3g6 Vert-. 9, An Expofition upon the $ooîpf J ® B Chap. 3 , broughtforth grapes, and it broughtforthwildGrapes. He lookedfor judgment, and behold oppreffion,fòr Righteoufnefs, andbeholda cry: This difappointmentprovoked theLord to lay his Vineyard watt. So in the Gofpel, when Chrift coweth to the fig-tree three years, feeking or looking for fruit, and findethnone ; What then ? Cut it down, fàitlrChrift, he is very angry, thus miffing his ex< pedation. Now, as it provokes the anger of God, to come look- ing upon man, his Creature, for duty, and finds none ; fo it cloth likewiíe exceedingly grieve the fpirit of man, when he looks to God for'mercy and finds none : And how juftis it that God fhould crofs our expéc`tation, When we fo often crofs his. No marvel ifwe, . look,forlight and behold darknefs, for peace and behold trouble, for h ecefs and behold difappointments ; When-as God looks a- mong us for repentance,artd behold prefumption; for faith,and be- hold unbelief; for patience, and behold complaining; for reforma- tton,and behold backlliding;for fruit andbehold barrennefs, or but leaves. ourthly, He faith, Let it not fee the da vningoftheda5, that is, kt it be quite out ofhope ever to receive any light, therefore let it . not fee fòmuch as a glimpfe of light. It is.the ftrongeft denyal of the whole, to deny the leaft or the firft part : As when the Apoftle would have us abilain from all evil,-he exhorts to abftain from the appçarance ofevil ; (a Thef. 5.2.) So here, when Job would put his night quite out ofhope to fee a day, he faith, Let it notfee (fo much as) the damning (that is, the lead appearance) of the day. And this as it is the lad, fo it is the heavieft f ntence upon his night. Gbferve then, That !A hopelefs condition it the motif condition of all other. Let a night be never fo dark, never fo tetnpefitious, yet the hope of a morning is a mercy and a light. Aman will bear any heavinefs, when he can fay as David, Heavinefc may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Solomon tells us, that the hope deferred makes the heart lick, Prov. 13. 12. -.How fick then are they who are hopelefs, or who have quite loft their hope ! Everlaftingnefsis the head of the Arrow, thefling and poyfon of all fniferies; it is indeed the fling of Hell : thatHell is fuch a night as never fhalI fee the dawning ofthe day, bath more torment and pain init then all thepains in Hell; As the punifliment of lofs in Hell pinches more then the punifhment of fenfe, f in the lois thispinches molt, that the.lofs is irrecoverable : They are deprived of the glory ofGod, and
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