EXPOSITION THE PROPHECYOF HOSE A. REV. JEREMIAH '^BURROUGHS, RECTOR OF TIVETSHAXL, NORFOLK. 1643. COMPLETED BY THE REV. THOMAS HALL, B. D. RECTOR OF KING'S NORTON, RIGHT REV. EDWARD REYNOLDS, D.D., BISHOP OF NORWICH. REVISED AND CORRECTED BY THE REV. JAMES SHERMAN, MINISTER OF SUEilEY CHAPEL. EDINBURGH: JAMES NICHOL. LONDON : JAilES NISBET & CO. M.DCCCLXm. EDINBLTROU : PBOrtEO BT BALLA>T\TCE AlfD COSIPAST, piOl'8 WORK. BRIEF NOTICE THE REV. JEREMIAH BURROUGHS, A. M. It is deeply to be lamented that no life was given to the church of this excellent minister of Christ ; concerning whom Mr. Baxter says, " If all the Episcopalians had been like Arch- bishop Usher, all the Presbyterians like Mr. Stephen Marshall, and all the Independents like Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs, the breaches of the church would soon have been healed." From the few scattered notices of him in different authors, and chiefly from those of his enemies, we learn that he was born in 1599. He studied and took his degree at Emmanuel College, Cambridge ; after which he became colleague with the Rev. Edmund Calamy, at Bury St. Edmund's. In the year 1631 he became rector of Tivetshall, in the county of Nor- folk; but upon the publication of Bishop Wren's Articles and Injunctions, in 1636, he was suspended and deprived of his living. The Earl of ^Varwick, who was the friend and patron of the persecuted ministers, and one of their constant hearers, gave him an asylum in his house, till the fire of persecution, which raged so strongly against him, obliged him to fly to Holland. He was chosen as- sistant minister to the church at Rotterdam, of which the Rev. William Bridge was pastor. The violence of party strife at that period raised against him many accusations for leaving his country, but his vindication of himself and his conduct in retiring to Rotterdam is so ample and circumstantial, and withal written in so meek and humble a .spirit, as to raise in the reader a high estimation of his veracity and piety. The church at Rotterdam gave him a most hearty welcome, and belaboured among them, in conjunction with Mr. Bridge, with great acceptance and usefulness for several years. After the commencement of the civil war he returned to England : " Not," says Granger, " to preach sedition, but peace ; for which he earnestly prayed and laboured." The renown which he had acquired at Rotterdam accompanied him to his native land. His popular talents as a preacher, his peaceable spirit, and his exemplary character, soon excited great attention ; and as a proof of it, he was chosen lecturer to the congregations of Stepney and Cripplegate, then accounted the largest and wealthiest in England. At Stepney he preached at seven o'clock iu the morning, and Mr. Greenhill at three in the afternoon : one was called the morning star, and the other the evening star, of Stepney. He was chosen one of the Assembly of Divines, and united with his brethren, the Revds. Thomas Goodwin, Philip Nye, William Bridge, and Sydrach Simpson, in publishing their " Apologetic Nar- ration" in defence of their own distinguishing sentiments, which contain the general prin- ciples by which congregational churches are governed in the present day. In the year 1645 he was elected one of the committee of accommodation, and was of great service in all their important deliberations. Though, after his exile, he never accepted a parochial benefice, or became pastor of a separate church, he laboured extensively in preaching at various and distant places, and in rendering other important services to the church of Christ. But his incessant labours, and grief for the distractions of the times, brought on consumption, of which he died in the forty-seventh year of his age. iv BRIEF NOTICE OF JEREMIAH BURROUGHS. In the spirit of union among all Christians, which he so powerfully advocated, he was far before the opinions of his day. The following sentiment, in reply to one of his bitterest enemies, does equal credit to his piety and discernment : " I profess, as in the presence of God, that upon the most serious examination of my heart, I find in it, that were my judg- ment presbyterial, yet I should plead and preach as much for the forbearance of brethren differing from nic, not only in their judgment, but in their practice, as I have ever done. Therefore, if I should turn Presbyterian, I fear I should trouble Mr. Edwards, and some others, more than I do now ; perhaps my preaching and pleading for forbearance of dis- senting brethren would be of more force than it is now." The last subject on which he preached, and the last treatise he published, was his " Irenicum," or an attempt to heal the divisions among Christians. Oh that we had more of his spirit among all who take the lead in the Christian church ! The estimation in which he was held by unprejudiced persons who were capable of forming a judgment of his spirit and character, was very high. Granger says, " he was a man of learning, candour, and modesty, and of an exemplary and irreproach- able life." And Fuller has classed him among the learned writers of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. The following Exposition was delivered in lectures to the wealthy citizens of London, at St. Michael's, Cornhill, where crowds constantly attended to hear his luminous exhibitions of truth, and forcible appeals to the conscience. The first volunie'only was published during his life, in the preface to which he remarks, the expositions " were taken from me in preaching. I per- used the notes, but I could not bring the style to the succinctness that I desired, except I had written all over again, lor which I had no time." Both this volume, and those published after his death, were most imperfectly printed ; unimportant sentences were reprinted over and over again ; and the supervisors had literally, as they say, done little more than usher the books into the world with the sanction of their names. Mr. Burroughs lived to carry on the Exposition as far only as chap. xiii. ver. 1 1 . The remaining verses of that chapter were expounded by the Rev. Thomas Hall, who published his Exposition as a supplement to that of Mr. Burroughs, and will be found exceedingly valuable. The fourteenth chapter had been previously treated in a very able manner by Bishop Reynolds, who must ever rank high as an expositor of God's word. The whole are united in this volume, and form a most useful comment on this difficult book of Scripture, to aid the minister of Christ and the private Christian in rightly interpreting the sacred text. Dr. Williams, in his " Christian Preacher," observes, that the Exposition of Mr. Burroughs on Hosea, is a pleasing specimen, to show how the popular preachers of his time applied the Scriptures in their expository discourses to the various cases of their hearers. The editor has only to remark, that the present volume is produced at great labour and expense ; that the most scrupulous regard has been paid to accuracy, and in no single in- stance has a sentiment of the writer undergone any change to adapt it to the editor's mind. He commits it to the blessing of the great Head of the church with nmch prayer and hope that it may prove equally useful with the other Expositions which he has ventured to publish. Surrey Parsonage, Jan. 14, 1843. THE ORIGINAL PREFACES. TO THE EXPOSITION ON THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS. TO THE RE.\DER. You have these lectures as they were taken from me in preaching. I perused the notes, but I could not bring the style to the succmctness that I desired, except I had written all over again, for which I had no time ; my perusal was but cursory, therefore many things have slipt me : you have them as I preached them, without any considerable alteration. I had thought to have been far briefer, but meeting with so many things almost in every lecture so nearly concerning present times, caused me to go something beyond an expository way. In the remaining part of the prophecy, if God gives life to go through it, I shall keep myself more closely to ex- position. What here you have, take it as you find it ; what good you meet with, receive it in. This will be the encouragement of Thy friend in Christ, J. B. TO THE EXPOSITION ON THE FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, AND SEVENTH CHAPTERS. TO THE READER. Readee, AVe here present thee with a continuation of Expositions and Observations upon other four chapters of the prophet Hosea, delivered by that worthy man, now with God. Himself in his life-time published the three first chapters : these, now made public, were compiled out of the manuscripts which himself under his own hand left, which, being short, have been filled up and enlarged out of the best copies of sermon notes taken from his own mouth. We must not undertake for aU imperfections or mistakes that haply may be found, though a diligent and a skilful hand had the collecting of them. We only give letters of credence to them, that they are genuinely the author's, and that they are singularly worthy of all acceptation, especially by such readers as have their thoughts exercised in observing the ways of God's proceedings in and towards the nations of the world where his name is called. One great piece of his dispensations under the Old Testament, was that towards the ten tribes, who remain in captivity to this day, and who were set up (as their predecessors in the wilderness) as types of God's dealing in like cases with us under the New Testament, 1 Cor. x. ; Rev. vii. ; as we may see in the instance of the Eastern and Grecian churches that have groaned under the Mahometan tjTannies and op- pressions, of whom the ten tribes may seem to be the liveliest pattern, as the condition of the saints in the AVestem European churches under the pope was exemplified in the captivity of Babylon, which befell the other two tribes. Yet so as, both in sins and punishment, tlie one and the other are general examples unto us, " upon whom the ends of the world are come," in which God acts over with a quick and swift motion, as being the last act, what was done more slowly under the Old. The worthy author was one of the most accurate spectators in b vl THE ORIGL\.\L PREFACES. his time, that with a curious and searching eye beheld what God was a doing in the world. He was as one of those "wise men that knew the times," (as it is said of Ahasuerus's seven counsellors, Esth. i. 13,) and skilled tliercin not, as they, in a human or political way, but as the transactions in the world do relate unto God, who governs this world by the rules and precedents in his word. He was one of those who, as the psalmist speaks, Psal. cxi., had pleasure to seek out the great works of the Lord, and to parallel those in these times with those of old under the Old Testament ; and unto that end, in the entrance to these alterations in our times, he pitched upon the explication of this prophecy, which the studious reader will with much delight read over, when he shall observe how he made application all along to the dispensations of that time in wliich he preached them. The I-ord bless them to them of this nation, for which they were principally intended. THOMAS GOODWIN, S'iDRACH SIMPSON, WILLIAM GREENHILL, WILLIAM BRIDGE, JOHN YATES, WILLIAM ADDERLY. TO THE EXPOSITION EIGHTH, NINTH, AND TENTH CHAPTERS. TO THE READER. Wii.\T we have by way of preface set before the edition of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters, may sufficiently 8er\'e for a premise to these eighth, ninth, and tenth chapters, as holding forth the use and scope of the whole prophecy, and the authors intentions in his comment thereon : so as we shall only need now to give letters of credence before the world, to the passing of these, as the best and most authentic notes that could any way be obtained, both as the extracts of the best notes of sermons taken from his mouth, and chiefly his ovni writings, which were more brief. Expect shortly the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth chapters from the same hand. We commit them, and the reader, to the blessing of God. THOMAS GOOD^VIN, SYDKACH SIMPSON, WILLIAM GREENHILL, WILLIAM BRIDGE, JOHN YATES, WLLLLAM ADDERLY. TO THE EXPOSITION OM TUB ELEVENTH, TWELFTH, AND THIRTEENTH CHAPTERS. TO THE READER. God, who alone is perfect in himself, has retained this prerogative to himself, that his work should be per- fect (as Moses speaks) ; and, as another holy one hath it, doth all his pleasure. Paul, though in whatever he was to commit to writing (in matters sacred) had«infallibility of assistance, yet perfected not all he intended: " These things we will do, if God permit," said he to the Hebrews, Ileb. vi. But we no where find extant any evidence, that he accomplished what he there intended, namely, a full, methodical discourse upon those first principles and foundations of religion, which that speech had reference unto. It is no wonder then, that if such a kind of imperfection accompanied the works of so great a master-builder, it attend those who build on this foundation, and are not privileged (a< yet he was) from building hay and stubble. THE OKIGINAL PREFACES. Tii This sort of incompleteness hath befallen the works of this worthy author, in respect to the finishing of this prophecy, which he intended, and had performed ; wherein yet to the church of God there shall be no loss, there being no thoughts nor notions suggested to any man, which, though for the present they die with him, but the same Spirit who is the inspirer of all, doth bring to light in some one or other servant of God, in his own time. What a treasury of thoughts seemed to be lost and to die with the Saviour of the world, which he had not, could ;iot then utter ! which yet the Spirit, that filled him without measure, distributed amongst the apostles that came after him, according to the measure of the gift of Christ in each. There is no beam of Divine light has shone into any man's heart, that shall finally and for ever be put under a bushel, but in the end shall be set up, to give light to the whole house. The purpose of this preface is, to consign the passport through the world of these last notes of the author upon this prophecy, namely, the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth chapters ; and to assure the reader, that they are the best and most genuine that can be expected, being collected out of those under his hand, all along, and the best copies of those that took them from his mouth ; and to subjoin this hearty prayer, for a blessing from Heaven on these, and the rest of these our brother's kbours that are published, that his works may follow him, and he receive (at the latter day) a full reward, even according to the fruit of his doings. THOMAS GOODWIN, WILLIAM BRIDGE, WILLIAM GREENIIILL, JOHN YATES, SYDRACH SIMPSON, WILLIAM ADDERLY. POSTSCRIPT BY THE SUPERVISOR THE LAST SER:M0N BY BURROUGHS. The author was prevented by several providences from preaching the foregoing sermon for some months to- gether, insomuch as himself wondered what purpose God had in it ; till at last God visited him by sickness, whereof he fell asleep in the Lord : his disease was thought to be infection, but without any sore, yea, and (as the gentlewoman his wife has related) without any spots or tokens of the plague ; there was only a black settling of blood on one side of his back, which she supposed might have arisen from a fall from a horse, which he had met with not long before. This is mentioned by occasion of some contrary reports concerning his death. About the time of his immediate dissolution, he lifted up his eyes, and was heard to speak these words, " I come, I come, I come :" and so gave up the ghost. It had been much to be wished that the author had been more concise and brief in some amplifications, which, though all exceedingly useful, yet have deprived us of his preaching and completing both the former sermon, and the rest of the prophecy. But God was pleased (for our sin no doubt) to deprive us of that mediator-like instrument between the divided godly parties of this nation, and of the further mind of the Holy Ghost which he had revealed to this his servant, touching the scope and use of this prophecy in these days. God took him away in the strength of his parts and graces, that he might not lose in the reputation of his ministry or piety, as some have before their death. Also, though we cannot afiii'm, as one of Josiah, that he was taken away lest the evil of the time should have wrought upon his temper ; yet we may say, as another doth, he was " taken away from the evil to come," Isa. Ivii. 1. Moreover, it is not an unuseful note, that the Preface to the Tigurine Bible hath, whereof the inference is, That whilst in some weighty point we labour for great exactness and preparation, we are either disabled by our diligence, or prevented by our tardiness and delay; whereas moderate preparation seasonably applied might be more usefid to the cluu-ch, than such exactness so deferred. Which is not spoken to reflect any thing on our reverend author, but to admonish others. Now among other arguments (good reader) to commend this excellent piece, this is one. That it has been brought to thy hand thrqugh several elements, having been in danger, part of it to be rotted in the earth where it was buried ;■ part of it to be consumed in tlie fire wherewith much of the town where it was flamed ; * part of it to be lost in by-holes where it was hidden in the midst of enemies. Make special use therefore of what is come (as it were) through fire unto thee for that end. And if thou find that fruit the super\-isor did in preparing it for thee, thou wilt not repent thy pains or penny. Farewell. * Tlic original was with the supervisor in Colchester when besieged, and much of the town burnt. THE OlilGLN.-VL PREFACES. TO THE EXPOSITION BY BISHOP REYNOLDS, OS THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER. TO THE HEADER. CiiuisTlAN" reader, understanding tliat my sermon, which was preaclicd three years since before the Honour- able } louse of Commons, on the day of their solemn humiliation, was to be reprinted, I thought fit to peruse, transcribe, and enlarge six other sermons, in which I had, at mine own charge in the country, on the ensuing fast days, briefly explained and ajjplied that whole chapter, (a portion only whereof was in the first handled,) and to send them forth together with it to the public : which I was the rather induced to do for these two reasons : 1. Because it has pleased God in his righteous and holy providence to make me, by a long infirmity, unserviceable to his church in the principal work of the ministry, the preaching of the gospel (which is no small grief unto me). So that there remained no other means whereby my life might, in regard of my function, be useful to the church, and comfortable to myself, than by inverting the words of the psalmist, and as he made his " tongue the pen of a ready writer," Psal. xlv. 1 , so to make my pen the tongue of an unready speaker. 2. I considered the seasonableness and suitableness of these meditations to the condition of the sad and disconsolate times wherein we live, very like those which our prophet threatened the ten tribes withal throughout this whole prophecy, unto which this last chapter is a kind of use, and a most solemn exhortation, pressing upon all wise and prudent men such duties of humiliation and repentance, as_ might turn threats into promises, and recover again the mercies which by then- sins they had forfeited and forsaken : which being restored to them according to their petition, they are here likewise further instructed in what manner to return unto God the praises due to his great name. And these two duties of humiliation and thanksgiving, are the most solemn duties to which in these times of judgments and mercies, so variously interwoven together, the Lord so frequently calls us. Places of Scripture I have, for brevity sake, for the most part, only quoted and referred thee to, without tran- scribing all the words, and have usually put many parallel places together, because by that means they do not only strengthen the doctrine whereto they belong, but mutually give light one to another. The L3rd make us all in this our day so wise and prudent, as to undei-stand the righteous ways of our God towards us ; that we may not stumble at them, but walk in them, and be taught by them to wait u])on him in the way of his judgments, and to fix the desires of our soul upon his name as our great refuge, and upon his righteousness as our great business, Isa. xxvi. S, 9: till he shall be pleased, by the dew of his grace, to revive us as the corn, to make us grow as the vine, and to let the scent of all his ordinances be over all our land, as the smell and as the wine of Lebanon. It will be an abundant return to my poor and weak endeavours, if I may have that room in thy prayers which the apostle Paul desired to have in the prayers of the Ephesians, " That utterance may be given unto me, that I may open ray mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel," Eph. vi. 19. The Lord sanctify all the ways of his providence towards us, that when we are chastened we may be taught, and may be greater gainers by the voice of his rod than we are sufferers by the stripes. AN EXPOSlTIOlSr THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. CHAPTER I. Verse 1. The iiord of the Lord that came v.iilo Ilosea, the son of Beeri, in the daj/s of Uzziali, Jotliam, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jero- boam the son of Joash, king of Israel. This day ve begin a Scripture exposition, an exercise which has lost much of its honour by its disuse. The best apology for it is to begin it immediately. It is an ancient practice in the church of God, old enough to speak for itself. In Neh. viii. 8, we read that Ezi-a, Jeshua, Bani, and the rest read in the book of the law. and gave the sense, and caused the people to understand the reading. I have determined to expound first the books of the minor prophets, of which Jerome remarks, * I know not which to wonder at most, the brevity of speech, or the greatness and abundance of sense. And the pro- phet Hosea in this respect is most excellent, of whom the same author says he is f exceedingly concise, and speaks by sentences. Why I chose rather to begin with Hosea than with Isaiah, I shall afterward inform you. If God continue life and this exercise, we may go tlii'ough all the prophetical books, both small and great. In these prophets we have most admirable truths revealed to us ; and it is a pity that the mind of God contamed in them should be so little known, even unto his chiUb-en ; that such treasures of heavenly truths should lie hid from so many for so long a time. "We might preface our work by labouring to raise your hearts to the consideration of the excellency of the Scriptm-es in general. Luther uses a high exprcs- .sion about them ; he calls them J the highest genus, that contains m it all good whatever. Take away the Scripture, and you even take away the sun from the world. ^Yhat is the world without the Scriptures, but hell itself ? AVe have had indeed the word of God as the sun in the world, but oh how many mists have been * Xescio utrura brevitatem sermonum, an magnitudinem sensuuiu atlinirari debeas. t Commaticum ct quasi per sententias loquentem. I Genus generali ^^ hindered from reading tlie Scriptures, turn, qua »*.<»»• which are the only fountain of all wis- «t'*c!"'LJui'S'in dom : I tremble, said he, at the former Gen. c. 19. jjgg^ wliich was so much busied in read- ing Aristotle and Averroes. AVe read in Neh. viii. 5, 6, when Ezra opened the book of the law to expound it to the people, he " blessed the Lord, the great God : and all the peoi)le answered. Amen, iVmen." And now blessed be the Lord, the great and gracious God, for stirring your hearts uj) to such a work as this, and blessed be his name for those liberties we have thus freely to exercise ourselves in this sers'ice. Oh praised be the name of the gi'eat God for this day's entiance into so good a work as this. Yea, they not only blessed God, but " they lifted up their hands, and bowed their heads, and worsliipped tne Lord with their faces to the ground." Wliy ? Because the book of the law was read to them and expoimded. How came it to pass that their hcai'ts were so ready to hear the book oi tne law expounded to them ? Surely it was because they were newly retm-ned out of captivity. When they came into their own land, and heard the law of God opened to them, they blessed his gi'eat name, and bowed theu- faces to the ground, worshipping him. This day, my brethren, witnesses our great deliverance and retimi from bondage. Not long since we could not have either ordinances, truths, or religious exercises, but according to the humours of vile men. But now, through God's mercy, a great deliverance is granted to us, that we may come and have free liberty to exercise ourselves in the law of our God. O bless the Lord, and bow your faces to the ground, worshipping him ! In the 12th verse of that chapter we read, that after they had heard the law read and expounded to them, they " went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth." A\Tiy ? " Because they had understood the words that were declared unto them." I hope, if God shall please to give assistance in this work, many of you shall go away from this as- sembly rejoicing, because you know more of God's mind revealed in his word than formerly ; and this will be tlie comfort of your meat and drink, and of your trading, and the very spirit of all the joys of your hves. As the sweetness of tne fruit comes from the graft, rather than from the stock ; so your comforts and the blessing of grace must come from the word ingrafted in your souLs, rather than from any tiling you have in yourselves. In the 1st verse, Nehemiah saith, " All the people gathered themselves together as one man into the sti'eet that was before the water gate," to desire Ezra to bring the book of the law, and to read it and to open it unto them. Behold, it is thus this day in this place ; here is a great company met together, some to know what the business will he, some for novelty, and some for other ends ; but we hope many have come that they may have the book of tne law read and opened unto them. Now we expect that from you which is said of them, ver. 3, " And the ears of all the i)eople were attentive unto the book of the law," when it was read and ex])ounded. And truly that attention which now you show promises that we shall have an attentive auditory. But yet tliat is not all ; let us have further a reverential demeanour and carriage in the hearing of the law, as it becomes those who arc to deal with God. It is said, ver. 5, that when Ezra 0])cned the book of the law, " all the ])eople stood up." AVe do not expect the same gesture from you, but oy way of analogy we expect a reverential demeanour in your carriage during the whole work, as knowing we are to sanctify God's name in it. Those people after the first day's exercise were so encouraged, that they came again tlic second day: vcr. 13, '• On the second day were gathered toge- ther the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Le^ites, unto Ezra, to understand the words of the law." And I hope God will so carry on this work, that you shall find encouragement too to come again and again, that you may know more of the mind of God ; and that this work shall be profitable not only to the younger and weaker class, but to tlie fathers, to the priests and Levites also. Let it be with you as it was with them ; according as vou have any truth made known unto you, submit to It, yield to it, obey it immediately, and then you shali know more of God's mind : " If any man will do his wiU, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God," John vii. 17. Thus did they; for, ver. 14, when thev found it WTitten in the book of the law, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month, (this was one passage of the law wliich was expounded, how they should keep the feast of tabeniacles. and what booths they should make,) the peo])le immediately went forth to the mount, and letched olive branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house. In this prophecy of Hosea you will find many truths suitable to the times wherein we live ; the Lord grant you obedient hearts to what shall be delivered. I must not retard the work, nor your expectations, any longer with a larger preface, only somewhat might have been said about the rides for the interpretation of Scripture ; I will only observe that, to the inteq)ret- ation of Scriptui-e, a Scripture frame of heart is neces- sary, a heart holy and heavenly, suitable to the holiness and heavenliness wliich are m the word. As it was said of TuUy's eloquence, that nothing but the elo- quence of TuUy could describe its excellency ; so it ma\ be said of the spirituality of Scripture, nothing but a heart filled with Scripture spiritualness can set fortli its excellencies. And because the authority of Scripture is supreme, wc desire the jirayers of you all to God for us that his fear may fall upon our hearts, that seeing we are men full of error and evil, yet we may not bring any scripture to maintain any eiToneous conceit of our owii heads, nor any evil of our own hearts : this we know to be a dreadful evil. It was a fearful evil for Lucifer to say, " I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God : I will sit also upon the mount of tlie congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds ; I will be like the most High," Isa. xiv. 13, 14. It is as great an evil for any to seek to make tlie Highest ajipear like Lucifer ; for they who make the Scripture justify any erroneous opinion, or any way of e\il, go about to make the blessed God and the "Holy Ghost to be the fathers of lies. It is counted a great evil in a commonwealth to jiut the king's stamp upon false coin ; and to put the stamp of the Spirit of God upon an error, upon a conceit of a man's own, is certainly a great evil before the Lord. God made the priests vile and contemptible btfnre the peonle, because they were partial in the law, Mai. ii. i). .Vnu for you, my brethren, our prayer shall be, that the fear of God may fall upon you likewise, that you may come to these exercises with Scripture frames of heart. ANTiat frame of heart is a Scripture frame? The Holy Ghost tells you, Isa. Ixvi. 2, God looks at him that trembleth at his word : come with hearts trembling at the word of God ; come not to be judges of the law, but doers of it. You may judge of your jirofiting in grace by tlie delight you iind in Scripture ; as Quin- tilian was wont to say of jirofiting in clo- ouence, a man may know that by the SHJHid'^liJ,'' delight he finds in reailing Cicero. It is JJ' .IS,™ cJS'ii." a true sign of profiting in religion, when V£E. 1. THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. the Scriptures are sweeter to us than the honey and the honeycomb. And now the work we have to do is, to open the dif- ficulties and to show you the Divine truths contained in tills portion of Scripture. May they spring up from the fountain of Hfe itself, and be presented to your minds with freshness and power. These five things are to bo inquired concerning the prophet whose prophecy I am now to open, which are contained either in the Ist verse or in the chapter : I. 'V\'lio he was. n. To whom he was sent. in. A\'Tiat his errand was. IV. His commission. V. The time of his prophecy. I. "\ATio this prophet was. I will explain only what you have of him in the 1st verse, " Hosea the son of Beeri." His name signifies a sa^dour, one that brings salvation ; it is the same root fi'om wliich Joshua is derived ; and "•'itrirT s^'^^'^i'- ™^'^y saving and savoury truths we shall find this prophet bringing to us. He was the son of Beeri. We do not find who this Beeri was in Scripture, only that he is here named as the father of the prophet. Surely it is hotioris gratia to the prophet, and hence 06s. That parents should so live and walk, that it may be an honour to then- children to be called by theii- names, that then" chilcben may neither be afraid nor ashamed to be named with them. The Jews have a tradition which is generally re- ceived among them, that wlienever a prophet's father is named, that father was a prophet as well as the son. If that were so, then sui-ely it is no dishonour for any man to be the sou of a prophet. Let the children of godly, gracious ministers be no dishonoiu' to their parents, their parents are an honour- unto them. But we find by experience that many of theii- chilcben are far from being an honom- to their godly parents. Hov,' many sons of ancient godly ministers, who heretofore hated superstitious vanities, have of late been the great- est zealots for such things. It reminds me of what the Scriptui'e says concerning Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, and of the difference between his father and him. WTien Josiah heard the law read. Ids heart melted, and he humbled himself before the Lord, 2 Kings xxii. 19. But when Jehoiakim his son heard the law of God read, he took a pen-knife, and cut the roU in wliich it was written in pieces, and threw ■' it into the fii-e that was on the hearth, until aU the roU was consumed," Jer. xxxvi. 23. There was much difference between the son and the father : and thus it is between the sons of many ancient godly ministers and them ; their- fathers indeed might be an honour unto them, but they are a dis- honoiu- to then- fathers. "The son of Beeri." The word Beeri is derived from nsa puleus, a well that has springing water in it, freely and clearly running. So ministers shotdd be the chflcfren of Beeri ; that which they have shoidd be springing water, and not the mud, and dirt, and filth of their own conceits mingled with the word. This only by way of allusion. II. To whom was this prophet Hosea sent ? He was sent especially to the ten tribes. I suppose you all know the division of the people of Israel wliich took place in Eehoboam's time ; ten of the ti'ibes went from the house of David, only judah and Benjamin re- mained ^rith it. Now these ten tribes, rending them- selves from the house of David, separated themselves also from the true worship of God, and hon-iblc ■s\icked- ness and all manner of abominations grew up amongst them. To these ten tribes God sent this prophet. He sent Isaiah and Micah to Judah, Amos and Hosea to Israel; all these were contempcrary. If you woidd know the state of Israel in Hosea's time, read but 2 Kings XV. 24, " Jeroboam did that which was eyU. in the sight of the Lord, he departed not fi-om all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Xebat, who made Israel to sin." But notwithstanding Israel was thus notoriously wicked, and given up to all idolati-y, yet the Lord sent liis pro- phets Hosea and Amos to prophesy to them even at tills time. Oh the goodness of the Lord, to follow an apostatizing jieople, an apostatizing soul ! Jlercy yet pleaded while God w'as speaking in anger ; but woe to that people, to that soul, concerning whom the Lord shall give in chai-ge to his prophets. Prophesy no more to them ! III. AMiat was Hosea's en-and to Israel ? His errand was to con\'ince them clearly of their abominable idolatry, and those other wickeihiesses in which they lived, and to denoimce severe tlu-eatenings, yea, most fearful desti'uction. This was not done be- fore by the other prophets, as we shall afterward make appear ; but it was Hosea's errand specially to tlu-eaten an utter desolation to Israel more than ever was before, and yet withal to promise mercy to a remnant to di'aw them to repentance ; and to prophesy of the great things that God intended to do for his chm-ch and chil- cb-en in the latter days. rV. "WTiat was his commission ? The words tell us plainly, " The word of the Lord came to Hosea." It was the word of Jehovah. It is a great argument to obedience to know that it is the word of the Lord wliich is spoken. '\ATien men set reason agauist reason, and judgment against judgment, and opinion against opinion, it prevails not ; but when they see the authority of God m the word, then the heait and conscience jield. Therefore however you may look upon the insti-uments that bring it or open it to you, as yoiu- equals, or inferiors, yet know there is an authority in the word that is above you all ; it is " the word of the Lord." And this word of the Lord " came to Hosea." Mark the phi'ase : Hosea did not go for the word of tlie Lord, but the word of the Lord came to him ; he sought it not, but it came to him, yii'W-Ss rrn irs that is, the word of the Lord came or was made into him, was put into liim. Such a kind of phi-ase you have in the New Testament, John x. 35, " 11' he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came," irpbg oi'ie o Xoyog tov etou lyeviTo, that is, to whom the commission came to place them where they were. So the word of the Lord came to Hosea. The knowledge of a call to a work will help a man thi-ough the difficulties of the work. One of the most notable texts of Scrip- ture to encom-age a man to the work to JJ^J q^'Deo" wliich he sees he is clearly called, is that Y^^S' ''°°""""'- which is spoken of C'hiist himself, Isa. xlii. 6, " I the Lord have called thee in righteousness." '^Tiat follows then ? "I will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light to the Gentiles." If wo know God's call to a work, (as for the present this of om-s is exceecbng clear imto us.) though the work be difficult and liable to much censm-e, yet the Lord will hold our hands, and ^^■ill be with our minds, and om- tongues, and om* hearts, and make us instruments to give some light to others. V. AMiat was the time when Hosea prophesied ? You have it in the text, " In the days of Uaziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hczekiah, lungs of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel." It is computed by ehronologers that Hosea lived about 814 yeai-s before "Chi-ist. In his time the eit)- of Rome was buUt. It was the beginning of the Ohinpiads. Eusebius tells us that there was no ^^^^Ji^,,, ^^ Grecian histoiy, and if no Greek learn- Greca'dLTempln- ing, then not any that was of any author- creditlfr,°EuMb?de AX EXPOSITION OF Chap. I. rrrp>r.E.jn.LM. j^.