Chap. x7. An Expofition upon the Book of J o B. Verf.i 5, ail Him that efcapeth the fword ofHazael,fbaa Jebelflay,and be than efcapetb thefwòrei of Jebel, (hall Vibe,flay. He that dupes one judgment may fall by the hind ofanother ; let not the wicked man pleafe htmfeif in thehopes of impunity, becaufe this or that evill, fword,or famine, bath not difpatchhim, for the penitence quickly may.And if heefcape all thefe,and a tbouf*nd deaths be- fides, yet the fccond deathor hell will take him at the la(},unleffe he repenr,returne,and make his peace withGod.How (hall they efcape, what can fave themwho neglat the Great falvation ? Secondly Note ; 7'úepenitence ie avery sreivous and fore judgment, 'tit death, This isone of the three evile,fo often mentioned and threatned in theP,ophets againfi a rebellious people ; !amine,freord,peai- 3ence, are the fiat three, and in force fence, penitence is the firt or wort of the three, is it not thena great mercy that God Fitch delivered us from it, that we have had fo long a freedome from the arrow that flyeth by day,and from the penitence that walketh in darkneffe ? (Pial. 91.6,) It walketh not fomuch in natural dark- neffe, or in the daakneffe of thenight, as in a figurative darknef e, no man knoweth where it walkes, or whether is will walke, in the ckarefi light,whether to thepoor mans houfe,or to the richmans houfe, whether to the dwelling of thePlebeian, or of the Prince; till it hath left its own marke, and given adeadly firoake. The Prophet Elifka (zKings 8.ao. ) kid to the Mefhenger that came to him from Benhadad, to knowwhether his matter fhould reco- ver err no, Gofay etntohim, than mayefl certainly recover : howbeit, the Lord bath fhewedme,that be (hall Pertly dye. His meaning was, that his difeafe: ivas fuck as he might recover of, yet Clod had (hewed him that he fhouldnot. God can bring death in anydif- cafe, but force difeafes carry death in the very face of them. He- a ekiabbeing ficke of theplague (as force conceive, becaufe men- tion is madeof a malignant ulcer or boyle, 'fa. 38. at, ) it is faid that Ifaiab come tohim and told him, (r. t.) Thus faith the Lord, let thine flogfe in order, for thou (haltfurely dye, and not live; ,,As if he had Çaid,thou art markt for death, thou art a dead man; Ikon are aslure todye ofthis difeafe,as if thou wert alreadydead. Thy difeafe is not only deadly, but death ; Though the Prophet knew theLord was able to coma the mstlignityofthat difeafe, yet
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