Prognostics of Impending Calamities, Title page
Prognoſticks OF Impending Calamities. Delivered in a SERMON Preached on the Lecture at Boston, July 17. 1701. Occaſioned by the DEATH of the Truly Honourable, William Stoughton Eſq. Lieutenant GOVERNOUR, &c. of the Province of the Maſſachuſetts Bay, in New England.
By SAMUEL WILLARD, Teacher of a Church in Boſton.
Eccl. 7.2.
The living will lay it to his heart.
Boſton: Printed by B. Green & J. Allen, for Nicholas Boone, at his Shop over againſt the old-meeting houſe. 1701
Prognoſticks OF Impending Calamities.
2 Kings XXII. 20.
Behold therefore I will gather thee unto thy Fathers, and thou ſhalt be gathered to thy Grave in peace, and thine eyes ſhall not ſee all the evil which I will bring upon this place.
IN this Chapter, and that which follows, we have an account given of the moſt remarkable paſſages of the Life and Reign of Joſiah, an Excellent Prince, and in ſome reſpects, unparallel'd by any of the Kings that had gone before him. I ſhall not now inſiſt on his early piety, and ſpeedily exerting it in an induſtrious reſtoring of the Worſhip of God, which had been ſo depraved under ſome of his Progenitours. That which I ſhall obſerve, to make way to the Text under conſideration, is that whiles he is engaged about purging of the Temple, God ordered the finding, and preſenting him with the Book of the Law, which was of manifold uſe to him at this time, verſe 8 &c. When Gods Servants are ſincerely engaged in Reformation he is wont to reveal himſelf more unto them, for their direction and quickning. One eminent and obſervable paſſage is, that upon the reading of this book to him, Joſiah is convinced that his people lay expoſed to the fierce anger of God, in that by their Apoſtaſy they had laid themſelves open to the threatnings therein denounced; which deeply affects him, Verſe 11. He rent his clothes. Whereupon he preſently ſends meſſengers to enquire of God what was to be done to divert the Judgment denounced, Verſe 12, 13, 14. From thence to the end of the Chapter, we have an account of the return given him upon this meſſage. It is the ſurest way, for Gods people to ask counſel of him, when they are in any perplexity. In this return there are two parts obſervable,
1. A confirmation of the threatnings againſt the body of that People, which ſhould certainly iſſue in their ruine, Verſe 15, 16, 17.
2. A conſolation directed to Joſiah, Verſe 18. to the end of the Chapter. Many worthy remarks might be made on every paſſage of it, but I may not tarry here: I ſhall only glance on the laſt Article of it, recorded in our Text, which contains in it a gracious promiſe made to him with regard to thoſe times which were coming. The Promiſe in Sum is, that God would keep off this Calamity, during his life, and would deliver him from the ſight and ſorrow of it, by removing him out of this World. In particular, there are three paſſages by which it is expreſſed.
1. I will gather thee to thy fathers.] Which manner of ſpeech is uſed in the Scriptures to ſet forth the ſtate of the Dead, in which one Generation ſucceeds another; and it is indifferently applyed both to Godly and wicked men: and divers ſuppoſe it to refer not only to the ſtate of the Body, but of the Soul too, after Death; but I diſpute it not: only obſerve, That God ſaith he will do it, I will gather thee; which tells us, That God diſpoſeth of the Life and Death of all men at his pleaſure. And becauſe God promiſeth this to him as a favour or priviledge, it farther teacheth, That it is ſometimes a peculiar Priviledge for Godly men to Dy.
2 And thou ſhalt be gathered to thy Grave in Peace.] To be gathered to his Grave, intends, that he ſhould have a funeral beſtowed on him; and he had a very honourable one, as is recorded in, 2 Chron. 35.24, 25. But it maybe here demurred, how this promiſe was fulfilled, that he ſhould be gathered in Peace, whereas he was ſlain in battel? Some interpret it, that he dyed in Peace with God, and ſo entred into everlaſting Peace, which is true and not hence to be excluded, yet it is not the whole truth of it. Others therefore generally underſtand it of the publick Peace of the Nation, which was not at that time embroiled in War; and both of theſe may be taken in conjunction: and we may learn from it, That let a man dy a natural or violent Death, yet if he be reconciled to God, he dies in Peace. As alſo, That it is a favour to live and dy in times of publick Tranquility. Hezekiah thought it to be ſo, 2 King 20.19 Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?