^ extant beforc the time of Hosea. He ])roi)hesie(l in the reigiis of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. AVe have much more of God's mind revealed in this than at first \-ie\v we a])prehcnd. Hosea prophesied a very long time, pro- bai)ly fourscore years ; but it is certain he was in the worli of his ministry above seventy years. I make that clear thus : He prophesied in the days of Jeroboam, who lhouf,'h he is here named last, yet was the first of these kings that took up some of his' time. But suppose you reckon from the end of Jeroboam's reign, from that to the beginning of Hezekiah were seventy years, ami yet the text declares he pro])hcsied both in Jeroboam's time and in Hczckiah's tmic. After the death of Jeroboam, Uzziah lived thirty-eight years. He reigned fifty-two in all. He l)egan" hisreign in the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam, 2 Kings xv. 1. Now Jeroboam lived after that fourteen yeai-s, for he reigned forty-one in all. Take fourteen out of fifty-two, and there remams thirty-eight. After him Jotham reigned sixteen years, and then Ahaz succeeded him, and reigned sixteen years more. So that between these two kings, Jeroboam and Hezekiah, were seventy years, in which Hosea prophesied, besides the forty-one years of Jeroboam, and twenty-nine years of Hezekiah, in both whose reigns too you sec he lived; and therefore it is probable that Hosea continued in the work of his prophecy at least fourscore yeare. See what of God's mind will spring from tliis. Obs. 1. It jileases God sometimes that some men's labours shall aljide more full to posterity than others, though the labours of those others arc greater and as excellent as theirs. Hosea continued so long, and yet there is not much of his prophecy extant, onlv foin-teen short chapters. This is according to the diversity of CJod's administrations. Let the ministers of God learn to be faithfid in their work, and let God alone to make them eminent by having their labours extant. Obs. 1. It appears from hence that Hosea must needs begin to pro])hesy very young. If he were a prophet fourscore years, certainly he wa.s very young when he began to prophesy; and yet he was called to as great an emplovment as any of the prophets. It pleases God sometimes to stir up the hearts of young ones to do him great service. He sends such sometimes about great works and emplo^cnts ; so he did Samuel, and Jeremiah, and Tiraotny. Therefore let no man despise their youth. Obs. 3. Hosea prophcs^-ing thus long, it appears he lived to be old in nis work. When God has any work for men to do, he lengthens out their days. So he did the days of John the disciple, who lived a hundred years, if not more ; for the time of writing liis Gospel was in the ninety-ninth year of Christ, sixty-six after the ascension. Let us not be too solicitously careful about our lives, to maintain our health and slrengtli ; let us be careful to do our work, for according as the Lord hath work for us to do, so he will continue to us our health, and strength, and life, '\^'hen you come to die, vou mav die comfortably, having this thought in you : NA'cII, tfie work that the Lord appointed me to do is done, and why should I seek to live longer in the world ? God has others enough to do his work. It was a sweet expression of Jacob, "Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers," Gen. xlviii. 21. So may a prophet of fiod say. who has been faithful in his work, Behold, I die. but the Lord shall be with you ; my work is finish- ed, but God has others who are young'to carry on his work. Obs. 4. You may see by Hosea's continuance in so many several kings' reigns, that he went through a variety of conditions. Sometimes he lived under wicked kings, sometimes under moderate kings, sometimes he had encom-agement from godlv and gracious kings, though they were kings of Judah. Not only the people of God, but especially God's ministers, must expect a variety of conditions in the world ; they must not pro- mise to themselves always the same state. Yet further, Hosea projihesied in all these kings' reigns. Here appears the constancv of his spuit, not- withstanding the many difficulties lie met with in his work ; for, prophesying in the time of Jeroboam, Jotham, and Ahaz, who were wicked princes, he must surely have met with many discouiagements : and though he continued fourscore years, yet he saw but little success of his labour ; for the truth is, the people were not con- verted to God by his ministiT. Nav, it is apparent they grew worse and worse ; for it is said of that Jeroboam in whose time Hosea began his ]n-ophecy, that he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and continued in the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, 2 Kings xv. 24; but after we read most horrible things of which Israel was guilty. In 2 Kmgs xvii. 1 7, it is said, " They caused their sons and their daughtere to pass through the fii-e, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to ])rovoke him to anger;" besides many other ibeadful things you may read in that chapter. This was in king Hoshea's time, which was towards the end of Hosea's prophecy. Obs. 5. God may continue a prophet a long time amongst a pcojile, and yet they may never be converted. It is a distemper in ministers' hearts to incline to aban- don their work because they see not desh-ed success. Latimer, in one of his sermons, speaks of a minister who was asked why he left off preaching, who replied, because he saw he did no good : this, says Latimer, is a very naughty answer. AMiat we have here may be a great stay to those who have laboured many yeai-s in the work of the ministry, and yet think they have done little or no good ; Hosea was fourscore years a prophet to Israel, and yet did not convert them. But notwith- standing all these discouragements, he continued con- stant, and that with abundance of freshness and liveli- ness, even to the end of his jirophesying. Obs. 6. It is an honour to the ministers of God, who meet with many difficulties and discouragements in theii' way, yet continue fresh and lively to the very end. Many young ministers are fresh and lively when they begin first : oh how full of zeal and activity are they then ! but after they have been a while in their work, or when they have gained what they aimed at, they gi'ow cold, and that fomier vigour, freshness, and zeal which appeared to be in them become much flatter. Like soldiers, who at the first are forward and active in service, but aftenvard come to live upon their pay, and can do no service at all ; or rather, as vessels when they are first ta])])ed, the wine is very quick and nimble, but at last gi-ows exceeding flat. As we commend that vessel of wine that draws quick to the very last, so it is an excellent thing for a minister of God to continue fresh, and quick, and lively to the last end. It is true, nature and natural abilities may decay, but a spiritual freshness may appear when natural abilities are decay- ed. To see an old jirophet of God, who has gone through many difficulties and sufferings, and yet con- tinues fresh and lively in the work of the ministiT, and has s|)iritual excellencies sparkling in him then, this is a most honourable sight, and calls for abundance of reverence. Obs. 7. It pleases God many times to let liLs prophets see the fulfilling of their thrcatenings upon the people against whom they have denounced them. Ho.sea pro- phesied so long, that he most ])robably saw the fulfilling of his prophecy; for he continued proiihesjing till Heze- kiah's time, and in the sixth vear of Hezekiah's reign came the destraction of Israel. Hosea had threatened an utter taking of them awav, but it was not done till Vee. 1. THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. tlien. Perhaps the people go away, and scorn and contemn the prophets, and their words are but wind with them ; but God often lets his ministers live to see their words fidiilled upon them. For it ia common with individuals, when upon then- beds of sickness or death, to say, Ah, the word of the Lord is true that I heard at such a time, it is now come upon me ! So God dealt with the people in Jeremiah's time ; they laughed and contemned him, but Jeremiah lived to see the ful- filling of those thi-eatenings. And if they live not to see the fulfilling of then- words, yet soon after their death they are fulfilled, as it was at Hippo, where Austin threatened judgments against the people ; they were not executed in Ms time, but soon after he was taken away they came. Hosea not only prophesied in these Idngs' days, but in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel. Here are three questions : 1. What is the reason that Jeroboam, who in truth was the fij:st of these kings, is named last ? 2. AMiy only one king of Israel is named, and thi-ee kings of Judah ? for in the time of Hosea's prophecy there were six other lungs of Israel, Zachariah, Shal- lum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Hoshea. 3. Why Jeroboam is named at all ? One answer will be sufficient for the first two ques- tions, why Jeroboam is named last, and why there is but one king of Israel named. The answer is this, God took no gi'eat delight in the kings of Israel, for they had forsaken the true worship of God. Though there was much con'uption in Judah, yet because they kept to the true worship of God, God took more de- light in Judah than in Israel. Therefore he names Jeroboam in the last place, though he was fii-st, and only him. But why was Jeroboam named at all ? It Avas that you might understand the state of the people of Israel at the time of Hosea's projjhecy. Much is to be learned from hence. The state of the people of Israel in the time of Jeroboam's reign was very prosperous, though their wickedness was very great. 2 Kings xiv. shows you, that a little before this they had been in very great distress, and under sore afflic- tions ; but in Jeroboam's time they had the greatest prosperity they had ever know^l. For this Jeroboam was not the first Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that caused Israel to sin, and occasioned the rent of the ten tribes from the house of David ; that occurred above a hun- dred and forty years before this ; but the Jeroboam in whose time God sent Hosea to prophesy this great wrath against the house of Israel, was the son of Joash. Now in all this time the kingdom was never in a more prosperous condition than in the days of this Jeroboam. Two things are to be observed concerning the con- dition of the people at tliis time. Fu'st, That they were a little before this in gi-eat ad- versity, and then afterwards they grew up to great pros- pcritv. That Hth c'napter of the Second of the Kings informs you that they were under sore aftiiction, ver. 26, " There was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Isi'ael." It is a comparison taken from shep- herds, that shut up their flocks when they would keep them safe from danger ; but now here was such a general desolation and woeful affliction upon Israel, that there was none shut up, nor any helper left. But then comes this Jeroboam, and it is said, ver. 25, that " he restored the coast of Israel fi'om the entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain." And, ver. 28, " He recovered Damascus and Hamath, which belonged to Judah, for Israel." This Hamath of which he speaks was of great use, it was the inlet of the Assp-ians ; aiid for Jeroboam to conquer that place, to recover Damas- cus, and to add that to the crow^l of Israel which be- longed to Judah, shows that after their bitter affiiction God granted a great mercy by Jeroboam's means, and that now Israel flom-ished greatly, and grew exceed- ingly prosperous. There is much of God's mind held out to us m this : as, in that the people of Israel had been under sore affliction, and delivered, yet God sent Hosea to them to show them their horrible wickedness, and to threaten de.struction. Obi: 1. Hence see the perverseness of the diildi-en of men, that after great deliverances granted them from bitter and sore afflictions, yet they will continue in their wicketbiess and rebellion. The Lord grant this may not be true concerning us. God has delivered us in great measm-e from those sore and bitter afflictions and heavy oppressions under which we lately groaned, and has restored to us many gi-acious liberties ; now have we not need of an Hosea to be sent unto us to rebuke us, and to threaten judgment for the evU of oiu' ways ? This is a sad thing. Obs. 2. God may let a sinner continue a long time in the way of his sin ; and when he has flomished many years, and thinks surely the bitterness of death is past, God may thi-eaten judgment. Jeroboam reigned one and forty years, and Hosea must have prophesied in the latter end of Jeroboam's time. Jeroboam might tliink, AVTiy does he come to contest with me, and to tell me of my sin and wickedness, and to threaten judgment? have not I continued these forty years king, and have prospered ? and sm-ely God hath been with me. Well, a sinner may hold out long, and yet afterward judgment may come. Obs. 3. A people in a flourishing condition, when they prosper most, and overcome then- enemies, and have all according to their hearts' desire, even that may be the time for God to appear in his WTath against them. So it was here ; therefore we must not judge our enemies to be happy, nor fear them, because of their present flom-ishing state, nor be secure ourselves because of the mercies we- enjoy. God does not always act thus, but sometimes he is pleased, as here, to stay tiU sinners are at tire height of their prosperity, and then to come upon them. Sometimes God is more sudden. Zachariah the son of this Jeroboam thought he might venture as well as his father : Jly father pros- pered in such ways forty-one years, and why may not I ? No, God came upon him in six months, 2 Kings xv. 8. Secondly, "\ATien Hosea came to prophesy against Is- rael, he saw them in their prosperity, and yet continued to threaten judgment against them. It was a fui-ther argument of the Spiiit of God that taught him, and of the special insight which he had into the mind of God, that he should thus prophesy destruction to them, w hen they were in the height of their prosperity. It is true, if Hosea had prophesied in Zachariah's days, when the kingdom was declining, or ui Shallum's time, and others after him, then he might have seen by the work- ing of second causes that the kingdom was going dowTi. But he comes in Jeroboam's time, when there was no appearance fi-om second causes of their destruc- tion, and then prophesied destruction unto them. Obs. 1. It is a sign of the special insight the soul has in the ways of God, that can see misery under the greatest prosperity. The prophet did not think Israel in a better condition because of then- outward pros- peiity ; a sign his prophecy was from God. Yet fur- ther, this being in tire reign of Jeroboam, when they were in gi-eat prosperity, then- hearts were exceedingly hardened against the prophet ; and it cannot be imagin- ed but that they entertained his prophecy with sconi and contempt ; for it is a usual thing, w-hen men are in the height of their pride, like the wild ass's colt, to scorn andcontemn all that comes against them. Obs. 2. It is easy for a minister of God to deal plainly with people in the time of adversity, but when men are in their pride and jollity, to deal faitlifuUy with them AX EXPOSITION OF CliAP. I. then is very difficult. That their great prosperity raised up and hardened their hearts with pride against the pro- phet appears plainly, if you will road .Vmos vii. 10 ; (for wo must find God's mind by comparing one place with another ;) there you sec the fruit of Jeroboam's pros- perity, for Amos and Hosea were contem])orary. AVhen Amos was propliesyiiig, '• Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saving, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Is- rael : the land is not able to bear his words." This was said of Amos, and it is likely that Hosea did not meet with better treatment. Amaziah the priest of Beth-el did this. If there be any enemies against faithful ministers, they are the priests of Beth-el, idolatrous and superstitious ministers. And what course do they take ? They send to the king, to the governors ; O they liave consi)ired against the king, they are seditious per- .sons, factious men, who stir up the kingdom, and break the peace of the church, the land cannot bear thcii- worcb. Such a message as this you see .iVmaziah sent to the king concerning Amos ; he turns off all from himself to the king, and all the punishment that must be inflicted upon Amos must be in the name of the king. And mark the 12th verse of that chapter, " Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee away into the land of Judea, and prophesy there." We are not holy enough for you, forsooth we are idolaters, we do not worship God aright, we are no true church ; get you to Judah among your brethren, and prophesy not any more here at Beth-el. AVhy? Because ''it is tiie king's chapel, and it is the Icing's coiu't." It seems llien in those times that the king's chapel and the king's coiu-t could not bear with a faithful prophet. And what was the ground of it, but because at this time Jeroboam pro.spered in his way, and the Idngdom was in a more flourishing condition than it ever Avas before. Here then was the trial of the faithfulness of Hosea's spirit yet to go on in the work of lus prophecy. Yet further; in that Ilosea ])io])hesied in the time of Jeroboam, it will appear that he was the first prophet that ever brought tliese hard tidings to them of the utter destniction of Israel. " The Lord said not that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven : but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash," 2 Kings xiv. 27. Mark, there is given the reason why the Lord saved them by the hand of Jero- 1)oam, because he had not yet said he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven ; that is, the Lord never before sent any of his prophets thus plainly and fiilly to declare his intention to them, to blot out the name of Israel, upon their going on in their sins. So that it is clear that Hosea was tlie first that was sent about this message. And certainlv it was so much the harder, he being the first of all. I'or they might have said, AVliy do you come with these new things, and in so gi-eat scveritj- ? who ever did so before you ? AVe know if a minister come with any thing that seems to be new, if he presents any truth to you that has but a show of novelty, though it be never so good and com- fortable, he finds little encouragement. Nay, if he but comes in a new way, as this verj' exercise, because it is likely to be pursued in a way that lias been disused, it will meet with many discouragements. "What then will the threatenings of hard things, of iudgmcnts and de- struction, do when they come with novelty ? Surely Hosea had a hard task of this, and yet he went on faith- fully with it. Thus much for the time wherein Hosea ])rophesied. Ver. 2. The beginning of the uord of Ihe Lord hi/ Ilnsea. And Ihe Lord said to Hosea,' Go, lake unio thee a wife of irhoredoms and childreti of vhoredom.1 : for Ihe land halh commilled great trhoredom, departing from the Lord. Some from these words gather, that Hosea was the fii-st of the prophets whose vmtings have come down to us. Though it is true we cannot gather it diiectly from hence, yet it is apparent that notwithstanding Isaiah is set first, yet Hosea was before him ; for if you look into Isa. i., you find that his beginning was in the days of Uzziali. Now Hosea was in the days of Jeroboam, and Jeroboam was before Uzziah. And this may be one reason why, though I intend the whole prophetical books, yet I rather begin with Hosea, because indeed he was the fh'st prophet : it is clear you see from tlie Scri])turc, though we cannot gather it fromjhese words in this 2nd vei-se. But yet thus much we may gather from these words, " The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea," that this was the beginning of his prophecy. And what was this beginning 'P what did God set him about first ? Mark the next words, " And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms ; " and so declare to the people of Israel that they had "committed great whoredom, dejiarting from the Lord : " the most grievous charge and most severe and temble expression of God's wrath against that people that you meet with in all the book of God. This is Hosea's work, and he was veiy young when first he went about it. Now, as I told you before, God some- times calls young ones to gi-eat sen-ices ; but to call a young man to go to thLs peojjle with such a message, in the midst of all their pride and flourish to contest with them thus, and to tell them that they arc chikfren oi whoredoms, and no longer the people of God, for a young man to do this ! A\'hy, men grown old and sodden m their sins might reason. If this indeed came from the mouth of some old prophet, reverend for his years and experience, it had been somewhat ; but to come from a green-head, for an upstart to upbraid us with such vile things ! But let us know, my brethren, if God send any message unto us, though by young persons, he expects our entertainment of it. A\'hen God would destroy Eli's house, he sends the message by young Samuel ; but Eli did not reason thus, '\\ nat, this young boy to come and speak thus malapertly to me ! No, he stoops to it, and saith, " Good is the word of the Lord." Again, Hosea must tell them that they are children of whoredoms, and not the people of God. AMiat, for a minister when he comes first among a people to begin so harshly and severely! is it not better to comply with the people, to come with gentle and fair means, to seek to win them with love ? if you begin with harsh ti'uths, surely you will make them fly off immediately. Thus many reason. Now I beseech you take heed to your own hearts in reasoning thus. >Iany have done so, and have sought to comply with the ])eople so long, till they have complied away all their faitlifidness, and conscience, and vigoiu". AAlicn they eoinc to gi'eat men, rich men, men in place and eminence, they will comply with such; but let them have any of God's people in their parish wlio are of a mean rank and poor, they comi)ly little enough with them, but are harsh and bitter to them, and regard not the tenderness of their consciences at all. It is true, if ministers have the testimony of their own consciences tliat they would take no other way but what shall be for the greatest profit of their people, maintainiiip such a disposition as to be willing to under- go any sufferings to which God shall call them, they may say first when they come to a house. Peace be to this house, especially when they come to a place that has not had the means before. "But if it be to a people who act directly against the light of their consciences, a su])crstitious jieople, that cannot but be convinced, and have had many evidences, that their conduct Ls against the mind of God, and yet for their own base ends will go on and not amend ; in such a case we may come with harshness at the very first So Paul gives a THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. charge to Titus in dealing with the Cretians, who were evil beasts and slow beUies, that he should " rebuke them sharply " (so we ti'anslate it) ; the word is, ilfforo/jwj, cuttingly, Tit. i. 13. " The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea." The particle which is translated by signiiies in as well as bij ; it is not El, but Beth, and so it is read by some, The word of the Lord came in Hosea. This expression notes the inward and intimate converse that the Lord had with the spiiit of Hosea in the work of his minis- try. The Lord spake first in Hosea, and then Hosea speaks out unto the people. Some such expression we have conceVning Paid, Gal. i. 16, That Clu-ist may be revealed in me ; not only to me, but m me. The more inwardly God speaks and converses with the hearts of his ministers, the more inwardly and efficaciously they are able to speak to the people. This is deep preaching, when it is ii'om the heart to the heart. ?md"mKS;"' And so Augustme says of Hosea, be- !Sratuf."AuB"st°" cause that which he spake was so deep, it c°v"°°S' '' '*■ '"" wTOught more sti'ongly. Hosea's pro- phecy must needs be deep, for God spake in him before he spake out to the people. A^'e say that which comes from the heart will go to the heart ; sm'ely that which comes fi'om the voice of God in the heart, will go beyond the ears to the hearts of people. And blessed are the people that have such muiisters who will speak nothing to them, but what has fii'si. been spoken by God in them. Agaui in this 2nd verse he twice uses the same ex- pression : " The beghining of the word of the Lord by Hosea ;" and again, " The Lord said to Hosea ;" and yet in the beginmng of the 1st verse, '• The word of the Lord came to Hosea.'' "Why all this three times ? With good reason ; for Hosea was to come with a terrible message to the people, and to reprehend them with much sharijness, to tell tliem that they were the chil- di'en of whoredoms, and that they had departed fr'om the Lord, and he would have no more mercy upon them, but would utterly take them away. He had need therefore have an express command for what he did, and to have much evidence of the Spirit, that what he said Avas from God, and not any thing of his own spu'it. A\Tien a minister of God shall come and repre- hend a people severely for then- sins, and tlu'eaten God's judgment, let liim then, if ever, look to it that he has a good wai'rant for what he saith, that what he shall deHver may be nothing but the word of God in him, the sheer word of God, without any mixture of his o-mi. It is an ordinary thing for ministers m reprehending sin, and denouncing tlu'eatenings, to mmgle much of theu' own spu-it and \^Tath. But if at any time minis- ters should take heed of mixing then' own wrath, then especially when they denounce God's wi'ath, then they shoidd bring nothhig but the word of the Lord ; for it being a hard message, the spu-its of men will rise up against it. If they once see the spu'it of the minister in it, they will be ready to say as the devil in the possessed man, " Jesus I know, and Paul I know ; but who are ye ? " So they. The word of the Lord I know, but what are you ? here is yoiu' O'mi passion, your own humom'. O let not any tliink to oppose sin with sin ; " the wi'ath of man worketh not the righteousness of God," James i. 20. You that are ministers, would you have a sen- tence ? I wUl give you one : TVIien you are called to reveal God's WTath, conceal yoiu- own. The scope of the prophecy is the very same as the scope of tins chapter, to declare, fii'st. The evil condi- tion m which the ten tribes were, both in regard of then- sins, and the punishment that was to be executed for their sins. Secondly, Gracious promises of mercy to a remnant ; to Judah, in the Tth verse ; and to judah and Israel both', from the 10th verse to the end of the chapter. First, God begins with conviction, to show them their sin, and the dreadfulness of it. Conviction should go before correction. Y''ou must not presently fly in the faces of those who are under you when they cross you ; fu-st Instruct them, and then correct them. God would fii'st convince them of the greatness of their sins, not by verbal, but by real expressions.- Things that assail the ear slowly stu' and work ^^^^^ .^,^^1^^ upon the heart, but things that are pre- unSnos demiss. stnted before the eye ai-e more operative ; !j"a.\"uni'<.cuS"' and therefore Hosea must not teU them J^oSplSf' only that they had committed whoredom, gorat ?e A?t° Poet, but must tell" them in this way; he must go and take a wife of whoredoms, and beget children of whoredoms. In the enti-ance of the prophecy you see we meet with a great difficidty. Fu-st, a command from God, from the holy God, to a prophet, a holy prophet, to go and take " a wife of whoredoms ;" not an ordinary harlot, but a most prostitute woman, " a wife of whoredoms :" as, in the Scripture phi'ase, a man of bloods, is a man who has shed much blood ; and a man of sorrows, is a man who has been exercised with many son'ows ; so " a wife of whoredoms," is one who has committed vUe, notorious lewdness. Y^et such a wife must the prophet take to himself, and his cliilcken must be children of whoredoms too. How can tliis be ? St. Austin, who had been a Manichee, havmg to deal much with Manichees, met with this objection against the Old Testament from one Faustus, a JSIaniehee : That Old Testament of yom'S, r^Ioses and the prophets, said Faustxis, is that of God ? do you not find there a command to take a wife of whoredoms, and can this be from God ? Austin answers it thus : Though she Quid , might be reclaimed; and so she might 'tSfoSuSe be called a wife of whoredoms, from that in cKstum conjuei- whoredom of which .she was heretofore &J! 'l^colt^' guilt)-. And so he thinks that it was a ^■^""- '- -=- '■ *- reality that Hosea did take to himself a wife of whoredoms. Theodoret is somewhat angry with Eorum nudnciam those who think it was not really done, "'f"i^*'f,eS'°' but only in a way of vision. I find many Jiccre jerba hsc ,, Y , r ...1, -J esse rebus destituta. ot om- later men are of the same mmd : Theod. in hos. so Ai-ias Montanus, Piscator, Parens, ™"- "■ '- Tarnovius, and others think, and they explam it thus ; that it is a command of God, and therefore though it had not been lawful for Hosea to have done it, yet, God commanding it, he might do it. As they instance in other cases that seem to be somewhat of the like na- ture, as the chilcb-en of Israel's borrowing of the Egyp- tians, Abraham's kiUuig his son, and the like. K this shoidd be so, (and as many interpreters so explain it, it appears a thing not impossible,) we might learn thus much from it. Obs. 1. That God's command takes away all matter of ofl'ence. It would be a notorious, offensive thing for a prophet, a minister of God, to marry a wicked harlot ; vet so far as the offence is, God's command is enough to take it away. For the subject of offence is not duty, but indifference : any thing that is a duty to be done, we must perform it, "thougli it be never so offensive to others ; but if it be a tiling of indifference, then we may stop. God's command takes away all plea of offence. I speak not thus of man's command, for men, even raagish-ates themselves, are bound not to offend their brethi-en, as well as others. But then it may be said they should command nothing at aU, for some- or other would be offended. And shall not they command because some weak ones may be ofl'ended ? It is true, that which they believe in their consciences to be their duty, they are bound to com- ,VN EXPOSITION OF CiiAr. I. mand, and they would sin against God if they did not command it, and require obedience to it ; they must do it, though never so many be offended. But in matters which they themselves acknowledge to be neither for God's ser\ice or for the good of a commonwealth, the rule binds them as well as others in regard of oflcnces to forbear. Obs. 2. That the prophet must suffer much in his credit before men, only to be ser\iceable to God for a further expression of his mind. Our credit, our names, and all we are or have, must lie down at God's feet to be seniceablc to him in the least thing, if but in a way of expression of his mind, much more in bearing witness to his truth. Obs: 3. AVe see the wisdom of God in putting the prophet in the verj- first service upon a very difficult work. It could not but be a tiling exceedingly ii'ksonie to his spirit to marry such a one, yet God commands him to do it. It is the usual way of God, when he calls any to great services, at the beginning to put them to such difficult works as shall try them, that if they go through them, then they may be confided in, that they will go through more afterward. But we shall rather undoi-stand this in a way of \ision, as others do ; not that Hosea did really marrv' such a wife, but it appeared to him in a vision, as if such a tiling were really done, only to declare what the condition of the people of Israel was at this time in re- spect of God : as if God should say, Ilosca, this people of Israel is to me no other than as if thou shoiddst have a wife that were the most notorious harlot in the world, and all their ehihb-cn arc to me as if thy chikken were the children of whoredom and fornication. And this I conceive to be more directly the mind of God. I will not give you my mere conception of it, but reasons why it must be so. First, Because we find in Scripture that which is his- torically related was sometimes done in a way of vision. It is a usual way of Scripture to express that which is done in vision as if it were a history, as if it were really done. I will show you two examples for this : one of Jeremiah, when he was at Jerusalem, yet the Scripture speaks as if he had been at Babylon ; and the other of Ezekiel, when he was at Babylon, it speaks as if he had been at Jenisalem. It is as fully related as this is here, and both must therefore needs be understood a.s in a way of vision. First, for Jeremiali, vou have it chap, xiii. 4. God requires there that he should " go to Eu- phrates, and hide his girdle there in a hole of the rock :" but this river was a river in Babylon, and Jere- miah was not in Babylon at that time, nor in all the time of the siege, nor in the time of the captivity ; nei- ther could he go to Babylon, for the city was now be- sieged, and when he did l)ut essay to go a little way to Anathoth, his own town, he was seized as if he had been a ti'aitor to his country. Therefore that which is de- clared as a history was only done in a vision. So Ezekiel was nt Babylon (for he was the prophet that pro])hesied to the pco])lc who were earned eajitivc to Babylon ; God sent a projiliet to them to help them there in their cajitivity) ; yet, chaji. viii. of his prophecy, l'2zekiel seems to be l>roiight to Jeremiah, and he is bidden there to dig a hole in the wall to see the wicked abominations that the aneicnts of Israel did there. Now Rzekiel was not there, he was at Babylon ; but it is declared as if the thing had been done really. So we arc to understand Isaiali's going naked twenty days, and Ezekiel's lying three hundred and ninety days on the one side, and forty-three on the other, Ezek. !v. Secondly, That it was a vision, and not really done. We observe, it was God's command, Lev. xxi. 7, that the priest must not marrv' with a whore. Of all men's wives, God is most careful of the wives of those who are In the work of the ministry, and who are church officers ; therefore when, in 1 Tim. iii. 11, but a deacon is de- scribed, his wife is described also, that she should be " grave, no slanderer, sober, and faithful in all things." You never read that when God appoints what a magis- trate's office should be In a commonwealth, that he takes such care to set down what his wife should be ; but when he appoints the lowest officer in a church, a deacon, he appoints what his wife should be too. Therefore the wives of ministers should go away with a lesson from hence, and know that God has a more special eye to them than to the wives of all the men in the world besides. God is tender of the credit of the officers of his church, and so should man be, for their discredit is a hinderance to their work. Yea further, we read, Amos vii. 16, that it was threat- ened as a curse to Amaziah the i)riest of Beth-el, that his wife should be a harlot, for resisting the prophet : shall then the wife of Hosea be a whore ? for Amos and Hosea prophesied both at the same time. And the Scripture saith, 1 Cor. xi. 7, that " the woman is the glory of the man." VThat a glory would Hosea have had in such a match as this ! ITie woman is the glory of the man; how? In two respects she is so. 1. Be- cause it is a glory to a man that he has such an image, for she is from the man ; and as the man, being the image of God, shows the glory of God, because he is the image of God and from him ; so the woman, being from the man, and as it were his image, she is the glory of the man. 2. Because man has such an excellent creature brought under subjection to him. Man is not only made glorious by God, in that God has put all other creatures under him ; but especially in this, that God has put such an excellent creature under him as the woman, for the woman is the glory of the man. This could not be here in such a match as this. Thirdly. It could not be that it was a real thing, but a vision, from the projihecy itself. If real, Hosea must have stayed almost a whf>le year before he could have gone on in his prophecy. For, fii-st, he must take to him a wife of whoredoms, and beget a child of whore- doms ; then he must have stayed till the child had been born, before he could have come to the people and said, My child is born, and his name is Jezreel, and it is upon this ground that I have named him thus ; and then he must have stayed almost a year more before he could have had Lo-ruhamah ; and then after that he must stay almost another year longer before Lo-ammi could be born. Foiu-thly, The expression used here is, that God spake in Hosea; speaking and appearing to him by an inward vision, as it were in an ecstasy, saith I'olanus ; therefore we must understand that this wife of whore- doms whom Hosea was to many was in a way of vision. It was to signify that Israel was to God as a wife of whoredoms, and as chilfken of whoredoms should have been to the prophet if he had been married to her. From all these reasons there is this residt, that the people of Israel were gone a whoring from God. Idol- atry is a.s the sin of whoredom ; and I cannot open this scripture, except I show you wherein idolatry is like the sin of whoredom. The idolatry of the church, not the idolatry of heathens, is whoredom. One that com- mits adultciT gives herself to another. The heathens, because they were never married to God, their idolatry is not adultery; but the people of God, being married- to the Lord, their idolatry is adulteiT. 1. Adultery breaks the man-iago bond. There is nothing breaks the marriage bond lietween God and his people but the sin of idolatrj-. Though n wife may be guilty of many failings, and be a grievous trouble and burden to her husband, yet these do not break the marriage knot except she defile the mamage lied. So though a ]>eo]>lc may be guilty of notorious and vile sins, yet if they keep the worship of God pure, they are Vee. THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. not guilty of whoredom, but still God is married to them. 2. "SATioredom is a loathsome thing. Though delight- some to men, yet loathsome to God. Idolatiy is the same ; therefore the Scripture describes the idols that men set up by a cSlVj a word which signifies the very excrement that comes from creatures, Ezek. xxii. 3. Idolaters think their way of idol worship to be very delightsome, but that which they call delectable God calls detestable, if you compare these two scriptures : Isa. xliv. 9, they call their idols " delectable things ; " but in Ezek. v. 11, God calls them " detestable things." Idolatry is a detestable, loathsome thing. 