THE

MISERY OF A DESERTED PEOPLE:

Opened in a SERMON preached at St. Paul's, before the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, and Common-Council, December 2, 1659. Being a day of solemn humiliation by them appointed.

HOSEA ix. 12.

-Yea, wo also to them when I depart from them.

WE find in the law of Moses, that, in several cases, the priests of the Lord were to sound the trumpets unto the people, to summon and awaken them unto the special duties which God called for. (Numb. x. 1-10) And, in like manmer, the Lord commandeth his prophets "to lift up their voice like a trumpet, and to set the trumpet unto their mouth." (Isa. lviii. 1. Hos. viii. 1) One end of blowing the trumpet, was to give warning to the people of any approaching danger, that they might timely prevent and escape it. (Joel ii. 1) "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in mine holy mountain : let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." This is one special duty of spiritual watchmen. (Jer. vi. 17) "I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet." "Son of man," saith the Lord to the prophet, "I have set thee a watchman to the house of Israel, therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me." (See Ezek. xxxiii. 2-9) As Elisha gave the king of Israel warning of the king of Syria's counsels against him. (2 Kings vi. 9) This charge Jehoshaphat gave unto the priests and Levites, that they should "warn the people not to transgress," lest wrath come upon them and their brethren. (2 Chron. xix. 10)

When ruin was hanging over Nineveh, Jonah is com,

manded to cry against it. (Jonah i. 2) Crying sins call for crying preachers; and when he slept in that terrible tempest which was upon the ship, the master of the ship awakened him; "What ailest thou, O sleeper? Arise and call upon thy God." (Jonah i. 6) We have had amongst us the confused noise of the battle of the warrior, and garments rolled in blood; the noise of the rattling of wheels, and of the prancing of horses, and of the jumping of the chariots, of the bright sword, and the glittering spear. And this should have awakened us to return, and to seek the Lord. For certainly, it is through the Lord's wrath, that the people of a land are as the fuel of fire, no man sparing his brother. But his anger is not turned away, his hand is stretched out still. And if our ears were well awakened, I fear we should hear a more dreadful noise than that of the warrior, the noise of the wings of the living creatures; (Ezek. i. 24) the glory of the Lord in his church, threatening to depart from us; as he did from his people Judah. (Ezek. ix. 3, and x. 18, 19, and xi. 22, 23) I have therefore made choice of these words of this trumpet-sounding prophet Hosea, that we may be awakened to cry mightily unto God, and to hold him fast, and not let him go; to repent, and do our first works, lest he come quickly and remove our candlestick out of his place; as he threatened to do unto the church of Ephesus. (Rev. ii. 4, 5)

In this chapter, we have an enumeration of several sins of that people, and several judgements denounced against the same. The sins are, 1. Idolatry, going from God, ascribing their plenty to their superstition. (ver. 1, 10, 15) 2. Entertaining and believing false prophets. (ver. 7, 8) 3. Profundity of desperate wickedness, as that of Gibeah. (Judges xix. 9) 4. Carnal confidence and security. (ver. 1, 13) 5. Wickedness of prophets, who should teach others. (ver. 7,8) of princes, who should punish others, (ver. 15) and of the people. (ver. 17) And all these sins aggravated by God's ancient love unto them. (ver. 10)

The punishments denounced, (ver. 9) and now presently impending, (ver. 7) 1. Scarcity of corn and wine, which they promised themselves by their idolatry. (ver. 1, 2) 2.

a Isai. ix. 15.

b Nahum iii. 2, 3.

Isai. ix. 19.

1

Expulsion from the Lord's land, into the land of enemies and idols, which they loved more than the Lord. (ver. 3) 3. Eating polluted and interdicted meats, as they had polluted the land. (ver. 3) 4. Ceasing of sacrifices, and impurity of them, displeasing to God as the bread of mourners, which was not to come into God's house. (ver. 4) 5. No celebrity, or solemn festivals. (ver. 5) 6. Horrid vastation, flight, death, burial in Egypt, &c. (ver. 6. as chap. x. 8. Isa. xxxiv. 11-15) 7. Slaying of children, from the conception to the birth, from the birth to the youth, educated for murderers. (ver. 11, 12, 13, 14, 16) 8. God's departure from them, hating them, loving them no more, driving them from his house and presence, casting them away. (ver. 12, 15, 17)

With all which there is a double prolepsis, or prevention of an objection, 1. They were at this time joyous, and in great prosperity under Jeroboam, who flourished more than any of the Kings of Israel. This vain security he removeth, by assuring them that the days of visitation and recompense were come. (ver. 1, 7) 2. They were strong like Tyrus, and their place was secured by the impregnableness of it: but this should not prevent the judgement; the murderer should find out their children, the beloved fruit of their womb. (ver. 13, 16)

