Chap.42. An ExpoJition upon the Book of J o mm. Verf. z 3 refuge, this living upon thç blefsing of God, is a pitiful life, fay you. The wicked throug the pride of bis countenance, will not feei;, after God, God is not in all his thoughts, or not at all in his thoughts,. to feekunto him, and depend wholly upon him (Pfal.: it).4.)-As Ezra taaa atloamed to require of the King a band of Pikers.and horfemen, tohelp them agamfl the enemy in the way, be- caufe behad fpoken unto the King, Paying, the hand of our God, is upon all them for good, that feek him, &C. ( Ezra 8. 22.) So,. prophane perfonsare a(hamed to ask help of God, and hisblef- fing at any time, but then efpecially, when they have bands of foldiers and horfemen to help them, as will appear further in the next thing. For,. Thirdly, This mindlefsnefs and regardlefsnefs of the blef- fing of God proceeds in fome, from confidence in an arm of fle(h, either their own or others. The Prophet reproved the Jews for this in the day of their trouble (Ifa. 22. 8, 9, t©, t z.) And be (that is, God) difcovered the covering of Judah(çhat is, what Ju dab covered himfelf with, or thought hirnfelf fafely flickered by from all danger ; what was that ? the next words tell us) thou didfl look. in that day to the armour of the houle of the Forreff ; ye havefeenalfo the breaches of the Cityof David, that they arema. ny, ye bave fortified the. wall, &c. but ye have not looked to the maker thereof, neither had refpeEl unto him that fafhioned it long ago. The meaning of all is this ye relyed upon, and put confi- dence in your own firength, but looked not after, nor fought un- to me for my blefsing ;, ye thought ye (hould do well enough, if your magazines were well florcd, and your City well fortified, and therefore negle;ed me. The Came Prophet (Chap. 3 t . z.) fhews the fame reafon why theynegleeted God, why they looked not to the holy One of Ifrael, nor fought the Lord ; it was,, besaufe they went down to Egypt for kelp, and flayed do boles, and itrufled in charms, betaufe theywere many, and in borfemen, betaufe they, were very flrong. Wecannot trufi inGod, and creatures too, I God alone be not trufied to, he is not at all trufled and they who put their trufï in any creature, withdraw it fromGod, and make that creature their God. They cannot fo much asmind, much lefs leek a biding from the trueGod, who chufe to them- felvesanother God. Agai®; 983 Ilqrli¡
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