A30574:735
An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth, & tenth chapters of the prophesy of Hosea being first delivered in several lectures at Michaels Cornhill, London / by Jeremiah Burroughs ; being the seventh book published by Thomas Goodwin ... [et al.]
London: printed by Peter Cole, 1650
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Only one Note by the way that Arias Montanus hath upon the words,1 saith he, This Phrase, Hatred in the house of his God; it's taken from such men as live in some great families, and seemed to have a great deal of power with their Lords, and abuse the power they have with their Lord, being continually by his table & bed side, they are a means to cause a great deal of hatred, and at length to undo others and themselves: So these Prophets are just like these men, they are in the house of God, and seem to have much intimacy with God in his House; but the truth is, they abuse this their intimacy to the hurt of themselves and to the hurt of others. And thus much for the Explication of the Eighth Verse. It follows.
Only one Note by the way that Arias Montanus hath upon the words,1 saith he, This Phrase, Hatred in the house of his God; it's taken from such men as live in some great families, and seem'd to have a great deal of power with their Lords, and abuse the power they have with their Lord, being continually by his table & bed side, they are a means to cause a great deal of hatred, and at length to undo others and themselves: So these Prophets are just like these men, they are in the house of God, and seem to have much intimacie with God in his House; but the truth is, they abuse this their intimacie to the hurt of themselves and to the hurt of others. And thus much for the Explication of the Eighth Verse. It follows.
They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of GIBEAH.
They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the daies of GIBEAH.
Their wickedness hath deeply-rooted its self, so the word here signifies; there's little hope to prevail with them, labour what you can,1 their superstitious and Idolatrous ways have gotten such deep root in their hearts that there is no getting of it out. Sin, and especially that sin of superstition so deeply roots its self in the hearts of men if it be let alone but a little time that there is no getting of it out.
THeir wickedness hath deeply-rooted its self, so the word here signifies; there's little hope to prevail with them, labor what you can,1 their superstitious and Idolatrous waies have gotten such deep root in their hearts that there is no getting of it out. Sin, and especially that sin of superstion so deeply roots its self in the hearts of men if it be let alone but a little time that there is no getting of it out.
And indeed there is little hope of the Reformation that is now in hand,1 that ever we should see it come to the full beauty and perfection of it until even God himself,2 either by some extraordinary hand of his should root out those superstitious principles that there are in many men, or at least by his own hand root out those that have such superstitious ⟨p. 203⟩and Idolatrous principles rooted in them. We wonder that men cannot be taken off from superstitious ways, Oh! they are deeply rooted, it's not an easy matter to eradicate those ways and vile words of theirs; it's a blessed thing to take sin betimes,3 and you that are young that have not other wickedness, and especially superstition rooted in you, you are those that it's like God will make use of for the bringing this Reformation to perfection, you shall see the glory of it, it may be when others are gone and dead you shall come to see what God intended in all these stirs that have been among us, we find by experience the fruit of this in the hearts of men, what a deal of stir was there to take them off at first? Oh! but the root abides still in mens hearts, and there's this experiment of it, of the depth and root that superstition take, in mens hearts, That though men be content not to practice those superstitious ways that they did before, because now the times do not favour them, yet this we find, that men cannot be brought to leave off those things as sinful, but as inconvenient, they will be content to forbear the practice of them, but you have but few men, I had almost said but few Ministers, but so far I may be bold to say, that many Ministers,4 but especially those who were any thing forward in superstitious ways, such as did not before account them a burden, those though they do leave them off at this time, yet not as things that are sinful, they never could be brought to that, to acknowledge them to be sinful, and so to charge themselves in sinning against God, but they are content to leave them off as things that are inconvenient and as may be burdensome to other men; but the leaving them off after such a way is no other, but if the times should favour them again there is a principle retained in their hearts, so as they would be in readiness to submit to them again, and to do them as formerly, this bitter root of Superstition abides in their hearts;
that's the meaning of this phrase, they are deeply rooted, that is, their superstition ⟨p. 204⟩and false worship is deeply rooted in their hearts. Well, let their superstition be rooted as deep as it will,1 yet as Christ saith in Mat. 15. Every plant that my Father hath not planted shall be rooted out: God will either root thee out, or the superstition of thy heart out of thee.2 And seeing the false worshippers have superstition so rooted in their hearts, Oh! how should the true worshippers of God have the truth rooted in their hearts never to be rooted out; so Saint Paul in Col. 2. 7. Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith &c.
that's the meaning of this phrase, they are deeply rooted, that is, their superstition ⟨p. 204⟩and false worship is deeply rooted in their hearts. Well, let their superstition be rooted as deep as it will,1 yet as Christ saith in Mat. 15. Every plant that my Father hath not planted shall be rooted out: God will either root thee out, or the superstition of thy heart out of thee.2 And seeing the false worshipers have superstition so rooted in their hearts, Oh! how should the true worshipers of God have the truth rooted in their hearts never to be rooted out; so Saint Paul in Col. 2. 7. Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith &c.