The words of the text contain the sorest of all these judgements. God may love and adopt a people, own them for his, vouchsafe his presence to them, be a sanctuary for them, in a wilderness, in Babylon, when he feeds them with bread of affliction, and water of affliction. (Deut. viii. 15, 16. Exod. xxxiii. 14. Ezek. xi. 16. Isa. xxx. 20, 21) But this is the uttermost misery which a people can be exposed unto, -to have the Lord hate them, love them no more, drive and cast them out, and depart from them: a comprehensive judgement, a doleful epiphonema; though they have famine, and banishment, and desolation, no sacrifices, no festivals, no children, yet the wo never comes till God cast them away, and depart from them: "Yea, wo also to them, when I depart from them;" or, "when I remove my glory," or di vine majesty from them, by which I have dwelt amongst them, or been near unto them. So the Chaldean reads it. The Seventy, and Theodotion render it, "My flesh is from

them :" which the Greek expositors understand as a mitigation of the wo, Though their own children should cut off, yet he would be born in the flesh of them. And Petrus Galatinus chargeth the Jews with a false punctuation of this word besuri' for besari,' out of a hatred of the great mystery of the incarnation. But learned interpreters do ge

nerally reject this version, and render it, "Væ etiam ipsis in recedendo me ab eis," or, "cum recessero ab eis;" which the sense of the context evidently requires, by comparing it with verses 15, 17. For though the middle letter be Shin for Samech, yet that mutation is very frequent, for letters of the same sound and organ, to be put one for another; as learned men have observed.

The words then are a prediction and denunciation of God's departure from his people for their sins. Wherein are visible these two parts: 1. The judgement threatened, God's departure from them. 2. The misery consequent thereupon. "Yea, wo also unto them, when I depart from them." It is a miserable thing for men's children to flee away and depart from them; or after they are brought up, to be preserved for the murderer: but if God continue his presence, all their comforts are comprised in that. Job could bless God when all was gone, because the Lord had not forsaken him. (Job i. 21) And the Apostle, "all men forsook me, but the Lord stood with me," and strengthened me. (2 Tim. iv. 16, 17) But when corn and wine, sacrifices and oblations, country and dwelling-places, tabernacles and delights, children and the beloved fruit of the womb, the glory of that people, are all gone, then for God to go after them, and depart too, and to withdraw his Majesty and presence from them, to hate them, to love them no more, to cast them out of his sight;-This is accumulated wo, etiam væ,' a wo that doth consummate all the other woes, that leaveth no room for another, or a greater; "Yea, also wo unto them, when I depart from them."

Here then, that we may rightly understand both, what it is for God to depart from a people, and how great a wo and judgement it is, it will be necessary to enquire what it is for God to be present with a people, and how great a mercy

d Galatin. de Arcan, Cathol, vir. lib. 1. c. 8.

that is for contraries do notably open and illustrate one another.

There is a twofold presence of God: the one general, by the immensity of his nature, as he filleth all places; (Psalm cxxxix. 7-12) the other special, gracious, comfortable, as he is in his church. This presence of his hath been various, according to the different ages and states of the church.

1. Typical, in shadows and representations. The ark, an emblem of God's presence, who is said to dwell between the cherubims. (Psalm lxxx. 1) There he promised to meet with them. (Exod. xxix. 43, 45) It is called his dwellingplace, (Psalm lxxvi. 2) his place, his presence. (1 Chron. xvi. 27)

2. Energetical, in powerful and mighty operations: the bush burning and not consuming, the opening of the Red Sea, the thunders and lightnings on Sinai, the mighty works between Egypt and Canaan, were all evidences of God's presence with Israel. (Psalm lxviii. 7, 8)

3. Bodily, manifested in the flesh by the incarnation of the Son, who was the image of the invisible God. (Col. i. 15. 1 Tim. iii. 16)

4. Spiritual, by sending forth the Holy Spirit after the ascension of Christ, as another Comforter upon the church. (John xiv. 18, 19)

And thus he is present with his church by spiritual ordinances, and by spiritual operations. 1. By spiritual ordinances, in which God is said to be; (1 Cor. xiv. 25) and Christ to preach, (Eph. ii. 17) and to be evidently set forth, (Gal. iii. 1) to be with his messengers to the end of the world. (Matth. xxviii. 20)

2. By spiritual operations, which are of three sorts, viz. Providence.

Works of Grace.

Comfort.

1. In works of Providence, by his power, authority, and wisdom, ordering and reducing all the contingencies, commotions, and events of the world to the good of his church, and subversion of the kingdom of darkness. (Isai. lix. 19. Zech. iv. 6)

• Agit Spiritus Dei et per bonos et malos, per scientes et nescientes, quod agendum novit et statuit. Aug. Qu. Evang. 1. 7. q. 49.