3. And thine eyes ſhall not ſee all the evil which I will bring upon this place.] Theſe words are ſuppoſed to be explicatory of the former, and added to ſignify in what reſpect he ſhould be gathered in Peace, viz. That he ſhould not be diſturbed with the fight of the Calamities of that diſmal time; but that by Death he ſhould be out of the noiſe of it, or any acquaintance with it: teaching us, That Dead Saints, when gone to their reſt, know nothing of the affairs of this World. And conſequently, That it is a kindneſs for them to be called off firſt, when doleful Calamities are coming upon their People. But we may farther look upon theſe words as they ſtand diſtributive with the foregoing threatning againſt the People; and it is, q d. I will without fail bring all theſe evils upon the ſinful Land; however I will defer it as long as thou liveſt, and ſtandeſt in the gap: I will therefore firſt ſee thee well houſed, and then I will open the floodgates and let in Cataracts of deſolation upon them; whence obſerve this,
DOCTRINE. Sometimes God takes away good men in order to the letting in of more fearful and amazing Judgments upon a People.
There are ſeaſons when the removal of ſuch as theſe is a prognoſtick of great Evils at the door, and ready to break in upon the Land where they have lived. It is not indeed always ſo, but ſometimes it is otherwiſe: and there are the Rules for diſcerning of this, which it becames all wiſe men to obſerve, that they may practice accordingly; for we are told, Prov. 27.12. The prudent foreſeeth the evil, and hideth himſelf. It may then be ſuitable and ſeaſonable in ſuch a day as this is, to make ſome enquiry into that Caſe, viz.
Queſt. When the removal of good men is a foreboding ſymptom of great miſeries ready to break in upon a people.
A That this Caſe may be rightly ſtated & reſolved, let theſe Concluſions be obſerved.
1. That Death is the common lot of all, both good and bad. There is an old Statute for it, which hath been of force ever ſince mans fall, Heb. 9.27. It is appointed for men once to dy. It was ſin that brought it into the world, and ſubjected all ſinful men to it, Rom 5, 12. Death paſſed on all men, for that all have ſinned. It therefore belongs to the Curſe, and though God hath taken out the ſting of the Curſe from it in reſpect of his own Children, and rendred it beneficial to them, yet he hath ſeen good to continue it in this world, and make it to be the paſſage of men from time to eternity; and hence it is not, of it ſelf, a note of diſtinction between the Godly and the wicked, for both dy, and thoſe paſs over to heaven, as well as theſe are detruded into hell, through this common road: It is the Pſalmiſts obſervation, Pſal. 49.10. He ſees that wiſe men dy, likewiſe the fooliſh and bruitiſh perſon; and this Job lotted upon, Chap 30 23. I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the houſe appointed for all living.
2. That Death, whenever it comes, is to good men, a paſport from their labour to their reward. The time of life is working time, and tho' Godly men can merit nothing by their beſt works, nay they utterly renounce all thoughts of ſo doing, yet God hath, in the New Covenant, promiſed a reward of Grace, to the faithful Service that is done him by his Children in this life, for we are told in, Pſal 58.11. Verily there is a reward for the righteous. And as they are to follow their work as long, as they continue here, being faithful in it unto death, ſo there is a recompence which they ſhall receive in the end of it, after they have perſevered in it, Gal 6.9. Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due ſeaſon we ſhall reap if we faint not. And the Scriptures abound with promiſes of this nature. Now though there is reſerved a more glorious compleatment of this reward for the great day; in which their faithful Service ſhall be declared openly before the whole world, and they ſhall receive it both in Soul and Body after the moſt ſtately manner, yet their Souls do enter upon it immediately at their diſſolution. We are therefore told, Iſa. 57.2. They ſhall enter into peace, they ſhall reſt in their beds, each one walking in his uprightneſs; they are on this account declared bleſſed from that very inſtant, Rev. 14.13. Bleſſed are the dead, which die in the Lord, from henceforth: And this is contained in the reaſon which Paul gives of his deſire; Phil. 1.23. Having a deſire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better.