This must cost us a little further time for the opening of it fully: Rooted in their evil ways as in the days of Gibeah. What hath this reference to? the Scripture doth note the City Gibeah for two notable things; one, that it was the City of Saul, and so then upon that some carry it thus: That as heretofore they cast off my Government when they chose Saul to be their King over them,1 so now they cast me off as then formerly they did.
This must cost us a little further time for the opening of it fully: Rooted in their evil waies as in the daies of Gibeah. What hath this reference to? the Scripture doth note the City Gibeah for two notable things; one, that it was the City of Saul, and so then upon that some carry it thus: That as heretofore they cast off my Government when they chose Saul to be their King over them,1 so now they cast me off as then formerly they did.
But I think that's not the scope, but rather, As in the days of Gibeah; This hath reference to that notable story that you have in the 19. and 20. chapters of Judges, 1there you shall find what was done in the days of Gibeah. You shall find the story of a Levite that had his Concubine gone from him and playing the whore, he went to fetch her again, and as he was returning home (the substance of the story is this) as he was coming home he would not go by no means (as his servant would have had him) to Jebus, because those that lived there were not of the Children of Israel, but he would be sure to lodge in a City that did belong to the Children of Israel, and when he comes to Gibeah, there expecting to have protection from that City, being they were of the Children of Israel, yet he found it quite otherwise, the people of the City were notorious abominable wicked people and they came by violence in the night ⟨p. 205⟩to break open the doors where he lodged that they might commit sodomy and filthiness with him, but they obtaining him not, get his Concubine and abuse her all night together one after another, till with a long abuse of her they killed her, and she lay dead at the door, upon which horrid thing, this being committed in a City that did belong to the People of God, this Levite takes a knife and cuts his Concubine (being dead) into twelve pieces, and sends them all abroad throughout the coasts of Israel, and bad them think upon it and consider what should be done. And upon the sight of that, and hearing the occasion of it, the people were amazed and said, Never was such a thing done, or seen since the people of Israel came out of the Land of Egypt. Wherefore all the People even from Dan to Beersheba th•y all assembled to consult what should be done, in the 20. chap. they resolved to go against the City of Gibeah; in the 11. verse the text saith, All the people were gathered together against the City, as one man: and in the 13. verse they required those Delinquents to be delivered up to them. Now those Children of Belial they stood it out and would not deliver them up;
But I think that's not the scope, but rather, As in the daies of Gibeah; This hath reference to that notable story that you have in the 19. and 20. chapters of Judges, 1
yea, and they got the Benjamites to join with them, twenty six thousand Armed men to join with them to stand in defence of these notorious Delinquents, they got up an Army which one would not have thought that among the People God there should have been gotten up an Army to have defended such notorious villains as those were, yet they did, but the people of Israel joined all together and were resolved that they would have such notorious wickedness to be punished (there was four hundred thousand joined together) Now in the 18. verse, they asked counsel of God what they should do, & God gave them leave to go, and bid that Judah should go up first, so they went to require these Delinquents and went up against them, but the Benjamites the first day got the victory and slew two and twenty thousand men. Upon that the Children of Israel went up to ⟨p. 206⟩God again and wept before the Lord, and God gave them leave to go again, & they went, & the Benjamites came out again & slew eighteen thousand more of them: These wicked Malignants got the Victory two days and slew forty thousand of the Children of Israel that went not only by Gods leave,1 but by his sending, and yet for two days together they fell before those wicked and vile wretches; but yet afterwards they went and wept and fasted, they knew that their cause could not but be good, and they were resolved they would go to God again and humble their souls before God, and fast, and pray, and then they overthrew those wicked Bonjamites, and these of Gibeah; and whereas there were twenty six thousand came out against them,2 there was twenty and five thousand and an hundred men slain by the sword, and the City of Gibeah was burnt with fire; so God executed wrath upon them at length. This is the story that the Prophet hath reference to.
