An Exposition of Hosea 8-10, Exposition · Chapter 9 · Verse 14
VER. 14.
Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? Give them a miſcarrying womb, and dry breaſts.
THIS follows, upon this that they ſhall be brought forth to the Murderers hand. Then, Lord, give them; what wilt thou give them? Give them a miſcarrying womb, and dry breaſt.
Some think this was an Imprecation by a ſpirit of Propheſie,Expoſ. 1. as if the holy Prophet had his heart fill'd with the wrath of God, Give them Lord; what wilt thou? give them a miſcarrying womb, and dry breaſts,
But rather according to moſt Interpreters, I think this expreſſion is rather an expreſſion of Commiſeration,2. Prefer'd (that is) foreſeeing the lamentable condition that the ten Tribes ſhould be in ere long, the Prophet pities their condition, and would fain come in and pray for them, and he begins, Give them, O Lord (ſaith the prophet;) and then he makes a ſtop, as if he ſhould ſay, but O Lord what ſhall I ſay for them, Give them, but Lord I know not what to ask for them, I am at a ſtand when I conſider what they are, what the many mercies they have had already, what warnings they have had, how hardened they are in their ſin, and how thy word is gone forth, but Lord give them: ſhall I ſay, Lord give them deliverance, give them peace, give them proſperity ſtill, Lord I dare not, that I cannot ask, all means have been uſed for to bring them unto thee, and yet they ſtand out againſt the Lord; thou knoweſt they are deer to me, they are of my fleſh, and I ſhould be glad that they might be ſaved, but thy glory is dearer to me then they are, and therefore for that I cannot pray: and therefore the Prophet praies, Give them, ſeeing all this miſery muſt befal them, what, ſhall the enemies be let out upon them? ſhall they and their children be made a prey to the Murderer? Lord, rather let no more be born of them, rather let thoſe children that otherwiſe ſhould have been born and might have lived in their own Land, Lord God, … them not be born rather than come to live to ſo great miſery; ſo he doth not pray for a miſcarrying womb and dry breaſts abſolutely, but compartively. From whence the Notes are.
Firſt;Obſ. 1. That mens ſins make many times Gods Miniſters and his Saints at a point that they know not what to ſay in prayer. Truly, though there hath bee a mighty Spirit of prayer through Gods mercy in the Kingdom, yet conſidering that ſince God hath come to ſhew himſelf willing to deliver us, and Chriſt hath been coming even upon his white Horſ in peace to take the Kingdom to himſelf, ſince that time ſuch a ſpirit of Malignity hath appeared againſt Chriſt and his Saints as ever was in the Kingdom, it puts many of the Miniſters and Saints of God to a non-plus in their prayers, and ſtraightens their very hearts in the day of their faſting, when they are to ſeek God,England more unfit for mercy now than at the firſt that the Lord would give forth mercy, The Lord knows that the condition we are in is more unfit for mercy than we were at the very firſt day; Thus a Nation, thus particular people may put the Servants of God to a ſtand in their prayers, and ſtraighten their hearts; Oh! were it that people had gone on in the imbracing of Reformation as they ſeem'd to do at the firſt, Oh! how enlarged would the herrts of the Saints have been in prayer? Oh Lord! give England mercy, give England deliverance.
And then a ſecond Note is this,Obſ. 2. That the fruitfulneſs, or the barrenneſs of the womb, it is from God. Give them, give them a miſcarrying womb and dry breaſts. This is from God;Gen. 30. 2 in Gen. 30. 2. when Rachel cried for children, Give me children or elſe I die, the text ſaith, that Jacobs anger was kindled againſt Rachel, Paulus Phagius.and ſaid, Am I in Gods ſtead? Paulus Phagius (that learned man) ſaith,Four Keys in Gods hand. that the Hebrews have this ſpeech, that there are four keys that are in Gods hand that he gives not into the hand of any Angel.
