An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth, & tenth chapters of the prophesy of Hosea being first delivered in several lectures at Michaels Cornhil, London / by Jeremiah Burroughs ; being the seventh book published by Thomas Goodwin ... [et al.]

VER. 12.

Though they bring up children, yet will I bereave them.

THE Curse of God is here threatned to pursue them, and over-take them, though they escaped the Curse that others are under.

Many think that when they have escaped some Judg∣ment that hath come upon some others,* 1.1 then they are safe enough and all is well; But thy preservation from some Judg∣ment that hath struck others, may be thy reservation to greater Judgments that God intends for thee afterwards.

2. It is a judgment to be deprived of children in the womb,* 1.2 in the birth, but when you have endured much pain in bearing and bringing forth your children, much labor and trouble in bringing up your children, when many a thoughtful care in the education of them, much sorrow and grief they have cost you, and now when they come to be hopeful, almost to mens and womens estate, and you think to have comfort in them, now for God to take them away, this is very sad unto parents, it goes exceeding much unto their hearts to be bereaved then; yet such things as these have befallen many heretofore; and Pa∣rents though the condition must be acknowledged very sad, yet they must submit to Gods hand in this. Perhaps some of you have in the breeding of your children endu∣red much, and through many difficulties they have been brought till they have grown up to be almost at mens and womens estates, and perhaps they have been towardly and hopeful, you had hoped to have had them to have been the staff of your age, and yet God suddenly hath made them fly away like a bird, perhaps be drowned, perhaps some other way,* 1.3 in a most uncomfortable manner the Lord hath bereaved you of them. You will say, The condition is sad more than ordinary. Therefore God calls you to Sanctifie his Name more than ordinary, to exercise grace

more than ordinary, and the exercise of grace in such an extraordinary stroke of God upon you may be as great a good and comfort, as great a blessing unto you as the en∣joyment of your child would have been. If a tender mo∣ther that through all her care, and pain, and labor, after breeding and bringing up a child, should have him taken away in some untimely death (as you call it) she would think her condition the saddest of any living. Be it known to you, perhaps some may be here, or know others of their friends that have had such a hand of God upon them, be but convinced of this one thing which I know you can∣not deny, That the exercise of grace sutable to this work of God that is now upon thee, or against thee, conceive it as thou wilt, I say, the exercise of thy grace sutable to this work of God is a greater good to thee than the life of thy child could have been, it could never have done thee that good as the exercise of grace may do in this condition when it is sutable to this stroke of God upon thee; and this indeed is the only way to make up any losses of chil∣dren, or loss of any goods, be it a child, be it a husband or the dearest friend, a wife, or thy estate, yet the exercise of thy grace is better than the enjoiment of them all. It fol∣lows;

There shall not be a man left.

I'le bereave them when they bring them up, (the words are [not a man,] and left is not in the Original) that they be not men. And sometimes God lets the children of men and women live,* 1.4 and yet they never come to be men, but strikes them in their understandings that they are bereaved of them so far that they never come to be men. I remember it's reported of S^r Thomas Moore that his wife was mighti∣lie desirous of a Boy,* 1.5 (that was her word) and she had one that proved a fool, and saith her husband to her, You were never quiet till you had a boy, and now you have one that be all his life a Boy.

I will bereave them that there shall not be a man left.

But I rather think the meaning is, I wil take them away [ 2] that they shall not live to be men, strong men of war. You boasted your selves that you had so many of your children that were such valiant men of war before, but I'le bereave you of them (saith the Lord.)

Yea, wo to them when I depart from them.

Surely, even wo to them; he puts a sureness upon this, Wo to them when I depart from them. As if the holy Ghost should say, What do I threaten this or the other evil, the great evil of all, the rise of al evils is, Gods forsaking them,

Wo also to them when I depart from them.

God departs from a people,* 1.6 or a particular soul, when he withdraws his goodness and mercy from them: and the reason why wicked men for a time do enjoy good things, it is, because Gods time is not yet come to depart from them; but when Gods time is come to depart from them, then al vanishes suddenly: As the light continues so long as the Sun is in the firmament, but as soon as ever it is gon it grows to be dark,* 1.7 the darkness of the night comes sud∣denly. A man hath strength and health so long as his vi∣tals hold,* 1.8 but as soon as ever the vitals are struck, the cra∣seis of the body, if that be strucken the strength and health goes. The general presence of God with his Creature keeps strength and health,* 1.9 it's God in the creature that keeps its comforts, and upon Gods departing al vanishes and comes to nothing. Thou hast thy prosperity now, and thou thinkest thou maiest enjoy it still;* 1.10 but how canst thou tell but God may suddenly depart, and then all is gone? The alteration of mans condition is not only from Natural cau∣ses, but heigher, from Gods departing. Carnal hearts think themselves safe if they do not see how Natural causes shall work their ruin, they see nothing, but as they have enjoyed

much good from Natural causes, so they see them working still for good to them.

