Chap. 8. An Expoftion upon the Book ofj O 1 . Vert r 8 r alwayes about them.tut he that cuts the image of his friend hi his flefh,or draws it upon hisskin,how zealous is he of his friends re- tnembraneer.Piífuresand annulets may be lofi,butour hands eau- not fall off. When the Lord would thew how mindful he is ofhis Church, he affures her that he carries her picture aiwayes about him, not drawn upon a Tablet,or engraven upon the fignL: t ofhis right hand,but upon the palms ofhis hands ; as if he thould i:ay,,I mtift lofe my felf,before I can lofe the fight or?men;ory ofthee(i'fa. 49,16.) He remembers her fo,that he cannot forget her. And be_ caufe the charaEter and (lamps ofnature are more abiding and in- delible then thole Ofart, thereforehe faith,' verf 152)Gan a woman forgetherfuci¿,ing child, thatJbeJhould not have compaffion on thefon ofher womb ? Yea, they mayforget,yet will not dforget thee. A wo- man may break thebonds ofnature, but God will never break the bonds ofhis own free-grace: May not all thisxaifè usinto Davids rapture ofholy admiration, Pfal. 8. Lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him, and thefon of man, that thou vif to f himwith fuch.remembrances ? what is a wicked man,that, God thould give him bread to eat,and cloaths toput on ? And what is a godly than that God fhould givehim Chrift to eat,and cloath himfelf'evith- all?that,God thould remember us is a wonder oftnercy;but what a wonder of unthankfitlnefs is, it, that we fhould not remember God ? What, or who is God, that manJhould beJò mindlefs of him? Is not God worthy of all our remembrance? Is it lofs of time to call God into out thoughts?Do we ever,or in any thing remember our felves fo much, as when we remember God moll? it is a won- derful favour that God should be mindful of us at all ; and is it not a wonderful fin , that man fhould be fo unmindful' of God ? Thirdly, Obferve, That, Forgetfulnefs of God is a mother-fin, or the caufe ofall other. It is the caufeofthis fin of hypocrifìe, Bildad puts it as a fruit offorgetting God.Forgetfulnefs ofGod is three-fold. Firft, a forgetfulnefs that there is a God. Secondly, A forgetfulnefs who, or what manner of God he ís, Thou thoughtejt that Iwasinch an oneas thy felf (Pfal. 5o.) Thu forgetteit what manner ofGod I am:thou prefùmeft that will ferve my tarn, which ferves thine, or that every thing will plcafe me which pleafes thee;thou fayeft,bccaufe it is no greattrouble to thee to heal and lye,&c,therefore it is no great/trouble unto me neither. M Thirdly,
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