2. God doth it for the end under consideration ; namely, that they may be a means to call a poor guilty j^eople unto that repentance and reformation whereby impendent judgments may be diverted.
Secondly. There are five ways whereby God giveth warning of the approach of desolating judgments when a land is full of sin : —
1. He doth it by \e&&ex previous judgments and severities. So was it in the instances in the text. The destruction of some by the sword and the fall of a tower, was a warning to the whole nation of the approach of a public calamity, unless they repented. As particular instances are given us hereof in the Scripture, so we have a general account of this method of divine Providence, Amos vii. 1-9. First, God sent the judgment of the grasshoppers, which eat up all the grass of the land, and so occasioned a famine. This judgment being not improved unto repentance, he " called to contend by fire, Avhich devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part," or consumed their treasure, devouring a part of their substance. But when this also was neglected, then came the " plumb-line" of a levelling desolation.
2. He doth it by extraordinary and preternatural operations in the woi'ks of nature : such as are comets or blazing stars, fiery meteors, dreadful phantoms or appearances in the air, voices, predictions of uncertain original, mighty winds, earthquakes, stopping the course
()24! THE DESIGN OF IMPENDENT JUDGMENTS.
of rivers, and tlie like. An account of these things, as they were to foretell and fore-signify the fatal destruction of Jerusalem, is given us by our Savioui', Luke xxi. 25, 26. And the story of the event in Josephus is an admirable exposition of this prophecy of our ble.ssed Saviour. See Rev. vi. 13, 14. The frame of nature is, as it were, cast into a trembling disorder upon the approaches of God in his wrath and fury, and puts itself forth in extraordinary signs of its astonish- ment ; trembling for the inhabitants of the earth, and calling on them to repent, before the wrath of the Terrible One do seize upon them. So in the Scripture, the seas and rivers, mountains and hills, are repre- sented as mourning, shaking, trembling at the presence of God, when he comes to execute his judgments. See Hab. iii. 6, 8, 10, " He drove asunder the nations ; and the everlasting mountains Avere scat- tered, the perpetual hills did bow. Was the Loed displeased against the rivers? was thine anger against the rivers? was thy wrath against the sea? The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflow- ing of the water passed by : the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high."
The mountains, hills, seas, rivers bowed, trembled, and lifted up their hands, as crying for compassion. See Ps. xcvii. 2-6. By these signs and tokens in heaven and earth doth God give warnings of his coming to judge the inhabitants of the earth. God doth not work these strange things in heaven above, and the earth beneath, that they should be gazed at only, and made a matter of talk ; not that they should be subjects of some men's curiosity, and of the scorn of others. There is a voice in them all, — a voice of God; and it will be to their hurt by whom it is not heard and understood.
8. He doth the same constantly, hy the light of his word. The general rule of God's ordinary dispensation of providence is fully laid down in the Scripture : " God hath magnified his word above all his name;" so as that no works of providence shall be un- suited to the rule of the word, much less contrary to it, or incon- sistent with it. And if we were wise to make application of it unto present affairs and occasions, we should, in most instances, know in general what God is doing. Of old it was said, " Surely the Lord God will do nothing," — that is, in the way of judgments,- -" but he revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets," Amos iii. 7. What they had by immediate revelation, we may have, in a measure, by the rule of the word, and the declaration which God hath made therein how he will deal with a sinful, provoking people. So, having threatened various sorts of judgments, the prophet adds, " Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail," Isa. xxxiv. 16. That this gi-eat means of divine warnings may be useful unto us, we are to consider, —
THE DESIGN OF IMPENDENT JUDGMENTS. 625
(1.) What are the stable rules given in the Scripture concerning sin, repentance, impenitence, and judginents. Such lailes abound in it: and no dispensations of Providence shall interfere with them. God will not give such a temptation unto faith that any of his works should be contradictions unto his word. And if Ave will learn our pre- sent condition from these rules, it will be an antidote against security.
(2.) Consider the instances recorded therein of God's dealings with sinful, provoking nations and churches. This God himself directed the people of old unto, when they boasted of their church privileges, sendmg them to Shiloh, which he had destroyed. And when we find a record in the book of God concerning his severity towards any nation in our circumstances, it is our duty to believe that he will deal so mth us also in his time, unless we repent.