1. The Key of the Rain; 1. Clavis pluviae.and that you have in Deut. 28. 12. The Lord ſhall open unto thee his good treaſure, the Heaven to give thee rain unto thy Land in his ſeaſon.
1. There's the Key of Food; 2. Clavis cibitionis.in Pſ. 145. The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou giveſt them their meat in due ſeaſon; thou openeſt thine hand and ſatisfieſt the deſire of every living thing.
3. There's the Key of the Grave, 3. Clavis ſepulcronn̄in Ezek. 37. 12. Behold, Oh my people I will open your Graves, and cauſe you to come up out of your Graves.
4. And laſtly,4. Clavis ſterilitatis. The Key of the Womb, and that is in Gen. 38. 22.
Theſe four Keys God keeps in his own hand,Non nuptiae dant liberos, ſed qui nuptijs legē dedit Deus. and therefore Gods providence is to be obſerved in this, and there ought to be a ſubmiſſion to his hand in it.
Thirdly, Sin may bring ſuch evil time upon a people as better thoſe who live to ſuch times had not been born, or died before thoſe times had come; Theodor.Give them a miſcarrying womb and a dry breaſt, if they ſhould have children that ſhould live to endure all the miſeries of thoſe times that are coming, they had been better not to have been born, or have died long before this time ſaith the Prophet, We muſt take heed of wiſhing this upon every little affliction that doth befall us, as it is the frowardneſs of many people even with God himſelf, that if their children do but anger them to wiſh they had never been born, or cold in the mouth many years ago, I wiſh I had gone to your Grave: Parents many times are ready to wiſh their children that they had never been born of them; but this is frowardneſs againſt God himſelf, and wickedneſs; thoſe that are ſo ready to wiſh their children had not been born, they are the leaſt ſenſible of the ſin that doth cauſe the affliction upon which they do wiſh ſuch a thing as that is.
Give them a miſcarrying womb, and dry breaſts.
Firſt;Reaſ. 1. There may be either ſuch miſerable ſlaughters as that Parents might even wiſh that they never had any Children.
Or Secondly,Reaſ. 2. They may live under ſuch cruel tyranny for their ſouls and bodies.
Or thirdly,Reaſ. 3. They may be drawn from God by falſe Religion, and ſo may be in a condition worſe than if they had not been born.
Hence Parents to whom God denies children or takes them away,Uſe. 1. they ſhould quiet themſelves in Gods diſpoſe,Parents to ſubmit. eſpecially in ſuch times as theſe are: it may be God hath taken away your children to deliver them from greater evils: as in the houſe of Jeroboam, 1 King. 14. 13.there was but one child that had any good in it, and ſaith God, That child ſhall die, and gives the reaſon, Becauſe it had ſome good in it. So that God takes away many that he hath the moſt love unto, and lets others to live that he hath not ſo much love unto.
Yes,Queſt. (ſome may ſay) If I were ſure that their ſouls were ſafe, though God doth take them away, if I were ſure of their ſalvation, then I would be content.
That's true indeed,Anſw. If your children were ſaved, what hurt is that to be taken away here and received to Heaven, and there to live for ever with Chriſt, not to ſin, or ſorrow more: but howſoever you may ſatisfie your ſelves in theſe three things.
Firſt, That they are under an indefinite promiſe, though not an univerſal.
Secondly, Suppoſe he ſhould not be ſaved, then it were better that he ſhould be taken away than to live to ſin more againſt God, he might have lived to have done a great deal of miſchief in the world if he were one that God did not intend to ſave, and therefore quiet thy ſelf; However God ſees further than thou doeſt, either when he denies the… Children,Uſe. 2. or takes them away in ſuch times as theſe are.Evil times good times to die in▪
Further, In times when publick evils are threatned, they are good times to die in; If better not to be born in evil time, then certainly it is no great evil to die in evil times. Good men are taken away from the evil to come. As if a woman had her breaſt to be launc'd or cut off,An apt ſimile. would not the tender Father take the Children out of the room in the mean time? Who knows but God may have the breaſt of his his Church (our Mother) even to be cut off for a time, yet may ſuffer heavier things than ever ſhe hath done, and if God ſhall take away his tender Children that will not be able to bear ſuch a ſight as that, what great evil is it? As we reade of God towards Moſes, when Gods Glory was to paſs by, he puts Moſes into the hole of a Rock; and truly the graves of the Saints are but as the holes of the Rock til the Glory of Gods Juſtice paſſes by a people.