3. There is nothing causes so irreconcilable a breach between a man and his wife as defiling the marriage bed by adultery : Jealousy is the rage of a man, and he wUl take no ransom. There is nothing wherein God is so iiTeconcUable to a people as in the point of false worship. i. Adultery is a besotting sin. " 'Wlioredom and new wine take away the heart,'' saith the prophet, chap, iv. 11 ; and in Isa. xliv. 19, saith God, He hath no un- derstanding to say, " I have burned part of it in the fii'e ; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals there- of; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it : and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination ? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree ? " He hath no understanding to consider this. Idolatry is a besotting sin, as well as adultery. And therefore we need not marvel, though men of great parts and abilities continue in their su- perstitious way of worship, for notliing besots men's hearts so much as that. 5. AMioredom is a most dangerous sin. " The mouth of strange women is as a deep pit : ho that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein," Pro v. xxii. 1-1. Oh most dreadful place to an adulterer ! If there be any adid- terer in tins place tliis day, when thou goest home turn to that scripture, and let it be as a dart to thy heart, " The mouth of strange women is as a deep pit : he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein :" a sign of a man abhon-ed of God. And so is idolatry ; for in 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12, God gave them over to believe a lie, that they might be damned. Those that follow the idolatries of anticlu-ist are given over by God to believe a lie. ThatKe of popery altogether is one lie. Hence it is that the popish party invent so many such strange lies, all to uphold that great lie. ^\^ly is this ? That they might be damned. Idolatry is a dreadful, danger- ous sin. Though idolaters think they please God in and by such ways of worship, yet they are given over by God that they may be damned. If this prove to be a place that concerns those who follow antichrist, and if Rome proves to be as that scriptm-e describes her, it is a di'eadful text to all papists. 6. Harlots are accustomed to deck themselves in pompous atth-e and gaudy raiment. So idolaters deck up their idols in bravery, and lavish gold (as the Scriptiu'e speaks) upon their idols ; whereas "the King's daughter is all glorious within," and the simplicity of the gospel will not permit such things. 7. Though women go a whoring from then' husbands, yet stdl they retain (before the divorce) the name of wives, and then' chUcben (though bastards) retain the ]iame of chiUben, and bear the father's name. So idolaters retain the name of the church, and those that they beget must still be called the -only sons of the church. But how are his children said to be childi-en of whoredoms ? for suppose his wife were a wife of whore- doms, yet, being man-ied to her, wherefore should the ehildi'en be called chUtben of whoredoms ? To that is answered, 1. Some think upon this ground, because the children when they gi-ow up would follow the way of the mother, as is usual for children to do. Therefore you need take heed how you enter into the estate of marriage for your chUdi-cn's sake, for they wUl foUow the way of tlie mother. Or rather, 2. Be- cause, though they were begotten after marriage, yet they will Ke under suspicion as those that are illegiti- mate. The children of one that has been a harlot are always suspected, and so in repute they are the chikben of fornication : so says God, These people are to me as if their cluldren were accounted chilcben of fornication. " For the land hath committed gi-eat whoredom." Or, as Arius Montanus reads it. In going a whoring it will go a whoring. They to?L""2 aSS'"" not only have, but will ; they are set upon "^^'o'fJroif "iJJJj,', it, they are stout-hearted in the way of idolatr-y. It is the land that has done it, the people of the land. But why the land ? It is a secret check to them, and an upbraiding them for theb unthankfulness, that when God gave them so good a land, the land of Canaan, that flowed with milk and honey, the land of promise, and gave it to them to nourish u]) the true worship of God, yet they made this land of God, this land of promise, to be a land to nomish up most vile idolaters. "Departing fi'om the Lord," from Jehovah. The more worthy the husband is, the more vile and odious the adultery of the wife. What ! to go a whoring from God, the blessed God, in whom is all beauty and ex- cellency, and turn to blind idols ? AVhat ! change the glory of the invisible God into the similitude of an ox that eateth gi'ass ? AVith what indignation doth God speak it ! O you that go a whoring after your sinftil lusts, this will lie most tbeadfully ujion your consciences one day, that it was from the Lord that you departed, from that infuiite, glorious, eternal Deity, the fountaiii of all good, to cleave to base, sinful, and unclean lusts. Who is this whore ? and what are the chikben that are begotten to Hosea by her ? Ver. 3. So he icent and took Gonier the daug/iter of Diblaim ; tihich conceived, and bare him a son. We must obey God in things that seem to be never so much against om- reason and sense. " He took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim." The word Gomer, noj comes from a word which signifies both perfection and defection ; and so it may be applied botli ways. Some apply it to perfection ; that is, a harlot that was perfect and complete, both in her beauty and in her fornication. The word hkewise signifies rotten- ness, corruption, and consumption : so indeed are all things in the world ; as soon as they grow to any per- fection, they begin to decline quickly to con'uption. AU but spbitual things do so ; they Mideed gi'ow still higher and higher. This Gomer we wiU take rather in t.. '■ second ac- ceptation of it, as it signifies rottenness and consump- tion. AMio was this Gomer ? She was D'Vat-na " the daughter of Diblaim." The signification is, according to some, " one that dwells in the desert," in reference to that famous desert Diblath, of which we read Ezek. vi. 1-1, noting the way of idolaters, that they were wont to go into woods and deserts, and there to sacrifice to their idols. But rather, according to most, Diblaim signifies bunches of dried figs, which were the delicacies of those times ; so CEcolampadius, from which he ob- serves, that rottenness and corruption proceed from voluptuous pleasm-es and delicacies. Though the plea- sures of the flesh are very contentful to you, yet desti'uction is the fruit of them ; destruction is the daughter of sensual pleasm-es and delights : so saith the Scriptm-e : '• If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die," Rom. viii. 13. ""VATiose end is destruction, whose God is theb bellv, whose glory is in theb shame," Phil. iii. 19. AX EXI'OSITIOX OF Chap. I. But to apply it to Israel Israel vas as " Gomer the daughter of IJiblaim ; " that is, the people of Israel were now near to destruction, and were the daughtei-s of sensual delights, they gave themselves over to sensual pleasures. It is the usual way of those idolatei's who forsake the true w orslii]) of God, to give themselves up to the plea- sures of tlie ilcsh. Sensuality and idolaUy usually go oeelher. ^^^len tlie peojjle of Israel sacrificed to the alves, what did they ? They ate and (bank, and rose up to ])lay ; that was all then- work, and good enough for llie worshipping of such a god, a calf. You know the more we began to decline in the worship of God, we began to be more sensual ; there must be proclama- tion to peojjle to take their sports and delights upon the Lords day ; and indeed it usually accompanies de- fection in tlie way of God's worshi]). False worship lays not such bonds upon men's consciences for the mortifying the lusts of the llesh as the worship of God does. Therefore those men wlio love to give liberty to the flesh arc soonest enticed to ways of super- stitious worship. Jeremiah, in chap. xxiv. 9, sets forth the state of those naughtv Jews that were in captivity by the similitude of a baslict of rotten figs ; which is agreea))le to this, and the more confinns this intcrra-et- ation, that Israel was as Gomer the daughter of Dib- laini, that is, rottenness, the daughter of sensualit)'. Thus for the mother. But now the son that is be- gotten of this mother is Jezrecl. V'er. 4. And the Lord said unio him. Call his name Jezreel ; for i/el a Utile u-hi/e, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. " Call his name Jezreel." The prophet must give a name to his son. It belongs to parents to give names to their children. Goilfathers and godmothers (as they call them) are of no use for this, or for any thing else that I know ; and, in such holv things as sacraments are, we must take heed of bringing in any unuseful, any idle things. But here we are to inquire, Fii'st, The signification of this name ; Jezreel signifies the scattered of the Lord. Secondly, The reasons why tlie son of Hosca must be called by this name, Sxynf Jezreel. Five reasons may be given. First, That hereby God might show that he intended to avenge tliat blooil which was shed m Jezi-eei. Secondly, To show that Israel had lost the honour of his name, and was no more Israel, but Jezreel. There seems to be much similarity between the name Israel and Jezreel, but there is a great deal of difl'erence in the signification : for Israel is one that prevails with God, " the strcigth of the Lord ;" Jezreel is one that is " scattered 1)' the Lord." Many outlive the honour of their name and reputation. These ten tribes are no more worthy to be called by the name of Israel, their famous progenitor; but now Jczi-eel, the scattered of the Loru. Thirdly, Jezreel, to show the way that God intended to bring judgment upon these ten ti-ibes. And what was it ? God would scatter them. God brings judgment speciallv upon n kingdom when he scatters the people. 'U e read, 1 Kings xxii. 17. that when Micaiah saw the destruction of .Uiab and his ])co])le lie had this vision ; " I saw all Israel scattered upon the liills, as shcc]) that have not a shepherd." There is a twofiiUl scattering ; a scattering among ourselves liy (hvisions, and a scattering by the enemy one from anotlier to flee for our lives. I'hc one part of tliis judg- niKTit (tlic Lord lie merciful to us) is upon as alrcaJ\-, a).d 111 this sense we may lie called Jezreel. Oh iioiv is our kinjidoni divided ! how is it statlcred! The Lord keep us from the other scattering, that we be not scat- tered one from another bv being forced to flee for our lives before the enemy. It is just ^vith God, that if we scatter ourselves sinfidly by way of division, that God should scatter us in hLs wrath to our destruction by giving us up to our enemies. If wc love scattering, if we delight in di\-ision, we may soon have scattering enough, there may soon be divisions enough one from anotlier. Foiurtldy, Call liis name Jezreel, to note that the Lord would scatter them even in tliat ver)- place where- in tliey most gloried, as they did in the valley and city of Jezreel. But God woid({ scatter them even in that place in which they so much boasted. Fifthly, Jezreel, because the Lord would hereby show tliat he would tuin these conceits and apprehen- sions that they might have of themselves quite the con- trary way. As thus : Jezreel signifies indeed scattered of the Lord, but it signifies also tlie seed of the Lord, or sown of the Lord ; and so the Jews were ready to take the name Jezreel, and would be content to own it, because it signified the seed of God: and hence it comes to signify scattered too, because that seed is to be scattered when it is sown ; and hence it was that they might glorj' so much in that name. O, they were the seed of the Lord, in an abiding condition, as beuig sown by the hand of God himself. No, saith God, you are mistaken, I do not call you Jezreel upon any such terms, because you are sown of me ; but quite the otlier way, because you shall be scattered and eventually de- stroyed by me. It is usual with God to ixam those things which men take as arguments for tlieir comfort to their confusion. Haman made a false interpretation of the action of Esthers inviting him to tlie banquet alone with the king, the right interpretation of it had been that it was to his destruction. And so here ; whereas they might make such interpretation of Jezreel, as that they were the seed, the sown of the Lord, the true in- terpretation is that tliey are tlie scattered of tlie Lord. All these five reasons you have cither in the nearness of tlie name Israel with Jezreel, or otherwise in the words that follow after. " For yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu." Here now we come to that whicli is the main part of this scripture ; and tliese four questions are of great use, and will tend much to edification. I. What is this " blood of Jezj-eel " that God will avenge ? II. Why God " will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu?" III. AMiy is it called " the house of Jehu," and Jehu alone, without the addition of the name king, as it is usual in othci-s, as Hczckiah king of Judah, and such a one king of Israel ; but here only the house of Jehu ? IV. A^^lat is this " little while " bod speaks of? •• yet a httle while." The words arc read and passed over ordinarily, as if there was little in them ; but you will find that they contain much of the mind of God. I. AXTiat was the '-blood of Jezreel" that here God threatens to avenge ? You may read the historv' of it in 2 Kings ix. 10, 11. It was tlie blood of the house of Ahab, the blood of Jezebel, the Vdood of tlie seventy sons of .\hab, whose heads the elders of Jezreel sent to Jehu in baskets. This was the blood that was shed in tliis place, which God saith he will avenge. God will certainly avenge blood ; and if God will avenge the blood of Ahaf), he will surely avenge the bhiod of Abel ; if the blood of Jczelicl, tlien sumv the blood of Sarah ; if the blood of idolaters, tlien the blood of his saints. What vengeance then hangs over antichrist for all tlie blood of the saints that has been spilt by him ! The scarlet wliore has d\ed liersclf with this blood; vca, and Veu. 4. THE PKOPHECY OF HOSEA. 11 Vengeance will come for that blood of cm- brethj-en which hath been slied in Ii'eland, upon those who have been instrumental in it, gi-eat or small : certainly the righteous God will not sufter that wicked and horrid work to go unavenged, even here upon the earth. Let us wait a wliile, and we may live to see that time wherein it shall not only be said by the voice of faith, but by the voice of sense itself, " Verily there is a God that judgeth the earth." II. "Why will God " avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu ? " Indeed tliis at fii'st sight is one of the strangest things we have in all the book of God. Compare it with other scriptm-es, and nothing appears more singular than that it should be said that the Lord would avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu. For in 2 Kings is. 7 you find that Jehu was anointed by the Lord on purpose to shed that blood. He had a com- mand fi-om God, he was bidden to go and shed it, and the holy oil was poured upon liini for that end, that he might shed that blood ; yet now it must be avenged, and avenged upon the house of Jehu. Yea, chap. x. 30, God said, because he had shed the blood of the house of Aliab in Jezreel, he woidd reward him for it, and that his children to the fourth generation should sit upon the throne of Israel and govern that kingdom. But that which Jehu was anointed and commanded to do, that for which God afterward rewarded him for do- ing, now God says he will avenge, and avenge it upon his house. 'What are the reasons of this ? There are three reasons why God would avenge this blood upon the house of Jehu. 1. Because though Jehu did it, yet he looked at himself and his own ends rather than at God in it ; his aim was to get the Idngdom to himself, but he never aimed at God in the work, therefore God says he will avenge it upon his house. 2. Because though he did that which God set him about, yet he did it but by halves. Indeed he destroyed Allah's house, but he should have destroyed Ahab's idolatry too ; but he omitted that, and therefore now God comes upon liim. 3. Yea, though he was made Ahab's executioner for his idoIatiT, yet he proved Ahab's successor in his idol- atry. He was God's rod in punishing Ahab, but he continued in the sins that Ahab committed ; therefore now God saith he " wUl avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu." From hence we have most excellent observations that spring natiu-ally, as a fountain bubbles up li-esh and springing water. I wQl only show them to you, and so pass them over. Obs. 1. That a man may do that which God com- mands, and yet not obey God. He may do that which God would have done, and yet not please God. He may do what God requires, and yet serve himself therein, and not God. Ohs. 2. A canial heart is contented to go so far in God's commands as wUl serve his own turn, but there he stops. So far- as might serve the elevation of Jehu to the crown of Israel, to settmg him on the tlu-onc, so far he goes in the way of God's command, but no far- ther. Such a heart is like the hand of a rusty dial : suppose the hand of a rusty dial stand (as now) at ten o'clock; look upon it, and it seems to go right, but it is not from any inward right state of the clock it does so, but by accident ; for stay tdl after ten, and come again at eleven or twelve, and it stands still as before at ten. So let God command any thing that may hit with a man's own ends, and be suitable to him, and he seems to be very obedient to God ; but let God go on further, and reqiui-e sometliing that will not serve his turn, that ■n-ill not agi-ee with his own ends ; and here God may seek for a servant ; as for him, he will go no farther. Obs. 3. God knows how to make use of men's parts and abilities, and yet to punish them for their wicked- ness notwithstanding. Jehu was a man of a brave and valiant spu-it, full of activity and com'age, and God would make use of this for the destruction of the house of Ahab ; yet Jehu must not escape. INIany men have excellent parts of learidng and state policy, which God may use for pidling Aovra his proud adversaries ; yet God may pimish them afterward notwithstanding. Many that have but weak parts, and can do but little, shall be accepted of God : and others that have strong parts, and can do much, shall be punished by God. ^ye read, Eev. xii. 16, " the earth helped the woman ;" yet, chap. xri. 1, the vials of God's -ni-ath were poui-ed forth upon the earth : men may be useful for the pub- lic, and yet not freed fi'om the -oTath of God. Obs. -i. The Lord knows how to make use of the sins of wicked men to fui'ther liis own comisels ; yet no excuse to them, but liis curse will come upon them at last for those sins. God knows how to make use of the proud heart and ambitious spirit of Jehu to fulfil liis purpose against tlie house of Aliab ; and yet after- wai'd, when God has done with him, he comes agamst Jehu with a judgment. There are many whose strong lusts God overrides for liimself, and overpowers for the furtherance of liis ow^n ends. Many a scholar who, through the mere pride of his heart, will study hard and preach very often and well, God makes use of for the good of otliers, and yet the minister may be damned liimself. 0/is. o. God may sometimes rewai'd a work in this world, yet may cvu'se a man for the work afterward. Many there ai'e who perform some outward service for God, and perhaps rejoice m it, and think that God must ,needs accept them : they have been excellent men in the commonwealth, they have stood for mmisters, they have been forwai'd m a good cause. Well, thou hast done these : has not God rewarded thee ? Hast thou not health and strength of body. Look upon thy estate ; art not thou blessed there ? look upon thy table, thy wife and chQdi-en ; art not thou blessed there ? Thou hast thy penny for what thou hast done. But yet, after thou hast had' thy pay here in this world for what thou hast done, God may ciu'se thee hereafter even for the sinfulness of thy heart in that work which for the mat- ter of it was good. God may reward thee for the mat- ter, but curse thee for the manner of thy work. Obs. 6. It is a most dangerous tiling for men to sub- ject the works of God, especially the public works of God, to their avm base ends ; God ^•iU be sm'e to be even with them for that. The more excellent any work is, the more dangerous it is to subject it to a lust. It is an evU thing to make meat, and druik, and clothes scrriceable to om' lusts ; but to make public services to God stoop and bo serviceable to your base lusts must needs be grievous mdeed. It is accomited bui-den enough for the basest servant to be serdceable to some base lust of his master ; but if the master shoidd make his wife serviceable to his filthy uncleanness, oh what a vUlany were that ! So I say, the greater the thingis any man makes serviceable to liis lust, the more vile and the more dangerous is the sin. Hearken to this, you that are professors of religion. The di'unkard makes beer serviceable to liis lust, and he shall be danmed for tliat : but you make the worship of God, prayer, and hearing, and fasthig, serriccable to your lusts; oh what shall become of you ! A base wTetch, that sits tippling in an alehouse, you account vile, but it is a poor creature that he subjects to his base lust. A minister or a magistrate subjects things of a higher natm-e to then- lusts : oh this is exceeding vile. We had need, my brethi-en, all pray earnestly for those whom God employs in public works, that they may not onlv have strength to assist them, and success in them, 12 AN EXPOSITION OF Chap. I. but that they may have hearts to give God all the glorj- of them ; for though they may do never so worthily for God in the diurch or in the commonwealth, yet if they be not careful to give God all the glory, God will curse them at last notwithstanding. Obs. 7. When but half the work is done, God curses the whole for our neglect of the other half. Jehu does somewhat which God commanded him, but not all. I remember Calvin upon tliis place likens Jehu to king Henry the Eighth : Henrv', saith he, east off some de- gree of popery so far as would serve his own turn, but there were the five articles in force still, for which many suffered at that time ; and so he was like Jehu in that. God will be served with the whole heart ; for all our good is in God, and therefore all om- hearts must make out after God. God must have perfect obedience in the desire and endeavour, or else he will have none. Certainly that which must make any man acceptable, is not so much that there is somewhat done, but that that whidi God commands is done, or done in regard of the endeavour ; for that indeed will be acceptable : thougli we cannot do all at once, if we bring somewhat to God as a part, and acknowledging the whole debt, work for the remainder, it will l)e accepted. As suppose a man owes you one huncb'ed pounds, and brings vou but fifty in part of jiaj-ment, yet if he ac- knowleiige the rest, and promise tlie jiajTnent of it, if you know he will be foitliful in tlie payment of the other, you will accept it ; but if a man bring you fourscore pounds in lieu of all, you will not accejit it. So it is here ; hypocrites say they cannot be ])er- fcct in this world, and so think to put off God with a little. It is true, if thou hadst an upright heart, and didst bring God but part and labom- after the whole, lie would accept it ; but if thou bringest him ten times more than a smcere Iieart can bring liim, it will not be acceptable, no, not ninety-nine pounds will be accepted, if brought instead of the whole. God must have a man according to his own heart, such a one as David : you know what was said of iJavid, " I have found a man after my own heart, that shall fulfil all my wills ; " for the word is plural in the original, not all my will, but all my wills. Obs. 8. Jehu (Ud but half, and the worst half too, and therefore God comes upon him. For the great care of Jehu was only to reform things in the state and kingdom, and therefore that indeed lie did thorouglily; he transferred the government from the Iiouse of Ahab, and set up another government. But for the matter of the worship of God, he cared not what be- came of that. StiU the calves continued in Dan and Bethel. He took no care that the people of Israel should go up to Jerusalem, the place that God had appointed to worsliip him in a right way. This is that for which God thus cureed him and his house. It is a very evil thing in reformers, who have power in their liands, to be more careful of the state than of the church ; to be more solicitous about affairs in civil jjolicy than in re- ligion ; to be so afraid to meddle with religion, because of hinderances and disturbances in civil jiolicy, that they sacrifice religion for it : this is an evil thing and a bitter. Or if tliey reform the church, yet to reform only that which is notoriously evil and vile : so far Jehu went; he destroyed the priests of Baal, but not the priests of Dan and Bethel ; tlic idols of Ba.al were de- stroyed, but the idols of Dan and Betliel were retaine\ti. politics, when he gives a rule of ])olicy, ,vr,.,. „ . I. ,. c. . pi^p ^.^j.^ ^j. jjjyjijp thiiirrs must bc first ; and that is the best policy. Politicians must tnist God in tlie way of policy, and take care of divine things first. Yea, and go to a thorough reformation too ; for Jehu did something in religion, but left other things, therefore God cursed him. Men must take lieed of betraying the cause of God for the maintenance of state policy; let them be never so excellent in their way, yet if they do thus, God will blast them. Obs. 9. Men can see the evil of sin in others, rather than in themselves. Jehu saw the danger of that wicked and abominable sin of idolatry in others, but he coidd not see it in himself. " What peace," said he to Jorani, " so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel " con- tinue ? Wiat peace ? Then what peace, Jehu, so long as the whoredoms of Israel continue afterAvards ? This is common, my bretliren, for men to see e\"il and danger in the sins of others ; but when they come to themselves, to be blind there! to inveigh against the sins of other men, when they seem to be far off fiom them, or that they cannot make use of them ; but when they can make use of them, then to embrace them. Thus it was with Saul ; he was exceedingly severe against witch- craft, all the witches in Israel must be put to death ; but in liis hour of need Saul himself goes to the witch of Endor. Obs. 10. Those ways of sinful policy, by which many think to raise theii- houses or themselves, are the means to ruin them. Jehu thought, by retaining the calves in Dan and Bethel, to preserve the kingdom to his pos- terity, and this proved the ruin of his posterity. He that walks uprightly walks surely. 06*. 11. Let tlicm who punish the sins of others take heed what they do, lest they be found guilty themselves ; for if they be found guilty, God >vill plague them, as if they did the greatest act of injustice. God punishes Jehu because he continues in the same sin that Ahab was punished for. This is of excellent use, espe- cially to magistrates ; and indeed it is a dreadful place to magistrates, if considere(L As for instance, suppose a magistrate should take away the life of a man lawfully for that for which God would have him take it awav ; yet if this magistrate shoidd be guilty of the same sin, or that which amounts to the same sin, God wiU avenge himself upon this magistrate as upon a murderer : as here, God avenges himself upon the house of Jehu as for murder, yet Jehu was a magistrate, and this was conmianded Jehu by God himself. So supnose a magis- trate fine a man for any evil, and that justly ; vet if he be guilty of the same himself, God will deal with this magistrate as if he robbed by the highway-side, and took away a man's money by violence. It is apparent out of tlie text. Certainly, my bretliren, great wrath and vengeance hangs over the head of wicked ma^is- ti-ates. All this you learn from what is here said, that God " will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon tlie liouse of Jehu." III. "Why is it called " the house of Jehu ? " The house of Jehu is his posterity, or family who were to succeed. Though it was to the fomth gener- ation till God came against them, vet the posterity of the ungodly, especially idolaters, shall suffer for their fathers' sin.' It is very observable, that God in no other commandment but the second tlu-eatens the sin of the fathers ujion tlie chiKben. The reason is this : That commandment forbids images, and superstitious worshippers, above all men, are strengthened by the ha- dition of their fathers. Our fatliers did thus and tlius, and what shall we be wiser then our forefathers ? We have now a company of upstart men, and they will be wiser than tlieir ancestors. Because superstitious wor- shijijiers liarden themselves so much from the example of their fathers, tlierefore in that very commandment against making and worshipping of images God threat- ens to visit the sin of the fatliers upon the cliildi'cn, and in no other. What, the huiise of Jehu, after Jehu was dead ! how can that be ? Yes, as a prince tliat has to punish two traitors, both of whom have deserved death, but the prince is inclined to show mercy. Against the one there Vee. 4. THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. 13 comes this accusation, This man's father was a traitor, and his grandfather and his gi-eat gi-andfiither were traitors. Then let liim die, saith the prince. But of the other, that is guilty of as much as this man was, it is told the king, Sir, this man's father perfonned excel- lent service for the commonwealth, not one of his liouse but was a loyal person. This man is spared, though he deserveth death equally with the other for the same treason ; and the king is just in this. The first man may be said to die for his fathers' sin ; that is, he would not have been executed if his forefathers had not been in the fault. Take heed what you do in the com-se of your lives ; if you regard not yourselves, yet, for yom- chikben's sake, leave not a curse behind you u])on your offspring; look upon them, pity them. Though you youi'selves may escape in this world, yet you may leave the inheritance of your sins unto yom- chilcb-en. Pity yom- children, that they may not have cause to curse the time that they were born of such parents, and wish that they had rather been the off- spring of dragons, and a generation of vipers, than to be bora of such parents that have left them a ciu'se for an inheritance. It had been better if you had not left them a penny, than to leave them to inherit the cur.sc of your wickedness. " Upon the house of Jehu." Tlie house of Jehu fares the worse for Jehu. Those who desire to raise and continue the honour of their houses, let them take heed of ways of wickedness ; for wickedness will bring do\m any family whatsoever. But why is it " the house _ of Jehu," without any addition of Jehu the king, as in other cases it is usual? Hereby God woidd give a check to Jehu, and bid him look back to the meanness of his birth, for Jehu was not of the kingly race : yet how unthankful was he, who was raised from the dung- hill, thus unworthily to depart from the Lord ! You whom God has raised up on high to great honours and estates, look back to the meanness of your beginning, from which God has raised you, and laboiu- to give him an answerable return of oliedience. Those who will not give God the glory of their honours and estates, it is just that theii' honours and estates should be taken from them. IV. ■^^1at is this " little while" God speaks of? " Y'et a little while." This is to be understood either in reference to Jehu, or in reference to the house of Is- rael. " Y'et a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and wiU cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel." It was a long- while before God came upon the house of Jehu, still he saith, yet but a little while, I will stay but a little longer ere I avenge the blood of Jezi'eel upon the house of Jehu. It was now the third generation since Jehu committed those sins, nay, it will appear that it was above a huncb-ed years from the sins of Jehu to God's avenging the blood of Jezreel upon his house : for Jehu reigned twenty-eight years, his son Jehoahaz seven- teen years, and Jehoash his son sixteen years, and Jeroboam his son forty-one years, and then in the days of Zachariah, the son of this Jeroboam, God came to avenge this blood, which was above a huncbed years, 2 Kings X. 36 ; xiii. 1, 23. Oh the patience of the Lord towards sinners ! But though he stayed long, he saith, " yet a little while." Obs. 1. That God sometimes comes upon sinners for their old sins. Sins a long time ago committed, and perhaps forgotten by you, yet remain, are filed and re- corded in heaven above a hundred years after the com- mission. It is likely that these sins of Jehu were for- gotten, yet God comes now at last to avenge the sins of Jehu upon his house. So he did for the sins of ]\Ianasses, and for the sins of Joseph's bretlu'en. It was twenty-two years before they had their consciences troubled, and then say they, "We are verily guilty concerning our brother; therefore is tlus distress come upon us ;" and now (saith Keuben) " behold also his blood is reqidi-ed," Gen. xlii. 21, 22. Look to yourselves, you that are young, take heed of youthful sins. Y'outhful sins may prove to be the terrors of age. Perhaps you think it was a great while ago, when you were a young man, that you were in such a tavern or in such a joiu-ney, and committed such and such sins. Have you repented for them ? have you made your peace with God for them ? Though you were then young, and did not fear the wrath of God to come upon you ; yet now you are old the wrath of God may come upon you for sins committed in your ajjprenticeship. '• A sinner being a huncbed years old shall be accursed," Isa. Ixv. 20. Obs. 2. A long time after the floui'ishing of a nation God may reckon with it in ways of judgment. " Y'et a little while, and I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel." This nation had continued a pompous, successful nation, though idolati'ous, for about two hundi'cd and sixty years before that ^^Tath of God came upon it which was here tlu'catcned. This may make us look back to the sins committed in the days of Henry the Eighth, and of Queen Mary. Let us not plead from our forefathers for the maintenance of super- stitious worship, but let us look to the sins of our fore- fathers, and bewail them before the Lord, for God may come upon a nation for former sias after it hath flourish- ed a long time. Y'ou ask me, Was it really but a little while from the beginning of this prophecy till the ceasing of the kingdom of the house of Israel ? No, my bretlu-en, it was many years. And it is very ob- servable, that fi'ora the beginning of this prophecy, Avhich was in the end of the reign of Jeroboam, to the fulfilling of what was here threatened, viz. to the ceasing of the kingdom of the house of Israel, it was seventy- six years. For, from the end of this Jeroboam, spoken of ver. 1, unto the time of Hezekiah, was seventy years, and in the sixth year of Hezekiah Israel was destroyed by the king of Assjiia; and yet God saith here by Hosea, " yet a little while." Obs. 3. Seventy-six years are but a little while in God's account. Sinners think, either in ways of judg- ment or mercy, a little while to be a great while. If God defer mercy seven years, it is a gi'eat while in our account. We think our parliament has sat a long time : how long ? Almost two years. A gi'eat while ! We think every day a great while, but seventy-six years, yea, a hinidred, a thousand years, are but as one day unto God. So for judgment : a sinner, if he has com- mitted a sin seven years ago, he thinks it is a great while, and he has not heard of it, therefore surely it is forgot- ten. But what if it be seventy years ago ? You that are sinners of seventy years old, all is but a little while in regard of God. Obi-. 4. The apprehension of a judgment just at hand is that which will stir the heart and work u])on it most. " Y'et a little while," and God vnW cause the kingdom to cease ; therefore if ever you repent, repent now, for it is but a little while ere God will cause the kingdom to cease. The apprehension of a sinner to be u])on the brink of judgment, beholding his poor soul ready to launch into the infinite ocean of eternal destruction, and to lie vmder the scalding ckops of the wTath of the Almighty ; this works upon the heart indeed. It is the way of the flesh and the devil to put far from us the evil day, to make us believe the day of death is a great way off. But it is the way of God to exhibit things present and real ; and in this consist the efficacy and power of faith to make things future as if present. We say in nature there must be a contiguit)' and nearness between things that must work. So we must appre- hend a nearness between the evil that is to come upon us and ourselves, that so it may work upon our hearts. 