Caryl - Houston-Packer Collection BS1415 .C37 v2

Chap. 4, An Expofttion ùpo'3i the bookof Vetf6. to the eye,but touch them and they crumble tió. afhcs in your handi; fo is the faith and the fear, the hope and confidence6f Hypocrites: Where are"thefe? They are no where, far -they otter-were. Take the :words in a fe and conitrudtiot*.and fd they ,ate thus rendred, Is not thy fear,' confidence ? endue up igh nets ofthy wayes thy hope? So Mr. Broughton,Is not thy Religion thyhope? and thy rightzvayes thy confidence? and then the fettle is, as ifE.'iphaz had thus fpoken un o job, Doria it not now plainly appear, that Satan charged thee rightly,that thou lerveit God-tor ends ofprol fit atadoutward comfor-ts,feeing thou art thus impatient 'and tin quiet, when the hand of God takes away thy profit and outward comfort ? Is it nota clear argument, that thouheretofore dider obey God, only to gain by him, or becaufe thou watt confident he would proud and lave thee harmlefs, he would biefs and pro- fper thee with cncreafe ? was not the uprightnefs of thy wayes thishope? that is,diddef thounot look tothrive by upright deal- ing with men, and fair carriage in all thy actions ? thou hadtt no love to Religion, none to Justice, thy love was to thypurtè, -thy profit ; and thou didit believe, at leatt hápe, that profit 'would come mat the dore of the Sanáuary,or elE thou haditnever gone fo often thither. This is the lecond fenle, prædicating the fiat terme of thefecond, Is not thyfear thy confidence? andis not thy uprightnefs tby hope? furely 'tis. This is a fair expofition of the words, and from it we may obferve. That, 1 Hypocrites prole of of Religion is groundedon his confidence to gain by it. Is not thy fearthy confidence ? thy Religion was nothing elfe but a hope to berich. It was Satans objeEfion,and now Eliphaz (refuming and managing Satan: argument) makes it his conviffion. And it is a truth in the general Thetis, that the Religion or the fear ofhypocrites,is nothing but their confidence; they confider the word ofpronyife,whichGod hath given to thofe that ferve him they in their thoughts furveigh the land ofprò= mile, and tafle the milk and honey ofit : they read that God will give both grace and gory, andno good thin; will he with-bold frorh them that walk, uprightly, thereforethat they may be under the influence of thefe pronmifes, or upon a confidence that they (hall receive golden(howres out ofthefe precious promifes, and digg aboundant treafure out of thcfe heavenly mines, they fear and worfhip Gad, they are Upright in their wayes, and honest in their dealings among men c Chrift found it was love to the loaves, not E to

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=