Mal.3.14. Doct. Ye have said, it is in vain to serve God, and what profit is it that We have kept his Ordinances, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of houfts. STING C But they that feared the Lord pake often one to another: that is, encouraged one another, and it is faid, the Lord hearkned and heard it, &c. 3 The effect of this fear: That I might reft in the day of trou ble 68 E This alfo fheweth that this fear of the Church was not feparated from faith, for it is entertained of purpose to settle the heart, and to give it reft in the day of trouble. 1 I cannot but often remember that fweet faying of Auftine: Medicina eft quod pateris, thy fuffering is the Phyfick, for the Phyfick that we take to purg the ill humours of the body, doth make the body more fick for the time, and fo do the chastisements of God. The fear of judgment threatned, is more pain to the children of God, then the fenfe of the judgment inflicted. It is a note of the juft, that they rejoyce in tribulations, yet you fee they fear tribulations before they come, which fhews that the bitterneffe of that cup, is more in the cause then in the effect. The righteous in thefe threatnings do behold God in dif pleafure, themselves in the guilt of provocation, and nothing goeth fo neer the heart of a godly man, as that his God fhould take any unkindneffe at him, for in his favour is life. To help this, when God threatneth, the juft man feareth, Hear joyned with faith, prepareth us for peace and reft in An admirable work it is of wifedome and mercy to extract Because these inward convulfions of the bid man of the Reaf.1. heart are joyned evermore in the godly, with an hatred of the fin that deserved them, for from hence arifeth this confeffion; Peccavi. cop el rofs, 1, enstrani od S Obferve it in fob, he did not ask, Quid patior? but Quid fa- Reaf.2. diam tibi? fo it worketh in us a care and confcience of obedience hereafter, 4911 2:.' 1. s 1 It alfo difcerneth an iffue out of trouble, for where fear Reas.3. doth not overgrow, there is a fweet apprehenfion of joy in the end as the Apostle faith afterward it yieldeth,The peaceable Heb.12.11 fruit of righteoufneffe, unto them which are exercized thereby. Wherefore, lift up the hands that bang down, and the feeble knees. Use 1. Make Streight paths for your feet, left that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather be beated mom bol bun. The way is there described. Follow peace with all men, and bolinesse, without which no man shall see the Lord.. Look diligently, lost any man fall from the grace of God, left any root of bitternelle springing up in you trouble you. { Out of this whole paffage, you may obferve a fweet defcription of a full repentance. 1 992 199 Here is the law of God, revealing both finne and the judgment due to it, called here, the hearing of the voyce of God. ^ 2 Here is the confcience agonized with the fear of Gods judgments al nous todrom 1 3 Here is the fruit and benefit thereof, even peace and reft n the day of trouble, Here is lowing in tears, and reaping in joy, rather it is Sunthine in a tempeft, for the outward man is fhaken, and the flesh suffereth, but the just do fay with the ever blessed Virgine oil (Ta My spirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour. iloves Impii non fic, not so with the wicked: for God hath faid it, MUL I In 3 301 In the agent. 2 In the patientiai de In the agent two wayesa si nistom sve Loophones ad 5. The primus motors the fupream agent, God init 22 The inftruments of action; his 2 1500 Chaldeanssa on his troops, these are the bibed In the patient che land of Casdan distrest, as you have heard. In the trees bearing fruit The figuree. 5 I way 2 The vine ollaa the field or arable To foun9151 19. 11: is a The olive. Yo con b A s In their Cattell F. Such as feed abroad 3 & rbredt below) Such as are ftalled Concerning the agent Supream, God. The fame hand that gave them poffeffion of that good, land, doth now remove them thence, here is Mutatio dextra. It is a thing notable that God is ever in Scripture defcribed to us conftant, yesterday and to day, and the fame for ever, without variableneffe, or fo much as a fhadow of alteration, yet in his government of the world, he fometimes giveth, and fometimes he taketh away: fometimes he filleth, and fometimes he emptieth. 