In the New Testament we are commanded to bless and not to curse. It is a common fault upon every distemper to fall a cursing ; and ofttimes it lights, as an arrow shot upwards, upon the head of the curser. We are people of God's blessing, all true believers; and we should delight in blessing. Having felt the blessing of God ourselves upon our souls, we should be moved to blessing, both by way of gratitude to those that are our superiors and have done us good, that God would bless them, and by way of amity and friendship to those that are under us or about us, and by way of mercy to our very enemies. We should pray for and bless our very enemies themselves, as our blessed Saviour prayed for them that cursed him. This should be our ordinary disposition, we should be all for blessing. As for curses, we must take heed that we direct them not against any particular person ; we have no such warrant, though the primitive church pronounced a curse against Julian, a notable enemy (d) ; and St Paul, he cursed Alexander the coppersmith, 2 Tim. iv. 14. But for us this time, the safest way is to pronounce all those curses in the Psalms and elsewhere in Scripture upon the implacable and incorrigible enemies of the church, the whole body of the malignant church, and so we should not err. I will not dwell longer upon this argument, only I thought good to remember you to regard the blessing of those that have the Spirit of God to bless, especially that have a calling to do it; and to take heed of cursing. But to come to the particulars.
' Cursed bo the man before the Lord.'
* Misprinted ' pot.' — 6.
THE UNPROSPEEOUS BUILDER. 21
That is, let him be cursed indeed. That that is done before the Lord is truly and solemnly done. This was a solemn curse, a heavy curse, and it did truly light upon him. And let him be cursed before the Lord, how- ever the world bless him ; as a man cannot do such a thing as to build a city, but the world will commend a man for doing such a thing, but it is no matter for the world's commendation, if a man set upon a cursed cause. So much for the phrase, * Cursed be the man before the Lord;' that is, he is truly and solemnly cursed, and cursed before the Lord, though men bless him.
' That riseth and builds this city Jericho.'
That is the cause why he should be cursed, because he would build that city that God would have to be a perpetual monument of his justice. Why would not God have Jericho built again ?
1. God would not have it built up, partly lecause he would have it a perpetual remembrance of his goodness and merciful dealing tvith his people, passing over Jordan, and coming freshly into Canaan; for we are all sub- ject to forget. Therefore it is good to have days set apart for remem- brance and somewhat to put us in mind, as they had many things in old time to help memory. If this city had been built again, the memory of it would have been forgotten ; but lying all waste and desolate, the passen- gers by would ask the cause — as God speaks of his own people, — What is the reason that this city lies thus ? — and then it would give them occasion of speaking of the mercy of God to his people. And likewise it would give occasion to speak of the justice of God against the idolatrous inhabi- tants, whose sins were grown ripe. God foretold in Genesis that the sins of the Amorites was not yet ripe ; but now their sins were ripe, they were idolaters.
2. And likewise it was dedicated to God as the first-fruits. Being one of the chief mother cities of the land, it was dedicate and consecrated to God as a thing severed; it was to be for ever severed from common use. There are two way^ of severing things from common use : one by way of destruction, as here the city of Jericho; another by way of dedication, as the gold of Jericho. God would have this city severed from common use, as a perpetual monument and remembrance of his mercy and justice.
3. And likewise he would have it never built up again, for terror to the rest of the inhabitants ; for usually great conquerors set up some terrible example of justice to terrify others. Now, this being one of the first cities after their passing over Jordan, God would have the destruction of it to strike terror, together with this sentence of a curse, upon all that should build it again for ever.
4. And then that this terrible sentence might be a means to draw others to come in to God's ji^ople to join with them, and submit, and jyrerent their destruction, seeing how terribly God had dealt with Jericho. Many such reasons may be probably alleged ; but the main reason of reasons, that must settle our consciences, God would have it so. Joshua he was but God's trumpet and God's instrument to denounce this curse, ' Cursed be the man before the Lord that shall build up this city Jericho.' We must rest in that. I will go over the words, and then make application after- wards to the occasion.