14 AX EXPOSmON OF Chap. 1. An excellent scripture you have to this purpose in 1 Kings xiv. 14; where the Loril threatens to " raise him up a king over Israel who should cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what?" (he immediately re- calls his word :) " even now :" you may think the day a great way ofl', but it is " even now ;" and therefore now come in, return and repent. O sinners, consider that your danger is now ; not only in that day of C'luist : but what P even now, it may be at hand. Obs. 5. God suffers some sinners to continue long, others he cuts off speedily. Jeroboam had continued above fort}' years in liis sin, but now Zachariah liis son, upon whom this threatening was fulfilled, con- tinued but six months. Perhaps he tliought to escape as long as his father. No ; though the father continue old in his sins, if the son presume to follow his steps he may be cut off presently. " And I will cause to cease the kingdom of the liouse of Israel." Kingdoms and monarchies are subject to change. "V^'hat is become of all the glorious monarchies in the world ? how hath the Lord tossed them up and down as a man would toss a ball ! IdolatiT is enough to destroy the greatest monarchy in the world. But there is some instruction in the elegance of the word 'nswni " and I will cause to cease." It is a metaphor (according to some) taken from instruments, that a man uses for a while, and when he lias done with them, either hangs them up against a wall and rcgaids them no more, or else brings them to the fire to be biuTied. So saith God, " yet a little while, and I will cause to cease," &c. As if he shoidd say. Indeed there was a time wherein I made some use of the rent between Judah and Israel, and of tliis kingdom ; but I have done with that use, there is an end of it, and now 1 will cause to cease the kingdom, I will take them away, they shall be to me as an instrument not to be used any more, or for the fire. When the Lord has any use of a pcojile, or of any particular men to do him service, he will preserve them, though they are wicked ; and when he has done with them, he either lays them aside, or else brings them to the file. A husbandman, so long as he can use thorns to stoj) a gap, he destroys them not, but when there is no further use for them, he bruigs them to the fire : so God here, " I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel." But how and where will God cause to cease the king- dom of Israel ? Ver. 5. .-Ind it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. By " breaking the bow," is here meant tlie blasting and Winging to nothing all the sh'cngth of their warlike power, all their arms and ammunition ; for the bow was a great warlike instniment in those days ; therefore, in Psal. xlvi. 9, " He maketh wars to cease ; he breaketh the bow, and cutfeth the spear in sunder." But here, by " breaking the bow," something more is meant. There is this particular reason why the bow is instanced here, because, whereas Jehu did many memorable things in his warlike affairs, yet none more than that he did by his bow. Mark that place, 2 Kings ix. 24, " And Jehu (b-ew a bow with liis full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the aiTow went out at his heai't." So that the victory that Jehu obtained over the two kings of Israel and Judah was by the bow especially. '\Yhat observe we from hence ? Obs. 1. That even in those things wherein mcked men have been most prosperous and successful, God will curse them, and let out liis wrath upon them. Obs. 2. Carnal hearts tmst much in their warlike weapons, but they are nothing when God breaks a people's strength. " Break the bow," Wast all tlie power of their ammunition. God has the power of all ammunition. The Lord is called the Lord of hosts, and he delights much in this title, first, because God has not only the power over ammunition and all warlike weapons, so that they cannot be used but by him ; but secondly, because when they are used, they can have no success at all but by him : and so the Lord is the Lord of hosts in a peculiai- sense. He is the great General of all ai-mies, more than all other generals, for the success of all depends upon him. My brethren, why then need the church of God fear the strength of weapons, the bow, the cannon, or all the ammunition of the enemies of the church, seeing our Lord is the Lord of hosts ? No weapon can be used or have success but by tills Lord of hosts : he can break the bow, tliough of steel, when he pleases, and can give his ])eoplc strength to do so too. For this you have an admirable promise, Isa. liv. IG, 17; " Behold," (saith God,) " I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and bringeth forth an instrument for his work ; and I have created the water to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper." 'What need the church fear then? God breaks the bow when he pleases ; for as God has a providence over all the things m the world, so he has a specialty of pro- vidence to order battles, to give the victory not to the strong or to the multitude, but sometimes to the weak and few, even as he pleases. And therefore he is the Lord of hosts, because though his providence is general over all creatures, yet there is a specialty of providence exercised by God in warlike affairs. But what was this valley of Jezreel ? It is worthy our time to inquire after this valley, in which God will break the bow of Israel. There were two places called Jezi-cel, the one belonging to Judah, Josh. xv. 56, the other belonging to Israel, Josh. xvii. 16; xix. 18. Jezreel was a fruitful valley, ten mUes long, and by it there was a famous city built, which, in Ahab's time, was the metj-opolis of the kingdom, in which was a glorious tower, from whence they might see over Galilee and Jordan. Now there were two gi'cat cities that belonged to the ten tribes, Samaria and Jezreel ; as we in England have two principal cities, London and York. But this Jezreel was the most for- tified, in which they put much confidence, yet God saith here, " He will break tlie bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel ;" that is, in that verj- city which they accounted the great strength of their kingdom, there he would break the bow of Israel. 06*. 3. Fortified cities cannot help when God comes out against a people. If we can fortify our cities against sm, we may soon fortify them against an enemy. If sin once get in, the enemy will quickly follow. " AH thy sti-ong holds shall be like fig trees vnth the first-ripe figs : if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater," Nah. iii. 12. With the least wind, like tlie fii-st-ripc figs, all your strong holds shall fall ; yea, " thy people in the midst of thee are women : the gates of thy land shall be set wide open imto thine enemies : the fire shall devour thy bars," ver. 13. You see what the valley of Jezreel is, and the meaning of it. But why will God " break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel ?" There are these two reasons for it : 1. Because God would deal with tliis people of Israel as judges deal with malefactoi-s ; hang them up where their fact was committed, as we see some hanged up in chains near to the city, at or about the place where their villany was done. So in Jezreel was shed the blood of Jezebel, and the blood of the seventy sons of Ahab, and the blood of Jehoram, and there will God break the bow. Hence guilty consciences arc often afi^d to go near the places where they have committed wicked- ness, because they fly in their faces, for fear God should come upon them where the crimes were peqietrated. Vek. 6. THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. 15 But, 2. He " mil break the bow of Israel in the val- ley of Jezreel," that is, in that fortified place in which they so much gloried. Ubs. 4. Even in the place in which a kingdom most glories, and seems to trust most in, God many times comes and breaks the kingdom in that very place. " Ai't thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her wall was fi'om the sea ?_" Nah. iii. 8. Mark, a people just like England in this ease. AATiat ! we overcome by the enemy ? we that have the seas for om- wall, and such a multitude of people amongst us ? These have been and still are the two pleas which England uses for herself, because om- people are many, and we have the seas for a wall : but " art thou better than popidous No ? Yet was she car- ried away, she went into captinty," ver. 10. Thus the prophet pleads with them. But fm-thcr ; These trusted in Jezreel, they seemed to scorn the prophet. What! the kingdom of Israel cease ! what think you of Jezreel, such a strong place as that ? Just as we shoidd say, TVTiat ! an enemy come to us ! what say you to London, a brave city, a strong city ? "What say you to the ammunition, to the militia, to the strength that is there ? Ai-e the)- not able to re- sist all that can come agamst it? Have we cause to fear danger ? It is true, the kingdom has cause to bless God for London, and London has not yet been " the valley of Jezi'eel,'' but Israel, the strength of the Lord, and has prevailed with God, as an instrument : and there- fore we bless God for the protection we have had. But yet let us not trust in it, for even in London, in the valley of Jezreel, the bow may be broken ; and God knows how to bring things about, so as to make the ammmiition of London to be broken in pieces, and turned against its people : O, therefore, do not trust here. Only let it be yom- care, ye people of this city of London, that you prove not the valley of Jezi-eel, and then we shall do well enough, oiu- bow shall not be broken. 'UTiat attempts have there been to make London by this tmie the valley of Jezreel, that is, a scattered valley, and to bring divisions into this city, that it might be a scattered people ! And woe to the kingdom if this had been effected ! better these men had never been born, than that they should have had success in that horrid enterprise. O London, now the blessing of God is over you, the means of grace abund- antly among you, the eyes of the kingdom are upon you ; take heed you be not the valley of Jezi'eel ; your divisions will cause gi-eat thoughts of heart : continue you united one to another, and then you are as one Israel of God, the instrument of God for om- sti-ength. Thus we have done with the mother and with the fu'st son. Ver. 6. And she conceived again, and bare a daugh- ter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-rwia- inah : for I tcill no more have mercy upon the house of Israel ; but I will utterly take them away. " She conceived again." This conception sets out also the estate of Israel in regard of her sm and miser)' : sin is fruitfid, and what does it bring forth ? Parents bring forth a lilceness to themselves, and so does sin ; and what is that ? notliing but ruin and misery. This second child is a daughter, denoting the weak- ness of the ten tribes at this time. They were gro^^-n effeminate in regard of their' lust, and the baseness of their spu-its ; and in regard of their strength also they were weak like the female sex. There are tlu'ee estates of the people signified by the thi'ee chikh'eu of Hosea ; fu'st, then- scattered estate, and that was signified by Jezreel, the first son ; and the story of that you have 2 Kings xv. 9 — 19, where you may read their woeful seditions ; for Zachariah reigned , but six months, and then Shallum slow him, and reigned in his stead, and he reigned but one month, for Mena- hem came and smote ShaUum and slew him, and reigned in his stead : so here were nothing but murders and se- ditions amongst them. A scattered people. The second state of the people of Israel v.as their weak condition, signified by this daughter; and the liistoi-y of that you have from ver. 16 of tliat chapter onwards, where, when Pul the king of AssvTia came against Israel, Menahem jielded to liim liis demand, gave him a thousand talents of silver to go from him, and laid a tax upon the people for it. Here they were brought into a very low and v.'eak condition. And af- tei-wards this lung of Asspia came to them again, and earned part of them into captivity. The thii'd child was Lo-ammi ; and the history of the state of the people signified by that you have in 2 Kings xra. 6, where they were fully earned away, and wholly rejected for ever. And because they were a little before that time grown up to some strength more than formerly, therefore this last was a son. We are now to speali of the second. " She conceived again, and bare a daughter. From the intei-pretatiou I have given, this denotes the weakness and effeminacy of the people at this time, a little before their ruin. TVTien the manliness, and courage, and vigour of the spu'its of people are taken away, they are under a fear- ful judgment and near to ruin. Even when then- men shall be as women, as Nah. iii. 1 3 ; when there shall be such baseness of spmt in people, that for the enjoy- ments of then' present ease and quiet they yield to any thing. So it was -with these, and their effeminateness was showed, 1. Allien the king of Assj'ria came to them, they v-ielded to any terms he would appoint; and when the taxes were laid upon the people, they inquired not whether they were just or no, but merely for their peace and safetj' paid them. We must take heed of brmging oui'selves into ti'ouble, we had better pay this than ven- tiu'e the loss of all ; we must not displease those that are above us, we know not what hard things may follow ; it is our wisdom, though things are hard, and we com- plain the taxations are heavy, to suffer something. They had rather have a little, though with baseness, than venture any thing for fiu:ther peace and Kberty for themselves and then' posterity. 2. The efleminateness of their spirits was shoA^-n in this, that they were willing to submit to the govern- ment of most vile miu'dercrs, without any inquii-ing after them, or taking any com-se to find out then' mur- ders and -ndckedness. Zachariah was slain by Shallum ; then came Menahem, and he kiUcd ShaUum ; after Me- nahem reigned Pekahiah, and against liini conspired Pekah, the son of Rcmaliah, and smote liim m Samaria, and with him killed fifty men, and reigned in liis room ; then came Hoshea the son of Elah, and made a con- spu'acy against Pekah, and slew him, and reigned in ms stead. Here were miu'derers upon murderers, and yet the people aU this while bow down then' necks, and look not after these tilings : They have gotten power in then- hands, and we must take he-ed of inquiring after those things that are above us, it wiU displease them, we had better be quiet and hold oiu- peace: and so they bowed then- necks to the yoke. Such hon'ible guUt of mm'ders must not be questioned, because the murderers had got power in their hands. Theii' cow- ardly, timorous spu'its were much like the temper of Is- sachar : " Issachar is a strong ass coucliiug down be- tween two bm'dens : and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant ; and bowed his shoidder to bear, and became a servant unto ti'ibute," Gen. xlix. 14, 15. 16 AX EXPOSITION OF ClIAP. 1. And when men's spiiits are effeminate with respect to the civil state, they quickly grow so in regard of their consciences, and religion too. Purity of religion in the church cannot stand long vith slavery admitted in the state. We read, Itev. iv. 7, of four ages of the chui'ch set out by four living creatures : the thuxl li\'ing creatui'e had the face of a man, and that was to note the state of the cliurch in the time of reformation ; they began then to be of manly spirits, and to cast off that yoke of bondage which was upon them, to inquire after what liberty God liad granted to them. Not like those we read of, Isa. li. 2.'5, that would obey such as would say to their souls, '• Low down, that we may go over." This, my brethren, was the condition of many of us ; there has been that cffeminateness of spirit in us that we have bowed down our necks, yea, our souls, to those that would go over us ; yea, as it is in Isa. li. 23, they made themselves the very street to them that went over them, their very consciences were ti-amplcd upon by the foot of pride, and all for the enjoyment of a little nutward accommodation in their estates, in their shops, and in their trading ; O, they dare not venture these, rather yield to any thing in the world. And traly we were ah-aid, not long since, that God was calling us by tho name of this daughter Lo-ruhamah, for our cffemi- nateness of spirit ; that the Lord was departing from om' nation. But blessed be God, that now there is a rising of spirit among us, especially among oiu- worthies in parliament; and their warmth, and vigour, and life liave put warmth, vigour, and spirit into the whole king- dom. Now our kingdom will never bow do^ni and sub- mit their consciences, nor estates, nor liberties, to the foiTiier bondage and oppression. No, they had rather die honourably than live basely. But why do I make such a disjunction ? Die honourably, or live basely ! Had we spii-its we might free ourselves and posterity from Uving "basely, and we need not die at all ; for the malignant party has neither spirit to act nor power to prevail; if' we keep up our spirits and are strong in the Lord, we ore safe enough, we shall not have our name Lo- ruhamah, but Piuhamah ; the Lord will have mercy upon us. In 1 Kings xiv. 15, God threatens to smite Israel, that they shall be " as a reed sliakcn in the water j" and mark what foDows, and then " he shall root u]) Israel out of ' this good land, which he gave to their fathers." If this judgment be upon England, that our spirits be shaken as a reed with the wind, that we bow and yield to any thing in a base way, the next may justly follow, that the Lord may root us out of this good land. As Israel grew effeminate before their destruction, so do Judah also be- fore theirs : Isa. iii. 2, 3, when God intended judgment against them, you may observe that lie took away " the mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, the captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor ;" men of truly noble spirits were removed, tlieu' nobles became vile and sordid, and yielded to any humours and lusts, then they were near ruin ; and ver. 12 saith, '•women rule over them:" for women that have manly spirits to rule is no judgment at all, but for women of revengeful spirits to rule over a nation is a most fearful judgment. But so much of the first, that it is 8 daujriitia: born to Hosea. 'What is this daughter's name ? Call her name " Lo- ruhamah," eitlier not beloved, or one that has not ob- tained mercy, for God's mercy proceeds from his love. " I will no more have morcy," or, I will add no more mercy ; noting that God liad showed abundance of mercy to Israel before, but now he declares, I will not add any more, I will sliow no further mercy to tliem. " But I will utterly take them away ;" so turned by some, in taking them away I will take them away"; others, I will lift them up, that I may east them down so much the more dreadfully. The old Latin thus reads, oblivisce7ido obliviscar, forgetting I will forget. And this was upon a mistake of the Hebrew word, be- cause there is httle tlifference in the Hebrew between nr: signifying to forget, and SC'J which signifies to take away. The Sejituagint, avrtraaaofitvoQ avrtra^ofiat, setting myself against them I will set myself against them. AV'ell, the name of the child must bear this upon it, that God will have no more mercy upon them. Hence, Obs: 1. Sometimes the very children of families, and in a kingdom, bear this impression upon them, that God will have no mercy upon this family. My Ijrethren, one may read such an impression upon the eliikb'en of many great families in tliis kingdom, when we look upon the hoiTible ■\Wckcdness of the young that are growing up. How ditt'erent from their former religious ancestors ! Wc may see, with trembling hearts, such an imj)rcssion of wrath, as if God had said, I have done with this family, I intend no further mercy to it. As sometimes, ■« hen we see in a family gi-acious childi'cn, gracious young gentlemen, noblemen, we may see the impression of God's mercy to that family ; Kuhamah, I intend mercy to it. It was not long since that we might, and we thought indeed we did, see such an impression upon tlie young people of this kingdom, in the city, and in the chief families in the country, that we were afi-aid Lo-ruhamah to England was ^n■itten upon them ; for, oh the rude- ness and wickedness of the young ! But blessed be God that we see it otherwise now. Because of that graeious- ness and forwardness of so many young people amongst us, we think wo see v.ritten upon them Kuhamah to England, mercy to England ; God has taken away his Lo, and writes only Kuhamah, mercy to you. The great ground of the hope we have for mercy to England, is the impression of God upon the young : when God has tender jilants grooving up in his orchard, certainly he will not l)reak down tlie hedge or dig it up. Uba. 2. There is a time when God will not have mercy upon a kingdom, or upon a particular people. " Gather yourselves together, yea, gather togetlicr, O nation not desii'ed ; before the decree come forth," Zcj)h. ii. 1, 2. There is a time for the decree to come forth against a kingdom ; a time when, though Noah, Job, and Daniel should stand before him, yet he will not be enti'cated ; though they cry, cry early, ci-y aloud, cry with tears, crj' \\-ith fasting, yet God will not be en- treated. God's mercy is precious, and lie will not let it run out to waste, he will not be prodigal of it ; a time wherein God will say, Now I have done, I have done with this people, mercy has had her tmn. It is true, except we had that immediate revelation whicli the propiiets had we cannot now determine the ))articular time. Those wlio laboiirrd n" DSt to search God's mind in his word, were afraid tliat this decree had gone out upon us in England. It is true, God seems for the {iresent to tell us that he has a prerogative, and he will lave mercy u])on whom he will have mercy. But they are not altogetlier to be blamed who, even in their own hearts, determined tliat mercy was gone, except they wholly limited God. and left nothing of prerogative to him. It wa.s God's ordinarv way, and except God liad wrought with us in a w ay of sovereignty other^vise than ever lie did with any nation before, they concluded that the decree was gone forth : and so it might be true ; and what God may do with us yet we do not know. But this we can say, if the decree be not gone forth, if there be mercy for us, God shows his prerogative, that he will now go on in a way different from his former paths in tlie world ; and if God icill do so, who can say against it ? A time tlierc is likewise for God to say against jiar- ticular persons, he will not have mercy upon them ; a Vee. 6. 1'HE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. 17 time when God will s-ay, Those men that were bidden shall not taste of my supper, Lvdie xiv. 24 ; he that u-ill be filthy, let him be filthy still, Kev. xxii. llj my Spisit shall no longer strive with them, Gen. vi. 3. He has no need, my brethren, that we should receive or entertain his mercy ; we have need that God should grant it. God many times is quick in the offer of Ills mercy ; " Go and preach the gospel ; he that bc- lieveth shall bo saved, he that believeth not shall be damned." A quick work God makes many times in the effect of mercy. 06s. 3. " I will not have mercy :" this is pronounced as the most di-eadful judgment. What! not have mercy upon them ? then indeed is a state or kingdom in a dreadful condition, when God shall say of them, that he will not have mercy. " AVoe to you," saith the Lord, "when I depart from you!" woe then to you, when my mercy is for ever gone! then all judgments and mise- ries must needs flow in upon a nation, or a particular soul. 'Wlien the sea-bank is broken up, then the waves will all flow in. " All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest." WHiy, what is the matter ? " His watchmen are blind," Isa. hi. 9, 10. I argue fi'om thence, if the prudence of the watch- man is taken away, which should stop miser)', then all evils come flowing in upon a nation. "VATiat then, if the mercy of God, that should stop misery, be taken away ? whither shoidd the poor creature go if mercy be gone ? to what creature should it look for help ? if it cries to any creatm'e, the creatm'e saith, I can afford no com- fort, because God affords no mercy. Wliat shall uphold the heart when it has no hope at all ? It must needs sink. Obs. 4. Jlen best know what the worth of mercy is, when mercy is taken away from them. I will not add mercy ; showing that what good they had received be- fore, it was from his mercy, though thev would take no notice of it. Well, saith God, you shall have no more ; vou have taken no notice that it was my mercy that helped you before, but when my mercy is gone, then you will know it ; but then I will not add more. Obs. 0. God usually takes not away his mercy fully from a people, or from a soul, until after much mercy has been received and abused. You have a parallel place to this, Judg. x. 13 : " I will deliver you no more," saith God ; I have deHvered you many times, my mercy has been abused, I will deliver you no more. It is just with God, when mercy is abused, that we should never know further what mercy means. Mercy, as it is a precious tiring, so it is a tender thing, and a dangerous thing to abuse. There is nothing that more quickly works the ruin of a people, or of a soul, than abused mercy. Ob.s. 6. God's second strokes usually are more di'ead- ful than the first. '• I will utterly take them away." Before it was only that they should be scattered, the name of the fii'st child before was but Jezreel, that they should be the scattered of the Lord ; but the second is Lo-ruhamah, that they shall have no more mercy from the Lord. God begins fii'st with the house of coi-rection oefore he brings to the gallows. There is branding first, before hanging : there are warning pieces before mm-dering pieces. God makes way for his wTath by lesser afflictions before he comes with desti-oj-ing judg- ments. I remember Knox, in his History of Scotland, relates that Sir James Hamilton, having been mm-dered by the king's means, he appeared to liim in a vision with a naked sword cb-awn, and struck off both his arms, with these words. Take this before thou receive a final pay- ment for all thy impieties; and within twenty-four hours two of the king's sons died. God comes to na- tions and particular persons with a sword, cuts off arms before he takes their lives. As when the Lord comes in a way of abundance of mercy, lesser mercies make way for greater mercies. When manna was rained down, the dew ever came before it: so, lester judgments to the wicked are forerunners of, and make way for, greater judgments ; first they arc parboiled, before they come to be roasted in the iii"e. Obs. 1. AVith God a multitude of sinners is no argu- ment for then- escape of judgment. I will not add mercy to the house of Israel. He does not say, I will nbt add mercy to this or that particular man oi' Israel, but to the house of Israel. It is a ride, indeed, with man, Multiludo peccantium tollit peccalum, Multitude of offenders take away their offences : men know not how to execute the offenders when they are in multi- tudes ; here and there some of the ringleaders may be taken, for example' sake. But it is no rule with God ; though it be the whole house of Israel, God has no mercy for the whole house of all the people of Israel. Let no man presume to sin against the Lord because there arc multitudes that offend, and thiiik that he shall escape with the multitude. No ; all the nations of the world with the Lord are but as the drop of a bucket, and as the small dust of the balance ; nothing, even less than notliing. Obs. 8. The nearness of any to God exempts them not from the wrath of God. " No more have mercy upon the house of Israel ;" though it be the house of Israel, yet no mercy upon her. If it were the house of Pharaoh it were not so much ; but what I no mercy upon the house of Israel ! God hates sin, and hates sin most in those nearest to liim : '' You only have I knoTiTi of all the families of the earth ; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities," saith the Lord, Amos iii. 2. As we hate a toad in oiu' bosoms more than when it is at a farther distance, so God hates sin in those that are nearest to Mm more than in those that are farther off; for " God wiU be sanctified in all those that cbaw nigh unto him." But why will God have no more mercy upon the house of Israel ? Wiat hath the house of Israel done that God shoidd be so angry with it ? It is worth our searcliing and inquii'ing after, it concerns om'selves nearly. 1. The first and a main reason is, because of their continuance in theu" false worship, notwithstanding all the means that God had used to bring them oft'; not only by his prophets, sending them again and again to show them it.s evil in those two calves that were set up in Dan and Bethel, but by most remarkable works of his providence against them. As for example ; the work of God against Jeroboam, when he was stretching out his hand against the prophet that came to denoimce judgment against the altar upon which he was offering sacrifice ; his hand chied up, so that he could not pull it in again to liim, and upon the prayer of the prophet it was restored, and became as it was before, 1 Kings xiii. 4, 6. Again, the remarkable work of God in anointing Jehu to destroy the house of Ahab and his seed for their idolatry. Y'et, notwithstanding these prophets, and these works of God, with many others, they still persisted in theii' way of idolatry ; and this caused the Lord now not to have mercy upon the house of Israel. Let us take heed of this : God has used and still uses means to bring us oft' fully from all ways of false wor- ship ; not only by sending his ministers from time to time to declaim against such things, but by wonderful and remarkable works of his providence towards Eng- land, especially at this day. Never had any nation, never had England heretofore, more remarkable works of God to di-aw them off from all ways of false wor- ship, to bring them to worship God in the right way according to his will. Now let us ti-emble at this sen- tence; I will not add mercy, I wiU have no more mercy. God has added mercy to us again and again. AN EXPOSITION OF Chap. I from time to time. And now, methinks, in this work of God's mercy, that he is about concerning us, he speaks to us as he tlid to the people, " Come and put off tliy ornaments ft-om thee, that I may know what to do unto thee," Exod. sxsiii. 5 ; come now and humble yourselves that I may know what to do ; as if God should say. Come and'pve in your last answer. Now I am showing mercy once more, take heed of rejecting it, lest vou have a Lo-ruhamah upon you, I will add no more mercv. Consider not only what we have done, J)ut what we do ; how we have abused mercy, and how we now abuse present mercy ; how opposed the spirits of most are to the work of rcfomiation now com- mencing, who even say to the Lord Christ, Depart from us, we {Icsire not the knowledge of thy ways. AVlicn the people of Israel were offered Canaan, and God bade them go in and possess it, they were then near unto it ; but as they then refused Canaan, God sware in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest. If ever a people were offered Canaan, were offered the ordi- nances of God in liis OAvn way, certainly we are at this time. Let us tremble lest God, if we reject tliis mercy, should swear in his wrath, I will have no more mercy upon you, and so we prove to be a Lo-ruhamah indeed. 2. fiut a second reason why this people could have no mercy, might be because of tlieir foi-saking God even in the ci^il state : for the people of Israel had not only left God in their churcn state, and defiled themselves with false worsliip, but they had in their civil government wickedly departed ft-om those whom God had appointed over them ; they had departed from the house ot David, and rent themselves from it. It is true, tliis was of God's permission, but yet it was the wickedness of their hearts, and no excuse at all for them. Hence, Hos. viii. 4, God charges tliem that they had set up king«, but not by him. From whence we observ"e, Obs. 9. It is a most dangerous thing for a people to forsake, or to rebel against, the civil government which God sets over them. When the people, in 1 Sam. viii. 7, required a king, and would not be ruled by judges any more, the Lord saith to Samuel, " They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." A most fearful declai-ation: and I confess freely to you, this one text of Scripture was the first that made "impression upon my thoughts and heart, about fearing to adopt a wav of chmch govem- mcntthat God had not appomted. Eor thus I reasoned: What ! is God so provoked against a people that will re- ject but a ci\il government that he has appointed, which concerns but the outward man ? Tlien if God has ap- pointed any government in a church, which is a Divine mstitution, which concerns the good of the soul, and is immediately to work upon that, siu-ely God will be much more provoked for rejecting it. And though we have not a civil government appointed by God, as the Jews had, yet for the church state we have one ap- pointed even by God himself. And reason there must 138 for it ; for whatever has a spiritual efficacy upon the heart, must have a spu-itual rule for its warrant and direction. Indeed prudence and reason are enougli for ordering things that concern the outward man, ex- cept God will come in with his ovm institution : but when it comes to the ordering of the heart, and there is a spiritual efficacy expected, as in all church ordi- nances there must be, and that authority by which they are executed gives a gi-eat influence into them, nothing can go beyond its principle, tlierefore it must have a Divine institution to give it its efficacy. It may here be demanded, whether God has not ap- pointed over us a pai-ticular civil govenunent, as he cbd over the Jews ? That our government, and all lawfiU government of other nations, is ajjpointed by God, we must conclude Is a certain truth. But not so appointed by God as the government of the Jews was. And the reason is this, because the church and commonwealth of the Jews were involved in one, and therefore the apostle, speaking of the Gentiles, saith they were " aliens ft-om the commonwealth of Israel;" it was meant of the chui-ch state. There was such a kind of pedagogy under the law, that the church and state were involved in one, for Christ would be the Head of the chiuch and commonwealth too, and appoint them laws ; and so their government was immediately fiom heaven. Now for us : that we should have a govei-nment according to the rules of wisdom and justice, that indeed is appointed by God. God would have us have a just and wise go- vernment ; but he leaves the ordering of that govern- ment to general rules of prudence and justice. So that now it is lawful for any kingdom or coimtn- to agree together, and, according to the rules of wisdom and justice, to appoint what kind of government they will, as whether it shall be a monarchy, or an aris- tocracy, or a democracy ; and to limit it according to covenants of agreement, as whether the fiindamental power shall be wholly put out, or any part reserved, how far this or that man or societ)' of men shall have the managing of it, and the like ; then so far as it is agreed upon, we are bound in conscience to obey either actively or passively, but no fiuther are we bound to obey any man ; conscience is not tied. Though such men be in authoritj-, yet not to do what they would have, is no resisting of authoritv-. Yea, though the thing be lawful which thev command, if it be not ac- cordEng to the law of the kingdom, to the first agree- ment, I may be bound by the rules of pi-udence to save myself; but it is not authoritj" that binds me to obey out of conscience : for we must of necessity distinguish between men in authoritv', and the authority of those men. TMierefore so long as we seek to keep authority in the right channel, that it flows not over the banks, we cannot be charged with resisting the govei-nment God hath set over us, though we do not obey the will of those who are set over us ; and thei-cfore there is no cause that wc should fear, that God should say to Eng- land, upon this ground, Lo-ruhamah, he will have no mercy. Ver. 7. Bui I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and uill save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen. The people of Israel might say, Hosea, thou ait a severe preacher ; what ! preach nothing but judgment, nothing but wrath, to be utterly taken away ? Is there no mercy at all ? Is not God a merciful God ? Yes, saith the prophet, though you be taken away, God knows how to glorify his mercy ; he has othei-s that he can make objects of liis mercy, though you be destioyed. Obs. 1. TTiough God utterly reject some, yet in the mean time he has others to wnom he can show mercy. Therefore it is no plea for any sinner to say. Well, I have sinned indeed, but God is merciful. What if God be merciful ? so he may be, though thou perish ever- lastingly. Yea, whole" kingdoms and nations may perish, yet God may be merciful, God has still infinite ways to" glorify his mercy. Many people, in desperate moods, lay violent hands "upon themselves, and certainly there is a kind of spirit of revenge in it, as if they thought there would be some trouble about it, and so God shoiUd lose some honoiu:. But if you will have yom- will in this, or in any tiling else, though you be dead, and your souLs perhaps in chauis of darkness, God will have ways to be glorious in his mercy, whatever become of you. Obs. 2. "God -n-ill always have a church. He will never destroy liis church at once. The Lord loves pub- Vee. T. THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. 19 lie -worship in the world. Though he will utterly talic away the house of Israel, yet he '' will have mercy upon the house of Judah." Israel might say to the prophet, ^\^lat ! ^^•ill not God be merciful to us ? What does Judah get by worsliippiug God in that which you say is the only right way r" Judah indeed keeps herself to Jeru- salem, and to worship in the temple, but what does she gain by it ? for aught we see, Judah is in as hard an estate, and as low a condition, as we ? Well, saith God, let Judah be what she will, I will have mercy upon her. 06s. 3. Though carnal hearts, when they look upon the low condition of the true worshippers of God, think that there is no diflerence between those who are iu a good way, and themselves who walk m the ways of sin, yet God will make a difference ; I will have mercy upon Judah, but not upon Israel. Many carnal men please themselves with argiung thus : I see others who are strict, who pray in their families, who nm to ser- mons, and will not act as others, yet they are as poor, in as mean a condition, as others ; what do they get by theu' forwardness in religion ? Ai'e not we in as good a condition as they ? Well, friend, though thy carnal heart think there is no difference " between lum that serveth God and him that serveth him not," God has a time to manifest a difference : " Then shall ye retm-n, and discern between the righteoiLS and the wicked, be- tween him that serveth God and liim that serveth liim not," Mai. iii. 18. I \dll not have mei'cy upon Israel, " but I will have mercy upon Judah." 066". 