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. 3.

They shall not dwell in the Lords Land.

BEfore God was to them as a father taking maintai∣nance away from them, leaving them to suffer want; but here his anger encreases, & here he puts them out of his house;* 1.1 as a Father, first he withdraws allowance from his stout Son, and when that will not do, then he thrusts him out of his house: So doth God here, The wine-press & the flour shall not feed them. And not only so, saith God, but, They shall not dwell in the Lords Land. I will cast them out of my house, cast them out of my Land, I will not suffer Ephraim to dwell any longer there.

[ 1] First, God would make them to know that it was his Land, and that they were but Tenants at will, and that they did enjoy the Land upon conditions of obedience, as appears in Levit. 18. 26.* 1.2 as if he had said, you are Tenants and hold the Land by this Tenure, we reade in Levit. 25. 23. of an Ordinance that God made there that no Land in Canaan should be sold for ever,* 1.3 but only to the yeer of Jubile, the richest man that was that bought never so much Land they could not buy it for ever, he could not have such a Tenure as runs amongst us, To have and to hold for ever. But you will say, what is the reason? it is given in the 23. vers. The Land shall not be sold for ever: Why? For the Land is mine: for ye are strangers and sojour∣ners with me; I have brought you to the Land, and ye are but sojourners with me in my Land. God may dispose of all as he pleases. It's a good meditation for us to work upon our hearts thus, That we are Gods Stewards, the Lord is the great Land-Lord of all the world.* 1.4 When you go abroad into the fields, now you that are godly you may see more Land than is your own, but you cannot see more Land than is your Fathers.

The Lords Land.

It may be said of all the Land in the world, he that is thy Father is the great Land-Lord of the world; howsoe∣ver men respect their Land-Lords and are afraid to displease them, but how little respect is given to this great Land-Lord of the world!* 1.5 The earth is the Lords and the fulness there∣of; well, but though all the world be the Lords Land, yet this Land was the Lords Land in a peculiar manner, the Land of Canaan it was the Lords Land more peculiarly in many respects:

First,* 1.6 It was a Land that God had espied out for his People. In Ezek. 20. 6. as a special place. God was over looking all the world; where should I have a good Land (or Country) to set my People, and the text saith, God had espied it out.

Secondly, It was the Land of Promise, therefore the [ 2] Lords Land, in Heb. 11. 9. By faith he sojourned in the Land of Promise as in a strange Country. No Land in Scripture is called the Land of Promise but only this.

Thirdly, The Lords Land, it was a Land given by Oath [ 3] in Gen. 24. 7.

Fourthly, It was a Land which the Lord brought [ 4] His People into by a strong hand and outstretched arm: Many Scriptures you have for that, as Ezek. 20. 6. &c.

Fifthly, It was a Land divided by Lot, and so the [ 5] Lords Land; not only all the Land, but every piece in it, and the possession that any man had it was ordered by God himself, by Lot.

Sixthly, It was a Land wherein God dwelt himself, a [ 6] Land that God call'd his own rest, Here will I rest for ever, Psal. 132. and God sware unto them that hardened their hearts in the wilderness, that they should not enter into

his Rest, that is, that they should not enter into the Land of Cana••n. It was the Land wherein there was the Ordi∣nances of God, and the Worship of God, and his Honor dwelt there, and so it had a peculiar blessing upon it above all the Land that was upon the face of the earth.

[ 7] Seventhly, It was a Land over which Gods eye was in a more special manner; there's a most excellent Scripture for that in Deut. 11. 12. A Land which the Lord thy God ••areth for, the eyes of the Lord thy God are alwaies upon it, from the beginning of the yeer even to the end thereof.

