Contemplations. L IB.Vll. heale,rhen lling them. What remedy could their eyes give to their legs ~ Or what A could a Serpent of cold braffe prevaile againll a living and fiery Serpent ~ In this troublefome Defart we are allllung by that fiery and old Serpent; 0 Saviour it is to thee we mull look, and be cured ; It is thou that wert their Pafchal Lamb ;heir Manna, their Rock, their Serpent. To all purpofes doll thou vary thy felfe :o thy Church,that we may finde thee every where: Thou an for our nourifhment refrefhing, cure; as hereafter, fo even now,all in all. ' This Serpentwhich was appointed for ~u;e to,Ifrael,at lallllings them ro death, by Idolarrousabufe. What poyfon there 1s mIdolatry, that makes even Antidotes deadly ! As Mojis therefore raifed this Serpent, fo Ezeki.u pulled it down: God commanded the ~aifing ofit,God approved the demoli!hing ofit.Superllitioas ufe can mar the very mllitutions ofGod : how much more the moll wife and wdl- B ' grounded de.,ces of men~ OjBALAAM. andNidian had been all this while ftanders by,and lockers on;Ifthey not feene the pattern oftheir own rmne in thefe neighbours, it had troubled them ,tO fee the Kings ofthe Amorires and Bafhan tofall Ifrael. H2d not the Ifraelires camped in the plains of Moab, their victories had beenno eye-fore to Bal.u. Wicked men never care to obferve Gods judgements till rhemfelves be touched; The fire ofa neighbours houfewould nor fo affect us, ifir werenot with the dan~er ofour owne: Secure mindes never !lanle c rill God come home to their very fenles. Balac and his Moabius had wit enoughto feare,not wit enough to prevent judge. menr:They fee an enemy in their borders,and yer take no right courfe forrheir fafety. Whowould nor have looked, thatthey fhould have cometo Ifrael with conditions of peace~Or why did they notrhink,Eitherlfraels God is llronger then ours, or he is not~ Ifhebenor, whyareweafraidofhim~ lfh_ebe, why doe we not ferve him ~ The fame hand which gives themvictory,cangive us protection. Carnallmen that are fecureofthevenge311ceofGod,ere it doe come,are mallered with it,when ir dothcome; and not knowingwhich way to rurne them,run fmth atthe wrong doore. The Midianites joynewith the Moabitesinconfulration, in action againll Ifrael: D Onewould have rhought,they!hould havelooked for favour fromMoju for Itthro's fake,whichwas both a Prince oftheir counny,and father inlawto Mofes;and either now, or nor longbefore was with Ifrae! in theWildernelfc. Ndrheris it like, bur that Mofes having found forty years harbour amongllrhem,would h2ve been(what hemight)inclinable to favourable treatieswith them;but now they are fo fall linked ro Mo•b, that they will either fiok or fwim together. Inrireneffewirh wicked conforts is one ofthe ftrongeft chains ofHell, and bindes us to a participation both of fin,and punifhmenr:An eafie occafion wil knit wicked beans togetherin con[piracy' again!hhe Church ofGod. Their errand is devilifh( Come c11rji lfrAtl:) That whichSatancould not dobythe [words of og and Sehon,he will now try to effect by the tongue of B•laam. Ifeither E llrength or policy would prevail againll Gods Church,it could nor lland.And why fhould not we be as indullrious to promote the glory ofGod, and bend both our hands and heads to the caufes ofthe Almighty~ When all helps fail Moab,theMagician is fought to. It is a fign ofadefperatecaufe, to make Sataneither our Counfellor,orourrefuge. , , Why did they not fend to Bala•m to blelferhemfdves,ratherthen tocurfe Ifraek It hadbeen more eafierobe defended from the bun oftheirenemies, then to have theirenemies laid open tobe hurt by rheth.Pride & malice did not care fo much for fafery,as for conquell;itwould not comet themcoefcal"' Ifrael~iflfrael.mayefcape them·itwas notthank-wonhy ro fave rhe1t own bloud,ifrhey d1d nor fp1l thebloud of others . As iftheirown profperiryhad beennothing,iflfrael alfo profpered. If ' there
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