4. If a people keep the worsliip of God piu-e, God ^vill favom' them, though there be many weak- nesses, j-ea, many wickednesses, amongst them. Judah indidged at this time in many gross and fearful cvUs. It woidd require much time to show you the horrible wickedness of Judah ; yet God saith, " I wiU have mercy upon the house of Judah." "\ATiat is the reason of this ? Because though Judah had many gross evUs, yet Judah kept to the right way of worsliipping God, kept to Jerusalem and to the temple ; and so far kept the worship of God pure. It is true, many spirits ai'e most bitter agauist those who seek to woi-ship God in the right way ; if they observe them tripping in any small thing, they charge it against them with all bitter- ness. This is not like God, who favoiu's those that worship him in a right way, though in other respects he may have many charges against them. But, you will say, this seems to contradict what you said before, that the nearer any are to God, the more he hates their sins ; and the sins of those that make a show of worshipping God in a pm-e manner are worse than the sins of others. It is ti-ue, but as their relation to God in the nearness of his worship is an aggravation of their sins, so their relation to God is a foundation of their- hope of mercy from God. How is this ? It makes then' sin indeed worse, so as to provoke God to punish them sooner, and perhaps more bitterly; yet then- relation to God keeps this ground of faith, that God is then' God still, and will have mercy upon them at last. But the wicked, though God spare them longer than his own people, yet when he comes against them he rejects them utterly ; so he did Israel. Judah mdeed was punished, but yet Judah had mercy at last ; but, saith God, " I ■niU have no more mercy upon the house of Israel ; but I wUl utterly take them 'away." 06*. 5. God sometimes shows mercy to poor affiicted ones, and yet rejects those who ai'e greater and enjoy more prosperity m the world. Israel had prevailed a little before against Judah, for in 2 Kuigs xiv. 12 — 14, you find that " Judah was put to the worse before Is- rael; and they fled every man to theii- tents. AndJehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of /Uiaziah, at Betli-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Eplu'aim unto tlie corner gate, four huncbed cubits : and he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasm-es of the king's house, and hostages, and retm-ned to Samaria." And tliis was but a little before this time, Israel had thus prevailed against Judah, and brought Judah under; yet now, saith God, I will have mercy upon Judah, but not upon Is- rael. Many who are in a low, afflicted condition, God tooks upon and shows mercy unto them, when brave ones that carry it out, and tm-ive and hve gallantly in the woiid, are often rejected of God. Mai'k what God saith, Zeph. iii. 12, " 1 will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord." God looks not at the brave and gaUaut ones of the world, but at the poor and afflicted ones, and they shall ti'ust in the name of the Lord. We must not then judge of the happiness of men from their success m the world ; for you may now be delivered, and others kept under affliction, yet afterwards you may be rejected, and they received to mercy. 06*. 6. How impartial the ministers of God ought to be in then- work. Hosea was the prophet of Israel, he was sent to the ten tribes, yet Hosea tells Ihem, whose prophet especially he was, that God would have no more mercy upon them. And he speaks to Judah, (to whom he was not sent,) and tells them that God would have mercy upon them. Ministers must not go accord- ing to their private engagements with any people, though bound to them in many respects : if they be wicked, they must deal faithfully and plamly, and de- nomice the judgments of God. And if others, though sti'angers to them, be godly, they are to give them that comfort which belongs unto them. ]\Iy brethi'en, par- tiality m those in pubKc places, especially of the minis- try, is a great evil : it was for this that God said he had made the priest and the Levite " contemptible and base before all the people :" why ? because they were " pai'tial in the law," Mai. ii. 9. 066-. 7. It is a great aggravation of the misery of some, that God shows mercy to others. For it is here set down as a part of the threatening against Israel, " I wUl have no more mercy upon the house of Israel, but I will show mercy to Judah." To aggravate the miseiT of Israel, God manifests his mercy to Judah. Mai-k how God, in Isa. Isv. 13, makes it a part of his thi'cat- ening against the wicked, that he will show, mercy to his servants : " Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry : behold, my servants shall di'ink, but ye shall be thu'st)' : behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shaE be ashamed: behold, my seiTants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spuit." These "buts" are cutting ones to the heart of the wicked. And observe, the word " behold " is fom- times used in setting out the difference that God will make between his servants and the wicked ; and how God will aggra- vate the misery of the wicked by showing mercy to his people, because it is a thing much to be considered. A sipiilar passage you have in Matt. viii. 11, " Many shall come fi'om the east and west, and shall sit do-rni with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the ehikben of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer daiioiess : there shall be weepuig and gnashing of teeth." Mark, they shall gnash their teeth when they shall see how they are rejected and others received, gnash then- teeth for enTy and vexation of spuit, for it is a great aggi-avation of men's misery. And is it not fulfilled this day ? How do many gnash their very teeth to see the mercy that God shows to his people in these days; giving them libert)' to meet together, and encouragement in his service, while he casts shame and contempt upon their faces, and bruigs AX EXPOSITION OF ^HAP. I. them forth to answer for theii- wickedness, anil to suffer condign puni-.hment ! It is observable, that, in Acts xxii. 21, 22, Paul was speaking a great w hile to the Jews, and they heard him quietly till he came to that sentence, " Depart : for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. They gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth ! for it is not fit that he should live." What ! to disgrace us thus, and to think that the Gentiles should come to have more mercy than wc ! Away with such a fellow from the cartli ! We have such an expression likewise in Luke iv. 25 — 29 ; our Saviour, Christ, told the Jews of the widow of Sarepta, that Elias the ijrojihet was sent only to her, and that Xaaman the Snian, of all the lepers in Israel, was cleansed. They of tlie sjnia- gogue, when they heard these things, " were filled with wTath, and rose up and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city ■was built, that they might cast him down headlong." They were so vexed at Christ's seiTOon that they would have broke his neck as soon as he had done j)reaching. It was at this statement, " many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of EUseus the projdiet ; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian." Christ intimated, that though there were many of the jjeople of Israel, yet the Lord would have mercy but upon a few of them ; yea, that God would choose to show mercy to other people rather than to them : at this they were enraged. And certainly tliis will bo the S'or" "S,""'" aggravation of the misery of the lost, ffiJloSoJusI""'''"' *° li-now the mercy of God to others. It may be wicked parents shall see their chiltb-en at the right hand of Jesus Christ in glory, and themselves cast down into eternal torment ; this will be a stinging aggravation of misery, no mercy unto thee, but mercy unto thy gracious cliild ; the child that thou rebukedst for being forward is now at the right hand of Christ, and thou cast into everlasting misery. So a ])oor servant, or a poor boy in a family, may stand at the right hand of Jesus Christ hereafter, and ascend with him in glory ; while his rich master, that mur- mui'ed at him, and would not suffer him to have the least time for God's service, but checked and mocked him in every thing with, O, this is yom- preciseness, finds himself cast down into eternal misery. But yet further ; God declares, " I will have mercy upon the house of Judah." Here is another remark very oliservable, and wliich much concerns our jn-esent condition. God promises to Judah mercy, after Israel's rejection; yet if we seai'ch the Scriptures we shall find tliat both before and after the rejection of Israel was executed, Judah was under very sore afflictions. In 2 Chron. xxviii. G, you find that '■ I'ekah the son of Kemaliah .slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thou- sand in one day." We never heard of such a slaughter ; we wonder when we hear of five or ten thousand slain in the field ; here we have one hunibed and twenty thousand slain, and this slaughter was made after this promise : yea, further, vcr. 8, there were besides •' car- ried away captive two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters ;" yea, furtlier, ver. 17, " again the Edom- ites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives." And, ver. 18, " The Philistines also had in- vaded the cities of the low counti-y, and of the south of Judah ; and they dwelt there :" and, vcr. 10, it is said, " tlie Lord brought Judah low :" and, ver. 20, it is said, " Tilgafh-pihuser, king of Ass\Tia," (whom Ahaz had sent Id lulp him.) " came unto him and distressed him, but strengthened him not." Pekah, the son of Kema- liah, slays one hundred and twenty thousand, and carries away captive two hundi'cd thousand : then come the Philistines and invade the country ; and then the Edomites cany away captives, and God brings them low ; and then comes Tilgath-pilneser, and he, instead of helping, distresses them. AVhat a case were they in now ! Yet this was after the promise, for this promise was made to Judah in the beginning of Hosea's pro- l)hecv i so it is, ver. 2, " The begimiing of the word of the Lord by Hosea," which was before the rejection of Israel. It was in the reign of Ahaz that Judah wa3 brought into this low condition, about twenty-two years before the execution of the sentence against Israel, for that was fulfilled in the sixth year of the reign of Heze- kiah, which, if you take it from the begimiing of the reign of Aliaz, who reigned sixteen years, makes twenty-two yeai's. Now this promise to Judah was made in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and of Jeroboam, king of Israel, which was at least seventy-six years before the rejection of Israel ; and vet, after the making of this promise, Judah is reduced to this sad condition. Yea, and we shall find, besides, that though God had said he would reject Israel, and be merciful to Judah ; so that when Israel was rejected a man would think that Judah .should come into a better condition than ever ; yet see how Judah was dealt with. 2 Kings xviii. 13 saith, that '• in the fourteenth year of Heze- kiah, Sennacherib king of Assj-ria came up against Judah ;" and this was after the casting off of the ten tribes, for that was in the sixth year of Hezekiah, as ver. 10 : and seven years after came Sennacherib against Judah, thinking to prevail against them as they had done before against Israel ; and then Hezekiah was disposed to give him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house; yea, ver. 10 saith, that "Hezekiah cut oft' the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the piUai's, and gave it to tlie king of Assyria." Now the Lord keep our kingdom and our parliament from giving the gold of the temple doors in any way of compliance with any malignant paity, who regard with an evil eye the beauty of our Zion. Yea, and after Sennacherib had gotten this, not con- tent with it, he sends Kabshakeh from Lachish, with a great host against Jerusalem. The adversaries of the chm'ch are never satisfied, yield to them, gratify them in what you will : this is the fii'st temptation. 'What ! will you be so strict and rugged, and yield to them in nothing ? say some : but if they prevail with you to be- gin to yield, they will encroach upon you. Hezekiah yielded to Sennacherib, even to take away the gold of the temple doors, yet a little while after he comes again w itii a great host, so that Hezekiah said, it was " a day of trouble and rebidse," chap. xix. 3. Nothing will quiet them but the ruin of the church, they must needs have that ; " Down with it, down with it, even to the ground ! " nothing else will satisfy them. To this low estate and sad condition was Judah brought, though God promises mercy to them. Obx. 8. God may intend much mercy, yea, God may be in a way of mercy to a people, yet may bring that people into very great straits and difficulties. The pro- mises of God's mercies are always to be understood with the condition of the cross. If we think that upon the promise of mercy we shall be delivered fiom all trouble and affliction, wc lay more upon the promise than the promise w ill or can bear. It is a great evil, which pro- ceeds from much weakness of spirit and distemper of heart, in people for whom God has done great things, if there come any difficulty or trouble, to say, Now we are all lost, now God has left Us ; we hoped that there would have come mercy, we looked for liglit, and behold darkness ; now the heart sinks, and all hope is abandon- ed. Know, my brethren, this is an evil, untliankful, and unbelieving heart. God lias indeed done great THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. 21 things foi- us ; yet how ready are -we, though God be in such a glorious way of mercy, if we hear of any diffi- culty, any combining of the adversaries together, to ex- pect nothing but blood, and to bid adieu to all our peace : we thought to have had happy days, but now the Lord is coming out against us, and all that is done must be undone again. "WTiy are you so full of unbe- lief ? Surely this is unworthy of Christians that pro- fess an interest in God, and unworthy of all the good that God has done for us. Though Peter had walked upon the sea through the power of Christ, when the waves came, he cried, " Master, save, or else I perish." Has not God made us walk upon the waves of the sea all this while ? wTOUght as great a mu-acle for us in England as he tUd for Peter ? Yet when a wave does but rise a little higher than before, we are so distressed in oiu' spirits that we can scarcely cry, O blaster, save us ; but we look one upon another, and instead of cry- ing unto God, we cry out one to another in a discou- raging way, and so pine away in our iniquities. Cer- tainly God is exceedingly angry at such a demeanour as this, and yet this is common, both with nations and particular persons. With nations : it was so with Judah. Though God had made this promise to Judah, yet if we look into Isa. vii. 2, (Isaiah was contemporary with Hosea, and it was not much after the making of this promise,) we shall see how they were troubled with fear : " It was told the house of David, saying, Sp-ia is confederate ivith Ephraim. And the heart of the king of Judah was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind j" they were afraid, and shook as the very leaves of the trees shake. "Well, but God speaks to the prophet, in chap. viii. 11 — 13, " with a strong hand, and instructed him that he should not walk in the way of this people, saying. Say ye not, A confederacy :" — Oh, the king of Israel and the king of SjTia are confederate together ; what shall we do ? we are undone, we are lost for ever ! " Say ye not, A con- federacy, to all to whom this people shall say, A con- federacy ; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; let him be your fear, and let him be your cb-ead." Thus God would have his saints act now. Wlien you hear of confederate ene- mies, or any ill tidings abroad, exclaim not, Oh, the papists are linked together, a confederacy, a confede- racy ! Do not say, A confederacy, fear not their fear, but " sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your cbead ; and he shall be for a sanctuai-y" to you. And mark the resolution of the prophet afterward, ver. 17, " I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him." Oh that this were the disposition of oiu' hearts ! Take that note away with you, amongst many, though you cannot remember all : when you hear so many rumom-s of fears and troubles, as if all were gone, and there were now no more hope, let this be your answer, '• I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob ;" for God is in a way of mercy, and mercy certainly we shall have, let us look for it then. AA^th particular persons : though God be in a won- derful way of mercy towards them, yet if they do but feel their corruptions stirring never so little, how com- mon is it for them to say, All is lost ! I was indeed in a good way, but God is gone, Christ is gone, mercy is gone, and all is gone, surely God intends no thoughts of good to me. O, be not faitliless, but believing: for this is the way of God, though he promises great mercy, yet in the mean time he may bring into great afflictions. " I will no more have mercy upon the house of Is- rael, but I will utterly take them away ; but I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them." For a people to be saved when others near them are destroyed, is a great display of God's goodness to them : as to stand upon the shore safely, and see others suffer shipwreck before us, is a gi'eat augmentation of God's mercy towards us. AATien the people of Israel stood upon the banks, and saw the Egyptians tumbling in the Ked Sea, and then- dead bodies cast upon the shore, then " sang Moses and the cliildren of Israel unto the Lord," Exod. xv. 1. And this kind of mercy the Lord has granted to us in England, for while neighbouring nations have been in a combustion, and many of them spoiled, we have sat under our own ^■incs and fig trees, and our greatest afflictions have been only the hearing of what our bretlu-en have suffered, and yet do suffer. All about us is as the fieiy furnace, and we walk in the midst of it like the thi-ee children, and our garments are not touched, nor the smell of the fii-e passed on them. We see all countries as Gideon's fleece, wetted with the tempest of God's ^^Tath, yea, with their own blood ; but, behold, we are cb-y, and the sunshine of God's mercy is upon us ; the blackness of the misery of our brethren is the brightness of our mercy. " I will save them." It is the Lord that will save them. This is an upbraiding of Israel. O Israel, you think to be saved by your own policy, you have gone beyond God ; you are afraid that the people should go up to Jerusalem to worship, therefore you have set up the two calves to save yourselves. But Judah shall be saved, and saved after another way : Judah need not go to such carnal policies to save themselves, for the Lord shall save them. Though carnal hearts think and en- deavour to save themselves only by their own policy and carnal ways, yet let God's people know that they have a stronger means to save them than all the policy in the world. So long as the wisdom, the power, the mercy, the faithfulness of God is for them, they need no other string to their bow. " I will save them by the Lord." This, by interpret- ers, is expounded concerning Clirist : that God the Father promises to save by Clu-ist. In Dan. ix. 17, we have such an expression in prayer, " Now therefore, 0 our God, hear the prayer of thy servant — for the Lord's sake ; " that is, for Christ's sake : so here, God will save by the Lord ; that is, by Christ. Obs. 9. The acbninistration of God's gi'ace to his people is given into the hands of Jesus Christ. It is Chi-ist that saves the people of God, and has saved them in all former times : " As for thee also, bj- the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water," Zech. ix. 11. All the prisoners of God's people, ever since the world be- gan, have been sent out of the pit by the blood of the covenant, by the merits of Christ : and not oidy so, but Christ, in the administration of God's grace, has been the chief; he has been the Angel of God's presence, who has stood up for his people in all their necessities ; he has been the great Captain and Deliverer, the Saviour of them all. Let Christ then have the honour of a sovereign to us mth respect to our salvation in outward deliverances. Let us look up to him for salvation in all om- straits. And if Christ was the Saviour of his people in all ages, and still will be, then surely those ages and places where Christ is most known and hon- oured may expect the greatest salvation. And this is our comfort, for above all the ages since the world be- gan, Christ is most known and honoured in this age ; and of all places in the world, here in England, and amongst our countr}Tnen ; and if Christ will be a Sa- viour "of those places where he is known and honoured, surely England may expect a salvation. England has had it ; and as England is peculiar in the knowledge of Christ, so England shall be peculiar in God's grace to her. Obs. 10. It is a great upbraiding of a people when it 22 AN EXPOSITION OF Chap. 1. can be said of them, that they have forsaken the Lord. " I will save them by the Lord their God." Not your God, O Israel, but their God. Thus lie upbraids the people of Israel that they had forsaken their God ; that Judah had kept their God, but Israel had not. It is a woeful thins not to have God to be our God at all ; when conscience can charge upon a man what Daniel did upon Belshazzar, " That God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified," Dan. v. 23 : but it is dreadful when conscience can chai-ge this. That God, whom thou hast chosen, and with whom thou hast entered into covenant, O thou apostatized soul, thou apostatized nation, thou hast for- saken, he is not now thy God. This is a sore and hea\'y cliarge indeed. Obs. 3. Those, then, who do not worship God in a right way, God wiU not acknowledge himself to be worshipped by them at all. It seems he is the God of Judah, though Judah had many evils, but not the God of Israel. The people in the wilderness pro- claimed a fast to Jehovah, and yet the apostle, 1 Cor. X. 7, calls them idolaters ; and it is said they sacrificed to idols, because they worshipped God by a calf, and not in God's way. Though we may think we worship God, yet if we do not worship him in his own way, he does not own himself worshipped by us at aU. Ob.s: 4. Carnal hearts cannot endure that any one should think they have more interest in God than them- selves. This could not but sting Israel, that Judah should be thought to have more interest in God than Israel had. Thus they scorned at Clu-ist: O, he trusted in God, he thinks he has more interest in God than others, now let his God come and save him. We read in the Book of JlartjTS, that the papists were much vexed ^vith the protestants, because they used to say, our God, and our Lord, by which they seemed to claim more in- terest in God than others. And, indeed, what is the cause of the quan'el against God's people, but because the world think they claim more peculiarity and inter- est in God than others ? And tliis is the reason that soul-searching preaching cannot be endm-ed, because it makes n diflerence between the one and the other, and shows that some have an interest in God more than others. Hence it is that in no places in the world men's sph-its so ft-et against preacliing as in England. A^Tiy ? Because there is not such soul-examining, such soul- distinguishing preaching in the world as in England. Yea, that is the reason of the bitterness of one professor against another, because one is a protestant at large, and the other manifests more power of godliness, is more stiict in his course, and seems to claim a greater share in God than the former. Profession in Eng- land is a more distinguishing profession than in other places. Obs. 5. So long as God is our God we need not fear our adversaries. God is the God of Judah still, there- fore God will save them. You have heard of the Pal- ladium of the heathens in Troy. They imagined that so long as that idol was kept safe, they were unconquer- able, all the strengtli in Greece was not able to prevail against it. 'WTierefore the Grecians sought by all the means they could to get it from them. I StAi''™'Sr have read that the men of Tvtus were fyi^imZ'S afraid their god A])ollo should forsake them : they therefore chained and nailed that idol to a post, that they might be sure of it, because they thought their safety was in it. Let us fiisten our- selves to God in an everlasting covenant, and certainly God will be fast to us, and then we we safe enough. " I will save them:" but how? "What shall Judah he saved by, and not Israel ? Judah, a poor, contempt- ible jieople ! How .saved ? " And will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen." It shall not be by any outward means, but by the immediate hand of God. This promise, that God would save them not " by bow nor by sword," was performed two several times, and there is a tliii'd time for the fulfilling of it, which is yet to come. It was done fii-st when '• the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camj) of the AssjTians an hundi'cd fourscore and five tliousand," 2 Kings xis. 3d : and God tells them that the king of AssjTia should " not shoot an an-ow there, nor come before the city with a shield:" so God saved them without bow, for they had no need to use the bow then, because the angel of the Lord desti'oyed them. The second time was when he saved Judah in theu' return from captivity, then, as it is Zecli. iv. 6. he saved them " not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Mark the phrase : as if God should say, I have strength, for I am the Lord of hosts ; lean command annies, if I would, to save you : no, though I be tlie Lord of hosts, yet I wiU not save you "by might, nor by ])ower, but by my Spuit." Therefore, Isa. xxx. 7, " their strength" is said to be "to sit still ;" and ver. 15, " in quietness, and in confidence, shall be your sti-ength." Thus they were saved, " not by bow, lior by sword." Then the tliii'd time, which is yet to come ; that is, in the wonderful work of God in calling the Jews, when God shall raise up out of them a gloi'ious people to himself, and save Judah once again, and it shall not be by sword, nor by bow, but by the Lord then- God ; for, as it is said, Dan. ii. oi, the stone that smote the image " was cut out T\-ithout hands ; " so there shall be a power not visible from whence it comes, but Jesus Christ shall come from heaven to do his great works. " As the lightnmg eometh out of the east, and sliineth even unto the west ; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Obs. 1. God ties not himself to the use of outward means in procuring good to his people. Though all outward means fail, vet there may be ways of salvation for the saints. Wicked men's hearts presently sink, if outward means fail. And if ow hearts faint when outward means fail, it is a sign that we before rested upon the means, and if we had had the means we should have robbed God of his honour. We must use means, but not rely upon the means. I might show you excellent texts of Scripture for this, as Psal. xxxiii. 16, " There is no lung saved by the midtitude of an host : a mighty man is not delivered by much strength." And Psal. xliv. 5, 6, " Through thee will we push down om' enemies : tlirough thy name \vill we tread them under that rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me." Obs. 2. Deliverance of a people without bow and without sword is a great merey. For such are the woeful miseries that a people suffer when wai- comes, that usually the victory will scarce pay the charges of the battle. Though we are sure to be saved at last, yet if we must be saved by bow and by sword, the misery that we may suffer in our salvation may be more than the salvation. It was the height of that mercy promised, Isa. ix. 5, that it should be without " confused noise, and garments rolled in blood." Such a mercv we have had ; and had CJhrist come to have reigned amongst us, though he had come riding upon his " red horse," with his garments rolled in blood, we should willingly have entertained him : but bcliokl, he comes riding upon his " white horse," in peace and merey. Tlic mercies we have had have been very cheap, they have not been bv bow, nor by sword. And if God should come at length by the sword, and bring perfect salvation to us by blood, which God forbid, we lia\e had already more mercy without blood than our blood is worth. Should we now have our blood shed, God lias paid us beforehand. ^X]\o almost in this con- gregation, but two or three years ago would have lost \EK. 8. THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. 23 bis blood to procure so much mercy to England, as England has had already ? Obs. 3. Such is the love of God to his people, that he is pleased to work for them beyond means. The other point was, that he can save his people -without means ; this, that he wiU do it beyond means : for the grace and love of God to Ms people is so high and glorious, that it is beyond that which can be conveyed by means, therefore it must be done more immediately. " Tliy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power ; in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthi-own them that rose up against thee," Exod. xv. 6, 7. Fii-st, it is the " hand of God." Secondly, it is " the right hand of God." Thii-dly, it is " the right hand of God in power." Fourthly, this is " glorious in power." Fifthly, there is " excellency." And sixthly, there is " the greatness of excellency." It is a high expression, 213 ■|;1KJ in the gi-eatness of thy lifting up; for the same word signifies pride, which is here translated excel- lency ; and if God be Kfted up in any thing it is when he shows himself for his people. Now take all these six expressions, God's hand, God's right hand, his right hand in power, a right hand that is become glorioiis in power, his excellency, the greatness of his excellency, and all this for his saints; siu-ely this is more than can be conveyed by means ; God must come immediately and save them by himself. Obs. 4. 'The more immediate the hand of God ap- pears in his mercy to his people, the more sweet and jirecious ought that mercy then to be. " Be thou ex- alted, O Lord, in thine own sti"ength : so will we sing and praise thy power," Psal. xxi. 13. When God comes in his own strength, and not in the sti'ength of the creatm-e, then the saints sing and praise the power of God. We are accustomed to say, Dulcius ex ipso fonte, that wliich comes immediately comes exceecUng sweetly. Then the saints may boast in God, when he comes immediately with his salvation: "Thou hast saved us ft'om our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us." What follows ? " In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever," Psal. xhv. 7, 8. So that the saints of God then praise God ; nay, they may la^^•fully give up themselves to boast, when God works immediately. '\^Tren God works by means, then they must take heed of ascribing to the means ; but when God comes immediately, then they see his hand, and may well boast. It is the blessedness of heaven, that God's mercy comes immediately. Created mercies are the most [Perfect mercies. vSuppose God had been with them by bow and by sword when Sennacherib came against them, coidd the salvation have been so precious ? God's hook that he put in his nose, and the bridle that he put in his lips, (for so God said he would do with him, that is, use him as a beast,) were better than their sword or bow. Surely, if ever any nation knew what it was to have immediate mercies come doi^Ti from heaven, Eng- land does ; if ever nation saw God exalting himself m his own power, England has; we have lived, blessed be God, to see the Lord exalting himself in his own power. O, let us cry out with the psalmist, " Be thou exalted, O Lord, in thine o-rni strength," amongst us ; " so will we," still, and still, and stiU, " sing and praise thy power." Ver. 8. Now uhen she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, mid bare a son. We finished the signification of the name of the second child of Hosea, Lo-ruhamah. We now come to its weaning, and the begetting of the thu'd child, Lo-ammi. " "\Mien she had weaned Lo-nihamah." We do not read that the fii-st child, Jezreel, was weaned; but that the second child, Lo-ruhamah, was weaned, before the thii'd child, Lo-ammi, was conceived. "VMiat is the meaning of this ? This second child, Lo-ruhamah, was to typify the people of Israel being carried out of their own country in capti\ity to AssjTia : it was to signify to them that they should be weaned from the comforts and delights wliich were in then- own land ; that they should be taken away fi-om their milk and honey, and be fed in Assp-ia with hard meat, even with the water of affliction and the bread of advcrsit)-. The fii'st child only signified tlieir scattering, especially in regard of theu' seditions amongst themselves ; but the second cliild signified tlie carrjing them away whoUy into captivity from their own land ; therefore the second child is weaned. Cibis sustentabitur immicndis, so Jerome mterprets it. They should be canued amongst the Gentiles, and be fed with imclean meat, they should SJa 'St dStifuL- be deprived of prophecy, of the milk oi "" Jf''" net j>ro- the word, and of the ordinances that they vatnS infoc.'"' enjoyed : so Vatablus. Ordinances are as the breasts of consolation, out of which the people of God suck soul-satisfying comforts. " That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations ; that ye may milk out, and be de- lighted with the abundance of her gloiy," Isa. ls«. 11. And, " We mil remember thy love more than wine," Cant. i. 4. The Vidgate reads it. We will ,, , ,, , ^ ^ , . ,Mcmcircs ubcnim remember thy breasts above wme ; and t..oruin super vi- so the words will bear. These people °'""' shoidd be deprived of tliose breasts out of which they had sucked much sweetness before ; even deprived of all comfort in God. God's people hang upon God, and (b'aw comfort from him, even as the urfant upon the mother's breast, which sucks sweetness, and comfort, and nom'ishment fi-om thence. This expression, then, of weaning the chUd, implies these two things : 1. That tlie enjojTnent of the comforts of a sweet native land, specially where Divine ordinances abound, is a very great blessing of God ; and to be deprived of it is a great affliction, yea, to some it comes as a cm'se. The vei-y sucking of our native an- is certainly a great blessing fi-om the Lord. Those who have been banished and deprived of it, have been more sensible of it than many of you who always have enjoyed it. ^lany have lain so long sucking the sweetness of our Enghsh au-, and the comforts which flow from then- accommoda- tions, tin they have sucked in tliat which, if God's mercy had not prevented, would have proved poison to then- souls. But I speak not of aU, I make no question but there have been many of God's dear servants that have tarried in then- native soil, and kept the upright- ness of their hearts and consciences as clear as others that went away. It is true, the comforts of a native soil are sweet, but except we may enjoy them with the breasts of these consolations, the ordinances of the church, they are not able to satisfy the soid ; yea, ex- cept we may suck out of these breasts sincere milk, not soiled nor som-ed by the inventions of men, better a gTcat deal that we were weaned from all the sweet- ness and accommodation we have in oiu- native soU, by the mortifying of our affections to it, than that God should wean us from it, by sending us into captivity, or by giving the adversary power over us, or by making the land too hot for us. 2. That it is an evil thing for a child to be taken from the mother's breast too soon, and sent away to be nursed by others. The expression fully imphes this, for it is to tell us the evil condition of the people, that they should be taken from their o-rni and sent to_ an- other country. The affliction is set out by a child's being taken from its mother's breast. It could not express what it intended, except it were to intimate 24 AN EXPOSITION OF Chap. I. thus much unto us ; that it is an enl thing for a child to be taken from its own mother's breast. It is un- natural then for mothers, out of daintiness and pride, to deny the fruit of their wombs the comfort of their breasts. It is true, in time of weakness and danger, when it may be dangerous to themselves and the child, God ])crmits it. But when it is merely out of pride and affectation, certainly it is an evil against nature itself. Hannah's care of her son Samuel is recorded, and it is mentioned liy the Holy Ghost in her com- mendation, that she gave him suck; "The woman abode, and gave her son suck until she weaned him," 1 Sam. i. 23. It is said of tlie ostrich, Job xxxi.x. 16, " She is hardened against her young ones, as though they were not hers : " the ostiich is reckoned among the fowls that are unclean : and Lam. iv. 3, " Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones : the daughter of my peojile is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness;" more cruel than the very sea monsters themselves, that draw out theu' breasts and give suck to their young ones. The in- struction of the son belongs to the father, the nursing of the son belongs to the mother. The mother's milk is the most profitable and wholesome for every one, (saith Lac uiiii«iimiim Plij^y') cccpt it be in some extraordi- cuiqtic maTemum. nary casc. Ue read, in 2 Tim. iii. 3, that _. c. . jj^ jj^p latter day, when evil times should come, some should be daTopyU, " without natural affec- tion : " that 'Topyri, wliich is there spoken of, is the af- fection of the parents to the children, as well as of the childi-en to the parents. But enough of this ; if not too much, to such as with theur pride and daintiness, the chikben of their own fancies, neglect natiu-e's duty to the childi-en of their bodies. But further observe here. That the Lord stays for the weaning of the child; he stays till Lo-ruhamah was weaned, before Lo-ammi was conceived. And there is much to be known in this. AMiy does God stay ? This is to show the gi'eat patience of God toward his people; for God was now about to reject them utterly from being his ))coplc ; God was coming in the height of his WTath, to declare that they were no more his people ; and here God makes a stop, stays till Lo-ruhamah was weaned. I have read that it was the custom of the Jews to be a long time, three years sometimes, before they weaned theii- children. God then it seems stayed long here, till the third child, Lo-ammi, was bom, before he would come with that cbeadful sentence, "Ye are not my people, and I will not be your God." First, T7hen Jezreel was bom, they are scattered up and down, but they arc not all carried away captive. Then Lo- ruhamah is born, and then they are canned away cap- tive, never to return again. But for all this, God may yet own them in their captivity. This is not so bad as for God to say, I will have no more to do with you as my people. Lord, though we be under affliction, under the power of our enemies, O'wn us still, acknowledge us to be thine; though we be in the fiery fiu'nace, yet let us have thee to be our God. No, (saith God,) you shall not only be scattered, but you shall be all carried away captive, and I will not own you, I will cast you of!', you shall not be my people, neither will I be your God. Now before this Goxo- phecy, " How shall' I give thee up, Ephraim ? How shall I deliver thee, 0 Israel ? " Hos. xi. 8. 