An Exposition of Hosea 8-10, Exposition · Chapter 9 · Verse 12
VER. 12.
Though they bring up children, yet will I bereave them.
THE Curſe of God is here threatned to purſue them, and over-take them, though they eſcaped the Curſe that others are under.
Many think that when they have eſcaped ſome Judgment that hath come upon ſome others,Obſ. 1. then they are ſafe enough and all is well; But thy preſervation from ſome Judgment that hath ſtruck others, may be thy reſervation to greater Judgments that God intends for thee afterwards.
2. It is a judgment to be deprived of children in the womb,Obſ. 2. in the birth, but when you have endured much pain in bearing and bringing forth your children, much labor and trouble in bringing up your children, when many a thoughtful care in the education of them, much ſorrow and grief they have coſt you, and now when they come to be hopeful, almoſt to mens and womens eſtate, and you think to have comfort in them, now for God to take them away, this is very ſad unto parents, it goes exceeding much unto their hearts to be bereaved then; yet ſuch things as theſe have befallen many heretofore; and Parents though the condition muſt be acknowledged very ſad, yet they muſt ſubmit to Gods hand in this. Perhaps ſome of you have in the breeding of your children endured much, and through many difficulties they have been brought till they have grown up to be almoſt at mens and womens eſtates, and perhaps they have been towardly and hopeful, you had hoped to have had them to have been the ſtaff of your age, and yet God ſuddenly hath made them fly away like a bird, perhaps be drowned, perhaps ſome other way,Eſpecially if untimely deaths. in a moſt uncomfortable manner the Lord hath bereaved you of them. You will ſay, The condition is ſad more than ordinary. Therefore God calls you to Sanctifie his Name more than ordinary, to exerciſe grace more than ordinary, and the exerciſe of grace in ſuch an extraordinary ſtroke of God upon you may be as great a good and comfort, as great a bleſſing unto you as the enjoyment of your child would have been. If a tender mother that through all her care, and pain, and labor, after breeding and bringing up a child, ſhould have him taken away in ſome untimely death (as you call it) ſhe would think her condition the ſaddeſt of any living. Be it known to you, perhaps ſome may be here, or know others of their friends that have had ſuch a hand of God upon them, be but convinced of this one thing which I know you cannot deny, That the exerciſe of grace ſutable to this work of God that is now upon thee, or againſt thee, conceive it as thou wilt, I ſay, the exerciſe of thy grace ſutable to this work of God is a greater good to thee than the life of thy child could have been, it could never have done thee that good as the exerciſe of grace may do in this condition when it is ſutable to this ſtroke of God upon thee; and this indeed is the only way to make up any loſſes of children, or loſs of any goods, be it a child, be it a husband or the deareſt friend, a wife, or thy eſtate, yet the exerciſe of thy grace is better than the enjoiment of them all. It follows;
There ſhall not be a man left.
I'le bereave them when they bring them up, (the words are [not a man,] and left is not in the Original) that they be not men. And ſometimes God lets the children of men and women live,Obſ. 3. and yet they never come to be men, but ſtrikes them in their underſtandings that they are bereaved of them ſo far that they never come to be men. I remember it's reported of Sr Thomas Moore that his wife was mightilie deſirous of a Boy,Sr Tho. Moore. (that was her word) and ſhe had one that proved a fool, and ſaith her husband to her, You were never quiet till you had a boy, and now you have one that be all his life a Boy.
I will bereave them that there ſhall not be a man left.
But I rather think the meaning is, I wil take them away that they ſhall not live to be men, ſtrong men of war. You boaſted your ſelves that you had ſo many of your children that were ſuch valiant men of war before, but I'le bereave you of them (ſaith the Lord.)
Yea, wo to them when I depart from them.
Surely, even wo to them; he puts a ſureneſs upon this, Wo to them when I depart from them. As if the holy Ghoſt ſhould ſay, What do I threaten this or the other evil, the great evil of all, the riſe of al evils is, Gods forſaking them,
Wo alſo to them when I depart from them.
God departs from a people,Expoſ. or a particular ſoul, when he withdraws his goodneſs and mercy from them: and the reaſon why wicked men for a time do enjoy good things, it is, becauſe Gods time is not yet come to depart from them; but when Gods time is come to depart from them, then al vaniſhes ſuddenly: As the light continues ſo long as the Sun is in the firmament, but as ſoon as ever it is gon it grows to be dark,ſimile. the darkneſs of the night comes ſuddenly. A man hath ſtrength and health ſo long as his vitals hold,ſimile but as ſoon as ever the vitals are ſtruck, the craſeis of the body, if that be ſtrucken the ſtrength and health goes. The general preſence of God with his Creature keeps ſtrength and health,Obſ. 4. it's God in the creature that keeps its comforts, and upon Gods departing al vaniſhes and comes to nothing. Thou haſt thy proſperity now, and thou thinkeſt thou maieſt enjoy it ſtill;Uſe. but how canſt thou tell but God may ſuddenly depart, and then all is gone? The alteration of mans condition is not only from Natural cauſes, but heigher, from Gods departing. Carnal hearts think themſelves ſafe if they do not ſee how Natural cauſes ſhall work their ruin, they ſee nothing, but as they have enjoyed much good from Natural cauſes, ſo they ſee them working ſtill for good to them.
Yea, but know that thy proſperity, or thy adverſity depends not upon Natural cauſes, but upon a higher cauſe, though thou haſt the confluence of all Natural cauſes working for thee as much as ever, yet if God pleaſes to withdraw himſelf thou art a loſt creature.
And ſo it is with a Kingdom. When God pleaſes to depart from a Kingdom, he doth then take away Wiſdome from the Wiſe, he gives them up to their own Counſels, to perverſe Counſels, he blinds them that they cannot forſee their danger, nor ſee means to help them, but they ſhall take waies as if they intended to deſtroy themſelves. If God do but leave them, whatſoever their wiſdom was before, all their endeavors they ſhall be blaſted and come to nothing, & in this it is we ſhould ſanctifie Gods Name, and acknowledge it, acknowledge our immediate dependance upon God for all our outward good we enjoy, whatſoever ſecond cauſes we have to help our ſelves.
Wicked men will not take notice of him in their Comforts, they cry out of this and the other cauſe of their evil, but it's Gods departing from them, that is the great thing they ſhould take to heart. Particular evils muſt not be taken ſo much to heart as this of Gods departing: Whatſoever our condition be, yet if God be not departing we are well enough, though in the fire, though in the water, I will be with thee ſaith the Lord. Mark the ground of the confidence of the Saints in the time of affliction: in Pſalm. 46. (Luther's Pſalm it's called,Pſal. 46. that is, a Pſalm that Luther was wont to call to his friends to ſing,Luthers Pſalm. when he heard of any danger that they were in, or any ſad thing fallen out, Come (ſaith he) let us ſing the 46. Pſalm, And mark the confidence of the Saints) We will not fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midſt of the ſea. Though the waters thereof rore and be troubled, though the mountains ſhake with the ſwelling thereof; though the heathen rage, and the Kingdoms be removed, yet al ſhal not trouble us. Why, what's the ground? The Lord of Hoſts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. And it's twice repeated in the ſame words in the Pſalm, God is not gone, God is not departed, therefore no great matter what men can do unto us: But if one be in miſery and have God departed, Oh! how dreadful is that condition! It was a dreadful ſpeech of Saul, 1 Sam. 28. 1 5.in 1 Sam. 28. 15. I am ſore diſtreſſed; for the Philiſtins make war againſt me, and God is departed from me. Oh! when the Philiſtins make war upon a people, when there is enemies at our gates, and then our conſciences ſhall tell us, that God is departed from us, this is a ſad condition: It was a woful ſpeech of Saul; God is now departed when I have moſt need of him: Wo to them then. For,
Firſt,Reaſ. why Gods departing is a cauſe of wo. The root of all evil is very deep that is upon us when God is departed: It doth not lie in this particular, or that particular, we might make ſhift to get over them, the ſpirit of a man might ſuſtain his infirmity;None can help then. but the root of the evil it lies in the departing of God, And what can the Creature do when God is departed? As the King of Iſrael when the women ſaid, Help O King. Saith he, If the Lord doth not help thee, whence ſhall I help thee? And as all creatures ſay,Satan him ſelf canuot 1 Sam. 28 If God be departed, we cannot help, nay, the very Devil cannot help if God be gone: In 1 Sam. 28. when Saul was ſore diſtreſſed and he would raiſe up Samuel, and the Devil came in the likeneſs of Samuel, ſaith he, Wherefore doeſt thou ask of me, ſeeing the Lord is departed from thee? No Creatures in the world, nor Devils can do good when God is departed, then the evil is only evil when God is gone. An evil may have much good in it, and God may ſanctifie it for abundance of bleſſings to his People ſo long as he continues with them;Evil then is evil indeed. but if he be gone, then the evil is only evil: And if God be gon all protection is gon, and therfore thou lieſt liable to all kind of evils whatſoever. And however for the preſent things do ſeem to be good that are remaining, yet the bleſſing of it is gone if God be not with thee. And this evil that is upon thee it is no other but the forerunner of eternal evil,It is the forerunner of eternal evil. and the creature certainly then muſt needs ſink when God is thus departed. Oh! If ſo be that it is ſo woful a thing for God to depart from a people here in this world in regard of the withdrawing of outward things and mercies from them, what is it then for the Lord to depart for ever from the ſoul? What an alteration doth the departing of the Sun make? Take a delightful Sunſhine Summers day, and how beautiful is it? Now compare that with a winters dark diſmal night; What makes the difference between theſe two? The preſence of the Sun in the one,ſimile and the Sun is departed from the other. It is but the preſence, or the departing of one creature.Saints ſhould priz the enjoyment of Gods preſence. Oh! if the preſence or the departing of one creature makes ſuch a difference in the world, what doth the preſence or the departing of the infinite God do to the ſoul? Let the Saints who enjoy Gods preſence prize it, and pray as the Prophet did, Lord leave us not.
