An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of…

but Israel doth neither observe nor submit to me, who have tenderly nursed and plentifully nourished them; who have (as the Lord spake by his Prophet, Hos. 11.4.) been to ⟨p. 84⟩them, as one that taketh the yoke off their jaws, and layeth them meat, the fat and the sweet, the finest of the wheat, and honey out of the Rock to feed upon; and, which is more than this, who have not only fed them better, but taught them better than the Ox or Ass; O ye Heavens, be astonished at this! Further, as in this Scripture the Lo•d contested with, and reproved his people by the beasts of the earth, so he doth it in another by the fowls of the air, (Jer. 8.6, 7.) I (saith the Lord) hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright, &c. every one turned to his course, (his sinful course, or his course in sin) as the Horse rusheth into the battle; that is, fiercely, fearlessly, presumptuously, at once slighting, at least forgetting, both their own danger, and my command. As the Lord thus rebukes the head-strong obstinacy and wilfulness of that people, by their likeness to the Horse; so in the next verse he reproves their blindness and blockishness, by their unlikeness to the Sto k, &c. Yea the Stork in the Heaven knoweth her appointed time, and the Turtle, and the Crane, and the Swallow observe the time of their coming, but my people know not the Judgements of the Lord. Then followeth, (v. 8.) How do ye say, we are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us; Lo certainly in vain made he it, the pen of the Scribe is in vain: As if he had said; You have been taught, you have had the Law of the Lord, and you a•e ready to boast of it, as the Apostle observed (Rom. 2.23.) but with what face can ye take it upon your selves to be wise men, or arrogate wisdom to your selves, or so much as own the Law, when you are so unready to pay that obedience which you owe to it. The Crane, the Turtle, and Swallow, the very fowls of Heaven, follow the light of nature better than you have done the light of Scripture and daily instruction. These reasonless creatures, reason with themselves more rationally than you have done; They say thus in themselves, It is best for us to change our quarters, and take our flight to some more benign or milder region, for here the season grows sharp, and the weather tempestuous, if we abide here we starve, we perish with cold and hunger: