Aggravations of Jehu's sin.

Secondly, consider the aggravations of this mans (Iehu's) sin be∣yond those that went before him: they are great and many.

1. Iehu had the example of the wrath of God upon three Kings before him, for the same sins. Ieroboam first committed this sin, but had no presidents of the warth of God to scare him: it's true, he had presidents good and many of the wrath of God upon Idolaters; but the temptation under which he lay, the fear of losing his Kingdom, made him to think that good and righteous end of securing his Kingdom and making good the word of the Lord in establishing it to himself would bear him out. But Iehu had no excuse at all, but the perverse unbelief of his own hard heart, and the wicked ten∣dency of his soul; for he saw that notwithstanding the plausible (and in some measure righteous) pretence of Ieroboam, the wrath of God consumed him and his house; he had the presidents of the wrath of God upon Ieroboam the inventer, and Baasha the follower of these sins, in such a terrible manner, as to cut them off from the face of the earth: Page  20 and he executes the severe vengeance of God upon the head of a third transgressor of the same kinde; and yet to provoke this jealous God to more and greater wrath, who but a Iehu, a heart hardened by love and mercy, could or durst do it?

Alas, how little doth the by-past judgements of God move our hard and flinty hearts in these our dayes! although the generation be∣fore us, (fresh in memory) God hath made them as dung upon the face of the earth, and scattered them that they are not found, and brought them to nothing; yet we will not be warned, but we have made that which was but as a mote in their eye, a beam in our own; we have gotten into their places, and are fallen to commit adultery with their sins; and we will not depart from those sins that have made God so terrible to them and to do such wonders in our dayes, to the dying his garments red in blood. Who durst do thus but those whose hearts are made fat, eyes blinde, and ears deaf, and that by mercy? as if in∣deed we were a people fatted for slaughter, and prepared for utter destruction.

2. Another aggravation of this sin, was this he had an enlightned conscience: so much light, as that he could bring the word of God to confirm every action of his. And certainly he knew much of the minde of God, he was much acquainted both with the promises and prophesies of God to and concerning his people, as the story through∣out sufficiently evidences; he had so much light and knowledge that God did justly expect he should walk in his law with all his heart, vers. 31. (but his heart, his heart was faulty; O that little thing within us, hath more deceit in it, then a whole world of other creatures have) his light enabled him to make the most glorious profession that ever any King of Israel did (that we read of) since Solomons daies; his light made him bold, couragious, and full of outward zeal; yet against all this he sins: when so much of the work was done, as that he could sit down and taste the sweetness of present enjoyments, though mutable and earthly; his heart waxes fat presently, and could go no further; his light goes out, and he becomes blinde at noon-day: the sight of the glory of an earthly kingdom (though none had more experience of the uncertainty, vanity and vexation of spirit, that the greatest glories here below yield; yet that) takes him, and he is over∣come and besotted so, as that he cannot stir one foot from it; his heart is glued to it, and he commits Idolatry, worships the devil, that he may enjoy it: all his work now is to endeavour to maintain what he hath got. But Iehu, it's but for a little while thou canst keep it. Page  21 Here he takes up his abiding place, and gives all to understand he can live by faith no longer, he must now live by sense. How many of such Jehu's have we in these our dayes? rather then the loss of their mammon (their belly-gods) shall be hazarded by Christs raigning over his people in the world, they will fight with sword and buckler against him, and do what in them lies to hinder him. Those that have formerly preached up the kingdom of Christ, sounded the alarms to prepare for his coming, having now joyned themselves to the powers of this world turne their note, and begin to tell another tale;* headily and injuriously charging the people of God with things that are not true, falsities; but their folly shall be made manifest to all men.

3. Another aggravation of Iehu's sin is this. That he had com∣mission given him from God and his people to execute the venge∣ance of God upon Ahab and Iezebel for the very same sins that he now commits himself; onely he keeps from he more gross sins, as the worshipping Baal, and the like. For one man to execute the judge∣ments of God (written) upon another man, for breaking the Laws of God and men, and then to do the same things himself, it's most hai∣nous.* Surely in the end there will be found an instrument to exe∣cute the same vengeance upon thy head. O Iehu which thou hast executed upon others, though judgement linger out of mercy for a little while, to the fourth generation. It's evident, how guilty we are of the same sins our forefathers were; yea, those very abomi∣nations for which God hath cast out (and caused the Land to spue out) that generation of men before us, are to be found rise amongst us; worshipping the Mammon of this world, Pluralities Non-resi∣dents &c. with this addition. The forsaking the Churches of Christ, and cleaving to this present evil world, for filthy lucre's sake: Inno∣vations both in State and in the Worship of God; or, if you will, something like that course Ieroboam took to establish the Kingdom to himself, is now taken in the things of a spiritual concernment: what meaneth else this new invention of Tryers? an Innovation, a thing never heard of before, that men must have a Commission from hu∣mane hands, upon a humane account, to preach the Gospel, or else no Wages. Is not this like the proceedings of the Beast, (Antichrist) that would not suffer any to buy or sell, but such as had his mark? Con∣sider, I pray, how neer this comes to Antichrist's making merchandise of souls. Let our Jehu's look to it; God will remember them in the day of his accounts, when he makes enquiry for blood; and out of their own mouth they shall be condemned, in that they have con∣demned Page  22 and executed the judgements written against others, and committed folly with the same sins themselves.

