Sermons Preached on Several Occasions, Sermon 7
The Seventh Sermon.
2 Chron. 33.10, 11, 12, 13.
And the Lord ſpake to Manaſſeh and his People: but they would not hearken, &c.
HItherto of the Courſe which God took with Manaſſeh in order to his reclaiming, when gentler Means would do him no good; which was the third Particular in the Text.
Now followeth the fourth Particular, namely, the Effect which this ſeverer Courſe had upon Manaſſeh; When he was in Affliction, he beſought the Lord his God, and humbled himſelf greatly before the God of his Fathers, and prayed unto him.
When he was in Affliction. A ſore and heavy Affliction it was for a King to fall into the Hands of his Enemies that thirſted after his Blood, to be bound with Fetters, to be carried away captive into a ſtrange Land, to be there a Priſoner ſtanding in fear of his Life every day and every hour: This was ſuch an Affliction as could not but deeply affect him, and go near his Heart. Now queſtionleſs he bitterly recounts and calls to mind what he enjoyed at home in his own Land, where he ſat upon the Throne and ſwayed the Scepter, and how lamentable a Change of his Condition he had lived to ſee. At length he looks beyond his Enemies, and takes notice of the Hand of God in all that had come upon him; and this brings to his Mind thoſe his grievous Sins and horrid Crimes, by which in the time of his Proſperity he had provoked God to give him up into the Hands of his Enemies, and to bring upon him all that Miſery under which he now ſmarted. Now he calls to mind how often God had by his Servants the Prophets called him to Repentance; how often he had been forewarned of all the Miſery that he would bring upon himſelf, if he did not by timely Repentance prevent it. Now he ſadly remembers how wretchedly he had ſtopped his Ears, and hardned his Heart againſt good Counſels and Admonitions: And this at length ſets him a praying, and humbling himſelf before God, which till this time he could never be perſwaded to do. When God was pleaſed to correct and chaſten him in this ſevere and extraordinary manner, then, and not till then, he began to think of returning unto God, from whom he had revolted. When he was in Affliction, he beſought the Lord his God.
Hence we may obſerve,
That Afflictions will work upon Men, and prevail with them to return to God from whom they have gone aſtray, when all other Means are ineffectual.
For the right underſtanding of this Point, we muſt know that Afflictions of themſelves cannot effect this gracious Change in any Man. 'Tis not ſo much from any natural Property or inherent Virtue in Afflictions that they thus work, as it is from God who ſanctifieth Afflictions, and makes them Means of ſpiritual Good to as many as he is pleaſed to work upon by them. If God be not pleaſed to ſanctify Afflictions, and to accompany them with the effectual Operation of his Spirit upon the Hearts of Men, they are never the better for them, it may be they are much the worſe; inſtead of being reduced from the Error of their Ways, and of being reclaimed and brought home to God, they are driven farther away from him. So we read concerning Ahaz, 2 Chron. 28.22.that in the time of his Diſtreſs he treſpaſſed yet more againſt the Lord. Thus Saul, when in his Diſtreſs he ſhould have had recourſe unto God for Relief, 1 Sam 28.7, 8.betook himſelf to the Devil, and conſulted with the Witch of Endor. The like did Ahaziah, who in his Sickneſs, 2 King. 1.2as if there had been no God in Iſrael, ſent unto Baalzebub the God of Ekron, to enquire whether he ſhould recover. Thus though the Judgments of God that had been inflicted on the Votaries and Adherents of Antichriſt, Rev. 16.10, 11.were ſo terrible, that they gnawed their Tongues for Pain, yet they blaſphemed the God of Heaven becauſe of their Pains and their Sores, and repented not of their Deeds. And this is that which is confirmed by every Day's Experience: We ſee many wicked Men that are emptied from Veſſel to Veſſel, and haraſſed with all ſorts of Afflictions; and yet they are as bad as ever they were; yea perhaps the more they are afflicted, the more are their Hearts eſtranged from God, and the more are they hardned in their Sins. How little Good is done upon wicked Men by Afflictions unleſs they be ſanctified to them, Solomon informeth us, ſaying, Prov. 27.22.Though thou ſhouldſt bray a Fool in a Mortar among Wheat with a Peſtle, yet will not his Fooliſhneſs depart from him. Solomon's Fool is a wicked Man, whoſe Fooliſhneſs is his Wickedneſs: This his Wickedneſs will not depart from him, though you bray him with a Peſtle in a Mortar; though you beat him, and bruiſe him, and even pound him to pieces, yet will he ſtill be the ſame, every way as bad and as wicked as he was when you firſt took him in hand. Afflictions may batter him, bruiſe him, and break him; but without God's ſanctifying Grace concurring and cooperating with them, they will never change a Man's Nature, or purge away his Corruption.
And here by the way, we may learn two things from hence.
1. In all our Afflictions to look up to God, and beg of him that he would vouchſafe to ſanctify them to us, without which we cannot expect to receive any Good by them. They may do us Hurr, but they can do us no Good; they may make us worſe, but they cannot make us better without his Bleſſing. 'Tis eaſy to obſerve what ſad Work Afflictions, through the Corruption of Man's Nature, make, when they light upon wicked Men, and are not ſanctified to them; how they repine, and fret, and murmur; how in the height of their Impatience they toſs themſelves like a wild Bull in a Net, as the Prophet expreſſeth it; how they oft-times blaſpheme God, and fall foul upon Men who have been in God's Hand the Inſtruments of their Sufferings. Whoſo conſiders this, cannot but think himſelf highly concerned to be an earneſt Suitor unto God, that his Afflictions may be ſo ſanctified to him, as that he may be enabled to make a holy Uſe and Improvement of them, and not be tranſported by them into thoſe ſinful Exceſſes, into which the Corruption of our Nature would hurry us.
2. We may alſo learn humbly and thankfully to acknowledg the Goodneſs of God to us; if we have received any Benefit by our Afflictions, to bleſs God for it, and to give him the Glory of it. Have our Afflictions brought us to the ſight of our Sins? Have they humbled us? Have they reduced us from the Errour of our Ways, and led us home to God? Let us not think theſe things to be the natural Iſſues and Fruits of Affliction. No ſuch matter: 'tis God, and he alone that puts Efficacy into Afflictions for the production of theſe great and excellent things. Wherefore let us aſcribe them not to the Means, but to God, and accordingly bleſs him for them.
But to return to the Point to be inſiſted on. Afflictions will work upon Men, and prevail with them to return to God from whom they have gone aſtray, when all other Means are ineffectual. Afflictions, if God be pleaſed to ſanctify them, will do Men good when no other Means will. This Truth may be confirmed both from Scripture and Experience.
(1.) From Scripture it may be confirmed. David, when he was out of the way, wanted not other Means to reduce him, and to ſet him right again; but yet he acknowledgeth that Afflictions were the Means by which he was recalled from his Wandrings: Pſal. 119.67.Before I was afflicted I went aſtray, but now I have kept thy Word. And again, It is good for me that I was afflicted, Ver. 71.that I might learn thy Statutes. But next to the great Inſtance of the Efficacy of Afflictions this way in Manaſſeh, there is none other ſo full and pertinent, as that of the Prodigal Son. Luke 15.11, 12, &c.This wild young Man could not be reſtrained, and kept in good Order by his Father's Inſtructions and Counſels. His Father's Diſcipline was too ſevere for him; his Father's Houſe was little better than a Priſon to him, a ſtrait Confinement not to be endured, and ſuch an Abridgment of his Liberty as was intolerable: Abroad he muſt, and take his Portion along with him alſo. Having withdrawn himſelf from under his Father's Government, and being at liberty, he prodigally and riotouſly ſpends all that he had, and reduceth himſelf to extreme Want and Miſery. At length when he was ready to periſh, and knew not what to do, he conſiders how much better it was with him while he was at home with his Father, and takes up Reſolutions of returning to him, and of humbling himſelf before him. Here we ſee Affliction and Miſery works upon this Prodigal, and brings him home to his Father's Houſe, when nothing elſe would reclaim him. And all this, what is it elſe but a lively Emblem of the Condition of a Sinner that is gone aſtray from God, and is reduced by Affliction, when nothing elſe will reclaim him?
