An Exposition of Hosea 8-10, Exposition · Chapter 10 · Verse 15
VER. 15.
So ſhall Bethel do unto you, becauſe of your great wickedneſs.
SO ſhall Bethel.] What ſhall Bethel riſe up againſt the reſt of the ten Tribes, and come and deſtroy Mother and Children together? That's not the meaning.
But Bethel ſhall do it;Expoſ. that is, Bethel is the Cauſe of this, that dreadful ſlaughter that is like to be among you it ſhall come from Bethel. Who would ever have thought that?
Oh my Brethren!Obſ. 1. Miſerable Judgments do many times ariſe from cauſes we … think of: that's the Note from thence. I ſay, miſerable Judgments do many times ariſe from cauſes we little think of, From Bethel there ſhould come this ſlaughter and dreadful blood-ſhed. And as that Note more generally, ſo more particularly this;
That from places of Idolatry comes the greateſt evils to Kingdoms. Obſ. 2.As 'tis very obſervable on the contrary, from the places of Gods Worſhip comes the greateſt good,Pſa. 76. 2, 3. opened. ſo from places of Idolatry the greateſt evil. In Pſal. 76. 2, 3. In Salem is his Tabernacle, and his dwelling place i… Zion: There brake he the Arrows of the B…, … Shield and the Sword, and the Battel. Did God break them there? Was there a Fight in Zion, and in Salem? No, that's not the meaning, but in Zion and Salem where Gods Tabernacle was, thoſe Servants of God that were worſhiping of God in Jeruſalem, and in Zion, and praying to God they got the Victory: ſo we may ſay that ſuch a place that was faſting and praying in the time of our battels,Applied. there God brake the Arrow and the Bow, in that place where they were praying and ſeeking God, it was in Salem and Zion: Where the true worſhip of God is, from thence comes the good of a Kingdom.Iſa. 31. 9. And ſo in Iſa. 31. 9. Whoſe fire is in Zion, and whoſe furnace is in Jeruſalem: The Lord is there threatning the Enemies of his people, and he ſaith, That his fire is in Zion, and his furnace is in Jeruſalem, there God hath his furnace and from thence it ſhall go to deſtroy the adverſaries. And ſo on the contrary, where Idolatry is ſet up, and falſe worſhip maintained, from thence comes evils and miſeries upon us.
Becauſe of your great wickedneſs.
The word is,foreign Becauſe of the wickedneſs of your wickedneſs, ſo the Hebrews expreſs the ſuparlative degree, by a genetive caſe, the evil of the evil, the wickedneſs of the wickedneſs. From whence obſerve,
Other ſins are great ſins, Obſ. 1.but this of falſe worſhip indeed is THE great ſin that God is provoked againſt a people for. Whence, let us not make light account of the Worſhip of God, for how little ſoever Gods Worſhip is in our eyes, yet it is a great matter in Gods eyes, and though you think that the ſins againſt God in the matter of his Worſhip be but ſmall, yet God ſaith, it is the great wickedneſs, it is the wickedneſs of wickedneſs: And great wickedneſs it may be call'd not only in reſpect of the nature of it, but from many aggravations, and long continuance in it, notwithſtanding all their means.
You may Note further from hence;Obſ. 2. God takes notice not only of mens ſins, but of the aggravation of their ſins. Oh! let us do thus, do not only look upon your ſins and acknowledg your ſelves to be ſinners, but look upon the Aggravations of your ſins; Oh! this ſin committed againſt ſo many Mercies, ſo many Prayers, and Reſolutions, and Vows, and Covenants, and ſo many Deliverances that I have had; labor to lay the Aggravations of your ſins upon your hearts, and this is the way to humble your hearts before the Lord. Indeed the Saints of God they need not ſeek to excuſe their ſins, be not afraid to lay the aggravations of ſin upon your own hearts, according to what great aggravations there may be. Greaten your wickedneſs before the Lord, do not ſo as ordinarily people do, to extenuate your ſins, for if there be any extenuation that poſſibly can be Jeſus Chriſt will find out that in his pleading, Chriſt is your advocate who ſits at the right hand of the Father, and it is his work to plead your cauſe, and therefore if there can be any thing to extenuate a ſin he will do it; you know that when he was here in this world, when his Diſciples did offend very much in that ſleepineſs of theirs, that when Chriſt was to ſuffer they could not watch with him one hour,Matth. 26. 41. illuſtrated. that ſin might have been aggravated with abundance of circumſtances, but ſaith Chriſt, The fleſh is weak, but the ſpirit is willing; he falls to extenuate and excuſe. Now that which Chriſt did there, he wil be ready to do in Heaven, for thou that art a Saint.
