that fione of uncleannefle, irreligious till God: fent Nathan to him.)

Selinery bei Ezekiah having rest changed his mind,and proud of his treat sures, Thewed them to his quid disadvantage, and provoked Gods anger agajnft him:ibili

Experience fhows us how.che world, and the wealth and ho. nours thereof do corrupt men of good minds before and changeth their understandings, that Demlas will fortake Paul,whom he hath long seryed; and fome disciples will no longescwalks

with Christ. :-:- 20 bis Motiv: 11.10 :: 0p Reason. I.

The cause hereof is because outward things unfanctified to the owner and user thereof, have no power to establish the beart; for the heart is cstablifhed by grace, and not with

meats, nor with any outward things. Reason 2, . Because there is no peace with the wicked man, he must be as

violent and as unconstant as the sea, caftiog up also foame and

filch. Reason 3 Because iniquity knoweth. no measure, but runnech into all

extremes, Virtutisque viam deferit ardue: Their mirth is madnesse, their musick vanity: fo their forrow is fullennesse and discontent: Conquered, they are base,and lick.che duft from the enemies foor: Conquering, they are proud, and tyrannize over them whom they have subdued.

Thus the mind of the wicked changeth in them. Use. The profic that we may make of this point is great.

1. It discourageth us from greedy seeking of temporal pro{ferity, because it hach this danger in it to change our minds, and to shift us from yice to vicę: wherefore it is a good petición in

our holy Letany: In all time of our wealth good Lord deliver to Prov.30.9 and that of Agur,

Give me not riches least I be full and deny thee, and.fuy, who is the Lord?

2. It comforteth the oppressed that their oppreffors are not always of the same mind, but they may have hope of fairer weather in the greatest stormes that do arise, because the minds of their enemies shall change, as David faith,

He made them that led them away captive to pity them, for God bath a power in this change, which is mutatio dexccx excelli.

Dan. 4.33

: Either to some further quest of glory, or they shall exceed 1.
their Commission and go beyond the bounds appointed them;
eicher in panishing whom God would have to be spared, or in
time, continuing the punishment beyond the time designed.

God only knoweth how far he would have his judgment to
paffe; the Chaldæans do transgresse and paste over this mea-
sure, whereby they grow intolerable, and their malice punilha
able,

Or pertranfibuat may be referred to their own short domina- 3.
tion; for the Chaldæans were a few years after conquered by
the Medes and Persians, as the learned Jesuite Ribera obserweth.

And we find that Nebuchadnezzar the King of the Chal.
dæans felt the smart of this prophecie in bis own Person..

For he changed his mind and passed over when he became as
a brute beast, and was driven from men, and did eat gralle as
oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of beayen, till his
hairs were grown like Eagles feathers, and his nails like birds
claws.
9 Thus he that passed the bounds of Justice in the oppression
of the Jews, and the bounds of modesty in the pride of his victo-
ries, is changed in his und erstanding, and paffech the bounds of
common humanity

All this proves that Gods employing the wicked to punish o-
thers doth not move them nor derive che favours of God up-
on them, they cannot keep within any compaffe.

1. If pertranfibit, passe over, do signifie a further quest of glo. ty, we are taughc hence, that the ungodly are infatiable in their desires, nothing will content them, every victory encouragech to a new warre, as we find in all examples of the greatelit monarchies of the world, till their own weight ruine them.

2. As this passing over dora signifie their going beyond their bounds, we are caught, that they whom God employeth wich. -ove their knowledge and Privity, do only seek their own ends, neither is God in all their ways. 2-3. As this påling over significth the short joy of their victory, fo it teacheth that an ungodly man can never be an happy man, nor a Ginful mana wise man; for in short time he will lose that what he hath unjustly gotten; for though God intended che ca

king away of the lews land from them, ke intended it but for a
time; he means the Jews a sharp chastisement, not an eradicar
tion.

I understand those words of a ceffation from any further pro. fecution of this warre against the Jews, for he shall carry away fome captive into his own land, and the meaner fore he ball leave behind to husband Judaa, and so shall cease.

And this doth strengthen our former doctrine, that those whom God oseth as inftruments of his Justice, shall at length delift, God will not suffer them beyond his decreed cime.

