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. 10.

It is in my desire that I should chastise them.

IT is in my desire.] God speaks here as one that hath for∣born a long time, and now longs to satisfie him∣self.

Tremelius upon the place notes,* 1.1 that the form of the word for chastising here, it is unusual, because (saith he) perhaps God would express some more than ordinary way of punishing them. And Luther renders it,* 1.2 Exceeding desi∣rously will I chastise them. It is in my will to chastise them. Oh! blessed God, do not we find in thy Word that the Works of thy Justice are said to be thy strange Works, and that thou art not willing to grieve the children of men, that mercy pleases thee? but where do we ever find that Justice was so pleasing to thee?

It's true, though at first God seems to forbear the exe∣cution of Justice as a thing he hath no mind to, yet if sin be continued in, in a stubborn way, now God desires it as a thing that there's nothing more pleasing to him. He is burdened with mens sins, and desires to bring punishments upon them; as a man under a great burden desires to be eased;* 1.3 In Isa. 1. Oh! I will ease me of mine Adversaries. And in Ezek. 5. 13.* 1.4 you shall find there that God in threatning of wrath saith, that he would do thus, and thus, and he would be comforted:* 1.5 and in Prov. 1. he laughs at the de∣struction of wicked men, it's a thing that rejoyces him at the very heart.* 1.6 And in the Revelations the wrath of God is call'd the wine of his wrath, because he takes so much plea∣sure in the execution of it.

1. Gods Justice is God himself as well as any other At∣tribute.* 1.7

2. God he doth delight to vindicate his honor, there∣fore the word that is for Chastisement, it signifies somtimes, the vindication of a mans honor: the honor of God is dear to him: Your peace and comforts may be dear to you; I, but my honor is more dear to me.

3. In Chastisements God fulfils his Word, the Word of God would be slighted & contemn'd else: Now this pleases me therfore to chastise them to fulfil my Word upon them.

Oh!* 1.8 the fearful evil of sin that brings the creature into such a condition, as Gods heart is delighted in every evil that sinful creatures suffer: this must needs be a sad condi∣tion indeed, for the merciful God that delights so much in doing of mercy, yet now to look upon a sinner under his wrath, and delights in it, and loves it, and is wel plea∣sed to see the creature, even the work of his own hands to be under his wrath. Hereafter there will be pure Justice, God wil delight in the destruction of sinners in Hell, in the execution of his Justice upon them, he wil there do nothing else but rejoyce in it, there shal be nothing but joy in Gods heart to see the execution of his Justice upon sinners to all eternity, yea, and God will call all the Angels and Saints to come to rejoyce with him, Come ye Angels and Saints and rejoyce with me, here's a wretched sinner that was stubborn & rebellious against me in the time of his life, and see how my Power hath overtaken him, see the dreadful∣ness of my wrath, come and rejoyce with me for ever in this wrath of mine. This will be the condition of sinners eter∣nally in Hell.

Consider this, you that have a desire to sin, a mind to sin, to delight in sin,* 1.9 that are comforted in sin? Is it in your will to sin? It is Gods will to punish: Can you rejoyce in sin? God can rejoyce in the execution of his wrath: Are you resolute upon your sin? God can be resolute in the waies of his wrath. When God chastises his Servants for their infirmities, he doth it as a thing he hath no mind at all to,* 1.10 and therefore saith the Apostle, If need be, we fall

into many temptations, and it is but seeming grievous: And himself is afflicted in all their afflictions. David would have Joab go against Absolom, but saith he, Use the young man kindly, for my sake. So when God doth chastise his Ser∣vants, he sends an affliction, Go (saith he) and scourge such an one, yea, but use him kindly for my sake, for all that.

The bowels of David did yern towards Absolom, even when he sent Joab to fight against him. So the bowels of God do yern towards his People when he sends afflictions upon them. But when he comes to deal with wicked and ungodly men, I wil do it to purpose (saith God) I wil de∣light in it, I will be comforted in it, it is my desire, &c.

