An exposition of the prophecy of Hosea begun in divers lectures upon the first…An exposition of the prophesie of Hosea begun in divers lectures vpon the first…

Secondly,¹ Plead with her. When exhortations and admonitions will not do, we must strengthen our selves and fall a pleading. If there be any way more powerful then exhortation and admonition we should take that way, and not presently give over, for though it is not said here, Plead with your brothers and sisters, yet they are included in this when he saith, Plead with your mother.

Secondly,¹ Plead with her. When exhortations and admonitions will not doe, we must strengthen our selves and falla pleading. If there be any way more powerfull then exhortation and admonition we should take that way, and not presently give over, for though it is not said here, Pleade with your brothers and sisters, yet they are included in this when he saith, Plead with your mother.

1. 1Obs. 2.

Thirdly, It is a hard thing to convince Idolaters of their sin, and of the Justice of God coming against them for their sin. Plead with your mother, plead, she will not acknowledge it, she will stand it out, and say she hath not done so ill, she is not worthy to be cast off, you had need plead and plead hard with her, she will stand out else: Idolaters have so many distinctions, so many evasions, so many shifts and pretences, that it is a thousand to one ever almost to prevail with them. When you deal with Papists about worshipping of Images they will have such distinctions of worship,¹ pierce, and worship per accidens, of honouring the creature, Propter se, & propter aliud, Proprie, improprie, and a hundred of such kind of distinctions and evasions, till they distinguish out the truth, and scarce understand themselves what they mean by their distinctions. Hence Idolaters scorn at judgements threatened, they think only a company of foolish & timorous people fear such things, they cry out, say they, that we are Idolaters, Idolaters and grievous judgements of God are coming on us, a company of foolish melancholy people they fear their own […]. Was it not so heretofore when we were going on in the ways of Idolatry space? Was it not the jeer and scorn of all such spirits? If any did seem but to make a question about Idolatry, they would never be convinced of such a sin, nor never fear any judgements hanging over our heads, Though God hath prevented it through his grace, and hath showed his preroation in the ways of his mercy, yet certainly there was sign enough of dreadful wrath hanging over us, and what yet may be we know not.