'When we are about eitlier to reject any particulai- person, who has made profession of religion, from being God's, or to reject a church from being God's, we had need pause, and examine the matter well ; yea, and when we nave examined it, to stop again, and betJiink ourselves what we do. We must not be too sudden in rejecting those who have been once the people of God, from being the people of God now. Many men are too hasty, in rejecting both particulai- servants of God, and par- ticular churches from belonging to God, as soon as they see some few things amiss in them ; especially if there be any thing gross, immediately they are no chm'ches at all, they are altogether anticliristian, they belong to the beast ; and so, while they strike at the beast, they wound the Lamb. Certainly there is to be acknowledged much of Christ, not only in particidar saints, but with respect to the church ordinances of many particular congi-egations in England : we must take heed there- fore of too sudden rejection of them from belonging to God, or refusing them, as his people, chui'ch fellowship. '' She conceived, and bare a son." ^^'e come now to the conception of the third child ; it was a son, and liis name was Lo-ammi. The second child a daughter, l)Ut the third a son ; what is the meaning of this ? I told you, that by the second child was noted the state of the ])eople at that time, that it gi-ew weaker and more efl'eminate ; weaker in regard of their ouhvard strength, and more effeminate in regard of their spirits : and tliat statement I made good to you out of the history of those times in the Book of the Kings. Well, but now it is a son ; what ! do they grow stronger now thev are nearer to destruction than before ? Yes, thougfi nearer to ruin, and more hea^-y wrath, than they were before, yet they get up a little strength before that time ; therefore the third child is a son. Concerning the strength this people had a little before thcu- utter rejection, upon which their spirits were raised, you shall find the history in 2 Kings xvii. 4, where you have a declaration of the state of the ten tribes when Lo- ammi was born ; for the text tells us, that they began to join in confederacy with the king of EgT|-])t ; and whereas fonuerly they had done homage, by presents, to the king of AssjTia, now being confederate with the king of Egypt, they refused to bring any more presents to him ; they begin now to be a jolly people, and hoped to cast off that Assyrian yoke of bondage under which they had gi'oaned. 66s. God sometimes pemiits men, and nations, and churches, to rise a little out of their affliction before their utter ruin ; he gives them a little reviving before theu' death. Many men think themselves in a very good condition, if, having been in afftiction, their af- flictions begin to abate, and they begin to rise a little ; now they think they are safe, and they are ready to say, with Agag, " Surely the bitterness of death is past," surely the worst is gone, 1 Sam. xv. 32. But you may sometimes be recovered, when God mtends jou should be suddenly rejected. Many may be preserved from some judgments, bccflusc they are reserved to greater Vee. 8. THE PROPHECY OF ROSEA. 25 judgments. The Lord has begun, indeed, to give to us in England a little reviving, a little strength to enable us to rise against the cruel oppressions of our adver- saries ; but let us not be seciu'e, notwithstanding this ; for though we have some little reviving, if we follow not God in the way of humiliation and reformation, this our little reviving may be but a lightning before om- death. And yet further, it is very observable what the con- dition of Israel was at this "time, when God was about to say, " Lo-ammi, they are not my people ;" what it was not only in regard of their strength, but of their very sins. For if you examine the history, you find that the people of Israel not only had gotten somewhat more strength, but they were somewhat better in re- gard of their sins than they had been ; I mean, they had less sins than they had before : yet now God is saying to them, " Lo-ammi, ye are not my people." And if you read 2 Kings xvii. 2, you will observe that the very time of the utter rejection of Israel was in the days of Hoshea, a king who did " evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel that were before him." He was not so bad as the former kings of Israel, and yet in his days there comes utter destruction upon Is- rael. Yea, and as the king was not so bad as others before him, so it seems the people were not so bad as in former time, for ver. 9 saith, that " the chilcken of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the Lord theu- God." They were sinful, but tlieu' sinfulness was secret, they did not sin with such an open, impudent face as heretofore. Yet in this king's time, and when these people were thus improved, comes their utter ruin. Hence we learn, that sometimes when there are greater sins patience stays judgment ; and yet after- ward, when a people seem to be in a better condition, not only in regard of then- outward strength, but in re- gard of then' sins too, then God comes with his wrath upon that people. Let us not flatter ourselves, although _ we can say that some things amongst us are not so bad as they were heretofore. Suppose there be some par- tial refoiTiiation, this is not ground enough to secure us. We cannot reason thus, Why heretofore the land was more sinful than now, and the governors were more oppressing than now. This is not enough, we may be nearer the sorest misery at this time, if oiu' reformation be not a thorough reformation, than we were before. And the reason is this, because God, when he comes against a nation, does not only come against it for the present sins of which they are actually guilty, but to reckon with them for then- sins committed before, though the judgment is inflicted just at that time. A concourse of events in God's providence might so meet as to suit with God's ends, that the destruction of this nation should be now, rather than some time ago, yet the nation not more sinful than before, but m order to fulfil other events of providence that God intends ; and then he comes to reckon with them for sins that were long ago committed and for their present sins all toge- ther. As he does sometimes with particular persons : perhaps they have been cb'unkards, unclean, wicked, twenty years ago; God has spared them ; afterward, upon some lesser sms, God may take advantage to come Litim.is iciiu non against them for all then' other sins to- stetnit quEtcum. gethcr. We commouly say. It is not the last blow of the axe that fells the oak : perhaps the last may be a weaker blow than any of the former, but the other blows made way for the felling of it, and at length a little blow comes and completes it. So our for- mer sins may be the things that make way for our ruin, and then at length some lesser sins may accompHsh it. 'V ou that have been guilty of gross sins, take heed of small sins ; for though God has spared you when you were guilty of great sins, do not say that he will spare you now you commit lesser sins ; at this very time of committing lesser sins, you may be called to an account for grosser. Did you never know a house stand out against many strong and blustering winds, yet after- ward some little puff of wind has thrown it down ? So it is with nations and jJeople that sometimes stand out through God's patience, when their sins are gross and vile, and afterwards upon some lesser sins are utterly undone. Ver. 9. Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi : for ye are not viy people, and I ivill not be your God. The name of this son is Lo-ammi, and the word sig- nifies, as it is interpreted here by God himself, " j'e are not my people, and I will not be your God." The people to whom Hosea prophesied might have object- ed against him thus : What ! Hosea, do you say that God will not have any more mercy upon us ? '\Miat ! will not God have mercy upon his own people ? Is not God our God ? Why do j'ou tlu-eatcn such things as these ? The prophet answers. It is true, God has been yoiu- God, and you have been his people, but there is an end of those days ; God now degrades you from those glorious privileges that you formerly possessed, he wLU own you no more to be his, and you shall have no fur- ther right to own him to be jom-s. From whence, Obs. 1. A people that have been once a people dear to God, may be so rejected as never to become a people of God more. For so these did not, though afterwards we shall hear of the promise for others in other ages. God has no need of men. God is able to raise up a people wliat ways he ])leases, even from the very stones in the street " to raise up chikben unto Abraham." Rome may boast that she has been a glorious chmxh. True, there has been heretofore a glorious church in Rome. "\Miat then ? Those who were his people are now no more his people. ■ We shall meet further with this in the next chapter. Only here observe but this thing, the gi-eat differ- ence between the estate of a Christian in communion with Chi-ist by grace, and a church estate. Men and women may lose then- church estate, and that for ever ; but their estate in communion with Jesus Christ by grace they can never lose. This is a great difierence, and affords abundance of comfort. True, our church state, I mean in regard of an instituted church in con- gregations, is a great privilege and mercy ; but our communion with Jesus Chi'ist is a higher pri^^lcge, and that privilege can never be lost : we may be cut off from the one, but never cut off from the other. Obs. 2. It is a most heavy judgment for any to have been heretofore the people of God, now to be unpeo- pled, for God to be no more theirs, and for them to be no more the Lord's. A hea\-y judgment for the Lord to say. Well, I will be no more a God to you, whatso- ever I am to others, no more yom's in my goodness, in my mercy, in my power, or whatsoever I am in myself The being cast off from God, 1. Takes us oft' fi-om that high honour that was before upon a people. " Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honom-able," Isa. xUii. 4. The people of God gathered together in church communion, certainly are in an honourable condition ; when they are dispeopled, they are cast oft' fi-om this then- privilege, from their honour. 2. They have not the presence of God with them, nor the care of God towards them, nor the protection of God over them, nor the delight of God in them, nor the communication of God to them as before. But, among other privileges, they want this, namely, that great pri«lege of pleacling with God for mercy upon this relation, which was the usual way of the prophets to plead with God, because they were the people of God : so Isa. Ixiv. 9, " Be not wroth very sore, O 26 AN EXPOSITION OF Chap. 1. Lord, neithcT remember iniquity for ever." Upon what ground ? '■ Behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people." This is a good argument. Again, Jer. xiv. 9, " Why shouldest thou be as a man astonished, as a mighty man that cannot save ? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name ; leave us not." This text is ours this day, and well may we say, " O Lord, why shoiddest thou be as a man aston- ished?" Yet if we" can but take up the second part, and say, " ^Xe are called by thy name," we may make more comfortable use of the former, " Viliy shouldest thou be as a man astonished?" How doth a man astonished stand ? He stands still in a place, as if he knew not which way to go ; he is in a kind of distrac- tion, fii-st he goes one way, and by and by he returns again. The Lord knows his pm-pose from eternity, but the Scriptures are pleased to express God's ways to- wai'ds us in this similitude. Has not God stood amongst us " as a man astonished?" God has been in a way of mercy, and then stood still, and then gone fom'ard a little, and aften^•ard gone back again, and yet back and back still ; and we have prayed and cried, and God has again stood as a man astonished, as if he were not yet resolved which way to go. Let us pray earnestly "to God that he would not stand as a man astonished, but that the way of the Lord's mercy may be made clear before him, and clear before us. But this I bring in to show that the relation wluch a people have to God, is the ground of then- encouragement to pray to God, and when a people is rejected they lose this privilege. Our relations to God are veiy sweet and glorious things, though ordinarily they are exceedingly abused. As it is said of other relations. Relations are of the least entity, but of the greatest eificacy ; so it is here, our relations to God are of very great efficacy, whatever the entity be ; and therefore to lose our rela- tions to God, especially this relation of God's being ours, and we being his, is a sore and heavy cm'se. Obs. 3. We first begin with God in oui- apostacy, be- fore God begins with us in his rejection. Mark here ; the first is, " you are not my people," before the second comes, " I will not be your God." I woidd not have withdrawn myself fi-om being yom- God if you had not first rejected me, and would not be my people. Wlien God loves, he begms first ; we love not him, but he loves us first : but when it comes to departing, it bc- guis on our side, we first depart before the Lord does : and this will be a di-eadful aggravation to wicked men another day, .to think with themselves. This evil is come upon us, God is gone, mercy is gone ; but who began this first ? where is the root and principle ? Thy per- dition is of thyself. I began first, and therefore all the loss of that grace and mercy that is in God, I may thank this proud, this distempered, this base, passionate, wTetched heart of mine own/or it. Obs. 4. It is a gi-eater misery to lose God himself, than to be deprived of whatsoever comes from God. " I will not 'be your God." He does not say. You shall not have the frliit of my patience to be yours, you shall not have my crcatiu-es to be yours, you shall not have those fruits of my bounty to' be yours : no, but I will not be yours, I myself wUl not be yours. This is the sorest threatening that can possibly be to a gracious heart. And this indeed is one special difference between a h\-pocrite and a truly gracious heart ; a h^i)oeritc is satisfied with what comes from God, but a truly gi'acious heart is satisfied with nothing but God himself. Thn\igh God lets out never so many fruits of his boimty and goodness to him, yet he must have union with God himself, or else he is unsatisfied. It is a notable speech of Bernard, " Lord, as the good things that come from me please not thee without myself, so the good things that come from thee please not me without thvselt." This is the expression of a gracious heart. Let us tender up to God never such duties, with never so great sti-ength, except we tender up to God otu-selves, they never please him. So let God bestow never so many favours upon us, except God give us himself, they should never please us ; I mean, please us so as to satisfy us, so as to quiet us, if for our portion. Y'ou know what God said to Abraham, " Fear not, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. But Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, see- ing I go chOdless ?" Gen. xv. 1, 2. What is all this to me, so long as I have not the promise fulfilled, that so I may come in C'lmst to enjoy thyself? And Closes woultl not be contented though God told him his Angel should go before thm ; no, saith he, " If thy presence go not with me carry us not up hence," Exod. xxui. 20 ; xxxiii. 15. The harlot cares not so much for the per- son of her lover, as for his gifts; but the true lover cannot be satisfied T\-ith love-tokens, but she must have the person himself. So it is with a gi-acious heart. It is verj- observable that David, in Psal. li. 9, prays, " Hide tliy face fi-om my sins ;" it seems God's face was angrv-; and yet presently, ver. 11, "Cast me not away from thy face, or presence." God's face _ . , . . . J ' 1 . , , CujiH facimi limct, was an angi-y lace, yet Uavid would not ipsiui facicm imo- be cast away from tliis face of God : O "^ ' "=' no, rather let God be present with a gi-acious heart, though he be angry ; though his anger continue, yet let rac have his countenance. In that God says not. I will not give you these and these favours, but " I will not be yoxu- God ;" tliis is the sorest thi-eatening that possibly can be to a gracious heart. 06s. 5. This is the judgment for sin, God not being their God. It hence appears that sin carries along with it in itself its o\\ii punishment. How is that ? Thus : by sin we refuse to have God to be our God ; by it we depart fi-om God, we do not trust God, nor love him, nor fear him. The very nature of sin causes a smner to depart fi-om God, yea, to reject God from being a God to him ; and this is" the pimishment, " I wiU not be your God." And this is the sorest punishment to a sinner, that he shall not have God for ever for his God. Obs. 6. AMien any forsake God, and disavow him to be their God, we should do as God does, reject them from being om-s. If they will not be God's, neither should they be ours. W'Ul not such a man have ac- quaintance with God, win he forsake him and his ways, then he shall not have our acquaintance, we wiU for- sake him. How far we may withdraw from a church that it shall not be ours, -we shall fully meet with in the second chapter. Only now thus much : though it be true, when a people forsake God, we ai-e to forsake them, yet lot them gi-ow never so -wicked, our natural and civil relations caimot be broken because of thcu- wicked- ness ; but the relations of husband and wife, father and cliild, master and servant, must be acluiowlcdged ; serv- ants mtist be dutiftd to their masters though never so wicked ; and the wife must be lo\-ing and dutiful to her husband, though he be never so wicked a man. But any intimate familiarity with those, not thus joined in such relations, ought not to exist ; if they reject God, if they will not be God's, they should not be ours. It is said, Job viii. 20, that God will not help the enl- doers ; it should be ti-ue of us all, that we should not take the ungodly by the hand, to help them in e\-il. Thus much for the name of this tlm-d cluld, " Lo-ammi : ye are not my people, and I will not be your God." That wliich remains in the chapter, is a promise of mercy both to Israel, ver. 10, and afterwards to Israel and Judah together, ver. 11. To Israel fii-st, and that is, Ver. 10. I'et the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, trhich cannot be measured nor numbered ; and it shall come to pass, that in the place uhere it was said unto them, Yc are not my people, THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. 27 there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. And so lie goes on with wonderfully gracious pro- mises of mercy to Israel in futm-e generations, though for the present God had determined what to do with Israel. Here then we have, fii-st, a promise of mercy to Israel. Secondly, tliis mercy to be in futui-e generations. And thii'dly, to consist in the multitudes that should be gathered to Israel. I. Here is a promise of mercy to Israel. Obs. 1. That the Lord in judgment remembers mercy. It is a sore thing when God in mercy remembers judg- ment, but it is as comfortable when God in judgment remembers mercy. \Mien God thi-eatens most di-ead- fuUy, yet he promises most graciously. We should therefore, when we most fear the thi'eats of God, look up to the promises of God. look up to see, when wrath is denounced in the most hideous and dreadful way, whether we can spy a promise, whether there be not yet a little cloud, though but as big as a man's hand, whether there be not yet a little cre\ice, through wliich we ma)" see whether God doth not break forth with a little light in a way of promise. Obs. 2. It is usual, when we are in prosperity to forget all threatenings, and when we are in adversitj- to forget all promises. "Ulien we hear of mercy to God's people, we never think of God's wrath ; and on the other side, when we hear of Ms wrath, our unbe- lie^Tng hearts never think of his gi'aee and mercy. AVe ought to sanctify the name of God in both ; when God is in a way of justice, look up to his gi-ace ; and when he is in a way of grace, look up to his justice. For that end I shall give you two notable texts of Scriptiu-e, as famous as any I taiow in the book of God: the one declares to you that when God expresses the greatest mercy, yet then he declares the greatest wrath; and the other, when God expresses the greatest wi-ath, he then declares the greatest mercy : and I shall show you how the name of God ought to be sanctified in both. The fii'st is in Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7 ; when the Lord passed by before ISIoses he " proclaimed. The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and ti'uth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." 'What abundance of mercy is here expressed ! Now it follows, •' and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the miquitj' of the fathers upon the childi-en, and upon the children's children, unto the thu-d and to the foiuth generation." Here is an ex- pression of gi-eat T\Tath. And then for our sanctifjing of God's name in this, it follows, ver. 8, And when Moses heard this, he " made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped." Thus we must bow and worsliip before God, sanctifying his name in both his mercy and justice. On the other side, Nah. i. 2, " God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth ; the Lord revengeth, and is fuiious ; the Lord will take vengeance on ms adversaries, and he reserveth \vrath for his enemies." Dreadful expres- sions! Yet, ver. 3, " The Lord is slow to anger;" there is a mitigation at first : then he advances in expres- sions of wrath, but he is " gi-eat in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked : " and ver. 5, " The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is hm'ued at his presence, yea, the world, and alL that dwell there- in : who can stand before his indignation, and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? His fury is poured out like fii-e, and the rocks are thi-own down by him." ■\\liat more terrible expressions of wrath than these ? Now mark, ver. 7, " The Lord is good, and a sti-ong hold in the day of trouble ; and he knoweth them that ti'ust in him."' "\Miat a sti-ong expression of grace is here ! observe it, my brethren, that in the midst of God's anger, yet God is good stUl. A gracious heart must acknowledge, though God be provoked to anger, yet he is a good God still ; and it is a good sign for the soul to fall down before God when he is in the way of his vrrath, and to say, " The Lord is good." As that good old man Eh did, after the denunciation of that dreadful sentence against him and his house by Samuel, " It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." Obs. 3. God, in the midst of his anger, knows those that trust in him. All of you wOl say, when God be- stows fevom's upon you, The Lord is good, O bl&ssed be God, he is a good God : but when God reveals his greatest wrath, truly then the Lord is good. Luther declared he woiUd acluiow- JjLmS°omnM lo- ledge God to be a good God, though he ?i?« perderet. Ill 1 11 . 1 1 1 Luther. snould destroy all men in the world. JIuch more then is he to be acknowledged in a day of trouble, when he appears most gi'aciously to his saints. '• The Lord is good, and a strong hold in the day of ti'ouble." God is a sti-ong hold now, when such wrath is revealed, to his saints in the day of trouble ; and he knoweth those that trust in liim ; though his wrath is abroad in the world, he knoweth those that trust in him. Wlien men are angry they scarce Imow the dif- ference between then- foes and then- friends. K any displease them, they come home and are angry with then- wives, with their servants, with their childi'en, with theu' friends, with every one about them. "\Miile they are in their passion, their wives, and childi'en, and servants wonder what the matter is with them : Siu-ely some one has displeased my master to-day, he is so touchy, and angiy at every Uttle thing. jNIy brethren, it is a dishonour to you in the eyes of your servants, and it lays low yom- authority in your families, for them to see you come home in such a pet that you know not how to be pleased, though they have done nothing to chsplease you. God does not act so; though he be never so angiy, yet he knows those that trust in him. Let God's anger be never so public and general in the world, if there be but a gracious soul that lies in a poor cottage, or in a hole, the Lord knows it, and takes notice of it, and that soul shall understand too that God knows it. It is true, when the wrath of God is revealed abroad in the world, it seems as if it woidd swallow up all the saints ; and those wiiose spirits are weak and fearful are afi-aid that they shall be swallowed up in the common calamit)-. But be of good comfort, God knows those that trust in liim, even when his wrath is never so dreadful and general. In this case it is with God's childi-en as it is with a child in the mother's amis ; if the father violently lays hold upon liis serv- ant, and thrusts him out of doors for his demerits, there is such a tenible reflection of the father's anger against the servant upon the child, that the poor child begins to cry. So when the children of God see God laying hold upon wicked men. to execute wrath upon them, they cry out, they are afi-aid lest some evil should befall them too. O no, be of good comfort, " The Lord is good, and a strong hold in the day of ti-ouble ; and he knoweth them that ti'ust in him," when liis anger is never so great and general. So though this Israel be " not my people," yet " the number of the clulch-en of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea." So in Nah. i. 15, "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good titUngs, that publisheth peace !" What! at this time, though God's way be in the whirlwind, and so tenible, yet now, " behold the feet of him that bringeth good tiduigs, that publisheth peace." God abroad publishes war, yet he has a mes- senger to. publish peace and life to some. Is it not so this day ? It is ti-ue, the wrath of the Lord Ls kindled, and bmns as an oven against the un- godly, but peace shall be upon Israel. And let us sanctift- the name of God in this too, for so it follows, AN' EXPOSITION OF Chap. I. Nah. i. 15, "O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows : for the wicked shall no more pass through thee ; he is utterly cut off." And because God reveals such rich fp-ace in the midst of judgment, let this en- gage your hearts to the Lord for ever. Obs. 4. Not only when God threatens judgments, but when judgments are actually upon us, let us sanc- tify God's name in looking up to promises. Suppose we should live to feel most fearful judgments of God, yet even then we must look up to promises, and exer- cise faith, and have an eye to God in the way of his grace at that time ; this is more difficult than in threat- enings. You have a notable passage in Isa. xxvi. 8, " In the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee ; the desire of our soul is to thy name." Bless- ed be God, my brethren, the Lord calls" us to wait upon him in the ways of mercy for the present. Not long since the Lord was in a way of judgment toward Eng- land ; and some of God's people would wait upon God and keep his ways ; but there were many, when they saw that they were likely to suffer, departed fi-om Goil and declined his ways. Much cause of bitterness of spu'it, and of dread of humihation, have they that did so. But others may have comfort to their souls, that in the very way of God's judgments they waited for him, and they can now with more comfort wait upon God, when he is in the way of his mercy. But if God sliould ever come unto us in the way of his judgments, let us learn even then to wait upon God and keep his way. jer. xxxiii. 2-1 may seem more pertinent to illustrate this truth : " Considerest thou not what this people have s))oken, saying. The two families which the Lord hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them." Mark the low condition of the people at this time ; God has cast them off, they are despised and contemptible, not worthy to be accounted a nation : but though they were brought low, and in a condition contemptible, yet now God confu-ms his co- venant with them : for obser\e, ver. 25, 26, " Thus saith the Lord; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth ; then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant." As if God had said. Let them know that -nhatcvcr their condition is now, yet my love, my mercy, my faithfulness, is toward them as sure as my covenant with day and night, and as the ordinances of heaven and earth. An admirable text to help not only nations, but individuals, when they are under the contempt of ungodly men. Yet at that time the Lord is most ready to eonfh-m his covenant with them, to be as sure as his covenant with day and night, and heaven and earth. It brings honour to God when at such times we can look up to him and exercise faith. And indeed this is the glorj-, and dignity, and beauty of faith, to exercise it when God's judgments are" actually upon us. II. To whom did this promise refer ? It was not a promise to any who then lived, but to be fulfilled in future ages, yet introduced by the prophet as a comfort to the people of God then living. Hence 06s. Gracious hearts are comforted with the promises of God made to the church, though not to be fulfilled in their days. If the church may prosper and receive mercies from God, though I be dead and mouldering in the grave, yet blessed be God ! AVhen Jacob was dying he said to Joseph, " Behold, I die ; but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers," Gen. xlviii. 21 ; he will fulfil his promises to you though I am dead. Our forefathers, that genera- tion of the saints who lived a while since, how comfort- ably would the) have died, if God, before their death, had revealed to them, that within three, or four, or seven years, so much mercy shoidd come to England as we now see ! Y'ea, how comfortably would any of us have died (I appeal to any gracious heart here) if God had said thus to thee. Go and be gathered to thy fathers in peace, within these two years such things shall be done for England as we now live to see ! would not we ■willingly have died ? would it not have been comfort enough against the fear of death, to have had revealed to us what should have been done to our posterity ? AMiat mercy then is it now, that it is not only revealed to us, but enjoyed by us ! III. AMiat was this promise ? " That Israel should bo a multitude, that the number of them should be as the sand of the sea shore." "We shall examine the excel- lency of the mercy of God in this promise by and by. Only for tlie present, inquire we a little why God should manifest his grace " to midtiply them as the sand of the sea shore ? " If we compare Scripture with Scripture, we shall find that God ])romises this, because he would thereby show, that he remembered his old promise to Abraham, that God would multiply his seed " as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is ujion the sea shore ;" and now God a long time after renews this promise. Hence Obs. That the Lord remembers his promises, though made a long time since. '• God is ever mindful of his covenant," Psal. cxi. 5. AVhcn we have some new and fresh manifestations of God's mercy, oiu- hearts rejoice in it, but the impression of it is soon gone. "\Mien some of you have been seeking God, have had many mani- festations of his love, and God has entered into cove- nant with you, for a while you have been comforted, but you lose all yoiu' comfort again within a short, time. O remember, " God is ever mindful of his covenant," though made twenty or forty years ago ; he remains the same still ; be you the same still ; be you ever mind- ful of your covenants. Wien men are brought into the bond of the covenant, their consciences are awed with it, at first they M'alk very strictly, and dare not in the least thing go from the covenant ; but after a few months or weeks are over theii- heads, they forget the covenant they made with God. There is not such a strong bond upon their spirits as there was before. O my brethi'en, know that this is a gi'eat and sore evil in you ; " God is ever mindful of his covenant," so you should be. And as of his covenant, so of his threats too, by way of ])roportion. God remembers his tlu'eats that were made many years ago : we are affected with God's threats for the present, but within a while the impres- sion is gone ; but let us know, time alters not God as it does us. Vi'e must, however, inquii-e more fully into this pro- mise, because it is often declared in Scripture, that the childi-en of Israel should be like the stars of the heaven, and as the sand upon the sea shore. Viliy did God express himself thus in his covenant to Abraham ? First, Abraham left his father's house and all his kinda-ed at God's command, and upon that God made this covenant with him, that he would make his seed " as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore." As if God had said, Abraham, be willing to leave your father's house, I will make a gi-eat house of you, a great family of youi-s. Secondly, Observe that afterwards God confirmed this covenant to Abraham, and that with an oath. A\'hen he came first out of his countn,', and left his father's house, God made this promise of increasing his seed, but not with an oath ; but afterwards, in Gen. xxii. 16. 1 7, God renews this promise of multiplying his seed, and that by an oath : " By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing 1 will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply tliy Vee. 10. THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. 21 seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore." Mark here, it was upon Abra- ham's being willing to offer up his son Isaac, his only son Isaac. Abraham was willing at God's command to offer up his own son, and upon that God promises to multiply his seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand of the sea. Yea, with an oath. By myself I swear, saith the Lord, that I will do it, because thou hast done this. Ois. 1. There is nothing lost in being willing to lose for God. Abraham was willing to lose his father's house, the comfort of his family, for God : I wdl make thee a glorious family as the stars of heaven, saith God. Again, Abraham was willing to lose one son, his only son, for God. Art thou willing to lose one son for me, saith God, thou shalt have ten thousand sons for this one thou losest, yea, though it be lost but in thy inten- tion. Thou shait have thy own son, and yet have ten thousand sons besides. O, let us not be afraid to part with any thing for God. God's people know how to make up in God whatever they lose for God. But God will not oidy make it up in himself, but w-iU make it up even in the very creatui'e itself thou losest for God. Art thou willing to lose a little of thy estate ? Thou mayst with comfort expect, as far as, if thou knewest all, thou thyself wouldst desire, to have it made up in abund- ance, even m that very way. You know the promise, " And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or chikben, or lands, for my name's salve, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life," Matt. xix. 29. How hath God fulfilled this promise this day in many of our eyes, and to many of om- experiences ! How many have you known who were willing to part with what they had. and to put it out, as it were, to the wide world! But God has made it up to them, not only in himself, but in the very thing itself; and thereby taught them, and all the world, to be willing to ventm'e to part with any thing for God and his cause. 06^. 