3. That God hath allotted to each one of his Servants, the work of their Generation, and when it is done he calls them to reſt. Every Godly man is cordially engaged in the Service of God, and it is his Duty diligently to purſue it as long as he abides in the Body, for he will have work to do all the while he liveth: but God hath in his holy counſel laid out what work he will have from every one, which he will give them the opportunity for, and when they have done that, he calls them off and gives them a quietus ſit. He knows what buſineſs he hath laid out for this and for that man to do, and as he will continue him in life until that be over, ſo he will call him home to himſelf when it is done; thus we read of David, Acts 13 36. David after he had ſerved his own generation by the will of God, fell on ſleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and ſaw corruption. They may poſſibly ſee a great deal more of deſirable work before them, which they would have been glad if they might be ſerviceable in; but God accepts of their fidelity in that little which they have done faithfully, and thereupon giveth them an honourable diſcharge, in calling them home to reſt in his Glory.
4. That when God hath more favour to beſtow on his people, he adapts other inſtruments to be made uſe of in the continuing of it. He doth not always take away good men in anger againſt a people, but he doth it to declare his ſoveraignty and his power, and abſolute independency, and to take the occaſion to diſtribute his honours among his Servants. As he uſeth none to do his work, for any need that he hath of them, for he could as eaſily have done it without them; ſo he hath the reſidue of the Spirit, and can communicate to others a double portion of it as he pleaſeth, when he ſees meet to call them to any eminent ſervice; and he makes way for their ſerviceableneſs by calling of others from their poſt, when they have kept it as long as he ſaw good: and when he purpoſeth the continuance of his benignity to a people, he is wont thus to do Thus when Moſes was to dy, God provided and ſpirited Joſhua to conduct his people Iſrael into, and give them the poſſeſſion of Canaan, whom the other had ſo happily conducted to the borders of it. Moſes therefore when he was acquainted that he muſt not do that ſervice himſelf, ſo addreſſeth God about it, Numb. 27.16. Let the Lord, the God of the ſpirits of all fleſh, ſet a man over the Congregation, &c. Which the Lord accordingly did, and commands Moſes to ſet apart Joſhua for it, verſe 18, &c. And by this way God mercifully continues his preſence with and among a people. Thus when David had accompliſhed his work in making ready for the Building the Temple, Solomon ſucceeds him, who carries on the work that his father had begun, with very great ſucceſs.
