1And true it is indeed, that such they were by external vocation, and by profession; as also by inward disposition of heart, and in holy life and conversation, they sought to have been. But that they came far short of what they should have been; yea, ⟨p. 13⟩were tutterly cross, (for a great, if not the greater part of them) and took courses clean contrary unto what they professed, and were called to; the frequent exprobrations and manifold complaints of Moses, and God by Moses and other his Prophets, twitting them with, and taxing them for, their continual ustubbornness, xrebelliousness, ystiffneckedness, zperverseness, crookedness, atempting God, bprovoking him, cspurning against him, dshaking off his yoke, evexing and grieving his holy Spirit; that their Vines were Vines of Sodom, and their slips slips of Gomorrah, their Grapes, that is, their fruits and works, gall and bitterness, and the Wine that came of them, the issue and effect of them, as the poison of Adders, and the cruel venom of Asps; these, I say, and the like opprobrious terms by the Spirit of God justly and deservedly given them, do too evidently evince. Besides, that this their external condition and profession was so far from lessening and extenuating the guilt of their sins, or concealing them from Gods sight, that it served rather to aggravate them, as being found in those, among whom the contrary virtues and duties ought to have reigned;f and gwho having been better taught, and professing better things, might justly therefore be deemed worse then other, tho they were no worse, yea or not so bad; because they ought to have been, and might have been, much better. For which cause also God threatens, the rather hto punish them for their sins before and above other people, whom he had not known and owned, as he had done them, that is, iwhom he had not afforded the like favour unto, nor taken into special covenant with him.
1And true it is indeed, that such they were by externall vocation, and by profession; as also by inward disposition of heart, and in holy life and conversation, they sought to have been. But that they came farre short of what they should have been; yea, ⟨p. 13⟩were tutterly crosse, (for a great, if not the greater part of them) and tooke courses cleane contrary unto what they professed, and were called to; the freqent exprobrations and manifold complaints of Moses, and God by Moses and other his Prophets, twitting them with, and taxing them for, their continuall ustubbornnesse, xrebelliousnesse, ystiffneckednesse, zperversnesse, crookednesse, atempting God, bprovoking him, cspurning against him, dshaking off his yoake, evexing and grieving his holy Spirit; that their Vines were Vines of Sodom, and their slips slips of Gomorrah, their Grapes, that is, their fruits and works, gall and bitternesse, and the Wine that came of them, the issue and effect of them, as the poison of Adders, and the cruell venome of Aspes; these, I say, and the like opprobrious tearms by the Spirit of God justly and deservedly given them, doe too evidently evince. Besides, that this their externall condition and profession was so farre from lesning and extenuating the guilt of their sinnes, or concealing them from Gods sight, that it served rather to aggravate them, as being found in those, among whom the contrary vertues and duties ought to have reigned;
- 1Exception.
- sLevit. 19.• ▪ & •0.26.
- tScimus Israelitas pessimis qibusqe vix suisse meliores. Calvin. Ezek. 5.6, 7.
- uDeut. 9.27.
- xDeut. 9.7. & 33.3.
- yExod. 32.9. & 31.27. Deut. 9.6, 13.
- zDeut. 32.5.
- aPsalm. 78.8.
- bNum. 14.22. Psalm 95.9. Psalm 78.40.
- cDeut. 32.15.
- dExod. 16.28. Psal. 81.11.
- e