2. When we are ^^•illing to lose for God, then is the time when God will renew and confii-m his cove- nant with us. God confii-med his covenant with Abra- ham when he was willing to part with his son, to be deprived of all his seed. The way to make sure of what we have is to be willing to part with it. You all desire to be siu'e of your estates ; Oh that we could in these times, wherein we see nothing sure, make om- estates sm-e ! Would you make sm-e of your estates ? Be willing to employ yom' estates for God and for a good cause. This is the way to have God renew his covenant to you for an assurance that way. This is the best assiu-ance office in the world. But how comes this promise in at this time, and to this people, in Hosea's proph(Wy ? Because the Lord, by the prophet, would answer an objection of the people. They might have said, Hosea, do you thus threaten the destruction of Israel ? You promise mercy to Judah, and Judah is but a handful to us ; we are the ten tribes, and with us is the greatest part, almost all the seed of Abraham, and yet yo>i thi-eaten our de- struction ; it can never possibly be. What will become of God's promise to Abraham, that liis seed should be as the stars of heaven, and as the sand on the sea shore ? You seem to speak conti-ary to God ; God said that he would multiply that seed, and you take a coui-se to make men believe that the seed of Abraham shall be brought to nothing. The prophet answers thus : Do you say, "VATiat will become of Abraham's seed ? Know that God can tell how to provide for Ms church and fuhil his promise made to Abraham, whatever becomes of you. You are mistaken in thinking that you alone are the seed of Abraham. Abraham has not only a carnal, but a spiritual seed ; all those that shall join in the faith of Abraham, and subject themselves to the God of Abra- ham, shall be the seed of Abraham, and so they shall be the chUcb-en of Israel as well as you. Thus God will make good his word. To expound this truth the apostle quotes this promise, " As he saith also in Hosea, I will call them my people which were not my people," Rom. ix. 25 ; and applies it to the Gentiles. The Holy Ghost, who is the best interpreter of Scripture, there shows that it is at least in part fulfilled in so many of the Gentiles coming in, and being converted to the faith of the true ^Messiah. This and many other excellent prophecies concern- ing the glory of Israel, were made good in part in the fii-st times of the gospel. They were, however, but the fu-st-fruits of the fulfilling of those promises and pro- phecies ; the accomplishment of them is yet certainly to come, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, and the Jews be converted. Then not only the spuitual seed, but the very carnal seed of Abraham shall have this promise made good, and be multiplied, and come into the faith too, Rom. xi. 26. The apostle speaks there of a general salvation of Israel that was to come after the fulness of the Gentiles. So it appears plainly, that those prophecies concerning the glory of Israel, though they were in part made good in the first times of the gospel, yet there was a fui'ther ac- complishment of them, when there should be a fubiess of the Gentiles come in, and then all Israel should be saved. From hence Obs. 1. All believers, though of the Gentiles, are of the seed of Abraham, they are of Israel, and therefore have the same privileges with Israel, the same in efl'eet, yea, better. They are all the heirs of Abraham, who, Rom. iv. 13, is said to be " the heir of the world ;" they have the dignity of Israel, to be the peculiar people of the Lord, to be God's treasure and portion. Whatever you read of excellent titles and appellations about Israel, they belong now to all believers, though they are Gentiles. A comfortable and most sweet point to us Gentiles. Obs. 2. God has a time to bring in abundance of people to the profession of the faith ; multitudes, even as the sand of the sea shore. He wUl do it, and he has ways enough to accomplish it. Though for the present men cast this reproach upon the people of God, that they ai-e but few, a company of poor mean people, a handful, that ai-e nothing in comparison of the rest. But this reproach will be wiped away, and we may yet expect, that before the world come to an end, the greatest part of its inhabitants shall embrace the faith of Ciurist, and become godly too. Isa. xlix. 19 — 21, " Thy waste and desolate places, and the land of thy de- struction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants." This yet has not been fulfilled. Thy chil- di-en shall say, " The place is too strait for me, give place to me that I may dwell. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, who hath begotten me these ? " "WTien was this fulfilled ? '■ The stone," in Dan. ii. 35, " that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." God's people shall fiU the whole earth. Now take all Christians to be God's people that only ac- knowledge Chi-ist to be the Son of God, they are com- puted to be not above the sixth part of the world ; and yet tliis must be fulfilled, that the chm-ch shall be as the stone that smote the image, become a gi-eat mountain and fill the whole earth. " John saw," in the Revelation, " the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband," Rev. xxi. 2, 10: and when God comes to dwell with men by his Spuit, all people shall come and flock to the chm-ch, as the prophet saith, like "the doves to then- wmdows," Isa. Ix. 8; and they, you know, fly together in flocks. In Chr-ist's time the people of God were a little flock ; " Fear not, little 30 AN EXPOSITION OF Chap. I. flock." The Greek has tno diminutives, ^owwo"" ^it\c, little flock, and so it may be ti-ans- latcd, " Fear not, little, little flock ; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give vou the king- dom,'' Luke xii. 32. It ^\as a little flock then, but it shall be a gi-eat flock when the Father shall come to give them the kingdom. Clu-ist is promised to have the '• heathen for liis inheritance, and the uttei-most parts of the earth for his possession," Psal. ii. 8 ; he shall possess them. A king does not possess a king- dom who only possesses some town, or one shire of it : Christ shall jiossess the utteimost parts of the earth. Yea, it shall be said, " The kingdoms of this world are become the Idngdoms of om- Lord, and his Christ," Rev. xi. 15. They are the Lord's indeed in some sense always: but he speaks in a special sense, wherein it shall be said not only a few congregations are the Lord's, and his Christ's, but the whole kingdoms of the earth, which, with their great kings, shall come and bring their glory into tlie chuixh. Obs. 3. Is it so? let every one then come in, and help on this work. Has God promised this, that there shall be multitudes come into the church ? Come thou in then, and thou ! What ! shall so many embrace the faith of Jesus Christ, and shalt thou stand out, and be sliut out at last amongst the dogs ? Do you come in and add to the number-, to make good this word of the Lord. Yea, let us seek to di'aw in all others as much as we can : therefore it is that we have such excellent promises in the Scriptm-e to encourage us to di-aw in others to the faith. " He that turneth many to right- eousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever," Dan. xii. 3. Obs. 4. Although God defei-s fulfilling his promise for a time, yet at last he does it gloriously. The paucity of the number of the saints of God now shall not dis- com-age always ; let us be above this stumblingblock. There are but few yet ; what then ? there shall be many, " The number of the cliildren of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea." What though we do not see ways how this promise shall be fulfilled for the present, yet let us believe it. For, observe, when God fii-st made this ])i;omise to Abraham, that his seed should be as the stars of heaven, and as the sand of the sea shore, it required much exercise of faith in Abraham to believe it. It was twenty years after this promise before Abra- ham had a child.' At last he had a chUd, and a child by promise; then he must go and kill that chOd; but lie was spared. Well, Isaac grows up, and he was forty yeai's old before he man-ied ; all this while there ^^ as but one of the promised seed. Wien Isaac mar- ried, Kebekah his wife continued twenty years ban-en ; wliat became of the promise all this wliile, that the seed of Abraham shoidd be as tlie sand of the sea ? Here are twenty years gone, and forty years gone, and twenty years more gone, and yet there are no other chil- di'tn of the seed by promise but Isaac. Nay, it appears that upon their going into Egj-jit, which was two hun- dred and fifteen yeara after the promise, there were but threescore and ten of them all. Wrere is the promise then, that Abraham's seed should be as the stars of heaven for multitude ? But now mark, God afterwards comes on apace, for in Numb. i. 4G, you find that at the end of the next two hundred and fifteen years they were reckoned when they came out of Egypt, and " they were sLx hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundr-ed and fifty" fighting men of twentj' years old and upwards, besides all the women and chil- (hen, and all the tribe of Levi, which made two and twenty thousand more, Numb. iii. 39. In the fii-st two hxmtbtd and fii'teon year's they were but threescore and ten, and the next two hunilred and fifteen yeai-s, w hile they were in bondage, they increased to six hiui- di'cd thousand and three thousluid and five hunchvd and fifty, besides women and children, and the tribe of Levi. Thus, though it was long, yet when God's time eame he fulfilled the promise to Afcraham. So though we do not for the present see God making good the promise, yet let us believe, for God has ways to fulfil all, and he will do it, and when he comes he will come gloriously above our faith. We can hardly believe there should be such great things done in England as we desire and expect, but there is nothing yet to accomi)lish which is more diffi- cult than that which has been ah-eady done, therefore we may believe : and when God once comes in the way of mercy, he ti'iumphs gloriously ; therefore let us be will- ing to wait his time. Let us not pro])ortion out God's ways, nor di-aw an argument from what has been done in one time, that therefore no more shall be done iii another. You see what he did m the fulfilling of the promise to Abraham ; and you may observe in yom' read- ing of the New Testament, what low beginnings there were of the chm'ch at the fii-st : therefore saith Christ, " AVliere tw o or thi-ee are gathered together ;" as noting that there would be but a very few at the fii-st. AMien Paul was called by a wonderful vision, in wliich he saw a man of Macedonia appearmg to him, and jjrapng him to come over to Macedonia and help them, Acts xvi. 9 ; one would have thought that when he preached there, aU would have come flocking to heai', and there would have been a glorious work done, that he would have brought in a great number to the faith. But when he came to Macedonia he was fain to go into the fields by a river's side to preach, and only a few women came there to hear him. That was all tlie autlitory he had, and amongst them there was but one poor woman ^^Tought upon, " God opened the heart of Lydia." This was the present result only of such a mighty call ; and vet we know how gloriously God wrought by Paul. Tliis I note to confii-m -^ou in this, that though the begin- nings be very small, yet we may expect a glorious in- crease afterward. As it was with the church at the beginning, so it wiD be here : that which BUdad said of Job, chap, \-iii. 7, may well be applied to the chm-ch, " Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end shall gi-eatly increase." Obs. 5. As God has a time to multiply his chmxh, so it is a great blessing to the chm-ch of God when it is multiplied. It is a fi-uit of God's gi-eat grace and mercy to m;ike the church a numerous people : as " in the midtitude of people is the king's nonom-," Prov. xiv. 2S ; so it is the glory of Jesus Christ, and therefore it was prophesied of him, tliat converts should come into the church as the " dew of the morning," Psal. ex. 3. Thus it began in the primitive times, and soon after multitudes united with the church. I remember that Jerome, writing to Cromatius, affinns, that there might be computed for every day in the year (except the tir-st of January) five thousand martyrs ; therefore the chmxh was grown to a numerous multitude. And Tertullian, ui his Apology to the Heathens, states, they were be- come so numerous in his day, that they had filled then- cities; and that if they would they had strength enough to make their party good against them, but tliey were patient and submitted themselves to their tjTanny. I know many make this statement of Tertullian an argument that men ought to lay do^vn their necks, il' tAose who rule over them \\t11 it ; and that if they can- not obey actively, tliey must obey passively, anv thing that is according to the will of their rulers. Wliy, say they, did not the Christians resist in the primitive times? Yes, though they were under idolaters, and were commanded to deny Christ, which was utterly unlawful, if they could not obey activelv, they obeycel l)asslvely, they submitted themselves to their rage ; and though they had strength vet they would not resist. Whv slioulcl not Cluistians clo so now ? Vee. 10. You are exceedingly deceived witli this argument. True, we are bound to obey authority, actively or pas- sively, and yet this argument does not serve the tm-n. There is much difference between authority abused, and men that are in authority commanding ; here the difference lies not in authority abused, but in that which is no authority at all. " For there is no au- tliorit)' that we are subject to now, but according to the laws and constitutions of the country in which wc live. Not to the commands and mere will of men are we boimd m conscience to submit, either actively or passively. Though it be a good thing that is com- manded, conscience does not bind to it, ea ratione, to jdeld to it because it is commanded, tQl it be brought to a law, and is according to the agTeements and cove- nants of the country wherein we live. And suppose this authority is abused, and there Ls an LU law made, then I confess, if that law be of force, we must either leave the countay, or submit, or suffer, for then the power of God is in it, though it be abused, and we are to be subject to all powers. '\ATien then it comes to be a power, to be a law, it is authority, though abused, and we must peld obedience to it, either actively or passively. But we must inquu'c whether it be a power ; it is not because the man that is in authority com- mands it, except he command it by viilue of that authority which is according to the nature and condi- tion of the fundamental constitutions of the country where he lives. Now in the primitive times they submitted them- selves to suffer when they could not do the thmgs that were commanded, as to deny Christ, because by the constitutions of that country they had a legal power to proceed against them. Therefore the Clndstians were willing rather to suffer any thing than to resist ; and were om's the same case we should do so too. K once it come to pass, that mischief be established by a law, tliough it be miscliief, yet if we cannot obey it actively, we are bomid to suffer, or else to quit the country, if it be urged upon us. We may seek what wc can to get it alleviated, but we must either do or suffer, if once it be framed into a law ; otherwise we are not boimd in conscience ; bomid we may be in regard of prudence, and for preventing other disturbances, but conscience does not bind to the will of men, but to laW'S. Thus much for the satisfaction of conscience in this case. Obs. 6. We should rejoice in multitudes joining the church. The Chi-istians were wonderfully increased at this time. Now we know we are to rejoice when the chm-ch is uicreased, and to esteem it as the gi-eat bless- ing of God when its members ai-e made as the sand upon the sea shore. In Psal. Ixxii. S, there is a large prophecy made of the kingdom of Christ, and of his glory in this particular : " He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends cf the earth :" then ver. 11, " All kings shall fall down be- fore him : all nations shall serve him :" and ver. 1 7, " His name shall endm-e for ever : his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him : all nations shall call him blessed." Mark how the samts rejoice and bless God; what! shall all nations come m and serve Clirist ? shall there come multitudes in and join the church ? " Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondi-ous tilings, and blessed be liis glorious name for ever : and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen,,and Amen," saith the chm-ch of God then. Let all the saints send forth their echo. Amen ; yea, and Amen too to this, that all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Christ ; this is that with which they ai-e affected, tliis is that they deske. as if they should say, This is a blessed thing indeed ! My brethren, it is- a good and comely sight in a gra- cious eve to see multitudes flock to Christ and to his THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. 31 ordinances. It is true that the spirit of anticlu-ist, which is in many, camiot look upon tliis but with a malevolent eye, and then- hearts rage and fret. They love to scat- ter Cluist's chm-ch up and down, but to see people flocking to ordinances, to see multitudes come and join themselves to Cln-ist, this they cannot endure. The same malicious spirit that was against Clrrist, of which we read in the Acts of the Apostles, yea, and in the Gospels too, we find still in such kinds of men. Mark that text, Acts siii. 44, 45 : " Almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God ;" to hear a ser- mon. Now when the Jews " saw the multitude, they were filled with emy :" w-hy, what harm was there done ? They saw no harm done, but merely saw- the multitude, and they speak against those things that were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Mark again the vUe spu'its of the Pharisees, who envied at the multitude that followed Christ himself: not only did they emy the apostles, for they might be factious and singidar men in then- esteem ; but what say you to Clirist himself? John xii. 19, " The Pharisees said. Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing ? behold, the whole world is gone after him." Certainly the same Phari- saical spirit has prevailed in om- days. _ We know that many a godly, painful, conscientious minister, has been ousted of all" he had in an instant, and his mouth stop- ped, though his persecutors had notlimg against hini, no, not for their own laws, but because he was a popu- lar man, and multitudes foUow-ed liim. "SATiat a dan- gerous thing has it been of late times for men to be populai-, that is, to be such as multitudes would flock to the word preached by them. Certainly it is an evil spu-it, for the promise of God to liis church is, that there shall come midtitudes and join with the people of God in his ordinances. I Itnow some reply to this, they do not object that multitudes should ibl'low that which is good, but it is the humom- and pride of such men to have multitudes to follow after them, and that they oppose. Take heed of putting this accusation off w-ith such a plea. Consider whether it will hold at that great day. The devil himself never pleaded against Chi-ist or any of his ways, but with some colour. Surely these men judge thus by looking into their own hearts ; they know that if multitudes should come to tliem their hearts would be lifted up, and so they judge accordingly of others. But suppose it be so, for men are but men, that they, through coiTuption, should have any such workings of pride, yet do they say any thing that is not justifiable ? do they preach any thing that is not according to Chi-ist ? If they do not, then thou shouldst encom-age that which is good ; and as for that which is evil, leave it to the coming of Clirist, except thou canst by prayer and insti-uction help to remove it. It is worse to en\-y- at multitudes coming to hear the gospel now, tlian it was for the Jews to en-^y Paul for multitudes following hiim, for they thought they could contradict the false doctrine which they supposed Paid preached, and there- fore they had some colour for then- conduct. But here it is nothing but merely because multitudes come to hear the word. K men preach fii-st in comers private- ly, where they have but a few auditors, they object : well, if they preach publicly, and multitudes come to hear them, then they cry out of that too. Nothing can please en\-ious and malicious spmts. If we keep_ our- selves retired, that has exceptions enough, and if we come in a public way, they have exceptions to that too. Here the gi'oss malice aiid cunning of Satan appear, because when the thing itself camiot be excepted agamst, he runs to the intention of the heart, and to men's inward aims, and bringeth an argument against that w-hich he knows no man can confute. For who can say that that is either true or false, that men have mward amis of pride, and vain-glory, and self-seeking, 32 AN EXPOSITIOX OF Chap. I. in multitudes flocking; after them ? Nay, suppose we profess before the Lord and Christ, as we desii-e to stand before him, and answer it at that day, what our aims are, this will not serve the turn. A\"hy, then, my bre- thren, if men will choose such an argument as camiot possibly be answered before the coming of Christ, and so make a stumblingbloek, there is no help, but men must stumble and fall ; and many do stumble and fall. However, let " wisdom be justified of her children ;" let the saints rejoice in this, that .multitudes come to the ministrj- of the word and to the ordinances of Christ. Be careful and wise in your coming, and give no just occasion for reproach, but all due respect to those to whom you have the most relation. This you see is the promise, that there shall come in such multitudes to the church. But mark how the promise runs : " As the sand of the sea." Rabbin Ezra makes an allusion from hence : " As the sand," saith he, "keeps the waves of the sea from breaking in, and ib'owning the world ; so Israel, so the saints, keep the world from being drowned by the waves of God's ^^Tath." I do not say that this is the intention, but the intention of God is mainly to signify the multitudes that should come into the church. Only this idea we may use, as being a comfortable and pretty allusion, and it is a truth that Israel is as the sand of the sea, not maris voiunt obru- Only in resjject of multitudes, but as tlie mundum^'TiSlii- saiul to keep in the waves of God's wrath toi™nio7fn"riV fro™ cb-omiing the world. Were it not .i«. et non pnMiirit for thc cliuixli of God, the waves of God"s otmuian muntlo. , , , /■ ,, 1 11 , wrath would overilow all the world, and the world would quickly be confounded. So saith he, " When the waves of God's anger seem as if tliey would overflow all the world, they do but see Israel and immediately i-etum back ; they retire, and are not able to ovei-flow the world as they desire." Luther, in his comment upon tliis prophet, makes the second chapter to begin at the tenth verse ; from vvliich to the end we have the promise of future mercy to Israel, both to Israel and Judah together. Some part of God's promise of mercy to Israel we have ex- pounded. Now we proceed : " And it shall come to pass, that in the place." This, according to some, has reference to the land of Canaan, that God will have a very glorious church there, espe- cially in Jerusalem, before the end of the world come ; and many prophecies seem to mcline that way, as Zech. xii. G, " Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem." Tliis cannot be meant only of their return out of captivity, that was in the time of C)Tus. Thc ])ro])het saith, in the day that Jerusa- lem shall be inhabited, " the feeble among them shall be as David ; and the house of David shall be as the angel of God ; " and also that God will " pour upon them the spirit of grace and supplication ; and they shall look upon him whom they have pierced," ver. 8, 10. The return of their captivity at first was not glo- rious ; if you read the story of it, you find that even all that while they were in a contcnij)tible condition before the surrounding nations. But God .speaks here, and in otlier places, of a glorious return of their cap- tivitj', and coming into their own land. The Jews have a tradition, that there f"ei'iu!iiicZ'^ is a time that all thc Jews, wherever they die, shall come tlirough viealua terra-, and rise again at Jerusalem ; and therefore when some of them tliink they have not long to live, they sell all their possessions, and go and live near Jerusalem, to prevent the trouble of coming through tliose yncalus lerrtp, of which they speak. Thus they are deluded in their conceits. But yet more generally, " In that place." A\Tiereas the place of my people was confined to a little and narrow room, hereafter it shall be enlarged. AMiere I was not known, amongst the heathen, even there shall I be known, and there I shall have a people ; and not onlv a people, but sons, the sons of the living God ; and that so apparently, that it shall be said unto them, " Ye are the sons of the living God." Thus St. Peter seems to interpret this place : 1 Pet. ii. 10, speaking of tlie Gentiles, that God would have a jjcople among them, the apostle saith, " ANTiich in times past were not a people, but are now the people of God." Inteqiretcrs generally conclude that the apostle liad reference to this very place in Hosea. A\'e may build then upon this interpretation, that it is the intention of the Spirit of God, tliat God would call home the Gentiles to himself, and so they that were no ])co])le should become liis people, liis sons. It should be said in that place where before it was said that they knew him not, tliat now they are his sons. Yea, the heathen shall be brought in, they shall be convinced of the vanity of theu' idolatry. "We worshipped dead stocks ; our gods were dead stones. We were vassals to them : but now we see a people come in to the pro- fession of this Christian religion, they worship the liv- ing God, their God is the true God : certainly here are the sons of the living God. This is the scope of the Holy Ghost. Obs. 1. It is a comfortable thing to consider that where God has not been known and worshipped, that afterward in those places God shall be known and worshipped. That such nations, countries, and towns, which have been in darkness and idolatry, should now have the knowledge of the true God, that the true God should be worshipped amongst them, is a blessed tiling. Eng- land was once one of the most barbarous nations in the world, and in that place, where it was said, " Ye are not my peojjle," where there was notliing but a company of savage bai'barians that worshipped the devU ; how in this place, in England, is it said, even by the nations round about us, Smxly " tliey are the sons of the living God ! " And so many times in dark corners in the coun- try, where they never had the knowledge of Jesus Clu-ist, but were nursed in popery, and in all kinds of superstitious vanity, God is pleased to send some faith- ful minister to carry the light of the knowledge of Christ unto them, and efficaciously to work faith in their hearts, and then, oh what an alteration is there in that town ! It may be said of many a house and family, in which nothing but blasphemy, atheism, scorn of religion, uneleanness, and all manner of wickedness have been, now it is a family filled with the servants and sons of the living God. As it is a grievous thing to think that in a place where God has been ti-uly wor- shijjped, the devil should be served there ; so it is a comfortable thing to think of other places wherein the devil has been served, that God is now truly worshipped there. The Turks have possession of the temple at Jerusalem ; there where thc ark, and the cherubim, and the seraphim dwelt, now are tigers, and bears, and savage creatures : but on the other side, consider that in places where there have been none but tigers, and bears, and savage creatm'cs, they are now filled with cherubim and seraphim ; this is a comfortable thuig. 04*'. 2. God has a time to convince the >\orld of the excellency of liis saints. It shall be said they " are the sons of the living God." They shall not only be the sons of tlie living God, but it shall come to pass tliat it shall be said they arc the sons of the living God: all about them shall see such a lustre of the glory of God upon them, that they shall say. Verily, wliatever other people have said hei'etofore, whatever tlie thoughts of men have been, these are not only the servants, but the sons of thc living God. We have an excellent prophecy of this in Zech. xii. 5, "The go- Ver. 10. THE TROPKECY OF HOSEA. 33 vernors of Judah shall say iii their heart. The inhahit- ants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts then- God." Not only the people shall be con- vinced of this, but the governors of Judah shall say in their hearts. Our strength is in the inhabitants of Jerusalem, in the Lord of hosts theu- God. However they were heretofore scandaHzed as seditious and fac- tious, and as enemies of the state, yet now the govern- ors of Judah shall acknowledge that their strength is in them, and in the Lord their God, that this Lord of hosts is theu' God. That time will be a blessed time when the governors of Judah shall come to be con- vinced of this ; when God shall so manifest the excel- lencies of his saints, as that both great and small shall confess them to be " the sons of the living God." It is promised to the chui-ch of Philadelphia, Rev. iii. 9, that the Lord would make them that said they were Jews and were not, and said they were the church and were not; but were " of the synagogue of Satan, to come and worship before their feet, and to know that I have loved thee." There is a time that ungodly men shall be forced to know that God loves his people. And one thing, amongst the rest, that will much con- vince the men of the world of the excellency of the sauits, will be the beauty of God's ordinances that shall be set up amongst them, that shall even dazzle the eyes of the beholders. For this you have an excellent pro- mise, Ezek. xxxvii. 28, " The heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctity' Israel." How shall they know it ? " When my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore :" they shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when the beauty of my ordinances shall appear in them. And if God be not only satisfied in doing good to his people, but he wiU have the world know it, and be con- vinced of it ; let the ])eople of God then not be satisfied only in having theii' hearts upon God, but'let the world know that they love God too. You must do that which will make it appear to all the world that you are the childi'en of the living God. '• Let your light so shine before men, that they, seeing youi' good works, may glorify yom- Father which is in heaven." It is one thing to do a thing that may be seen, and another thing to do a thing that it may be seen : and yet God's people may do both ; not do good only that may be seen, but if they keep the gloiy of God in their- eye, as the highest aim, they may desu'e, and be willing too, that it may be seen to the praise of God. But tliis, I confess, requu'es some strength of grace, so to act, and yet to keep the heart upright. The excellency of grace con- sists not in casting ofi' the outward comfoils of the ■world, but to know how to enjoy them, and to overrule them for God : so the strength of grace consists not in forbearing such actions as are taken notice of by men, or not daring to aim to publish those things that have excellency in them, but in having the heart enabled to do this, and yet to keep it under, and to keep God above in his right place. Obs. 3. It is a great blessing to God's childi-en that they shall be accounted so before others. It shall be said they are sons. Not only that they shall be so, but that they shall be accomited so. " Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be called the children of God," Matt. v. 9. This is a blessing, not only to be God's chikken, but to be called God's childi'en ; we must account it so, and therefore we must walk so as may convince all with ■whom we converse that we are the childi'en of God. Let us not think this sufficient; Well, let me approve my heart to God, and then what need I care \i-hat all the world thinks of me. God promises it as a blessing to have his people called the childi'en of God ; then this must not be slighted. You find in the gospel that Christ often made it his great business to make it mani- fest to the world that he was sent of God ; he would have them know that his Father sent him, and that he came from him : so the people of God should count it a blessing, and walk so as they may obtain such a blessing, that the world may know that they are of God. Obs. 4. The grace of God under the gospel, is more full and glorious than the grace of God under the law: " In the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Y'e are the sons of the living God." Mark, it is not in the place where it was said they " are not my people," it shall be said to them, they are my people. No ; but further, it shall be said they are sons, and " sons of the living God :" this goes' beyond being his people. For this is spoken of the state of the church under the gospel : they were God's people indeed under the law ; but the appellation, " the sons of the living God," is re- served for the times under the gospel. Sometimes under the law they are called by the name of sons ; but it appear- eth by this text, that in comparison of that glorious son- ship which they shall have under the times of the gospel, that in foi'mer times they were rather servants than sons. Tliere is very little of our adoption in Christ revealed in the Old Testament. No, that was reserved for the Son of God, for him that came out of the bosom of the Father, and brought the treasures of his Father's coun- sel to the world to reveal. Both adoption and eternal life were very little made known in the time of the law, therefore St. Paul saith, that " life and immortality wei'e brought to light tlu'ough the gospel," 2 Tim. i. 10. (2.) Sons, because, in the time of the gospel, the spirits of the saints are of son-like dispositions, they are ingenuous, not mercenary. In the time of the law, God induced his people to obey by ofi'ering rewards, especially prosperity in outward things ; but in the time of the gospel we have no such rewards in temporals. In the time of the law afflictions are not much spoken of, but much outward prosperity ; but in the time of the gospel more affliction, because the dispositions of the hearts of people should not be so mercenai')' as they were before, they should be an ingenuous, willing people in the day of Christ's power. (3.) Sons, because of the son-like affection toward God their Father, out of a natiu-al aropyij, that tliey should have more than in the times of the law. I sup- pose some of you have heard of the story of the son of Croesus ; though he was dumb all his days, when he perceived a soldier striking his father his afi'ection broke the bars of his speech, and he cried out to the soldier to spare his father. This is the affection of a son, and these affections God looks for from his chil- dren, especially in the time of the gospel, that they should hear no wrong done to him ; but though they could never speak in theii' own cause, yet they should be sure to speak in then- Father's cause. (4.) Sons, because they have not such a spirit of.ser- vility upon them as they had in the time of the law. Christ is come to redeem us, that we might " serve tlie Lord in holiness and righteousness before him, without fear, all the days of our life ;" to take away the spu'it of fear. Hence the apostle saith, 2 Tim. i. 7, We have not received " the spirit of fear ; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind :" and Heb. ii. 15, Christ is come " to deKver them who through fear of death were all their Hfetime subject to bondage." The spu'it of a sou is not the spirit of fear : " Y'e have not received the spi- rit of bondage again to fear ; but ye have received the Spu'it of adoption, whereby we en', Abba, Father," Rom. viii. 15. It is unseemly in the children of God, espe- cially in the time of the gospel, to be of such servile spirits as to fear every httle danger ; to be distracted and amazed. Has not God revealed himself to us as a Father to his childi'en, that we should not fear ? He 34 AS EXPOSITION OF Chap. I. would not have us fear himself with a servile fear, as men do, and therefore surely not to fear men, be they what they will. We are sons. (5.) Sons. Not only sons, for we might find in Scrip- ture where the jieople of God, under the law, perhaps are sometimes called so, but older sons, sons come to years; (it is true, they were before us, and so in that respect we are not elder;) notchildi-en under tutorage, not under schoolmasters and governors, as they were imder the law. You know what comparison the Scripture makes of the difference between the chui-ch in the time of the gospel, and tliat in the time of the law. In the time of the law it is true indeed they were childi-en ; but how ? they were children under tutors and govemoi-s, they were not as yetT come to years, they were but as young children that were put out to school. But now. as the apostle saith. Gal. iv. 5, Christ hath redeemed us from being under the law, " that we might receive the adoption of sons :" mark, that we might receive it ; so that now the state of the church is like a child that is of age, and by that is freed from his tutors and go- vernors, and comes to his inlteritance, sui juris, as it were. Therefore the saints now are not to be dealt with as if still they were in their childish condition. How were the Jews dealt with in their childish concUtion ? Thus, they had external tilings to gain them to serve God, they worsliipped God much in external things. As we deal with childi-en, we give them apples and fine things to induce them to obey, so God dealt with them. And as chiltken, when they begin to learn, must have a great many pictures in theii- book ; so God taught the Jews with outward ceremonies, which afterward the Scripttire calls but beggarly rudiments. C'luldi'en, you know, are pleased much with gay tilings ; and they that would bring Jewish ceremonies, or ceremonies of their own invention, into the church, ti'eat the church as if in her chOdish condition still, as if gay things would please her. Therefore they must have pictures, and images, and such things to gratify the ijcople, which make the people of God beneatli themselves, as if they were yet cliildren. No, in the state of the gospel they are come to the adoption of sons. And so children you know are pleased with hearing music, and pipes, and such things, which men would bring still into the church in the time of the gospel. I re- member Justin MartjT, in answer tcf that ■fbufTaTm u^ii- about musical instruments, saith that Uiey toKvti^ictsfif ' are fit for cliildren and fools, as organs ?att *«''.fr;air »"d the like, and therefore they were irpooifirroi _n not in use in the church. iVnd indeed, i',j2"r\T^J' for the childish state of the church those upu'oTstr"'^ things ai'e fit, but now when they arc (MtSSuot'^ come to the adoption of sons, other ser- \ices that arc more spiiitual are more suitable and honourable. As a man, that is gi'owntobe a man, would think liimself wronged much to be taught as a chUd, to be ])ut off with gay things ; so shoiUd the people of God under the gospel think it a great WTong that has been done them, when men have sought to teach them witli pictures and images, instead of spiritual instruction. Obs. 5. A^^len God is pleased to be reconciled to a people, he is as fully theirs as ever, ^ea, sometimes more fiUly. "It shall be said. Ye are the sons of the living God." Israel, that was cast off from God, now shall be brought in more fully than before. He comes rather with more full grace than formerly he did. Peo]>le before, but sons now. Oh what an encou- ragement is tliis to all apostatizing souls that have fallen off from God ! Come in, come in, and be reconciled to God, and thou shalt not only find God as good as ever thou didst, but thou shalt find him much better and much sweeter than ever thou didst in all Uiv life. Sel- dom we act so. '\Mien men fall out one with another, though possibly they may be reconciled, yet it is sel- dom that they are so fully reconciled, ko fully one as they were before; they are but as a broken vessel soldered together, tliat is very weak in the soldering place ; or as gannents that nave been rent, and are mended, soon torn, and quickly ready to fall in pieces in the place where they were mended : it is not so be- tween God and a penitent soul. Again, " sons," not oidy of God, but " of the living God." There is much in tliis, that the people of God under the gospel should be called the " sons of the liv- ing God." The life of God is the glorj- of God : he swears by his life : by this he is distinguished from the heathen gods, tliat he is the li\-ing God. Life is the most excellent tiling in the world : Austin therefore saith, that the life of a fly is more excellent than the sun in the finnament : and certainly it is the glory of God, that he is the li\ing God. God, as the living God, is the object of our faith, and so he is the happiness of his people: "Trust in the living God," 1 Tim. vi. 17. " My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God : O when shall I come and appear before God?" Psal. xlii. 2. But why is God called " the living God" in reference to his church here ? Tliis is a treasure of comfort to his people, that he is called the living God in reference to liis chmch. God would hereby declare to them that all that is in him shall be active for the good of his church for ever. He will show himself not only to be a God, but a li\-ing God. He will show all liis attri- butes to be living attributes, for the good of Ids people. Did God show himseK active for his people in former times ? much more may liis church in the time of the gospel, expect the Lord to manifest himself to be active amongst them. Thei-efore^we may make use of what we read of jGod's activeness for the good of his church in fonner times, to plead with God to show himself as active now. See how the chm'ch pleads it : " Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord ; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Ait not thou it that hatli cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon P .