yea, and they got the Benjamites to joyn with them, twenty six thousand Armed men to joyn with them to stand in defence of these notorious Delinquents, they got up an Army which one would not have thought that among the People God there should have been gotten up an Army to have defended such notorious villains as those were, yet they did, but the people of Israel joyned all together and were resolved that they would have such notorious wickedness to be punished (there was four hundred thousand joyned together) Now in the 18. verse, they asked counsel of God what they should do, & God gave them leave to go, and bid that Judah should go up first, so they went to require these Delinquents and went up against them, but the Benjamites the first day got the victory and slew two and twenty thousand men. Upon that the Children of Israel went up to
Now these men are wicked, as in the days of Gibeah; look how it was in the days of Gibeah, so now it is; there's many remarkable things to be observed from that story, in reference to this which the Prophet doth quote it for, the story in general was thus, That they stood out to defend wicked ones so as they did; it doth concern us fully in our times,1 and our wars are almost the very same now as then they were, for what is the main cause of our War but to fetch Delinquents to the execution of Justice? and who would have thought that such Delinquents whose burdens we groaned under in former times, and we accounted the great evil of the times, that these should find an Army to defend them? Yet perhaps sometimes we may be overcome by them, and they may for a while prevail, but let us fast before God and humble our selves more throughly, and certainly God will own his Cause in time as there he did. But particularly from the story first observe,
Now these men are wicked, as in the daies of Gibeah; look how it was in the daies of Gibeah, so now it is; there's many remarkable things to be observed from that story, in reference to this which the Prophet doth quote it for, the story in general was thus, That they stood out to defend wicked ones so as they did; it doth concern us fully in our times,1 and our wars are almost the very same now as then they were, for what is the main cause of our War but to fetch Delinquents to the execution of Justice? and who would have thought that such Delinquents whose burdens we groaned under in former times, and we accounted the great evil of the times, that these should find an Army to defend them? Yet perhaps sometimes we may be overcome by them, and they may for a while prevail, but let us fast before God and humble our selves more throughly, and certainly God will own his Cause in time as there he did. But particularly from the story first observe,
That when we make use of men as a shelter and to seek protection from them, 1if they shall deal vilely with us and accuse us, and ⟨p. 207⟩make a prey upon us, this is a most abominable and cursed wickedness in the eyes of God; This Levite came from Jebus and would not lodge with them, but to Gibeah, thinking to have had protection there, and yet these deal vilely: Doth any man put himself under any of you for protection, and do you deal falsely? Oh! this is an abominable thing in the eyes of God.
That when we make use of men as a shelter and to seek protection from them, 1if they shall deal vilely with us and accuse us, and ⟨p. 207⟩make a prey upon us, this is a most abominable and cursed wickedness in the eyes of God; This Levite came from Jebus and would not lodg with them, but to Gibeah, thinking to have had protection there, and yet these deal vily: Doth any man put himself under any of you for protection, and do you deal falsely? Oh! this is an abominable thing in the eyes of God.
Secondly,1 That sometimes we may meet with worse usage from such who profess Religion and more strictness in their ways, than from those who outwardly are further off from profession. It may be if they had gone to Jebus they would not have met with such ill usage, as they did when they came to Gibeah: sometimes it is so that they that make profession of Religion they are guilty of more ill usage to the servants of God than others that are profane and ungodly, or of another Religion.
Secondly,1 That sometimes we may meet with worse usage from such who profess Religion and more strictness in their waies, than from those who outwardly are further off from profession. It may be if they had gone to Jebus they would not have met with such ill usage, as they did when they came to Gibeah: sometimes it is so that they that make profession of Religion they are guilty of more ill usage to the servants of God than others that are prophane and ungodly, or of another Religion.
And indeed there is little hope of the Reformation that is now in hand,1 that ever we should see it come to the full beauty and perfection of it until even God himself,2 either by some extraordinary hand of his should root out those superstitious principles that there are in many men, or at least by his own hand root out those that have such superstitious ⟨p. 203⟩and Idolatrous principles rooted in them. We wonder that men cannot be taken off from superstitious waies, Oh! they are deeply rooted, it's not an easie matter to eraditate those waies and vile words of theirs; it's a blessed thing to take sin betimes,3 and you that are young that have not other wickedness, and especially superstition rooted in you, you are those that it's like God will make use of for the bringing this Reformation to perfection, you shall see the glory of it, it may be when others are gone and dead you shall come to see what God intended in all these stirs that have been among us, we find by experience the fruit of this in the hearts of men, what a deal of stir was there to take them off at first? Oh! but the root abides still in mens hearts, and there's this experiment of it, of the depth and root that superstition take, in mens hearts, That though men be content not to practice those superstitious waies that they did before, because now the times do not favor them, yet this we find, that men cannot be brought to leave off those things as sinful, but as inconvenient, they will be content to forbear the practice of them, but you have but few men, I had almost said but few Ministers, but so far I may be bold to say, that many Ministers,4 but especially those who were any thing forward in superstitious waies, such as did not before account them a burden, those though they do leave them off at this time, yet not as things that are sinful, they never could be brought to that, to acknowledg them to be sinful, and so to charge themselves in sinning against God, but they are content to leave them off as things that are inconvenient and as may be burdensom to other men; but the leaving them off after such a way is no other, but if the times should favor them again there is a principle retained in their hearts, so as they would be in readiness to submit to them again, and to do them as formerly, this bitter root of Superstition abides in their hearts;
