Divine Drops Distilled from the Fountain of Holy Scripture, Part 3
Expoſitions and Obſervations on ISAIAH 27. 1, 2, 3, 4, &c.
In that day the Lord with his ſore, and great, and ſtrong Sword, ſhall puniſh Leviathan, the piercing Serpent, even Leviathan, that crooked Serpent, and he ſhall ſlay the Dragon that is in the Sea.
In that day ſing ye unto her, A vineyard of Red Wine.
I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment, leaſt any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.
Fury is not in me: who would ſet the bryars, and thorns againſt me in battel? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
Or let him take hold of my ſtrength, that he may make peace with me, and he ſhall make peace with me, &c.
I Shal endevor briefly to pick a leſſon or two out of this Chapter. In the Chapter before, we have many bleſſed promiſes that God hath made to his people, and that in the times of trouble: And many threatnings of the wicked, How God will come out againſt them, as he ſaith, Chap. 25. And ſpred his hands in the midſt of them, as he that ſpredeth his hands to ſwim. That is, God will extend his wrath and power to deſtroy the wicked; and in the latter end of Chapter 26. The Lord cometh out of his place, &c.
Now the beginning of this Chapter is but an enlargement and illuſtration of that. The Lord will come with his ſore, and great, and ſtrong Sword, to puniſh Leviathan the crooked Serpent, and to ſtay the Dragon in the Sea.
This Leviathan, whatſoever it is (which is ſcarce known) onelyonly we read in Job of Leviathan, one of the terribleſt creatures that God hath made. It is conceived to be the Whale, but it is uncertain; whatſoever it is, it is a terrible creature.
The wicked that perſecute the Saints, are called Leviathan, the piercing, crooked Serpent: That is, thoſe Gods vengeance againſt the wickedgreat enemies of Gods people, thoſe venemous, cruel enemies, thoſe crooked, deceitful enemies of Gods people; he will come with his great, and ſore, and ſtrong ſword to deſtroy them. So we ſee, be the enemies of God never ſo great, never ſo cruel, or never ſo cunning, the Lord will deſtroy them. He hath a great, ſtrong, ſore ſword. He hath a great ſword, in oppoſition to their greatneſs; he hath a ſtrong ſword in oppoſition to their ſtrength, and he hath a ſore ſword, in oppoſition to their cruelty.
Therefore, O that God would teach you this leſſon! A ground of our confidence.Let your confidence get above the greateſt enemies in this world. What though men be wiſe, and crooked? as Solomon ſaith; there were three things that he knew not; one was, The way of a Serpent upon a Rock: Though men be ſo cunning to betray the Church, that they cannot be traced, no more then a ſhip in the Sea; or a crooked Serpent on a Rock; yet let your faith get on the top of them. Say not, they are great, but there is a greater then they. God will bring them down, and bring them to confuſion. That is one thing.
In that day, ſing to her, A vineyard of Red Wine, I the Lord will keep it; I will water it every moment, I will keep it night and day.
This vineyard is the Church, and people of God. I will not ſtand upon it, why it is called a vineyard. He calls it ſo principally, becauſe the people of God are a fruitful people. One ſinner deſtroyeth much good, and one Saint doth much good. Were it not for a few Saints, you may let all your Armies, and Courts, and every thing go: There is no good in the world beſides; there are a few Saints, and they are fruitful.
And alſo, becauſe God preſerves them, and keeps them; becauſe of the Lords care, I the Lord keep it, I water it every moment, leaſt any ſhould hurt it, I keep it night and day.
See how God expreſſeth his tenderneſs, and care of his (bleſſed art thou, and I, if we be of them!) The Lord keeps, and preſerves them; and he will do it with all care. The Lord keeps not his Vineyard, as we keep his Commandments, and Ordinances, and the things that belong to him. The Lord expreſſeth his care of his Vineyard, by the greateſt expreſſions of care that any creature hath; therefore he ſaith, he keeps them as the apple of his eye. That made David boldly ask, Lord, keep me as the apple of thine eye. And the Prophet Iſai h ſaith, He keeps them as a little bird that ſits over her young. A Bird is a fearful creature, and yet if you come to take away her young ones, ſhe will flie in your face.
Beloved, though we think the Lord mindes us not, yet he hath a wonderful, tender, unſpeakable care, in preſerving us.
And I will water them every moment.
Vineyards are hot, and muſt be watered, or elſe they will be ſcorched by the Sun: So, our ſouls unleſs they were watered continually, they would be ſcorched up.
What is this water?
The Holy Spirit. I will pour water upon the dry ground: That is, I will pour my Spirit upon your ſouls. We are ſo apt to waſt our graces every day, unleſs God give us a new ſtock. And the earth in Spain, and Italy, and thoſe hot Countries, is not apter to drink water, then our hearts are to devour, and make havock of all the grace of God. And were it not for the bleſſed, conſtant ſupply that God gives of his Spirit, the beſt Saint in twenty four hours, would be as bad as a carnal man. It may be thou haſt a little quickening of God in thy ſoul, but yet God muſt water them every moment.
