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minution of their stripes. There are then many mercies in this one of the outward means of grace, considered absolutely and in itself.

Thirdly, Where God grants the use of the outward means of grace to any, ordinarily if not always, he hath a design to communicate by them especial saving grace unto some. These means granted unto the people in the wilderness, where they seem to have had as sad an event as ever they had any where in the world, yet were not lost as to their end and use of the conveyance of especial grace towards some; some, yea doubtless many were converted unto God by them, and made obedient. That they died in the wilderness, is no argument as unto individuals that they died in final unbelief; no, though we should conclude that they died all penally. For they did so as they were members and parts of that people, that provoking generation, which God dealt withal according to the demerit of the community. And so, many men may fall and be cut off penally in national desolations, as those desolations are just punishments for the sins of that nation, though they themselves were not personally guilty of them. So the daughters of Zelophehad state the matter, Num. xxvii. 3. "Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them who gathered themselves against the Lord, but died in his own sins." He was a sinner, as all men are, and so on his own personal account there was no reason to complain of his dying in the wilderness, but yet he had no hand in those especial provocations, for which God was so displeased, as that in his wrath he cut them off signally and finally. But he, it may be, and many others of them doubtless, had the spiritually efficacious benefit of the means of grace which they enjoyed. The matter is plain in Caleb, Joshua, and a great multitude of the new generation who believed and entered into rest. Now the saving of one soul is worth the preaching of the gospel to a whole nation, and that for many years. And whilst God carries on his work visibly, he will take care secretly that not one hidden grain of his Israel shall fall unto the ground.

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To sum up this whole matter, these outward means are granted unto men in a way of grace, favour and bounty. Their ends, singly considered, are good, holy and righteous. Moreover, they are all of them properly effectual, in that they always attain the end whereunto they are designed. And that men are not bettered by them, or more advantaged than they are, is merely from their own pravity and obstinacy. And those who approve not of this dispensation, seem to have a great mind to contend with him who is mightier than they.

Furthermore, from the exposition before premised, we may observe; that,

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Obs. XXIV. No privilege, no outward means of grace, no other advantage whatever, will secure men in a course of sinning, from the wrath and justice of God.-Who could be made partakers of more advantages than were this people at that time? Besides the great privilege derived unto them from their fathers, in that they were the posterity of Abraham, the friend of God, and had the token of his covenant in their flesh, they had newly erected amongst them a glorious church state, wherein they were entrusted with all the ordinances of God's worship. These privileges the apostle sums up, Rom. ix. 4, 5. "Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; whose are the fathers." The adoption was theirs: God had no other children or family in the world but them: they were his family, when his curse was upon all other families of the earth. And the glory was theirs: it was unto them and amongst them, that God so manifested his glory, as that it became their glory, their glory above all the nations of the world. And the covenants were theirs; both the covenant that was made with Abraham in all the benefits of it, and the special covenant that God made with them at Sinai. There also was the law given unto them, and the solemn worship of God in all the law and ordinances thereof, made their peculiar. What works of providence God wrought amongst them, we have declared. Doubtless they bare themselves high on these things. So when they contended with Moses and Aaron, their plea was, that all the people was holy, so that they saw no reason for their peculiar pre-eminence. And who also amongst the sons of men is not ready on far less occasions so to do. Some cry, They are the church, and some boast of other things. But be men what they will, their privileges and advantages what they can desire, if they are secure and obstinate sinners, the wrath of God at one time or other will overtake them. And some will one day find to their sorrow what their boasting will cost them. Laodicea hath done so long ago; and so in due time will she, who says, I sit as a queen, and shall see no sorrow.' For although the hand of church privilege should join in with the hand of secular advantage, yet the guilty shall not go unpunished. And one reason hereof lies in another proposition that ariseth from the words; namely, that,

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Obs. XXV. There are determinate bounds fixed unto God's patience and forbearance towards obstinate sinners.-So here he assigned the space of forty years for the consumption of this provoking generation. And as in the point of promise it is observed, that the very same night wherein the time limited was accomplished, the people were delivered out of Egypt; so, in the point of threatening it is remembered, that at the end of

forty years, wherein the people wandered in the wilderness, there was not one remaining of those who were first numbered in Horab. However men may flatter and please themselves, nothing can secure sinners from punishment in the appointed season; see 2 Pet. iii. 8, 9.

We shall now proceed to the last thing contained in the example insisted on by the apostle, and that is the consequent of the sins of the people in their punishment. And this is expressed, first, in the procuring cause of it; that in the sense God had of their sin-it grieved him. "Wherefore I was grieved with that generation." The meaning of the words, both in the psalm and in this place, hath been before declared. It expresseth how God stood affected towards the people as to the inward frame of his heart. For these affections doth God take upon himself for our instruction. He says that he will rejoice over his people assuredly with his whole heart and his whole soul, Jer. xxxii. 41. And upon the account of their sin, it is said, that it griev ed him at his heart that he had made man on the earth, Gen. vi. 6. And those expressions, wherever they are used, are signs of great and signal actions. So in the last case mentioned, God said it grieved him at his heart, because he was going to do that which could proceed from no principle that we can apprehend, but great trouble and molestation. That then which is here intended, is such a exis, such a frame or habit of mind or heart in God, as had the people of that generation for its object. It is not then un, dolor, or grief,' properly so called, that is here intended; neither do either of the words here used, the one by the psalmist, the other by the apostle, express that passion. For although God ascribes it often unto himself, yet it is not here intended, but rather indignation and trouble. He was burdened, vexed, displeased, beyond what patience or forbearance could extend to. In brief, it includes these two things: 1. The -judgment or mind of God concerning the greatness of their sin, with all its aggravations; and, 2. His determinate will of punishing them. Hence we may observe, that,