(2.) This Truth may alſo be confirmed from Experience. We may obſerve, and 'tis no difficult matter to obſerve it, that when Men could not be reclaimed and taken off from their vicious Courſes by any other Means, Afflictions have done it. Sometimes the Senſe of God's Wrath, and Terrors of Conſcience; ſometimes a ſevere Fit of Sickneſs that hath brought them near the Grave, or ſome other ſharp Affliction, hath imbittered that Sin to them, and taken off their Hearts from it, which before they could never be perſwaded to part with. And there is no Man that hath any good Acquaintance with himſelf, and with his own Heart, and hath made any obſervation of God's Dealings with his Soul, but muſt have taken notice that Afflictions have been of that uſe to him, and have done him that Good in making a Separation between him and his Sins, which nothing elſe could ever do, neither the Word, nor all the Threatnings againſt Sin therein contained, nor the good Counſels and Admonitions of Friends, nor the Examples of the Judgments of God inflicted on others for the ſame Sins. When none of all theſe things will make a Man willing to leave his Sins, a Man's own proper Smart and perſonal Afflictions will do it.
Now if you ask, how God is pleaſed to make Afflictions the Means of reclaiming Sinners, and of bringing them home to himſelf when other Means will not do it?
I anſwer; Afflictions, when God is pleaſed to ſanctify them, do many ways contribute towards the reclaiming of Sinners.
1. They make Men ſerious; they call in Mens Minds from the things of the World, from the Honours, the Profits, the Pleaſures, the Divertiſements and Vanities thereof, and make them reflect and conſider how 'tis with them as to their ſpiritual Eſtate, and in what Condition their Souls are, and how Matters ſtand between God and them. Theſe things are little minded while Men are in Proſperity, and they have no Changes; Men have other things to entertain themſelves with, and to take up their Time and their Thoughts; they have things which they are better pleaſed with, and which they take more Content in. But in time of Affliction they retire into themſelves, and are more converſant at home. The time of Adverſity is a time of thinking, and of Conſideration; Eccl. 7.14.In the Day of Adverſity conſider, ſaith Solomon. Conſideration is the proper Duty of that Time, and then a Man is fitteſt for it. Now Conſideration, and ſerious Reflection on our ſelves, are the firſt Step towards our returning to God, and into the way of Obedience, when we have gone aſtray. David thought on his Ways, Pſal. 119.59.and then turned his Feet unto God's Teſtimonies. And 'tis ſaid of the Prodigal when he was in Diſtreſs, that he came to himſelf, and ſaid, Luke 15.17.How many hired Servants of my Father's have Bread enough and to ſpare, and I periſh for Hunger? He came to himſelf; before he was beſide himſelf, he was abroad before: while his Portion and his Money laſted, he had other things to mind; but when all was ſpent, and when by his profuſe, prodigal and luxurious Courſes he had brought himſelf to thoſe Extremities that he was ready to be famiſhed, then he began to reflect upon himſelf, and to conſider how fooliſhly he had done in forſaking his Father's Houſe; what Miſery he had thereby brought himſelf into; and how much happier he might have been if he had ſtill kept at home with his Father, and never thought of rambling away from him. Theſe and the like ſerious Reflections and Conſiderations at length produce the Reſolutions which he takes up, ſaying with himſelf, I will ariſe and go to my Father, and will ſay unto him, Father, I have ſinned against Heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy Son; make me as one of thy hired Servants. And ſo much concerning the firſt thing that Affliction doth towards the reclaiming of Sinners; it makes Men ſerious, it calls in their Minds from the World and the things thereof, and makes them reflect upon themſelves and conſider.
2. Afflictions bring Men to the Sight of their Sins, which is a further Step towards their reclaiming. The Affliction which God lays upon a Man is oft-times ſuch as to its Kind, Nature and Circumſtances, that it evidently points at a Man's Sin, and plainly ſhews the Sinner what the Sin is which God corrects him for. To make Men ſee and diſcern their Sins, and the better to convince them of their Sins, God often as it were writes the Sin upon the Puniſhment, and that in ſuch fair and legible Characters as that all may read it, eſpecially the Sinner himſelf, who is beſt acquainted with his own Sin, and ſo can beſt diſcern how exactly God ſutes the Puniſhment thereunto. A moſt famous and remarkable Inſtance hereof we have in Adonibezek; Judg. 1.6, 7.who having cut off the Thumbs and great Toes of threeſcore and ten Kings, had at length his own Thumbs and great Toes cut off, which made him acknowledg the righteous Judgment of God herein, ſaying, As I have done, ſo God hath requited me. But though Afflictions be not ſuch as evidently point at the Sin, and preſently make Men ſee it, and acknowledg it, whether they will or no; yet do they conduce to the bringing of us to the Sight of our Sins divers ways.
1ſt. Afflictions make Men ſenſible of God's Diſpleaſure: When they are afflicted, they apprehend God to be angry with them, though perhaps they cannot ſee what it is by which they have provoked him: They ſay within themſelves, Surely God is much diſpleaſed with us, or elſe ſuch or ſuch an Affliction had never befallen us.
2dly. This makes them ſearch and inquire after the Cauſe of their Afflictions, the Sins by which God hath been ſo much provoked to Diſpleaſure againſt them. This is a Work that Men take little Content in; 'tis a Work which they are moſt averſe from. Men care not how little and how ſeldom they look into themſelves; they had much rather be abroad than at home. But however Afflictions put them upon this unacceptable Work. Search after their Sins they will, rather than ſtill ſmart under the Hand of God that afflicts them.
3dly. Afflictions make Men willing to find out their Sins, and they make them ſearch after their Sins as thoſe that have a Mind to find them. Men feeling the Smart of the Rod, and earneſtly deſiring to be freed from it, and to be at Eaſe, will ſearch after their Sins narrowly and diligently, they will ſearch after them with all their Hearts, as the Prophet ſpeaks in another Caſe; they will ſearch after them with an earneſt Deſire to find them, and never be at reſt till they do find them, becauſe they know till then they may not hope to be freed from their Afflictions.
4thly. Afflictions do alſo open Mens Eyes to ſee that which before they could not or would not ſee. Men are not willing to ſee their Sins; they willingly overlook them, or cloſe their Eyes that they may not ſee them: But Afflictions make them ſee and acknowledg thoſe their Errors and Miſcarriages which they would never be convinced of or acknowledg till the Hand of God was upon them. The Child that is corrected, will confeſs and acknowledg his Faults under the Rod, which he would never own or acknowledg before. 2 Sam. 24.4.When David commanded the People to be numbred, he ſaw not, or would not ſee the Evil of that Action, though Joab and the Captains of the Hoſt ſaw it, and utterly diſliked the thing: And as for Joab, though he was none of the beſt Men otherwiſe, yet 'tis ſaid of him, 1 Chron. 21.6.that the Word of the King was abominable to him. But whatever Joab and the Captains of the Hoſt thought of this Action, David was reſolute, and would have it done, and his Word prevailed againſt Joab, and againſt the Captains of the Hoſt, as we read in the Place before-mentioned. Thus far David would not be convinced of the Sinfulneſs of his commanding the People to be numbred: But afterwards when his Heart had ſmitten him, and eſpecially after that ſeventy thouſand of his People had been ſwept away by the Peſtilence, Ver. 10.then he ſaw his Miſcarriage, and cried out, I have ſinned, and I have done wickedly; Ver. 17.but theſe Sheep, what have they done? Let thy Hand be againſt me, and againſt my Father's Houſe. Thus we have ſeen how Afflictions are Means of bringing Men to the Sight of their Sins, and how many ways they conduce thereunto.
3. By Afflictions Men come to be acquainted with the Evil, the hainous Nature and Danger of Sin. Before the Sinner is afflicted, he makes light of Sin, he thinks there is no great Evil or Danger in thoſe Sins which he indulgeth himſelf in. But when God ſeverely corrects him for thoſe things which he looked upon as ſmall Matters, and very pardonable Offences, ſuch venial Sins as he thinks, no Man need queſtion but that they are pardoned in Courſe, and remitted as often and as eaſily as committed; I ſay, when God ſeverely corrects him for thoſe things, then he begins to have other Thoughts of them; then he underſtands that there is much more Evil and Malignity in them than he was aware of; then he begins to be ſenſible of the Danger of allowing himſelf in them. Thus by Afflictions God rectifies his Judgment, and corrects his Errors and Miſtakes about the Nature and Danger of Sin.
The unclean Perſon as long as he eſcapes unpuniſhed, is apt to think he may ſafely enough gratify his Luſt by addicting himſelf to that abominable Sin: But when he feels that his Bones are full of the Sins of his Youth, when he hath brought upon himſelf thoſe Infirmities and Diſeaſes, thoſe exquiſite and tormenting Pains which are the natural Attendants and proper Fruits of that Sin; then he begins to underſtand that there is much more Evil and Danger in that Sin than he was apprehenſive of.