5. That God ſometimes takes away uſeful inſtruments in the midſt of their work, in Teſtimony of his diſpleaſure at them perſonally. The moſt pious and eminently ſerviceable men have their frailties & ſinful infirmities; and though in the tenour of their lives they do faithfully ſerve their generation to Gods glory, in obedience to his command, yet he is ſometimes pleaſed ſo far to leave them to themſelves, as once he did Hezekiah, as that in ſome overt action or other, they diſcover this imperfection, by doing ſomething that is to Gods diſhonour, and by which he iſ righteouſly provoked at them: and though he loves their perſons, yet he diſlikes the things that are ſo done by them, as, 2 Sam. 11 ult. The thing that David did, diſpleaſed the Lord. And though he accepts of their faithful Service, and will reward it graciouſly; nor ſhall theſe obliquities put them out of his favour; yet he will bear ſome notable Teſtimony againſt the thing which they did, and that in this world; and he hath many ways in which he doth this, inſtances whereof we ſhall find in the Word of God: and among others this is one, that he call them off in the midſt of a work, which their hearts were engaged in, and will not ſuffer them to accompliſh it: which, though it doth not hinder their eternal bleſſedneſs, yet is a fatherly rebuke given them, and is to them a matter of humbling, and to others a matter of warning. Thus Moſes conducts Iſrael through the Wilderneſs to the very borders of the promiſed Land, and they were now juſt ready to enter in and poſſeſs it, but he muſt dy, though apt enough for that Service, for we read, Deut. 34 7. His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated; but the reaſon why it muſt be ſo is rendred in, Numb. 27.14 Thou ſhalt be gathered to thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered; for ye rebelled againſt my Commandment (in the deſart of Zin, in the ſtrife of the Congregation) to ſanctifie me at the water, before their eyes. Nor could he obtain a repeal of this ſentence, though he earneſtly requeſted it, Deut 3 23. &c. I beſought the Lord at that time, ſaying, &c. I pray thee let me go over, &c. but the Lord was wroth and ſaid, let it ſuffice thee, ſpeak no more to me of this matter. Thus alſo it was with Joſiah, who had wrought a great reformation in the Kingdom of Judah, and now hoped to live to confirm it, and enjoy many happy days in the comfort of it, but he muſt dy, and that buſineſs ceaſe: and we are told how this came to paſs, 2 Chron. 35.22 He hearkened not to the words of Necho from the mouth of God
6. Nevertheleſs there are times wherein God takes away ſuch men in a way of Judgment againſt their people. Nay, this may be ſo, and often is ſo, when they themſelves do ſuffer the chaſtiſement of their own failings: for God many times leaves them to ſuch miſtakes, in anger againſt a people; thus we read, 2 Sam 24 1 The anger of the Lord was kindled againſt Iſrael and he moved David againſt them, to ſay, go number Iſrael and Judah. And ſuch to be ſure was the removal of Joſiah at this time, for, in regard of himſelf, it was an accompliſhment of the gracious promiſe made to him in our Text; and God often calls off ſuch of his precious Servants when there is no ſuch thing; and ſuch a Providence is recorded in the Scriptures as an introduction to other and greater calamities for which it is to make way, and which are to enſue upon it: read for this, Iſa. 3 beg. The Lord of Hoſts doth take away from Judah and from Jeruſalem, the mighty men, the Man of War, the Judge, the Prophet, the Prudent, the Ancient, the Counſellour, &c. So that it is not only a Judgment it ſelf, but an harbinger to more and more awful Judgments. And that we be not miſtaken in our obſervation on ſuch a diſpenſation, let us conſider:
1. That every Godly man is a bleſſing in the place where be lives, and his Death is a loſs. It is the wiſe mans obſervation, Prov. 12 26. The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour. And the more worth there is in any thing, the greater damage is ſuſteined in the loſing of it. The Saints are called the excellent that are on the earth, Pſal. 16.3. Whenas ungodly men are ſaid to be vile, and are compared to droſs, and to chaff, which are contemptible. Of what eſteem ſuch men are with God, and how profitable they are to a people among whom they dwell, may be remarked, in that ten ſuch would have kept off vengeance from deſtroying Sodom it ſelf: Gen. 18.32. I will not deſtroy it for tens ſake. Theſe are they unto whom God hath reſpect, and not only do they pray heartily and importunately for their people, but they have an intereſt in Heaven, and God neareth their prayers, Iſa. 66 2. To this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite ſpirit, and trembleth at my word. And therefore, let theſe be never ſo obſcure, carry never ſo mean a part among men, be little noticed, but rather deſpiſed by their Neighbours, yet when they dy, the places they lived in are ſufferers by it; on which account we find the Pſalmiſt ſo expoſtulating; Pſal. 12.1. Help, Lord, for the Godly man ceaſeth, for the faithful fail from among the Children of men.
