A77979:599
An exposition with practical observations continued upon the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters…
An exposition with practical observations continued upon the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of the prophesy of Hosea· Being first delivered in several lectures at Michaels Cornhill London. By Jeremiah Burroughs. Being the fifth book, published by Thomas Goodwin, William Greenhil, Sydrach Simson William Bridge, John Yates, William Adderly.An exposition with practical observations continued upon the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of the prophesy of Hosea· Being first delivered in several lectures at Michaels Cornhil London. By Jeremiah Burroughs. Being the fifth book, published by Thomas Goodwyn, William Greenhil, Sydrach Simson William Bridge, John Yates, William Adderly.
London: printed for Peter Cole, 1650
Title page typeset from the transcription.
AN EXPOSITION Of the PROPHESY of HOSEA. › Chapter 4 › Verse 19
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
And above all men those that are betrusted to find out the Laws,1 and forms, & fashions, and Ordinances of Gods house, above all men they are to be ashamed of what they have done, to be ashamed first of their sacrifices. And that should be your prayer, that God would humble them for all their former superstitious sacrifices that so they may come to have revealed to them the form and fashion of Gods house, and being revealed to them they may reveal it to you. There is a necessity that those men that have been guilty of superstitious ways of worship, that they should be ashamed first of that before they can come to understand the right way of the house of God; Let them be men of never such excellent parts and abilities,2 yet except they be first ashamed for what they have done and thoroughly humbled, they cannot expect to understand the ways of Gods house in the forms and fashions and ordinances of it. In Ezek. 44.10, 11, 12, 13. there God threateneth those Priests that did depart from him when Israel departed, that did depart from him to false worship, that they should bear their iniquity, that they should never come near to him; seeing they departed in the general departure and did not keep close to the true worship of God, they must bear their iniquity, they must not come near unto God; only God would be content they should be employed in some meaner out-services:3 And therefore it may be that God will not use some men of choice parts in any great work of his, to do him any great service, that's the meaning of the text, that those that did depart from God when there was a general departure of the Nation, when Israel did depart they would comply with them to save their skin, and they would conform to those superstitious ways, then did the Lord swear, lift up his hand against them, that though they shall be employed in some meaner services, yet they shall not come near him. And (I say) it ma• be feared that the Lord may do so against some of us. How ever except ⟨p. 331⟩there be extraordinary repentance & taking shame unto themselves; though they may be men of excellent parts, the Lord may remember what they have done when Israel departed from God, what their compliances were; And though the Lord may make still use of them in some ordinary work, yet he may lift up his hand against them, that they shall never be employed never blest in any choice work he hath to do: