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. 5.

What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the Lord?

NOW they shall remember their solemn daies, their feasts, and see themselves cut off from any further enjoying of them,* 1.1 it must needs be a great sadning unto their spirits to think what daies once they had, Oh what solemn times and feasts that they did keep to God; for a∣ny to sit down in times of affliction and say, I remember what daies of joy in the service of God I once had, but now they are gone, Oh! the daies that I was wont to have, how sweet were they? but all is now past and we must sit down in sorrow and affliction. There was a time (saith God by the Prophet) that you would not suffer any to go up to the feast, but now you shall be far enough from Jerusalem or any other place of Worship, and the very remembrance of those solemn daies shall be grievous to you, Oh! what will you do in those solemn daies? Those solemn daies were daies of joy, in Numb. 10. 10. Thus I think some carry it, they make those feasts to be the feasts that they should have

gone up to Jerusalem in;* 1.2 but I take not this to be the scope of the holy Ghost here, but rather thus; by the solemn Daies and Feasts of the Lord is here meant, the solemn day of Gods wrath and vengeance upon them; now for the making out of that I shall shew first, that in Scripture the day of Gods wrath is call'd the solemn day, and the day of Gods feast is the day of his wrath, a day wherein God feasts.

First, The solemn day it is the day of Gods wrath, in Lament. 2. 22. Thou hast call'd as in a solemn day,* 1.3 my terrors round about, so that in the day of the Lords Anger none escaped. So that the solemn day is the day of the Lords anger there.

And Secondly, The day of Gods Feast, that time when God doth execute his wrath upon wicked men is the day of a feast to God.* 1.4 In Revel. 19. 17, 18. verses, (besides o∣ther texts) An Angel cried with a loud voice to all the fowls that fly in the Heavens, Come, and gather your selves together to the supper of the great God, that ye may eat the flesh of Kings, and the flesh of Captains, and the flesh of Mighty men, and the flesh of Horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men both free and bond, both smal and great: it is the day of the Lords feast. Now 'tis a solemn day,* 1.5 a day of the execution of Gods wrath, because now God executes wrath publickly and brings much wrath together. Thou hast call'd as in a so∣lemn day my terrors round about. You know that in the day of a petty Sessions there may be some justice done, but more privatly: But in a day of solemn Assizes, when there is a full Goal delivery, then judgment is done publickly; so God executes justice sometimes upon men particularly, but God hath his solemn day to execute his judgments publickly before all, and then the Lord feasts.

The day of execution of Gods wrath upon wicked men is a day of feast,* 1.6 upon this ground.

First, Because the day of their feasts were daies of slay∣ing sacrifices, so they should now be slain, and God would [ 1] account even their bodies that were slain to be as sacrifices

for this great feast of his,* 1.7 In Isa. 34. 6. The Lord hath a sa∣crifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the Land of Idumea. And in Zeph. 1. 7.* 1.8 The day of the Lord is at hand, the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. And then it shall come to pass in the day of the Lords sacrifice, that I will punish the Princes, and the Kings Children &c. He hath bid his guests; so here's the feast of God, and the slaughter of great men are here, the dishes as it were of sacrifice that God would have at this his feast,* 1.9 the Executioners of Gods wrath are now his Priests to kill his sacrifices. Soldiers and Execu∣tioners they are turned the Priests of God for to kill his sa∣crifice for this his feast.* 1.10 Hence in Jer. 6. 4. Prepare ye War against her,* 1.11 it is in the Original, Sanctifie the War; and in another Scripture, those that were the executioners of Gods wrath, were call'd Gods Sanctified ones.

And then further,* 1.12 A day of Feasting is, a day of Rejoy∣cing; this day of the execution of Gods wrath upon sin∣ners, especially great sinners that do escape mens hands, it is a day of Rejoycing to God, as in a day of Feast: And this word that is translated Feast,* 1.13 it signifies Dancing, it is a day wherein the Lords heart doth as it were leap within him because of joy,* 1.14 God rejoyces in the execution of his righteous judgments upon them; therefore Gods wrath in Scripture is call'd Wine, They shall drink of the Wine of his wrath:* 1.15 the Lord at length when sinners continue impeni∣tent is as much delighted in the execution of his Justice,* 1.16 as men can be in drinking of Wine.* 1.17 In Deut. 28. 63. As the Lord rejoyced over you to do you good,* 1.18 so the Lord will rejoyce o∣ver you for evil. And in Ezek. 5. 13. Thus shall mine anger be accomplished,* 1.19 and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted. (It's a very strange expression.) Oh! let us, my Brethren, take heed how we rejoyce in sin, God may rejoyce in the execution of his Judgments upon us due to our sin. Men have their daies in joy and mirth in sin; and God hath his daies of joy and mirth in the exe∣cution of his wrath; Oh! how sad is the condition of a

creature when the infinite merciful God shall rejoyce in his ruin! Surely then, if God doth so rejoyce in the exceuti∣on of his wrath upon wicked men, then the Saints also may rejoyce;* 1.20 in Psal. 58. 10. The righteous shall rejoyce when he seeth the vengeance, he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wic∣ked: Taken from the custom of those Countries, that were wont after their travels to wash their feet with cold water,* 1.21 and that did refesh them: so the blood of the wicked should be refreshment to the righteous. Now this is not an insulting joy over them,* 1.22 but rejoycing in the honor that God hath, and in the good that doth come to the Church by the execution of such men, both unto God and to his people.* 1.23 So that it follows in Psal. 58. 11. Ve∣rily there is a reward for the righteous; verily there is a God that Judgeth in the earth.* 1.24 The Saints may look upon wicked men when they see them executed and pitty them as men; but they may rejoyce in this, because they see such a spe∣ctacle before them as makes this Scripture to be good, Ve∣rily there a reward for the righteous; verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth. And in Psal. 52. 6. The Righteous shall see,* 1.25 and fear, and laugh: Mark, though he may rejoyce,* 1.26 yet he must have fear mixed with it, he shall see, and fear, and laugh. And note, that Scripture is spo∣ken of a great Courtier, of Doeg, one that was a most de∣sperate enemy to Gods people, one that watch'd all the waies he could to do mischief, and especially to do mis∣chief to David, and he was the man that came and stir'd up the King against David, this 52. Psalm, is made concer∣ning this Doeg, and a Prophesie of his destruction, saith the Spirit of God, The Righteous shall see, and fear, and laugh:* 1.27 If a man can keep his heart spiritiual, sanctifying Gods Name in the beholding such an object, those that are e∣minent wicked men brought to execution, he may Lawful∣ly according to the mind of God, feast his eyes in the be∣holding of it, such a day is call'd the Feast of the Lord. And the Lord doth not use to feast himself, but he calls

his Saints to feast with him;* 1.28 in Prov. 11. 10. When it goeth well with the righteous, the City rejoyceth, and when the wicked perish there is shouting. And this is according to Gods mind it should be so. And therefore Christians above all men should be far from a proud insulting even over these men, but yet when God laies an▪ object before them wherein they may see the answer of so many prayers, and the fruit of the cries of so many thousands that were oppressed, yea, of so many thousand conscience▪ oppressed ones, that have cried against such a one, if at the stroke of God, they with hearts lift up to him shall give a shout that shall come up to the Heavens,* 1.29 this pleases God, and the holy Angels, and it is musick fit for the day of the feast of the Lord; thus the Saints may do in the day of the feasts of the Lord.

Yea,* 1.30 but saith the holy Ghost here by the Prophet, But what will you do? the Saints may do thus when God makes this his feast in the execution of such eminent wicked men, he calls you to it, to rejoyce and bless his Name, he bids you look here and see, is it not good waiting upon me? the Saints may do so and bless God, But what will YOƲ do in the day of the feast of the Lord? What will wicked men do in that day? what will become of all your jolity? what will become of all your stoutness, and wilfulness, of all your pride, of all your scorning, of all your vain hopes, when this solemn day comes, and when the feast of the Lord comes?* 1.31 In Isa. 10. 3. we have a Scripture paralel to this, What will you do in the day of visitation? what will you do, and to whom will you fly for help, and where will you leave your glory? Can you tell what in the world to do? You can tell what to do now, you have your wills, and pride it, and stout it out now, but what will you do in the day of visitation, when Gods solemn day and this feast comes? Oh! what can they do but as the great and mighty men, Revelations 6. they cry to the hills to fall upon them, and to the mountains to cover them, for the great day of the Lambs wrath is come. Those that are the most bold and

presumptuous in their sins, when this day of the Lord comes they shall be in the most miserable perplexity not knowing what to do,* 1.32 they know not how to bear that which is upon them, nor how to avoid it, nor what course to take, what can you do in such a day? For,

First, All your comforts they are gone, all such things [ 1] that your hearts closed withal and made as Gods to your selves, they are gone.

Secondly, Now God himself fights against you, in Isa. 13. 6. [ 2] Howl ye,* 1.33 for the day of the Lord is at hand, it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. But it may be you look only upon such and such men that are the Instruments. No, but it is a destruction from the Almighty,* 1.34 and therefore what can you do?

Thirdly, Conscience in that day that will terrifie [ 3] you.

Fourthly, You shall not know whither to go for help: [ 4] To the creature, that cannot help you, your vain hopes in the creature hath the very heartstrings of them broke, you thought that you might shift and help your selves there, but now you see there is no help there.

What then? you cannot go to God, then the very [ 5] thoughts of God must needs be terrible to you, and then what will you do?

Further, For these miseries they are but the beginning [ 6] of sorrows, this day of the Lord it is but a preparation for another day; there is yet a more solemn day of the Lord in coming than this present. Oh! what will ye do in the day of the Lord? Howsoever a man may resolve to set a good face upon a thing; Oh! but my Brethren,* 1.35 though you cannot see daunting in a countenance, yet did you but see, the black bosom, and the woful guilty spirit that there is by sin within, you would know that they could not in the world tell what do do in the day of the Lord.

It's strange what a man may do even before death, in the

presence of men, although his own conscience tells him quite otherwise, and though men are ready to be taken with dying mens expressions, yet many times there is much deceipt in them.

Why you will say? What a man doth profess when he is rea∣dy to die, certainly it must needs be a truth.

There is a notable story concerning this that Bishop La∣timer hath, in one of his Sermons, he tels of the desperate stoutness of a certain mans heart even when he was to die: as he was ••iding he comes to a place where the execution of a man was to be,* 1.36 he turns aside, and when the people saw him they made way, and he comes to speak with the man, and both he and all that were about him could not get out of him to give glory to God for the guiltiness of the fact for which he was to be executed, but stood out in it, that he was not guilty; and when they could get nothing out of him they turned the ladder,* 1.37 and the rope being cut and he down, they thought the life had been gone from him, but at length they saw a little motion in him, and by rub∣bing and cha••ing of him they got life, so as he was able to speak, and then he confest all; that he was guilty of those very things that he had took upon his death that he was not. Thus it's possible for men in the stoutness of their hearts even at the last rather to venture their souls upon it; and well may they that ventur'd their souls so much before upon other things, think that they may make bold with God at such a time as this is. But howsoever there is much dejection of spirit, and they know not in the world what to do. Well, it's happy for us to consider what we do, and to lay to heart what we have done, that so in such a day of the Lord as this, we may know what to do; the Servants of God who have walked conscionably before him, they know what to do in the day of publick cala∣mity.

`For first', They can bless God that ever they knew him, that ever they knew his waies, that ever he put it into their hearts to fear his name.

Secondly, They know what to do in a day of calamity, they can exercise their faith upon that Word in which the Lord hath caused them to trust, they can make it to be the support of their souls, and the joy of their hearts, even in such a day.

Thirdly, They know what to do, they can sanctifie God Name in his righteous judgments, they can see mercy and the love of a Father in the sorest and heaviest afflicti∣ons that do befall them.

Fourthly, They know what to do; they can ease their souls by powring them forth into the bosom of a gracious and reconciled Father.

Fifthly, They know what to do; they can see beyond all these present evils, they can see Immortality and Glory, they can see that on the other side a little beyond these troubles and afflictions,* 1.38 there is an everlasting joy and day of peace coming to them. A Job can tell what to do, he can profess that though God kill him he would trust in him. A David can tell what to do,* 1.39 In the multitude of the sorrows that I had in my heart, thy consolations refresh my soul. A Habacuk can tell what to do,* 1.40 Although the fig-tree should not blossom, nor fruit be in the vines, the labor of the Olive shall fail, and the fields shall yeeld no meat, the flocks shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no heard in the stalls: yet will I re∣joyce in the Lord; yet will I joy in the God of my salvation: Thus you see the Saints they know what to do in such a day; and this is the excellency of grace, that it can never be put so to it, in any strait, but it can tel what to do; as David said to Achish in 2 Sam. 28. 2. Surely thou shalt know what thy ser∣vant can do. So the Saints in time of common distresses they should set their graces so on work that all may see what their faith, and humility, and patience can do, that they may be able to say, well, you shall see now what the Servant of the Lord can do: If one should say to one that hath made profession of Godliness,* 1.41 You spake much of the excellency of grace, but what can you do with it? The

answer that such a one may well give,* 1.42 is this: When you cannot tell what to do in the world nor which way to turn your selves, yet through Gods mercy I can tell what to do. Grace will be able to carry a man through fire and water, that faith of mine, and the grace that I have gotten by the Word, that you can scorn at, it's that doth through Gods mercy enable my soul to rejoyce, yea, to triumph in Tribulations, Can you do that? You can rejoyce now when you are in a Tavern, but in the day of Tribulation, when a dismal day shall come to the world, what will you do then? I thank God I have that that can rejoyce my heart in such a day as this is; and that that I have gotten by the Word, and by prayer, and by the Ordinances, can enable me to do that that you cannot do; that's some∣thing, that when a man in times of Tribulation can carry himself above all, so that men or devils are not able to put him in such a case as he cannot tell what to do. It follows.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Explic. 1▪
• * 1.2

  Explic. 2.
• * 1.3

  Lam. 2. 22▪
• * 1.4

  Revel. 12. 17, 18.
• * 1.5

  Why so called.
• * 1.6

  Why a day•• of Feast to•• God.
• * 1.7

  Isa. 34. 6.
• * 1.8

  Zeph. 1. 7.
• * 1.9

  Souldiers Gods Priests.
• * 1.10

  Ier. 6. 4.
• * 1.11

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉▪
• * 1.12

  Sanctifica∣te super eā bellum.
• * 1.13

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉▪
• * 1.14

  Gods wrath why called Wine.
• * 1.15

  Ps. 75. 8.
• * 1.16

  Rev. 14. 10▪
• * 1.17

  Explic.
• * 1.18

  Deut. 28. 63.
• * 1.19

  Ezek. 5. 13.
• * 1.20

  the Saints rejoyce in Gods ven∣geance.
• * 1.21

  Ps. 58. 10 illustrated▪
• * 1.22

  Yet not an insulting joy.
• * 1.23

  Ps. 58. 11▪
• * 1.24

  but joyned with pity.
• * 1.25

  And mixt with fear.
• * 1.26

  Psa. 52. 6.
• * 1.27

  Note.
• * 1.28

  Prov. 11. 10.
• * 1.29

  Iudg. 5. ult.
• * 1.30

  Expos. [You]▪
• * 1.31

  Isa. 10. 3.
• * 1.32

  The per∣plexity of wicked men in the Lords day.
• * 1.33

  Isa. 13. 6.
• * 1.34

  illustrated.
• * 1.35

  Some p••t a good face on it even at death, whose souls yet are full of terror.
• * 1.36

  [See King Jame's Declaratiō upon the execution of Sir W. Raleigh.
• * 1.37

  A notable story of B. Latimers▪
• * 1.38

  Iob, 13. 15 & Chap. 19. 25.
• * 1.39

  Psal. 119.
• * 1.40

  Hab. 3. 17▪
• * 1.41

  A quest. to a Professor▪
• * 1.42

  The Answ.