So the Drunkard is apt to think there is little Evil or Danger in that Exceſs which he often indulgeth himſelf in; but when he finds that he hath thereby ruined himſelf and his diſtreſſed Family, that he hath brought both himſelf, and ſuch as depend on him, to a Morſel of Bread; and moreover, that he hath overthrown the State of his Body, impaired his Health, waſted his Strength, treaſured up in his declining and half-rotten Carcaſe, Matter for all manner of Diſeaſes, almoſt extinguiſhed natural Heat, and even drowned Nature by the continual Droppings of his Exceſs; and by all this brought himſelf to the brink of the Pit; then at length he becomes ſenſible of the great Evil, and the woful Conſequents of his intemperate Courſes; then he cries out againſt himſelf, that he ſhould ever be ſuch a Beaſt as he hath been; that he ſhould by his Exceſs ruine his Family, and deſtroy himſelf both Soul and Body. In ſhort, Afflictions are a kind of ſpiritual Eye-ſalve whereby our Sight is cleared, and we are enabled to ſee what we ſaw not before we were afflicted; and to ſee thoſe things more clearly and diſtinctly, which before we ſaw darkly and confuſedly. Afflictions help us to ſee thoſe Sins in our ſelves which before we diſcerned not; or if we had ſome obſcure and imperfect Sight of them, if we had a dark and confuſed View of them before we were afflicted, our Afflictions help us to ſee them, and to diſcern the Evil and Danger of them more clearly.
4. Afflictions put us upon the great and neceſſary Duties of Humiliation and Prayer. Afflictions make us humble our ſelves for our Sins, by which we have brought our Afflictions upon us; and they make us earneſt Suitors to God in Prayer for the Pardon of our Sins, and for the Removal of thoſe our Afflictions which have been the bitter Fruit of our Sins. Afflictions have often taught Men to humble themſelves and pray, who were mere Strangers to thoſe Duties before, and never had any Acquaintance with them till God's afflicting Hand was upon them. Even the Mariners, a Generation of Men that for the moſt part do not much addict themſelves to Devotion, will pray, and call upon God in a Tempeſt, as we may ſee, Pſal. 107. where both their Danger and their Carriage therein is thus deſcribed; Pſal. 107.25, 26, 27, 28.He commandeth and raiſeth the ſtormy Winds, which lift up the Waves: they mount up to the Heavens, they go down again to the deep; their Soul is melted becauſe of Trouble; they reel to and fro, and ſtagger like a drunken Man, and are at their Wits and: Then they cry unto the Lord in their Trouble, and he bringeth them out of their Diſtreſſes. So Jonah 1.5. The Mariners being afraid, by reaſon of a mighty Tempeſt, cried every Man unto his God. So the Prophet ſaith of the Jews; Iſa. 26.16.Lord, in Trouble have they viſited thee; they poured out a Prayer when thy Chaſtning was upon them. And this is that which God aims at in afflicting his People; I will go and return to my Place, Hoſ. 5.15.that is, I will withdraw from them, ſaith he, till they acknowledg their Offence, and ſeek my Face. This here in my Text was the Effect which Affliction took upon Manaſſeh; When he was in Affliction, he beſought the Lord his God, and humbled himſelf greatly before the God of his Fathers, and prayed unto him. This Courſe St. James directs the Afflicted unto: Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Jam. 5.13.To the like Purpoſe is the Exhortation of St. Peter to ſuch as are caſt down under the afflicting Hand of God; 1 Pet. 5.6.Humble your ſelves under the mighty Hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.
5. Afflictions make Men willing to forſake their Sins, and induce them to take up Reſolutions to forſake them, and caſt them off. The beloved Sins of Men are ſweet to them, and they are moſt unwilling to leave them as long as they can enjoy them without Trouble or Moleſtation, as long as they ſuffer nothing, and as they ſmart not upon the account of their Sins: But when they are chaſtned and afflicted for their Sins, this makes Sin bitter to them, and makes them reſolve to part with it, to caſt it off, and abandon it; this makes them bind and oblige themſelves by the moſt ſolemn and ſacred Bonds never to return to it any more. This is that which God's People were to do in the time of their Affliction; they muſt reſolve upon other Courſes, they muſt promiſe and vow to renounce and forſake thoſe Sins by which they had drawn down the Judgments of God upon them; they muſt return to the Lord, and ſay unto him, Aſher ſhall not ſave us; Hoſ. 14.3.we will not ride upon Horſes, neither will we ſay any more to the Works of our hands, Ye are our Gods. Theſe Reſolutions their Afflictions ſhould produce, and ſuch Reſolutions they would produce, when their Sufferings, being ſanctified to them, ſhould effectually reduce them, and bring them home to God. And the like Reſolutions did David's Afflictions produce in him, as we may gather from the frequent mention there is of the Vows which he then made unto God: Thy Vows are upon me, O God: I will render Praiſe unto thee, Pſal. 56.12. Thou, O God, hast heard my Vows, Pſal. 61.5. Prepare Mercy and Truth which may preſerve me: So will I ſing Praiſe unto thee for ever, that I may daily perform my Vows, ver. 7, 8. I will pay thee my Vows which my Lips have uttered, and my Mouth hath ſpoken when I was in Trouble, Pſal. 66.13, 14. Now by theſe his Vows no doubt but he obliged himſelf to teſtify his Thankfulneſs unto God when he ſhould deliver him out of his Troubles, not only by offering Sacrifices, which were the uſual Teſtifications of Thankfulneſs in thoſe times, but alſo by a more careful Endeavour to forſake all Sin, and to give up himſelf to God more intirely in a way of conſtant and univerſal Obedience, without which all their Sacrifices and Oblations had in God's Account ſignified little.
The Sum of all that hath been ſpoken, is this: Afflictions will work upon Men, and prevail with them to return to God from whom they have gone aſtray, when all other Means are ineffectual. That 'tis not from any natural Property or inherent Virtue in Afflictions themſelves that they produce this Effect, but from the Grace of God, and the Operation of his Spirit accompanying Afflictions, and ſanctifying them to us. That Afflictions, ſanctified Afflictions, contribute towards the reclaiming of Sinners. (1.) By making them more ſerious, and by cauſing them to reflect upon themſelves, and conſider. (2.) By bringing them to the ſight of their Sins, which they do ſeveral ways. (3.) By acquainting them with the great Evil and Hainouſneſs of Sin, and with the Danger thereof. (4.) By putting the Sinner upon Humiliation and Prayer. (5.) By making him willing to forſake his Sins, and by cauſing him to take up Reſolutions to forſake his Sins, and never to return to them any more.
Now I come to apply what hath been ſpoken.
Ʋſe 1. If Afflictions will work upon Men, and prevail with them to return to God, when all other-Means are ineffectual; this may inform us how entremely bad we are, what ſinful Natures we have; how diſingenuous we are, how much our Hearts are ſet upon Sin, and how fondly in love with it we are. 'Tis a very bad Child, that will be wrought upon and be made better by nothing but the Rod: if no Perſwaſions, no wholſom Counſels, no Admonitions, no Promiſes, no Threatnings will do him any good; if he muſt be beaten and ſmart ſoundly, or he will miſcarry and undo himſelf. This is our natural Temper, this is the very Caſe of us all by Nature; nothing but Blows, and the Smart of the Rod will take off our Hearts from Sin, and make us willing to leave it. How ſhould it humble and abaſe us, and cauſe us even to loath our ſelves, that we ſhould have ſuch wicked and vile Natures, that we ſhould be ſo diſingenuous; and that there ſhould be ſuch a curſed League between us and Sin; that we ſhould have ſo much Kindneſs and intire Friendſhip and Affection for Sin, which is moſt odious to God, and moſt deſtructive to our own Souls!
Ʋſe 2. If Afflictions will work upon Men, and prevail, with them to return to God from whom they have gone aſtray, when all other Means are ineffectual; this ſhould reconcile us to Afflictions, and make us willing to ſubmit to that ſpiritual Diſcipline which the moſt wiſe God thinks fit to train us up under for our Good. Why ſhould you murmur and fret againſt the Lord, when his chaſtning: Hand is upon you? Why ſhould your Heart riſe againſt that wholſom and neceſſary. Severity, which he makes uſe of for reclaiming you? Is there not a Cauſe? Doth he not ſee that nothing elſe will prevail with you? What would you have him do? Would you have him let you alone, and ſuffer you to periſh in your Sins? Be not ſo in love with your preſent Eaſt; as to be unwilling to ſuffer a little here, to prevent your ſuffering eternally in another World. Be not ſo fondly, fooliſhly, irrationally, and madly in love with Sin, as to be averſe from undergoing any thing whereby you may be delivered from the Power and Dominion of it. Have not ſuch mean, low and unworthy Thoughts of the great and ineſtimable Mercy of being reduced from the Error of your Ways, and brought home unto God, as to think much of any Severity by which it may be effected. Certainly if you judg Sin to be the greateſt Evil, and if you be really of the mind that 'tis the greateſt Happineſs to be freed from it, and to be at Peace with God, and to be reconciled to him, you will not think any Courſe harſh, grievous and intolerable, whereby it may be attained.
