Second Commandment. !09 to it felf: God is light, and in him rh:re ~ no darknefs "'all, T John. t. S· l t is nol pof fible to conceal from him the profh tutlon of an unchaft and Impudent ldolatf}'· And therefore fait h the P(11111 ift, Pfal. 44· 20, 2 1 . If we have forgottm the name of ott~' God, or ftretc1Jtd forth our hands to a falfe God; jl1all not God ftarch out thio.? for he knowrth the frcrr t s of the heart. ThiYdtj, Jcalonfic as it is fcarching and inqn ifitive, fo it . is an angry and revengeful 3 . p:tffion : And therefo~·c Solomon cans it, T he rage_of a man; * therefore he will t!Ot !pare ~ Pr~v. 6. in the day of 'Vengeance. And Cant. S. 6. 1eflloujie u cruel M the grav_e; the coals rhereofH· are M coals of .fire, 1vhich have a mojl: vehement fl ame. Fm: as ~ovc IS the ;noft foft alld tendcr eft affeCt ion of H umane Na ture, fo Jcaloufie, whtch IS the fown ng of Love, and tur ni ng it into Vinegar , is the moft wild :md fur ious. · Now God is pleafed to ft ile himfe lfa j ealo~s God, ~o exprefs t he heat of his \Vrath and Indignation againft Sinners. So DeUt . 29· 20. The ~ord will notfpare _him, but the anger 'oftiJe Lord, and hU jealoujie jiJti!I fmoke again.ft that mau, and all the curfes that are written in thil Rook jiJalllie upon him, and the Mrd ~udl blot out hit name from under heaven. See what dreadful elfcas t his fmoki ng Jealoulie hath, w_hen it breaks forth into a flame, Zefh· J, 1 S. Neither their filver nor their gold ]hall be able to deliver them in the day of tl.•e Lords nry-ath, but the w!Jole land j1Jtdl be_ dt'lloured by the .fire of his jealoujie ; for he jTJall m.'lke a_(pee~y riddance e'VeiJ of all t~:tt d~e/l in the land. And w l~at fi gna l revenge this devouring Jea l o~J fie of t he Alf!!Ig~ty God ~ath taken upon Smncrs, the whole World is full off1d 111ftanccs : T h1s F1re hath kmdled the eternal and unquenchablc Flames of Hell . Whc11 the prond and rebellious Angels afpired to be Gods, God turned them into "Qevils, and thefc Devils in to Hell; for his Je:Iloulie could not indurc to have Rivals in his Glory. All the Ruins and Calamit ies th.1t have ever hap..; ned to Per(ons or Nations, are but the effeCts of God's Jcaloulie aga in ft Si n. And of all other Sins, his Jealoufy takes moft remarkable Vengeance againft Idobtry; for this is fj) ir itua l Whoredom ) a provoca t i911 which the jeal~us God can lcaft indurc. ·sec De ut. 32. 16, 17, 19. 'They provoked him to j ealoujie rvith ftrange gods; they facrijit:ed to devils, not to God) to gods TIJhom they knew not, to neru gods thar came tzewfy up: Arzd when the Lord faro it, he abhorred them, bccaufe of the provoking of his fons, and ofhu daughters. And Vcrfe 2 I. They have 111o.vcd me to je,doujie 1Pith that which is rzot god, they have ptovokcd me to anger with their wmitics<" A fire is kindled in mine anger, ·and jhall bum to the loweft hell, and Jlutll confume the eatth with het increafe, and {et on fire the (ozmdatims of the m:Jullt.tim. And fo in the following V~rfcs God exaggerates thofc fore and heavy judgments which he Wf)nld bring upon them in the fury of his Jealoufie, bccanfe of this heinous Sin of Idolatry. • · And thus we !l'lvc fccn ip what refpeds God is fa id to be a Jealous God. \Vhat remains now, but that Expoftulation of the Apoftle, 1 C.Or. 10. 22 . Do we provoke the Dmi to jealrmfie? arc we ftromer than he? V.l c \'lhO arc but as duft before the \V hi,·!wind, and as dry ftubble before" the confuming Fire, !hall we dare by our fins to afti"ont :tnd challenge tlut God who hath fa id, Vengeance i1 rhinc, and I will 1·ep%Y it? And yet ft1ch is the madnefs of every dcfpcratc Sinner, that he rufheth upon CocPs neck, and upon the thick borfcs of his Buckler, and daily provokes him who is infinitely able to de{l:roy both Body and Soul in Hell~fire : Indeed, Jcalonfie of it felf, :vi_thont pow:r to wr~ke Revcn~c, is ~u~ a_weak .1nd _contempt ible paffion ~ but when 1t IS armed Wtth Alnughty Strength, It ts Jnftly_tcrnblc: Now the Lord thy God is NJi' '7~. a ftrong and JCalous God . Ever y fin thou comm ittcft is an horrid wrong done unto him, and a violation of that Faith which thou oweft him: Hcha th woJcd thy affeCt ions, fought thy confent; and t hi s thou haft vowed un to him in t hy BJptifm~<tnd yet thou perfidi0ufly fo!loweft Other Lover s, and givcft t hy heart unto the \Vorld and the Dev il, wliich are God's grcatcft Corriva ls. The highd t i ndign i~ ty that can be done againft Love, is to contemn and fli ght it, and to imbrace thofe who arc far more bafc and ford id: And how notor iou fi y t hen doft thou aftTont God \Vhen thou defpifeft .his Love, and thy own Faith, to caft thy fel f into the imbrace~ of eyery Vile Lufb, Which .now pollutes thy Soul, and will hereafter damn it? 0 fooltfu and unkind that thou .art, to negl~ t he Lo~·e of the Great ,King of Heaven a~1d Earth, and to make cho1ce of the Devil, who I§ but the Slave of God and foliCltcs thee only to make thee his Slave! Yet were it fomewhat if thou coutdft defend thy felf, and maintain thy choice again!t the jealoufie and wrath of the gre1t God F f whom
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=