[ 8] Yea further, This Land, it was a Typical Land of the Church, and a Typical Land of Heaven, for so the Apo∣postle speaking of that place in the Psalms,* 1.7 That he swore in his wrath,* 1.8 that they should not enter in his Rest. The Apostle in Heb. 3. 7. seems to apply it unto the Rest of the Church of Heaven,* 1.9 and in 1 Chron. 16. 15. Be ye mindful alwaies of his Covenant, the word which he commanded to a thousand gene∣rations, even of the Covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his Oath unto Isaac, and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a Law, and to Israel for an everlasting Covenant; saying, Ʋnto thee wil I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance. Mark; that he would give unto them the Land of Canaan: This must be remembred to a thousand generations, and it must be a Law to Israel afterwards. Certainly this notes that God aim'd at more by the Land of Canaan than meerly to possess them of so much ground.

[ 9] Further, Yet there are divers Titles that are given to this Land; it is called an Holy Land in Zach. 2. 12. and it is called a good Land in Numb. 14. 7. that which is transla∣ted in your books exceeding good, is, very very good: it's a pleasant Land in Ezek. 7. ult. a garden of Eden in Joel, 2. 3. a glorious Land in Dan. 11. 16. & 41. verses. and the glory of all Lands, Ezek. 20. 15. and a goodly heritage Jer. 3. 19. Now (saith my text) They shall not abide in the Lords Land. Now from all these Titles we are not only to take notice of this:

That it should be a great Judgment of God to drive them out of such a good Land.

And observe,* 1.10 It is a great judgment of God, for God through the sins of a people, to drive them out of a good Land. Truly some times, I suppose when you travel abroad where there are fair prospects, you cannot but have such a meditation, Oh! how vile are the sins of this Land, that should provoke God to cast us out of such a good Land as this is? And most of the Titles,* 1.11 though not all, they may be given to our Land that was given to the Land of Canaan; and cer∣tainly if God should proceed in his wrath to cast us out, it would be a heavy judgment to consider of, They laid the pleasant Land desolate. Howsoever wicked men may cry out of Gods servants that they are the cause of the trouble of the Land, yet certainly it is the wicked and ungodly that are false in the Worship of God,* 1.12 they are wicked men that lay the Land desolate. Also we might here observe that, To be cast out of those mercies that God by an extraordi∣nary providence hath brought to us, is a sore and a grie∣vous evil.

But now the main end that I name all these Epithites,* 1.13 it is this: To shew unto you, the Excellency of the state of the Church of God. The Rest of Canaan was a type of the Rest that God hath in his Church, and all those that are Members of the true Church of God they have a share in it, to rejoyce in; to enjoy God in his Ordinances, it is to enjoy that which is typified by all this.

Thou who art a Beleever,* 1.14 hast a good Land, the Garden of Eden,* 1.15 a glorious Land, and that Land which is the glo∣ry of all Lands, there are abundance of excellent priviled∣ges that do belong to the Church of God; and as it is a jugment to be cast out of such a Land as this was, so it sets out the great judgment to be cast out from the Church of God, or for God to deny to give unto us the bless••••g of his Church; you know what a great affliction it was to Moses to think that he should not come into that good Land,* 1.16 Oh!

how did he pray to God that he might come into Canaan? Certainly it is that which we should pray for, that we might live to come into Canaan that God is a bringing his People into: now let us not murmur as they did in the Wilderness, and their carcasses did fall in it, but let us go on and be as Caleb and Joshua, of another spirit, and not fear our Adversaries, but go on in Gods way, and the Lord will bring us into the good Land; it's true, we have de∣served to be cut off in the wilderness, but certainly God hath a Canaan for his People, a Canaan yet to come for his People, the Lord hath great things to do for his Church, and there are many expressions upon which some think that God even will make use of this Canaan yet for to be the place of his chief Majestie and glory that shall appear in this world; but however that be, yet the Lord hath a Canaan for his people that we may confide in. It follows.

But they shall Return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.

For the returning to that we have had before. But be∣sides that, they shall be brought to that poverty and mise∣ry to eat unclean poluted bread, whereas before they had a∣bundance: Peter would eat nothing that was unclean till God warned him, but the Assyrians would bring them unclean meat and bid them eat, they would say, We can∣not, this is against our Religion, and against our Consci∣ences. Your Consciences! what do we care for them, eat it or starve, so they were forced to eat. Whence ob∣serve,

That it is a great misery to be brought under those men that will have no care, no regard of the consciences of men.