I now come to a more particular Conſideration of what Manaſſeh did in his Affliction; He beſought the Lord his God, and humbled himſelf greatly before the God of his Fathers, and prayed unto him.
In which Words we are informed what Manaſſeh did: Firſt, in general Terms, He beſought the Lord his God; and then we are more particularly informed how he ſought him, namely, by Humiliation and Prayer; He humbled himſelf greatly before the God of his Fathers, and he prayed unto him.
Concerning the Account in general of what Manaſſeh did, in thoſe words, He beſought the Lord his God, I ſhall ſay nothing, becauſe there is nothing in thoſe general Terms, but what is comprehended in the following Particulars, namely, that he humbled himſelf greatly before the God of his Fathers, and prayed unto him.
Firſt, He humbled himſelf greatly before the God of his Fathers. In which Words there are three things conſiderable; That he humbled himſelf; That he humbled himſelf greatly; and that he humbled himſelf greatly before the God of his Fathers.
1ſt. He humbled himſelf: But when was it that he humbled himſelf? It was when God had firſt humbled him, and not till then; when God had delivered him into the Hands of his Enemies; when God had cauſed him to be carried away captive to Babylon, made him a Priſoner, and put him in durance there, from whence he knew not whether he ſhould ever be releaſed, and ſet at liberty again. Whence we may obſerve, That proud, ſtubborn and incorrigible Sinners will not humble themſelves till God hath humbled them, till by Afflictions he hath taken down their haughty Spirits and laid them low. Wherefore you who turn the deaf Ear to all God's gracious Calls and Invitations to Repentance, and to all his ſevere Denunciations of Judgments, would you prevent God's humbling you by thoſe ſharp and heavy Afflictions which would be very grievous to you; then humble your ſelves betimes, before he takes you in hand to humble you. This is the beſt Courſe, or rather the only Courſe that you can take for preventing God's humbling you: 1 Cor. 11.31.for if we would judg our ſelves, we ſhould not be judged. When Manaſſeh lay under God's afflicting Hand, then he humbled himſelf. The Time of Affliction is the moſt proper Seaſon for Humiliation. For,
1. Then, if ever, we ſee our Sins; our Afflictions open our Eyes, make us look about us, and help us to diſcover thoſe our Miſcarriages, which before we would not own nor take notice of.
2. Then the Heart is ſoftned, and touched with the ſenſe of our Sins.
3. Then alſo the Sinner begins to have a ſenſe of God's Diſpleaſure againſt him for his Sins: By the Afflictions which the Hand of God hath laid upon him, he perceives that God is angry with him, which he was not in the leaſt ſenſible of before he was afflicted. Now all theſe things do not a little further our Humiliation.
Ʋſe. Let us therefore when Afflictions come upon us, improve that Seaſon for our Humiliation; elſe all thoſe Advantages will be loſt.
Now if you ask how we are to be active in humbling our ſelves? I anſwer,
1. By making diligent ſearch after our Sins, by labouring to find them out, and acquaint our ſelves with them: And this is no eaſy Work, conſidering our natural Blindneſs in ſpiritual things, our Unwillingneſs to know the worſt of our ſelves, our Partiality to our ſelves, and our Aptneſs to overlook our Sins.
2. By uſing our beſt Endeavours to affect our Hearts with our Sins, which is to be done by a ſerious Conſideration of the Nature, Quality and Aggravations of our Sins; as alſo of the extreme Danger attending them, and of the diſmal Conſequents of Sin unrepented of, and the moſt fearful and eternal Wrath of God which it unavoidably expoſeth the Sinner unto.
3. By humble and affectionate Confeſſion of our Sins unto God, with our moſt earneſt and importunate Supplications to him for the pardon and forgiveneſs of them.
4. By judging our ſelves for them, and by paſſing Sentence againſt our ſelves, as thoſe who have by our Provocations deſerved to be diſowned and caſt off for ever, and to be made the miſerable Objects of God's fierce Indignation to Eternity.
5. By taking up the moſt firm and ſtedfaſt Reſolutions to caſt off all our Tranſgreſſions for the time to come, and as far as God ſhall be pleaſed by his Grace to enable us, never to return to Folly any more.
Now followeth the ſecond Particular, He humbled himſelf greatly, as he had been a very great and moſt heinous Sinner. And hence we may farther obſerve,
That our Humiliation must be proportionable to the Nature and Quality of our Sins.
A little ſlight Humiliation for great and grievous Sins, is in God's account next to no Humiliation at all. Let not therefore ſuch as have been guilty of great and horrid Sins, think it is enough for them to have hang'd down their Heads as a Bulruſh for a day or two; as thoſe Hypocrites whoſe Carriage the Prophet deſcribes, Jer. 58.5. or to have made ſome ſlight and formal Confeſſion of their Sins, when they are now juſt ready to go out of the World. This forced and half-Humiliation cannot be acceptable to God; for it argues that ſuch a Man hath neither any true ſenſe of the Hainouſneſs of his Sins, nor of the high Diſpleaſure of God againſt him for his Sins, much leſs any ſincere and firm Reſolutions to forſake his Sins, if God ſhould raiſe him up again, and lengthen out his Life for ſome longer time. That you may be duly and ſoundly humbled for your Sins,
1. Give your ſelf no Reſt until you be fully convinced of the hainous Nature of your Sins, and the various Aggravations of them by which they have been heightned: As,
(1.) That your Sins have been ſo often repeated, renewed, and acted over again and again.
(2.) That they have been committed againſt ſo many Cautions againſt them as you have had, againſt ſo many Warnings, ſo many Admonitions and Reproofs.
(3.) Againſt ſo many Chaſtiſements, and ſo much Experience of the bitter Fruits of Sin.
(4.) Againſt ſo many Mercies which ſhould have led you to Repentance.
(5.) That they have been committed againſt ſo many Purpoſes and Reſolutions, againſt ſo many Promiſes and ſerious Ingagements to the contrary, and perhaps againſt ſo many ſolemn Vows and Covenants.
2. Acquaint your ſelf with the Threatnings of God againſt thoſe your Sins, and the high Diſpleaſure of God therein manifeſted againſt you for them.
3. Be an humble Suitor unto God, that he would be pleaſed to break your Heart, and according to his Promiſe, to take away your ſtony Heart, Ezek. 36.26.and give you a Heart of Fleſh. But be ſure that you be in good earneſt when you offer up this Suit unto God; beg this Mercy with the greateſt Importunity, or other ways never expect to obtain it; then, and then only ſhall you ſeek God and find him, Jer. 29.13.when you ſhall ſearch for him with all your Heart. And though you ſhould not preſently obtain what you ſeek unto God for, yet give not over ſeeking him; if you ſeek him with Conſtancy and Perſeverance, you ſhall be ſure to ſpeed in the End: Gal. 6.9.In due time you ſhall reap, if you faint not.
But you will ſay, How may a Man know that he is truly and ſoundly humbled, that his Humiliation bears ſome Proportion with the Quality and Degree of his Sins?
Anſw. 1. He that is truly, effectually and ſoundly humbled, will loath and abhor himſelf for his Sins; ſo did Job: Behold, I am vile, ſaith he, Job 40.4.what ſhall I anſwer thee? I will lay my Hand upon my Mouth. And again; I abhor my ſelf, Ch. 42.6.ſaith he, and repent in Duſt and Aſhes. This is that Frame of Spirit which God expects ſhould be found in a ſincerely penitent, truly humbled, and effectually reformed People; they ſhould remember and be confounded, Ezek. 16.63.and never open their Mouth any more: that is, they ſhould remember all their Abominations, be confounded in the ſerious Thoughts and Remembrance of them, and never open their Mouth any more to juſtify themſelves.