Yea, but know that thy prosperity, or thy adversity de∣pends not upon Natural causes, but upon a higher cause, though thou hast the confluence of all Natural causes wor∣king for thee as much as ever, yet if God pleases to with∣draw himself thou art a lost creature.

And so it is with a Kingdom. When God pleases to de∣part from a Kingdom, he doth then take away Wisdome from the Wise, he gives them up to their own Counsels, to perverse Counsels, he blinds them that they cannot forsee their danger, nor see means to help them, but they shall take waies as if they intended to destroy themselves. If God do but leave them, whatsoever their wisdom was be∣fore, all their endeavors they shall be blasted and come to nothing, & in this it is we should sanctifie Gods Name, and acknowledge it, acknowledge our immediate dependance upon God for all our outward good we enjoy, whatsoever second causes we have to help our selves.

Wicked men will not take notice of him in their Com∣forts, they cry out of this and the other cause of their evil, but it's Gods departing from them, that is the great thing they should take to heart. Particular evils must not be taken so much to heart as this of Gods departing: Whatsoever our condition be, yet if God be not departing we are well enough, though in the fire, though in the water, I will be with thee saith the Lord. Mark the ground of the confi∣dence of the Saints in the time of affliction: in Psalm. 46. (Luther's Psalm it's called,* 1.11 that is, a Psalm that Luther was wont to call to his friends to sing,* 1.12 when he heard of any danger that they were in, or any sad thing fallen out, Come (saith he) let us sing the 46. Psalm, And mark the confi∣dence of the Saints) We will not fear though the earth be remo∣ved, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. Though the waters thereof rore and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof; though the heathen

rage, and the Kingdoms be removed, yet al shal not trouble us. Why, what's the ground? The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. And it's twice repeated in the same words in the Psalm, God is not gone, God is not de∣parted, therefore no great matter what men can do unto us: But if one be in misery and have God departed, Oh! how dreadful is that condition! It was a dreadful speech of Saul,* 1.13 in 1 Sam. 28. 15. I am sore distressed; for the Phili∣stins make war against me, and God is departed from me. Oh! when the Philistins make war upon a people, when there is enemies at our gates, and then our consciences shall tell us, that God is departed from us, this is a sad condition: It was a woful speech of Saul; God is now departed when I have most need of him: Wo to them then. For,

First,* 1.14 The root of all evil is very deep that is upon us when God is departed: It doth not lie in this particular, or that particular, we might make shift to get over them, the spirit of a man might sustain his infirmity;* 1.15 but the root of the evil it lies in the departing of God, And what can the Creature do when God is departed? As the King of Israel when the women said, Help O King. Saith he, If the Lord doth not help thee, whence shall I help thee? And as all creatures say,* 1.16 If God be departed, we cannot help, nay, the very Devil cannot help if God be gone: In 1 Sam. 28. when Saul was sore distressed and he would raise up Sa∣muel, and the Devil came in the likeness of Samuel, saith he, Wherefore doest thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee? No Creatures in the world, nor Devils can do good when God is departed, then the evil is only evil when God is gone. An evil may have much good in it, and God may sanctifie it for abundance of blessings to his People so long as he continues with them;* 1.17 but if he be gone, then the evil is only evil: And if God be gon all protection is gon, and therfore thou liest liable to all kind of evils what∣soever. And however for the present things do seem to be good that are remaining, yet the blessing of it is gone if

God be not with thee. And this evil that is upon thee it is no other but the forerunner of eternal evil,* 1.18 and the crea∣ture certainly then must needs sink when God is thus depar∣ted. Oh! If so be that it is so woful a thing for God to depart from a people here in this world in regard of the withdrawing of outward things and mercies from them, what is it then for the Lord to depart for ever from the soul? What an alteration doth the departing of the Sun make? Take a delightful Sunshine Summers day, and how beautiful is it? Now compare that with a winters dark dis∣mal night; What makes the difference between these two? The presence of the Sun in the one,* 1.19 and the Sun is departed from the other. It is but the presence, or the departing of one creature.* 1.20 Oh! if the presence or the departing of one creature makes such a difference in the world, what doth the presence or the departing of the infinite God do to the soul? Let the Saints who enjoy Gods presence prize it, and pray as the Prophet did, Lord leave us not.

Oh!* 1.21 how vain is the heart of man that will depart from God? If thou depart from him, he departs from thee too, and wo to thee whatsoever thou hast when the Lord is gone and departed from thee.

