2. And as they go eagerly, so desperately and irreclaimahly too ; nothing will restrain them, no thorns nor troubles that can lie in their way. Though God hedge in their ways with thorns, thej' break through all, Hosea ii. G. Even as Balaam, he would go on though there were a sword drawn before him, he was more brutish and unreasonable than his poor beast ; the very sword of the angel could not move that covetous wretch to go back. So it is with every wicked man, he goes on desperately^ nothing will keep him back and reclaim him. Though God take many courses to do it, by his ministers, magistrates, by the motions of his Spirit, by his judgments threatened, by judgments executed upon others, and upon themselves sometimes, yet they are so eager upon their sins, all this will not beat them ofl'. They love their sins better than their souls ; nor is it only open riotous persons that thus rush into sins, but civil * rebellious persons also, that bless themselves in their ways, and it may be live as irreligiously as the other. Take a covetous or an ambitious man : he sacrificeth all to get such a place, &c. Such a man mocks Christ, as the Pharisees mocked him, notwithstanding all his good sermons and miracles. He goes on desperately, nothing will hold him. He breaks through all bars and opposi- tions. He cracks his conscience, grieves the good motions of the Spirit, despiseth good counsel, and will venture upon the outward breach of laws sometimes, rather than he will be defeated of his designs.
3. And as they go eagerly and desperately, so daiif/eruusly too ; for is it not dangerous to provoke God ? to rush upon the pikes ? to run against thorns ? ' Do you provoke me to jealousy,' saith God, ' and not your- selves to destruction' ? 1 Cor. x. 22. No. They go both together. If you provoke me to anger, it will be to your own ruin. In Lev. xxvi. 23, ' God will walk stubbornly to them as they have done to him ; and he will be froward with the froward,' Ps. xviii. 26. Those that are rebellious sinners, whom no bonds will hold, no counsel, that break all laws, as the man possessed with the devil brake his chains, the time will come that when God executes his wrath he will be too good for them, the devil will be too good for them, hell will be too good for them, conscience will tear them in pieces, and the judgment of God will seize on them. The way of wicked men is a wretched, a desperate, and dangerous coui-se. Thou art
* That is, ' moral.' — G.
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GOD S INQUISITION.
Btubborn against God, and be is so against thco. He will do to tboc ag thou doest to him. Who are wc ? ' Are wo stronger than God ' ? 1 Cor. x. 23. Careless, atheistical persons think they are. Tush ! they can wind out well enough : but they will find it otherwise. ' Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are wo stronger than ho' ? saith the apostle. Let us lay this to heart.
We see bore again bow sin bath clean defaced the image of God in man. ' Man being in honour,' ho would become like God. lie was weary of his subordination. He would be absolute; and because be would be like God, God made him like the beast ; and it is worse to be like the beast than to be a beast. For the beast in bis own condition follows the instinct of nature ; but to be like a beast, is for a man to unman himself, to degrade himself to a baser condition than God made him in ; and when a man doth this, be is either in malice like the devil, or in licentiousness as the beast is. He is alway like the devil or a beast till be be a new creature. And that our nature is come to this, wo are beholding to our own yielding to Satan and bis counsel. Wo ' rush as the horse into the battle.' There- fore let us beware of this. * Be ye not as the horse and mule,' &c., saith David, Ps. xxsii. 9. Who would not labour to be in a better condition ? to be a new creature, to be changed by the powerful ordinances and Spirit of God ? So much for that brietly. Come we now to the last clause.
* Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times ; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord.'
Here is another expression comparative, or rather superlative. He com- pares them to the 'stork and turtle, the crane and swallow ; and prefers these poor creatures, in wisdom and providence, as going before men. ' But my people know not the judgment of the Lord.' There needs no great explication of the words. Judgment is directive or corrective.
The directive is the law of God ; setting down God's judicious* course. This you shall do, or if you do not this you shall be punished. When we obey not God's directive course, we meet with bis corrective ; for judg- ment is the stablishing of judgment. Judgment of correction is the stab- lisbing of judgment of direction. God's laws must be performed. They are not scare-crows. If we avoid the one, we shall run into the other. If wc do not meet bim in the judgment of his directive law, we must be met with in his law corrective — if we be good men — or destructive if we be bad men. Now here, I take it, be means especially the judgment of correction, the time of visitation. It was a dangerous time, as it is now among us. They were already under several heavy judgments, as famine, &c. We see in the next verse, * there was no vines, no grapes,* &c., all failed. And besides, a far heavier judgment was ready to come upon them. They were ready to be carried into Babylon, * and they knew not the judgment of the Lord.'