3. They foall offend. · Let no man mistake this place; as if God did lay upon them a necessicy of offence; but he doth out of his Prescience foreteh that they will offend God, as with all their other finnes, lo par

ticularly with this their service done to him..
Doctr. They are stirred upto this warre by God, and it is hisjust will

to punish the lews, yet the Chaldæans that execure this will do
offend, which was before proved by their evil intention, and
will after more appear in the close of this text; wherein we
have charged the action upon God, and the evill of the action

upon the Chaldæaps. 2. Doct.

2. God foreknoweth the sins of men.

He foreknew the fall of Adam, and provided a rcmcdy for it in his eternal counsel.

He foreknew the fins of the old world, and provided a judge ment to punish them.

He foreknew the finnes of his Ifrael, and thercfore he made all his promises conditional, and referred chem.co their obes dience.

He foreknew the trespasse of fudas, the crueley of the Jews,
the injustice of the Romanes against

his fonne, and he made his
death medicinal and cordial for his Church, and a ruine to the
enemies thereof; the fame stone which was checorner fone of
the Church, was a rock of offence to her enemies.
.. This is the ground of Gods Justice against the Chaldæans
in the next section of this chapter; for fore-feeing how they
would offend, He did allo-føre-decree how be would punila
them.

Не

:)

He is called Osos a feer, for all things are manifest in his fight: the eye of the Lord is over all the world, he seeth both the good. and the bad.

God foreleeth offences before they be come into the hearts of men, as Christ knew fudas would be a Traicour before Judas knew it himself; and God by his Prophet cold Huzaelhow cru: z Reg. 13; el he should be, before Hazael was King, and when Hazael 8. thought fuch wickednesse could not have bred in him. Am I a dog that I should do this great thing?

And Christ told Peter that he would deny him, when Peter protested against is very strongly.

1. Because he knoweth the heart in which finne breedech, and
knows how apt it is to conceive sinne. He knoweth whereof
we be made.

2. He foreseeth the temptations wherewith man shall be
tempted.'
- 3. He knoweth what measure of strength and vertue is gone
out from him to man, to enable him against these temptations.

3.Let no man therfore flatter himself that he can commit any use. finne so fecretly that the eye of God shall escape it ; he knoweth opr thoughts long before, there can no darkncffe hide us from this eye;

but the darknesse is as light as the day to him, darkneffe and light are both alike.

And if God foresee offences to come, much more doch he remember fins past, and observe sins present.

2. Ler this stirre us up to the feare of the Lord, which is a continual purcing of us inco che presence of God, and filleth us. with fervent prayers to God to keep us from finne, either from the desire of it, or from the committing of it, or from the pula nishment of it, by giving us strength to refif finne tempting us, or at least to hate the evil which we do against the law of our mind, transported by the law of our memburs: or to give us the grace of repentance, that we may turn to him, and break off our lins by righteousnesse and godly life.

This is that petition in our Lords Prayer, Lead us not into: temptation.

Which petition followeth that former, forgive us our trefprafles; for whom God pardonech, them Satantemptech molt,

both because he despightech God, and because relapse into "fins once pardoned is a double danger.no

And he prayeth God not to lead him into the temptation, because we must not only remember with grief the sins we have committed, but we must consider with feare what fins our infirmities may fall into.

Into which God leadeth us, by withdrawing his grace from us, or from which he keepeth and preferveth us by his aflift, ing grace.

The foresight of God is in respect of himself and his own perfect knowledge infallible and certain; that will come co pasle, which he foreseeth, and this is his wifedome; though man have a free will to do evil, yet he knoweth how far chis bis free will shall mislead him.

And for that cause he bath set such a guard of Angels about the just to keep them in all their ways that they fall not, to take them up again when they fall, and he hath given his word and lanchorn to their feet to guide and dired their paths.

Yet we may say that this foresigho of God may be in respe& crea of the means conditional, and so God may foresee such an event

upon some lēcret condition, which yet by means may be prevented, and not succeed.

A great example hereof in Davids story. Sam. 23.

He heareth that the Philiftims do rob Keilah, David goeth an gainst the Philiffims, and overcometh and saveth the men of Keilah.

Saul hearing of it, armes his forces to surprize Keilab secretly, Verf. 12,

David askech of God; will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul ?

The Lord said, They will deliver thee up? ito ...

Here God forefaw a sinne in the men of Keilah which was never committed, but Saul had sent, and God knew the corrupcion of the heart of those men, and gave warning

Here his foresight in respect of himself was certain, which was, that David should take this warning to escape.

But in respect of the successe it was conditional, because it . hath reference to the means of evafon

So God forelaw the death of Ezechiah by his conditional