs. Not with more joy, than fpeed, doth Je- hoiada accomplilh all the rites of the coronation. Be- fore that voun? kin^ could know what v.-as done to him, CoNTEM?. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 353 him, he is anointed, crowned, prefented with the book of theliiw. Thofe ceremonies "were inftructlve, and no doubt jehoiada failed not to comment upon them in due time to that royal pupil. 7'heoil, \A'herewith he was anointed, fignified his defignation to that high fervice; and thofe endow- ments from heaven, that might enable him to fo great a fundion. The crov/n, v/herewith he was adorned, fignified that glory and majtlty which fhould both encourage and attend his princely cares. '} he b'jok of the teftimony fignified tlie divine rules and direcl:ions, whereto he muil frame his heart mid aclions, in the wielding of that crown, in the improve- ment oFthat oil. Thefe three, the oil, the crown, t'^e teuimony, that is, inward powers, outward magnificence, true pietv and judice, make up a perfect prince; none cf thefe may be wanting: if there be not a due calling of God, and abilities meet for that greatnefs, the oil faileth ; if there be not a majedic grace and royalty that may command reverence, the crown is mifling ; if there be not a careful refpetl to the law of God, as the abfolute guide of all counfels and determinations, the teltimony is negleded ; all of them concurring make both king and people happy. Now it is time for the people to clap their hands, and by their loud acclamations to wltnefs their joy, which mull needs break forth with fo much .more force, by how much it was longer, upon fears and policy, fuppreffed. The court and temple were near together;, how- ever it was with Athaliah, and the late revolted prin- ces of Judah, according to the common word, the nearer to the church, the farther from God: their religious predeceflors held it the greateil commodity of their houfe, that it neighboured upon the houfa Z 3 of 35+ CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX, of God. From her palace, might Athaliah eafily hear the joyful (liouts of the multitude, the loud noife of the trumpets; and as aftonifned with this new tumult of public gratularions, flie comes running into the temple. Never had her foot trod upon that holy pavement till now, that (he cam.e to fetch a jufb revenge from that God u'hofe wcrfhip flie had contemned. 'It fell out well, that her fudden amazednefs called her lorth, without the attendance of any ftrong guard, whofe fide-taking might have made that quarrel mutually bloody. She foon hears and fees ■what fhe likes not; her eir meets with God fave the king, her. eye meets with the unlooked for heir of the kingdom, fitting on his throne, crowned and robed in the royal faihion, guarded with the captains and foldiers, proclaimed by the trumpeters, acclaim- ed and applauded by the people. Who can fay, whether this fight drove her more near to frenzy, or death? how could It be otherwife, when thofe great fpirits of hers, that had been long ufed to an uncontrolled fovereignty, find themfelves fo unexpected iy fupprelTed, She now rends her cloaths, and cries, Treafon, trea- fon, as if that voice of hers could Itill command all hearts, all hands; as if one breath of hers were pow- erful enough to blow away all thefe new defigns. O Athaliah! to whom dofl thou complain thyfelf; they are thy ju,{t executioners wherewith thou art en- comp'aiTed : if it be treafon to fet up the true heir of jAhaziah, thou appealed to thy traitors: the treafon was thine, theirs is juflice. The time is now come of thy reckonings for all the royal blood of Judah, which thine ambition died ; wonder rather at the patience of this Jong forbeara^nce, than the rigour of this exe- cution. ' There I m CoNTEMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 355 There needs no formal feat of juftice In fo aj)p;i- rent offence. Jehoiiida paiTts the fentence of death iipon her; " Have her forth of the ranges, let her " not be ilaJn in the houfe of the Lord; and him " that followeth her kill with the fword." Had not this ufurpation been palpable, Jehoiada would not have prefumed to intermeddle. Nov/, be- ing both the prieft of God, and uncle and protector to the lawful king, he doth that out of the necelTity of the (late, which his infant fovereign, if he could liave been capable of thofe thoughts, would have de fired. Violent hands are laid upon Athaliah, whom, no doubt, a proud and furiousdifdainof fo quicka charge, and of fo rough an ufage, made miferably impatient. Now (lie frowns and calls, and (hrieks and commands, and threatens and reviles, and intreats in vain, and dies with as much ill-will from herfelf, as fiie lived with the ill-will of her repining fubjects. I fee not any one man of all her late flatterers that follow her, either for pity or refcue. Every man willingly gives her up to juftice; not one fword is drawn in her defence, not one eye. laments her. Such Is the iflue of a tyrannical niifgovernment; that which is obeyed not v.'ithout fecret hate, is !oIt not without public joy. How like is Athaliah to her mother Jezebel ? as in conditions and carriage, fo even in death; both kill- ed violently, both killed under their own walls, both ilain v.'ith treafon in their mouths, both flain in the entrance of a changed government ; one trod on by the horfes, the other flain in the horfe-gate : both paid their own blood for the innocent blood of others. How fuddenly, how eafily is Judah reilored to it- felf, after fo long, and fo fearful a depravation ! The people fcarce believe their own eyes, for the wonder Z A of 356 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. of this happy change : neither know I, whether they he more joyed in the Tight of their new king thus flrangely preferved, or in the fight of Jehoiada that had preferved him. No man can envy the protedlion of the young king unto hini, by vvhofe means he lives and leign-. That holy man cares only to improve his authority to the common good : " He makes a covenant bc- " tween the Lord, and the king, and the people :" and, after fo long and dangerous a.disjundion, re- unjfes-them to each other. Their revived zeal beflirs itfelf, and breaks down the temples, and altars, and images of Baal, and facrifices- his idolatrous priefb. Shortly, both Ahab and Baal are deftroyed out of Judah. The fceptre of Judah is changed from a woman to a child ; but, a child trained up and tutored by jehoi- ada. This minority, fo guided, was not interior to the mature age of many predeceifors. Happy is that land, the non-age of whofe princes falls into holy and juft hands : yet, even thefe holy and juil hands came fhort of what they might have done. The high places remained iliil ; thofe altars were erefted to the true God, but in a wrong place. It is marvel, if there be not fome blemifhes found in the bell government* I 'doubt jehoiada fhall once buy it dear, that he did not his utmoil. But for the main, all was well with Judah, in all the days of Jehoiada, even after that Joafli v^-as grown pail: his pupillage. He, that was. the tutor to his in- fancy, wa*s the counfellor of his ripe age, and was equally happy in both. How pleafmg was it to that good high prieft, to be commanded by that charge of his in the bufmefs of God .'' The young king gives or- der to the pviefts, for the coiledion of large funis, to the repairing of ttie breaches of God's houfs. It be- comes him well to take ca^e of that, which was the nurfery CoNTFMP. IV. CONTEMPLATIONS. 357 r.urfery of his infancy : and now, after three and twenty years, he expoftulates with his late guardian jehoiada, and ihe reft of his coat, " Why repair ye " not the breaches ?" O graciour, and happy vicifTjtude! Jehoiada the prlelt had ruled the infancy of king Joafli in matters of ilate, and now joaih the king commands aged Jeho- iada the priefi in matter of devotion. In the atfairs of God, the adtion is the priefl's, the overfight and coaction is the prince's. By the careful endeavour of both, God's houfe is repaired, his fervice flourifh- eih. But rdas ! that it may too well appear, that the ground of this devotion was not altogether inward, no looner doth the life of Jehoiada ceafe, than the de- votion of Joafn begins to languifh ; and, after fome langour, dies. The benefit of a truly religious prelate, cr (lates- man, is not known till his lofs. Now, fome idolatrous peers of Judah have foon mifcarried the king, from the houfe of the Lord God of their fathers, to ferve groves and idols. Yea, whither go we wretched men, if v.e be left by our Maker.? King JoatTi Is turned, not Idolater only, but perfecutor ; yea, \^ hich is yet more horrible to con- fider, perfecutor of the fon of that Jehoiada to whom he owes his own life. Zecharlah his coufm-german, his fofter brother, the holy VAiie of thofe parents by whom Joafh lives and reigns, for the confcionable re- buke of the idolatry of prince and people, is unjuftly and cruelly murthered by that unthankful hand. How poffible is it for fair and faint-like beginnings to fiiut up in monftrous impieties! Let him that thinks he flands, take heed 1\^{1 he fall. When did God ever put up fo foul ingratitude to himfelf, to his fervants ? O Joafli ! vyhat eyes can pity the fearful deftruclicn of thee and thy Tudah ? If 35* CONTEMPLATIONS. Book X] If ye have forgotten the kindnefs of Jehoiada, youiS unkindiiefs to Jehoiada fiiall not be forgotten. " A '' fmall army of Syrians came up againii Judah and "' Jerufalem, and deftroyed ail the princes of the " people, and fent all the fpoil of them to Damal'cus.'* Now Hazael revenges this quarrel of God, and hii, anointed, and plagues that people which made theuv felves unworthy to be the Lord's inheritance. And what becomes of Joaih ? he is left in great difeafes, when his own fervants confpired againft him " for the blood of the fons of Jehoiada, and flew him " on his bed, and he died ; and they buried him not " in the fepuichre of the kings.** Dying Zechariah.had faid, in the bitternefs of his departing foul, *' The " Lord look upon it, and require it." 1 confefs, I Jhad rather to have heard him fay, " The Lord pafs ** it over, and remit it :'* fo faid Stephen. Such dif- ference there is between a martyr of the law and of the gofpel ; although I Vvill hope the zeal of jullice, not the uncharitable heat of revenge, drew forth this word. God hears it, and now gives an account of his notice. Thus doth the Lord require the blood of Jehoiada's fon, even bv the like unthankful hand of the oblieed fervants of Joafh. He, that was guilty of abominable idolatry, yet, as if God meant to wave that chal- lenge, is called to reckoning for his cruel unthankful- nefs to Jehoiada : this crime (hall make him odious alive, and (hall abandon him dead from the fepuichre of his fathers ; as if this iaft royalty were too good for him, who had forgotten the law of humanity. Some vices are fuch, as nature fmiles upon, though frown- ed at by divine juftice. " Others are fuch, as even na- ture itfelf abhors ; fuch is this of ingratitude, which therefore carries fo much more deteftation from God, as it is more odious even to them that have blotted put the irnage of God. Cox- CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. CoNTEMP. V. Jo ASH 'with Elisha dp;ig. 359 THE two kingdoms of Judah and Ifrael,?however divided both in government and afiectjon, yet ioved to interchange the names of their kings : even IlVael alfo had their Joafh, no better than that of Ju- dah; he was not more thefather of the latter Jeroboam, than, in reiped: of mifworfhip, he was the fun of the ^irft Jeroboam, who made Ifrael to fin. Thofe calves of Dan and Bethel, out of a politic mifdevotion, be- iotted all the fucccfTion of the ten ufurped tribes. Yet t-ven this idolatrous king of Ifrael comes down to vifit ;he fick-bed of Ellfha, and weeps upon his face. That holy prophet was never any flatterer of prin- ces, neither fpared he invedives againft their mod plaufible fins : yet king Joafh, that was beaten by his reproofs, waflies that face wirh the tears of love and forrow, which had often frowned upon his wicked- nefs. Kow much difference there v/as betwixt the Joafli of Ifrael, and the Joafli of Judah ? that of Judah hav- ing been preferved and nurtured by Jehciada the pried, after all profeffions of dearnefs, fliuts up in the unkind murder of his fon, and that merely for the jufl reproof of his own idolatry ; this of Ifrael, hav- ing been eftranged from the prophet Eliflia, and fharp- ly rebuked for the like ofi'ence, m.akes love to his dying reprover, and bedews his pale face with hi* tears. Both were bad enough ; but this of Ifrael was, however vicious, yet good-natured : that of Judah added to his wickednefs an ill dirpofition, a dogged humour. There are varieties even of evil men ; Ibme are worfe at the root, others at the branch; fome more civilly harmlefs, others fouler in morality. According to the exercife of the reftraining grace, natural men do either rife or fall in their ill. 36o CONTEMPLATIONS. Book X] The longed day mufl have his evening. Goc Eiiflia, that had lived foms ninety years, a v/ond( of prophets, and had outworn many iucceffions in* the thrones of Ifrael and Judah, is now eaJl: upon the bed of his ficknefs, yea of his death. That very aa:e might feeni a dlfeafe, which yet is feconded witl a languifhing diileniper. It is not in the power o| any hoHnefs to privilege us from infirmity of body-J from final diiTolution, He that (Iretched himfelf up- on his bed, over the dead carcafs of the Shunamite's' J fon, and revived ir, niuft now ftretch out his own limbs upon his fick-bed, and die. He faw his maPcer Elijah wrapt up fuddenly from the earth, and fetched^ by a fiery chariot from this vale of mortality ; him-*' felf muff leifurcly wait for his lad pangs, in a linger-' 1 ing paffage to the fame glory. There is not one waj i appointed to us, by the divine providence, unto one i common bleilednefs : one hath n^.ore pain, another hath more fpeed : violence fnatcheth away one ; ano- ther, by an infenfibie pace, draws every day nearer t& his term : the wifdom and goodnefs of God magnifies'' itfelf in both. Happy is he, that after due prepara- tion, is paft throup-h the gates of death, ere he be' aware. Happy is he that, by the holy ufe of long ficknefs, is taught to fee the gates of death afar off, .1 and addreffcd for a refolute paffage : the one dies like I Elijah, the other like Eliflia, both bleiTedly. The time was, when a great king fent to Elifha,- to know if he fiiould recover : now the king of Ifrael, . as knowing that Elifha fliall not recover, fo had his, | confumption fpent him, comes to vifit the dying pro* phct ; and, when his tears would .give him leave, breaks forth into a paffionate exclamation ; " O my *' father, my father, the chariots of Ifrael, and ilie . *' horfemen thereof!"' Yet the calves of Dan and Bethel have left fome goodnefs in joafn : as the beft' inan hath fomething in him worthy of reproof^ fo the ■ faultiefl: CoNTEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. 