Lxs.XVIH. Jeroboams Wife. A rru!l either to the gods, o; the Clergy ofhis owne makiog:Hisconfcience re!ls upon the fidelity ofthat man,whofe d9Cirine he had fotfaken:How did this Idolater {hive again!l his owne heart,whiles he inwardly defpifed thofe,whom he profelfed to hooour;and inwardly honoured them,whom he profclfed to defpife ~ -Wicked brea!ls are falfew themfelves, nrither tru!ling to their owne choyce; nor makingchoyce of that,which they may dare to tru!l. They will fct agood face upon their fecretly unp'eafing fins,and had rather be felfe-condemned, then wife and pmitent: As for that old Seer, it is lilte Imhwn knew his skill, but doubted df his lincerity ; that man was too much his neigljbourto be good: .Ahij•hs truth had been tryed in a cafe ofhis own<:He whofe word was found ju!l in the prediCiion of his Kingdome, was well worthy ofcredit in the newes ofhis fen' Experience is a great encourage. B ment ofour truli:Itis a good mat_terto be faithfull;this load!loneofour fidelity Oul draw to us even hearts ofiron, and hold them to our reliance: As contrarilydeceit doth both argue,&makea bankrupt;who can tru!lwhero heisdifappointed!OGod; fo oft,fo ever, have we found thee truein all thypromifes, in all thy performances, that if wee doe not feek thee, ifwe doe not trufl theein the fequell, we are worthy ofour loffe, worthy ofthy defertions. Yet I do not fee that Itroh~am fends to the Prophet for hiS3id,but for intelligence: Curio!ity is guilty of this melfage,and not devotion; he cals not for the prayers, not for the bonediCiion ofthat holy man,but for mecr information of theevent.He wel faw what the prayers ofa Prophet could do:That which cured his hand,might it not have cured his fen~ Yet he that faid to a man ofGod, Intrw rhe face of I he LorfJ thJ C G•d,that hemay refl•re my hmJ:Cayes not now in his melfage, to .A6ijah, lntreat thy God to rcflore my Son: Sinne makes fucha flrangeneffebctwixr God and man,that the guilty heatteitherthinkcs not of fuing to God,orfearesit : What a pooreconteotment itwas to foreknow that evill which he could not avoid, and whofe notice could but ba!len his mifcry~Y et,thus fond is our remeffe curiofity,that it feekcs eafe in the drawing on oftorment:Hc is worthyofforrow that will not flay till it comes to him, but goes to fetch ir. Whom doth ImhiAm fend onthis meffage,but his wife,and howbul difguifed ! Why hcr,and why thus ? Neither durft he ttuft this errand with another, nor with her in her own form:It was a fecrct that Ier~boamfends to a Prophet ofGod; none might know it but his own bofome,and lhethatlay in it; if this had been ooifed in D Ifrael,the example had been dangerous:Who would not have faid, the King is glad to leave his counterfeit deities: and feek to the true: Why fbould we adhere to them whom he forf•k<'s! As the melfagc mu!l not be known to the people: !o thee that beares it mufl not be ~nown to theProphet, her name, her habit mull be changed: themufl put offher robes, and put on a rulfet coat 1 fhe mu(\ pm offthe Q;eene, and put on the peafanr:in flead ofher Scepter,themuft take up a basket,aod go a masked pilgrimage to Shlloh:Oh the fondnesofvaine men that thinke to jugglewith the Almighty,and to hide their counfcls from that a\1-feeing eye ! If thischangeofhabit were neceffary at Bethtl,yet what needs it at Shiloh; though the woold hide her face from her fubjcCis, yet why thouId the oot pull offher muIller, and thew her fclfe to the Prophet!Certainly,what policybegan,guiltinelfemullcontinue:Wcll might the E think,there canbe no good anfwer expc6led ofthe wife of Imboa"'; my prefcnce will do no lelfe,then folicita reproofc:No Prophet can fpeake well to the confortof a founder ofldolatry;I may perhaps hearc good a. another,though as my felfe I can look for nothing,but tydings ofevill: Wicked hearts know they deferve ill at Gods hands, and therefore they doe all they can to avoid the eyes of his difpleafed juftice and if they cannot do it by colours ofdi!limulation, theywill do it by imploratioa oflhelter, ; they !hall fay to the Rocks, F•O on m, anl.e~'ll<r us, But oh the grolfc folly mixt withthe craft ofwickednes!could Imb,.,.. think that theProphet could know the event of his fans difeafc, and did he thinke that he could nm kaO\v the difguifeofhisWife!the one was prefent,the other future;this was but wrapt in a clout,thar event was wrapt up in the coufel ofGod.Yet this politickhead prdumcs that the greater thall be rcvcalcd,where r.hc lelfer thall be hid : There was never /
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