Fury is not in me: who would ſet the bryars, and the thorns againſt me in battel? I would goe through them, &c.
God expreſſeth his goodneſs to his people. One would think it was a wonder God did not deſtroy them: No, ſaith God, Anger is not in me; For who would ſet bryars and thorns againſt me in battel? I would go through them. This is the reaſon that God doth not deſtroy thee and me; not becauſe we are not ſinful, but becauſe we are ſo wretched; if he ſhould contend with us, he would deſtroy us preſently. Saith God, All the imaginations of mans heart are evil; therefore I will deſtroy the earth no more. It is the nobleneſs of Gods nature; that nobleneſs that is in us, is but a poor thing, it is but a reſemblance of that at the beſt; it is the nobleneſs of Gods nature, he will not deſtroy a creature that is too weak, and too ſmall for him. Therefore of Niniveh, God ſaith, There were ſo many that knew not their right hand from their left, therefore he would not deſtroy them. So our littleneſs moves the Lord to ſpare us, when our wickedneſs would make him to deſtroy us. The Lord is a conſuming fire. Put a little ſtubble, or thorns, and bryars, before the fire, and it will conſume them. O bleſſed God! that takes any argument to ſave his creature: And O wretched Creatures we! that will take no argument to ſerve, and obey him. If there be any good in us, he makes that an argument; if that be not there, yet from our littleneſs, and weakneſs, any thing he will draw arguments of his goodneſs from: Yet many times we are of ſuch a temper, that we will not draw one argument to move us to do that which is pleaſing in his eyes. Well, he is a glorious God, and we are like our ſelves.
Let him lay hold on my ſtrength.
Let the poor bramble go, and lay hold upon the wall, I have ſtrength enough to deſtroy, and devour them, but I wiſh that they would lay hold of my ſtrength. There is a way, that all the ſtrength that is in God, thou mayeſt make it for thee, on thy ſide. All the power and ſtrength that is in God, is againſt wicked men that receive not Chriſt; but there is a way that thou mayeſt make that party on thy ſide, thou mayeſt make God on thy ſide, Take hold on him, that is, receive Chriſt, and then thou art in the Covenant, and all belongs to thee upon that, and all the power whereby he made heaven and earth, and rules the ſea, and every thing, is thy power, it is for thee.
And make peace with me, and they ſhall make peace.
It is like the expreſſion of ſome people that are wondrouſly given to love, and peace, and though other people deſire to quarrell, yet they will not quarrell, but they will be freinds: there is no neighbour ſo miſchievous, but they will be friends with them in ſpight of their heart; ſo ſayth God, Let them make peace with me, and they ſhall make peace. It is like that expreſſion of God, I will put my ſpirit in their hearts, and they ſhall keep my ſtatutes. That thy ſoul could creep along upon this bleſſed wall and make peace with him, and lay hold of his promiſe and he ſaith, thou ſhalt make peace!
He ſhall cauſe them that come of Iacob to take root, &c.
You ſee how ſweet God is in afflicting his Saints, how he preſerves them, and hears them in whipping them. Here he ſhewes three great differences between Three differences in the afflictions of the godly and wicked.the afflictions of the godly, and of the wicked.
The firſt is this, ſaith he, have I ſmitten him, as I ſmote thoſe that ſmote him? Or is he ſlain according to the ſlaughter of them that are ſlain by him? That is, the Lord doth not lay ſuch a weight of affliction upon his children as he doth upon wicked people, that is one thing, therefore he ſtays his rough wind in the day of the eaſt wind. No eaſt wind blowes on the Saints: for in Scripture language that is the wrath of God. All the other winds are growing, but the Eaſt wind, is cutting, and chilling.
Secondly, it is ſaid, God will debate with them, that is, beſotted carnall men, as Pharaoh, and others, he layes afflictions upon afflictions upon them, and they never know why, it makes him a ſot, and he brayes him as a fool in a Morter: but I will debate with him, ſaith God, I will reaſon the caſe, As a father when he whips his childe, will you do ſo again? ſaith he, And, is this handſome? The Lord never whips his childe, but he debates with him.
Thirdly, the iſſue, and fruit of it, All the fruit is, he doth it to take away ſin, he will make all the ſtones of the Altar as Chalk-ſtones; he will beat them to pieces, that is, they ſhall pull down their Groves, and their Altars, as you do Chalk-ſtones when you burne them, and beat them in pieces.
This ſhould make us ſweeten our thoughts of God; he is ſweet in his providence; in his Ordinances, in his corrections, we ſee what a good God he is, how he draws water out of the Flint, he draws arguments of grace, and mercy, and goodneſſe, to ſave wretched creatures any way, in ſuch a way that if we were Judges we would condemn our ſelves. The Lord ſweeten your hearts, and raiſe up your ſouls to apprehend his mercy.