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 this is the meaning of the words: the doctrines are The doctrine. these. First, we may observe, that prosperity and abundance ¹are the causes why men wallow themselves in voluptuous pleasures; not in their own nature, for being so considered they are Gods good blessings and benefits, but as through our corruption, they are abused unto sin. And this showeth the poisonous contagion of our natures, which so infecteth Gods creatures, that of wholesome drinks they become deadly potions, of good evil, and of blessings curses. The more God enlargeth our prosperity, and multiplieth his benefits, the better we should remember and love him, the more thankful we should be unto him, the more zealous of his glory, the more dutiful, obedient, & diligent in his service, seeing like a bountiful master he doth so richly reward our labours. And the more we abound in gods blessings, the more sobriety and temperance we should show in the use of them; for we need not to be ravenously greedy at a full table, and the greatness of the cheer should rather abate then whet our appetites. But such is the hateful corruption of our natures, that we make a quite contrary use of Gods benefits; for when men are enriched with them, they forget God, they set their harts on the world, they never return praise to the author of all their good, they wax key cold in their devotions, undutiful, negligent, idle and wholly addict themselves to voluptuous pleasures, wastefully misspending Gods blessings in excess, riot, wantonness, and belly-cheer, whereby they are made altogether unfit to perform any service unto God, and most fit to serve satan, sin, the world, and the lusts of their own flesh. An example whereof we have in this place; for when the Priests and people flourished in prosperity, and abounded in wealth, they gave themselves to all voluptuousness, to Whoredom and drunkenness, ⟨p. 220⟩whereby they were wholly infatuated, and became ignorant and forgetful of Gods Law, negligent in their callings, and unfit for any good duties. Many other examples might be brought to illustrate this point. The Sodomites inhabiting a ²place which was so enriched with Gods benefits that it was like another Paradise in pleasant store, abused these gifts of God to pride, gluttony, drunkenness and all manner of unlawful ³