2. He that is truly, effectually and ſoundly humbled, will freely acknowledg and aggravate his Sins; he will be ſo far from extenuating and leſſening his Sins, that he will lay them open and repreſent them as fully as he can, and in his Confeſſions of them lay all the load on himſelf that he is able; he will not ſpare himſelf, or in the leaſt favour himſelf in the Charge and Indictment which he brings in againſt himſelf. Thus David making Acknowledgment of his Sin, gives it its full Aggravations, 2 Sam. 24.10.ſaying, I have ſinned greatly, and I have done very fooliſhly. And afterwards, when he ſaw the Angel of the Lord ſtretching out his Hand againſt the People, Ver. 17.Lo, I have ſinned, and I have done wickedly: but as for theſe Sheep what have they done? Let thy Hand, I pray thee, be againſt me, and againſt my Father's Houſe. An unhumbled Sinner would have ſhifted off all the Blame upon others, as did Saul, 1 Sam. 15.15. excuſing himſelf, he pleaded, that the People had ſpared the beſt of the Sheep, and the Oxen, to ſacrifice unto the Lord: But David took all the Blame upon himſelf, and wholly exempts his People from it.
3. The Sinner that is truly, effectually, and ſoundly humbled, will juſtify God in all that is come upon him for his Sins: So Daniel acknowledging his own Sins, and the Sins of the People, ſaith, To thee, O Lord, Dan. 9.7, 8.belongeth Righteouſneſs; but to us Confuſion of Face, to our Kings, to our Princes, and to our Fathers, becauſe we have ſinned againſt thee. This Acknowledgment he makes after a long Recital of thoſe heavy Judgments which for their Sins God had inflicted on them, thereby clearing him from any unjuſt Severity which he had exerciſed upon them. To the ſame purpoſe it is that Ezra making Confeſſion of his own Sins, and of the Sins of that People, freely acknowledged, that though they had ſuffered grievous things, yet they had been puniſhed leſs than their Iniquities deſerved. Ezra 9.13.God had in Wrath remembred Mercy, even when he treated them with moſt Severity.
4. The Sinner that is truly, effectually and ſoundly humbled, will meekly and patiently ſubmit to God's Corrections, and lay himſelf at the Feet of God while he is chaſtning him. He will accept of the Puniſhment of his Sin, as the Phraſe is, Lev. 26.41. He will cordially ſay with the Church; Micah 7.9.I will bear the Indignation of the Lord, becauſe I have ſinned againſt him. He will humbly ſay with Eli, whatſoever his Sufferings are, It is the Lord that thus handles me; 1 Sam. 3.18.It is the Lord, let him do what ſeemeth him good. In like manner David expreſſeth his humble Submiſſion to the good Pleaſure of God, when he lay under his correcting Hand; when he fled from Abſalom, he ordered the Ark to be by Zabok carried back into the City, … Sam. 15.25, 26.ſaying, If I ſhall find favour in the Eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and ſhew me both it, and his Habitation: But if he thus ſay, I have no Delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to me as ſeemeth good unto him.
5. The Sinner that is truly, effectually and ſoundly troubled, will take a holy Revenge upon himſelf, in reference to thoſe things, to thoſe particular Inſtances of his Life, in which he has moſt provoked God and incurred his Diſpleaſure. Cor. 7.11To manifeſt his Indignation againſt himſelf for the Sins by which he hath moſt highly diſhonoured God, he will deny himſelf ſome of thoſe lawful and innocent Liberties which he might other ways without Sin make uſe of.
It now follows in the Text, that he humbled himſelf greatly before the God of his Fathers. Which Words may imply either an Aggravation of his Sins, or an Incouragement to ſeek unto God for the Pardon of his Sins.
1. The Words may imply an Aggravation of his Sins, which had been committed againſt ſo many Conſiderations as might and ſhould have effectually refrained him from ſinning againſt God in ſuch a fearful manner as he had done.
As, 1ſt. That he had ſinned againſt ſo many good Inſtructions and Cautions againſt Sin, as his Father had given him; and againſt the pious Education which under the Care and Inſpection of ſo religious and conſcientious a Father he had enjoyed.
2dly. That he had ſinned againſt all the good Examples which his Father and other religious Progenitors had given him, and againſt all the Patterns of ſincere Godlineſs and true Piety which they had laid before him, and either were or ſhould have been ſtill in his Eye.
3dly. That he had ſinned at ſuch a fearful rate, and indulged himſelf in ſuch vile and profligate Courſes, againſt all the Advantages, for better things, which all the Prayers of his Father and other godly Anceſtors had afforded him.
Ʋſe. Let all wicked and graceleſs Children of pious and religious Parents, conſider ſeriouſly how ſad their Account muſt needs be another Day, if they ſhall ſtill go on and perſevere in thoſe wicked and ungodly ways unto which they addict themſelves; they muſt not think to plead the Piety of their religious Parents and other Anceſtors; this ſhall be ſo far from being any Advantage to them, that it will be found to be the greateſt Aggravation of their Sins, and accordingly procure the moſt fearful Aggravation and Heightning of their Puniſhment. The moſt wicked Children are apt to pleaſe and flatter themſelves with this fond Imagination, that being deſcended from ſuch good Parents and Anceſtors, they ſhall for their ſakes find Favour with God at the Great Day of their Account; and that the Children of ſuch Parents and Anceſtors, though they ſhould have lived irregularly, cannot eaſily miſcarry and periſh everlaſtingly. Let not wicked Children of good Parents deceive themſelves; if they continue and perſevere ſtill in their evil ways, they muſt know (and I deſire all ſuch to ponder it ſeriouſly) that the Piety of their Parents will be of no other Advantage to them, than only to riſe up in Judgment againſt them, and to condemn them with a more ſore and dreadful Condemnation. John the Baptiſt calling upon the Ungodly to break off their wicked Practices, and to bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance, tells them, that they muſt not think to ſay within themſelves, Mat. 3.9.We have Abraham to our Father; for God was able even of Stones to raiſe up Children unto Abraham. Abraham wanted no ſuch Children as they were, Children that were a Diſhonour and a Reproach to their godly Anceſtors: Abraham would never own ſuch a wicked Poſterity for his Children, much leſs would he open his Mouth to ſpeak one Word in their Behalf when they ſhould ſtand before the Judgment-Seat of Chriſt, to be accountable to him for all their Wickedneſs. The true and genuine Children of Abraham are only thoſe who imitate Abraham, and tread in his Steps; as for others he will utterly diſown and diſclaim them. And the ſame Treatment muſt all wicked Children, ſtill continuing ſo to be, expect from their godly Parents and Anceſtors; they muſt not think to ſhelter themſelves from the Judgments of God under the Piety of their Progenitors.
2. The Words may imply an Encouragement to ſeek unto God for the Pardon of his Sins, and a great Encouragement thereunto it is upon ſeveral Accounts. For,
1ſt. The Children of good Men are, together with their Parents, within the Compaſs of the Covenant which God makes and eſtabliſheth with his People: Thus runs the Tenour of that Covenant; Gen. 17.7.I will eſtabliſh my Covenant (ſaith the Lord to Abraham) betwixt me and thee, and thy Seed after thee in their Generations, for an everlaſting Covenant, to be a God to thee, and to thy Seed after thee. By this St. Peter incourageth the wicked Jews that had ſtained their Hands with the horrid Guilt of crucifying the Lord of Life: I ſay, by this he encouraged them to Repentance for the Remiſſion of their Sins; Acts 2.39.For the Promiſe is unto you, and to your Children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God ſhall call.
2dly. Godly Parents make Conſcience of praying for their Children, that God would be pleaſed to pardon their Sins, to ſtrengthen them againſt their Temptations, and to beſtow his Grace and holy Spirit upon them. This Conſideration, if duly weighed, muſt needs be a ſingular Encouragement, even to the moſt wicked and ungodly Children, to become humble and earneſt Suitors unto God for the Pardon of their Sins: they may upon good Grounds hope, that all the Prayers and Supplications which their Parents have offered up unto God for them, ſhall not utterly miſcarry and be loſt.
Ʋſe 1. This may inform us how great a Mercy it is for Children to have been deſcended from pious and religious Parents, and how thankful unto God they ought to be for this ſingular Favour, a Favour that cannot be ſufficiently valued, and which hath its riſe purely from the free Grace of God, which alone maketh one Man to differ from another, eſpecially in Matters of this Nature, wherein the eternal Welfare of our Souls is ſo nearly concerned.
Ʋſe 2. Let all ſuch Children who have been favoured with this ineſtimable Privilege of being deſcended from religious Parents, improve this Mercy to their ſpiritual Advantage, giving all Diligence to become Followers of their Parents, and Imitators of their Piety; to write after that Copy, and to work after that Pattern which their Parents have ſet them: And let them pray unto God fervently and inceſſantly, that they may by a holy and unblamable Converſation, approve themſelves to be the true Offspring of ſuch Parents, and be accordingly owned and acknowledged by them; and above all, that they may be owned and acknowledged of God for ſuch, when they ſhall give up their Accounts to him, and receive their final Sentence according to what they have done, 2 Cor. 5.10in the Fleſh, whether it be Good or Evil. And thus I have done with that Obſervation.
