Diary of a Thankful Christian, Chapter 1
CHAP. I.
The Preface, wherein an entrance is made to the words, and the duty of a Journall or Diary is propounded.
SUch is the corruption of all, even the beſt men by nature, that though in their adverſity they ſeek God early, yet in their proſperity they forget him commonly. They that in a dark evening are glad of a little ſtar▪light, in the day are ſcarce thankfull for the Sun, when he goeth forth in his ſtrength. It is obſervable, that the Pſalmiſt taking notice of Gods good hand of Providence over Travellers, Captives, Sick men, Sea-men, and divers others; repeats this paſſage foure times in Pſal. 107. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble. Pſal. 107. 6, 8.And he doth as often add, Oh that men would prayſe the Lord for his goodneſſe! Which is as much as if he had ſaid, I know they will perform the firſt duty, I wiſh they may not forget the latter: How many are there that on their ſick dayes make new promiſes, but being recovered, forget God, and follow their old luſts? It is a moſt provoking …in to forget God, and the great mercies he hath beſtowed on them. How often did they provoke God in the wilderneſſe, (ſaith the Pſalmiſt of the Iſraelites) and grieve him in the deſert? But how did they provoke him? As by many other ſins there mentioned, ſo by this…a. 78. 40, 42. eſpecially, They remembred not his hand, nor the day in which he delivered them.
It ſo far provokes God, that,
1. There is ſcarce any other ſin that God gives his people ſo great a charge to take heed of, as this ſin of forgetfulneſſe: So he charged the people of Iſrael, by the hand of Moſes, divers times, as Deut. 4. 9. Where having declared what God had done for them, he adds this charge, OnelyOnly take heed to thy ſelf, and keep thy ſoul diligently, leſt thou forget the things which thine eyes have ſeen, and leſt they Deut. 4. 9.depart from thy heart all the dayes of thy life. The like charge is given them, Deut. 6. 12.& 6. 12. Where having told them what they were like to enjoy in the Land of Canaan, according to Gods promiſes and oath; that which they never took care of, nor beſtowed coſt for; he chargeth them to beware, leſt they forget the Lord.
2. So far is God provoked by the ſin of forgetfulneſſe, that as he takes ſpecial notice of it, ſo he reproves it very ſharply. In Pſal. 78. where you have an hiſtory of Gods goodneſſe to his people, this ſin of forgetfulneſſe, is two ſeverall times noted▪ They forgat Gods works, and the wonders he had ſhewed them, verſ. 11. They remembred not his hand, nor Pſal. 78. 1…, 4….the day in which he delivered them from the enemy, verſ. 42. In Pſal. 106. this ſin is thrice laid to the peoples charge; as, They remembred not & 106. 7▪ 1… ▪ 21.the multitude of thy mercies, verſ. 7. They ſoon forgat his works, verſ. 13. They forgat God their Saviour, which had done great things in Aegypt, verſ. 21. How ſharply doth our Saviour Chriſt reprove his Diſciples for this ſin? Who, when he bad them take heed and beware of the leaven of the Phariſees; though he had ſaid that, becauſe they had taken no bread with them: whereupon, Chriſt takes notice of this ſin, and reproves them for it. What, (ſaith our Saviour) do ye not remember the Mat. 16 8, …, 1….five loaves, and the ſeven loaves, and how many baskets ye took up? This forgetfulneſſe p oceeds from your groſſe ignorance, and yourLuk. 17. 17. great unbelief. Were there not ten cleanſed? ſaith our Saviour of the Lepers, but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, ſave this ſtranger.
