An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth, & tenth chapters of…

That is,¹ their hopes first shall fail them, and they shall see their counsels that they took shall come to nothing, and this shall cause shame and confusion of face upon them. The ten Tribes shall receive shame. Failing in our hopes that make us to be ashamed. They had good hopes they should prevail because of their Calves,² but now their Calves are taken from them, and now they are ashamed, In Job. 6. 20. They were confounded, because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed: they hoped to have relief, but had not, and therefore they were ashamed; the disappointment ⟨p. 394⟩of hopes causes great shame. Oh then! what shame and confusion will there be at the great day when we shall be disappointed of our last hopes? If we had been disappointed of our hopes now in respect of our Adversaries, Oh! what shame would have been upon the People of God, our Adversaries they would have cast shame upon us, and said, What's become of your fastings and prayers? As it's like the Assyrians did when they took the Calves, Oh! now we have got your Gods (say they) and upon this the people were ashamed: and so if our Adversaries had prevailed they would have scorned in the like manner. My Brethren, we have cause to bless the Lord from our souls that he hath delivered us from such a temptation, from such a temptation lest we should be ashamed of our hopes, though the truth is, If we had right we should not have been ashamed, for our hopes was not so much in the saving of our estates as this, That God would own his Cause in the conclusion, and so our hopes would not have failed; I but if our hopes had but seemed to have failed in outward appearance, that the Enemy should have prevailed, I say, it would have been a mighty temptation for us to have been ashamed of our hopes, Oh! blessed be God for preventing this, that the Lord hath not made his People to be ashamed of their hopes,