And then further,Obſ. 3. According to greatneſs of ſins ſo is the greatneſs of wrath; great wickedneſs and great wrath they go together, and therefore according to the greatneſs of ſins ſhould the greatneſs of our humiliation be. For ſo it is ſaid of Manaſſes, That he humbled himſelf greatly, and in Lament. 1. 20. Lam. 1. 20.where the Church is humbling its ſelf before God for the great wickedneſs and the great wrath that was upon them. Behold, Oh Lord, for I am in diſtreſs; my bowels are troubled, mine heart is turned within me; for I have grevouſly rebelled. Mark, here you have theſe two points together, The Church aggravates her ſin, I have grievouſly rebelled; and what then? Oh Lord, I am in diſtreſs; my bowels are troubled, my heart is turned within me. Oh! remember this text you whoſe conſciences do tell you of grievous Rebellions.
The laſt words follow;
In a morning ſhall the King of Iſrael be utterly cut off.
Now for the underſtanding of this, we muſt conſider to what this refers,2 King. 17. what King of Iſrael this was, and when this was fulfilled. For that if you reade 2 King. 17. it hath reference to the ſtory there; and this King of Iſrael that is here ſpoken of, is Hoſhea that was the laſt King of Iſrael, and therefore it's ſaid,Expoſ. That he ſhall be utterly cut off: For he, and all his family was utterly cut off, there was an end of the Kingdom of Iſrael that had continued ſo long provoking God; ſaith he, I have forborn the Kings of Iſrael a long time, but now they ſhall be utterly cut off in H…ſhea.
This King of Iſrael his ſpirit was ſtout enough againſt God and his Prophets,Hoſhea the laſt King of Iſrael a wilful man▪ and he would, and he would. My Brethren, It is not the ſtoutneſs of the greateſt men upon earth to ſay, They will, and they will, and they will venture their Lives, and Kingdoms. Why, if they Will, God Will too, he hath a Will as well as they, at length Gods Will grows as ſtrong as theirs, and proceeds againſt them, and againſt their very families: The King of Iſrael ſhall be utterly cut off.
Kings of the Earth they ſuffer little from men. What a brave buſineſs i… it for a man that he ſhall be able to go up and down in Countries, and rend, and tear, and oppreſs, and bring thouſands into woful miſeries and extremities, and yet be afraid to ſuffer nothing at all Himſelf, therfore it is fit for God to take in hand thoſe men that are above the power of men; when men cannot deal with them, it is the Lord himſelf he takes them into hand, and they are ſo much the more under the imediate Juſtice of the Infinite God.
Shall be utterly cut off.
But when ſhall this be?Expoſ. 1. In a morning: There is a ſad morning coming.
But I find Cyril carries it thus:The Expoſitiō of this part of this Verſe, as of many other particulars in theſe Exerciſes, appears to have been very Propheſies. God in his Patience is compared to a man aſleep, and in the execution of Judgment is ſaid to awake; God brings his Righteous Judgements to light every morning. But that's a little too forced.
But Secondly, In a morning: that is, Early, betimes; ſo in Jer. 21. 12. O houſe of David, thus ſaith the Lord, Execute Judgment in the Morning. So the King of Iſrael ſhall be early cut off; And indeed this King of Iſrael he was early cut off, he did not reign above eight or nine yeers at moſt. God doth take ſome in the morning of their time, in their youth, when their day is but as it were dawning, he takes ſome ſinners ſooner than others: In the morning he ſhall be cut off.
But Thirdly,Expoſ. 3. In the morning, which comes yet neerer and more full to the ſenſe and the ſcope of the Spirit of God here; that is, even when the light comes, when they have hopes of further good, then he ſhall be cut off. And ſo you ſhal find if you reade the ſtory in the book of Kings, at this time when Hoſhea was to be cut off, that it was when he had entred into League with the King of EGYPT, and now Hoſhea thought a morning would ariſe, and he ſhould have a brave day, and live many merry daies now; and when he thought the light began to come, in a morning doth God come to cut him off.
