A35535:944
An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty second, the thirty third, and…An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the thirty second, the thirty third, and…
An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty second, the thirty third, and the thirty fourth chapters of the book of Job being the substance of forty-nine lectures / delivered at Magnus near the Bridge, London, by Joseph Caryl ...An exposition with practicall observations continued upon the thirty second, the thirty third, and the thirty fourth chapters of the booke of Job being the substance of forty-nine lectures / delivered at Magnus neare the Bridge, London, by Joseph Caryl ...
London: printed by M. Simmons, 1661
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.
Hence note, Secondly.
To charge the Lord with a willingness to break with us, either upon no occasion, or to seek an occasion that he may, is exceeding sinful, and dishonourable to his Majesty, near to Blasphemy.
To charge the Lord with a willingnesse to breake with us, either upon no occasion, or to seeke an occasion that he may, is exceeding sinfull, and dishonourable to his Majesty, neere to Blasphemy.
How sinful is it, that we who give the Lord so many occasions against us, that he needs not seek any, should yet say he seeketh occasions against us? The people of Israel (as it appears) intimated, at least, that God had broken with them, or sought occasion to do it (this word is used in that text, Numb: 14.34.) while the Lord to show how ill he resented such thoughts and jealousies of him, tells them, According to the number of the days in which ye searched the Land, even forty days (each day for a year) shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise, or (as read in the margin) my Altering of my purpose. As if he had said, Ye shall know whether I have sought occasion against you,1 whether I have frustrated your hopes and endeavours, these forty years in the wilderness or no; ye shall know whether I have done any thing to break and entangle you, or whether all this hath nor proceeded from your own frowardness and unbelief. The Lord who searched their hearts, and saw the utmost scope of their complaints, found this evil thought lying at the bottom of all, that he surely had put them upon all those difficulties, or brought them into those straits on purpose to break with them. And therefore, he saith, Ye shall know my breach of promise; Ye shall see one day, or at last, whether I have kept covenant, and stood to my engagement or you, whether I have sought an occasion against you, or you have given me occasion to deal with you as I have done. So that when the Lord said, Ye shall know my breach of promise; his meaning was, ye shall know that I have kept my promise to you exactly, or to a tittle, and that ye only have been the promise-breakers. 'Tis infinitely below the nature of God, to seek occasions against the creature; And 'tis strange that the Jews had any the remotest suspicion of him as doing so, after they had heard of those glorious stiles and titles in which he proclaimed his name (Exod: 34.6.) The Lord, the Lord God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in goodness and in truth, pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin. What can be spelled out of this name that should yield the least shadow of a jealousy, that the Lord would seek occasions against them.