266 Chap. 33. Àrc. Expofition upon the Bookof J o R. Verf. 14,., mind and fpeak out the heart of God unto. man. For God fpeaketh once, yea. twice. +i,Nn ix aria.. The Hebrew is, :nonce, that is, for one Turn, or Time , or by j,,,, dvm one tneanes or way. The word once,. hasha:threefold liignificaci ~li ;tt to una on in Scripture, all which are applyable to the text in hand. Fist}, Once, is as much as furely, certainly, verily, ìrrevoca_ bly. Thus (Pfal; 89. 3 S. ) Once have. Ifworne by my holineffe, that I will not lie unto David.; That is , I, 'have .'furely fworne, certainly fworne, irrevocably fworne, my word, yea my oath is out, and it is immutable.; That which.God (.in thisfence) once: faith, it is alwayes fayd, or 'Lis fayd for ever ; how much more . that which he fwareth ?Thus the Apoítle argueth(Heb.6.17,18.) Godwilling moreabundantly.(or more then needed as to him and, the truth of the thing in it felf)to fYea?unto the heires ofpromife the'. immutabilityof his counfel confirmed it byan oath, that by two irn4 mutable things, in which it is.impofJibleforGod to lye (namely, his promife and his oath) we might haveflrong conflatton, &c. In like nolon we may expound thatonce, which we finde (lieb: 9.27.) Andas it is appointed unto men once to die (or to dye once) and . after that cometh the judgement. Some referre, once, to dye, asif the meaningwere,it is appointed unto men todyeonce, that is,. men mutt expeel todye a naturali death, which happens but once,, and once (at leaf} equivalently) will and mutt happen to all men.. Others referre the once to appointed in the fenceof this prefent eapofition-; It is.appointed.or;cé ;. that is, God hath certainly and firmly appointed eftablithed anddecreed this thing , he bath ra- tified it in heaven, that men mull dye;;, This feature is irrevoca- ble ; The thing is appointed, and there is no reverting or revok- ing of that appointment. This is agood fence, and futable enough . to the fcope of Elrhu; God fpeakechonce, that is, what he fpeak eth is a fure and certain word, an infallibleword; the word fetled for ever in heaven ( Pfal: 1 19, 89.) his protdìfe, is not only fuse . but moll fure. As the Apouile1peakes (.z Pet. i s i8, 19. ) And thisvoyce which came fromheaven we heard, when we were with him in theholyMount. We -have, alfo amorefure ( the compara- tive imports the Superlative, amost fare)word ofprophecf,where untoye doe well that ye:take heed, as unto a light that fhineth in d rke,place, swill the daydime and the dayflarre ari fe in your hearts;
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