Fifthly, When God hides his face from a Nation, he is ready to declare his displeasure, and the sorest testimonies of his fierce anger, formally, against them; God looks upon a sinfully sinning people as a burden upon his heart; he is pressed, and even oppressed with them, he loathes them, his stomach turns at the thought of them, (Isa. 1.24.) Ah! I will ease me (the Hebrew is, I will be comforted, or I will comfort my self, that is, I will unburden my soul, and satisfy my self by taking vengeance) of my adversaries, that is, of my people who have rebelled against my command, and have been disobedient to my word. These the Lord counts no more as his children and friends, but as his enemies, and numbers them among his adversaries; Ah, saith he, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: I am grieved to do it, yet I must do it, I am resolved to do it. As soon as the Lord had declared that he would receive no intercession for Israel, he adds, (Jer. 15.1.2.) Cast them out of my sight, let them go forth, and it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt say unto them, thus saith the Lord, such as are for death, to death, and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; such as are for captivity, to captivity; I will cause them to be removed into all Kingdoms of the earth, (vers. 4.) and as I will not pity them, so none shall, (vers. 5.) All these tokens of displeasure fall upon a people when once the Lord hides his face from them. Yea then the Lord himself will go forth against them as a fierce Lion, (Hos. 5.14, 15.) He was to Israel as a moth, and as rottenness, (vers. 12.) that is, a secret consumption, he would also be an open destruction to them as a Lion, yea as a Leopard by the way would he observe them, or lye in wait for them, and meet them as a Bear that is, bereaved of her whelps, and rent the very caul of their heart, (Hos. 13.7, 8.) The Lord ⟨p. 746⟩God takes upon him the actings of the most savage beasts in righteousness, to show how much he is provoked, when he seeth his people act like beasts in unrighteousness, filthiness, cruelties, sensual pleasures; when men behave themselves unlike men, God will not meet them (as he told Babylon he would not, Isa. 47.3.) as a man, that is, either in the weakness of a man, or in the compassions of a man;
Fifthly, When God hides his face from a Nation, he is ready to declare his displeasure, and the sorest testimonies of his fierce anger, formally, against them; God looks upon a sinfully sinning people as a burthen upon his heart; he is prest, and even opprest with them, he loaths them, his stomack turns at the thought of them, (Isa. 1.24.) Ah! I will ease me (the Hebrew is, I will be comforted, or I will comfort my self, that is, I will unburden my soul, and satisfie my self by taking vengeance) of my adversaries, that is, of my people who have rebelled against my command, and have been disobedient to my word. These the Lord counts no more as his children and friends, but as his enemies, and numbers them among his adversaries; Ah, saith he, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies: I am grieved to do it, yet I must do it, I am resolved to do it. As soon as the Lord had declared that he would receive no intercession for Israel, he adds, (Jer. 15.1.2.) Cast them out of my sight, let them go forth, and it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt say unto them, thus saith the Lord, such as are for death, to death, and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; such as are for captivity, to captivity; I will cause them to be removed into all Kingdoms of the earth, (vers. 4.) and as I will not pity them, so none shall, (vers. 5.) All these tokens of displeasure fall upon a people when once the Lord hides his face from them. Yea then the Lord himself will go forth against them as a fierce Lion, (Hos. 5.14, 15.) He was to Israel as a moth, and as rottenness, (vers. 12.) that is, a secret consumption, he would also be an open destruction to them as a Lion, yea as a Leopard by the way would he observe them, or lye in wait for them, and meet them as a Bear that is, bereaved of her whelps, and rent the very caul of their heart, (Hos. 13.7, 8.) The Lord ⟨p. 746⟩God takes upon him the actings of the most savage beasts in righteousness, to shew how much he is provoked, when he seeth his people act like beasts in unrighteousness, filthiness, cruelties, sensual pleasures; when men behave themselves unlike men, God will not meet them (as he told Babylon he would not, Isa. 47.3.) as a man, that is, either in the weakness of a man, or in the compassions of a man;