The next thing to be conſidered, is, what Manaſſeh joined with his Humiliation under the afflicting Hand of God, namely, Prayer; He humbled himſelf greatly before the God of his Fathers, and prayed unto him.
Whence we may obſerve, in the next Place, that Prayer is a ſeaſonable and neceſſary Duty in the time of Affliction. Is any among you afflicted? Jam. 5.13.let him pray. Pſal. 50.15Call upon me in the Day of Trouble. This God aims at in afflicting us, and hiding his Face from us: This is his Deſign in withdrawing his gracious Preſence from us: Hoſ. 5.15.I will go and return to my Place, ſaith he, till they acknowledg their Offence, and ſeek my Face: in their Affliction they will ſeek me early. Thus did God's People in the time of their Afflictions: Iſa. 26.16.Lord (ſaith the Prophet) in Trouble they have viſited thee: they poured out a Prayer, when thy Chaſtning was upon them.
And divers Reaſons there are why all God's People ſhould in their Afflictions betake themſelves to God by Prayer. As,
1. All Afflictions come from God; I form Light, ſaith he, Iſa. 45.7.and create Darkneſs: I make Peace, and create Evil; I the Lord do all theſe things. Shall there be Evil in the City, and the Lord hath not done it? Amos 3.6. Which Words muſt be underſtood of the Evil of Affliction and Puniſhment, not of the Evil of Sin, that's an Evil whereof God who is perfectly and infinitely Good, can never be the Author. Men may be Inſtruments in our Sufferings, they may be Actors in ſubjecting us to Afflictions, and in bringing ſuch Evils upon us; but it is God that imploys them, and makes uſe of them to chaſten his People for their Sins. This is that which the Pſalmiſt intends when he calls wicked Men God's Sword; Pſal. 17.13Deliver my Soul from the Wicked, (ſaith he) which is thy Sword: The Sword wherewith he thruſts at, wounds and pierceth, chaſtens and corrects his People, when they have by their Provocations incurred his Diſpleaſure. To the ſame Purpoſe it is that he calls Aſſyria the Rod of his Anger, Iſa. 10.5.and the Staff in their Hand his Indignation; that is, the Inſtrument of his Indignation which he makes uſe of to puniſh them for their Sins. Hence alſo it is that he calls the Babylonians his Battel-Axe, Jer. 51.20.and Weapons of War, with which he breaks in pieces the Nations, and deſtroyeth Kingdoms.
2. Becauſe God only can remove thoſe Afflictions from his People, which his Hand hath laid upon them: This God aſſumes to himſelf as his own Prerogative; Deut. 32.39.I kill (ſaith he) and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; neither is there any that can deliver out of my Hand. To the ſame Effect is that Paſſage in the Song of Hannah, where ſhe ſaith, 1 Sam. 2.6.The Lord killeth and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the Grave, and bringeth up. And that of Pſal. 68.20. Ʋnto God the Lord belong the Iſſues from Death. Hence God himſelf complains of Mens neglecting to have Recourſe to him by Prayer in their Afflictions, who alone can relieve them by removing his afflicting Hand from them; ſaying, Jer. 9.13The People turneth not to him that ſmiteth them; neither do they ſeek the Lord of Hoſts.
3. Our Neglect to have Recourſe to God by Prayer in our Afflictions, blaſteth all other Means which we make uſe of for our Relief. No Queſtion can be made of it, but that Ahaziah having taken a dangerous Fall from a Lattice, made uſe of all the beſt Means that could be had for his Cure; but becauſe in that his Affliction he ſought not unto the true God, the God of Iſrael, for healing, but unto the God of Ekron, the Prophet in the Name of God tells him, that he ſhould not come down from that Bed on which he had gone up, 2 King. 1.4but ſhould furely die, as accordingly it fell out in the Iſſue. Wherefore this is noted as a great Miſcarriage in Aſa (though otherwiſe a good Man) that in his Diſeaſe, 2 Chron. 16.12.even when it was very grievous, he ſought unto the Phyſicians, and not unto God.
4. It concerns us in our Afflictions to ſeek unto God by Prayer, in regard of the great need we have of his Help and Aſſiſtance many other ways in the time of our Afflictions. As,
1ſt. To teach us his meaning in thoſe Afflictions with which he exerciſeth us; what he deſigns in them; and what at ſuch a time he expects from us.
2dly. To ſanctify Afflictions to us, and to enable us to improve them to our ſpiritual Advantage.
3dly. To ſupport us under our Afflictions.
4thly. To give us Patience under his afflicting Hand, and to keep us from murmuring, repining, diſcontent, fretting againſt God, and all other ſinful Diſtempers, which in regard of the Corruption of our Nature, and the evil Frame of our Hearts, we are ſubject unto in our Afflictions.
Theſe Particulars I have only mentioned, leaving it to every Man to inlarge on them in his private Meditations, as he ſhall ſee cauſe.
Ʋſe. Seeing we are upon ſo many Conſiderations obliged and highly concerned to ſeek unto God in our Afflictions, let us all be cautioned to take heed that we neglect not the Duty of Prayer while God's afflicting Hand is upon us, and when, if ever, this Duty is both moſt ſeaſonable and moſt neceſſary. As ſoon as ever any Affliction from the Hand of God begins to light on us, let us immediately betake our ſelves unto God by Prayer; let this be the firſt thing we do, and let us never think of making uſe of any other means in order to our Relief, till this be done: neither let us reſt here, but let us continue to pray without ceaſing, as long as God thinks good to continue his afflicting Hand upon us and ours. Thus doing with Conſtancy and Perſeverance, we need not queſtion but that we ſhall ſee a good Iſſue out of our Afflictions, whatever they be, in God's appointed time; but in all our Afflictions let us not only pray, but labour to be ſoundly humbled for our Sins, which have been the meritorious Cauſe of all our Sufferings; let us earneſtly beg the Pardon of them, and Strength againſt them for the future. This is the beſt Courſe that we can take in our Afflictions, and the only Courſe that can give us any Security, that we ſhall be in due time delivered out of our Afflictions, and be delivered with ſuch Advantages to our Souls, as ſhall give us juſt Cauſe to acknowledg that it hath been good for us to have been afflicted; and that God hath in Faithfulneſs chaſtned us, as David, after his Afflictions, profeſſed and acknowledged; Pſal. 119.75.
Now follows the fifth Particular, namely, the Iſſue of Manaſſeh's Prayer; God was entreated of him, and heard his Supplication, and brought him again to Jeruſalem into his Kingdom. Then Manaſſeh knew that the Lord he was God. Moſt ſad and doleful was the Condition of Manaſſeh, while he was a Captive in Babylon; he was bound with Chains, and fettered with Irons; he was confined to the dark and uncomfortable Vaults and Cloyſters of a Priſon; and though perhaps in regard that he was not of the common ſort of Priſoners, but a King, he might have better Accommodations than many others; yet which was worſt of all, he had ſmall or no Hopes of being ever releaſed or ſet at Liberty again; and which was the Height of his Miſery, he had no Security for his Life, but was perpetually in Danger, and upon that Account under Fears of being drawn out of Priſon, and brought to Execution every Day and every Hour. This was his diſmal and deſperate Condition, than which nothing could eaſily be more ſad and rueful; but notwithſtanding all this God wonderfully appeared for him, and reſcued him out of his Miſery.
And hence we may obſerve;
That there is no Condition ſo ſad, ſo diſconſolate, and ſo diſmal, but that God can afford a Man Relief therein, and will do it if he be duly ſought unto.
Jonah upon Prayer was delivered out of the Belly of Hell, as he calls it; Jonah ….dark Priſon, or rather a Dungeon. When the Iſraelites ſhould by their Sins have ſo far provoked God as to be made the Objects of his fierceſt Indignation, and to be puniſhed ſeven times and ſeven times, and ſeven times more for their Iniquities; yet after all this, God promiſed them Mercy upon their ſound Humiliation, Lev. 26.40, 41, 42.and ſincere Repentance. So again, when all the Curſes of the Law ſhould have overtaken and ſeized on that ſinful People; and when for their monſtrous Provocations God ſhould have diſperſed them, and ſcattered them amongſt the Nations, and driven them even to the uttermoſt Parts of the Earth; yet if after all this they ſhould return to the Lord, and obey his Voice, Deut. 30.2, 3, 4.he promiſeth to turn their Captivity, and to gather them out of all Places whither he had ſcattered them. He is graciouſly pleaſed to aſſure them, that if any of theirs ſhould be driven out to the uttermoſt Parts of Heaven, from thence would the Lord their God gather them, and from thence would he fetch them.