The Lord departs from particular men and women, as well as from Kingdoms and Nations, and wo to them al∣so: when God departs from a particular man or woman he doth withdraw his common gifts and graces, and com∣forts that they were wont to have, he doth curse all means for good unto them, and he gives them up unto temptati∣ons; those are the three special things that God doth in departing from any particular soul, he withdraws the common gifts and graces that they had, and the comforts that follows, and curses the means that may do them good, and gives them up to the strength and power of temptation.

You will say (it may be) Many a soul that doth desire fur∣ther presence of God may be afraid out of this that God is depar∣ted.* 1.22

Now though God (no question) may in some degree withdraw himself even from his Saints,* 1.23 so as they may be afraid that God is gone and departed from them; yet there's this one evidence to thee, let thy condition be ne∣ver so sad, yet if thou beest a Saint (I say) this is one evi∣dence that God is not wholly gone, if he leaves any kind of shine behind him so far as makes thy heart to be longing after him; God doth not so depart from his Saints but he leaves some luster, some little glimmering of himself be∣hind, so much as the soul sees which way God is gone, so much as serves to draw the heart of a poor sinner after him∣self and makes it restless and unquiet till it comes to be in Gods presence again; As when a Candle is taken out of a room, the room is darker than it was, yet there's a glim∣mering left behind in that,* 1.24 if you go quickly you may follow: When God departs from hypocrites, he departs so as he leaves nothing behind him, and they have not so much of God as makes them make after God, and so they turn away from God and seek to make up the loss of God in some other thing; but a Saint of God that hath God beginning to depart in any degree, when God is gone, he will not turn aside to seek to make up the loss of God in a∣ny other thing else, but he hath so much of God as doth strongly carry his heart after him, that he looks, and sighs, and groans, and cries after the Lord, and as David in Psal. 119. 8.* 1.25 there he shews us that God was in some de∣gree departed from him, (in his own sense at least) but mark his expression there, and that one Scripture may much help any soul that is afraid that God is departed:* 1.26 I will keep thy Statutes: O forsake me not utterly. Oh Lord, me thinks I feel that thou art a going, I feel that I have not those comforts I was wont to have, those stirrings of thy Spirit as I was wont to have, but O Lord, yet for all this, I will keep thy Statutes (saith David) I am resolved though I should never have further comforts from thee, yet Lord I will keep thy Statutes, do with me what thou wilt,

I••le do what I can to honor thee,* 1.27 and Lord forsake me not utterly. So long as thy heart can close with this text and say thus as David, Lord, I will keep thy Statutes, though I feel not thy presence with me as I was wont to do, yet Lord I will do what I can to honor thee, though I be in a sad condition, and thou seemest to leave me, yet Lord I will keep thy Statutes, Oh Lord forsake me not utterly. So long as thou canst make use of Davids expression as thine own, it is an evidence God is not so departed as he uses to depart from Hypocrites, and wicked and ungodly men.* 1.28 And if it be so woful a thing when God departs, truly then when God is about departing we had need cry mightily to him, both for Kingdoms and particular souls. When a Malefactor stands before the Judg and is crying for mercy, if the Judg be a rising off the Bench, then he lifts up his voice,* 1.29 and then shreeks out indeed, Good my Lord, then he sees if the Judg be gone off from the Bench, he is a lost man: so when we see God going, as many foot-steps of Gods departing from us there have been, and are, and yet still God leaves a light behind, blessed be God we have a light of Gods presence,* 1.30 and God is no further de∣parted from us, but so that he hath left so much of him∣self as we may know where to have him. It follows.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Obs. 1.
• * 1.2

  Obs. 2.
• * 1.3

  Especially if untime∣ly deaths.
• * 1.4

  Obs. 3.
• * 1.5

  Sr Tho. Moore.
• * 1.6

  Expos.
• * 1.7

  simile.
• * 1.8

  simile
• * 1.9

  Obs. 4.
• * 1.10

  Use.
• * 1.11

  Psal. 46.
• * 1.12

  Luthers Psalm.
• * 1.13

  1 Sam. 28. 1 5.
• * 1.14

  Reas. why Gods de∣parting is a cause of wo.
• * 1.15

  None can help then.
• * 1.16

  Satan him self canuot 1 Sam. 28
• * 1.17

  Evil then is evil in∣deed.
• * 1.18

  It is the forerunner of eternal evil.
• * 1.19

  simile
• * 1.20

  Saints should priz the enjoy∣ment of Gods pre∣sence.
• * 1.21

  Use.
• * 1.22

  Quest.
• * 1.23

  Answ,
• * 1.24

  simile
• * 1.25

  Ps. 119. 8.
• * 1.26

  illustrated
• * 1.27

  We should labor to do what we can for God though we apprehend he hath le•••• ••s.
• * 1.28

  When we see God be∣ginning to depart, cry mightily.
• * 1.29

  simile.
• * 1.30

  Applic. ••o England.