3^j ' t'lltieri: hath fomeihinj commendiible. Had not the jirit of God himfcit told us, that Joafh did that \. iiich w;is evil in the r!;4ht of the Lord, we had ad- i.ired this pitty. this reverend rcfpeit to the prcphst. i he holiefl man could not have laid more. It is pof- ';lc for the clic-iits of a falfe vi'Orlnip to honour, out .; another regaidj the profcilors of trnth. From the h md of Elifna had Jehu, the grandfather of Joalh, re- ived his unction to the kingdom ; this favour mip^ht i 't be forgoUcn. Yifitation of the fick is a duty required both by the huv of humanity, and of religion. Bodily infirmity is fad and comfortlefs ; and therefore needs the prefence and counfel of friends to relieve it : although, when we draw the curtains of ihofe that are eminently gra- cioii.-, we do rather fetch, with Joalh, than bring a blefling. How fenfible fliould we be of the lofs of huly men, when a joaili fpends his tears upon Elifha ? If we be more affecteil with tlie foregoing of a natural friend, or kiniman, than of a noted and ufefui prophet, it argues more love to ourfelves, than to the church of God, than to God himfelf. What ufe there was of chariots and horfemen in thofe wars of the ancients, all hiilories can tell us ; all the urcngth of the battle flood in thefe ; there could b'j neither defence nor offence but by them : fuch vv as Elifha unto ifracL The p;reate{l: fafeguard to any nation is the fancliry and faithfulnefs of their pro- phets, without which the church and lUte lies open to utter defolation. The fame words that FJifha faid of his mailer Eli- ]Ah, when he fav/ him taken up from the earth, doth joaHi now fpeak of Elifli.a, near his diflblution ; " O " ir.y father, nay father, the cliariots of Ifrael, and " the horiemeu thereof!" The words were good, the tears were pious, but where are the actions r O }.oafhl ^6i CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. Joaih ! if the prophet were thy father, where was thy filial obedience? he cried down thy calves, thou uphehlell them ; he counfelled thee to good, thou didfl: evil in the fight of the Lord. If the prophet was the chariot and horfemen of Ifrael, why didil thou fight againfi: his holy dodrine? if thou weepelt for his lofs, why didil: thou not w^eep for thofe fins of thine that procured it. Had thine hand anfwered thy tongue, Ifrael h?.d been h-appy in Elifna, liliflia had been happy in Ifrael and thee. Words are no good trial of profefijon : the woril men may fpeak well. Actions have only the power to defcry hypocrites. Yet even a Joaih, thus complying, fliall not go a- way unblefled. This outward kindnefs fhall receive an outward retribution. Thefe few drops of warm •water, fhed upon the face of a prophet, fhall not lofe their reward. The fpirit of prophefy forfakes not the death-bed of JLIifiia : he calls for bow and arrows, and puts them into the hand of Joain, and putting his hands upon the king*s hand, he bids io fiioot eaftward, and while the fhaft files, and lights, he fays, " The ar- *' row of the Lord's deliverance from Syria ; for " thou fnalt fmite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou " have confumed them." If the weak and wither- ed hand of the prophet had not been upon the .| youthful and vigorous hand of the king, this bow had been drawn in vain : the flrength was from the' hand of the king, the blelling from the hand of the prophet. PkC, whofe real parable hath made the- earth to be Syria, the arrow revenge, the archer Jo- afli, bath obtained for his laft boon from God to If- | rael, that this archer (hall fiioot this arrow of revenge * into the heart of Syria, and wound it (o death.- When then the hand of the king, and of the prophefj drawM CoNTKMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS. ^6^ draws together, there cannot chufe but fuccefs mufl follow. ' How readily doth Eliflia now make good the words of Joafh ! how truly is he the chariots and horfemen of Ifrael ! Ifrael had not fought v/ithout him, much lei's had been vidorious ; if theirs be the endeavour, the fuccefs is his. Even the dying prophet puts life and fpeed into the forces of llrael; and, while he is digging his own grave, is raifing trophies to God's people. He had received kindnefs from the Syrians ; a- mongft them was he harboured in the dearth, and from fome of their nobles was prefented with rich gifts : but their enmity to Ifrael drowns all his private re- fpeds ; he cannot but profefs hoftility to the public enemies of the church, neither can he content him- felf- with a fmgle prediction of their ruin. He bids Joafh to take the arrows, and fmite upon the ground; he lets no number of thofe lirokes, as fuppofing the frequence of thole blows, which Joafii might well, upon this former parabolical aft, underftand to be fignificant. The flack hand ot the king fmites but thrice. So apt v.'e are to be wanting to ourfelves ; fo coldly do vvC execute the commands of God. The fick prophet is not more grieved, than angry at this dull negligence. Doubtlels, God had revealed to him, for his lait gratiacaticm, that, upon his fervent pray- eri% fo often as Joafn fhould voluntarily, after his general charge, fmite tlie earth, fo oft fnould Ifrael finite Syria. Eliiha's zeal doth not languifh with hi^ body; with a fatherly authority he chides him woo had (lyled him father, not fearing to fpend fome of his laft wind in a mild reproof. " Thou (houldii: " have fmitten five or fix times, then thou hadil fmit- " ten Syria till thou hadlt confumed it ; whereas now *' thou fJialt fmite Syria but thrice." Not that the un- chang-eable decree of the Almighty meant to fufpend itfelf S6+ CONTEMPLA.TIONS. Book XX,- itfelf upon the uncertain ilTue of Joarn's will ; but he, that puts this word into the mouth of his prophet puts this mo: ion into the hand of the king, which did not more willingly flay, than nectllarily obey the providence whereby it was ftirred. Even while we have our freed choice, we fall upon thofe actions and circumdances, whereby the jutt and holy v. ill of our God is brouglit about. Our very negieets, our ignorances, fnall fulfil his eternal counfcls. Elifha dies and is buried; his miracles do not ceafe with his life. Who can marvel, that his living pray- ers raifed the fon of the Shunamite, when his dead bones raife the carcafs that touched them. God will be free in his works : he that mulf die himfelf, yet fhall revive another: the fame power might have continued life to him, that gave it by his bones. Ifrael faall well fee that he lives, by vv'hcfe vittue EHfiia was both in life and death miraculous. While the prophet was alive, the impetration might feem to be his, though the power were God's. Now, that he is dead, the bones can challenge nothings but fend the wandering Ifraeikes to that almighty /^gent, to whom it is all one to work by the quick or dead. "Were not the men of Ifrael more dead than the car- cats thus buried; how could they chufe but. fee, in this ruined corpfe, an emblem of their own condi- tion ? hew could they chufe but think. If we adhere to the God of Eli{l;ia, he fliall raife our decayed eftates, and redore our riation to the former rlory ? The Sadducecs had as yet no being in Ifrael. " Withi^ what face could that herefy ever after lock into the^f-1 world, when, before the birth of it, it was fo pal- pably convinced, with an example of the refurrec-i"! tion ? Intermiffion of time, and degrees of. corrup- tion add iioililng to the iinpd{Iibility of our rifmgj The body, tliat is once cold in death, hath no more aptitude to a re aniiTiati^^n, than that which is moul- dereeC Coi^iEMP. V. CONTEMPLATIONS- 3Cj dered into tlufl:, only the divine power of the Maker muft rcftore either, can reilore both. When we are dead, and buried in the grave of our fin. i. is on- ly the touch of God's prophets, applvin^r unto us ihei death and refurredlion of the Son of God, tliat can put new life into us. No lefs true, thouf^h rpiritual^ is the miracle of our rifnig up from an elhite of in- ward corruption to a life of grace. Yet all this prevails not with Ifrael. No bones of Elifha could raife them from their wicked idolntrv: and, notwithftanding their grofs fins, Joafh their king profpers. Whether it were for the fake of Jehu, whofe grand child he was, or for .the fake of Elifha, whofe face he wept upon, his hand is notably iucce^sfu'^ not only againft the fon of Hazael king of Syria, whom he beats out of the cities of Ifrael, but ap-ainft Amaziah king of Judah, whom he took priionefj healing down the very walls of Jerufalem, and re- turning laden with the facred and rich fpoii, both of tlie temple and court, to his Samaria. O the depth of the divine juftice and wifdom, in thefe outward adminiflrations! The beft caufe, the bed man, doth not ever fare beffc. Amaziah did that which was right in the fight" of the Lord, Joafh evil; Amaziah follows David, though not vfith e- qual paces, Joa^i follows Jeroboam; yet is A?na- •ziah fhamefully foiled by Joalli. Whether God yet- meant to vifit, upon this king of Judah, the dill odi- ous unthankiuluefs of his father Jehoiada, or toi plague Judah for their fhare in the blood of 2,echa- riah, and their late revolt to idolatry; or, whether 'Aaiaziah's too much confidence in his own (Irengih,- which moved his bold challenge to Joafh, were thought fit to be thus taken down; or v»'hatever o- ther fecret around of God's iudsxment there mis^ht be, it is not for our prefumption to inquire. Whofo by the event (hall judge of love or hatred, fhall be Vol. II. - A a fare 5^5 CONTEMPL.\TIONS. Book XX. fare to run upon that woe, which belongs to them that call good evil, and evil good. What a ravage piece of judice it is, to put the right, whether of inheritance or honour, to the de- tlfion of the fword, when it is no news for the bet- ter to niifcarry by the hand of the worfe ? - The race is not to the fwift, the battle is not to the flrong; no, not to the good. Perhaps God will cor- rect his own by a foil; perhaps he will plague his enemy by a viclory. They are only our fpiritual combats wherein our faithful courage is fure of $ cvown» ■♦ CONTEMP. VI. UZZIAH IcplOUS, T^ V£N tlie throne of David paiied many changes _&^_j Qf good and^evil. Good JehoHiaphal was fol- lowed with three fucceffions of wicked princes, and thofe three were again fucceeded with three others godly and virtuous. Amaziah for a long time flione fair, but, at the lail, (hut up in a cloud : the gods of the Edomites marred him. His rebellion againil God ilirred up his people's rebellion againft: him. The fame hands that flew him crov/n'd his fon Uzziah; fo as the young king might imagine, it was not their fijite that drew violence upon his father, but his own wickednefs. Boih early did this prince reign and late : he began at fixteen, and fat fifty-two years in the throne of Judah. They, that mutinied in the d^.) dining age of Amaziah the father, are obfequious K\ the childhood of the fon, as if they profeifed to ador^ fovereignty, wliile they hated lewdnefs. The ui changed government of good princes is the happinefs^ no lefs of the fubjecis, than of themfelves. The hand knows befl to guide thofe reins to which it hath been enured; and even mean hacknies go on cheer- fully in their wonted road. Cuftom, as it makes evils CoNTEMp. Vf. CONTEMPLATIONS. 367 evils more fapportable, fo, where it meets with con- ftant minds, makes gOvod things more pleafmg and beneficial. The wife and holy Zechariah was an happv tutor to the minority of king U^^ziali. That veffel can hardly mifcarry where a Ikilful Iteerfman f.ts at the helm. The firft praife of a good prince is to be judi- cious and juli, and pious in liiml'elf: the next is, to •give ear and way to them that are fuch. While Ze- '•chariah hath the vifions of God, and Uzziah takes 'the counfels of Zechariah, it is hard to fay whether the prophet, or the king, or the (late, be happier. God will be in no man's debt. So long as Uzziah fought the Lord, " God made him to profper." E- ven what we do out of duty, caunot want a reward. Godliaefs never difappointed any man's hopes, oft halh exceeded them. If Uzziah" fight againft the Philiftines, if againft the Arabians, andlMehunims (ac- cording to his names) the itrength, the help of the Almighty is with him. The Ammonites come inwitli prefents, and all the neighbour nations ring of the greatnefs, of the happjnefs of Uzziah: his bounty and care makes Jerulalem both ftrong and proud of- -her new towers; yea, the very defert mufl: tafle of his munificence. The outward munificence of princes cannot ffand firm, unlefs it be built upon the foundations of provi- dence and frugality. Uzziah had not been fo great a king, if he had not been fo great an hufband ; he had his flocks in the deferts, and his herds in the plains; his ploughs in the fields, his vine-dreffers up- on the mountains, and in Carmel: neither was this more out of profit than dehghr, for he loved huf- bandry. Who can contemn thofe callings, for mean- 'ftefs, which have been the pleafures of princes ? Hence v*'as Uzziah fo potent at home, lo dread- ful to his neighbours. His wars had better fmev/s !"- A ?. 2 thaii S68 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book X^. than theirs. Which of his predeceflbrs was able to maintain fo fettled an army, of more than three hun- dred and ten thoufand trained foldiers, well furnifh- ed, well fitted for the fuddeneft occafion? Thrift is the ftrongeft prop of power. The greatnefs of Uzziah, and the rare devices of his artiiicial engines for war, have not more raifed his fame, than his heart : fo is he fv^'ollen up with the admiration of his own (trength and glory, that he breaks again. How eafy it is for the befl man to dote upon himfelf, and to be lifted up fo high, as to lofe the fight both of the ground whence he rifes, and of the hand that advanced him? How hard it is for him that hath invented ft range engines for the batter- ing his enemies, to find out any means to beat down his own proud thoughts ? Wife Solomon knew what he did, when he prayed to be delivered from too much, " Left, faid he, I be full and deny thee, '- and fay. Who is the Lord?'* Upon this rock did the fon of Solomon run and fplit himfelf. His full fails of profperity carried him into prefumption and ruin. What m.ay he not do, what may he not be ? Eecaufe he found his povv'er otherwife unlimited, o- ver-ruling in the court, the cities, the fields, the de- ferts, the ar?uies, and magazines, therefore he thinks he may do fo in the temple too. As things royal, ' civil, hufoandry, military, pafled his hands; fo, v/hy fliould not, thinks he, facred alfo ? It is a dangerous indifcretion for a man not to know the bounds of his own calling. What confufion doth not follows iinon this breakino' of the ranks ? Upon a folemn day, king Uzziah clothes himfel in pontifical robes, and, in the view of that populous rijiembly, walks up in ftate into the temple of God, and, boldly approaching to the altar of incenfe, of->\ fers to burn fweet odours upon it to the God of hea-' vcn. Azariah the pricft is fenfible of io perilous GoNTEMP. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 569 an encroachment, he therefore, attended with fotir- fcore valiant aflaiants of that holy tribe, haltens after the king, and finding him with the cenfer in his hand, ready addreii'ed to that fmful devotion, fi.ays him with a free and grave expoflulation. There is no place wherein I could be fofry to fee thee, () king, but this where thou art: neither is there any act that we fliould grudge thee fo much, as this which is the moft facred. Is it pofTible that fo great an o- verfight lliould fall into fuch wifdom? can a religi- ous prince, trained up under an holy Zechariah, atr ter fo many years zealous profefiion of piety, be ei- ther ignorant, or regardlefs of thofe limits, which God has fet to his own fervices? O what means this uncouth attempt! Confider, O dear fovereign, for God's fake, for thy foul's fake, confider where thou art, what thou doft : it is God's houfe wherein thou ftandefl, not thine own. Look about thee, and fee, whether thefe vails, thefe ta- bles, thefe pillars, thefe walls, thefe pavements, have any referablance of earth. There is no place in all the world, whence thy God hath excluded thee, but only this; this he hath referved for his own ui'e: and canfl: thou think much to allow one room as proper to him, who hath not grudged all the reft to thee. But if it be thy zeal ot a pertonal fervice to God, that hath carried thee thither, alas! how canft thou hope to pleafe the Almighty with a forbidden facrifice ? v/hich of thine holy progenitors ever dc.r- ed to tread where thy foot now Itandelh ? which of them ever put forth their hand to touch this fa- cred altar? thou knowellthat God hath fet apart, and faudified his ov.n attendants. VVhc.rcfoi'e ferVcs the priefthocd, if this be the right of kings? Were it not for the ftiicc prohibition of our God, it could feem no other than an honour to our profciljon, that a king fhould think to dignify hinifelf by our em- A a 3 ployment. 37<^ CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. ployment. But now knowing the fevere charge of the great King of heaven, we cannot but tremble to fee that cenfer in thine hand; who ever, out of the holy tribe, hath wielded it unrevenged? this affront is not to us, it is to the God whom we ferve. In awe of th?.t terrible Majefty, as thou wouldll avoid fome exemplary judgment, O king, withdraw thyfelf, not without humble deprecations, from this prefence, and lay down that interdifted handful, with fear and trem- bling. Be thou ever a king, let us be priefls; the fceptre is thine, let cenfers be ours. What religious heart could do other, than relent at fo faithful and juft an admonition ? but how hard is it fol- great perfons to yield they have offended ? Uzzi-i ah mull not be faulty; what is done rafliiy fliall be borne out wiih power; he was wroth, and thus exr preifeth it. What means this faucy expollulation, O ye ions of Levi ! how dare ye thus malapertly contfoui the well meant actions of your fovereign? if ye be prieifs, remember that ye are fubjeds; or if ye will needs forget it, how eafy is it for this hand to awake your memory? what fuch offence can it be for me to come into that houfe, and to touch that al-. tar, which my royal progenitors have made, beauti- fied, confecrated? is the God of this place only yours? why do ye thus ambitioufly engrofs religion? if princes have not intermeddled with thefe holy af- fairs, it was becaufe they would not, not becaufe they might not. When thofe laws were made for the fnnduary, there were no kings to grace thefe divine ceremonies ; yet, even then, Mofes was privileged, ■■\ The perions of princes, if ye know not, are no lefs facred than your own. It is your prefumption to act count the Lord's anointed prdphane. Conteft v/ith -J tiiore, whole' dry and unhallowed heads are fubje^fe to -^owi power; for me, I will not aflv your leave to be devout. Look ye to your ov/n cenfers, prelume | not CoKTEMr. VI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 371 not to meddle with mine : in the mean time, can ye think this infolence of yours Ihall efcape unievenged? Can it (land with the honour of my fovereignty, to be thus proudly checked by fubjeCts.'' "God dofo " to me and more aUb, if" — While Uzziah yet fpeaLs, God firikes : ere the words of fury can come forth of his mouth, the leprofy appears in his forehead. Le- profy was a. moft Icthefome difeafe : the forehead is, the moll confpicuous part. Had this fliameful fcurf broken forth upon iiis hand, or foot, or breafl:, it might have been hid from the eyes of men; now the forehead is fmirten with this judgment, that God may proclaim to all beholders, Thus fliall it be done to the man, whofe arrogance hath thrufl him upon a facred charge. Public offences mull have open fliame. It is a dangerous thing to put ourfelves into the amairs, into the prcfence of God, unwarranted. There cannot be amGrefoolifhmirpririon,than,becaure we are great on earth, to think we may be bold wath heaven. When God's meflengers cannot prevail by counfeis, entreaties, threats, it is time for God ta Ihew his immediate judgments. Wilful offenders can expect nothing but a fearful revenge. Nov/ begins Uzziah to be confounded in him- felf; and (hame n:rives with leprofy, for a place in his forehead; the hand of God hath done that in an jnitant, which all the tongues of men had atteaipted. in vain. There needs no further folicitor of his egrefs; the fenfe of his plague fends him forth alone. And now he thinks, Wretched man that I am, how iiave I angred God, and undone myfelf ! 1 would needs corns in like a pried, and now go forth a leper; the pride of my heart made me think myfelf worthy the prefence of a God; God's juft difpleafure hath now made me unworthy of the prefence of men; while I affefted the altar, 1 have loft my throne; while I A a 4 fcorn- ^ » • 3 I ' CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. fcornfully rejecled the advice and cenfures of God's minifters, I am now become a fpedacle of horror and deformity to my own fervants ; I, that would be fending up perfumes to heaven, have made my naRi- nefs hateful to my own fenfes ! What do I under this facred roof! neither is God's houfenow for me, nor mine own ! what cell, what dungeon is clofe enough i for me, wherein to wear out the refidue of mine un. happy and uncomfortable days ! O God, thou art juft,' and I am miferable ! Thus, with a dejected countenance, and fad heartj doth Uzziah haften to retire himfelf ; and willies that he could be no lefs hid from himfelf, than from others. ' How eafy is it for the God of heaven to bring down , the higheft pitch of earthly greatnefs, and to humble the ftubbornefl pride? Upon the leifure of fecond thoughts, Uzziah can- not but acknowledge much favour in this correction, "and confefs to have efcaped well ; others he knew /I bad been (truck dead, or fwallowed up quick, for fo prefumptuous an intrufion. It is happy for him, if his forehead may excufe his foul. Uzziah ceafed not to be a king, when he began tq be a leper ; the difeafe of his forehead did not remove his crow-n : his fon Jotham reigned for him, under him ; .and while he was not feen, yet he was obeyed. The character of fovereignty is indelible, whether by bodily infirmity, or by fpiritual cenfure. Neither is it otherwife, O God, betwixt thee and us ; if we be once a royal generation unto thee, our leprofies may deform us, they (liall not dethrone us ; ftill fhall ;| we have the right, ftill the polfeffion of that glorious kingdom, wherein we are inveiled from eternity. .-0N« CoNTEMP. VII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 373 CoNTEMP. VII. Ahaz iviih his new Altar. A FTER many unhappy changes of the two -^ -^ thrones, Ahaz fucceeds Jotham in the king- dom of Jiidah : an ill fon of a good father : not more the heir of David's feat, than of Jeroboam's fm. Though Ifrael play the harlot, yet who can abide that Judah Ihpuld iin ! It is hard not to be infected with a contagious neighbourhood: whoever read, that the kingdom of Ifrael was feafoned with the vicinity of the true religion of Judah ? Goodnefs, fuch our nature is, it not ^o apt to fpread. A tainted air doth more eafily affeci: a found body, than a w^holefome air can clear the fick. Superltition hath ever been more fuccefsful than truth ; the young years of Ahaz are foon milled to a plaufible mifdsvction. A man that is once fallen from truth, knows not where he fhall ftay. From the calves of Jeroboam is Ahaz drawn to the gods of the Heathen; yea, now bulls and goats are too little for thofe new deities ; his own iiefti and blood is but dear enough ; " He m.ade " his fon to pafs through their fire." Where do we find anv religious Ifraelite thus zealous for God ? Nei- J o iher cfoth the holinels and mercy of our God require fo cruel a facrifice : neither is our dull and niggardly hand ready to gratify him with more eafy obediences. O God, how gladly fhould we offer unto thee our fouls and bodies, which we may enjoy fo much the more, when they are thine ; fince zealous Pagans ftick not to lofe their own Q.p?i\ and blood in an idol's fire! He, that hath thus fhamefullv cafi off the God of his fathers, cannot be lone: without a fearful reveno-e. The king of Ifrael galls him on the one fide, the king of Syria on the other. To avoid the ffiock of both, Ahazdorh not betake himfelf to the God whom he had offended, who was able to lyake liis enemies at peace with 37 4- CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. with him, but to Tiglath-pilefer king of Afnur? hini doth he woo with fuits, with gifts, snd robs God of thofe prefents, which may endear fo (Irong an helper. He, that thought not his fon too dear for an idol, thinks not God's filver and gold too dear for an idola- trous abettor. O the infinite patience of the Almighty! God gives fuccefs 3. while to fo ofFenfive a rivality. This AlTy- i'ian king prevails againft the king of Syria, kills him, and takes his chief city Damafcus. the quarrel of the king of Judah hath enlarged the territories of his Af- fidant beyond hope; and now, while this AlTyrian vi«^or is enjoying the polfeffion of his new-won Da- mafcus, Ahaz goes up thither to meet him, to congra- tulate the victory, to add unto thofe triamphs, which were drawn on by his iolicitation. There he fees a new-fLifnioned altar that pleafes his eye; that old form of Solomon's, w^hich was made by the pattern fhowed to Mofes in the mount, is now grown ftale and defpicable : a model of this more exquifite frame is fent to Urijah the prieft, and muft be fampled in Jerufalem. It is a dangerous prefumpticn to make innovations, if but in the circumftances oi God's worfliip. Thofe human additions, which would feem to grace the in- ftitution of God, deprave it; that infinite wifdom knows heft what will pleafe itfelf, and prefcribes ac- cordingly. 1 he foolifiinefs of God is wifer than the wifdom of men. Idolatry and falfehood are commonly more gaudy and plaufible than truth. That heart, which can, for the outward homelinefs, defpife the or- dinances of God, is already aliened from true religion, and lies open to the groffeft faperftition. Never any prince was fo foully idolatrous, as that he wanted a pried to fecond him. An Urijah is fit to humour an Ahaz. Greatncfs could never com- mand I CoNTEMP. VII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 375 I mand any thing, which fome fervile wits were not [' ready both to appkiud and juflify. i^re^he king can be returned trom Damafcus, the ! ahar is finiHied. It were happy, if true godlinefs I could be lo forward in the profecutions of good. Nei- ther is this llrange pile reared only, but thrufl up be- twixt God's altar and the temple, in an apparent pre- decency, as if he had faid, Let the God of Judah come behind the deities of Syria. And now, to make up the full meafure of his im- piety, this idolatrous king will himfelf be facrificing upon his new altar, to his new gods, the gods of Da- mafcus. An ufurped priefthood well becomes a falfe deity ; " Becaufc, faith he, the gods of the kings of " Syria help them, therefore will I facrihce to them, " that they may help me." O blind fupevilition ! How did the gods of Syria help their kings, when both thofe kings and their gods w'ere vanquifncd, and taken by the king of Af- lyria? Even this Damafcus and this altar were the fpcil of a foreign enemy ; how then did the gods of Syria help their kings, any other than to their ruin ? \Vhat dotage is this to make choice of a foiled pro- tection? But had the Syrians profpered, mud their gods have the thanks ? Are there no authors of good buc blocks or devils? oris an outward profperity the only argument of truth, the only motive of devotion? O foolKh Ahaz ! it is the God thou haft forfaken that plagues thee, under wdiofe only arm thou mighteft have prevailed. His pow'er beats thofe pagan flocks one againfl another, fo as, one while, one feems victorious, another vanquKhed ; and at lafl: he confounds both, together with their proudeft clients. Thyfelf fhall be the beii inilance. (3f all the kings of Judah hitherto, there is none fo dreadful an example, either of fm or judgment, as this fori of good Jotham. 1 abhor to think, that fuch a mori- 376 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. a monfter fhould defcend from the loins of David ; where fhould be the period of this wickednefs ? He began with the high places, thence he defc^^ds to the calves of Dan and Bethel ; from thence he falls to a Syrian altar, to the Syrian god; then, from a partnerfhip, he falls to an utter exclufion of the true God, and blocking up his temple, and then to the fa- crifice of, his own foa ; and at laft, as if hell were broken loofe upon God's inheritance, every feveral city, every high pliice of Judah hath a nev; god. No marvel, if he be branded by the Spirit of God, with, *' This is that king Ahaz/* What a fearful plague did this noifome deluge of fin leave behind it in the land of Judah ? Who can ex- prefs the horror of God's revenge upon a people that fliould have been his ? Pekah the king of Ifrael flew an hundred and twenty thoufand of them in one day, amongli whom was Mafeiah the fon of Ahaz. O juft judgment of the Almighty ! Ahaz ilieds the blood of one fon to an idol : the true God (beds the blood of another of his fons in revenge. Yet the hand of the Lord is flretched out flill. Two hundred thoufand of them v/ere carried away, by the Ifraelites, captive to Samaria. The Edomites came, and carried av,?ay another part of them for bond-flaves to their country. The Puiliftines came up and fliared the cities of the fouth of Judah, and the villages thereof: fhortly what other is mii'erabie Judah, than the prey and fpoil of all the neighbouring nations ? " For the Lord " brought Judah lov/ becaufe of Ifrael, for he made *' Judah naked, and tranfgrefled fore againfl the " Lord.'