3. So far is God provoked by this ſin, that he often plagues it moſt ſeverely. So ſaith the Lord by the Prophet Iſaiah to theIſa. 17. 10, 11. people of Iſrael, Becauſe th u haſt forgotten the God of thy ſalvation, and haſt not been mindfull of the rock of thy strength; therefore ſhalt thou plant pleaſant plants, and ſhalt ſet it with ſtrange ſlips. In the day ſhalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning ſhalt thou make thy ſeed to flouriſh: but the harveſt ſhall be an heap in the day of grief and of deſperate ſorrow. Summa eſt, omnia mala illis provenire ex impio Dei contemptu, ſaith judicious Calvin on the words. The ſumme of all that the Prophet had ſaid is this: That all manner of evills were like to befall them becauſe of their wicked contempt of God. And who contemns God ſo much as he that forgets God, in whom is all our ſtrength and ſalvation? Let them ſow, and plant, and fetch their ſeeds and ſlips from a far Countrey, and therefore the moſt choyce and precious; yea let them have great ſucceſſe, let them flouriſh betimes; that is, Initio omnia …ibi ſuccedant pro voto, erunt que priora ſoelicia ac proſpera, at poſtea incides in ſummas aerumnas & calamitates; ſaith Vatablus on the place: In the beginning let all ſucceed according to their deſire; let the firſt undertakings be happy and proſperous; yet afterwards thou ſhalt fall into extreme miſeries and calamities. Or as Junius, Regionem tuam colueris, & ſtudioſiſſimè confirmaveris, ut certum ex ea fructum percipias, &c. Take all care of thy Countrey, and ſtrengthen it what thou canſt, yet in one moment the Aſſyrian ſhall deſtroy all.
Luther had wont to ſay that three things would deſtroy Religion, (and if Religion be blaſted, what good can be expected?) carnall ſecurity, worldly policy, and forgetfulneſſe of Gods benefits. But more of this afterwards.
Are theſe things ſo? How great is Gods goodneſſe to us? How ſingular his loving kindneſſe towards us? who knowing our mold beſt, and how ready we are to forget him and his benefits, hath in all ages and times afforded many ſpeciall means for the helping of our dull memories; that divine favour being remembred, Gods glory might be advanced, his judgements prevented, and our comforts enlarged. Hence a pot of Manna Ex…. 1▪ 33.muſt be kept in the Ark, that after ages might know and remember how God had fed his people with Angels food. For the like uſe twelve ſtones muſt be ſet up neer the banks of Jordan, & other twelve ſtones in theJo…h. 4. …, 9. midſt of that River, that they and after generations might remember that God had miraculouſly made way for the twelve Tribes of Iſrael, through that flood, to the Numb. 15. 38, 39.Land of Canaan. The ſame people were appointed to make fringes upon their garments, with a ribband of blew, that they might look upon it, and remember God and his commandements. For this purpoſe God ſet apart ſolemne dayes, and appointed publick feaſts; as, the feaſt of Tabernacles, and Pentecoſt; which, as they were typicall reſemblances of better things promiſed, ſo were they memorandums of great mercies vouchſafed. For this end God hath ordained Sacraments, as that of the Paſſover under the Law, and this of the Lords Supper under the Goſpel; that as at the celebration of theExod. 13. 3. one, Iſrael might remember their deliverance out of Aegypt; ſo we at the adminiſtration of the other, might remember Chriſt, byLuk. 1. 74. whom we are ſaved from our enemies, and from the hands of all that hate us. This Supper is not onelyonly a repreſenting, a ſealing, and a conveying ſigne, but a commemorative ſigne.1 Cor. 11. 24, 26. Do this in remembrance of me, ſaith Chriſt. There is no Goſpell-ordinance, whether prayer, reading, or hearing of the Word, but there is ſuch mention made of Chriſt as we ought to remember him. But this ordinance of the Supper hath this ſignall note of excellency ſtamped upon it above all, a ſpeciall charge from Chriſt to remember him when that is adminiſtred; Do this in remembrance of me; for, as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye ſhew, that is, ye make a commenoration of the Lords death till he come.
