Chap. 20. An Expofeticn upon the Booke of J O B. Nerf. 2,3; !bakingof a le afe ; They who arefearlefe c fdoing morall evil', are m.fifearefiell at the appearance ofpcenal evil's. Fifthly, He flees, but what doth heget by it ? when be fleeth from the iron weapon, the bow of fieeleíh11 f/rike him thorow. What gets he now by his flig!.t ? The poynt is this; Thefhifts and ev.a(jaw ofa wicked manfall not profit hires. That is, when he fleeth, he "ball not flee, or heThall not ef-- nape. if he get out ofthe ftroake ofone weapon, another wea- pon (hall ftrike him ; or acco, dine to the fecond interpretati- onof the words, fuppofe he flee from the iron weapon, and the bow offteele mils him alto, yet the fword !hail come out of his gall. So that by all his evafions, he (hall not evade the face ofdanger. As a carnal' heart bath a thoufand devifes and fhifts to excufe his fin ; but his devifes and excufes doe but fa- tten fin more upon him : his confcience gets no cafe at all by his wit; yea his confcience is more wounded by the excufes and pleas that he makes for his finde. Such alfo is the fruit of ail theevafions and devifes ofa wicked man toget out ofdan- ger ; theybring him and danger nearer together, or they en- tangle him inworfer dangers. We have acleare Text forthat, (Jfa. 24. i8.) And it (ballcome to paffe, that he whofleeth from thenoife of ear(hallfall into the pit, andhe that ccmeth up out of the middefi? ofthepit Adbe taken in fnare. He isremedileffe after all his remedies. There was but a noyfé of feare, when he fled, danger was at a diftance; but while he is fleeing from the noyfe of feare, he falls into the mouthof danger, a pit; And bring in the it he ftrives and ftruggles toget out, hoping yet findehis defired fafety and enlargement, but then he falls into a fnare, a worfe evil!then the pit : He thatfalls into a pit, is at libertie to get out, but he that is in a fnare is bound faft,he can get no further, fill' his cafe is worfe and worfe. We find the fame fucceffe in the Prophefie of Amcs,(9. t ) 1fare the Lord f anding upon the Altar, and hefaid,fmite the lintelof the doore that the pofl.c May(hake, and cut them in the head, all of them,& Jwalla). the tali of them with thefword. As ifhe had faid,there (hail be an utter 'laughter ; for the firft two orthree men may be 'lain, yea hundreds may be flaine, yet the laft may efcape Ddddz but 57t
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