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

For answer know, We must restrain that restraint to the point of bringing Jacob back again, Thou shalt not speak either good or bad to him, to stop or turn him from his way, thou shalt use no threatenings to bring him back to thee, no, nor any promises or allurements: thou shalt make no offers of better entertainment to win him to thy service, which was the thing he so much desired. Good and bad are the two terms of all that can be spoken, and where the utmost extremes of speaking are forbidden, all speaking to that purpose is ⟨p. 195⟩forbidden. When the ancient people of God were few in number, yea, very few, and strangers in the land, when they went from one Nation to another, from one Kingdom to another people, one would think, that all the world would have been upon them; but here was their protection, God had a negative voice (Psal. 105.15.) He suffered no man to do them wrong. Many had (as we say) an aching tooth at the people of God, their fingers itched to be dealing with them, and the text shows four advantages the world had against them: First, They were few. Secondly, Very few. Thirdly, Strangers. Fourthly, Unsettled. What hindered their enemies? It was the Lords negative voice. He reproved Kings for their sake, saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my Prophets no harm. We see an instance of this (Gen. 35.5.) when Jacob and his family journeyed, the terror of God was upon the Cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob: They had a mind to pursue after them, to revenge the slaughter of the Sichemites, but God said, Pursue not, and then they could not pursue, they must stay at home. And when his people the Jews were safe in Canaan, he encourages them to come up freely to worship at Jerusalem, by this assurance, No man shall desire thy Land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God, thrice in the year (Exod. 24.34.) God can stop not only hands from spoiling, but hearts from desiring. Our appetite, whether concupiscible or irascible, is under his command, as well as our actions. The Prophet asserts this by way of question (Lam. 3.37.) Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? That is, if the Lord doth not concur, if the Lord vote against the saying or command of any man in the world, what he saith shall never come to pass.