130781sqst iluì sto non m? Reaf. 1. The reafon hereof is partly in our felves, for as our obedience and fervice of him, doth both gain and affure to us afl Ifa.1.19, good things, as himself telleth us if you confent and obey, you hall eat the good things of the land moibluos ali ai stolis " 20. ; So our difobedience and tranfgreffion doth lofe us all thefe things, as he addeth. If you refuse and rebell, you shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Reaf.2. Partly it is in God, for his mercy in giving, must not destroy shis uftice in punishing of evill doers; for if it be a righteous Thef.1.6 thing with Godtorecompence tribulation to them that trouble us, it must needs be as righteous to recompence tribulation, to them that trouble him. It is an heavy complaint that God made of this people. I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me reigns to te It is well obferved in God that he is primus in amore, & por ftremus in odio: he loveth us before we can feek his face, and we are tender in fight, before weknow the right hand from the left, Doct. Ifai.1.2. left, as in the case of Nineveh, God pleaded with fonab for the infants. But God never forfaketh us, till we firft forfake him, not then, if there be but animus revertendi, he is patient and longfuffering, but when we come once to two evils. To forfake him the Fountain of living waters, and to dig to our felves cisterns of our own making, then he can no longer forbear, when we grow C A finfull nation, a people laden with iniquity, a feed of evill do- Ifai.1.4. ers, children that are corrupters, forfaking the Lord, provoking the Holy One of Ifrael to anger, going away backward. No wonder, If he make our Countrey defolate, burn our Cities 7. with fire, let frangers devour our land in our prefence, and lay it defolate, as overthrown by ftrangers. Where we are guilty to our felves of provocation, of the Use 1. Lord against us, we have caufe to lay all the blame upon our felves, and to fay; we have gone away from thee, and have not hearkned to thy voice, therefore art thon difpleased with used Seeing the Juftice of God doth fet him against us, we are álfo to acquite him of any hard measure towards us,and to say, just art thou, O Lord, and just are thy judgments JA But efpecially,this ftirreth us up to divert this wrath to come, for to that purpose God giveth warning by threatnings, not in judgment to punish and torment us, before our time, with the fear of them,and after in their time with the fenfe of them,but to admonish us to fly from the anger to come; for Jeremy was fent on this very meffage to this people, and he threatned them from God, as Habakkuk here doth, yet with this caution of repentance. ini For feremie being required by King Zedekiah to enquire of i als rhinco eu sola the Lord concerning Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babel, If the Lord will deal with us according to all his wonderfull works that bee will go from us. an Jeremie through the whole Chapter refolveth him, that God is purposed to deliver his people and their Land, into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar, yet in the next Chapter he bringAaaa eth 3 Jer.21.2. Jer. 12.1. 3 4 5 eth this comfortable meffage, from God to the King. Thus, faith the Lord, go down to the King of Judah, and speak there this word. A Doct. And fay, bear the Word of the Lord, O King of Judah, that fitteft upon the throne of David, thou and thy fervants, and the people that enter in by these gates. L Thus, faith the Lord, execute you judgment and righteousnesse, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppreffour, and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the Fatherleffe, nor the Widow, neither fhed innocent blond in this place. For if you do this thing indeed, then there fhall enter in by the gates of this house, Kings fitting for David upon his throne, riding in Chariots, and on horfes, he and his fervants, and his people. But if ye will not hear these words, I wear by my felf, faith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation, &c. This declareth that the threatmings of God when he menaceth our fins with judgments, are like fonathans arrows, fhot rather to give us warning then to hurt us. Which admon heth us, that whenfoever any fear furpri zeth us of wrath to come upon our land, either in the corrup tion of our religion, or in the perturbation of our peace, or in the fear of falf friends that may kiffe and betray, or in the dearth and fearcity of the neceffaries of life, in any, in all thele fears the change of our ways, the repentance of our f fins, the amendment of our lives, will ever make our peace with our God, and turn away these threatned and feared evils from us, for godlineffe hath the promifes both of this life, and of that which is to comety, diab sk ૉ 2 Let us confider the inftruments in this action called to subistroops. 5546 The armies of the Chaldeans, by which Ifrael is to be punifhed, are the troops of God. God owns them, as feremiah telleth Zedechiah; Thus, faith Jer. 21.4,5 the Lord God of Ifrael, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war, that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the King of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans which befiege you without the wals, |