2. The more eminent any have been for Holineſs, and zeal in the cauſe of God, the greater is the loſs of ſuch. Every good man is a publick bleſſing, but there are ſome who are more ſo than others; and theſe are ſuch as do moſt expreſs the life and power of Godlineſs in their converſation. The more exemplary that any are for their piety, the more careful they are to order their whole courſe aright, and the more practically they bear witneſs againſt ſin, and live contrary to the corruptions of the times & places they are caſt into, the more is God glorified by them, and the greater is the publick benefit that is enjoyed in them. It is the commendation that God gives to Phineas, Numb. 25.11. Phineas, the ſon of Eliazar, the ſon of Aaron the Prieſt, hath turned away my wrath from the Children of Iſrael, whiles he was zealous for my ſake among them. When therefore ſuch men are taken away, there is more of God goes with them. Such as theſe were ſtakes in the hedge to keep off Judgments, and now they are plucked out of it.
3. The more publick Station theſe ſtand in, the loſs is ſtill more influential. When goodneſs and greatneſs meet together in a man, ſuch an one is of eminent uſe and ſervice for a people; theſe have a great advantage put into their hands above others, to promote the intereſt of Gods Glory, to ſuppreſs the prevalency of provoking ſins, and to encourage the ways of righteouſneſs and piety: yea their very Example is of greater force to command men; and when God beſtows ſuch upon a people, he doth it in great mercy. The Queen of Sheba made that obſervation on Solomon, when ſhe had ſeen, and was ſurprized with his great wiſdom, 1 Kin. 10.9. Becauſe the Lord loved Iſrael for ever, therefore made he thee King. And truly, the more happy a people have been in the enjoyment of ſuch, the more ſorrowful muſt the loſs of them be. Theſe are main pillars in the building, and do mightily ſtrengthen it as long as they ſtand in it; it muſt needs therefore be much weakned by the plucking them down and taking them away; and the more rarely that greatneſs & goodneſs meet in one perſon, the more awful muſt the death of theſe be.
4. The more capable they were of Service, the more afflictive is the loſs of them. The beſt & ableſt of men are ſubject to the infirmities of nature, and to loſe the vigour and activity both of mind and body by ſickneſs, and the decays of age, ſo that ſometimes their work is next to done before they dy; & now they would very gladly go to reſt, if God will give them leave, when they can no longer be ſerviceable to him as formerly: and yet even ſuch, although they dy ſeaſonably for themſelves, may dy in a bad hour for their people, and Judgments might but wait for their departure. But when they are in the verdure of their age, and in the midſt of their work, engaged ſtrenuouſly in the Service of God and his people now to be cut down and called off, is no ſmall rebuke in Providence, & gives occaſion for deep ſearchings of heart; ſuch was the death of Joſiah in our Context; he was now in his prime, and what a bleſſing might he have been to Judah? and what Service might he have yet done for the houſe of God, if he had pleaſed to have lengthened his days, and continued him ſtill in his Station.
5. Theſe conſiderations alone will not amount to an evidence that their death is to make way for the inundation of ſore Judgments. Theſe things indeed may be witneſſes of Gods diſpleaſure, and inflicted in way of chaſtiſement upon a people, and ſo they ought to be deeply reſented, and duly improved; and to neglect them will render a people guilty; but of themſelves they are the ordinary diſpenſations of Gods Providence to his people in the beſt of times. Would we therefore make a true judgment of thoſe things we ought carefully to obſerve the circumſtances of their death, and theſe as they come under Moral conſideration; elſe we may labour of a miſtake on either hand; and there are thoſe Rules to be gathered from the Word of God which will be ſerviceable to conduct us right in this ſearch, and by which we may be led to draw ſafe concluſions about theſe unhappy Symptoms; for which let us here obſerve.