But that which is especially aimed at here, God would take away all notes of distinction between them and the Heathen, this was a means to keep them from mixing with the Heathen, but now saith God, All is gone, let them

go (saith God) and eat unclean things, as for the Cove∣nant with me it is wholly abolished, I will own them no more than the very impure Heathen, they would make Leagues with the Assyrians, wel, they shal partake w^th them and be filthy and unclean as he; and they defiled Gods Worship by mixing heathenish polutions with it, now God gives them up to all Heathenish uncleanness, as they were like the Heathens in inward uncleanness, so let them be (saith God) in outward uncleanness. There is these two Notes.

First,* 1.17 Those that will make Leagues with wicked men, it is just with God that afterwards they should come and be inthrall'd in all the wickedness and abominations of those wicked men. They were indeed at a distance from them before, but when once the peace is made, they come now to be all one with them.

But the main is this,* 1.18 That, when men are inwardly unclean, God doth not care for their outward cleanness. Thus many professors of Religion defiling their consciences, and be∣coming like the wicked in inward sins, at length God leaves them up to themselves that there should be no diffe∣rence between them and the wicked in their outward a∣bominations. Have you not known some examples in this kind?

Lastly,* 1.19 If it be such a judgment to eat unclean things with the Gentiles, even meat to satisfie thier hunger, Cer∣tainly then it is a fearful evil for any of the Saints to partake with ungodly men in unclean wicked worship. There might be as much excuse for this as one could imagin, why Lord (they might say) shall we starve? True, they might no question eat that which was unclean rather than starve, but yet it was a great misery that they were in, that they could have nothing to eat but that which was unclean: but now the other is, not only an affliction, but sin, and indeed the moral of it is to shew the great evil that there is in joyning with any way of false worship; to joyn false worship it is a

great evil, and an argument that when God leaves us to this, he disclaimes us. Cyprian dehorts Christians from communicating with wicked Ministers, from this place: Ne sibi plebs in hoc ••••andiat••r, & cum pro Hoseam Prophetam comminetur & dicat censura Divina, &c. I do not speak of not joyning in Worship, if there be unclean ones there, Ministers, or People. And I am perswaded if it be through∣ly weighed, there will no body be found to be of that mind; for it is impossible that any Church in the world but in time there will be some that are wicked which will be present: but this is not that that causes many to for∣bear, (not the presence of wicked men) but find the un∣cleanness of the Worship, some things that was done actu∣ally there, that their consciences told them to be sin.

Secondly, Because they could not do their duty as they should, but if they can have liberty to do their duty, and the Worship be not polluted, I think upon serious consi∣deration there can be no question made: although there should be some that are unclean admitted, yet if there be in the Church any order and government, that the un∣clean may be cast out, and libertie that every one may dis∣charge his duty, as to go and admonish, and take two or three and then tell the Church, and so to deliver his own soul, no doubt but they may communicate.

Notes

• * 1.1

  simile▪
• * 1.2

  Levit. 18. 26.
• * 1.3

  Levit. 25. 23.
• * 1.4

  A medita∣tion in our walking into the Fields.
• * 1.5

  Canaan the Lords Land in a special manner.
• * 1.6

  Reas. 1.
• * 1.7

  Psa. 95. 7.
• * 1.8

  Heb. 3. 7. &c. 4. 1.
• * 1.9

  1 Chron. 16. 15.
• * 1.10

  Obser.
• * 1.11

  England another Cana••.
• * 1.12

  Corruptors of Gods worship the ruin of the Land.
• * 1.13

  Obser.
• * 1.14

  Use. 1.
• * 1.15

  The happi∣ness of Be∣leevers.
• * 1.16

  Use. 2.
• * 1.17

  Obs. 1.
• * 1.18

  Obs. 2.
• * 1.19

  Obs. 3.