But, thirdly, which is very likely another reason that moved God, — that we may justify God in all our sentence that we give of him, — he took them away, because they imitated their father in ill ; and God hath a liberty to strike when he will, when there is cause ; and whom he will, he will spare for so many generations.
Quest. You will say, Why doth he light on such a generation ? and why not on such a place ?
Ans. It is his liberty and prerogative, when all deserve it ; and he lights upon one and not upon another. We must not quarrel with God, but leave him to his liberty. It is a part of his prerogative, ' Who art thou, 0 man, that disputest ? ' Rom. ix. 20. Why God, when all are equally sin- ners, strikes one and not another ; why he executes judgments in one age and not in another ; there may be reasons given of it ; but it is a mystery that must not be disputed. But I cannot stand on these things.
' He shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest son set up the gates thereof.'
This terrible sentence we see executed in 1 Kings xvi. 34. In Ahab's time, there was one so venturous as to build Jericho again. There is an accent* to be set upon that, that it was in Ahab's time. Hiel would needs build Jericho again ; and why should he build it ? Hiel no doubt saw it a wondrous commodious place to found a city, being near to Jordan. And then he saw and considered that it was accounted a famous thing to be founder of a city. And then no doubt he thought that Ahab would not only permit him to do it, but [itj would gratify him : wicked Ahab, which had sold himself to work wickedness ; that was an abominable idolater himself, and countenanced idolatry, and had set up the false worship of Baal. It was likely enough in his time that Jericho should be built ; and therefore, no doubt but he did it partly to insinuate himself with Ahab. And to shew how little he cared for Joshua's or Jehovah's threatening, as usually such impudent persons that are grown up with greatness, that have sold themselves to be naught,f that have put off all humanity and modesty, they are fittest to carry wicked and desperate causes, being agreeable to them. So this wicked person was a fit man to do this, and he thought to please Ahab by it.
Man is a strange creature, especially in greatness of riches or place, &c. * That is, ' emphasis'. — G. f That is, ' naughty' = wicked. — Q.
24 THE UNPEOSPEROUS BUILDER.
A piece of earth that will be pnffed up, if he have flatterers and sycophants about him, and a proud heart withal, he will forget, and dare the God of heaven, and trample under foot all threatenings and menaces whatsoever. As this wicked Hiel, rather than he will miss of his will, he will break through thick and thin, and redeem the fulfilling of his will with the loss of his own soul, and of his children, his first-born, and his last and all. Mens inilii pro ii'ipw ; let a man be happy in his will, he cares not for all the world. If he may have his will, let all go upon heaps. This is the nature of man. One would think that this threatening might have scared a man that had loved himself, or his posterity. But nothing would keep him, he would venture upon it, as we see in that place, 1 Kings xvi. 34. Thus we have passed over the words.
To come to handle the words by way of analogy, how they may agree to other things by way of proportion, and in a spiritual mystical sense.
There are divers degrees of men that venture upon curses, and there- upon gi'ow to be cursed themselves. Even as this man ventured upon the building of Jericho, so there be many that do the like in a proportion- able kind. I shall name some few.
God did determine that the Jewish ceremonies should determine and have an end and period. Now, in St Paul's time, there were many that would put life into them, and join them with the gospel. St Paul tells them, ' Christ shall profit you nothing,' Gal. v. 2. Those are they that build Jericho again, that revive and put life into that that God hath determined should never revive again. When the Jewish ceremonies were honourably interred, and laid in their graves, these men would raise them out of their graves again, and so venture upon God's curse, and be excluded from Christ. These are one sort of men that raise Jericho again ; and so afterwards in the church, there were those that would build up Jericho, that would still retain Jewish ceremonies, and heathenish in the church, and some at the first with no ill minds. But then afterwards, as Augustine complains, they so pestered the church with Jewish and heathenish ceremonies, that the Jews' condition was better than theirs, for these things should have been buried (//). Gerson, that had many good things in him, though he lived in ill times, ' Oh,' saith he, ' good Augustine, dost thou complain of those times ? what wouldst thou have said if thou hadst lived now ?' (h) What is popery but a mass of Jewish and heathenish ceremonies, besides some blasphemies that they have ? I speak concerning what they difier from ours, which are decent and orderly. What a mass of ceremonies and fooleries have they, to mislead men that are taken away with fancies to distaste the truth of God, and to have respect to fancies, to outward pomp and gor- geous things, rather than the gospel ? These men build up Jericho again, and bury the gospel as much as they can.