1. That ſin is the moral procuring cauſe of Gods Judgments upon a people Sin brought all the evil into the world which mankind are expoſed unto; for they are nothing elſe but practical Commentaries on the Text of Death, which is expreſſed in the threatning; and though God acts much of his Soveraignty in the diſpenſing of his Judgments among ſinful men, ſometimes exemplifying of his patience in bearing long with them, at other times declaring his holy ſeverity in letting out of his fury upon them, yet hither are they referred as to the riſe of them; hence that, Iſa 59.2. Your iniquities have ſeparated between you and your God, and your ſins have hid his face from you; and Jer. 2.17. Haſt thou not procured this to thy ſelf, in that thou haſt forſaken the Lord thy God? and the People of God have been wont, when they were truly awakened, to acknowledge this in their confeſſions to him, in which they have juſtified him, and taken the whole blame to themſelves declaring that in all that hath come upon them, he hath viſited them leſs than their iniquities deſerved, Ezra 9 13
2. That God, in the diſpenſation of the Covenant to a profeſſing people, hath limited the threatning to an Hypotheſis There are both promiſes & threatnings which belong to it as it is exhibited in the Goſpel; but they are not abſolute but connex in the exhibition of them: and therefore we are every where told on what account the threatnings are, or what it is for, and in what way a perſon or a people may expoſe themſelves to be made the unhappy ſubjects of the execution of them; whereby they are inſtructed that if they avoid ſuch things and practice the contrary cordially, they ſhall ſo eſcape the threatned evil; yea he hath made a promiſe of doing them good, and continuing of his bleſſings to them, Iſa. 1 19. If ye be willing and obedient ye ſhall eat the good of the land. Nay he hath ſo reſtreined the threatning, that he hath ſecured to them a ſtop of begun Judgments, and deliverance from the oint and full accompliſhment of them, upon their Repentance, Jer. 18.7. And at what inſtant I ſhall ſpeak concerning a Nation, and concerning a Kingdom, to pluck up and pull down, and deſtroy it: if that nation against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil which I thought to do unto them.
3. That yet God is ſometimes ſo provoked at a people, that he reſolves to bring them to feel the ſeverity of the threatning. Though the promiſe of the Covenant do ſtand according to the tenour of it, and it muſt be ſo, for it is inviolable, yet ſometimes God is reſolute that ſuch a people ſhall ſmart ſeverely for their provocations, and ſhall not eſcape; and this he will bring to paſs conſiſtent with the veracity of his promiſe, by leaving them to themſelves, and their own luſts. There are therefore ſome threatnings denounced by God, which are in this ſenſe abſolute and determinate, ſuch was that againſt Saul, for the taking away the Kingdom from his Family, of which the Prophet hath that obſervation, 1 Sam. 15 29. The strength of Iſrael will not ly nor repent, for he is not a man that he ſhould repent. And how reſolved God was againſt the Kingdom of Judah, we may ſee in, Eze. 14.14 Though theſe three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they ſhould deliver but their own ſouls: And yet about the ſame time Jeremiah could make that offer unto them, Jer. 26 13. Now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, & the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced againſt you. And this notwithſtanding God himſelf had before ſaid to him, Chap. 7.16. Pray not for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make interceſſion to me, for I will not hear thee.
4. That, this notwithſtanding, he ſometimes raiſeth holy and zealous reformers, who hold back his hand from executing the threatning. Theſe are of Gods own providing and by ſuch as theſe there is a reſpiting of the execution, and we may, in a ſound ſenſe, truly ſay, that if theſe had not interpoſed, and held back his hand, the caſe of ſuch a people had been diſmal, and his wrath had broken in, and born down all before it. On this account we ſhall read ſuch expreſſions in, Pſal. 106 23. He ſaid that he would destroy them, had not Moſes his choſen ſtood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, leſt he ſhould deſtroy them; and in Vers. 29, 30. Thus they provoked him with their inventions; and the plague brake in upon them: Then stood up Phineas and executed Judgment; & ſo the plague was ſtayed. And we ſhall find more than once that in Judah, when things were brought to a fearful paſs; when their ſins cryed to Heaven for Vengeance, & Judgments brake in upon them with fury, ſome holy man or other hath ſtept in, and prevented the final ſtroak. Thus did Hezekiah, and thus did Joſiah, and thus alſo did Jehojada in the days of Joaſh.
