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VER. 7-11.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS, 79
or backsliding,—what controversy God hath, or may justly have with them,—what is the condition of the state, church, or nation whereunto they do belong,—will discern the voice of God in his great works of providence. So is the matter stated, Dan. xii. 10, “ Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wick- edly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” And when shall this be? When there is “a time of great trouble,” verse 1,—when God’s judgments are greatly in the world, The end of these troubles is to purify men, to cleanse them, by the removal of all “ filth of flesh and spirit” that they may have contracted, as dross is taken away from silver in the furnace; and to make them white, by causing their sincerity, constancy, and perse- verance in their holy profession to appear in their trials. But the wicked men, secure in their sins, shall yet continue in their wicked- ness, and thereby shall be so blinded that none of them shall under- stand the mind of God in his great works and tremendous dispensa- tions. But 0''3¥%3, “they that have an understanding” in their own state and condition, and in the state of things in the church of God (as it is said of the men of Issachar, that they were pny? my2 yy, “knowing in the seasons”), “they shall understand,” or come to the knowledge of the will of God and their duty in these things. And of a failure herein see how God complains, Deut. xxxii. 28, 29. 2dly. That we consider what peculiar impressions of his will God puts upon any of his works. Hereby we may know much of his mind and designin them. All the works of God, if duly considered, will be found to bear his image and superscription. They are all like him, were sent by him, and are becoming him. They have on them tokens and marks of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness, Those of providence which he intends to be instructive have a pecu- liar impression of the design of God upon them, and a wise man may see the eye of God in them. So he speaks in the psalmist, “I will guide thee with mine eye,” Ps. xxxii. 8. He would make him see the way and paths that he was to walk in, by that respect which he would have unto them in the works of his providence. This, then, I say, we should inquire after and wisely consider; because,—
Obs. XXI. The greater evidence that God gives of his power and goodness in any of his works, the louder is his voice in them, and the greater is the sin of them that neglect them; which also is an- other proposition from the words.
God made then his works evident unto them, so that they saw them,—* They saw my works;” so they could not deny them to be his. But if men will shut their eyes against the light, they justly perish in their darkness. God sometimes hides his power, Hab. iii. 4, “ That was the hiding of his power.” That is, as the Targumist adds, it was laid open ; his power, that before was hid from the people,
80 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. III.
was now manifested. But sometimes he causeth it to shine forth; as it is said in the same place, “He had horns coming out of his hand,”— j2 $9 D'P = Horns,” or shining beams, rays of glory, arose from his hand, or his power, in the manifestation of it in his works. He caused his power to shine forth in them, as the sun gives out light in its full strength and beauty. Then for men not to take notice of them will be a signal aggravation of their sin and hastening of their punishment. Now, we can never know what appears of God in his works, unless by a due consideration of them we endeavour to un- derstand them or his mind in them. Again,—
Obs. XXII. Because the end of all God’s works, of his mighty works of providence towards a person, a church, or nation, is to bring them to faith and repentance; which is also another observa- tion that the words afford us.
This end he still declared in all his dealings with this people. And it is the principal design of the Book of Deuteronomy to im- prove the works of God which they had seen unto this end, And “who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LorD are right, and the just shall walk in them, but the transgressors shall fall therein,” Hos, xiv. 9. And herein lies a great aggravation of the misery of the days wherein we live,—the works, the great works of God, are generally either despised or abused. Some account all that is spoken of them «se! Aypos, as a mere fable, as some did of old the things concerning the resurrection of Christ, upon the first report of it, Luke xxiv. 11. And if they are not so in themselves, but that such things as are spoken of are done in the world, yet as to their rela- tion unto God they esteem it a fable. Chance, natural causes, vulgar errors, popular esteem, were the originals with such persons of all those great works of God which our eyes have seen or our ears heard, or which our fathers have reported unto us. “ Brutish persons and unwise!” there is scarce a leaf in the book of God, or a day in the course of his providence, that doth not judge and condemn the folly and stupidity of their pride. The very heathen of old either by reason scorned, or by experience were made afraid, to give coun- tenance unto such atheism. Nor do I esteem such persons, who live in an open rebellion against all that is within them and without them, against all that God hath done or said, worthy any considera- tion. “ Because they regard not the works of the Lorp, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up,” Ps. xxviii. 5. Others will not deny God to be in his works, but they make no use of them but to gaze, admire, and talk. There is somewhat less evil in this than in the former atheism, but no good at all. Yea, where God multiplies his calls by his works, men by this slight consideration of them imsensibly harden their hearts into