fo fevere, no difpenfation fo terrible, no rod that en ters fo deep, as to be left to ftruggle with legal bondage. The fmiles of a gracious Father are changed into the frowns of an angry Judge; liberty, with respect to the enjoyment of it, is exchanged for bondage; happiness for mifery; peace for war, familiarity for fhynefs; indulgence for cold indifference; tenderness for fenfible neglect; attracting love into forbidding terror; a mercy-feat for a throne of judg ment; and the beft of friends into the appearance of an enemy. -Terrors are turned upon me fays Job); they pursue my foul as the wind, and my welfare affeth away as a cloud. My bones are pierced in me in the night feafon, and my finews take no reft. He bath caft me into the mire, and I am become like duft and afbes. I cry unto thee, and thou dost not hear me; Iftand up, and thou regardeft me not. Thou art become cruel to me. With thy firong hand thou oppofeft thyself against me; my harp alfo is turned into mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep. I come now, 5thly, To the fufpicion and jealousy that attends this fpirit of bondage. The Lord our God, whofe name is jealous, is a jealous God. Exod. xxiv. 14. How long, Lord, wilt thou be angry for ever; shall thỷ jealousy burn like fire? Pfalm lxxix. 5. The spirit of bondage brings a little of this ingredient with it. The fpoufe in the Song felt this pretty fharply; she refused to open to her beloved, and fo he withdrew; she fought him, but found him not; fhe called him, but he gave her no anfwer. He then went down into the garden; garden; that is, down among the more meek, humble, and lowly fouls. This fhe knew, and begged these young daughters to ftay her with flagons, and to comfort her with apples, for fhe was fick of love; and defired them to tell her beloved fo when they faw him. Hence her own description of her feelings. at this time-Set me as a feal upon thine heart, as a feal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death, jealousy is. cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which bath a most vehement flame. Song viii. 6. It is easy to fee where the penman of the Song learnt this leffon.-And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Ifrael which had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. Wherefore the Lord faid unto Solomon, Forafmuch as this thing is done of thee, I will Jurely rend the kingdom from thee, and give it to thy fervant, (1 Kings xi. 9-11), who was Jeroboam. The prophet Abijab meets Jeroboam, and tells him that he should reign over ten tribes, because Solomon had ferved other gods. Moreover, God promised by him that, if Jeroboam would walk in God's ftatutes, as David did, God would be with him, and build him a fure houfe. Solomon hears of all this, and in his desperate madness fights against the very decree of God; determined to make his promife void, and his prophet a liar; for Solomon fought to kill Feroboam, but Jeroboam fled into Egypt. I Kings xi. 40. Solomon, in this rage of jealoufy, had quite forgot ten his own proverb-He that doth violence to the blood of any perfon, let him flee to the pit ; let no man stay bim. However, God kept him from his purpofe; for Solomon was not to fly to the pit of hell as a murderer, nor to be beaten with eternal stripes.—I will for this afflict the feed of David, but not for ever. 1 Kings xi. 39. And the Lord stirred up an adverfary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; and God stirred up another adverfary, Rezin, the fon of Eliadah; and Jeroboam be lift up his hand against the king. Such idolatry, and alienation of affections from God, God calls the provoking of his fons and of his daughters; and, as Solomon had provoked the Almighty to jealousy with them that were no gods, fo God provokes him to jealousy by them which were no faints. Sarah was afflicted with a little of this fire when, in her wisdom, she would further the coming of the promised feed, by giving up her bed to Hagar; at whofe conception the fterility of the family was fairly proved to lie at the door of Sarak, and not at the door of Abraham. She drives Hagar out of the tent, to get rid of the crofs that she had brought upon herself. The angel of God fends Hagar back again, that Sarab might be filled with her own ways. How fhe felt this I must leave thofe to guess who are in the fecret. I believe fhe was never perfectly healed of this disease till fhe had got the promised feed upon her knees, and the bond woman and her fon out of the tent. When When the spirit of jealoufy comes upon a man, it doth not stay here. Such an one is not only jealous of the love and favour of God, fo as to envy the happiness of all that enjoy the light of his blessed countenance; but he is jealous of his own honour, and jealous of the affections, good-will and applause, of every body. Such an one cannot bear to hear another spoken well of; he views every one in any efteem a rival to him. The apoftles difputed which hould be the greatest, though they were ashamed to own it; and the ten were filled with indignation at James and John, for wanting to fit at the right hand and at the left of Chrift in his kingdom, which they fuppofed was to be a temporal one. This jealousy often terminates in carnal jealousy. The man is jealous of his wife, or she is jealous of her husband; and fuch fouls are preparing their bitter waters, ashes, and jealousy-offerings, all the day long; for jealoufy is the rage of man, and fo it is of woman; and fuch will not reft contented though thou giveft many gifts; nothing can remove it, but him that fent it; for it is the workings of the spirit of bondage, and a terrible ingredient in it; and let thofe, who have felt the bitterness of it, take heed that they do not procure these things to themselves by provoking God, or others, to jealoufy; for, if they do not procure them by thefe, they are not like to have them themfelves. The reafons of God's fending thefe things upon his people are thefe; God is good, great, and glorious; and is jealous of his own praife, glory, and honour, D 4 honour, which he will never give to another. God is a husband; and is jealous of the love, obedience, and affections, of his own church, and will not be provoked with a whorish heart. Now, if his people bow their knees and give his praise to idols, as Solomon did; or if any rival to God be fet up, called the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy; or if the affections be alienated from God, and gone after covetoufnefs and the love of money, as Ifrael's heart was, which provoked God to wrath; or if inordinate affections, which are a member of the old man, be indulged to the creature, as David's was to Abfalom, and Jacob's to Rachael, Jephtha's to his daughter, Jacob's to Jofeph, or Eli's to Hophni and Phineas-thefe rivals to God are fure to be removed out of the way, or left to be a fnare to the indulger. For, when God is moved to anger, wrath, and jealousy, by the provocations of his people, he will then fend the fpirit of bondage upon them, and influence them with the fame anger, wrath, and jealousy which his people provoke him to. This may be feen in the matter of Eli-Wherefore, faith God, kick ye my facrifice, and at mine offering which I have commanded in mine habitation, and bonoureft thy fons above me? 1 Sam. ii. 29. They kicked at God's facrifice, which provoked the Lord; they abused the women that came to the houfe of God, till people abhorred the offerings of the Lord; which is called grieving the Lord. Eli honoured his fons before God, by continuing them (from motives of affection) in the priests' office, whereby God was dishonoured. |