Sometimes (that we may come to the ſubject matter intended) God appointed Records and Regiſters of his mercies, Hiſtories and Journalls of the noble acts and loving kindneſſes of the Lord to his people, to be kept and conveyed to poſterity, that the generations to come might know them, even the children that ſhould be born, who ſhould Pſa. 78▪ 5, 6.ariſe and declare them to their children, Thus the Lord commanded that the Hiſtory of Amalek ſhould be written in a Book, their malice and Gods mercy, their war and overthrow; and it muſt be rehearſed to poſterity,Exo. 17. 14. that it might never be forgotten. What this Book was, we ſhall not much enquire. Some ſay it was the Book of Jaſher, mentioned Joſh. chap. 10. which was a Chronicle of the acts of the people of the Lord, which is loſt. Some ſay it was the Book of the Judges. Some ſay it was a Book of the Battails of the Lord, mentioned Numb. 21. 14. Others, and that moſt probably, that it was no other but this Book of Exodus; Junius and Calvin. But why this Hiſtory muſt be written in a Book is more worthy of our inquiry, and more ſutable to our purpoſe. And the reaſons may be theſe two:
1. That a thankfull remembrance of ſo great a deliverance from ſo malicious an enemy, might be continued in the generations following.
2. That the people of God knowing what ſentence was denounced againſt Amalek, which ſhould be executed in due time, (as it was in the Reign of Saul) might be the better encouraged to fight againſt them, and through faith expect the victory over them: And thus in this Chapter God would have the Journals of the people of Iſrael from Aegypt to the Land of Canaan recorded, that the great things God had done for them by the way, might not be forgotten; for ſo it is ſaid in the Text. Moſes wrote their goings out according to their journeys, by the commandement of the Lord.
In this Chapter two parts are obſervable,
1. An Iſraelitiſh Journall is recorded, from verſ. 1, to v. 50.
2. A direction is given them, concerning their proceedings in and with the Land of Canaan. Which is threefold:
1. That they ſhould caſt out the inhabitants, v. 52, 53.
2. That they ſhould deſtroy their idols, v. 52.
3. That they ſhould divide the Land amongſt them by lot, v. 54.
The two former whereof are ſeconded with a moſt ſharp threatning, that if they did not punctually obſerve Gods command therein:
1. For the preſent, that people ſhould prove a continuall ſnare unto them.
2. For the future, what God had intended to theſe their enemies, ſhould fall upon their own heads: all this to the end of the ch.
In the Iſraelitiſh Journall two things are to be conſidered,
1. The duty is in generall propounded, v. 1, 2.
2. You have an Hiſtoricall enumeration of their ſeverall Journeys, in v. 2.
In which three things are to be noted,
1. The matter that ſtands upon record, and that is their journeys, according to their goings out.
2. The Scribe that recorded them, and that was Moſes, Moſes wrote, &c.
3. The authority by which he did it; and that was the commandement of the Lord, he had very good warrant for what he did. The firſt of theſe, namely, the matter that ſtands upon record, their journeys, is that which I ſhall principally take notice of.
In which Journall this is obſervable,
That there is not onelyonly a particular relation of the place from which, and the place to which they journeyed, as from Rameſes to Succoth, &c. but alſo a ſingular mention is made of all the great paſſages of Gods good hand of providence over them, together with their murmurings and rebellions, by wch they provoked him. All which are in this ch. implyed, and ſome particulars are expreſſed, as you may finde, v. 9, 14, 38, 40. This ch. being but a ſhort Epitome or abridgement of the whole Hiſtory. So that in the Iſraelitiſh Journall you ſhall finde how here God gave them bread from heaven, there water out of the rock, in one place he delivered them from the violence of the mighty waters; in another, from the fury of their potent enemies: Now he ſaved them from the cruelty of the Aegyptians, at another time from the malice of the Amalekites; and ſoon after, from the ſting of the fiery Serpents. To day he gives them Manna and Quails, good food for their hungry bodies; to morrow he delivers them his Law, with many divine ordinances and ſtatutes, for the good of their ſouls: In all their goings out he afforded them plentifull pledges of his care of them, bounty to them, and patience towards them. Who, notwithſtanding the many grievous ſins by which they provoked him, being full of compaſſion, forgave their iniquities,Pſa. 78. 38, 39. and deſtroyed them not; yea, many a time he turned away his anger, and did not ſtir up all his wrath, for he remembred that they were but fleſh, &c.
