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implies more than it feems to exprefs: for it fignifies not only God's not being well pleas'd, but his being highly difpleas'd with them, that he was much incens'd, and that his Wrath was hot against them. Indeed it is the greatest Degree and Measure of Unhappiness, to be out of the Favour of God, and to be one of thofe, with whom God is not well pleas'd; for then nothing we fay or do is acceptable, but an Abomination to him. When God the Father declar'd his great Love and Favour for his beloved Son, he exprefs'd it thus, that in him he was well pleas'd; Mat. 3. 17. fignifying thereby the highest Happiness. And when he here declared his juft Indignation against thefe ungrateful Ifraelites, he thus expreffes it, that with them he was not well pleas'd; which denotes the Height of Mifery. And this is farther confirm'd to us,

(2.) By the Punishment that befel them, for they were overthrown in the Wilderness: that is, by the juft Judgment of God for the grofs Abufe of his Mercies, their Carcafes drop'd in their Paffage through the Wilderness, and two only, viz. Caleb and Joshua, furviv'd to reach the promis'd Land of Canaan. Now Canaan was the Type of Heaven; the Wilderness fignified the Paffage through this wild and barren World; to fall in the Wilderness, was to come fhort of the heavenly Canaan, and the Perfons that did fo were thofe, to whom God fware in his Wrath, that they fhould not enter into his Reft. So that the Senfe of it is, that they who did not ufe aright the Pledges and Privileges beftow'd on them, were depriv'd of eternal Life, Thus we fee how the unworthy Receivers of that fpiritual Meat and Drink in the Wilderness were punish'd with temporal, Death in this World, and with eternal Death and Damnation in the next.

Now these things (faith the Apostle in the next words) are our Examples, to the intent that we should not luft after evil things, as they alfo lufted: That is, they are lively Representations and Leffons of Inftruction, to teach us to keep our felves pure from their Vices, to glorify God for, his Mercies, and not to gratify our Lufts as they did; and to learn by their Punishment to fear the Judgments of God falling upon us, if we follow and tranfgrefs after their Example. Whatfoever things were written aforetime (faith St. Paul, in another place) were written for our Learning; to teach us to avoid thofe Rocks against which others have fplit, and to obtain that Bleffednefs, which their Ingratitude

gratitude depriv'd them of, To which end, the Apoftle warns us, in the following Verfes, against many of their Sins, that unhappily occafion'd their Destruction: As,

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If, He cautions against Idolatry, ver. 7. Neither be ye Idolaters, as were fome of them; as it is written, The People fat down to eat and to drink, and rofe up to play. Idolatry of all kinds is a Sin highly difpleafing and hateful unto God; being a total falling away from him, and a preferring other things in our Love and Choice before him ; a robbing God of his Honour, of which he is infinitely tender, and the giving his Glory to another, which can not but highly provoke him: especially confidering, that he hath declar'd himself a jealous God, and hath threatned to vifit this Iniquity upon the Perfons and Pofterity of those that commit it. And yet the Ifraelites often fell into this heinous and provoking Sin: an Inftance whereof we have here in the molten Calf, whom they worship'd with Luxury and Riot, with licentious Feafts, and leud Plays; Sitting down to eat and drink, and rising up to play; as we read, Exod. 32. 4, 6, 8.

2dly, He cautions against Fornication, ver. 8. Neither let us commit Fornication, as fome of them committed, and fell in one Day three and twenty thousand. This was another Sin of the Ifraelites, of which we read, Numb. 25. 1. where the People of Ifrael in their Abode at Shittim, are faid to commit Whoredom with the Daughters of Moab; for which, as alfo for their joining in the Idol-Sacrifices, God fent a Plague among them, that deftroy'd in one day Three and Twenty Thousand of them. So far is Fornication from being (as fome would have it) a Venial Sin, that needs no great Regard or Repentance, that it drew down the forest and feverest Judgments upon the Committers of it; and in ftead of a Pardon, brought a deadly and wafting Plague upon them which fhould teach us to beware of defiling our Bodies, which are to be confecrated as Temples to the Holy Ghoft; and not to make the Members of Chrift to become the Members of a Harlot.

3dly, The Apostle, from their Example, cautions against tempting of God, ver. 9. Neither let us tempt Chrift, as Some of them alfo tempted, and were deftroyed of Serpents. Of this Sin of the Ifraelites we read, Numb. 21. 5, 6. where they are faid to tempt God by loathing the Manna that he fent them, and asking Meat for their Lufts: for which reafon, the Lord fent fiery Serpents among them, and they bit the

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People, and much People of Ifrael died; ver. 6. From whence we may learn to beware of being weary of the Gospel, and of loathing the fpiritual Food recommended in it, left God let loofe Satan, that old Serpent, upon us, first to fting, and then to destroy us.

4thly, Here is a Caution against Murmuring, ver. 10. Neither murmur ye, as fome of them alfo murmured, and were deftroyed of the Destroyer. This Sin of Murmuring was the great and famous Sin of the Ifraelites, who were apt to murmur and complain against God upon all Occafions, even when he had done the greateft things for them. The Place here chiefly refer'd to, is Numb. 14.2, 3. where we read, that all the Children of Ifrael murmured against Mofes, and againft Aaron; and the whole Congrega tion faid unto them, Would God that we had died in the Land of Egypt, or would God we had died in this Wildernefs: Wherefore hath the Lord brought us into this Land to fall by the Sword, that our Wives and Children should be made a Prey? &c. Where they unthankfully twit and upbraid' their Maker with all the Mercies he had beftow'd upon them; which provoked God to fend a Plague among them, and to sweep them all away by his deftroying Angel. Ver. 36, 27. & Chap. 16. 41, &c.

Now all these things (faith our Apoftle) happened unto them for Enfamples, and they are written for our Admonition, upon whom the Ends of the World are come: that is, all the Sins and Judgments on thefe Ifraelites, who receiv'd fuch wonderful Mercies at God's hands, and yet fin'd fo foully, and were destroy'd fo miferably, are fo many Warnings to us Chriftians to beware of their Sins, left we feel and fall by the fame Punishments. And these things are recorded and deriv'd down to us in the laft Age of the World, on pur pose that we should amend and take warning thereby. From all which the Apoftle, in the next Verfe, infers,

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Sthly, A Caution against Presumption; Wherefore let him that thinketh be ftandeth, take heed left he fall: that is, fince thefe Ifraelites, who had fuch great Advantages of ftanding, having the fame fpiritual Meat, and the fame fpiritual Drink with us, and from thence might be fuppos'd to receive fpiritual Strength enough to withstand all Temptations; if they yet fell fo foully into fo great Evils both of Sin and Punishment, let none of us prefume upon our Strength, but let us all look warily to our Steps, left we fall into the like Enormities. We are apt indeed to think too well of our

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felves, and to fay with David, Our Mountain ftands fo Atrong that it cannot be moved; and yet, if left to our felves, may with him foon fall into great Sin and Mifery. Peter was fo confident of the Strength of his Faith, and his ftanding firm to his Saviour, that he boldly declar'd, If all the World bould deny him, yet would not be deny him; and yet foon after he deny'd him fhamefully, and that not once only, but thrice with many bitter Oaths and Imprecations: Which may teach us not to prefume too much upon our ftanding, but to pray that our Faith fail not, and that we fall not into Temptation.

And left any fhould defpond under the Greatness of his Trials, or his own Weakness to undergo them, the Apostle adds these comfortable Words in the Clofe, faying,

There hath no Temptation taken you, but fuch as is common to Man, but God is faithful, who will not fuffer you to be tempted above what ye are able, but will with the Temptation alfo make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it : Where we have two ftrong Motives to Patience and Confolation under all the Trials and Hardships that may befal us. The

First is taken from the Commonnefs of them; There hath no Temptation taken you, but fuch as is common to Man. No reafonable Man can grúdg to bear a fhare in the common Lot of Mankind, or hope that God fhould alter the Course of his Providence only for his fake: and fince God is pleas'd, for wife Reafons, to exercife even the best Men with Trials and Afflictions, it must be very unreasonable to refuse to tafte of that bitter Cup, of which others drink before and with us. The

Second is taken from the Security here given of fufficient Strength to bear them, and of a happy Iffue and Delive rance from them; both which are grounded upon the Fide lity of our Maker: for God is faithful, who will not suffer us to be tried above what we are able, but will with the Temptation make a way to escape; which is abundantly enough to relieve and support us under them.

This is the Subftance of this Day's Epiftle; which will afford us many obfervable things, which I fhall only mention. As,

1. From the Ifraelites eating the fame fpiritual Meat, and drinking the fame fpiritual Drink with us, we may learn that they had the fame Covenant of Grace that we now

have, and were fav'd the fame way, even by Faith in Chrift, as we now are: for where the Seals and Sacraments of the Covenant are the fame, there the Covenant muft be the fame alfo.

2. From the many Plagues and Punishments that befel the Ifraelites for their Ingratitude and Breach of this Covenant, we may learn to fear and expect the fame upon the like Difobedience: for if every Tranfgreffion and Difobedience of Mofes's Law receiv'd a juft Recompence of Reward, how shall we escape if we neglect fo great Salvation? Heb. 2. 2, 3.

3. From the Caution here given against Presumption, let us learn to fufpect our felves, and not be too confident of our standing, but look narrowly to our Ways, to prevent our falling; taking the Apostle's Advice, to walk circumfpectly, not as Fools, &c. but as Wife.

Laftly, From God's finding a way to deliver us under the greatest Trials, let us learn at all times to put our Truft in him, and in the Ufe of good Means to rely upon his Providence; fo fhall we be fecure in all Dangers, and fafe from all our Enemies: Which God grant, &c.

Vol. IV. Part 2.

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