The People shall be gathered against them.

That is,* 1.11 I will chastise them after this way, By gathering of people against them. The Assyrians when they gathered a∣gainst them, they did it meerly out of their own ends. Yea, but saith God, I have an hand in it, I will gather them a∣gainst them. And certainly God had a mind to chastise them, when he would gather enemies against them, the As∣syrians it's like would never have dar'd to presume to come against Israel if God had not had an hand in it: And cer∣tainly we could never have imagined that it were possible that so many should be gathered together in this Publick Cause in this Land to maintain wickedness, and to fight to make themselves slaves, but only that God had a mind to chastise England.

But I find by others that it's read thus:* 1.12

I will chastise them according to my mind, and so the word will bear it.

The Septuagint they reade it,* 1.13 According to my desire.

So Oecolampadius upon the place,* 1.14 saith, God prescribed

a certain time to have this people come in and repent, but saith God, you shal not prescribe me how long I shal stay, but I will do it when I please, both for the time of the cha∣stisment, and for the degree of the chastisement.

God when he hath a mind to bring about a thing,* 1.15 he will gather the people when his mind is come. I remember it is said in the life of Pompey, a proud speech he was wont to have, when they askt him what they should do when the enemies came against them? Oh (saith he) let me but stamp upon the ground of Italy and I shall have men enough; that was a proud speech of him, but it's a true one in God, let him but stamp with his feet and he can gather people enough together.

And then further, God will chuse with what rod he will scurge us, according to his mind, for the degree, and the kind too. Many afflictions when they are upon us we mourn and re∣pine, and these discontented expressions comes from us, Oh! I could bear any thing but that.

But is it fit for thee to chuse thine own rod? God might have said also, I had rather you had committed some other sin. It may be, because that's the affliction that is most cross to thy spirit, therfore God wil have it, God sees that that's more for his honor, and perhaps for thy good, because it is the crossest affliction that God could find out, therefore thou hast that affliction that God might strike thee in the master-vain.* 1.16 Therefore let us learn to submit to the will of God. Is it fit that thou shouldest chuse thy sin and thy rod too? No, stay there; If thou wilt chuse thy sin, God will have liberty to chuse thy rod.

When they shall bind themselves in their two furrows.

These words have very great obscurity in the first view of them,* 1.17 and I find a mighty deal of puzling among Inter∣preters about them. The difficulty is in the word that is

here translated Furrows,* 1.18 the same letters of the word, take away the points of the Hebrew, and they may be for these two sins, or their two eyes, there's a little difference in the Vau and the Jod which are much like one another. And in all these three waies according to to the signification of the word,* 1.19 Either Furrows, Sins, or Eyes, the sense may go reasonable well. As thus:

First, For Sins. And they shal bind themselves. You may turn it as well of Gods Threatning what he would do;* 1.20 for it is, bind them, or, in binding them, so it is translated by others, in binding them for their two sins: I will bind them for their two sins, so I find Arias Montanus hath it, Bind them for their two sins.

And I find the Septuagint translate it so too,* 1.21 Chastise them for their two sins, for so it may be, Cha∣stise as wel as Bind, for the words are very near to∣gether that signifies either binding,* 1.22 or chastising.

I will chastise them for their two sins: When he binds them he will chastise them. And so I find that Luther hath it, for he doubles these.

And then they think that it hath reference to the two* 1.23 Calves of Dan and Bethel: Or the two Sins, of Bodily and Spiritual Adultery: Or otherwise it hath the same sense with that in Jer. 2▪ 13. My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me the fountain of Living Waters,* 1.24 and hewed them out Ci∣sterns, broken Cisterns that can hold no water.

