Micah vi. 9, ' The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall hear thy nxime : hear ye the rod, and who hath ap- pointed it*
The matter that I shall offer to your consideration from this scrip- ture, will be not only of special concernment to yourselves, but also of high concernment to all sorts and ranks of men and women, in this sad day, when the sword devours on the one hand, and the pestilence rageth on the other hand.
' The Lord's voice crieth unto the city.' Tremellius turns it thus.
140 THE PRIVY KEY OF HEAVEN.
* The voice of the Lord doth preach unto this city, for what the matter is, thy name seeth : hear ye the rod,' &c. This city, viz., Jerusalem, and so consequently to all the Israelites ; for in this city all offices and duties of godliness and humanity were more religiously performed, or to be performed, than in any other place, because of the presence and majesty of God that was amongst them. * But thy Majesty seeth what wickedness is practised amongst them,' as is evident in the verses fol- lowing.
' Crieth.' The word is from hara, which signifies, First, ' To cry aloud,' or ' to make a noise,' Isa. Iviii. 1 ; * cry aloud ' there is hara. The word signifies, to cry so loud as that all may hear that have ears to hear.
Secondly, The word signifies, ' openly to proclaim, preach, or publish a thing." Exod. xxxiii. 19, * I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee.' Here is the word hara.
Thirdly, The word signifies, 'to cry out.' Gen. xxxix. 15, 'I lifted up my voice and cried,' Here is kara. The Hebrew word ^T hath nine other significations in Scripture, but because they are not pertinent to what is in my eye, I shall pass them by at this time.
' And the man of wisdom shall see thy name.' Vethushiia properly signifies essence ; and, therefore, according to the Hebrew, the words should be read thus, ' And the man of essence shall see thy name,' &c., that is, he that is a man indeed, he that is not a sot, a stock, a stone. Most men are men of folly, and so not worthy of the name of men ; but as for such as are truly wise, they ' shall see thy name.' There is a great measure of spiritual art, of holy and heavenly wisdom required, both to enable a man to hear the voice of the rod and to understand the language of the rod. This wisdom is too high for a fool, Prov. xxiv. 7. ' Shall see thy name.' Now the Hebrew word here used '^^"'\ may be better derived from jare, which signifies to fear, than from raah, that signifies to see, and so the words will run smoothly thus, ' The man of wisdom, or of essence, shall fear thy name,' considering that, it is majesty itself that crieth, and that he is immediately to deal with God himself, and not with a poor, weak, mortal worm.
' Hear ye the rodv' The word hear is from W^'*' shamang, which signifies.
First, ' To mark, observe, and attend to what is said.' Gen. xxix. 33, * The Lord hath heard that I was hated ;' that is, * he hath marked it, he hath observed it.' So here. Oh mark the rod ! Oh observe the rod ! Oh attend to what is spoken by the rod !
Secondly, The word signifies, ' to understand what is spoken ;' so Gen. xlii. 23, ' They knew not that Joseph understood them.' In the Hebrew it is, ' that Joseph heard them.' Now to hear the rod, is to understand what is spoken to us by the rod.
Thirdly, The word signifies, * to believe a thing reported to be true ;' so Exod. vi. 9, * They hearkened not unto Moses,' that is, ' they did not believe the report that Moses made.' ' Hear the rod,' that is, * believe the report the rod makes.' The rod reports, that of all evils sin is the greatest evil ; and that of all bitters, sin is the greatest bitter. Oh believe the report of the rod ! The rod reports, that God is angry, that God is displeased. Oh believe its report ! The rod reports the crea-
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tures to be mere vanity and vexation of spirit. Oh believe its report ! The rod reports our nearest and dearest comforts, contentments, and enjoyments to be mixed, mutable, and momentary. Oh believe its report ! The rod reports sin to be vile, and the world to be vain, and heaven to be glorious, and Christ to be most precious. Oh believe its report ! The Hebrew word hath three other significations, but being^ that they are not proper to our purpose, I shall pass them by.
' The rod.' The Hebrew word moMe, that is here rendered rod, hath three significations :
First, It denotes ' power and strength :' Ps. il 9, ' a rod of iron.'
Secondly, It denotes ' rigid and harsh government :' Isa. xiv. 5, ' The Lord hath broken the staff,' or rod, 'of the wicked;' that is, 'their rigorous and cruel government.^ Nebuchadnezzar had sorely afflicted the children of Judah ; he was a rod, that brake them in pieces, and ruled over them with much rigour in Babylon.
Thirdly, It denotes ' sore afflictions and heavy judgments :' Ps. Ixxxix. 32, ' I will visit your transgressions with a rod.' And thus you are to understand the word rod in the text.
* And him that hath appointed it' It is God that appoints the rod, and ordains it for the revenge of the quarrel of his covenant. The Hebrew word Jegnadah signifies properly ' to appoint' or ' constitute.' It is God who appoints the rod, and who constitutes it to do what ser- vice he pleaseth. It is God that hath not only a permissive, but also an active, hand, in all the afflictions that come upon his people.
And let thus much suffice for the opening of the words.
Now, though this choice garden affords many sweet flowers, yet I shall only present you with one, which is this, viz.
That all the affiidions, troubles, trials, Sc, that God lays upon his people, are his rod; and that it is their highest and greatest concern- ment to hear the voice of the rod, and to take out those lessons that God would have them learn hy the rod.
For the opening and clearing up of this important point, I shall en- deavour these two things :
First, To shew you in what respects afflictions are like unto a rod.
Secondly, To shew you what those special lessons are that you are to learn by the rod.
I. For the first, in what respects are afflictions like unto a rod ?
I answer. In these seven respects afflictions are hke unto a rod.
(1.) First The rod is never made use of hut when no fair means will prevail with the child. It is so here ; God never takes up the rod, he never afflicts his people, till he hath tried all fair ways and means to humble them and reform them, 2 Chron. xxxvi 15, seq.. Mat. xxiii.37, 38. And when none of the offers of grace, the tenders of mercy, the wooings of Christ, the strivings of the Spirit, nor the smart debates of conscience, will awaken them, nor work upon them, then God takes up the rod, and sometimes whips them till the blood comes. But,