* As for the great king of Afhur, whom Ahaz purchafed with the facrilegious pillage of the houfe of God, inftead of an aid, he proves a burden : however he fpcd in his firft onfets, now, " he di- ^' lirefPid Judah, but flrengthned it not," The charge was CoNTEMP. Vlir. CONTEMPLATIONS. 377 was as great, as the benefit fmall ; fooner (hall he eat them out than refcue them. No arm of flefh can Ihelter Ahaz from a vengeance. " Be wife, O ye kings ; be inftruded, O ye judges " of the earth : ferve the Lord with fear, and re- " joice with trembling. Kifs the fon, left he be an- ** gry, and ye periih from the way, when his wrath " is kindled but a little.'* His fubjefts complain, that he died fo late ; and, as repenting that he ever was, deny him a room in the fepulchpes of kings ; as if they had faid, the common earth of Jerufalem is too good for him that degene- rated from his progenitors, fpoiled his kingdom, de- prived his people, forfook his God. CoNTEMP. Vin. The utter DeJiruEtion of the King" dom 0/" Israel. JUDAH was at a fore heave ; yet Ifrael (hall mlf- carry before it ; fuch are the fms of both, that they itrive whether fliall fail firft : but this lot mud light upon the ten tribes. Though the late king of Jadah were perfonally worfe than the moft: of Jero- boam's fuccelTors, yet the people were generally lefs evil, upon whom the encroachments of idolatry were more by obtrufion, than by confent ; befides, that the thrones of Judah had fome interchanges of good princes, Ifrael none at all. The fame juflice therefore that made Ifrael a fcourge to Judah, made AlTyria a fcorpion to Ifrael. It was the quarrel of Judah, that firft engaged the king of Alhur in this war againfl Ifrael : now he is not to eafily fetcht off. So we have feen fome ea- ger maftive, that hath been fet on by the leaft clap of the hand, but could not be loofened by the force of Haves. 37S . CONTEMPLATIONS. Book X% Salmanefer king of Affyria comes up againil Ho- fliea king of Ifrael, and fubdues him, and puts liim to his tribute. This yoke was uncouth and unplea- fing : the vanquiihed prince was neither able to re- fift, nor willing to yield : fecretly therefore he treats with the king of iigypt for afjiftance, as defiring rather to hazard his liberty by the hand of an equal, than to enjoy a quiet fubjedion under the hand of an over-ruling power. We cannot blame princes to be jealous of their fovereignties : the detaining of his yearly tribute, and the whifperings with new confe- derates, have drawn up the king of Afnur to perfet!:l his own vi6lories. He returns therefore with a iiron"- power, and, after three years fiege, takes Samaria, imprifons Hofhea, and, in the exchange of a woful captivity, he peoples Ifrael with AiTyrians, and Affy- ria with Ifraelites. Now that abufed foil hath, upon a furfeit of wickednefs, caft out her perfidious ovi^n- ers, and will try how^ it can fare with heatheniih grangers. Now, the Ailyrian gallants triumph in the palaces of Samaria and Jezreel, while the peers and captains of ifrael are driven manicled through the Affyrian ilreets, and billeted to the feveral places of their perpetual fervitude. Shortly now the fiourifir- ing kingdoni of the ten tribes is come to a final and fhameful end, and fo vaniflied in this lad diffipation, that, fince that day, no man could ever fay, this vi'as -Ifrael. O terrible example of vengeance, upon that pecu^ liar people, whou^. God hath chofen for himfelf out of rdi the w^orld ! All the world v/ere witneiTes of the favours of their miraculous deliverances and protec- tions ; all the world (hall be witneffes of their juft confufion. It is not in the power of flight errors fo fct off that infinite mercy. What was it, O God, what v/as it that caufed thee to caft off tliine own inheritance f -j what CoNTEMP. Via. CONTEMPLATIONS. 379 what but the fiime that made thee to caft the angels 0(\t oPheaven, even their rebellious fins! Thofe fins dared ,to emulate the greatnefs of thy mercies, no iefs than they torccd the feverity of thy judgments : *' They left all the commandments of the Lord their " God ; and made them molten images, even two *' calves ; and made a grove, and vvorlhippeu all the " hoit of heaven, and ferved Baal, and caufed their " fons and daughters to pafs through the hre, and " iii'tid divination and inchantments, and fold ihem- " felves to do evil in the Tight of the Lord to provoke " him to anger." Neither were thefe flips of frailty, or ignorant mif- takings, but wilful crimes, obdinate impieties, in fpite of the doctrines, reproofs, menaces, miraculous convictions of the holy prophets, which God fent a- mongfl them. Thy dertruction is of thyfelf, O Ifrael! What could the jufl hand of the Almighty do Iefs than confume a nation fo incorrigibly flagitious ? a nation fo unthankful for mercies, fo impatient of remedies, fo incapable cf repentance ; fo obliged, fo warned, fo fliamelefsly, fo lawlefsly v^'icked ,'' What nation under heaven can now challenge an indefeafible intereit in God, when L^rael itff?lf is caffc off? what church in the world can fhow fuch dear li)ve-iokens from the Almighty, as this now abhor- red and adulterous fpcufe ? He, that fpared not the natural olive, fhali he fpare the wild ? It is not for us finners cf the G entiles to be high-minded, but awtul. The irraelites are carried captive into AiTyria. Thcfe goodly cities ol the ten tribes may not lie waite and unpeopled : the wifdom of the victor finds it lit to tranfplant his own colonies thither, that fo he may raife proht thence, with fccurity. From Baby- lon therefore, and Cuthah, and Ava, and Hamath, and Sepharvaim, doth he fend of his own fubjects, to polfefs 3^0 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX; pofiefs and inhabit the ciiies of Samaria. The land doth not brook her new tenants : " They feared " not the Lord ;" how (iiould they ? they knew him not. " Therefore the Lord fent lions amongll them, *' which flew fome of them.'* Not the verieft Pa- gan can be excufed for his ignorance of* God : even the depravedeil nature might teach us to tremble at a Deity. It is juft with the Ahiiighty not to put up •with neglect, where he hath beflowed reafon, The brute creatures are fent to revenge the cjuar- rel of their Maker, upon worfe beafts than them- felves. Still hath God left himfelf champions in If- rael : lions tear the AlTyrians in pieces, and put them in mind, that, had it not been for wickednefs. that land needed not to have changed maders. The great Lord of the world cannot want means to plague of- fenders: if the men be gone, yet the beafts are there ; and if the beads had been gone, yet, fo long as there were flones in the v/alls, in the quarries, God would be fure cf avengers. There is no fecu- rity but in being at peace with God. The king of Aflyria is fued to for remedy. Even thefe Pap-ans have learned to know that thefe lions were fent from a God ; that this punifliment is for Hn : " They know not the m.anner of the God of " the land, therefore he hath fent lions am.ong ** them." Thefe blind Heathens, that think every land hath a feveral god, yet hold that ^od worthy of his own wcrfhip ; yet hold, that worihip mud be AiTy they that are ready to afcribe all calamities to na- ture, to chance ? that, acknowledging but one God,"l of all the Vv'orld, are* yet carelefs to know him, to ferve him .? J One €oNTEM?. VIII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 381 One of the prlefls of Ifrael is apppointed to be carried back to Samaria, to teach the Afl'yrian colo- ny the fafhions of the god of the land ; not for devo- tion, but for impunity. Vain politicians think to fa- tisfy God by patching up religions : any forms are good enough for an unknown deity. The AfTyrian priefts teach, and pratflife the worlhip of their own gods. The Ifraelitifli prieft prefcribes the worfiiip of the true God. The people will follow both ;' the one out of liking, the other out of fear. What a prodigious mixture was here of religions? true with falfe, Jewifli with paganifli, divine with devil- ifli; every divifion of thefe tranfplanted Affyrians had their feveral deities, high places, facrifices; this high pried of Ifrael intercom munes with every of theili: fo that now thefe fathers of Saniaritanifm are in at all; ^' They fear the Lord, and ferve their idols." No' beggar's cloak is more pieced than the religion of thefe new inhabitants of Ifrael. I know not how their bo- dies fped for the lions ; I am fure their fouls fared the worfe for this medly. Above all things God hates a mungrel devotion ; if we be not all Ifrael, it were better to be ail Afliur : it cannot fo much dif- pleafe God to be unknown or neglecled, as to be' conforted with idols. CoNTEMP. IX. Hezekiah and Senacherib. SRAEL is gone, Judah is left (landing; or ra- ther fome few fprigs of thofe two tribes : fo we have feen, in the (hreding of fome large timber-tree," one or two boughs left at the top to hold up the fap,' Who can but lament the poor remainders of that lan- guifhing kingdom of David; Take out of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin' one hundred and twenty thoufand, whom Pekah the; king of Ifrael iiew in one day; take oiit tv/o hundred Vol. H, B b thou- 332 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. thoufand that were carried away captive to Samaria; take out thofe that were tranfported into the bondage of the Edomites, and thofe that were fubdued in the fouth parts by the Phiiifiines; alas, what an handful was left to the king of Judah! fcarce worth the name of a dominion : yet even now, out of the gleeds of Judah, doth God raife up a glorious light to his for- lorn church; yea, from the wretched loins of Ahaz, doth God fetch an holy Hezekiah. It had been hard to conceive the (fate of Judah worfe than it was; neither was it more miferable than fmful, and, in re- gard of both, defperate; when beyond hope, God revives this dying-flock of David, and out of very ruins builds up his own houfe. /^haz was not more the ill fon of a good father, than he was the ill father of a good fon. He was the ill fon of good Jotham, the ill father of good Hezekiah ; good Hezekiah makes amends for his father's impiety, and puts a new life into the heartlefs remnant of God's people. The v/ifdom of our good God knows when his aid will be moft feafonable, mofr welcome, which he then loves to give, wh^n he finds us left of all our hopes. That merciful hand is referved for a dead lift; then, he fails us not. Now, ye might have feen this pious prince bufily beftirring himfelf, in fo late ana needful a reforma- tion, removing the high pfaces, battering and burn- ing the idols, demolifhing their temples, cutting^ down their groves,, opening the temple, purging th« altars and vefiels, fanctifying the priefts, rekindling' t]\e lamps, renev.-ing the incenfe, reindituting the fa- crlfices, eftablifhing the order of God's fervice, ap- pointing the courfeS; fettling the maintenance of the miniiters, publifliing the decrees of the long neglect- ed paiTover, celebrating it, and the other feafts, with || due folemnity, encouraging the people, contributing ' bountiiully to the offerings; and, in one word, fo or- dering GoNTEMP. IX. CONTEMl'LATIO^^S. 383 dering all the affairs of God, as \£ he had heen feni: down from heaven to reflore religion, as it David him- felf had been alive again in this blelfed heir, not fo much of his crown, as of his piety-. O Jii- dah ! happy in thy Hezekiah ; O Hezekiah ! happy in the gracious reflauration of th-; Judah. Ahaz ihall have no thank for fuch a fon : the God that is able of the very (tones to raife children to Abraham,- raifes a true feed of David, out of the corrupt Joins of an idolater. That infinite mercy is not tied to the^ terms of an immediate propagation : for the fpace of three hundred years, the man after God's own heart had no perfedl heir till now. Till now did the high places (land : the devotions of the beft princes of Judah were blemiflied with fome weak omiffions; Now the zeal of good Hezekiah clears all thofe de- fers, and works an entire change. How feafonably hath the providence of God kept the bed man for the worft times? When God hath a great work to do, he knows to fit himfelf with indruments. No marvel, if the paganidi idols go to wrack, when even the brazen ferpent, that ?vlofes had made by God's own appointment, is broken in pieces. The Ifraelites were iVtsng with fiery ferpents, this brazen ferpent healed them, which they did no fooner fee than they recovered. But now, fuch was the ve- nom of the Ifraeliti(h idolatry, that this ferpent of brafs (lung worfe than the fiery; that which fird cured by the eye, now by the eye poifoned the foulj that which was at fird the type of a Saviour, is now the deadly engine of the enemy : while it. helped, it dood; it dood while it hurt not : but when once wicked abufe hath turned it into an idol, what was it but Nehufl-iitan .? The holinefs of the fird inditution, cannot privl= !ege ought from the danger of a future profanation ; B b 2 nor 384 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. nor, as the cafe may ftand, from an utter abolition. V^^hat antiquity, what authority, what primary fer- vice might this ferpent have pleaded? all that cannot keep it out of the duft. Thofe things which are neceffary in their being, beneficial in their continu- ance, may flill remain when their abufe is purged : but thofe things whofe ufe is but temporary, and whofc duration is needlefs and unprofitable, may ceafe with the occafion, and much more perilh with an infepar- able abufe. Hezekiah willingly forgets who made the ferpent, when he fees the Ifraelites make it an idol. It is no lefs intolerable for God to have a ri- val of his own making. Since Hezekiah was thus, above all his anceflors, upright with the Lord, it is no marvel, if the Lord w^ere with him, if he prcfpered whitherfoever he went; the fame God, that would have his juflice magnified in the confufion of the wicked princes of ITrael and Judah, would have his mercy no lefs ac- knowledged, in the bleffings of faithful Hezekiah. The great king of Aifyria had, in a fort, fwallow- ed up both the kingdoms of Judah and Ifrael, yet not with an equal cruelty; he made Ifrael captive, Judah, upon a willing compofiiion, tributary. Ifra- el is vanifhed in a tranfportation ; Judah continues under the homage wherein Ahaz left it. Hezekiah had reigned but fix years, when he faw his neigh- bours of Ifrael packing into a miferable captivity, and the proud Aflyrians lording in their cities; yet, even then, when he flood alone, in a corner of Ju- dah, durfl: Hezekiah draw his neck out of the ^'^oke of the great and vicLorious monarch of Affyria; and, as if one enemy had not been enough, at the fame time he falls upon the encroaching Philiftines, and prevails. It is not to be alked, what powers a man can make, but in what terms he ftands with heaven. The unworthy father of Hezekiah had clogged Judah with CoNTEMP. IX. CONTEMPLATIONS. 3S5 with this fervile fealty to the AfTyrian ; what the con- ditions of that fubjeftion were, it is too late, and need- lefs for us to enquire. U this payment were limited to a period of time, the expiration acquitted him ; if, upon covenants of aid, the celfation thereof acquitted him ; if the reforming of religion, and banidiment of idolatry, ran under the cenfure of rebellion, the quar- rel on Hezekiah's part was holy, on Senacherib's unjuft : but if the reflipulation were abfclute, and the withdrawing of this homage upon none but civil grounds, I cannot excufe the good king from a juft offence. It was an human frailty in an obliged prince, by force, to effe6l a free and independent (overeignty. What do we mince that fact, which holy Hezekiah himfelf cenfures.' " I have otFended, return from ** me; what thou putted on me will I bear.'* The comfort of liberty may not be had with an unwarrant- ed violence. Holinefs cannot free us from infirmity. It was a weaknefs to do that aft, which mud be foon undone with much repentance, and more lofs ; this revolt (hall cod Hezekiah, befides much humiliation, three hundred yearly talents of filver, thirty talents of gold. How much better had it been for the cities of Judah to have purchafed their peace with an eafy tribute, than war with intolerable taxation ? Fourteen years had good Hezekiah fed upon a fweet peace, fauced only with a fet penfion ; now he mud prepare his palate for the bitter morfels of war. The king of Aifyria is come up againd all the de- fenced cities of Judah, and hath taken them. He- zekiah is fain to buy him out with too many talents; the poor kingdom of Judah is exhauded with fo deep a payment, in fo much as the king is forced to borrow of God himfelf, for "Hezekiah gave him all the fiU " ver that was found in the houfe of the Lord; yea, '' at that time did Hezekiah cut od^ the gold from the '' doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the B b 3 pillars 386 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. ^^ pillars which he had overlaid, and gave it to the " king of Affyrla." How hard was good ?Iezekiah driven, ere he would be thus bold with his God ! Surely if the "mines or coffers of Judah could have yielded any fupply, this fhift had been hateful ; to fetch back for an enemy that which he had given to his Maker. Only necelTity excul'es that from facrilejre in the fon, which will made facrilege in the father : that which is once devoted to a facred ufe, may not be called back to a profane. But he, whofe the earth is, and the fulnefs of it, is not fo taken with our me- talc, that he fnould more regard our gold than our welfare : his goodnefs cannot grudge any outward thing for the price of our peace. To rob God, out of covetoufnefs, or wantonnefs, or negleft, is juflly damn- able ; we cannot rcb him out of our need ; for then he gives us all we take, and bids us ranfom our lives, our liberties; the treafures of God's houfe were pre- cious, for his fake, to whom they were corfecrated ; but more precious in the fight of the Lord was the life of any one of his faints. Every true Ifraelite was the fpirltual houfe of God; why fliould not the door of the material temple be willingly dripped, to fave the whole frame of the fpiri- tual temple. Take therefore, O Hezekish, what thou haft given ; no gold is too holy to redeem thy vexation. It matters not fo m.uch hov%' bare the doors of the temple be, in a cafe of necefTity, as how well the infides be furniflied with fincere devotion. O the cruel hard-heartednefs of thcfe men, which will ra- "^ther fuffer.the living temples of God to be ruined, -^ than they will ranfom their life with farthings. ' It could not be, but that the ftore of needy Judah mud: foon be drawn dry with fo deep an exadion; that fum cannot be fent, becaufe it cannot' be raifed. The cruel tyrant calls for his bricks, while he allows no ilraw : his aiiger is kindled, becaufe Hezekiah's cof- fers CoNTEMP. IX. CONTEMPLATIONS. 387 fcrs have a bottom -, with a mighty hoft doth he come up againfl: Jerufalem, therefore (hall that city be de- Itroyed by him, becaufe by him it hath been impo- verifliedj the inhabitants muft be fiaves, becaufe tlity are beggars. O lamentable, and, in fight, defperate condition of diftreiTed Jerufalem : wealth it had none ; ftrength it had but a little ; all the country round about was fubdued to the Afiyrian ; that proud victor hath be- girt the walls of it with an innumerable army, fcorn- ing that fuch a (hovel full of earth (liould (land out but one day. Poor Jerufalem itands alone, blocked up with a world of enemies, helplefs, friendlefs, com- fortldfs, looking for the worft of an hodile fury, when Tartan and Rabfaris, and Rabfliakeh, the great cap- tains of the AlTyrians call to a parley; Hezekiah fends to them three of his prime officers, his fleward, his fecretary, his recorder. Lord, v/hat infolent bhif- phemies doth that foul mouth of Rabfhakeh belch out againfl the living God, againfl his anointed fer- vant ! _ How plaufiblv doth he difcourage the fubjecls of Hezekiah, how proudly doth he iiifult upon their impotency, how doth he brave them with bafe offers of advantage ; and-laflly, how cunningly doth he fore- lay their confidence, which was only left them, in the Almighty, proteiling not to be come up thither "without the Lord. " The Lord faid to me, Go up " to this land, and deflroy it." How fearful a Vvord. was this ! the reft were but vain cracks, this was a thunderbolt to flrike dead the hqart of Hezekiah : if Rabfhakeh could have been believed, Jerufalem could not but have flown open; how could it think to Hand out no lefs againfl God than men ? Even thus doth the great enemy of mankind ; if he can difhearten the foul from a dependence upon the God of mercies, B b 4 th.2 3BS CONTEMPLATIONS. Book X^. the day is his. Lewd mifcreants care not how they belie God, for their own purpofes. Eliakim the fteward of Hezekiah well knew, hc.y much the people muft needs be afFecled with this per- nicious fuggeftion; and fain would therefore, if not ilop that wicked mouth, yet divert thefe blafphe- mies into a foreign expreffion. I wonder that any wife man (hould look for favour from an enemy : " Speak, I pray thee, to thy fervants in the Syrian " language." What was this, but to teach an adver- fary how to do mifchief? wherefore came Rabfliakeh thither, but to gall Hezekiah, to withdraw his fub- jefts? That tongue is propereft for him which may hurt mofl. Deprecations of evil to a malicious man are no better than advices. An unknown idiom is fit to keep counfel, they are familiar words that muft convey ought to the underftanding. Lewd men ar«? the worfe for admonitions. Rabfhakeh had not fo drained his throat, to cor- rupt the citizens of Jerufalem, had it not been for the humble obteftation of Eliakim. Now he rears up his voice, and holds his fides, and roars out his double blafphemies; one while affrighting the people with |:he great power of the mighty king pf Aflyria, ano- ther while debafmg the contemptible force of Heze- Jciah; now fmoothly alluring them with the affurances of a fafe and fuccefsful yieldance, then difcouraging them with the impoiTibility of their deliverance ; lay- ing before them the fearful examples of greater na- tions vanquifhed by that fword, which was now ihaken over them, triumphing in the impotency and mifcarriage of their gods. " Who are they among all ^' the gods of the countries, that have delivered their " country out of min^ hand, that the Lord fhould de- ^' liver Jerufalem out of mine hand? where are the " gods of Arpad and of Hamath?" Where? but in that hellifh darknefs, that is ordained both for them and CoNTEMp. IX. CONTEMPLATIONS. 389 and for thee, barbarous AfTyrian, that darefl thus open thy mouth againft thy Maker : and can thofe atheous eyes of thine fee no difference of gods ? Is there no diftance betwixt a ftoc'k, or {lone, and that infinite Deity that made heaven and earth ? It is e- nough that thou now feeleft: it ; thy torments have taught thee too late, that thou affrontefl: a Hving God. liow did the fingers and tongues of thofe Jewifh peers and people itch to be at Rabfnakeh, in a re- vengeful anfwer to thefe impieties : all is hufht, not a word founds from thofe walls. I do not more won- der at Hezekiah's wifdom, in commanding filence, than at the fubjects obedience in keeping it. This railer could not be more fpited, than with no anfwer; and if he might be exafperated, he could not be re- formed ; befides, the rebounding of thofe multiplied blafphemies might leave fom.e ill impreflions in the multitude; this fulphurous flafii, therefore, dies in its own fmoke, only leaving an hateful flench be- hind it. Good Hezekiah cannot eafily pafs over this devili/h oratory ; no fooner doth he hear of it, than he rends his cloaths, and covers himfelf with fackcloth, and betakes himfelf to the houfe of the Lord, and fends his officers, and the graved of the priefts, clad in fackcloth, to Ifaiah the prophet of Qod, with a dole- ful and querulous meffage. O the noble piety of Hezekiah ! Notwithflanding all the (Iraits of the fiege, and the danger of fo powerful an enemy, I find not the garments of this good king, any otherwife than whoje, and vinchanged ; but now, fo foon as ever a blafphemy is uttered againfl the ma- jefty of his God, though by a Pagan dog, his cloaths are torn, and turned into fackcloth. There can be tio better argument of an upright heart, than to be more fenfible of the indignities offered to God, than of our own dangers. Even thefe defperate reproaches fend 59© CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. fend Hezekiah to the temple. The more v/e fee God's name profaned, the more fhall we, if we be truly re- iieious, love and honour it. Whither mould Hezekiah run, but to the temple, to the prophet i there, there is the refuge of all faith- ful ones, where they may fpeak with God, where they may be fpoken to from God, and fetch comfort from both. It is not pofTible that a believing heart fhould be difappointed. Ifaiah fends that meflage to the good king, that may dry up his tears, and chear his countenance, and change his fuit : " Thus faith " the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou ^' haft heard, with which the fervants of the king of " Aifyria hath blafphemed me : behold, I will fend a " blaft upon him, and he (hali hear a rumour, and '^ fiiall return to his own land ; and 1 will caufe him " to fall by the fword, in his own land." Lo, even while Sennacherib was in the height of his jollity and affurance, God's prophet forefees his ruin, and gives him for dead, while that tyrant thought of nothing but life and victory. Proud and fecure world- lings little dream of the near approach of their judg- ments : while they are plotting their deepeft deiigns, the over-ruling juftice of the Almighty hath contrived their fudden ccnfufion, and fees, and fets them their day. Rabfhakeh returns, and, finding the king of Affyr ria. warring againft Libnah, reports to him thefilent, and therein contemptuous anfwer, and firm refolu- tions of Hezekiah : in the mean time God pulls Sena- cherib by the ear, with the news of the approaching army of Firhakah king of Ethiopia, which was com- ing up to raife the fiege, and to fuccour his confede- rates. That dreadful power will not allow the Affy- rian king, in perfon, to lead his other forces up again Jsrufalem, nor to continue his former leaguer long before thofe walls. But now, he writes, big words to Heze- CosTEMP. IX. CONTEMPLATIONS. 391 riezekiah, and thinks, with his thundering menaces, to beat open the gates, and level the bulwarks of Je- rufalem. Like the true mafter ot Rabfhakeh, he re- viks the God of heaven, and bafely parallels hiin wirh the dunghill deities of the heathen. Good Hezekiah gets him into his fanduary, there he fprcads the letter before the Lord ; and calls to ihe God that dwells between the cherubims, to re- venge the blafphemies of Senacherib, to protecl and refcue himfelf, and his people. Every one of thofe words- pierced heaven, which was no lefs open to mercy unto Hezekiah, than vengeance to Sennacherib. Now is ifaiah addrefled wirh a fecond meffsgc of com- fort to him, who doubtlefs diftrufted not thefiril: on- ly the reiteration of that [urious blafphem.y made him take faffcer hold, by his faitliful devotion. Now, the jealous God, in a difdain of fo blafpheraous a contef- tation, rifes up in a ftyle of majeily, and glorioufiy tramples upon this faucy infolency : ^'^ Becaufe thy *' rage againft me, and thy tumult is come up into " mine ears, therefore 1 will put my hook into thy " nofe, and my bridle into thy hps, and will turn ^' thee back by the way thou cameft." Lo, Sena- cherib, the God of heaven makes a bead of thee, who haft fo brutiihiy fpurned at his name ! If thou be a ravenous bear, he hath an hook for thy noftrils : if thou be a refty horfe, he hath a bridle for thy mouth; in fpite of tiiee, thou Ihait follow his hook, or his bridle, and (halt be led to thy juft (liame by either. It is not for us to he the lords of our own actions : *• Thus faith the Lord concerning the king of Affy- '• ria, he (hall not come into this city, nor (hoot an " arrow there, nor come before it with ihield, nor " cafl a bank againd it ; by the way that he came ^' ihali he return, 6:c." Impotent men, what are we in the hands of the Almighty ! we purpofe, he cvcr-rules ; we talk of great matters, and think to do wonders. 392 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. wonders, he blows upon our projeds, and they va- nifh with ourfelves. He that hath fet bounds to the fea, hath appointed limits to the rage of the proudefl: enemies ; yea, even the devils themfelves are confin- ed. Why boaft ye yourfelves, O ye tyrants, that ye can do mifchief ; ye are dinted, and even within thofe lifts is confufion. O the trophies of divine juftice ! " That very night " the angel of the Lord went out, and fmote in the " camp of the Aflyrians, an hundred fourfcore and " five thoufand, and when they rofe early in the *' morning, behold they were all dead corpfes.'* How fpeedy an execution was this ? how miracu- lous ? no human arm fhall have the glory of this vic- tory. It was God that was defied by that prefump- tuous Affyrian ; it is God that (hall right his own wrongs. Had the Egyptian, or Ethiopian forces been come up, though the fame God had done this work by them, yet fome praife of this flaughter had, per^ haps, cleaved to their fingers : now an invifible hand fheds all this blood, that his very enemies may clear him from all partnerfhip of revenge. Go now, wickr. ed Senacherib, and tell of the gods of Hamath, and Arpad, and Sepharvaim, and Hena, and Iva, which thou haft deftroyed, and fay, that Hezekiah's God is but as one of thefe. Go, and add this deity to the number of thy conquefts : now, fay that Hezekiah's God, in whom he trufted, hath deceived him, and graced thy triumphs. With iliame and grief enough, is that Iheeped ty- rant returned to his Nineveh, having left behind him all the pride and ftrength of Alfyria, for compoft to Jewilh fields. Well were it for thee, Q Senacherib, if thou couldft efcape thus ; vengeance waits for thee at home, and welcomes thee into thy place ; while thou art worfhipping in the houfe of Nifroch thy god 3 two of thine ov.'n fons (liall be thine execution- ers. CoNTEMP. X. CONTEMPLATIONS. 