390 Cha,-,. ;4.. An Expofetion upon the Boof¿,of J o B Verf. 31. to fay thus unto God ; fo that Prophet, by the Spirit, faith, Take unto you words, and turne to the Lord, and fay or fpeake thus unto kim ; though not flri6tly, fyllabically, in fo manywords,yet to this fence, and purpofe, or according to this tenour, fpeak thus, Take away iniquity, and receive us gractoufly. And When the Prophet Bich, lake unto you words, his meaning is not that they fhould af- fec`tedly fludy á forme of words for God , much lette that they should artificially counterfeit words which their hearts had not conceived, or were not correfpondent to their hearts, ( many fpeake words , even to God , which never come neare but are meere flrangers to the intents of their hearts) but fincere words, humble words, words of fupplication, not expoflulating words, nor quarrelling words, not murmuring words, not meere com- plaining words, but rake toyou words of confeffion, and fubmilfì- on,and toprefent your felves and your conditionbefore the Lord. The Preacher (Ecclef. r a. so. ) fought to finde out acceptable words , and fo fhould wewhen we fpeake unto men ; Preachers of the word fhould feeke to finde out acceptablewords; nor fine words,not fwelling words ofvanity, not flattering foothingwords, but acceptable words, that is, fuch as may finde eafie pail-age into the heart; or fuch words as may make theirpaffage intothe heart, through the power of the Spirit of God. Now if the Preacher fought to finde out acceptable words , when he fpake to the peo- ple, muchmore fhould we when we fpeak toGod.Ohow fhould we labour then to finde out acceptable words. All words are not fit tobe fpoken untoGod ; thewords that are (in Inch cafes as the text fpeakes of) maybe reduced to thefe two heads. Firfl , They mutt be God juflifyingwords, that is, words by which we acquit the Juflice of God, how fore, and how heavy fo- ever his hand is upon us. When Daniel (Chap: 9. 7,14.) was laying before the Lord the calamitous Bate of that people ( they were under as fore judgements as ever nation was, For under the 'whole heavens ( faith he there) hath not been done, as God bath done unto ferufalem) yet all the words he fpake unto God, tend- ed unto the juflificationof God ; OLord ( faid he) righteoufneffe belongeth unto thee, but unto us confu/7on offaces, as at this day, to the men offudah, and to the inhabitants of ferufalem, &c. We have not had one flroake more, then we have deferved, there bath not been a grain ofweight more in our burthen, then we have brought
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