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. 14.

Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? Give them a miscarrying womb, and dry breasts.

THIS follows, upon this that they shall be brought forth to the Murderers hand. Then, Lord, give them; what wilt thou give them? Give them a miscarrying womb, and dry breast.

Some think this was an Imprecation by a spirit of Pro∣phesie,* 1.1 as if the holy Prophet had his heart fill'd with the wrath of God, Give them Lord; what wilt thou? give them a miscarrying womb, and dry breasts,

But rather according to most Interpreters, I think this expression is rather an expression of Commiseration,* 1.2 (that is) foreseeing the lamentable condition that the ten Tribes should be in ere long, the Prophet pities their condition, and would fain come in and pray for them, and he begins, Give them, O Lord (saith the prophet;) and then he makes a stop, as if he should say, but O Lord what shall I say for them, Give them, but Lord I know not what to ask for them, I am at a stand when I consider what they are, what the many mercies they have had already, what warnings they have had, how hardened they are in their sin, and how thy word is gone forth, but Lord give them: shall I say, Lord give them deliverance, give them peace, give them prosperity still, Lord I dare not, that I cannot ask, all means have been used for to bring them unto thee, and yet they stand out against the Lord; thou knowest they are deer to me, they are of my flesh, and I should be glad that they might be saved, but thy glory is dearer to me then they are, and therefore for that I cannot pray: and therefore the Prophet praies, Give them, seeing all this mise∣ry must befal them, what, shall the enemies be let out upon them? shall they and their children be made a prey to the Murderer? Lord, rather let no more be born of them, ra∣ther

let those children that otherwise should have been born and might have lived in their own Land, Lord God, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 them not be born rather than come to live to so great mise∣ry; so he doth not pray for a miscarrying womb and dry breasts absolutely, but compartively. From whence the Notes are.

First;* 1.3 That mens sins make many times Gods Ministers and his Saints at a point that they know not what to say in prayer. Truly, though there hath bee a mighty Spirit of prayer through Gods mercy in the Kingdom, yet considering that since God hath come to shew himself willing to deliver us, and Christ hath been coming even upon his white Hors in peace to take the Kingdom to himself, since that time such a spirit of Malignity hath appeared against Christ and his Saints as ever was in the Kingdom, it puts many of the Mi∣nisters and Saints of God to a non-plus in their prayers, and straightens their very hearts in the day of their fasting, when they are to seek God,* 1.4 that the Lord would give forth mercy, The Lord knows that the condition we are in is more unfit for mercy than we were at the very first day; Thus a Nation, thus particular people may put the Ser∣vants of God to a stand in their prayers, and straighten their hearts; Oh! were it that people had gone on in the im∣bracing of Reformation as they seem'd to do at the first, Oh! how enlarged would the herrts of the Saints have been in prayer? Oh Lord! give England mercy, give Eng∣land deliverance.

And then a second Note is this,* 1.5 That the fruitfulness, or the barrenness of the womb, it is from God. Give them, give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. This is from God;* 1.6 in Gen. 30. 2. when Rachel cried for children, Give me children or else I die, the text saith, that Jacobs anger was kindled against Rachel,* 1.7 and said, Am I in Gods stead? Paulus Phagius (that learned man) saith,* 1.8 that the Hebrews have this speech, that there are four keys that are in Gods hand that he gives not into the hand of any Angel.

1. The Key of the Rain;* 1.9 and that you have in Deut. 28. 12. The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the Heaven to give thee rain unto thy Land in his season.

1. There's the Key of Food;* 1.10 in Ps. 145. The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season; thou o∣penest thine hand and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

3. There's the Key of the Grave,* 1.11 in Ezek. 37. 12. Be∣hold, Oh my people I will open your Graves, and cause you to come up out of your Graves.

4. And lastly,* 1.12 The Key of the Womb, and that is in Gen. 38. 22.

These four Keys God keeps in his own hand,* 1.13 and there∣fore Gods providence is to be observed in this, and there ought to be a submission to his hand in it.

Thirdly, Sin may bring such evil time upon a people as bet∣ter those who live to such times had not been born, or died before those times had come;* 1.14 Give them a miscarrying womb and a dry breast, if they should have children that should live to endure all the miseries of those times that are coming, they had been better not to have been born, or have died long before this time saith the Prophet, We must take heed of wishing this upon every little affliction that doth befall us, as it is the frowardness of many people even with God himself, that if their children do but anger them to wish they had never been born, or cold in the mouth many years ago, I wish I had gone to your Grave: Parents ma∣ny times are ready to wish their children that they had ne∣ver been born of them; but this is frowardness against God himself, and wickedness; those that are so ready to wish their children had not been born, they are the least sensible of the sin that doth cause the affliction upon which they do wish such a thing as that is.

Give them a miscarrying womb, and dry breasts.

First;* 1.15 There may be either such miserable slaughters as

that Parents might even wish that they never had any Children.

Or Secondly,* 1.16 They may live under such cruel tyranny for their souls and bodies.

Or thirdly,* 1.17 They may be drawn from God by false Re∣ligion, and so may be in a condition worse than if they had not been born.

Hence Parents to whom God denies children or takes them away,* 1.18 they should quiet themselves in Gods dispose,* 1.19 especially in such times as these are: it may be God hath taken away your children to deliver them from greater e∣vils: as in the house of Jeroboam,* 1.20 there was but one child that had any good in it, and saith God, That child shall die, and gives the reason, Because it had some good in it. So that God takes away many that he hath the most love unto, and lets others to live that he hath not so much love unto.

Yes,* 1.21 (some may say) If I were sure that their souls were safe, though God doth take them away, if I were sure of their salvation, then I would be content.

