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

Hence note, Fourthly; God visits or afflicts, even his own people, his elect, and choicest servants, with fatherly anger, when they displease and provoke him.

We find the Scripture speaking expressly of the anger of God towards the best of his servants, even towards a Moses, (as himself made confession, Deuter. 1.37.) when they displease him; Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, thou also shalt not go in thither. Moses was a most meek man, the meekest man upon the face of the earth, nor was he an inferior in any other grace, yet the Lord was angry wi h him, and angry with him upon that special occasion, his unbelief, (Numb. 20.12.) And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, because ye believe me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore &c. We read of the Lords anger breaking out against Aaron for another sin, (Numb. 12.9.) The anger of the Lord was kindled against them, that is, against Aaron and Miriam, because they had spoken against Moses, (vers. 1.8.) Aaron was the High Priest, and as he was high in office, so eminent in grace; and doubtless Miriam was a very gracious woman, yet the Lord was not only angry with them, but exceeding angry; his anger waxed hot against them and kindled, when they forgot their duty to Moses, and remembered not their distance with reverence. Solomon in his prayer at the Dedication of the Temple, speaks of the people of God collectively; If they sin against thee, and thou be angry with them. The Lord is not only angry with the world, but angry with his Church, not only angry with Babylon, but with Jerusalem. And as Solomon spake that of the whole Nation of the Jews, supposing they might fall under the Lords anger all together as a body; so he did experience it sadly in his own person, (1 Kings 9.11.) And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice. Wise Solomon departed from God through an evil heart of unbelief and vanity, after the Lord had come and appeared to him more than once in grace and savour; and the bitter effects or fruits of that departure, appeared to him shortly after, the Lord (saith that Scripture) was angry with Solomon; and the sequel of his History tells us, there went out very hot displeasure