(Vrt thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep?" Isa. li. 9, 10. O Lord, hast thou not sho^vn thyself glorious in defence of thy people, in helping thy servants in their great straits, and in destro)-ing thine enemies ? wilt not thou be so still ? In the times of the gospel we may expect more active- ness of God than ever he manifested since the world began. Therefore, when God would set out the state of the church under the gospel, mark how he takes that tide to himself. Rev. iv. 9, the foiu- living creatures (mentioned in the verses before, by which is meant the state of the church under tlie gospel) " give glory and honour and thanks to liim that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever ; " and ver. 10, " the four and twenty ciders fell down before Him tliat sat on the throne, and worsliipped him that liveth for ever and ever ; " and chap. v. 14, both join together: "The foui- livuig creatures said. Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever;" and chap. x. 5, C, " The angel which I saw stand upon tlie sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever." Thus life, the attribute of God, is made use of for the state of the church in the gospel, to show how active God will be for them. Hence, Heb. xii. 22, the church is called " the city of the li\ing God." Now to ajiply this to ourselves. Obs. 1. If we expect that God should be a living God to us, it becomes not us to have dead hearts in his service. If God be active for our good, let us be active for his honour. A living, and a lively Christian, is beautiful in the eyes of God and man. Let us labour Vee. 10. the; prophecy of hosea. 35 not only to be living, but to be lively, for God and his cause. Abundance of service and good may li\ing and lively Chiistians do in the places where they Uve, especially in these times. But oh how few are there, ■\\ho are active and stu-ring, and are carried on by the spirit of wisdom and zeal for God and his caxise ! Away now with om- cold and dead wishes and desires, let us up and be doing, and the Lord will be with us. The adversaries are Hvely ; so saith the psahnist, " Mine enemies are lively, and they are strong," Psal. xxxviii. 19. "We may well make use of that expression too ; om- enemies are lively and strong ; shall they be more lively and active for Satan, and for then- lusts, than we for the hving God ? As God is the object cf our happiness as he is the Kving God, so we arc the object of God's delight as we are living too. " God is not the God of tlie dead, but of the living." Obs. 2. We should be lively and active, for we live upon the bread of life, and dimk the water of life, we have lively oracles, lively ordinances, therefore life and activity are requu'ed of us : " fervent in ^'''cwTil"' spirit, serving the Lord," Kom. xii. 11 ; be burning, boiling up in your spirits, for you are serving the Lord, the living God: dead spu-its become not the services of the living God. Grace is called " the Di^Tiie nature," 2 Pet. i. 4. It is also called the very "life of God," Eph. iv. 18. It is impossible, then, but a Chi'istian must needs be active, seeing his grace is the very life of God in Iiim. 06s. 3. By being lively and active, we shall prevent abundance of temptations that otherwise will befall us. A dead, lazy spmt is liable to a thousand temptations : as when the honey is boiling, the flies t^tII not come to it ; when it is set in the window and gi'ows cold, then they come to it : so when the spirits of men are boiling hot for God, Beelzebub, the god of flies, with his tempt- ations, comes not upon them : but when their spirits begin to cool, and grow dull and hea\y, then comes Beelzebub, and all manner of temptation, upon their souls. The breath that comes from the body of a man is warm, but the breath that comes from a pair of bel- lows is cold, because it is artificial ; so when men are cold m the sei'vices of God, it is to be feared that their breath in praying, and other duties, is but artificial ; it is not the breath of Hfe ; if it were hvmg it would be warm. That was the reason why God would not have an ass offered him in the law in sacrifice, but his neck must be broken, because the ass is a dull creature : God loves not dull creatures in his service. I have read of a people who worshipped the sun for their god, to which they sacrificed a fl;iing horse ; the reason was this, because they would ofi'er to the sun somewhat suitable to it. They honom-ed the sun for the swiftness of his motion, and a horse you know is a swift creature, and therefore somewhat suitable, espe- cially having the emblem of wings upon him. They that would honom- the sun as a god for swiftness, would not ofler a snail, but a flj'ing horse ; so if we honom* God for a hving God, an active God, let us not ofi'er snails to Mm, dull, heavy, sluggish services, but quick and lively heai-ts. That which the coui'tiers of Nebuchadnezzar flatter- ingly said unto him, in the name of God say I to you, '• Live for ever." Saith Clirist, " As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me," John vi. 57. Christ was active, exceedingly active, in the work he was sent about ; why ? because "■ the living Father sent him :" so let us consider that in all our seiTices and emploj-mcnts it is a living God that sets us about them, and we should be active as Christ was. I am wilUng a little to enlarge on this, because of its impoi-tance to oiu' present times, and give me leave to do it by teUing you wliat tliis Christian activeness is. 1. Stay not for company in any good cause. An active spuit will not stay till he see others to accom- pany him, but if he must go, rather than the cause should fall he will go alone. Mark that saying, Isa. li. 2, " I called Abraham alone, and blessed him." Be not discouraged, if C>od give thee a zealous spii-it, and others will not appear ; God calls thee alone, and he will bless thee. 2. ^Then you have company do not lag behind, but be willing to be foremost, rather than any cause of God should Eufier by your indolence. Do not wait till others go before you. Hence in Prov. xsx. 31, amongst the goings of many things, the going of the he-goat is said to be very comely ; why ? because he is accustomed to go before the flock. Those who, out of love to the cause of God, are willing, if they are called to it, to go before the flock, go comely in the eyes of God. 3. Do not forbear the work till all difiiculties about it are over. That is a sluggish spuit that ■niU not begin the work, till they can see how aU the difiiculties about the work are, or may be, removed. You must up and be doing, be doing presently, and fall to woi-k ■wisely, to prevent and avoid the difficulties that come in it. As those active sphits did, of whom we read in Neh. iv. 17; when they were at work, ■with one of then- hands they ■pTOught, and with the other hand they held a weapon ; they did not stay the building of the wall of Jerusalem till all their adversaries were quashed, but immediately began it. This is an active spirit. 4. We must not be active in a sudden mood, and upon a mere flash, and then give over, but in a con- stant, solid way. Active, yet solid. I\Iany indeed are stm'ing and active for the present, but are like the flame of a wisp of straw, wluch makes a noise and a great stir for the present, but soon after there remains nothing but black, dead ashes. But we must be con- siderately active. Therefore observe, the Scriptm-e saith (speaking of the saints, specially in the time of the gospel) that they are " Hvely stones," 1 Pet. ii. 5. What ! a stone, and yet Kvely ? A stone, of all things, is most dead, and so it is used to describe a d(?ad spuit in the stoi'y of Xabal ; when Abigail came to tell him of the business of David, " his heart died witliin him, and he became as a stone." A^Hrat is this but to show, that though we must be lively and active, yet we must be solid, fu'm, and substantial in our activeness ; and again, that when we arc soKd, fii-m, and substantial, yet we must be lively. There are many that know not how to be active solidly, and therefore gi-ow slight and vain in their acti\'ity ; and many others, striving to be sohd and substantial, quickly grow dull; many, thi-ough a kind of affected gi-avity, would forsooth be accomited solid and wise, and so become at last duU, and heavy, and of very httle use in the chvu'ch of God. Take heed of either, and labour- to unite both together : that is ac- ceptable to God, to be living stones before him. Ver. 11. Then shall the children of Jiidah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, owrf they shall come np out of the land : for great shall be the day of Jezreel. Here you haye a promise both to Israel and Judah together. Great was the enmity between Judah and Israel heretofore. They worshipped the same God, but in divers manners. Judah worshi])ped God according to his own institution ; and Israel worsliipped the same God, but according to their o^mi inventions, as might best suit with theu- pohtical ends. Bitterness and vexation abounded betv.een these two people, though worshippmg the same God; and God here makes it a great matter to bring these two together, that they should be gathered together in one. Here we have the promise : Fh-st, that there shall be a 36 AX EXPOSITIOX OF Chap. I. union. Secondly, that there shall be a union under one head. Hence Obn. 1. The enmity of such as seem not to differ much in matters of religion, and yet do differ, is some- times exceedingly great and bitter. There shall be a union between jiidah and Israel, saith God. Here is a mercy, a wonderful work of the Lord. It requires a mighty work of God to reconcile those who differ even but little. It api)eai-s it was so between Judah and Israel. 2 Chron. xxviii. 9, the prophet Oded tells the cliildi-en of Israel, when he came to reprove them after the slaughter committed by them of the children of Judah, "Ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth u]) unto heaven." Wiat a rage was this ! and yet thus the people of Israel were enraged against the people of Judah ; yea, they were often more bitter against each other, than they were against the heathen, the Philistines, Assyrians,' and Eg.\-])tiaus, who were round about them. Thus it has been, and until that blessed time come here spoken of, thus it will be. Though the Calvinists and Lutherans agree together against papists in fun- damental articles, yet, oh the bitterness of their spirits one against another ! A Lutheran is scarce so bitter against a papist a-s he is against a Calvinist. Luther himself complains,' Not only openly wicked men are our enemies, but even our friends, and those who at first received the doctrine of the gospel from us. per- secute us most bitterly. iVnd he complains particularly of Zuinglius ; t Zuinglius accuses me of cverj' wicked- ness and cruelty, so that the papists do not tear me so much as these my fiiends. Again, speaking of C'arolo- stadius,! He is more deadly against me, more set against me, than any of mine enemies ever were. Even he, whom God used for the fui-therance of the gosjiel, has bitterness to another, with whom he agrees in doctrine. And has it not been so amongst us ? Those who are protestants, and such as are nick-named pui-itans, though they agree in all the fundamental ])oint.s against popen,-, yet for some difference m matter of discipline and cere- monies, oh what bittcmess of spu-it is there ! It is so much the more suiful in those who say that discipline and ceremonies are but indifferent things ; they are specially to be blamed for bitterness on their side, because the conscience of the other is bound up, and cannot yield. Yea, not only such as contend against popish discipline, but such as go a degree further in reformation of discipline, yet because they differ in some few particulars, oh the bitterness of spirit that exists even among them ! These are times that call all the peo])le of God to see in what they can agree, and in that to join against the common adversan,-, and not to tear one another by dissensions. God may justly give us over to our adversaries, if we agree not among ourselves, and they may chain us together. Perha])s a jirison may make us agree, as it was said of Ridley and Hooper. Kidley opposed Hooper in point of cere- monies, and they could not agree, vet when they came to prison they agreed well enougfi there. The Lord deliver us from that medicine of our dissensions, that we be not made so to agree : yea, that we be not sol- dered together by our own blood. 04s. 2. God has a time to gather Judah and Israel together, that is, to bring peace to his church. God has a time to gather all his churches together, that there shall be a universal peace amongst his churches. For though it be meant here of Judah and Israel literally, yet Israel and Judah set out to us all tlie churches of God that shall exist among the Gentiles : • Kon solum hostcs palam iinpii persequunlur nos. scd cliani hi qui fuerunt dulces amici nostri, qui a nobis acccpcrunt iloclrinam Evan^clii, fiunt insensissimi hastes uostri, perse- quoiilos nos acemnie. t Nihil est scelcrum aut cruilclitatis, cujus mc non rcum and as God will fulfil this scripture literally, so he will fulfil it s])iritually, to bring Judah and Israel, that is, all the churches of God, under one head. " Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim," Isa. xi. 13. Ephraim envied Judah, because Judah challenged to himself the true worship of God ; and Judah on the other side envied Ephraim, because he was the gi-eatest ; they were vexing .spirits one agauist another. This shall not always be, saith God, but " the en^T of Ephraim shall depart," I will take away this envious, vexatious spirit. Those two staves of which the Holy Ghost speaks in Zech. xi. 10, 11, 14, the staff' of "Beaut)-," and the staff of "Bands," were both broken, but God has a time to unite them together again, and for that, mark that excellent prophecy in Ezek. xxx^li. 16, 17, 22, 24. There you find declared, God brings Judah and Israel, and joins those sticks together again. " Son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it. For Judah, and for the childi"en of Israel his companions : then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions : and join them one to another into one stick ; and they shall be- come one in thine hand." And then, ver. 19, this is interpreted of the union of them, " Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make tlicm one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand :" and ver. 22, " I «'ill make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel ; and one lung shall be kiii^ to them all." And in the 24tli verse that king is saiu to be David, which we shall afterward show more fully, when we describe the head which they shall be under. Now this God has never yet fulfilled, that the ten tribes, and Judah and Benjamin, should come together and be set in one stick ; he has never set together the staff of Bands that was broken, and vet this must be done j it is the great blessing of God upon his churches, the bringing about of this union. Mark that text, Jer. xxxiii. 11; God having promised that in the latter davs he would bring Judah and Israel together, and build them as at first : in the 14th verse, "Behold, the davs come, saith the Lord, that I avUI perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel, and to the house of Judah." \Miat is that good tiling that God had promised to the houses of Israel and Judah ? That good thing, my brethren, is the building tliem up together as they were at first. " Be- hold, how good and how pleasant it is for bretluren to dwell together in unitv ! It is like the precious oint- ment upon tlie head, tliat ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard : that went down to the skirts of his gai-ments ; as the dew of Hci-mon, and as tlie dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion : for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for ever- more," Psal. cxxxiii. In the churches of God, where this peace and union dwell, there is blessing, there is God commanding blessing, that is, blessing comes powerfully and efficaciously, the blessing of life, and life for evermore. Oh, who would not then love union and peace in the churches ! " The Lord shall be king over all the earth ; in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one," Zech. xiv. 9. The churches now have one Lord, they all acknowledge God and C'lu-ist to be their Lord ; yea, but this Lord has not one name : though they all pretend to honour Christ, and set up Christ, yet this one Lord has many names. But here it is ])ro- phesied that there shall be but one Lord, and his name agat, adco ut ncc papistx mc sic laccrent hotles mei, ut illi amici nostri. Ep. aJ Mich. Stifeliuum. X lufonsior nuhi est quam uUi hactcnut fueriot inimici. Luther cp. at) Spalatiiium. Vee. II. THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. 37 shall be but one. And Zeph. iii. 9, " Then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one con- sent." The words in the original are, inN dd» one shoulder; all the people of God shall have but one shoulder, that they shaD set to the service of God. O blessed time, when they shall be so united as to have but one shoulder ! And the greater this blessing of Judah's and Israel's gathering together will be, if you consider these two things ; I beseech you observe them. First, That they shall have this perfect union toge- ther, even then, when " Israel shall be as the sand of the sea." AVhen there shall be such multitudes flock- ing to the chui'ch, yet then they shall be united in one, and then there shall be peace in the churches. It is not a hard matter, when there are but very few of a church, perhaps half a dozen or half a score, for them to be of one mind, and to agree lovingly together, and to have no divisions nor dissensions among themselves ; but when a chm-ch grows to be a multitude, then lies the difficulty. A\Tien did ever any chui'ch, though never so well constituted at first, but increase in divi- sions and dissensions, as they increased in number and multitude ? You find it very hard in a meeting in any society, when any business concerns a gi'eat many, so to agree as to be of one and the same mind. An in- sti'ument, as a watch, or any thing that has many ■wheels, is sooner out of frame than that which has but a wheel or two. So when numbers come together about any business, it is mighty hard to brmg them to be united in one. There are few families that consist of many persons, but quickly dissensions gi'ow among them : perhaps, where there are two or tlu'ee in a family they keep well enough together ; but where there are seven in a family they cannot so well agree, nor so long a time togetherj as the seven devils did in Mary Magdalene. But God has made this promise to the church, that though it shall increase as the sand on the sea shore, and that multitudes shall come flocking to it, yet they shall be all gathered together into one, un- der one head, and they shall have peace. Secondly, They shall agree in one, not only when they are a multitude, but when they enjoy the full privileges and liberty that Chi'ist has purchased for them, even then there shaU be a blessed agreement. For it is spoken here of those times, when they shall come under one head, and Chi'ist alone shall rule them, and not men's inventions. Chi'ist will grant his chm'ch those privileges that he has purchased for them, and rule them according to those, and then there shall be a blessed agreement among them all. Men now think it impossible for those Kberties to be enjoj-ed without dis- sensions ; O, say they, let them have but such liberty as they speak of, and we shall have nothing but babbling and divisions. WTiat! shall every man be left to do what he Hst ? why then we shall have nothing but breaches in the chui'ch, and heai't-biu'nings one against another. No ; Christ has never purchased so much liberty, for every man to do what he lists in things apparently un- lawful, against the common principles of rehgion : in those there may be compidsion. But the liberty which Chi'ist has pui'chased, is the lawful use of things in- different, and the lawful use of his ordinances. And though now many think that, in things indifferent, if men be left at their liberty, there will be heart-bm'ning and dissensions, and no peace at all in the church, they are much mistaken in this ; for the only way to have true peace in the church, is to leave tilings as Chi'ist has left them, and to force nothing upon men's con- sciences that Chi'ist would not have forced ; this is the ■way of peace. And the special way of dissension (we have had experience of it) has been, and ever will be, the urging upon men's consciences those things Christ ■would not have urged ; this makes the greatest rent and division in tlie church. The m-ging of uniformity in all indifferent things as necessary to unity, is a most false principle. It is a principle that many have been led by, but it is a false and con'upt principle, and is, and mil be found to be, the cause of the gi'eatest distractions. "Wlien the time comes here prophesied of, there shaU not be such need of any antichi'istian chain to unite the servants of God together, but they shall be one without any such doings. It is ti'ue, papists and prelatical men ci-j' out against others ; they say, there ai'e such divi- sions among them, none of them can agree, there is more uniformity and unity with us than with them. Jlark these two answers to that. 1. They have little cause to boast of theu' unity, if we consider all ; for though many thousands of Clu'is- tians, and huncb'eds of faithful, painful, and conscien- tious ministers of God, (that did more service to God and his chui'ch than ever they will do,) be banished out of their country, and put upon miserable extremities, and endure sore afflictions for their conscience' sake, this is no breach of unity with them. 2. But suppose by then- power they could have brought all to a uniformity in their own inventions and innovations, as they desu'ed. '\^^lat then ? they have little cause to boast of that unity. Certainly, there the remedy 'vvoidd have been worse than the cUsease, and work a greater mischief. Their boasting of unity would have been, as if a couple of prisoners chained to a block, and kept close all day, should see others go abroad in tlie streets at a distance, and should cry out to them. Why do you not take example by us ? you keep at a distance one from another ; see, we keep close together from morning to night : pray take example by us, and do not go so distant one fi'om another. Would not such an argument be most ridiculous ? 'WTiat is the reason of their union, but their chain ? Certainly, there is the same argimient in pleatbng for that uni- formity which they force upon men by such a kind of antichristian chain. What breach of unity is it if, in a broad street, one goes a little distant from another? and so what breach is it if, in matters of indiftcrence, one take one way and another another ? It is the corrupt and perverse spii'its of men that think they cannot have unity, and yet have things as Christ has left them. Christ needs no such things to cause unity in his church, the spii'it of his people, which loves truth and peace, is enough to cause the unity he would have. And oh that this gathering together were come, of all churches to be made one, and to be under one head ! for abundance of mischief is done now among the churches, and in the * world, by the spirit of division and dissension. The devil delights (especially that devil that is the spirit of division) to live in the region of the church. There are some devils especially that are spirits of pride, as the dumb devil, and some of dissension, and some of one kind, and some of another. Cajetan remarks upon Mark v. 8, 9, where our Saviour t'hrist cast the devils out of the possessed man, they besought him that he would let them enter into the swine, and that he wotdd not send them out of that region ; because, saith he, they have several regions where they most haunt, and they that are in such a region are loth to be put out of it, but would fain keep theii' ])lace. "V^Tiether that be so or no we will not say, but this we say, that if there be any region m the world which the unclean spu'it of division loves, and is loth to be cast out, it is the region of the church, for there he does the greatest mischief. But Chi'ist has a time to cast this unclean spirit out of the region of the church so eflectually, that he never shall retui'n again. This point, as we meet with it so fitly, and is so fully agreeable to the necessity of oiu- times, I cannot tell, thougli I go a httle beyond the ordinal-)' way of expo- sitions, how to get away from it. 38 AN EXPOSITION OF Chap. I. This union of the church is that which wiU be the stability of it. You Iiave an admiiable place for this, Isa. xxxiii. 20, " Thine eyes shall sec Jerusalem a quiet habitation." Oh that our eyes might be blessed to be- hold Jerusalem a quiet habitation ! then we should be willing with old Simeon to say, " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." Mark then what follows : " a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down ; not one of the stakes tlicrcof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby." The ■cingdoms of the world, though they seem to be built upon mountains, yet God will toss them up and down, and they shall come to nothuig ; but the chm-ch, when it is made a quiet habitation, though it be bat a taber- nacle and set upon stakes, yet this tabernacle shall not be taken down, nor one of the stakes thereof ever re- moved ; though it be tied by hnes, yet not a cord thereof shall be broken. Yea, in this the glorj' of the church consists, for when it is a quiet habitation, the glorj' of God shall be there, God shall dwell among them as a glorious God. No church was more honour- able than the chiu'ch of Pliiladelphia, for that is the chm'ch the adversaries must come and bow before. Rev. iii. 9, and that church carries brotherly love in its very name, for so it signifies. Cant. \i. 9, " My dove, my imdefiled is but one, the only one of her mother." AMiat follows ? " The daughters saw her and blessed her ; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they pi-aiseil her." '\\Tien Christ's dove and undefiled comes once to be but one, the daughters shall see her and bless her. In Isa. xi. 13, you have a promise of Judah and Epliraim's joining together. Mark what follows, chap. xii. 1, " And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee." Observe, " in that day." And again, ver. 4, " And in that day shall ye say. Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing tmto the Lord ; for he hath done excellent tilings : this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou in- Iiabitant of Zion." God indeed does excellent things, when he makes Ephraim and Judah to be one. There- fore saith the apostle, 1 Cor. xii. 31, " Yet show I unto you a more excellent way." What is that way ? In the chapter following, he wi-ites his commendation of love, the liighest commendation of any grace found in the book of God ; that is the more excellent wav. In Cant. iii. 9, the church is comjiared to the chariot of Solomon : " The pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the coveruig of it of jiurple, and the midst thereof being paved with love." Then the church rides in tj-iumph m her chariot, when tliere is miich love and peace in tlic midst of it. Itis true, my brethren, considering the weakness and peevishness of the spirits, yea, of good men as well as evil, we may wonder however this shall come to pass : Is it possible that this shall ever be so ? Indeed it must be a mighty work of God to do it. AVe must not tliiiik 1o effect it by struggling one with another, and to say, We will make them be at ])cace and unity, or they shall smart for it, and we wDl pull them together by law. This will not do it ; but we must look up to God for tlie r.ccomplishing of this great thing. Jcr. xxxiii. 3, " Thus saith the Lord, Call unto me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things wlilch thou luiowest not." Miiat are those great and mighty things that we must call upon God for.' Amongst others, this is a prmciijal one, ver. 7, " And I will cause the caj)- tivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and -nill build them as at the first," and so make them both one. And then, ver. 9, " It shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, when they shall hear all the good that I do unto them." Mark, joy, praise, honom-, yea, a name of joy, jjraise, honour, follows upon this blessed imion, and that before all the nations of the earth. For the ac- comphshmg of tliis, " come. Lord Jesus, come quickly ! " Y'^et let us fiirther observe the difference between the scattering of the wicked, and the scattering of the saints. Judah and Israel were scattered, but now they shall be gathered together. 06*. 1. There is a great deal of difference between the scattering of the saints, and the scattering of the wicked. When God scatters the saints, he scatters them that they may be gathered : when he scatters the ^vicked, he scatters them that he may destroy them. Psal. Ixviii. 1, " Let God arise, let his enemies be scat- tered." How scattered ? " As smoke is driven away, so drive them away." Smoke, you know, is so chiven away and scattered, that it comes to nothing. Psal. cxliv. 6, " Cast forth lightning and scatter tliem, shoot out thine arrows and destroy them." This is the scat- tering of the wicked. But as for the saints, they may be scattered, but it is to spread abroad the gospel by them in the world. Acts viii. 4, " They that were scat- tered abroad" (by reason of the persecution of Said) " went everv where preacliing the word." But v\ ithin awliile our God shall come, and all his saints vdih him, and he \n\l gather together the outcasts of Israel with abundance of mercy. Micah iv. 6, " In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have af- flicted." Isa. Uv. 7, " For a small moment have I for- saken thee, but with great mercies wiU I gather thee." God will gather his people with great mercies. God has fulfilled this in a great part in our eyes even this day. I\Iany of those who were driven out of their places and countrv', those that were afflicted, and those the land could not bear, God has gathered together these outcasts of Israel. Let every one take heed how he hinders this work of the Lord, and how he adds af- fliction to those that have been afflicted. • Obs. 2. The more the gospel prevails, the more peace there shall be. They shall " be gathered together ;" that is, in the time of the gospel, when tliat shall pre- vail, then Judah and Israel shall be gathered together. The gospel is not the cause of divisions, of seditions, of factions. No ; it is a gospel of peace, the Prince of it is a Prince of peace, the embassage of it is an embas- sage of peace. It is next to blasphemy, if not blas- ])hemy itself, to say that since the preacliing and pro- fession of the gospel we have had no peace, but it causes factions and divisions among the people. People who ai'C in the dark sit still and quiet together, as it is said of the Egv])tians, when they were m the dark for tliose three days together, they stiiTcd not from their seats, there was no noise among them; shall the light be blamed, because afterward, when it came, cveiy one stirred and went, one one way, and another another ? So when we were m gross darkness, we saw^ notliing, we knew nothing ; now light begins to break forth, and one searches after one truth, and another after another, and vet we cannot attain to ])crfection ; shall we accuse the light for tliis ? Y'ea, but we see too apparently that those who seem the strictest of all, that would worship God (as they say) in the purest manner m his ordi- nances ; yet there are woeful divisions and distractions even amongst them. How then is the gospel a gospel of peace ? Consider this one reason in answer to this, to satisfy your consciences, Uiat tlic gospel may not be blamed, for indeed wlierc the gospel comes there is promised peace. Because so long as we arc here we are partly flesn and ))artly sjiirit. Those who have the gospel prevail with their consciences, cannot move any fui-ther than they Vee. 11. THE PROPHECY OF HOSEA. 39 can see light for, and their consciences will give them leave. But other men have more liberty, they quarrel not one with another ; why ? because they have wide, elastic consciences : having ends of their own, they will }-ield to any thing to attain those ends ; so that here they have this advantage, that if they see conten- tion will bring them more trouble than they conceive tlie thing is worth, they wUl condescend, though it be against the light of conscience ; wliilst others upon whom the light of the gospel has prevailed, have that bond upon conscience, that though aU the world should diifer fi-om them, they must be content to lie down and suffer; they cannot yield; though you woidd give them aU the world, they cannot go against that Hght. They may search, and it may trouble them that their apprehen- sions of tilings should be different fi-om the apprehen- sions of theii- brethi-en, and that they cannot jield to that to which their bretlu-en jield. It is true they should be humbled, and suspect then- hearts, and look to themselves, and fall down before God and pray, and use aU means for ad^^ce and comisel, and consider of things again and again. But suppose they have done all tills, and yet the Lord does not reveal to them any further light, though it be a sad ailiiction to them, yet they must lie down under it, for they camiot Afield; one known truth is more to them than all the world ; there- fore, unless others will bear with them in their infii'm- ity, they ■will suffer whatever men will lay upon them. The world calls this obstinacy, and stiffness, and being wedded to then- o\^-n opinion ; but they luio-\r it is other- wise, and can appeal to God and say. Lord, thou know- est what a sad affliction it is unto me, that I cannot see what my brother sees, and that I cannot yield to what my brother yields : thou hast hid it fi-om me : I will wait upon thee tiU thou shalt reveal it ; and in the mean time I will be quiet, and not make distm-bance in the places where I come, but pray, pray, pray for light, and that thou wouldst incline the heart of my brethi-en unto me, that they may not have hard thoughts of me. Do but thus, thou shalt have peace with God, and in tliine own heart. If we would have light let into us, we must so prize it, as to be willing that in the discussion of truths there should be some hazard of differences in lesser things. If a man have a house closed on every side with a thick brick wall, and he is so desirous to keep his house safe and strong, that he will rather aU Ms days sit in the dark, than be at the ti-oublc to have a hole digged or a few bricks broken to let in any light, we shoidd accuse that man of folly. It is true, we must not be so de- sirous of light, as to break so much of the waU as to endanger the house, we must keep that safe ; but yet it is difficult to let in light without taking away some bricks, and occasioning some trouble. A child, when he sees the workman with his tools breaking the waU, and making a deal of rubbish, thinks he is pidling down the house ; but a wise man knows it is but a little trouble for the present, to let in light that shall be for the beauty of the house afterward. Agi-eemcnt in error is far worse than division for the sake of truth. Better to be divided from men that are erroneous, than to agree with them in the ways of ubisivcfoiderepi- theu' en'or. A company gathered with- cis,sWeobser™,iia Qut the coveuaut of peacc, without the etreg.mintAcepha-vObservance 01 Gods law, IS a headless ^gata fafririon multitude, says BernaKl, it has much of Ssio.'BSy^m"' Babylon, but" little of Jerusalem. ^licumS'hir O**- '^- ^'^ ^°"'i ^5 '"i"}' are converted to bet. Bern s<.r, 5. do the faith, thev are of a gathering disposi- tion. ihey desu-e to gather to the saints immediately. Every child of God is a gatherer; as Solomon is called EcclesiastPs, in the Greek, but the p-,^., Hebrew wor