That's true indeed,* 1.22 If your children were saved, what hurt is that to be taken away here and received to Heaven, and there to live for ever with Christ, not to sin, or sorrow more: but howsoever you may satisfie your selves in these three things.

First, That they are under an indefinite promise, though not an universal.

Secondly, Suppose he should not be saved, then it were better that he should be taken away than to live to sin more against God, he might have lived to have done a great deal of mischief in the world if he were one that God did not intend to save, and therefore quiet thy self; However God sees further than thou doest, either when he denies the•• Children,* 1.23 or takes them away in such times as these are.* 1.24

Further, In times when publick evils are threatned, they

are good times to die in; If better not to be born in evil time, then certainly it is no great evil to die in evil times. Good men are taken away from the evil to come. As if a woman had her breast to be launc'd or cut off,* 1.25 would not the ten∣der Father take the Children out of the room in the mean time? Who knows but God may have the breast of his his Church (our Mother) even to be cut off for a time, yet may suffer heavier things than ever she hath done, and if God shall take away his tender Children that will not be able to bear such a sight as that, what great evil is it? As we reade of God towards Moses, when Gods Glory was to pass by, he puts Moses into the hole of a Rock; and truly the graves of the Saints are but as the holes of the Rock til the Glory of Gods Justice passes by a people.

And thirdly,* 1.26 If the sins of Parents may be the cause of such things to Children as better they had not been born,* 1.27 let those that have Children take heed that they lay not up such wrath for an Inheritance for their Children, as that their Children afterwards should even wish they never had been born of such Parents, especially if Parents be careless in the education of their Children not to bring them up in the fear of the Lord,* 1.28 hereafter their Children may curse the time that ever they were born of them, and say, Oh! that I rather had been of the off-spring of Vipers, or the ge∣neration of Dragons than that I had come of such Parents, Oh! that my Mother had had a miscarrying womb, or that she never had had breasts to give me suck. Certainly this will be the voice of many children against their Parents one day: Look to it that there be never a Father nor Mo∣ther in this place that may give cause to their Children thus to wish they had never been born of such Parents.* 1.29 And certainly if the enduring of sorrows and misery in this world may put them into such a condition, what then wil sin and being the authors of miseries to others do? Those Children that are abominable and wicked in their lives,

and are causes of mischief to others,* 1.30 how much cause is it that it had been said, that it had been been better his Mo∣thers womb had miscarried: as it was said of Judas, that it had been better that he had never been born: And so it may be said of abundance at this day, what abundance of evil are some at this day the cause of unto others? What woful disturbances,* 1.31 distractions and calamities do some men bring upon a nation? had it not been better that their Mothers wombs to have miscarried, and their breasts not to have given them such?

And again, What horrible wickedness are some guilty of? How many Mothers this day have cause ••o say, Oh! that my womb had miscarried of such a Child! Oh that my breasts had never given such a Child suck! Oh that ever one should come out of my womb to do so much mis∣chief, to take up Arms to fight against his COUNTRY, to fight against the Saints, to bring in Slavery and Tyranny, that ever any out of my womb should have a hand in such a mischievous way as this is! Oh! these breasts of mine every time I look upon them, I wish they had never given such a one suck, for it may be they wil suck my blood too. Certainly if ever there were a time to wish their wombs had miscarried, and their breasts never given suck, these are the times many may do so.* 1.32 And this seems to have al∣lusion to that which Christ saith in Luke 23. 19. Blessed are the wombs that never bear, and the paps that never gave suck. I say, concerning many particulars in the Kingdom in this time, it might have been said, Oh! blessed had the womb been that such men were in, had they never been born, and the paps that they suckt, that they had never given suck. This would not have been an interpretation, but a good prayer, if it could have been foreseen, if any Prophet could have forseen this, that thou shouldst have been a Child, and he should have been an Actor in so much mischief as hath been done in this Kingdom of late, if any Prophet could have forseen this,* 1.33 thou wouldst have said Amen to

his prayer, Lord give this woman a miscarrying womb and dry breasts that she might never have born nor given suck to such an one. It follows.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Expos. 1.
• * 1.2

  2. Prefer'd
• * 1.3

  Obs. 1.
• * 1.4

  England more unfit for mercy now than at the first
• * 1.5

  Obs. 2.
• * 1.6

  Gen. 30. 2
• * 1.7

  Paulus Phagius.
• * 1.8

  Four Keys in Gods hand.
• * 1.9

  1. Clavis pluviae.
• * 1.10

  2. Clavis cibitionis.
• * 1.11

  3. Clavis sepulcronn̄
• * 1.12

  4. Clavis sterilitatis.
• * 1.13

  Non nup∣tiae dant liberos, sed qui nuptijs legē dedit Deus.
• * 1.14

  Theodor.
• * 1.15

  Reas. 1.
• * 1.16

  Reas. 2.
• * 1.17

  Reas. 3.
• * 1.18

  Use. 1.
• * 1.19

  Parents to submit.
• * 1.20

  1 King. 14. 13.
• * 1.21

  Quest.
• * 1.22

  Answ.
• * 1.23

  Use. 2.
• * 1.24

  Evil times good times to die in▪
• * 1.25

  An apt simile.
• * 1.26

  Use. 3.
• * 1.27

  let not pa∣rents cause their chil∣drē to wish they had never been born.
• * 1.28

  By neglect of good e∣ducation.
• * 1.29

  If better not to be born in re∣spect of tē∣poral cala∣mities; what then in respect of eternal?
• * 1.30

  especially those who are authors of calami∣ties to o∣thers.
• * 1.31

  As at this day in Eng.
• * 1.32

  Luke. 23. 29.
• * 1.33

  Note.