4. Another Aggravation of Iehu's sin lies in this, in that God did honour him with that special anointing, by a special messenger, as he did none of the Kings of Israel beside since Solomon's days; no, not Ieroboam. Indeed God sent a messenger to Ieroboam, to tell him what he would do for him; but he was not anointed, as Iehu was. One Tyrant slew another, and usurp'd the Kingdom to them∣selves; but none was anointed but Iehu: he was anointed to do the Lords work; yet, against this Anointing against this special testimo∣ny of God, did Iehu sin. O ungrateful Iehu! But God will reward thee according to thy works.

Can we shift this Aggravation also off from our selves? What Anointings hath God anointed us with! What special and signal Te∣stimonies hath he given, of his being with us, giving us Commission to do his work, and being well pleased with us for obeying his voice? witness Naseby, Dunbar and Worcester, besides many other. Read over the Story of our times, and see if ever God dealt so signally-gra∣ciously with any people since Israel's time. Yet, against all this do we sin: for the present, our hearts like the stony ground, received them with joy; and how full of resolutions were we to do for God, and to the glorifying of his Name, by following him fully whithersoe∣ver he would lead us; but loe, how soon are we turned out of the way? we are sitting still, building cieled houses for our selves, and making, sure the kingdom, that it return not from us to the Son of Da∣vid, though God hath said, that though the heathen rag, and the people imagine a vain thing and Kings and Rulers take counsel to∣gether against his anointed, laughing them to scorn, and having them in derision, he will yet set his King upon his holy hill of Sin on, and give him the utmost ends of the earth for his possession: O kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. If a little wrath will perish you, what ruine will that great wrath which you deserve bring speedily upon you, if you prevent it not by a timely repentance?

5. A fifth aggravation of Jehu's sin was this: He was anointed King of the people of the Lord. This people were the Lords people, and he was their God; & God set this Iehu ruler over this his people. If they be the Lords people, and the Lord be their God, then he onely must he worshipped, and served, and feared by them; they must bow down to no other Gods but him; they must serve him in his own ap∣pointments, Page  23 not by any inventions of their own; they must worship him in the place where he will be worshipped, not upon the Altars of mens devising at Dan and Bethel: If the people of the Lord, they must walk in the Lords Wayes, obey his Laws, Precepts and Com∣mands, and no other. All this, and much more, is intimated in these words, The people of the Lord. And this manner of expression of the Prophet to Jehu, did intimate to him, that God did expect that he should lead the people on to the performing of all this. God had made him the leader of his chosen ones, and now he expected that he should lead them in the wayes God had chosen to communicate him∣self in.

Quest. Now, what benefit is this to Jehu to be King over the people of the Lord, more then over any other people?

Answ. Truely it's a very great benefit: for,

1. He was in a very fair way to the fullest enjoyment of God (attainable) on this side heaven, in his own appointments, his Ordi∣dances; for being made ruler over the Lords people, had he made Solomons prayer, he should have had Solomons return and had been a ruler after Gods own heart as David was, and so have been made partaker of Davids full enjoyments of God in his Ordinances: But,

2. To be a ruler over the Lords people, it's of great advantage; for what was he not able to do by their mighty power and force in faith and prayer? If we look into the Scripture, and see what wonderful things have been done by the faith and prayers of the Lords people, we cannot but say of a truth, Iehu had as great an advantage to be∣come a second Solomon for wisdom; (not State-policy) a second Da∣vid for valour and might in conquering enemies, as ever man had. It's more to be ruler over the Lords people, then to be Emperor of the whole world besides: to be ruler over the Lords people, that have the mighty and faithful God so neerly and strongly tied and bound to them, by so many, great, irrevocable and infallible promises, as he hath made to them in his word, and hath so often sworn the cer∣tainty and truth of them with the highest and greatest oath: a people that have done (and are still able to do) such mighty and wonder∣ful things by faith and prayer, yea, had done such great wonders be∣fore this Iehu's eyes: witness the acts of Elijah. Elisha, and many other of the Lords Prophets in those dayes; to be ruler over such a people, what greater thing could be done for a man on earth? what greater advantage over the world could be given to him?

Page  24Yet against all this Jehu sins: though God made him ruler over his people, to these and these ends and purposes, and thereby gives him so many and great advantages, yet he steers a contrary course: in stead of leading the people to Jerusalem to worship, he leads them to his calves at Dan and Bethel; instead of pulling down all those inventions of their own, which provoked God to so great wrath, he pulls down onely those new & more gross inventions, which he could with no credit, nor any the least shadow of conscience keep up: but the old, ancient, fundamental bounds and limits of an I∣dolatrous kingdom, (Jeroboam's sins) they must stand still, and keep the people of God from going up to Jerusalem to worship, from behaving themselves like the Lords people, when God had car∣ried himself so like a gracious God towards them; they must stand still, for the same reason and upon the same account they were first in∣vented.

