In these words are contained,
1. A thankful acknowledgement of the undeserved mercy their gracious God had exercised towards them; consisting in these two things.
1. He had punished them less than their sins deserved. They admire the Clemency of Almighty God, that when their iniquities were wonderfully great, their punishments should be mitigated with so much mercy. The Hebrew Verb [Greek or Hebrew] ⟨p. 8⟩here used, signifies (1.) Cohibere see, to with-hold ones self. And so the sense is elegant, Thou hast with-held thy self from doing what our iniquities deserved from thee. Thou wouldst not suffer thy direful anger to break out against us to the utmost, but didst refrain thy self from making an irreparable ruin amongst us. Hadst thou proportioned thy destroying judgment, to our daring provocations, and thy wrathful dealings to our vast deserts, we had not been a people at this very day: but thy mercy detained the hands of thy Justice; and thou didst not so much design to consume us, but only to correct us. The like acknowledgement have we cause to make, having had experiences of the same clemency: for when our provoked God hath come out against us with wasting Wars, destroying Plagues, devouring Flames; yet he restrained his wrath, and suspended the greatest part of the judgments we deserved from him; and although when he began, there was cause enough to make a full end of us all, yet in the midst of Justice he remembered mercy, and graciously desisted from ruining of us.
2. The word signifies Cohibere aliquid, ⟨p. 9⟩to restrain any thing else. So the sense is, Thou hast restrained, kept down our sins from rising up in judgment against us; for had they appeared against us, we had utterly been ruined.
2. This Mercy was expressed to them, by the working out for them so great a deliverance; Since thou hast given us such a deliverance; implying how merciful, how seasonable, how undeserved a deliverance that was they received; and such is ours, that the Almighty God hath vouchsafed to us.
2. You have here the deep sense of duty that was upon his heart; which duty was to break off sin, which only can be a just return to God for his goodness.
3. You have his sense of danger, if sin was persisted in after such a deliverance; Wouldst thou not consume us? &c.
4. You have the aggravation of that destruction under such heinous sinning, Till there were no remnant nor escaping.
In these words are contain'd,
1. A thankful acknowledgment of the undeserved mercy their gracious God had exercised towards them; consisting in these two things.
1. He had punished them less than their sins deserved. They admire the Clemency of Almighty God, that when their iniquities were wonderfully great, their punishments should be mitigated with so much mercy. The Hebrew Verb 〈non-Latin alphabet〉 ⟨p. 8⟩here used, signifies (1.) Cohibere se, to with-hold ones self. And so the sence is elegant, Thou hast with-held thy self from doing what our iniquities deserved from thee. Thou wouldst not suffer thy direful anger to break out against us to the utmost, but didst refrain thy self from making an irreparable ruine amongst us. Hadst thou proportioned thy destroying judgment, to our daring provocations, and thy wrathful dealings to our vast deserts, we had not been a people at this very day: but thy mercy detain'd the hands of thy Justice; and thou didst not so much design to consume us, but onely to correct us. The like acknowledgment have we cause to make, having had experiences of the same clemency: for when our provoked God hath come out against us with wasting Wars, destroying Plagues, devouring Flames; yet he restrained his wrath, and suspended the greatest part of the judgments we deserved from him; and although when he began, there was cause enough to make a full end of us all, yet in the midst of Justice he remembred mercy, and graciously desisted from ruining of us.
2. The word signifies Cohibere aliquid, ⟨p. 9⟩to restrain any thing else. So the sence is, Thou hast restrained, kept down our sins from rising up in judgment against us; for had they appeared against us, we had utterly been ruin'd.
2. This Mercy was exprest to them, by the working out for them so great a deliverance; Since thou hast given us such a deliverance; implying how merciful, how seasonable, how undeserved a deliverance that was they received; and such is ours, that the Almighty God hath vouchsafed to us.
2. You have here the deep sense of duty that was upon his heart; which duty was to break off sin, which onely can be a just return to God for his goodness.
3. You have his sense of danger, if sin was persisted in after such a deliverance; Wouldst thou not consume us? &c.
4. You have the aggravation of that destruction under such hainous sinning, Till there were no remnant nor escaping.
