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…

Now that the cause of this divorce was not in the Lord, but in the Church of Israel, appeareth by the order of the words: where first it is said, that she was not his wife; and then, that he was not her husband: for the Lord did not forsake her before she forsook him, he did not deny to be her husband, before she refused to be his wife; he did not cease to perform his covenants which he made with her, of grace, protection, and preservation, before she withdrew her love, falsified her faith, denied her service and obedience, and went a whoring after strange gods. And therefore there was no cause, why for this divorce they should expostulate with God, and impute any fault unto him; but rather they were to lay the blame upon themselves, who by their spiritual fornications had broken off the marriage knot, and had refused to be the Lords spouse; so that he was constrained to proclaim this divorce, because she had first refused him.

Now that the cause of this diuorce was not in the Lord, but in the Church of Israel, appeareth by the order of the words: where first it is said, that she was not his wife; and then, that he was not her husband: for the Lord did not forsake her before shee forsooke him, hee did not deny to bee her husband, before she refused to be his wife; hee did not cease to performe his couenants which hee made with her, of grace, protection, and preseruation, before she withdrew her loue, falsified her faith, denied her seruice and obedience, and went a whoring after strange gods. And therefore there was no cause, why for this diuorce they should expostulate with God, and impute any fault vnto him; but rather they were to lay the blame vpon themselues, who by their spirituall fornications had broken off the mariage knot, and had refused to be the Lords spouse; so that hee was constrained to proclaime this diuorce, because she had first refused him.

The like place unto this we have, Isaiah 50. 1. Thus saith the Lord; Where is the bill of your mothers divorcement, whom I have cast off? or who is the creditor unto whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities are ye sold, and because of your transgressions is your mother forsaken. Where the Lord expostulateth with the Jews concerning the cause of their rejection, and showeth that the cause was not in him, but in themselves: and this he proveth by an old rite and custom under the Law, which was, that those who were put away by the husband, had a bill of divorce given unto them; and that