Lectures upon the four first chapters of the prophecy of Hosea Wherein the text…Lectures vpon the foure first chapters of the prophecie of Hosea Wherein the text…

And so much concerning the second bill of indictment, and the sentence thereto annexed. Now followeth the third bill and sentence, which from the 6. verse to the 11. verse are intermixed one with the other: wherein he inditeth, accuseth, and condemneth the whole body of the Church and common wealth, both priests and people; and this he doth first jointly, and after more particularly he setteth down both the sins and punishments of the Priests and people. But I will speak of them as they lie in order. Verse. 6. My people are destroyed for want of knowledge. Verse. 6 Because thou hast refused knowledge, I will also refuse thee, that thou shalt be no Priest to me: and seeing thou hast forgotten the Law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. In which ¹words he doth more particularly exaggerate that sin of omission, whereof he accuseth them verse 1. namely that there was no knowledge of God in the land; by showing that not only the people, but also the priests, who should instruct them, were utterly destitute of this knowledge: and withal specifieth Gods real controversy, and particular punishments which he was purposed to inflict upon them. In handling whereof, we will first consider of their sin, and then of their punishment. Their sin and punishment are jointly expressed in these words: My people are destroyed for want of knowledge. Their sin was want of knowledge or ignorance of God and his true Religion: the which sin did lye heavy both upon the Priests and people: upon the Priests, not only in that they were culpable of the same ignorance, of which he speaketh afterwards, but also as they were causes of the peoples ignorance, and consequently accessary to their destruction. For whereas they were bound by Gods law and ordinance, to instruct the people in the knowledge of God and his true religion, for which they had great honour and large maintenance allowed them; they seizing upon the reward and wages, utterly neglected the duty, either through their own ignorance, because they could not, or through their idleness or maliciousness, whereby they would not ⟨p. 136⟩inform them in the knowledge of Gods truth, but suffered them to run headlong to their destruction.

ANd so much concerning the second bill of inditement, and the sentence thereto annexed. Now followeth the third bill and sentence, which from the 6. verse to the 11. verse are intermixed one with the other: wherein hee inditeth, accuseth, and condemneth the whole body of the Church and common wealth, both priests and people; and this he doth first joyntly, and after more particularly he setteth downe both the sinnes and punishments of the Priests and people. But I will speake of them as they lie in order. Verse. 6. My people are destroyed for want of knowledge. Verse. 6 Because thou hast refused knowledge, I will also refuse thee, that thou shalt bee no Priest to mee: and seeing thou hast forgotten the Law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. In which