By this time we are come to the Obſervation that is intended, and may hence be collected, and that is this,
Doct.To keep a Journall or Diary by us, eſpecially of all Gods gracious dealings with us, is a work for a Chriſtian of ſingular uſe.
I ſay, of Gods gracious dealings with us, in a more eſpeciall manner; becauſe it is good alſo to obſerve and keep a good account of the ſeverall occurrences of the Times we meet with, as they have reference to the Countrey and Nation we live in. It is good to keep an Hiſtory, a Regiſter, a Diary, an Annales, not onelyonly of the places in which we have lived, but of the mercies that have been beſtowed on us, continued to us all our dayes. This was the practice of David the Servant of the Lord, who made a Pſalm and Song in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies,Pſa. 1…. titl. and from the hand of Saul. Moſes writes his Book called Deuteronomy, which is nothing elſe but a repetition of the Journeys of the people of Iſrael, and the great things God had done for them, in their goings out to that day. There was ſcarce any thing in Iſrael, but was typicall; their Meats, their Drinks, their Mann…, their water out of the rock, their Prince, Prieſt, Prophet; their ſacrifices, their whole ſervice; yea, the very Land of Canaan was a type of heaven, and was not their voyage a type of our pilgrimage? their journey from Aegypt to Canaan, a ſigne of our paſſage from bondage to liberty, from darkneſſe to light, from a vale of tears to thee joyes of heaven? See this parallel in ſix paſſages.
1. They were brought out of Aegypt with mighty hand, and we are delivered from theExod. 14. …. ſlavery of ſin & Satan, by the arm of the Lo…d. The Creation of the world, Sun, Moon, andPſal. 8. 3. Stars are the work of Gods fingers; and all the great things he doth for us in the world, Iſa. 53. 1.are but finger-work in compariſon of ou… Redemption by Chriſt, that is indeed th… work of his arm.
2. They had many and mighty enemi… that ſtood in their way, and oppoſed them The Aegyptians, and the Amalekites, Sihon the King, and Og the Giant; and we in thi… Eph. 6. 12.way fight not with fleſh and blood alone, but againſt principalities and powers, againſt the r…lers of the darkneſs of this world, againſt ſpiritual wickedneſſ… in high places.
3. They had a red Sea to paſſe thorough and we our temptations and tryals to paſſ… … Tim. 3. 12.over; for, all that will live godly in Chriſt Jeſus ſhall ſuffer perſecution.
4. They had a bunch of grapes in the wilderneſſe, and we a taſte of Gods goodneſſ… in this preſent evill world. It is ſometimes fair weather over head, though foul under feet; we have peace with God, though trouble in the world. When Joſeph dealt roughly with his Brethren, yet even then they carryed home corn and money in their Sacks: As it is never ſo well with us, but we have cauſe to be humble; ſo it is never ſo ill with us, but we have cauſe to be thankfull.
Exo. 12. 38.5. They had a mixed multitude went up with them; and we have ſheep and goats in the ſame fold, wheat and tares in the ſame field, corn and chaffe on the ſame floor, go…d fiſh and bad in the ſame ſtream, Saints and Hypocrites in the ſame viſible Church. In the Ark amongſt eight, there was a Cha… ▪ … Chriſts family amongſt twelve, there was a Judas; in the primitive times, amongſt he ſeven Deacons, there was a Nicholas. Our eſt Congregations are mixt companies, … heaven only the Aſſembly ſhall conſiſt of oly ones, the ſpirits of juſt men made perect.
6. Laſtly, they had a Journall of all Gods mercies, and why not we a Diary of ll Gods gracious dealings with us? If this aſt hath nothing of type in it, I am ſure t hath of preſident; for, whatever was writ…n before, was written for our learning.