An Exposition of Hosea 4-7, Biblical commentary 1 · Chapter 4 · Verse 5
Verſe 5.
Therefore ſhalt thou fall in the day, and the Prophet alſo ſhall fall with thee in the night, and I will d…ſtroy thy mother.
Mark, Though private men are here bid not to ſtrive one with another, or reprove one another; yet Hoſea he goes on in his ſtriving and reproving. Therefore ſhall they fall in the day and the Prophet alſo ſhall fall with them in the night. Obſer.So that thoſe in office muſt go on though they be ſtriven againſt; ſo long as they remain in office they muſt ſtill go on though people ſtrive againſt them. It is a ſpeech I remember Latimer Latimerhath in one of his Sermons, Many Miniſters (ſaith he) they will not preach, and if they be a…ked the reaſon it is this, becauſe they can do no good to people; Oh this (ſaies he) is a naughty anſwer. Certainly ſo long as you continue in that place whether you do good or whether you do not good, you muſt go on in your work.
Therefore ſhalt [thou] fall. He directs the judgment to the particular, Thou every particular of you, in the ſingular number. Perhaps ſome might think, well though the generality ſuffer I may eſcape; No, look to your ſelves every one of you.Obſerv. When a threatning comes to particulars then it works.
The word tranſlated, thou ſhalt fall, foreignit is a word that ſignifies the falling ofa man by ſtumbling in the dark, ſutable to their ſin, they had no knowledg therfore they ſhal ſtumble in the dark.
Thou ſhalt fall in the day, Thou ſhalt ſtumble as a man in the dark, but it ſhall be in the day to thee, and yet thou ſhalt ſtumble. [In the day;] that is, Firſt in thy proſperity, for in the latter times of the ſecond Jeroboam (which was a little before the deſtruction of the ten Tribes) they were in a better caſe than they had been in before, yet from thence they began to fall. I ſay, not long before their ruin they were in more proſperity than they had been in many yeers before, therefore it is here ſaid, thou ſhalt fall in the day, even when thou art in a proſperous condition. Or ſecondly, thou ſhalt fall in the day, that is, you ſhal ſee your miſery before you yet you ſhal fall, you ſhall not be able to prevent it; it ſhall be in the day time, at noon day, you ſhall ſee plainly where your miſery lies, yet you ſhall be as if you were in the night you ſhall ſtumble and fall.
Oh my brethren this is a Scripture that doth neerly concern us here in England as much as any I know. If England falleth and periſheth now,England it falleth and periſheth in the day. We ſee apparently our evil before us; we ſee means to prevent it, God doth not bring night upon us in this ſenſe, that is, he doth not bring miſery ſo upon us as that we do not know how it comes or by what means, or how we ſhould prevent it. No we are not ſo in the night, but in the day; we have ſeen the miſery that hath come upon us by a continued deſign, we know almoſt the very bottom the very beginning of that deſign, how it hath gone on by degree, ſtep by ſtep; we ſee now the reaſon of the breaking of it out, becauſe the ſtream is ſtopped it violently breaks out: We know who are the cauſers of our evil, what their counſels, intentions, what their waies are notwithſtanding all their proteſtations, we ſee what we are like to be brought into if we do give but a little way and do not appear to quit our ſelves like men; And we ſee apparantly what God would have us to do; we ſee waies to help us and power to help us if we will, we have power to help our ſelves, and direction to help our ſelves too; we all of us know or may know cleerly what we ſhould do, and what in an ordinary courſe of providence would help us. Yet Lord how do we fall, we fall notwithſtanding this, we fall even in apparant day light: ſo that if this Kingdom of England be brought into ſlavery, it will be the heavieſt wrath that ever fell upon a Nation. There was never any Nation fell in a cleer Sun-ſhine day as we are like to do if we periſh now having ſuch means for our help.
Again, You ſhall fall in the day] Hodie, that is, ſoon, preſently, your deſtruction ſhall not be long.
And the Prophet ſhall fall with you in the night] There ſeems to be ſome difficulty in this. How cometh this in, you ſhall fall in the day, and the Prophet ſhall fall alſo with you in the night?
Firſt, The Prophet ſhall fall with you] The blind lead the blind and they both fall into the ditch. You gave your ſelves up to falſe Prophets to be guided by them, and here is all the good you ſhall have, both you and they ſhall periſh together, the Prophet ſhall fall as well as ye. This is obſervable here, The falls of the Prophets are the falls of the night, Obſer.For in the captivity of the ten Tribes they had no Prophets, nor never had ſince. Judah was carried into captivity yet they had Prophets among them, as there was Ezekiel, and Zechariah, and Haggai, they had Prophets to direct them though they had a great deal of miſery. But Iſrael ſhal be carried into captivity and ſhal have no Prophet to help them. Here is a Note of great uſe from hence,Obſ. It is a moſt ſad judgment for a people to be in affliction and to have no Prophet at all amongſt them; no Prophet to tel how long, to tel them any part of Gods mind. Look to your ſelves that you regard the Prophets of God now, otherwiſe when you ſhall be brought into miſery, under the power of your adverſaries, you ſhall have no Miniſter among you, none to ſhew you Gods mind, none to open his will. It was ſo with Iſrael, they never had any Prophet ſince the captivity to tell them the mind of God.
Thus the Prophets ſhall fall, but why in the night? Some therefore becauſe they think hard of the different expreſſion, they reade it thus; You ſhall fall in the day with the Prophet, in the night your mother ſhal be deſtroied, and ſo do but point it differently. It may be fairly read ſo, You ſhall fall in the day with the Prophet, in the night your mother paſt be deſtroyed. But I had rather reade it as we have it, You ſhall fall in the day, and the Prophet with you in the night. Upon theſe two reaſons, the Prophet ſhall fall in the night, falſe Prophets, ſo they are meant, they ſhall fall.
Obſerv.Firſt, Becauſe God would inflict a greater darkneſs upon them in his juſt judgment, than upon the people. Thoſe that abuſe moſt light they come into moſt groſs darkneſs, and therefore it is a uſual expreſſion in Scripture when Prophets are threatned, to threaten, that darkneſs ſhall be upon them, Micah 3.6. To you (ſaith he, ſpeaking of the Prophets) it ſhall he dark, night ſhall be upon you, the Sun ſhall go down over the Prophets, and the day ſhall be darkened over them; over the Prophets in a ſpecial manner. And Zech. 11.17.Zech. 11.17. His right eye ſhall be utterly darkened, the chief underſtanding that he hath, the pregnancy of parts that he hath he ſhall be beſotted in,Opened even in his very parts. Do we not ſee it even at this day that the Prophets fall in the night? There is more darkneſs upon wicked Miniſters at this day amongſt us than upon ordinary people. Ordinary people they underſtand more what God would have them to do than ill Miniſters. Ill Miniſters God doth beſot them in their very parts and abilities, and they do nothing but cry out ſtill for that which wil bring themſelves and us into ſlavery. Were it not for them, people would ſee competently well what to do, and the great darkneſs that is upon people commeth from the Prophets, they bring darkneſs upon the people, therefore their darkneſs is more than the darkneſs of the people. In divers Towns are there not many people that know the mind of God and ſee need of, and deſire a Reformation in Gods worſhip? and yet notwithſtanding wicked Miniſters will ſee no need of any Reformation.
But there is a ſecond reaſon and that is more evident yet, [The Prophet alſo ſhall fall with you in the night] That is, the diſtreſs that ſhall be upon the Prophets ſhall be greater than ſhall be upon other people, it ſhall be night to them indeed, not only ſhall there be more darkneſs upon their underſtandings, but more darkneſs in regard of their afflictions, they ſhall be in greater horror of conſcience and diſtreſs than any other people, for they ſhall ſee that they have brought you into all miſery. And the truth is at this day the great miſery that is come upon England it is through falſe Prophets, through wicked Miniſters, through that Doctrine that they have taught. We had never been in ſuch a condition as we are had not they flattered at Court and told at Court that all was at the Kings power and pleaſure, and there ought to be no reſiſtance, and that whatſoever he would have, to refuſe it is rebellion. Had they not taught ſuch things as theſe we never had had ſuch times. Now if this Kingdom be deſtroyed, it may be God may bring horror upon their conſciences, how ever they would put it off unto others, yet thoſe that have any light remaining in them, the Lord wil cauſe horror to be in their conſciences and diſtreſs in their ſpirits as the cauſe of all that evil that ſhall be upon us. They ſhall fall in the night, a black diſmal night ſhall be upon them when judgments cometh. Therefore in tims of publick judgment, Gods Miniſters are to look upon Gods hand as eſpecially againſt them, and more horror and diſtreſs of conſcience ſhall be upon them than upon others.
I will deſtroy their mother] They boaſted of their mother a… the Papiſts do of their mother the Church, that is, their Church-ſtate and Civil ſtate ſhall be deſtroyed, and ſo there ſhal be no hope of this people, both children & mother ſhal be be deſtroyed; it ſeems to have ſome alluſion to that in the Law where we are forbidden to take the dam with the young ones becauſe of the preſervation of ſucceſſion; but here ſaith God my wrath ſhall be ſo hot, that I will not only take the young ones, but the dam, they ſhall be deſtroyed together with their mother.
The word that is here tranſlated deſtroyed is a word that ſignifies ſhall be brought to be ſilent,foreign for indeed this word ſignifies ſilence, as noting thus much, in times of Gods judgments wicked men ſhall have nothing to ſay for themſelves, but their mouths ſhall be ſtopped, and they ſhall be forced to lay their hands upon their mouths and be ſilent. It follows.