And thirdly,Uſe. 3. If the ſins of Parents may be the cauſe of ſuch things to Children as better they had not been born,let not parents cauſe their childrē to wiſh they had never been born. let thoſe that have Children take heed that they lay not up ſuch wrath for an Inheritance for their Children, as that their Children afterwards ſhould even wiſh they never had been born of ſuch Parents, eſpecially if Parents be careleſs in the education of their Children not to bring them up in the fear of the Lord,By neglect of good education. hereafter their Children may curſe the time that ever they were born of them, and ſay, Oh! that I rather had been of the off-ſpring of Vipers, or the generation of Dragons than that I had come of ſuch Parents, Oh! that my Mother had had a miſcarrying womb, or that ſhe never had had breaſts to give me ſuck. Certainly this will be the voice of many children againſt their Parents one day: Look to it that there be never a Father nor Mother in this place that may give cauſe to their Children thus to wiſh they had never been born of ſuch Parents.If better not to be born in reſpect of tē poral calamities; what then in reſpect of eternal? And certainly if the enduring of ſorrows and miſery in this world may put them into ſuch a condition, what then wil ſin and being the authors of miſeries to others do? Thoſe Children that are abominable and wicked in their lives, and are cauſes of miſchief to others,eſpecially thoſe who are authors of calamities to others. how much cauſe is it that it had been ſaid, that it had been been better his Mothers womb had miſcarried: as it was ſaid of Judas, that it had been better that he had never been born: And ſo it may be ſaid of abundance at this day, what abundance of evil are ſome at this day the cauſe of unto others? What woful diſturbances,As at this day in Eng. diſtractions and calamities do ſome men bring upon a nation? had it not been better that their Mothers wombs to have miſcarried, and their breaſts not to have given them ſuch?
And again, What horrible wickedneſs are ſome guilty of? How many Mothers this day have cauſe …o ſay, Oh! that my womb had miſcarried of ſuch a Child! Oh that my breaſts had never given ſuch a Child ſuck! Oh that ever one ſhould come out of my womb to do ſo much miſchief, to take up Arms to fight againſt his COUNTRY, to fight againſt the Saints, to bring in Slavery and Tyranny, that ever any out of my womb ſhould have a hand in ſuch a miſchievous way as this is! Oh! theſe breaſts of mine every time I look upon them, I wiſh they had never given ſuch a one ſuck, for it may be they wil ſuck my blood too. Certainly if ever there were a time to wiſh their wombs had miſcarried, and their breaſts never given ſuck, theſe are the times many may do ſo.Luke. 23. 29. And this ſeems to have alluſion to that which Chriſt ſaith in Luke 23. 19. Bleſſed are the wombs that never bear, and the paps that never gave ſuck. I ſay, concerning many particulars in the Kingdom in this time, it might have been ſaid, Oh! bleſſed had the womb been that ſuch men were in, had they never been born, and the paps that they ſuckt, that they had never given ſuck. This would not have been an interpretation, but a good prayer, if it could have been foreſeen, if any Prophet could have forſeen this, that thou ſhouldſt have been a Child, and he ſhould have been an Actor in ſo much miſchief as hath been done in this Kingdom of late, if any Prophet could have forſeen this,Note. thou wouldſt have ſaid Amen to his prayer, Lord give this woman a miſcarrying womb and dry breaſts that ſhe might never have born nor given ſuck to ſuch an one. It follows.