Oh!Obſ. ſo it is many times (my Brethren) That at that time when people have ſome enlightening, and they think that now light is breaking out, Uſe for England.when after a long night of darkneſs, then Gods diſpleaſure breaks forth upon them. We cannot but acknowledge that the Lord hath granted us a morning light, but let us fear and tremble; for the time of Gods diſpleaſure, ſomtime it is in the morning; when we think we have light breaking forth, God may have other waies to bring darkneſs upon us than we are aware of; we know how dreadful a day it was with Sodom after a Sun-ſhine morning. It's very obſervable, the difference of Gods dealing with his own People, and with thoſe that are carnal and of the world:Zach. 4. 7. compared with the text, & explained. compare this Scripture with Zach. 14. 7. Here, In a morning ſhall he be utterly cut off. But in Zach. 14. 7. where God is ſpeaking of mercy to his People, he ſpeaks of a day that ſhould be known to God, and ſaith he, At evening time it ſhall be light; He comforts his People thus. But when he threatens the wicked (ſaith he) When the morning comes it ſhall be darkneſs. The Lord doth uſe to turn the darkneſs of the Saints into light, and to turn the light of the wicked and ungodly into darkneſs. Oh! let us learn to fear that God then that is able to turn light into darkneſs,Amos, 5. 8. and darkneſs into light. Amos, 5. 8. Seek him (ſaith the text) that turneth the ſhadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night. He can turn the ſhadow of death into morning. Suppoſe there be the greateſt darkneſs upon you, God can make that a morning of light: and ſuppoſe there be a morning of light, God can turn that into darkneſs. Many men they ſet upon ſome waies, and becauſe they have a morning they bleſs themſelves and think all muſt needs go on according to their way; it is a very ordinary thing in the hearts of men, eſpecially that are compaſſing ſome notable deſign of their own, if it doth proſper in the begining they think al wil go on: Oh! thou maieſt be utterly deceived, thy deſigns may have a morning, and then God may cut thee off and thy deſigns, and all thy thoughts may then periſh. We reade that Saul had many Victories after that God had pronounced that he ſhould be rejected. And therefore we had need fear that God, that can turn the morning into darkneſs, and darkneſs into light.
Fourthly,Obſ. 4 God did not diſcomfit the Hoſt of the Egyptians until the morning. God loves to draw forth great ſinners to the light; not to come upon them in the dark, but to bring forth his judgments in the morning openly and cleerly.
And laſtly,Obſ. 5. In the morning he ſhall be cut off. That is, Suddenly, God will be quick at his work: They thought by their power to hold it out: No, ſaith God, I will not make a daies work of it,ſicut mane tranſit, ſic pertranſit Rex Iſrael it ſhal be in the morning, ſo the old Latin turns it, It ſhall paſs as the morning, as the light of the morning quickly paſſes over; as you heard before, as the King of Iſrael is compared to the foam, ſo he is here compared to the morning. Now my brethren to cloſe this Chapter, Oh! what alteration of things God is able to make in a morning! They (it may be) the day before, and over night were jolly and merry, and bleſt themſelves in their way; they had confidence in their way, and multitude of their mighty men; but in a morning all is ſpoiled. God can make mighty alterations in a Kingdom in a morning, and in Cities, and Families, and particular Perſons, mighty alterations in a morning: My Brethren, Who knows what a day may bring forth? who knows what a morning may bring forth?Ezek. 7. 5, 6, 7. Ezek. 7. 5, 6, 7. Thus ſaith the Lord God, An evil, an only evil, behold, is come. An end is come, the end is come, it watches for thee, behold, it is come. The Morning is come unto thee, O thou that dwelleſt in the Land; the time is come, the day of trouble is near. As if God ſhould ſay, Al this while that thou haſt bin in the act of the pride of thy heart, and vanity of thy ſpirit, I did determin, that ſuch a morning, ſuch an evil ſhould come, and it's come, it is come, it is come, ſaith God: Again, again, and again, the morning is come. Make our peace at night,O! think, when you lie down at night, think what thou haſt done this day, do not dare to lie down, but firſt make thy peace with God, thou knoweſt not what may be in the morning, and when thou riſeſt up in the morning,And ſeek God whē we riſe. look up to God, and ſeek bleſſing and mercy from the Lord; for though thine eyes be opened, and thou come to ſee the morning light, yet before the morning be quite gone, thou knoweſt not what may befal thee, and therefore ſeek to make thy peace with God, both in the night and in the morning; for great changes may come to thee both in the night and in the morning, that thou never thoughteſt of in all thy life. And thus (through Gods bleſſing) we have finiſhed the Tenth Chapter.
FINIS.