Chap. 28. flrs Expofition uxin.tbe Boak of J o B. Verf. 28. 403 Fourthly, the evil of it appeareth yet more becaufe as it loth procure and is the meritorious caute of all punifhinent s or penal eviSs,fo it fell is the greateJt punifhment. We com- monly difiinguifh between the evil of fin,and the evil ofpuni(h- ment, yet the truth is, fin it, fell is not only a punifhment but rhe wort{ of punifhments. (Hof. q., a7.4 Ephraim is joyned' toldolls; there is bis fin : but howwill God punith him ? he doth not fay, I will bring a fword upon him to cut him off, or divide him from his Idols ; bur,/et him alone ; this (lull be his punifhment,he (bald go on in his fin : he loves Idols, let him take.his fill of them. So the Lord concludes againi Tferufalem (Ezek. 24. 53.) Becaufe Ihave purged thee-(that is,I have ufe much meanes to purge thee, I have given theemany firong purging medicines) and thou ;wag not purged (that is, thou didfi not repent nor turn from thy fin) thou (halt not be purged from thy filthinefs any more; that is,I will ufeno more meanes to purge thee, but leave thee in thy lulls and groffe(i humours : but know that while I leave thee to left in thy fin,my fury refleth upon thee,as it followerh in the clofe of the fame werfe. The old Gentiles having ábufed the light of nature, what was their punifhmenr ? it was no outward evil, nor firoak of ven- geance upon their bodies or eflates;for the Gentiles lived in much worldly profperity ; what was it then ? the text adorers (Bons, r. 26. )For this caufe Godgavethem up to vile ajf'ìEI ions ; and(v.28 ) As they didnot like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to doe things that are not convenient ; he did not give them up to endure things which were grievous, but todoe things that werenot convenient. What thole things w-re is clear in the 29th verfe ; Being filled rith all unrighteoufnefs, fornication, wickednefi, covetoufnefs, mslicioufnefs, full of envie, &c. The Lord1er their lu(is loofe upon them, and laid the reines of their brutifh affe&ions in their necks, without the 'eel check; this was theirpunithmenr. They are in a bad condition whole af- fe &ions are nor renewed; what then is their conditionwhole al- fe&ionsare not fo much as t eft aired ?' -whenany man is given up to be as wicked as he will be,he is within one flep (and that's ro hell) as miferable as he can be. Some may think, this furely is a fine world,when God travel a man to dowhar he lift,and to run his own courfe without controle whether he lift; or as Solomon fpeakes to the young Irian (Ecc!, s r. 9,) towalkin theways of Ffff2 his
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