393 ners. See now, if that falfe deity of thine can pre- ferve thee from that ftroke, which the true God fends thee by the hand of thine own flefh. He, that flew thine holt by his angels, flays thee by thy fons. The fame angel, that killed all thofe thoufands, could as eafily have fmitten thee ; but he rather referves thee for the further torment of an unnatural ftroke ; that thou mayeft fee, too late, how eafy it is for him, in fpite of thy god, to arm thine own loins againft thee. Thou art avenged, O God, thou art avenged plentifully of thine enemies. Whofoever ftrives with thee, is fure to gain nothing but lofs, but fiiame, but death, but hell. The Aflyrians are flain, Sennache- rib is rewarded for his blafphemy ; Jerufalem is re- fcued, Hezekiah rejoices ; the nations wonder and tremble. " O love the Lord, all ye faints ; for th.^, " Lord preferveth the faithful, and plenteoufly re- " wardeth the proud doer.*' Con TEMP. X. YiEXEKi AYi fick, recovered, vifited. EZEKIAH was freed from the fiege of the Aflfyrians, but he is furprifed with a difeafe. He, that delivered him from the hand of his enemies, fmites him with ficknefs. God doth not let us loofe from all aflBiclions, when he redeems us from one. To think that Hezekiah was either not thankful enough for his deliverance, or too much lifted up with glory of fo miraculous a favour, were an inju- rious mifconftruciion of the hand of God, and an un- charitable cenfure of an holy prince : for, though no flefli and blood can avoid the juft defert of bodily punifliment, yet God doth not always fl:rike with an intuition of fin : fometimes he regards the benefit of our trial ; fometimes the glory of his mercy in our cure. It i94 CONTEMPLATIONS. B( XX!; It was no flight dlflemper that felzed upon He- zekiah, but a difeafe both painful and fierce, and in nature deadly. O God, how thou lafliefl even thofe whom thou loveft ! Fladfl thou ever any fuch dar- ling in the throne of Judah, as Hezekiah ? yet he no fooner breatheth from a miferable fiege, than he panteth under a mortal ficknefs, when as yet he had not fo much as the comfort of a child to fucceed him. Thy prophet is fent to him with a heavy mef- fage of his death : '• Set thine houfe in order, for •' thou (halt die and not live." It is no fmall mercy of God, that he gives us warning of our end : we fhall make an ill ufe of fo gracious a premonition, if we make not a meet preparation for our paiTage. E- ven thofc that have not an houfe, yet have a foul. No foul can v.ant important affairs to be ordered for 2[ final dilTolution : the negle6l of this beft thrift is defperate. Set thy foul in order, O man, for thou ilialt die and not live. If God had given Hezekiah a fon, nature had be- queathed his eftate : now, he m.uil fiudy to find heirs. Even thefe outward things, though in them- felves worth lefs, require our careful difpofition to thofe we leave behind us ; and, if we have delayed thefe thoughts till then, our fick-beds may not com- plain of their importunity. We c^-inot leave to our families a better legacv than peace. Never was the prophet Ifaiah unwelcome to this good king, until now. Even fad tidings muft be carried, by thofe meflengers which would be faith- ful : neither may we regard fo much how they will be taken, as by whom they are fent. it was a bold and harfn word, to fay to a king, " Thou flialt die and not live." 1 do not hear He- zekiah rage, and fret at the meffage, or threaten the bearer; but he meekly turns his face to the wall, and v/eeps, and prays. Why to the,.wall ? was it for CoNTEMP. X. CONTEMPLATIONS. 39^ for the greater fecrecy of his devotion ? was it for the more freedom from diftraclion ? was it that all the paiFion, which accompanied his prayer, might have no witnefies ? or, was it tor that this wall look'd towards the temple, which his heart and eyes ftill moved un- to, though his feet could not ? Ilowfoever, the patient foul of good Hezekiah turns itfelf to that holy God, from whom he fmarts, and bleeds, and pours out itfelf into a fervent depre- cation : " I befeech thee, O Lord, remember now " how I have walked before thee in truth, and with " a perfe6l heart ; and have done that which is good " in thy fight." Couldft thou fear, O Hezekiah, that God had for- gotten thine integrity ? the grace that was in thee was his own work ; could he in thee neglect himfelf ? or doft thou therefore doubt of his remembrance of thy faithfulnefi>, becaufe he fummons thee to receive the crown of thy faithfulnefs, glory, and immortality? wherein canft thou be remembered, if this be to for- get thee ? What challenge is this ? is God a debitor to thy perfedion ? hath thine holy carriage merited any thing from that infinite juftice ? Far, far were thefe prefumptuous conceits from that humble and mortified foul. Thou hadfl hated thine own bread j if it could once have harboured fo proud a thought. This perfection of thine was no other, than an honeil foundnefs of heart and life, w'hich thou knowefl: God had promifed to reward. It was the mercy of the covenant that thou pleaded, not the merit of thine obedience. Every one of thefe words were deeped in tears : but what meant thefe words, thefe tears ? I hear not of any fult moved by Hezekiah, only he wifnes to be- remembered, in that which could never be forgotten, though he fliould have intreated for an obHvion. Speak 39^ CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX; Speak out Hezekiah, what is it that thy tears craves while thy lips exprefs not ? " O let me live, and I " (hall praife thee, O God." In a natural man, none could wonder at this paf- fionate requell, who can but wonder at it in a faint? "whofe happinefs doth but then begin when his life ceafeth, whofe mifery doth but then end when his death enters : the word of faith is, " O let me die,- " that I may enjoy thee." How then doth the good king cry at the news of that death, which fome refo- iute Pagans have entertained with fmiles ? Certainly,- the beft man cannot flrip himfelf of fome flefh ; and,- ■while nature hath an undeniable (hare in him, he can- not but retain fome fmatch of the fweetnefs of life, of the horror of diifolution : both thefe were in Heze- kiah, neither of them could tranfport him into thij pallion : they were higher refpeds that fwayed w^th lb holy a prince ; a tender care of the glory of God, a careful pity of the church of God. His very tears faid, O God, thou knoweft, that the eyes of the world are bent upon me, as one that hath abandoned their idolatry, and reftored thy fmcere worfhip : I ftand alone in the midft of a wicked and idolatrous genera- tion, that looks through all rny adions, all my events y if nov/ they fhall fee me fnatched away in the mid ft of my days, what will thefe Heathens fay ; how can thy great name but fuffer in this mine untimely ex- tindion ? Befides, what will become of thy poor church, which I fliall leave feebly religious, and as yet fcarce warm, in the courfe of a pious reforma- tion ? how foon fliall it be miferably overgrown with' fuperrtition and heathenifm ? how foon fhall the wild boar of AlTyria root up this little vineyard of thine?, What need I befeech thee, O Lord, to regard thyj name, to regard thine inheritance ? What CoNTEMP. X. CONTEMPLATIONS. 357 What one tear of Hezekiah can run wafte? what can that good king pray for, unheard, unanfwered ? Senacherib came, in a proud confidence, to fwallow up his city and people : prayers and tears fend him away confounded. Death comes to fwallow up his perfon, and that not without authority ; prayers and tears fend him away difappointed. Before Ifaiah was gone out into the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him, faying, " Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the " captain of my people, thus faith the Lord, the God " of David thy father, 1 have heard thy prayer, I *' have feen thy tears, behold I will heal thee; on " the third day thou fhalt go up to the houfe of the " Lord, and I will add to thy days fifteen years. What lliall we fay then, O God, haft thou thus foon changed thy purpofe ? Was it not thy true mef- fage which thy prophet, even now, delivered to He- zekiah ? Is fomewhat fallen out that thou forefawefl not .'' or doft thou now decree fomewhat thou meant- eft not ? The very thought of any of thefe were no better than blafphemous impiety. Certainly, Heze- kiah could not live one day longer than was eternally decreed : the decree of God's eternal counfel had from everlafting determined him fifteen years yet longer. Why then doth God fay, by his prophet, " Thou (l^alt die, and not live .'"* He is not as man that he fhould repent ; the meflage is changed, the will is not changed ; yea, rather, the mefllige is expli- cated, not changed : for the fignified will of God, though it found abfolately, yet muft be underftood with condition ; that tells Hezekiah what he mufl ex- peel from the nature of his difeafe, what would befal him without his deprecations. There was nothing but death in the fecond caufes, whatever fecret pur- pofe there was in the firft ; and that purpofe fhall lie hid for a time, under a referved condition. The fame decree that fays, Niniveh fliall be deftroyed, means, Vol. IL C c if S98 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. if Nineveh repent, it fliall not be deflroyed. He, that finds good reafon to fay Hezekiah fhall die, yet ftill means, If the quickened devotion of Hezeldah ilrall importune me tor Ufe, it fliall be protracled. And tlie fame God, that hath decreed this addition of fif- teen years, had decreed to itir up the fpirit of Heze- kiah to that vehement and weeping importunity which jhould obtain it. O God, thou workell: thy good plea- fure in us, and with us; and, by thy revealed will, inoveft us in thofe ways, whereby thou effedell thy fecret will. How wonderful is this mercy ! Hezekiah's tears are not dry upon his cheeks, yea his breath is not pafTed his lips, when God fends him a comfortable an- f'vver, how careful is the God of compafiions, that his holy fervarit fliould not languifli one hour, in the expectation of his denounced death ? What fpeed was here, as in the errand, fo in the act of recovery ? within three days fhall Hezekiah be upon his feet ; yea, his feet fnall (land in the courts of God*s houfe : he that now in his bed fighs and groans, and weeps out a petition, fnall then fing out a thankfgiving in the temple. " O thou that heareft prayer ! unto thee' " fiiall all ficrn come.'* With what chearful aifurance fnould w-e approach to the throne of that grace, which never failed any fuppliant. Neither was this grant more fpeedy than bountiful. "We are wr;nt to reckon feven years for the life of a', man; and novv-, behold, more than two lives hath God'-| " added to the age of Hezekiah. How^ unexampled favour is this ? who ever but Hezekiah knev/ his pe riod fo long before ? the fixednefs of his term is lefs mercy, than the protraclion : we muH: be content to live or die at uncertainties. We are not worthy to calculate the date of our times. " Teach us, O Lord, *-' fo to number our days, that we may apply our " hearts to wifdoin." There CoNTEMp; X. CONTEMPLATIONS. 395 There is little joy in many days, if they be evil, ilezekiah fhall not be blefl'cd only with life, but vvith peace. The proud AlTyrian threatens an invafion ; his late foil (till llicks in his ftomach, and llirs him to a revenge; the hook is in his noilrils, he cannot move whither he lifts. The God of heaven will maintain his own quarrel : " 1 will defend this city for mine " own fake, and for my fervant David's fake." Lo, for his life, He2;ekiah is beholden, next under the in- finite goodnefs of God, to his prayers, for his protec- tion, to the dear memory of his father David! Surely^ for ought we find, Kezekiah was no lefs upright, and lefs oflenfive than David ; yet both Hezekiah and Je- rufalem Ihall fare the better for David's fake, above three hundred years after. To that man after his own heart, had God engaged himfelf, by his gracious promife, to preferve his throne, his feed. God loves to remember his ancient mercies. How happy a thing is it to be faithful with God 1 This is the way to oblige thofe which are yet unborn ; and to entail blefTings upon the fucceilions of future generations. It feems it was fome peflllent ulcer that thus en- dangered the life of Hezekiah. Ifaiah is not a pro- phet only, but a phyfician." " And Ifaiah faid, Take " a lump of figs." He, that gave an afiurance of re- covery, gives a receipt for the recovery. The decree of God includes the means : neither can the medi- cine work without a word ; neither will the word work wiihcut the medicine, both* of them muff meet in the cure. If we fo truft the promife, that we ne- glect the prefcript, we prefume to no purpofe. Hap- py is that foul, that fo regards the promife of God's prophets, as that withal he receives their counfels. Nothing could be mere proper for the ripening of hard and purulent tumours, than dry iigs. Here- m Ifaiah's direction was according to nature j where- Gc 3' fore 400 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. fore fnould we baulk the ordinary road, where it is both fair and near? The fudden contradiction of the meffage caufes a jafl: difficulty in the afl'ent. Hezekiah therefore craves a fign ; not for that he diftrulied, but that he might truft the more ; we can never take too faft hold of thofe promifes of God, which have not more comfort in the application, than natural impofTibility in the performance. " We believe, Lord, help.our unbe- " lief." The fick king hath his option; his father was of- fered a fign, and refufed it; he fues for one, and ob- tains it : " Shall the fiiadow go forvx'ard ten degrees, " or back ten degrees .'"' As if heaven itfelf lay open to his choice, and were ready either to mend his pace, or retire for his confirmation. What creature is not chearfully forward to obey the faith of God's fervants ? Hezekiah faftens rather upon that fign which is more hard, more difagreeing from the courfe of na- ture ; not without good reafon; every proof muft be clearer than the thing to be proved, neither may there want a meet proportion betwixt both ; now the going forward of the (hadow was a motion, no other than natural, the recovery of that peflilent difeafe was a- gainil the ftream of nature; the m.ore difficult fign therefore, the furer evidence. Whether fliall we more wonder at the meafure of the love of God to Hezekiah, or at the power of Ifaiah's faith in God.f* Out of both, either the fun goes back in heaven, that his fhadow niay go back on earth, or the ffiadow no lefs miraculoufly goes back on earth, while the fun goes forward in heaven. It is true that the prophet fpeaks of the fliadow, not of the fun ; except perhaps becaufe the motion of the fun is bed difcerned by the {i:iadov/, and the motion of the fliadow is led by the courfe of the fun : befides, that ' CoNTfeMP. X. CONTEMPLATIONS. 