A brief exposition on the XII. smal prophets: the first volume containing an exposition on the prophecies of Hosea, Joel, & Amos. By George Hutcheson, minister at Edenburgh.

Ver. 14. And they have not cryed unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corne and wine, and they re∣bell against me.

A second confirmation of the equity of the sentence, is taken from their not seeking God syncerely under trouble, but onely howling because of outward wants; and that however they seem∣ed to make solemne applications to God, yet they continued in their rebellion. Whence learn. 1. Every shew of seeking even the true God, will not be accepted of him, and may be so far from preventing wrath, that it may haste it on; for, this their defect in seeking God is one cause why wo and destruction com∣eth upon them. 2. Mens prayers how instant soever they seeme to be, yet are nothing before God, when the heart is not engaged in the duty, nor affected with that which is mens true misery and the cause of their trouble, nor sincerely engaged to God from whom they expect help; for, it is a challenge, they have not cried unto me with their heart when they sought to him under trouble, albeit no doubt they were affected with the stroak, and seriously desired to be rid of it. 3. As men who employ not God under trouble, will soone be broken and crushed with it; So the cries of such, which flow onely from sense of pain and want, and from spirits not humbled under Gods hand, are not onely inaccepta∣ble to God, but rather like the carriage of beasts, then even of rationall men, much more of gracious men; for, in their cries, they but howled upon their beds, that is, their troubles cast them, as it were, on sick beds, and there they do not cry to God syn∣cerely, but howle like dogs, who can feele and resent pain as well as they do. 4. Men may make very solemne addresses to God, and keep very publick humiliations, who yet are not soundly ex∣ercised nor accepted of God; For, they assemble themselves, to wit, for solemne prayer, and yet in all this they but adde to the controversie. 5. God doth justly reject these prayers, how so∣lemne soever, wherein men are only driven by outward necessi∣ties,

and their first and only suit is their own particular, never minding better things, or greatet wants: For, they assemble themselves for corne and wine not seeking Gods favour and grace, and therefore are rejected. 6. Mens solemn worship is also just∣ly rejected, when they never give over their stubborne and re∣bellious dispositions against God: But whereas mens calling on God should engage them against sin, they on the contrary, whatever they seem to be in immediate worship, yet they runne presently after it to their old courses in their ordinary conversati∣on; and when they obtain their will at Gods hand, they present∣ly sleight God, as if they had no more to do with him; For, this is another cause of his condemning their way, they assemble themselves, and they rebell against me, that is, they retain their rebellious dispositions, and albeit in the mean time they act no grosse rebellion, yet they never purpose to give it over, but to be as they were, so soon as they have done with the duty, or God hath granted their desire.