' 0 Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, for thou ha:.t fallen by thine iniquity.'
Every word hath his weight, and, in a manner, is an argument to en- force this returning.
'0 Israel!' Israel, we know, 1, is a word of covenant. Jacob was Israel, a prince and wrestler with God, as they also ought to be. There- fore he enforceth. You also ought to return, because you are Israel. And, 2, It was also an encouragement for them to return, because God so acknow- ledgeth them to be Israel, and will be gracious unto them, though they were such hideous sinners.
' Return,' saith he, ' unto the Lord Jehovah,' who is the chief good. For when a man retumeth to the creature, which is a particular, changeable good, unsatisfying [to] the soul, he is restless still until he come unto Jehovah, who is the all-sufficient, universal good, who fills and fills the soul abundantly. Therefore, ' return ' to him who is the fountain of all good, and giveth a being unto all things, and not to ' broken cisterns,' Jer. ii. 13. He is Jehovah, like himself, and ' changeth not.' And then he is thy God. Therefore, return to him who is thy God in covenant, who will make good his gracious covenant unto thee, and did choose thee to be ' his people be-
254 THE EETUENING BACKSLIDER. [SeRMON I.
fore all tlie nations of the world.' This, therefore, is also an encouragement to return. And then,
' Thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.' Therefore, because thou art fallen by thy iniquities, and thine own inventions have brought these miseries upon thee, and none but God can help thee out of these miseries, seeing he only can, and is willing to forgive thy sins and revive thee, therefore,
* O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.'
Now, in that he forewarneth them of the fearful judgments to come, which were to fall upon them unless they were prevented by true repentance, hence in general it is to be observed.
That God comes not as a sudden storm upon his people, but gives therii warn- ing before he smites them.
This is verified in Scripture. "When the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah was great, the Lord said, ' Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which is come unto me ; and if not, I will know,' Gen. xviii. 20, 21. And wherefore was the ark of Noah so long in building, but to give warning to that sinful age, which were nothing bettered by it. The like we have of Pharaoh and all the Egyptians, who had so many warnings and miracles shewed before their destruction came, Exod. xi. 1, seq. Thus God dealt in Amos : ' Therefore, thus will I do unto thee ; and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, 0 Israel,' Amos iv. 12. ' 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem,' saith Christ,
* thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth the chickens under her wings, and ye would not,' Mat. xxiii. 37. What need we stand upon proofs ? Are not all the threatenings of Scrip- ture as so many warning-pieces of approaching judgments ?
1. The reason hereof is, his own nature. ' He is a God of long-suflfering,' Exod. xxxiv. 6. He made the world in six days, yet hath continued it six thousand years, notwithstanding the many sins and provocations thereof,
* his mercies being over all his works,' Ps. cxlv. 9.
2. And partly /ro?n a special regard to his own dear children, these terrible threatenings not being killing and wounding, but, like Jonathan's warning arrows, who, though he shot, yet meant no other harm to David save to forewarn him of harm, 1 Sam. xx. 20.
Use. Let us, therefore, observe God's gracious and mild dealing in so much mercy, who giveth us so many warnings by his servants, and lesser judgments which we have had amongst us ; let us take notice and believe, 80 as belief may stir up fear, and fear may provoke care, and care stir up endeavom-s to provide us an ark, even a hiding-place betimes, before winter and worse times come upon us.
Hence issueth another general point, that
The best pirovision for preventing of destruction is spiritual means.
God himself is a spirit, and spiritual means reach unto him who is the first mover of the great wheel of all the afiairs of this world. It is pre- posterous to begin at the second cause. We trouble ourselves in vain there, when we neglect the fii'st. We should therefore begin the work in heaven, and first of all take up that quarrel which is between God and our souls. If this be done first, we need not fear the carriage of second things, all which God, out of his good providence and graciotis care, will frame to work for good to his, Rom. viii. 28, for whose sakes, rather than help should fail,
HOSEA XIV. 1, 2.] THE KETURNING BACKSLIDER. 255