Now before I come to the particulars, note how careful God is, that spiritual exercises should be spiritually performed. He's very angry when he sees a spiritual duty carnally undertaken. For this cause many are sick, &c. that is, because you that are believers, have faith, repentance, and a portion in your Saviour come irreverently, come unpreparedly, perform a spiritual work so carnally. We have presidents hereof in Scripture• ▪ and chiefly two: First, for circumcision, Exod. 4.24. At the 21. v. God sent ⟨p. 442⟩Moses on a Message into Egypt, and in the 24. vers. the Text saith, It came to pass by the way in the Inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. This is very strange, this hath no dependence on that which goes before: a strange accident, God sought to kill him, although he but a little before had sent him into Egypt, and told him he would be with him. Why? what should we do then? how should the message be done, and fulfilled? But what was the reason hereof? It's not expressed, yet we may gather from the following words, that it was by reason his sons were uncircumcised, for vers. 25. Zippora took a sharp stone, and cut off the fore-skin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, surely a bloody husband hast thou been unto me: God would have smitten him for the neglect of the Sacrament of Circumcision. Another instance we have for the Passover in Hezekiahs time. 2 Chron. 30.17, 18. A multitude of the people, yea many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulon had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the Passover otherwise then it was written. There were many likewise in the Congregation that were not sanctified; and therefore God punished them. It's not set down in what manner God punished them, yet by the consequent it may be gathered that it was by sickness, for the next words are to that effect: Hezekiah prayed for them saying, the good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his Father, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the Sanctuary, and the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people. So that you see for this God smites a person, and it's to be ⟨p. 443⟩feared least judgements temporal fall on the whole Nation for this fault, that he even smites a people to death. But we pass from this and come to the particulars.
Now before I come to the particulars, note how careful God is, that spiritual exercises should be spiritually performed. He's very angry when he sees a spiritual duty carnally undertaken. For this cause many are sick, &c. that is, because you that are believers, have faith, repentance, and a portion in your Saviour come irreverently, come unpreparedly, perform a spiritual work so carnally. We have presidents hereof in Scripture• ▪ and chiefly two: First, for circumcision, Exod. 4.24. At the 21. v. God sent ⟨p. 442⟩Moses on a Message into Egypt, and in the 24. vers. the Text saith, It came to pass by the way in the Inne, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. This is very strange, this hath no dependance on that which goes before: a strange accident, God sought to kill him, although he but a little before had sent him into Egypt, and told him he would be with him. Why? what should we do then? how should the message be done, and fulfilled? But what was the reason hereof? It's not expressed, yet we may gather from the following words, that it was by reason his sons were uncircumcised, for vers. 25. Zippora took a sharp stone, and cut off the fore-skin of her sonne, and cast it at his feet, and said, surely a bloody husband hast thou been unto me: God would have smitten him for the neglect of the Sacrament of Circumcision. Another instance we have for the Passover in Hezekiahs time. 2 Chron. 30.17, 18. A multitude of the people, yea many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulon had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the Passover otherwise then it was written. There were many likewise in the Congregation that were not sanctified; and therefore God punished them. It's not set down in what manner God punished them, yet by the consequent it may be gather'd that it was by sicknesse, for the next words are to that effect: Hezekiah prayed for them saying, the good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his Father, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the Sanctuary, and the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people. So that you see for this God smites a person, and it's to be ⟨p. 443⟩feared least judgements temporal fall on the whole Nation for this fault, that he even smites a people to death. But we passe from this and come to the particulars.