401 that the demonftration of this miracle is reported to be local in the dial ot Ahaz, noi univerfal, in die fen- fible length of the day; withal, the retreat of the fun had made a public and noted change in the frame of nature; this particular alteration of the Ihadow, in places limited, might fatisfy no lefs without a confu- five mutation in the face of the world. Whetherfoever, to draw the fun back together with the Ihadow, or to draw thj Ihadow back without the fun, was the proof of a divine omnipotence, able therefore to draw back the life of Hezekiah, fifteen degrees from the night of death, towards which it was haftening. O God, thou wilt rather alter the courfeof heaven and earth, than the faith of thy children fhail fink for want of lupportation. It Oiould feem, the Babylonians, findingthe Affyrian power abated by the revengeful hand of God's angel, and their own difcord, took this advantage of a re- volt; and now, to flrengthen their part, fall in with Hezekiah king of Judah, whom they found the old enemy to the AiTyrianSj and the great favourite of heaven: him they woo with gifts, him they congra- tulate with ambaffages. The fame of Hezekiah's ficknefs, recovery, form, and afiurance of cure, have dravi^n thither meiTengers and prefents from Berodach- baladan king of Babylon. The Chaldees were curious fearchers into the fe- crets of nature, efpecially into the motions of the ce- leflial bodies; though there had been no politic rela- tions, this very aftronomical miracle had been enough to fetch them to Jerufalem, that they might fee the man, for whofe fake the fun forfook his place, or the fhadow forfook the fun. How eafily have we feen thofe holy men mifcar- ried by profperity, againfl whom no miferies could prevail? He that flood out ftoutly againfl all the Af- fyrian onfetSj clinging the fafter to his God, by how C c ■:? much v4o2 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. much he was harder affauked by Senacherib, mek- eth now with thefe Babylonian favours, and runs a- broad into offenfive weaknefles. The Babylonian ambaffadors are too welcome to Hezekicih : as a man tranfported with the honour of their refpeftive and coftly vifitations, he forgets his tears, and his turning to the wall ; he forgets their inco'Tipatible idolatry, fo hugging them in his bofom, as if there had been no caufe of ftrangcnefs : all his doors. fly open to them ; and, in a vain-giorious oflen- tation, all his new-gathered treafures, all his flrong armories entertain their eyes ; nothing in his houfe, nothing in his dominion is hid from them. O Plezekiah, what means this impotent ambition? it is not long fince thou taredft off the very plates of the temple doors, to give unto Senacherib; and can thy treafures be fuddenly fo multiplied, that they can be worthy to aJlonifli foreign beholders ? or, if thy ftore-houfe were as rich as the earth, can thy heart be fo vain as to be lifted up with thefe heavy metals ? Did ft thou not fee that heaven itfelf was at thy beck, whilil thou wert humbled.? and fhall a little earthly drofs have power over thy foul? Can the flatterin^^ applaufe of (Irangers let thee loofe into a proud joy, whom the late meffage of God*s prophet refolved in- to tears? O God, if thou do not keep us, as well in our fun-fixine, as in our ftorm, we are fare to pe- rifn : as in all time of cur tribulation, fo in all time of our wealth, good Lord deliver us. Alas, how flight doth this weaknefs feem in our eyes, to rejoice in the abundance of God's blellings. to call in foreign friends to be witneffes of our plen-j ty ; to raife our conceits fome httle upon the acch mations of others, upon the value of our own abilis ties ! Lay thy hand upon thy mouth, Q foolidi hefli and |3lood, when thou feed the cenfureofthy Maker. Ifaiah CoNTEMP. X. CONTEMPLATIONS. 403 Ifaiah the prophet is fent fpeedily to Hezekiah, with a fharp and heart-breaking mcffage : " Behold " the days come that all that is in thine houfe, and " that which thy lathers have laid up in (lore unto " this day, (hall be carried into Babylon ; nothing '• fliall be left, faith the Lord ; and of thy fons that " (liall ifTue from thee, which thOu (halt beget, Ihall " they take away, and they (hall be eunuchs in the " palace of the king of Babylon." No fm can be light in Hezekiah : the holinefs of the perfon adds to the unholinefs of the aft; eminency of profellion doubles both the offence and the judg- ment. This glory (hall end in an ignominious iofs. The great and holy God will not digefl pride in any, much lefs in his own. That which was the fubjeft of Hezekiah's fin, (liall be the matter of his puniiliment ; thofe with whom he finned fnall be his avengers; it was his treafure and munition, wherein he prides himfelf to thefe men of Babylon. The men of Babylon fhall carry away his treafure and muni- tion. What now doth Hezekiah but tempt them with a glorious booty, as fome fond traveller that would fliovv his gold to a thief? Thefe worldly things are furtheft off from, the heart; perhaps Hezekiah might not be much troubled with their Iofs. Lo ! God comes clofer to him yet. As yet w-as Hezekiah childlefs ; how much better had it been to continue fo ftill, than to be plagued in his iffue ! He (liall now beget children to fervitude, his loins fhall yield pages to the court of Babylon : while he fees them born princes, he fhall forelee them made eunuchs in a foreign palace. What comfort can he take in the wiflies and hopes of fons, when, ere they be born, he hears them deflined to captivity and bondage ! This rod was fmart, yet good Hezekiah kiiTes it : his heart flruck him no lefs, than the mouth of the ■ C c 4 pro- 404 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. prophet ; meekly therefore doth he yield to this divine corredion : " Good is the word of the Lord " which thou haft fpoken." Thou haft fpoken this word, but from the Lord ; it is not thine, but his ; and, being his, it muft needs be, like himfelf, good ; good, becaufe it is juft, for I have deferved more, and worfe ; good, becaufe merciful, for I fuff'er not according to my deferts. " It is not good, if there " be peace and truth in my days.'* I have deferv- ed a prefent payment, O God thou deferreft it ; I have deferved it in perfon, thou referveft it for thofe whom I cannot yet fo feel, becaufe they are not. I have deferved war and tumult, thou favoureft me with peace; I have deferved to be over run with fu- perOition and idolatry, thou blefleft me with truth : fhouldft thou continue truth unto me, though upon the moft unquiet terms, the bleffing were too good for me ; but now thou haft promifed, and will not , reverfe it, that both truth and peace (hall be in my days. Lord, 1 adore thyjuftice, I blefs thy mercy. God's children are neither wafpifh nor fullen, when they are chid or beaten, but patiently hold their backs to the ftripes of a difpleafed mercy; know- in'j- how much more God is to be mas;nitied, for what he might have done, than repined at for what he hath done ; refigning themfelves over into the hand of thar gracious juftice, which in their fmart feeks their reformation and glory. CONTEMP. XL MaNASSEH. AT laft, fome three years after his recovery, He- zekiah hath a fon ; but fuch a one as, if he could have forefeen, orbity had been' a blefting. Still in the throne of Judah there is a fucceffion, and interchange of good and evil. Good Jotham is fucceeded I CoNTEMP. XI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 405 fucceeded by wicked Ahaz ; wicked Ahaz is fucceed- ed by good Hezekiah ; good Hezekiah is fucceeded by wicked Manafleh. Evil princes lucceed to good, for the exercife of the church, and good fucceed to evil, for the comfort of the church. The young years of M^naflTt-h gave advantage to his mifcarriage ; even while he might have been un- der the ferule, he fwayed the fcepter. Whither may not a child be drawn, efpecially to a gariili, and pup- pet-like fuperftition ? as infancy is capable of all im- preiTions, fo mofl of the worft. Neither did ManaiTeh begin more early than he held out long ; he reigned more years than his good father lived, notwithftanding the miraculous addition to his age, more than ever any king of Judah be- fides could reach. Length of days is no true rule of God's favour : as plants lafl: longer than fenfitive creatures, and brute creatures out-live the reafcnable; fo, amongft: the reafonable, it is no news for the wickedly great to inherit thefe earthly glories, long- er than the befi. There wants not apparent reafon for this differ- ence. Good princes are fetcht away to a better crown : they cannot be lofers, that exchange a weak and fading honour for a perfedion and eternity of blelfednefs. Wicked men live long to their own dif- advantage ; they do but carry fo many more brands to their hell. If therefore there be a jufl: man that perifheth in his righteoufnefs, and there be a wicked man that prolongs his life in his wickednefs, far be it from us, either to pity the removal of the juft, or to envy the continuance of the wicked. 1 his conti- nues to his lofs, that departs to an happy advance- ment. It is very like that Hezekiah marrying fo late, in the vigour both of his age and holinefs, made a care- ful choice of a wife fuitable to his own piety ; nei- ther 4c6 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. ther had his delight been fo much in her, according to her name, if her dehght had not been, as his, in God ; their iffue Twerves from both, fo fully inhe- riting the vices of his grandfather Ahaz, as if there had been no intervention of an Hezekiah : fo we* have feen the kernel of a well fruited plant degene- rate into that crab, or willow, which gave the origi- nal to his (lock : yet can 1 not fay, that Hezekiah was as free from traducing evil to his fon Manaiith, as Ahaz was free from traducing good to his fon He- zekiah. Evil is incorporated in the befl: nature, whereas even the leaft good defcends from above. We may not meafure grace by means. Was it poffible that Manaifeh, having been trained up in the religious court of his father Hezekiah, under the eye of fo holy prophets and priefts, under the fha- dow of the temple of God, after a childhood feafon- ed with fo gracious precepts, with fo frequent exer- cife cf devotion, fhould run thus wild into all heath- €nif]i abominations, as if there had been nothing but idolatry in the feed of his conception, in the milk of his nourifliment, in the rules of his inftitution, in the pradice of his examples ? How vain are all outward iielps without the influence of God's Spirit, and that Spirit that breathes where he lilleth ? Good educa- tion raifeth great hopes ; but the proof of them is in the divine benediclion. 1 fear to look at the outrages of this wicked fon of Hezekiah : what havoc doth he make in the church of God? as if he had been born to ruin religion ; as if his only felicity had been to untwift, or tear, in one day, that holy web which his father had been vpeaving, nine and twenty years ; and con- trarily, in one hour, to fet up th:».t offenfive pile which had been above three hundred years in pulling down: i"o long had the high places (food. - The zeal of He- zekiah, in demolifning them, honoured him above all his CoNTEMP. XI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 407 his predeceflbrs ; and now the firft aft of this green head was their re-edifyi?ig. That mifchief may be done in a day, which many ages cannot redrefs. Fearful were the preAiges of thefe bold beginnings. From the tnilbaiiding of thefe ehapels of the hills to the true God, Manaffeh proceeds to ereding of al- tars to a falfe, even to Baal, the god of Ahab, the ftale idol of the Heathen : yet further, not content with fo few deities, he worfliips all the hoft of hea- ven, and, that he might defpite God yet more, he fets up ahars to thefe abafed rivals of their Maker, in the very houfe of the Lord ; that holy place doth he not fear to defile with the graven image of the grove that he had made. Never Amorite did fo u'ickedly as IManaffeh ; and, which was yet worfe, ir fufficcd not to be thus wicked himfeif, but he fe- duced God's people to thefe abominations : and, that his example might move the more, he fpares not his own fon Irom the nre of the idol-facrifice. Neither were his witcheries lefs enormous than his idolatry ; he obferved times, he ufed inchantments, he dealt with familiar fpirits, and with wizards : neither were either of thefe worfe than his cruelty. He fhed inno- cent blood, till ire had filled Jerufalem from one end to another. O Manalieh, how no lefs cruel wert thou to thine ov.n foul, than to thy Judah ! What an hideous lift of monltrous impieties is here ; any one of. which were enough to draw judgment upon a world ; but what hell is fufhcient for altogether ? What brows are not now lifted up to an attentive expectation of feme prefent and fearful \'engeance from God, upon fuch flagitious v.ickednefs? " i here- " fore, thus faith the Lord, Behold, I am bringing " fuch evil upon Jerufalem and Judah, that whofo- " ever heareth of it. both his ears (hall tin^-le." The perfon of PJanafleh is not capable of revenge enough; as 40$ CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX.. as his fin dilated itfelf by an infedious diffufion to his' people, fo fhall the punilhment. We are fenfible of the lead touch of our own miferles, how rarely are we afteded with other mens calamities ? yet this evil (hall be fuch, as that the rumour of it fliall beat no ear, that fhall not glow with an aftonifhing commife- ration : what then, O God, what fhall that plague be, which thou threateneft with fo much preface of horror ? *' I will flretch over Jerufalem the line of " Samaria, and the plummet of the houfe of Ahab ; " and I will wipe Jerufalem, as a man wipeth a difh, *' wiping it, and turning it upfide down : and I will " forfake the remnant of mine inheritance ; and I will *' deliver them into the hand of their. enemies, and " they fhall become a prey and a fpoil unto all their *' enemies.'