Or if you wil have it in the second place, accor∣ding as it is in your books,* 1.25 They shall bind themselves in their two furrows, then the meaning of it is this, That I wil bring their Enemies upon them, and they shall yoke them like Oxen that are yok'd to plow, they shall bring them into servitude, and into bondage, they shall make them plow in their

two furrows,* 1.26 (double work.) So Polanus, because they shall put double work upon them and make them work in a servile way. And the rather do I think this is the mea∣ning of it, because the holy Ghost doth follow the meta∣phor of it, An Heifer, as it follows;

And Ephraim is as an Heifer that is taught and loveth to tread out the Corn.

And so take it in the third way,* 1.27 the word that signifies an eye, only altering the letter Vau for Jod, and then this is the sense; they shall yoke them as the Oxen are yoked eye to eye. They yoke the Oxen even and set eye to eye; so the enemies shall come and yoke them so that they shall be like beasts to do their work, and this shall be the condi∣tion of Ephraim that hath this fair neck. I find others that take this;

They shall bind themselves in their two furrows.

That is,* 1.28 They shall Covenant together. When the e∣nemy comes upon them then they shal Covenant together and joyn together, as Oxen that are yok'd together, and Judah and Israel shall joyn together, and they shall be in their furrows,* 1.29 in their trenches, as in reference to us: that when the people are gathered together, England and Scot∣land shall bind themselves together, and lie together in their several Trenches. So I find others take it.

But rather from the chief and genuine scope, I suppose the meaning is this, That they shall be brought into mise∣rable bondage, they shall be like Oxen: and so saith one Interpreter upon the place, When you see Oxen yok'd to∣gether then be put in mind of the yoke of the enemies; you live daintily and bravely now, but when God shall let out the enemies upon you, you shall serve as slaves, yea, as beasts.

Notes

• * 1.1

  pro 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 à A commu∣ni regula discedit, fortasse vo∣luit inusi∣tatum inu∣ere castiga∣tionis mo∣dum, inso∣litâ verbi forma, Tremel.
• * 1.2

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 [In desiderio meo, & castigabo eos] Valde cupidè eos castigabo, So Luther. See Buxtorf. Lexic. Heh. in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.
• * 1.3

  Isa. 1.
• * 1.4

  Ezek. 5. 13. 15.
• * 1.5

  Prov. 1.
• * 1.6

  Rev. 14. 10. ex∣plicated.
• * 1.7

  Reas. 1.
• * 1.8

  Use.
• * 1.9

  Use of ad∣monition to those in whose will it is to sin.
• * 1.10

  1 Pet. 1. 6.
• * 1.11

  Expos. 1.
• * 1.12

  Expos. 2. of the for∣mer part of the Verse.
• * 1.13

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, 70. Iuxta desiderium meum corripiam eos. vulg.
• * 1.14

  Oecolam∣pad. in loc.
• * 1.15

  Obs.
• * 1.16

  We may not chuse our sin and our rod too.
• * 1.17

  The Text very diffi∣cult.
• * 1.18

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 In vincire eos in duo∣bus aut succis, aut pe∣catis, aut occulis, aut fontibus scribetur per 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 legitur à masore∣this per 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
• * 1.19

  Sulci 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 iniquitates 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 oculi 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 fontes 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
• * 1.20

  Vid. Buxtori••. Le∣xicon Heb. in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Arias Montanus In corripere eos prop∣ter duas iniquitatis.
• * 1.21

  〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, 70.
• * 1.22

  Vincire 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Catigare 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 But in some Moods and Tenses they are hardly differenced. Propter geminum peccatum ipsorum. Luther.
• * 1.23

  Qui erant ut 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 oculi eorū seu amasij. Buxtor•• in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
• * 1.24

  Ier. 2. 13. Hier. in loc. See Diod. in loc.
• * 1.25

  Expos. 2.
• * 1.26

  Polanus in loc.
• * 1.27

  Expos. 3. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
• * 1.28

  Expos. 4. (Calvin]
• * 1.29

  As Engl. and Scotl. in the late war.