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

Hence note, First; Hypocrites humble not themselves, when God humbleth them;

When he binds them as it were hand and foot, they are tongue-tied and heart-tied. The Lord said of such (Hos. 7.14.) They cried not unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds; they assemble themselves for Corn and Wine, and rebel against me. They howled and made a noise, but (saith the Lo•d) all the while they cried not to me. There was no Repentance, no Prayer in their cry, they cried not with their heart. Hypocrites will, first, complain much when God binds them; secondly, they murmur much when God binds them; thirdly, they will vex themselves like a Bull in a Nett, when God binds them; Fourthly, they will rail and curse when God binds them; but repent, or pray they do not. (Isa. 8.21.) They shall pass through it hardly bested and hungry; and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their King and their God, and look upward. Here was blaspheming, but no crying, no repenting, no praying, no deprecating the hand of God, or the Judgment felt, in an humble and spiritual way. Hypocrites cry not to the Lord, though he makes them cry; they are readier to find fault with God, than with themselves, in the day of adversity: they neither cry the cry of godly sorrow for their sin, nor the cry of godly Prayers, for help out of their affliction. They who are false with God in times of Peace, seldom, if at all, repent, or duty apply themselves to God for help in times of trouble; the reason is, The Conscience of the hypocrite in heart, tells him,¹ he hath dealt basely with God; and therefore, when he is in straits or bound, what face, what faith, what liberty of spirit, can he have to cry to God? Such hypocrites often cry out despairingly, but oh how rarely are they brought to cry, either believingly or repentingly, when God bindeth them.