5. That ſuch a people may be Hypocritical in their Reformation. Yea, it too often falls out, that when holy and zealous Magiſtrates and Miniſters appear for the intereſt of Religion, there will be much of an out ſide ſhew, as if the body of ſuch a people were cordially engaged, and were reſolved in ſetting forward ſo good a work; when indeed it is nothing but flattery and diſſimulation. It is charged upon them in the wilderneſs, Pſal. 78.34. to 38. When he ſlew them, then they ſought him, and returned, &c. nevertheleſs they did flatter him with their mouth, and lyed unto him with their tongues, for their heart was not right with him, neither were they ſtedfaſt in his Covenant. And it is notorious by the conſequence, that the Reformation made by Jehojada, in the days of Joaſh, was ſuch, if we read, 2 Chron. 24. And of that eminent one wrought by Joſiah, we have Gods own animadverſion upon it, Jer. 3.10. Her treacherous Sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, ſaith the Lord.
6. Hence, by taking off theſe men from ſuch a people, God makes way for his wrath to break in upon them. God is not to be impoſed on, or put off with mens diſſimulation, for, God is not mocked; he knoweth their hearts and deſigns. He is not therefore atoned to ſuch a people, though for a while he with holds his wrath, in teſtimony of his eſpecial reſpect to ſuch of his Servants: but ſtill the provocation abides, and he will find an occaſion to let it be ſeen to their coſt. In order to this, he puts theſe men out of the way. Whiles they enjoyed them, he not only gave them a ſpace to repent, but, under them, gave them all encouragments and helps unto it; but they repented not: he will therefore remove theſe pillars, and call home his Ambaſſadours, and now, what but fury is to be expected? And from the premiſes, we may gather theſe five Symptoms of their being removed in order to his venting of his anger upon ſuch a people.
1. When theſe have lived deſpiſed and reproached Whatever out ſide pretences men have made of their reſpect for them, yet they have indeed been weary of ſuch: their piety, their zeal, their holy Converſation, and the Teſtimonies which they have born againſt ſin, have been burdenſome to the moſt, and they have ſat uneaſy under them. Hereupon they have on all occaſions, and without juſt occaſion, murmured, and complained, and found fault with them: in ſtead of giving God thanks for ſuch men, they have wiſhed them gone, thought they lived too long, counted them the troublers of Iſrael, been ready to charge all adverſe Providences which have fallen out among them, to their evil conduct; and have ſought all under hand ways to under-mine their names, and blaſt their credit among men. So Iſrael dealt with Moſes and Aaron in the wilderneſs, Pſal 106.16. They envied Moſes alſo in the Camp, and Aaron the Saint of the Lord. And thus the Jews traduced Jeremiah, Chap. 38.4. The Princes ſaid unto the King, we beſeech thee let this man be put to death, &c for this man ſeeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. And thus it was in Iſaiahs time, Iſa 59.25 Truth faileth, and he that departs from evil, makes himſelf a prey.
2. When they dy unlamented. Poſſibly a people may make a great outward ſhew of mourning over them, and give ſome plauſible ſignals of it; they may build them tombs, as they of old did for their Prophets, whom they had perſecuted in their lives; but it is nothing but meer diſſimulation, when indeed they are inwardly glad that ſuch are gone, and diſcover their gladneſs in it by too broad tokens. This was evident in the Death of that holy Reformer, Jehojadah. We indeed read of great outward reſpect ſhewn him in his funeral, 2 Chron. 24.16. They buried him in the City of David, among the Kings, becauſe he had done good in Iſrael, both towards God, & towards his houſe. But we ſhall diſcover their Hypocriſy in what they did preſently upon it, Verſe 17. After the death of Jehojadah, came the Princes of Judah, and made obeiſance to the King, and he hearkened to them. No doubt they accoſted him after ſuch a manner as this, That great zealot is now Dead, who held us under ſuch an intolerable reſtraint, and abridged us of our liberty, and would not ſuffer us to follow our own inclinations, but puniſhed every tranſgreſſion, &c. but now he is gone, and will trouble us no more, &c. It is therefore given as an Omen of evil haſtening, when ſuch men dy, and their Death is not duly reſented, Iſa 57.1. The righteous periſheth, and no man lays it to heart, and merciful men are taken away, none conſidering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. And truly this makes it evident that they were a burden to their people whiles they lived, and that they bleſs them ſelves in their being eaſed of them.
