great confusion and tumult, because the Lord will thereby prepare that nation for the glorious settlement which he intends.

How is is it therefore with you; do you feel or see the rod of God upon this nation, or upon your families, or upon the back of your own particular person? then "Hear ye the rod and who hath appointed it." For God's rod is a teaching rod, and it brings many lessons with it. Therefore what I say to one, I say to all, and to my own soul also, "Hear ye the rod and who hath appointed it."

SERMON VII.

Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel; and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God; O Israel.”—Aмos IV. 12.

In this chapter the prophet Amos endeavours to pronounce some heavy judgments against God's own people, Israel, wherein there are three things most considerable:

1. The judgment threatened.

2. The cause of the judgment. And

3. The inference thereupon.

1. The judgment threatened. And that is in the 2nd and 3rd verses: "The Lord hath sworn by his holiness, that lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fish-hooks.” As if he should say, I will send anglers among you, that shall pull you out of your houses, as the little fishes are pulled out of the water. And then he goes on in the 3rd "And ye shall go out at the breaches, saith the Lord." Though you be great and strong, yet will I make breaches among you, saith the Lord. This is the judgment threatened.

verse,

2. Here is the cause of the judgment, and that is threefold:

Oppression, as at the 1st verse: "Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy," and so forth.

Another cause is idolatry, and superstition; as at verses 4, 5, "Come ye to Bethel, and transgress at Gilgal, multiply

transgression; proclaim and publish the free offering, for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.

The third cause is their incorrigibleness, as at verse 6, "I have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places, yet have ye not returned to me, saith the Lord." And at verse 7, " And also I have withholden rain from you, and I have caused it to rain upon one city, and not upon another city, so two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, but they were not satisfied, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord," and at verse 9, "I have smitten you with blasting and with mildew, when your gardens, and your vineyards, and your figtrees, and your olive trees increased, the palmer worm devoured them, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord," and at verse 10, "I have sent among you the pestilence, after the manner of Egypt, your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses, and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord," and at verse 11," I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a fire-brand plucked out of the burning, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord."

Thirdly, Therefore by way of inference he concludes;

"Therefore this will I do unto thee O Israel, and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.” In these words you have a double inference which God makes.

Therefore thus will I do unto thee, I have been a long time striving with you, as if he should say, and I have been at a stand whether I should punish you or not, yet have ye not returned unto me, therefore now I am resolved, “ thus will I do unto thee." And then

Now I am resolved, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel, therefore do thou prepare to meet thy God, O Israel; I do not send you a challenge, saith God, that you should prepare to meet with your God to fight with him, or to resist him, not to meet God in his anger and to oppose him, no; but prepare to meet thy God by preventing his judgments, with your repentance, and returning unto him. If a man be coming to your house, and you go out to meet him, why then

you prevent him by meeting of him; so when we prevent God's judgments by our repentance, we are said to meet with God.

From hence then I take up this observation or doctrine.

That when God is resolved to come out against a nation or people, it is their duty to prepare to meet with God.

For the opening and prosecuting hereof I shall labour to shew you,

First, That God doth seem sometimes to be at a stand concerning a people, whether he should trust to them any longer or not, or whether he should punish them or not.

Secondly, That if they do not come to him, and meet with him, he will then resolve to go out against them in his wrath. Thirdly, That when God doth resolve to go out against a people in his wrath, it is their duty to prepare to meet him.

Fourthly, I shall labour to shew, how a people or family or person, may prepare themselves to meet with God in the way of his anger, when he is going out against them.

First, Though God is always resolved in himself what to do with a people, yet he seems to us to be at a stand, whether he should deliver them or not, or whether he should punish them or not, whether he should shew mercy to them or not; as you may see Exod. xxxiii. 5, "For the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, ye are a stiffnecked people; I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment and consume thee; therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee," that I may shew, or make known what to do unto thee, as it is in the Hebrew: this is speaking after the manner of men; and so in Gen. xviii. 21, "I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me, and if not I will know ;" and again, Gen. xxii. 12, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do any thing unto him, for now I know that thou fearest God;" speaking after the manner of And again Hosea vi. 4, " O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee, O Judah, what shall I do unto thee;" and Hosea xi. 8, "How shall I give thee up, O Ephraim, how shall I deliver thee Israel, how shall I make thee as Admah, how shall I set thee as Zeboim :" here are four hows in our translation, though but two in the Hebrew," How shall I give thee up, how shall I deliver thee, how shall I make thee as Admah,

men.

how shall I set thee as Zeboim :" as if the Lord, to speak after the manner of men, were in a great strait, and knew not what to do, was not resolved what to do; so I say though God is always resolved in himself, yet he seems to us to be at a stand sometimes, whether he shall shew mercy or no.

But you will say, how doth this come to pass, that God

doth sometimes seem to be thus at a stand.

I answer, you know how it is with a tender father, that hath a rebellious child; saith the father, I will thrust him out of doors, I will utterly cast him off, I have often admonished him and threatened him and corrected him, and yet he is never the better, therefore I am resolved even to turn him out of doors; aye, but then he reflects and thinks again, He is my child, he is the son of my bowels, how shall I, how can I give him up, how can I turn him out of doors? Why now God is more tender to his children, than any father can be to his children, and therefore his being at a stand doth speak out and declare his bowels to his people: his bowels are at work whilst their sins provoke him; one while he looks upon their sins and another while he looks upon Christ's satisfaction; one while he hears the law call, Justice, justice, another while he hears Christ cry, Mercy, mercy; there is justice and mercy both in God, that he may have the honour of both, and therefore God seems to be at a stand sometimes; says God, These are my people, and if I punish them the enemies will reproach me, and I shall be dishonoured, and they are my people still for all their sinning against me, and thus God seems to be at a stand.

But you will say, When may God seem to be at a stand, and not to be resolved what to do speaking after the manner of men.

I answer, when the saints and ministers of God know not what is best to be done in regard of the times, then is God at a stand, for, saith the Lord, " Shall I do any thing, and not reveal it to my servants the prophets :" therefore I say when the saints and servants and ministers of God are at a stand, and know not what to do, then, God seems to be at a stand.

When the dispensations of God go forward and backward, then the Lord seems to be at a stand; when a man goes out of his house about his business, and goes forward and back

ward in the street, you will say, that man is not well resolved what to do, nor which way to go; and thus it seems to be sometimes with God, his dispensations in the world go forward and backward, and this is the time that God is as it were at a stand, whether he shall shew mercy or no; and so I have done with the first general.

Secondly, That though God seem to be at a stand sometimes, yet if men do not come unto him and meet him, he will resolve to go forth against them, "Therefore thus will I do unto thee:" I have been a long time striving with you, and yet have ye not returned unto me, and now I am resolved, and this is God's message.

Now for the clearing of this.

I shall open the truth of it unto you.

I shall prove it. And,

I shall shew you, when God may be said to go forth against a people or nation.

For opening of it, you must not think, as I said before, that God is at any time unresolved in himself, or that he knows not what to do, no, " For known to God are all his works from the beginning of the world," unto the end, says the apostle, Acts xv. 18. There is nothing future, or to come, to God; God is not measured, neither doth he measure by time; there is nothing before nor after with God in eternity; all is present and altogether before him at once, and therefore I say, God is not at any time unresolved in himself, what he shall do with this or that people. Now further, God is said to will a thing in a twofold respect, either in regard

Of his decree, or

Of his dispensations.

In regard of his decree, his love is from eternity and yet the same man may seem to be a child of wrath in regard of the dispensation. Every elect person is a child of God from eternity in regard of God's decree, and yet he is a child of wrath until he be converted in regard of God's dispensations. So when I say, that God seems to be at a stand and unresolved, and that if men do not come unto him he will then go forth against them; this is not to be understood in regard of his decree, but in regard of his dispensations. But For the proof of it. It is said, "God will not always