The Spirituall-aliings offaith Againe, though the fentence of death be put upon a mercy, before a beleever comes to it ; yet it is moch accord- ingto the life ofthe mercy that is afterward. If the life be great, the death is great, If the life be fmall the death is frnall. And fometimes the fentence ofdeath falls moftly up- on the apprehenfion : as it was with Hagar ; fhe was in the wilderneffe, and the thoughtfhe fhould die for want ofwa- ter : only (laid fhe) I won't fee my child die , and there was a well by. So that now, here the fentence of.death lay malt- Ly upon her -own apprehenfion. And thus you have it alfo, with 7ofhwaofwhom you reade in the firft of Iojhua;the Lord makes him a great promife now therefore arile, (fayes he at the fecondverfe) go over this Iordan, thouand all this people; every place thefelt of your footIhall tread upon; that have I givenuntoyou. And ar the latter end of the fife verfe. I will be with thee, I a illnever leave thee norforfake, thee. Now if you look into the feventh Chapter, you find that yofkm had rent his clothes (in the fixt verfe) andfell to the earth upon his face,before thearkf ofthe Lord, untill even-tide, and Iofhua Paid. alas, 0LordGad, wherefore haft thou at all brought this people over Iordan, to deliver us into the hand ofthe Amorites,. to defiroy us?would to God we had been content,and dwelt on the otherfideJordan,why?whats the matter? you read there went up 3 thoufandmen ofthe Ifraelites, and thirtyfixmen of them werefmote by the menof Ai. Here was caufe nowoffear, but no caufe offuch expreflions as did fall from I°Asia: a fentence of death plies upon the mercy, but it lay mofily upon the ap- pn.henfion oflofhtta. Sometimes it fals more upon the appre- henfion,and leffe upon the thing, fometitnes it fals more upon the thing, and leffe upon the apprehenfion: but alwayes more or leffe, when God intends any great or fpeciall mercy to his people, to-thechildren oftrIbraham,. he does firft caufe the fentence of death to pafle upon it, and. upon all the meanes that do lead unto it. You will fay then, why doesGod -give the promile ? I codeffe this is-true, feldome had any great mercy in all my dayes but firit of all, the fentence of deathcame upon it:
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