Oh!Uſe. how vain is the heart of man that will depart from God? If thou depart from him, he departs from thee too, and wo to thee whatſoever thou haſt when the Lord is gone and departed from thee.
The Lord departs from particular men and women, as well as from Kingdoms and Nations, and wo to them alſo: when God departs from a particular man or woman he doth withdraw his common gifts and graces, and comforts that they were wont to have, he doth curſe all means for good unto them, and he gives them up unto temptations; thoſe are the three ſpecial things that God doth in departing from any particular ſoul, he withdraws the common gifts and graces that they had, and the comforts that follows, and curſes the means that may do them good, and gives them up to the ſtrength and power of temptation.
You will ſay (it may be) Many a ſoul that doth deſire further preſence of God may be afraid out of this that God is departed.Queſt.
Now though God (no queſtion) may in ſome degree withdraw himſelf even from his Saints,Anſw, ſo as they may be afraid that God is gone and departed from them; yet there's this one evidence to thee, let thy condition be never ſo ſad, yet if thou beeſt a Saint (I ſay) this is one evidence that God is not wholly gone, if he leaves any kind of ſhine behind him ſo far as makes thy heart to be longing after him; God doth not ſo depart from his Saints but he leaves ſome luſter, ſome little glimmering of himſelf behind, ſo much as the ſoul ſees which way God is gone, ſo much as ſerves to draw the heart of a poor ſinner after himſelf and makes it reſtleſs and unquiet till it comes to be in Gods preſence again; As when a Candle is taken out of a room, the room is darker than it was, yet there's a glimmering left behind in that,ſimile if you go quickly you may follow: When God departs from hypocrites, he departs ſo as he leaves nothing behind him, and they have not ſo much of God as makes them make after God, and ſo they turn away from God and ſeek to make up the loſs of God in ſome other thing; but a Saint of God that hath God beginning to depart in any degree, when God is gone, he will not turn aſide to ſeek to make up the loſs of God in any other thing elſe, but he hath ſo much of God as doth ſtrongly carry his heart after him, that he looks, and ſighs, and groans, and cries after the Lord, and as David in Pſal. 119. 8. Pſ. 119. 8.there he ſhews us that God was in ſome degree departed from him, (in his own ſenſe at leaſt) but mark his expreſſion there, and that one Scripture may much help any ſoul that is afraid that God is departed:illuſtrated I will keep thy Statutes: O forſake me not utterly. Oh Lord, me thinks I feel that thou art a going, I feel that I have not thoſe comforts I was wont to have, thoſe ſtirrings of thy Spirit as I was wont to have, but O Lord, yet for all this, I will keep thy Statutes (ſaith David) I am reſolved though I ſhould never have further comforts from thee, yet Lord I will keep thy Statutes, do with me what thou wilt, I…le do what I can to honor thee,We ſhould labor to do what we can for God though we apprehend he hath le… …s. and Lord forſake me not utterly. So long as thy heart can cloſe with this text and ſay thus as David, Lord, I will keep thy Statutes, though I feel not thy preſence with me as I was wont to do, yet Lord I will do what I can to honor thee, though I be in a ſad condition, and thou ſeemeſt to leave me, yet Lord I will keep thy Statutes, Oh Lord forſake me not utterly. So long as thou canſt make uſe of Davids expreſſion as thine own, it is an evidence God is not ſo departed as he uſes to depart from Hypocrites, and wicked and ungodly men.When we ſee God beginning to depart, cry mightily. And if it be ſo woful a thing when God departs, truly then when God is about departing we had need cry mightily to him, both for Kingdoms and particular ſouls. When a Malefactor ſtands before the Judg and is crying for mercy, if the Judg be a riſing off the Bench, then he lifts up his voice,ſimile. and then ſhreeks out indeed, Good my Lord, then he ſees if the Judg be gone off from the Bench, he is a loſt man: ſo when we ſee God going, as many foot-ſteps of Gods departing from us there have been, and are, and yet ſtill God leaves a light behind, bleſſed be God we have a light of Gods preſence,Applic. …o England. and God is no further departed from us, but ſo that he hath left ſo much of himſelf as we may know where to have him. It follows.