* It is enough, O God, it is enough. What ear can 'J but tingle ! what eye can but weep ! what hair can but Ptart up ! what heart can be but confounded, at the mention of fo dreadful a revenge ! Can there be a worfe judgment than defolation, captivity, defer- tion, fpoil, and torture of prevailing enemies ? But however other cities and nations have undergone thefe difaflers, without wonder, that all this fliould befal to thy Jerufalem, the place which thou hafl chofen to thyfelf, out of the whole earth, the lot of thine inheritance, the feat of thine abode, whereof thou haft faid, " Here fhall be my reft for ever," it is able to amaze all eyes, all ears. No city could fare worfe than Samaria, whofe in- habitants, afterawoful fiege, were driven, like cattle, into a wretched fervitude : Jerufalem fliall fare no better from Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. Jerufalem, the glory of the earth, the darling of heaven. See, O ye vain men, that boaft of the privileges of chairs and churches, fee and tremble. There is no place under heaven, to which the prefence of God is fo CoNTEMP. XI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 409 fo wedded, ,as that the fins thereof (hall not procure a difdainful and final divorce : the height of former favours fliall be but an aggravation of vengeance. This total vaftation of jerufalem fhall take time. Onwards, God begins with the perfon of wicked Manafleh, againft whom he ftirs up the captains of the holt of the late friend, and old enemy of Judah. Thofe thorns, amongft which he had fhrouded his guilty head, cannot fhelter him from their violence; they take him and bind him with fetters of iron, and carry him to Babylon ; there he lies, loaded with chains, in an uncomfortable dungeon, exercifed with variety of tortures, fed with fuch coarfe pittances of bread, and fips of water, as might maintain an un- willing life to the punifhment of the owner. What eye can now pity the deeped miferies of ManalTeh ? What but bondage can befit him, that hath fo law- lefsly abufed his liberty ? what but an utter abdica- tion can befit him that hath caft oft' his God, and doted upon devils ? what but a dying life, and a tor- menting death, can be fit for a man of blood ? Who now would not have given this man for lofl;, and have looked when hell fliould claim her own ? But, O the height, O the depth of divine mercy ! After all thefe prodigies of fin, ManalTeh is a convert; *' When he was in affliftion, he befought the Lord " his God ; and humbled himfelf greatly before the " God of his fathers/* How true is that word of the prophet? " Vexation gives underflanding." The vi- per, when he is laflied, cafts up his poifon. The trai- tor, when he is racked, tells that truth which he had elfe never uttered. If the crofs bear us not to heaven, nothing can. What ufe were there of the grain, but for the edge of the fickle wherewith it is cut down, the flroke of the flail wherewith it is beaten, the weight and attrition of the mill wherewith it is cruih- ed, the fire of the oven wherewith it is baken.'' Say now. 41© CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XT: now, Martaffeh. with that grandfather of thine, who' was, till now, too good for thee, " It was good for " me that I was aililded." Even thine iron was more precious to thee than thy gold ; thy goal was a more happy lodging to thee than thy palace : Babylon} was a better fchool to thee than Jerufalem. What fools are we to frown upon our aMlicLions ? Thcfe,; hov/ crabbed foever, are our bell friends. They are" not indeed for our 'pleafure, they are for our profit: their ifiue makes them worthy of a welcome. What do we care how bitter that potion be, which brings- health .? How far a man may go, and yet turn ! Could there- be fquler fins than thefe ? lo! here was idolatry in the height, violation of God's houfe, forceries of all kinds,' bloody cruelty to his own flefh, to the faints of God,- and all thefe againft the flream of a religious inftitu- tion, of the zealous counfels of 'God's prophets, of the checks of his own heart. Who can complain, that the way of heaven is block- ed up againfi: him, when he fees fuch a finner enter? Say the worfi: againft thyfelf, O thou clamorous foul, here is one that murdered men, defied God, worfliip- ped devils, and yet finds the way to repentance ; if thou be worfe than he, deny, if thou canft, that to thyfelf, which God hath, not denied to thee, capacity of grace; in the mean time know, that it is not thy fin, but thine impenitence, that bars heaven againft thee. Prefume not yet, O man, whofoever thou art, of the liberty of thy converfion, as if thou couldft run on lawlei'sly in a courfe of finning, till thou come to the brim of hell, and then couldft fuddenly ftop, and return at leifure. The mercy of God never fet period to a wilful finner ; .neither yet did his own corrupt defires, (o as, when he is gone the furtheft, he could yet ftay himfelf from another ftep. No man that truly repents" ^ CoNTEM?. XL CONTEMPLATIONS. 41 1 repents is refufecl ; hut many a one fins fo long, that he cannot repent; lils cuflom of wickednels hath obdured his heart, and made it flint to all- good im- preflions. There were Jeroboams, and Abijams, and Ahabs, and Joafhes, and Ahazes, in thefe facred thrones ; there was but one Manafl'eh. God hath not left in any man's hand the reins of his own heart, to pace,, and turn, and (lop as he lifts : this privilege is refervcd to him that made it. " It is not of him that " wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that ihews " mercy;" and that mercy neglected juftly binds over to judgment. I wonder not at Manafleh, either finning or repent- ing ; I wonder at thy goodnefs, O Lord, who, after thy juft permiflion of his fin, called him thus graci- oufly to repent, and fo receivefl: him repenting; fo as Manaifeh was not a more lothfome and monftrous fpeclacle of wickednefs, than he is now a pleafing and ufeful pattern of converfion : who can now defpair of thy mercy, O God, that fees the tears of a Manafleh accepted ? When we have debauched our worfl:, our evil cannot match with thy goodnefs ; rather it is the praife of thy infinite ftore, that where fin abounds, grace abounds much more. O keep us from a pre- fumption of grace, that we may repent ; and raife us from a diftruft of grace, whea we have repented. No fooner is Manafleh penitent, than he is free ; his prayers have at once loofed him from his fins, and from his chains, and of a captive have made him a king; and, from the dungeon of Babylon, have re- fiored him to the palace of Jerufalem. How eafy is it for the fame hand, that wounds, to cure ? What cannot fervent prayers do, either for our refcuing from evil, or for our invefting with good ? " Then ManafTeh knew^ that the Lord he was " God ;" then, and not before. Could his younger years efcape the knowledge of God's miraculous .de- liverance 412 CONTEMPLATIONS. Boor XX. liverance of Jerufalem from the Aflyrians ? could he but know the flaughter that God*s angel made, in one night, of an hundred fourfcore and five thoufand.? could he but have heard the juft revenge upon Se- nacherib ? could he be ignorant of his father's fuper- natural recovery ? could he but fee that everlafting, monument of the noted degrees in the dial of Ahaz i* could he avoid the fenfe of thofe fifteen years which- were fuperadded to his father's age ? what one of thefe proofs doth not evince a Deity .'* yet, till his own fmart and cure, Manafleh knew not, that the Lord was God. Foolifh fmners pay dear for their knowledge ; nei- ther will endure to be taught, good cheap : fo we have feen refty horfes, that will not move, till they; bleed with the fpur ; fo we have feen dull and care- lefs children, that will learn nothing but what is put into them with the rod. The Almighty will be fure to be known for what he is, if not by fair means, yet by foul. IT our pro-, fperity and peace, and fvveet experience of his mer- cy, can win us to acknowledge him, it is more for our eafe ; but, if we will needs be taught by ftripes, it is no lefs for his glory. ManaiTeh now returns another man to Jerufalem. With what indignation doth he look upon his old fol- lies ? and now, all the amends he can make, is to undo what he did, to do that which he undid : " He *' took away the ftrange gods, and the idol out of " the houfe of the Lord, and all the altars that he " had built in the mount of the houfe of the Lord, " and in Jerufalem, and cafl: them out of the city." True repentance begins to decline at the ablative, deftroying thofe monuments of fhame which former error had reared. The thorns mult firft be ftubbed up, ere the ground can be capable of) feed. The .■f, .,, true CoNTKMP. XI. CONTEMPLATIONS. 413 true method of grace is firfl:. " Ceafe to do evil, " then leara to do good." In vain had Manafleh profelfed a repentance, if the ftrange gods had ftiil held pofleftioh of Jenifa- lem, if the idol had dill harboured in God's temple; if foreign altars had ftill fmoked upon the holy moun- tain. Away v/ith all his trafli, when once Manaf- feh comes to a true fenfe of piety. There i^ nothing btJt hypocriiy in that penitent,- who, after all vows, and tears, retains his old abomi- nations. It is that poor peace of fatisfaclion which we can give to the divine juitice, in a hearty indig- nation, to fling down that cup of wickednefs where- with we have been bewitched, and to trample up- on the fheards; without which, confeiTion is but wind, and the drops of contrition water. The living God loves to dwell clean; he will not come under the roof of idols, nor admit idols tof come under his. Firft therefore, Manafleh cafts out the flrange gods and idols, and altars, and then " he " repairs the altars of the Lord, and facrifices there- " on peace-offerings and thankfgivings :" Not till he had pulled down, might he build ; and when he had pulled down, he mull build. True repentance is no lefs adtive of good. What is it the better, if, when the idolatrous altars are defaced, the true God hath not an altar creeled to his name? in many altars was fuperflition, in no altars atheifm. Neither doth penitent Manafleh build God a new altar, but he repairs the old, which, by long difufe,- lay wade, and was mcfly and mouldered with age and negleft. God loves well his own inflitutions; neitlier can he abide innovations, fo much as in the out-fldcs of his fervice. It is an happy v/crk to vindicate any ordinance of God from the injuries of times, and to ^•eftore it to the original glory. Vol, IL ' D'd- What 4t4 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX. What have our pious governors done other in re- ligion? had we gone about to lay a new foundation, the work had been accurfed; now we have only fcraped off fome fuperfluous mofs, that was ^rown upon thefe holy ftones ; we have cemented fome broken pieces, we have pointed fome crazy corners with wholefome mortar, inftead of bafe clay where- with it was difgracefully patched up. The altar is old; it is God's altar; it is not nev/, not ours : if we have laid one new flone in this facred building, let it fly in our faces, and beat out our eyes. On this repaired altar, doth Manaifeh fend up the facrifices of his peace, of his thankfulnefs; and doubtlefs the God of heaven fmells a fweet favour of refl. No perfun-ie is fo pleafing to God, as that which is cad in by a penitent hand. It had not ferved the turn, that Manaffeh had ap- proached alone to this renewed altar : as his lewd example had drawn the people from their God, fo now " he commands Judah to ferve the Lord God of " Ifrael :" had he been filent, he could not have been unfollowed. Every a<5t of greatnefs is preceptive ; but now, that religion is made law, what Ifraelite will not be devout ? The true God hath now no competitor in Judah : all the idols are pulled down, the high places will not be pulled down ; an ill guife is eafily taken up, it is not lb eaRly left. After a common deprava- tion of religion, it is hard to return unto the firft pu- rity : as when a garment is deeply foiled, it cannot, without many lavers, recover the former cleannefs. Coi^TJEMP. XII. Tosiar's Refomiation. ' K T, if we mud alter from ourfelves, it is bet- ter^tb be a Manaileh than a joafh : Joafh be- gan well," and ended ill: ManalTeh began ill, and ended CoNTEMP. XII. CONTEMPLATIONS. 415 ended well. His age varied from his youth, no lefs than one man's condition can vary from antnber's; his pollerity fucceeded in both. Ammon, his fon, fucceeded in the fms of Manalfeh's youth; jofiah, his grand-child, fucceeded in the virtues oi his age : what a vaft difference doth grace make in the fame age ? Manaiieh began his reign at twelve years, Jofiah at eight; Manalfeh was religioufiy bred under Hezeki- ah, Jofiah was mifnurtured under Ammon; and yet Manalfeh runs into abfurd idolatries, Jofiah is hoJy and devout. The Spirit of God breathes freely; not confining itfelf to times, or me?ais. No rules can bind the hands of the Almighty. It is an ordinary proof, too true a word, that was faid of old, " Wo be to thee, O land, uhofe king is a *•• child." The goodnefs of God makes his ov/ii exceptions : Judah never fared better, than in the green years of a Jofiah ; if we may not rather mea- fure youth and age by government and difpofition, than by years : furely thus Jofiah was older with fmooth cheeks than Manalfeh with gray hairs. Hap- py is the infancy of princes, when it falls into the hands of faithful counfellors. A good pattern is no fmall help for young begin- ners. Jofiah fets his father David before him, not Ammon, not Manaii'eh. Examples are the beft rules for the unexperienced; where their choice is good, the directions are eafieft. The laws of God are the ways of David: thofe laws w^ere the rhle, thofe ways were the praclice. Good Jofiah walks in all the ways of his father David. Even the minority of Jofiah v/as not idle; we can- not be good too early. At eight years it was enough to have his ear open to hear good counfel, to have his-eyes and heart open to feek after God;: at fwelye^ be begins to act, and (hews well that he hath found the God he fought. Then he addrefies himfelf to D d 2 purge 4i5 CONTEMPLATIONS. Book XX_ purge Judah and Jerufalem, from the high places, groves, images, altars, wherewith it was defiled; burning the bones of the idolatrous priefts upon their altars; flrewing the afhes of the idols upon the graves of them that had facrificed to them, llriving, by thofe fires and mattocks, to teftify his zealous de- teftation of all idolatry. The houfemuit be firfl cleanfed,ere it canbegarnifli- ed; no man will caff away his coft upon unclean heaps. So foon as the temple was purged, Jofiah bends his thoughts upon the repairing and beautify- ing of this houfe of the Lord. What Rir was there in Judah, wherein God's tem- ple fulfered not ? Six feveral times was it pillaged, whe- th'^r out of force, or will. Firft, Joalh king of Ju- dah is fain, by the fpoil of it, to (lop the mouth of Ha- z-el ; then Joadi king of Ifrael fills his own hands with tharracredipoi!,inthedaysof Amaziah;afterthis,Ahaz rifles it for iiglath-pilefer Idng of Afiyria; then He- zekiah is forced to ranfack the treafures of it for Sena- cherib; yet, after, the facrilege of Manafleh makes that booty of it, which his latter times endeavoured to reilorc; and now, laftly, Ammon his fon negleds the framCj embezzles the furniture of this holy place : the very pile began to complain of age and unrefpe«5l. Now comes good Jofiah, and, in his eighteenth year, (when other young gallants would have thought of nothing but pleafure and jollity) takes up the latefl: care of his f^ither David, and gives order for the re- pairing of the temple. The keepers of the door have received the contri- bution of all faithful Jews, for this pious ufe. The king fends Shaphan the ferine to Hilkiah the prieft, I to fum it up, and to deliver it unto carpenters and mafons, for fo holy a work. .i