All that God had done for Jehu, did not convince his dark minde, nor his hard Idolatrous heart, of the folly of those things, and the reason on which they were founded; nor of the equity safety, happiness, honour and glory, that there was in (and to be found in) obeying the will of the Lord in leading his people up to Jeru∣salem to worship, in Gods own appointments.

Now truely we need not Diogenes lantern and candle to finde out that man, whom God hath made taller by the head and shoulders, then the rest of his brethren, and made leader of his people in this our day; who hath led the people of the Lord on prosperously to the destruction of our Ahabs, &c. on whom the eyes of the Lords people have been fixed, even to high and great expectations of the performance of many vows and promises: and when we have found him, shall we not see him taking up his station among the calves, those antient inventions (that our fore-Fathers found out to main∣tain an Idolatrous-kingdom) and making them his own? and if so, will he not make that great wrath and punishment God hath so often entail'd upon them, his own too? shall we not behold him leading the people back again into those wayes, to redeem his people out of which God hath made bare such a mighty arm of power and providence? and it's my prayer, that our eager marching back towards Egypt may not hurry us to the brink of the red-sea, ere we make a stand.

A sixth aggravation of Jehu's sin was, His deceiving Gods expectations: But Jehu took no heed to walk in the way of the Page  25 Lord God of Israel with all his heart. Saith God, I have done thus and thus for Jehu, anointed him King over Israel, honoured him in executing my judgements upon mine enemies by him: and because he hath done all that was in my heart against the house of Ahab, mine, and my peoples enemies; I have given him the kingdom, and now I expected he should have brought forth fruit answerable to my kindness with all his heart: But Jehu took no heed to that. Will not the loving kindness of thy God work upon thee, O Jehu? what will then? Love in its effects is like the Sun, it either softens or hardens; one of these two are the inseparable effects of its influences. Whether wilt thou be hardened with Pharaoh, and drowned in the Red-sea, or softened with Hezekiah, and have thy dayes prolonged? canst thou remem∣ber the goodness of God to thee, and bring forth no hearty fruit an∣swerable to his expectations, but deceive him totally? Well, Jehu, thou wilt repent of this when it is too late, I fear.

How have we in our dayes been guilty of this deceiving the expecta∣tions of our God, in not (in any measure) answering the mercies of our God? What returnes have we made to him for his mercy at Naseby, Dunbar, Worcester, and many other places? Yea, such is the deceit and hypocrisie of our hearts, that we cannot tell how to perform those LITTLE VOWES that the glory of those mercies extorted from us in the present ravishment of our hearts with their glorious beauty. The

Seventh and last aggravation of Jehu's sin is necessarily implied in the words, that it was against all the faith and prayers of the peo∣ple of God. Can it be supposed that such a man as Jehu was, so full of holy profession, so outwardly zealous for God and the per∣formance of his word, who would not have one tittle of it fall to the ground; should not such a man as this have a large-share in the hearts of Gods people, and so in their faith and prayer? and yet to deceive them, and sin against these! What mighty sins were these sins of Jehu's, guilty of such aggravations? surely the sins of Corah, Da∣than and Abiram, were but Pigmies to these Giants: if their sins opened the earth to the swallowing them up alive; certainly the head of these reach heaven it self, and cry aloud for veangeance and wrath.

And may not our Jehu's cry guilty here too? what faith, what confi∣dence of Gods performing his promises now to the latter ages of the world; what a spirit of prayer hath been amongst the people of God in these dayes, by beholding the glorious out-goings of God in his providences, and his beginning to execute his wrath upon Babylon Page  26 the kingdom of the Beast? and have not you sinned against these? consider it: have not you frustated and deceived the expectations of the people of God? You by your professions have encouraged and perhaps raised their expectations one peg higher then it may be other∣wise they would have been; and their hearts have been full of faith and prayer for you: upon the least motion of yours to them to use their interest with their Father on your behalf, How have their hearts been all of a flame presently? and the fire that issued out of their mouth hath consumed your enemies; yet against all this you have sin∣ned. As much as in you lies, you endeavour to smother and stifle the work of that good Spirit by your sitting still and putting a stop to the work of God in this our day: when they would have pull'd up the an∣cient bounds of Antichrist, both in his spiritual and civil state among us, you will not suffer them, but the golden Calves must stand still, and that upon this account, lest the kingdom depart from you; which you call (forsooth) a preventing all things running into an abysse of confusion: sure I am, nothing would have been confounded there∣by, but the kingdom of Antichrist: but which is most true, will ap∣pear ere long, when God shall come down to see whether indeed it be so with you, as your sins report in heaven. But a