There are two Branches of this Point.
1. He can afford Relief in the moſt deplorable and deſperate Caſes, for he is all-ſufficient; Gen. 17.1.He wants neither Wiſdom nor Power to compaſs and work out the Deliverance of his People, how forlorn or deplorable ſoever their Condition may ſeem to be.
1ſt. As for Wiſdom; He is the only wiſe God, 1 Tim. 1.17. His Ʋnderſtanding is infinite, Pſal. 147.5. He knows how to deliver the Godly, 2 Pet. 2.9.
2dly. His Power is equal to his Wiſdom. Nothing is impoſſible with God, Luke 1.37. Nothing is too hard for him, Gen. 18.14. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, Eph. 3.20. He is never at a Loſs, though we be.
2. As he can, ſo he will afford Relief in all Caſes, if he be duly ſought unto, at leaſt ſo far as ſhall be moſt for his own Glory, and our real Benefit and Advantage. For,
1ſt. The more ſad any Man's Condition is, the more ready is he to relieve him, Pſal, 103.13.and the greater Compaſſion hath he for him: Like as a Father pitieth his Children, ſo the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
2dly. The more ſad any Man's Condition is, the more Glory will redound to God from relieving him.
Now to apply this in a Word. The proper Uſe of this Point is to incourage us to look up to God, and to be humble Petitioners to him for Relief in all our Diſtreſſes, never deſpairing of obtaining Succour as long as we have ſuch an one to have recourſe unto.
But to go on with the Text, which informs us, that God was entreated of him, and heard his Supplication, and brought him again to Jeruſalem into his Kingdom. He was entreated of him, not only ſo as to releaſe him out of Priſon, and to bring him back again into Jeruſalem into his Kingdom, but ſo as to pardon his great and hainous Provocations, by which he had drawn that Miſery upon himſelf: for that Manaſſeh was a true Penitent, we have all the reaſon to believe, not only in regard that it is ſaid of him, that he humbled himſelf greatly, but alſo that upon his Return to Jeruſalem; he took away the ſtrange Gods and the Idol out of the Houſe of the Lord, and all the Altars that he had built, and caſt them out of the City, and commanded Judah to ſerve the Lord God of Iſrael. Theſe were Fruits and Evidences of the Truth of his Repentance.
Now whereas ſuch an one as Manaſſeh obtained the Pardon of his Sins; we may obſerve, That the greateſt Sinners may find Mercy with God if they duly ſeek it.
This great Truth (for ſuch it will be deemed by all that are truly ſenſible of their Sins) may be confirmed ſeveral ways.
1. From Inſtances of ſuch notorious Sinners as have upon their Repentance obtained the pardon of their Sins. Inſtances whereof are,
(1.) Manaſſeh, here in the Text, whoſe moſt hainous and abominable Provocations are at large deſcribed, 2 Kings 21. 2 Chron. 33.
(2.) The Woman mentioned, Luke 7.37, 38. and ſo on to the end of the Chapter. This Woman is there ſaid to have been a Sinner, that is, a notorious and infamous Sinner; one that was known to be a lewd and vitious Woman all the Town over; inſomuch that Simon the Phariſee, who had invited Chriſt to his Houſe, took great offence at it, that he ſhould ſuffer a Woman of ſuch ill Report to come near him, as we may ſee, ver. 39. and yet this lewd and vicious Woman, upon her ſincere Repentance, obtained the forgiveneſs of her Sins, whereof our Saviour aſſures her, ver. 48. ſaying unto her, Thy Sins are forgiven thee.
(3.) The Thief on the Croſs, is another Inſtance of Mercy obtained at the Hands of God by a great Sinner, upon his ſound Humiliation and unfeigned Repentance; Luke 23.40, 41, 42, 43.
(4.) Another Inſtance hereof may be in thoſe who are ſaid to have uſed curious Arts, Act. 19.19that is, who addicted themſelves unto Magick and Judicial Aſtrology. Many of theſe are ſaid to have brought their Books together, (that is, their Books of Magick and Judicial Aſtrology) and to have burned them before all Men, thereby teſtifying the truth of their Repentance; upon which, without all queſtion, they obtained the pardon of thoſe their great and horrible Offences.
(5.) Another Inſtance may be in thoſe notorious Sinners, a black Catalogue whereof we have, 1 Cor. 6.9, 10. namely, Fornicators, Idolaters, Adulterers, Effeminate, Abuſers of themſelves with Mankind, Thieves, Covetous, Drunkards, Revilers, Extortioners. Concerning which monſtrous and prodigious Offenders the Apoſtle adds, v. 11. And ſuch were ſome of you; but ye are waſhed, but ye are ſanctified, but ye are juſtified in the Name of the Lord Jeſus, and by the Spirit of our God. The Sum of all is, That as bad as they were, and as notoriouſly wicked as they had been, they obtained converting, pardoning and ſanctifying Grace.
(6.) S. Paul may be another Inſtance hereof, who though (according to his own acknowledgment) he had been a Blaſphemer, a Perſecuter, 1 Tim. 1.13, 15.an injurious Perſon, and the chief of Sinners; yet upon his Repentance he obtained Mercy.
(7.) Another Inſtance may be in thoſe wicked Jews that crucified the Lord of Life; three thouſand whereof being converted by St. Peter's Sermon, Acts 2.36, — 41.obtained the forgiveneſs of that horrid Sin.
2. That great Sinners may upon ſound and ſincere Repentance obtain the pardon and forgiveneſs of their Sins, may be confirmed ſeveral other ways: As,
(1.) Becauſe Mercy is promiſed to the greateſt Sinners, upon their Repentance; Iſa. 1.16, 17, 18. & 55.7. Ezek. 18.27, 28. & 30.31, 32. Mat. 12.31.
(2.) Promiſes of Pardon made unto penitent and believing Sinners, run in general Terms; John 3.16. Mark 16.15, 16. Acts 10.43.
(3.) Chriſt invites all that feel the Burden of their Sins, to come unto him, promiſing them Eaſe and Refreſhing if they come; Mat. 11.28. John 7.37, 38, Rev. 22.17.
(4.) Chriſt expoſtulates with Sinners, and complains that they come not to him for Mercy; John 5.40. Mat. 23.37.
(5.) He declareth and profeſſeth that he will reject and put off none that ſhall come unto him; John 6.37.
Ʋſe 1. This Truth is Matter of very great Encouragement to the chief of Sinners to come to Chriſt, and to be humble Suitors to him for the pardon of their Sins. They ſee that pardoning Mercy has been obtained by many of the greateſt Sinners, that the Promiſes of finding Mercy with God upon condition of Faith and Repentance, run in general Terms, excluding none that are ſo qualified: they ſee that Chriſt moſt graciouſly invites all ſorts of labouring and heavy-laden Sinners, without exception, to come unto him; that he expoſtulates with Sinners, and complains that they will not come unto him that they may have Life: and laſtly, that he declareth and profeſſeth that he will caſt out none that come unto him, that come unto him in a due manner, and as they ought to come; that is to ſay, with unfeigned and ſincere Repentance for their Sins paſt, and with firm Reſolutions and ſincere Endeavours to caſt off and forſake their Sins for the time to come. Now what more can the greateſt Sinners wiſh or deſire, to encourage them to ſeek Mercy at the Hands of God, than that they may reſt aſſured that they ſhall not loſe their labour, that they ſhall not ſeek him in vain, but certainly obtain what they are Suitors to him for? But here however, they muſt be careful to ſeek him, (1.) Seaſonably; Iſa. 55.6. 2 Cor. 6.2. Heb. 3.15. (2.) Earneſtly and importunately; this manner of ſeeking God is that which prevails with him, eſpecially when we ſeek unto him for ſo great a thing as is the forgiveneſs of our Sins; Jer. 29.13. (3.) Abandoning, forſaking and caſting off all their Tranſgreſſions, Ezek. 18.30.that Iniquity may not be their Ruine. If thus they come unto Chriſt, and ſeek Mercy at his Hands, (as hath been ſaid before) Chriſt will in no wiſe turn them off with a Repulſe, but aſſuredly and without fail entertain them graciouſly, and give them to find Mercy with him in the pardon and forgiveneſs of their Sins.
