Fifthly, The removal of godly and useful men by death, in more than ordinary haste, was to them a sign of desolation at hand. Isa. Ivii. 1. " The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; " and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righ- " teous is taken away from the evil to come." In this case God a^ts
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towards his people, as the husbandman in a catching harvest d6n^ by his corn ; he hurries it with a shuffling haste into the barn wheh he sees a storm coming : or as a careful father with his sons that are abroad at school, who sends his horses to fetch them home speedily, when he hears the plague is begun in the place. Upon this ground the prophet Micah bewails himself, Micah vii. 1. " Woe is me, for " I am as when they have gathered the summer-fruits, as the grape " gleanings of the vintage, there is no cluster to eat ; my soul de- " sired the first-ripe fruit." Q. d. Alas ! alas ! what miserable days are at hand ! what miseries must I expect to see ! The pleasant clus- ters, i. e. the societies of the saints are gathered away by the hand of death ; there are but few that remain, here and there a single saint, like grapes after the vintage is done, two or three upon the utmost branches.
Sixthly, The general decay of the life and power of godliness among them that were left, foreboded destruction at the door : this is both a provoking sin, and a fore-running sign of national calamity. Hos. iv. 18. Their driiik is sour. A metaphor lively expressing the deadness and formality of the people in the worship of God. It was like sour or dead drink, which hath lost its spirit and relish, and is become flat. Such were their duties ; no spiritual life, affec- tion, or savour in them : they heard as if they heard not, and prayed as if they prayed not ; the ordinances of God were to them as the ordinances of men, of which the apostle saith, that they perish in the using.
Seventhly, To conclude; Mutual animosities, jars, and divisions, were to them manifest symptoms of national calamities and desola- tions : for then Ephraim envied Judah, and Judah vexed Ephraim, Isa. xi. 13. Hos. ix. 7. " The days of visitation are come, the days " of recompence are come, Israel shall know it : The prophet is a " fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquities, " and the great hatred."
When such symptoms of God's indignation do appear upon any people, the Lord, by them, as by so many glaring meteors and blazing comets, forewarns the world that his judgments are near, even at the door. These signs all men ought to observe, and behold with trembling. If you ask, Why doth God usually give such warnings of his indignation before it comes ? The reasons are,
1. To prevent the execution.
2. To make them more tolerable.
3. To leave the incorrigible inexcusable.
First, Warning is given, with design to prevent the execution of judgments, Amos iv. \%. " Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O '• Israel ; and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy " God, O Israel ;" i. e. Prepare thyself to meet me in the way of my judgments, by humiliation and intercession to prevent the execution. And what else was the design of God in sending Jonah to the great
X6 PREPARATIONS FOR SUFFERINGS ; OR,
c'lcj Nineveh, but to excite them to repentance for the prevention of cheir ruin. This Jonah knew to be the Lord's meaning, how posi- tive soever the words of his commission were; and therefore he dechned the message to secure his credit ; knowing, that if upon warning given they repented, the gracious nature of God would soon melt into compassion over them, and free grace would make him appear as a liar ; for so we must expound his words, Jonah iv. 2. " Was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country ? There- *' fore I fled before unto Tarshish : for I knew that thou art a gra- *' cious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, *' and repentest thee of the evil." Q. d. Yea, Lord, I knew before- hand it would come to this ; thou sendest me positively to denounce thy judgments to Nineveh, mean time desiring nothing more than the execution of them might be prevented by their repentance. And thus thy mercy hath exposed my reputation, in saving them from destruction.
Secondly^ God forewarns his people of judgments, to make them more tolerable when they come ; expected evils are nothing so heavy as those that come by surprisal ; for look, as the expectation of a mercv makes it less sweet, our thoughts having anticipated and sucked out much of the sweetness before-hand ; so the expectation of judg- ments before they befal us, make them less bitter and burdensome than else they would be, the soul having inured and accustomed itself to them, bv frequent thoughts, and prepared and made ready itself to entertain them, as Paul did in my text. To prevent the disciples surprisal and offence at those days of persecution that were coming upon them, Christ foretold them, and gave them fair warning before- hand, John xvi. 4.
Thirdhj^ He forewarns his people of approaching dangers, to leave the incorrigible wholly inexcusable, that those who have no sense of sin, nor care to prevent ruin, might have no cloke for their folly ■when judgments overtake them, " What wilt thou say when he shall " punish thee.^"' Jer. xiii. 21, 9.9., As if he should say. What plea, or apologv is left thee, after so many fair warnings and timely pre- monitions r Thou canst not sav, I have surprised thee, or that thou wast ruined before thou wast warned. Thy destruction therefore is of thyself
Demonst7'ating the excellency of a prepared heart for the worst of sufferings ; and what a blessed thing it is to be ready to be bounds or to die for Christy as Paul here was.
A AM ready.] O blessed frame of spirit ! how hard, but how happy is it to get a heart so tempered ! Every Christian can say, I
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>vould be ready, and the Lord make me ready for sufferings ; Byt iew can say, I am ready, my heart is prepared and fitted for such av. work : yet this example shews us it is attainable : and what a bles- sed thing it is to attain it, the following particulars will abundantly