A77979:972
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 5 › Verse 8
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.
They should study all ways and means they can to make what they preach to the people to be real to them, not to be as notions to them. So the Prophet here, he had preached ⟨p. 440⟩often times of the judgments of God, of the Sword, but this would not do it, therefore now he strives to make what he had delivered to appear in the most real way that possibly he could to the eyes and hearts of the people, & he saw that to be the only way to do them good. It is not therefore enough for a Minister barely to tell the people truths, to tell them what danger they are in, but by all means of expressions that may be to make this appear in the reality of it unto them. We know how Ezekiel was wont to do, he threatened their carrying away, and he went and made before them a kind of siege to make it real to them. So Jeremiah and other Prophets. Now though Ministers cannot do so as they did, yet they are to study all manner of expressions that possibly they can to present things in the greatest reality that may be. And indeed this is a great part of the skill of a good Minister, not barely to tell truths unto people, but to be able to make things appear real to them.1 The art of preaching I say lies especially in this, to make things appear real to the souls of an Auditory. As now, when we come to tell you of the danger of sin and of the wrath of God that is due to it; we tell you this and we quote Scripture for it, this perhaps stirs not the heart; but now if we can so present Gods wrath to you, to make it real before your eyes, to put you upon this, to bethink your selves in what a case you would be if now all creatures were taking their leaves of you, if now you were standing before the great God to receive the sentence of condemnation,2 if God were now at this instant coming upon you: If I say we could put you to it, and so preach as that you should apprehend these things as real before your eyes, this would stick, and more good might be done in one quarter of an hour this way, than perhaps in divers years before. The power of a Ministry consisteth much in this. And I suppose some of you know by experience what that is that now I mean by the Ministers making things real to your hearts.
They should study all waies and means they can to make what they preach to the people to be real to them, not to be as notions to them. So the Prophet here, he had preached