But here deſponding and diſcouraged Sinners be apt to object ſeveral things.
Object. 1. Saith the Sinner that is deeply affected and ſadly caſt down with the ſenſe of his Sins, None ever obtained Mercy, that ſinned as I have done.
Anſw. (1.) That is a very raſh and unadviſed Speech, (as I have elſewhere ſhewed at large:) Do you know all the Sins which all the penitent Sinners that ever found Mercy with God, have been guilty of?
(2.) Conſider and ponder a little better the Inſtances before-mentioned. Are your Sins greater than the Sins of Manaſſeh? Are your Sins greater than the Sins of that Woman, Luk. 7.37, 38.who was notorious for her Lewdneſs all the City over? Are your Sins greater than the Sins of all thoſe foul and abominable Sinners, which the Apoſtle reckons up, 1 Cor. 6.9, 10?
(3.) If your Sins have been really greater than the Sins of any of theſe, or all of them together; yet are they greater than the boundleſs Mercies of God, and the Merits of Chriſt? Take heed how you entertain ſuch a Thought.
(4.) Are your Sins ſo great, as that they are without the compaſs of all the Promiſes made to believing and penitent Sinners? Far be it from you to harbour ſuch black Thoughts concerning your Condition. If you had upon you the Guilt of all the Sins that ever have been committed ſince the Fall of Adam to this day, yet if you could ſincerely repent of them all, caſt them all off, and truly believe in Chriſt, you might be ſure of the pardon of them: for ſo univerſal and unlimited, of ſo large a compaſs and extent are the Promiſes of Mercy which are made to all believing and penitent Sinners, that they would extend to them all, and take them in. This is ſo clear and evident, that no Exception can be made againſt it, unleſs by one that will be ſatisfied with nothing that can be laid before him, or offered him for his Satisfaction.
Object. 2. But I have run on ſo long impenitently, and rejected ſo many Offers of Mercy, that I fear there is no Mercy, there can be none for me.
Anſw. (1.) Doth not God call and invite ſuch as well as others? Are not his gracious Calls and Invitations to Repentance general? Are they any where reſtrained, or clogged with any Limitations? Are they any where narrowed and ſtraitned with the exception of any ſorts of Sinners whatſoever?
(2.) How many of thoſe in the Old Teſtament and in the New, that had long gone on in a ſinful Courſe impenitently, obtained Mercy at length, notwithſtanding the long-continued Perſeverance in their evil Ways?
(3.) Do not the Promiſes of Mercy to be obtained by penitent and believing Sinners, extend to ſuch as well as unto others? Where are they by any Scripture excluded from Mercy? And if the holy Scriptures exclude them not, why ſhould they exclude themſelves?
(4.) Doth not our Saviour aſſure us, that all manner of Sin and Blaſphemy ſhall be forgiven unto Men upon their Repentance? Mat. 12.31(for that is ever in this matter ſuppoſed, though not expreſſed.) Now if all manner of Sin and Blaſphemy ſhall upon Repentance be forgiven unto Men, then undoubtedly no truly humbled and ſincerely penitent Sinners ſhall be denied the Forgiveneſs of their Sins, how long ſoever and how obſtinately ſoever they have gone on in their ſinful Practices.
Object. 3. But I fear I may not belong to the Election of Grace; and if ſo, then all my Endeavours to find Mercy with God would be fruitleſs.
Anſw. 1. You ought not to neglect your known Duty, becauſe you cannot dive into God's ſecret Decrees: though you know not what God's ſecret Counſels and Purpoſes may be concerning you, yet he hath plainly and ſufficiently revealed what your Duty is, and what he requires of you, in order to your Salvation. It concerns you therefore not to trouble your Mind about God's ſecret Purpoſes concerning you, but to apply your ſelf with all holy Diligence to the conſcientious Performance of your Duty; and ſo doing, to caſt your ſelf upon the free Grace and Mercy of God in Chriſt: Secret things belong unto the Lord our God; Deut. 29.29.but things revealed belong to us, and to our Children, that we may do them.
2. If you perform your Duty as you ought, God will be ſure to perform his Promiſes; you may depend and build upon it, that if you be not wanting to your Duty, he will never fail to deal with you according to his Word: Heaven and Earth ſhall paſs away, Mark 13.31.but his Word ſhall not paſs away. What God hath ſpoken, ſhall certainly take Effect.
3. This is the beſt Courſe, indeed the only Courſe which you can take to be ſatisfied concerning your Election. When you find in your ſelf the Work of Grace, and the Fruits of true Faith and ſincere Repentance, true Holineſs and univerſal Obedience, a ſtudious and holy Care, and endeavour to pleaſe God in all things, and to decline and avoid whatſoever is diſpleaſing unto him; when you find theſe things in your ſelf, you may thence certainly and infallibly conclude, that you are one of thoſe who belong to the Election of Grace: for theſe things wrought in the Heart, are Fruits and Effects of God's electing Grace, and can be found in none but ſuch as are his Children, his Elect, ordained to eternal Life, Acts 13.48. Eph. 1.4. 1 Theſſ. 1.4, 5. 2 Theſſ. 2.13. Rom. 8.29, 30. Col. 3.12. So then the Graces of the Spirit, and that holy Change which is wrought in the Hearts of all ſound and ſincere Converts, are Evidences of their eternal Election, as may be gathered from the Scriptures laſt mentioned; and therefore he that ſhall lay aſide and neglect his known Duty, and reſolve to do nothing towards his Salvation until he knows his own Election, muſt unavoidably periſh, becauſe his Election cannot be known, but by the Fruits and Effects thereof, appearing in the Holineſs of Mens Lives and Converſations.
4. How many thouſands, perhaps Millions, of glorified Saints may there be in Heaven, who never made this Scruple, or at leaſt never ſuffered it ſo far to prevail with them, as to hinder and withhold them from giving all Diligence to make their Calling and Election ſure, by an earneſt Endeavour after Faith, Repentance, Holineſs, and all other Graces accompanying Salvation?
And ſo I come to the 6th and laſt thing in the Words, namely, What Manaſſeh gained, or what he learned by all this: Then Manaſſeh knew that the Lord he was God. We may not think that Manaſſeh was wholly ignorant of God before; ſome kind of Knowledg of God he had, but he had no ſuch experimental and effectual Knowledg of God, as by theſe God's Dealings with him he attained. That Knowledg of God which neither works upon the Heart, nor reforms the Life and Converſation, is little better than perfect Ignorance of God. It is ſaid of the Sons of Eli, 1 Sam. 2.12.that they were Sons of Belial, and knew not the Lord: They knew not the Lord to any purpoſe; they knew him not in ſuch a manner as they ought to have known him▪ and this was Manaſſeh's Caſe; while he went on in his ſinful Courſes, and would not be reclaimed, he knew not the Lord. Whatever Knowledg of God he might have, it ſignified nothing in God's Account. But Manaſſeh by thoſe ſore Afflictions which God brought upon him, gained an experimental Knowledg of God's Power to ſubdue and humble the moſt ſtout and obſtinate Sinners, of his Juſtice and Holineſs in puniſhing Sin, of the Truth of his Threatnings and Denunciations of Judgments againſt Sinners; of his gracious and merciful Diſpoſition to pardon Sin, and to be reconciled to the greateſt Sinners upon their ſound Humiliation and ſincere Repentance; of God's abſolute Dominion and uncontrolable Soveraignty over the higheſt among Men, pulling them down, laying them low, and raiſing them up again, as it ſeems good in his Eyes. The experimental Knowledg of all theſe things in God, and relating to him, did Manaſſeh gain by that ſevere Courſe which God took with him, for bringing him home to himſelf, when gentler Means would not prevail. All this may be implied in thoſe Words, Then Manaſſeh knew that the Lord he was God.
Now to apply this very briefly.
Ʋſe 1. This ſhould reconcile us to Afflictions, and make us willing to come under that ſevere Courſe of Diſcipline which is ſo beneficial to us, and by which we gain ſo much.
Ʋſe 2. It ſhould alſo teach us to improve our Afflictions, ſo as we may profit by them, and to obſerve what we gain by our Sufferings; for Gainers we ſhall be, if we be not wanting to our ſelves.
This is apparently God's End in bringing them upon us, who as a wiſe and careful Inſpecter, and a gracious Father, orders all things to our Advantage. And it becomes us to obſerve the ſame Method, and accordingly to improve what he ſo graciouſly intends for our Good; to be humble and patient to ſubmit to his fatherly Chaſtiſements, and to repent of thoſe Sins he chaſtiſes us for.