Obs. XXVI. The heart of God is greatly concerned in the - sins of men, especially of those who on any account are his people, and so esteemed.-Men live, and act, and speak, as if they thought God very little concerned in what they do, especially in their sins; that either he takes no notice of them, or if he do, that he is not much concerned in them. That he should be grieved as his heart, that is, have such a deep sense of mens sinful provocations, they have no mind to think or believe. They think that as to thoughts about sin, God is altogether as themselves, Psal. 1. 21. But it is otherwise; for God hath,

1. A concernment of honour in what we do. He made us for his glory and honour; nothing whereof can we any way as

sign unto him, but by our obedience. And whatever is contrary hereunto tends directly to his dishonour. And this God cannot but be deeply sensible of. He cannot deny himself. If men lose the rent which they expect from their tenants, and have obliged them to pay, and which they refuse upon mere will and stubbornness, they will find themselves to have a concernment. therein. And shall God lose all the revenue that is due unto him, without expressing an indignation against the guilt of men who deal so unjustly and fraudulently with him? Nay, he is deeply concerned in this matter, as he is our sovereign Lord.

2. He is concerned in point of justice also, as he is the supreme ruler and governor of all the works of his own hands. He is God, to whom vengeance doth belong; who hath said, "Vengeance is mine, and I will recompence." And he needs no other reason to induce him to punish sin but himself, his holiness and his justice being his nature. And this he expresseth after the manner of men; affirming that he is grieved or vexed and provoked to indignation with the sins of men. How this provocation is heightened by this aggravation of sin, that it is committed by his own people, under unspeakable, peculiar obligations unto obedience, hath been declared before.

We now proceed with the exposition of the words. There is, secondly, in them the judgment that God made and gave concerning this people and their sin, which is expressed as the reason why he was grieved with them. He said, “They do always err in their hearts, and they have not known my ways."

• He said. —Not that God expressly used these words; but he made this judgment concerning them. This was the sense he had and conceived of them. So the word is most frequently used for the conception of the mind. It is the λoyos sydiaderos, or sense of the mind,' not the λoyos #gopogixos, or outward expression,' that is intended.

And in this judgment which God passed on that sinful generation, he declares three things.

1. The principle of all their sins-they did err in their

hearts.

2. Their constancy in, or obstinacy unto this principle-they did so always.

3. The consequent, or rather concomitant evil, unto, or with these: they knew not the ways of the Lord-and they have not known my ways.

First, God placeth the original of all their miscarriages in their error-the error of their hearts. An error of the heart in things moral, is a practical misjudging of what is good or evil unto men. So this people, through the power of their lusts and darkness, their temptations and obstinacy, did in many instances wherein they were tried, judge that sin and rebellion

were better for them, than faith, submission, and obedience. They did not, in general, notionally and formally judge that 'sin, as sin was better than obedience, which no creature is capable of doing; but practically and particularly they judged, that it was better for them to do the things wherein their sin consisted, than to omit or forego them; so they erred in their hearts. There the seat of their error is fixed. Now, besides that the heart is here, as in sundry other places, taken for the practical understanding, or for the whole principle of all our moral actions, as it regards both the mind, will and affections, the expression seems to intend a further discovery of the nature of their sin, with a further aggravation of it. They sinned from and with their hearts. And God lets them know that he doth not so much insist on their outward actions, as that he 'took notice that their hearts were not right with him: that was the principle of all their rebellions for which he abhorred them. As he spake, in another place, of the same people, when their hearts went after their idols, he regarded them not.

Secondly, The adjunct of this their error, is their constancy unto it, or persisting in it-they did always err. Two things may be denoted hereby. 1. That in all instances, whenever it came to a trial, they practically chose the wrong side. It may be they did not so universally, but they did so generally, which warrants the denomination. Or, 2dly, It denotes the continuance in their error: au is, 'not to cease or give over.' Though God had exercised great patience and forbearance towards them for a long season, yet they would never change their minds or hearts at any time.

Thirdly, There is the consequent of this great principle of their sin; or rather another concomitant principle of their miscarriages, they knew not the ways of God-and they have not known my ways. This may be exegetical of the former, and declare wherein their error consisted, namely in this, that they knew not, they judged not aright of the ways of God. But as I said, I shall rather look upon it as another principle of their miscarriages. As they erred in their hearts because they liked the ways of sin, so they disliked the ways of God because they knew them not; and from both rushed into all manner of miscarriages and provocations. We are hence instructed first, that,

Obs. XXVII. In all the sins of men, God principally regards the principle; that is the heart, or what is in it. "They do err, saith he," in their hearts." The heart he principally requires in our obedience, and this he principally regards in mens disobedience. "My son," saith he, "give me thine heart;" and, "O that there were such án heart in them that they would fear me." When the heart is upright, as to its general frame,

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