3. When the gap which was made by their removal, is not filled up again. The great bleſſing that any people enjoy by ſuch men, is that they ſtand in the gap, to keep off the wrath of God from flowing in upon them: and of what influence their ſtanding there is for this end, we may gather from that, Jer. 5.1. Run to and fro through the ſtreets of Jeruſalem, ſee if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that ſeeketh the truth, and I will pardon it. Their Death therefore leaves the breach open, unleſs there be ſome other to ſtep into it in their room, who may fill it up again, and this is done only by ſuch as are men of a like ſpirit, and are acted with the ſame zeal for God which was in their predeceſſours. Hezekiah had a ſucceſſor, but who was it? a Manaſseh, who did not follow his fathers ſteps, but turned all things upſide down, and deſtroyed what his father had built. Joſiah had Succeſſors in the Kingdom, but they proved ſuch as provoked God, widened the breach put an end to, and utterly ruined the Reformation which he had ſo gloriouſly begun; and that haſtned Gods wrath, and brought a ſpeedy deſolation upon the Land. Hence we have that exprobration on Jehojakim, Jer. 22, 15. &c. Shalt thou reign, becauſe thou cloſeſt thy ſelf in cedar? did not thy father eat & drink; and do judgment & juſtice, and then it was well with him &c. And how fearfully is he threatned? Verſe 18, 19. This therefore God renders as a reaſon why he would bring ruine & deſolation on the Kingdom of Judah, becauſe there were none to make up the breach, Ezek. 22.30, 31. I ſought for a man among them that ſhould make up the hedge, and ſtand in the gap before me for the land, that I ſhould not destroy it, but I found none; therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them, &c.
4. When upon their Death iniquity gets head again among a people. So long as they lived, they ſuppreſt it, and though men were wicked, and would practice it ſecretly, yet they dare not to make an open ſhew of it, and declare their ſin as Sodom, but curbed themſelves in, and made an outward ſhew of Sobriety and Religion; but now it breaks forth with the greateſt impetuoſity, as waters do that have been long pent up, when the dam that kept them in is broken down. Thus it was upon the Death of Jehojadah, 2 Chron 24 18. They left the houſe of the Lord God of their fathers, and ſerved Groves & Idols: and wrath came upon Judah, &c. And it we obſerve the current of the Scripture hiſtory, we ſhall find that the miſery and calamity of a profeſſing people was introduced in this order: Godly and zealous Rulers in State & Church were taken from them, and they preſently fell into their Apoſtaſies, and hereby God was ſtirred up to anger againſt them, and all manner of evils thereupon over took them, and waſted them. We have ſuch a remark made with reſpect to the times of the Judges, Judg. 2.19, 20. When the Judge was dead, they returned, & corrupted themſelves more than their fathers, &c. & the anger of the Lord was hot againſt Iſrael, &c.
5 When thoſe good men who are left behind can do nothing to prevent the inundation of Apoſtaſy. God doth not uſe to take away all Godly men at once from a people; There were, in the moſt degenerate times of Judah, holy men, and God took notice of them, and ſat a mark upon them, Ezek. 9.4. Go through the midſt of the City, and ſet a mark upon them that ſigh, & that cry for all the abominations that are done in the midſt of it. And God raiſed up Prophets, who bare witneſs againſt their degeneracies, & abominations, but they were deſpiſed, and abuſed, and murdered; 2 Chron. 24.19 &c. And there were good men in places of authority, but they were over born, they had no influence, they could mend nothing, prevent nothing, but all went backward; and all they could do was but to Save their own Souls. In a word, they could not ſtand in the gap; though they mourned in ſecret places for their pride, &c. as the Prophet expreſſeth himſelf, Jer. 13 17. And when ſuch things as theſe attend the Death of good men, the Prognoſticit is amazing.