G 0 D COMPARED TO A M 0 T H. ' As firft, in their B!indnefs, that they may not fee the Plots of their E nemies. • They know not their own Advan tages, nor how to improve the Opportunity tncy • have in their Hands. They Jhall not hit upon right Ways and Means, to fccure ' themfelves from their impending :Qangcrs. There Jhall be Perplexities and Con– ' tradiCI:ions in their Councils, one counfelling one Way, others another Way. They ' Jhall enfnare themfelves, and be blafted in their own Councils. And all this while • God doth not appear in an outward and hoflile Way againll them, but there is a ' Curfe uoon them; and thus the Lord is as a Moth unto them. ' Thirdly, God is ~sa Moth to a People in their E£btes and Commerce one with • another. There !hall be a Decay of Trade amongft them ; they !hall grow poorer • and poorer, and no Man knows how. They fow much, and bring in little; they ' earn Wages, and put it into a Bag with Holes. There !hall be a fecret Curfe upon • their Tradings and Eftates, that no Man can give a Reafon of it. ' Fourthly, God is a Moth in the chief Inftruments made ufe of for public Good. • H e takes away chief and worthy Perfons, and few take notice of it. One is removed • one Way, and fame in another; and thofe that remain, either want Abilities, or • elfe they are treacherous. And if their be any wife and honeft left, they are either • bla!l:ed, or by one Way or another, not in a Capacity to do any Good. And when ' it is thus with a Kingdom, God may be faid to be as a Moth unto them. ' Fifthly, God may be f.1id to be a Moth in the Treafure and Strength of a Nation. • There Jhall be a great Charge upon the People, and much Jhall be gathered together, but none !hall know how it is fpent, it Jhall moulder away : So that every one Jhall • complain of the Burden, and what goeth from him; bm no Body almofl: can fee ' what it comes to. ' Sixthly, God is a Moth unto a People in their Religion, (I mean, by fuffering a • fecret Cnrfe to be upon them) fo that their Religion Jhould be corrupted, and their • Wine mixed with Water, their Silver with Drofs. ' That whil!l: they hoped to fee Religion more pure, and refined from Popifh Mix– ' tures, and other Errors and Corruptions, they Jhall in a fpiritual Way he invaded ' w(th greater Darknefs and Confufion, and not well perceive the Wrath and Curfe of • God that is upon them, by being as a Moth in thi> RefpeCI: unto them.' I N F E R E N CJ E S. 1 . NO People ought to think themfelves fecme, t:laufe God appears not prefently in the Height of his Difpleafure againit them. He may let our his Wrath in little Things, (a Moth is a fmall Thing) and proceeds but a little Way; takes a Step or two with them in a Way of Judgment, and then waits a while, to fee what the EffeCts are. He can by little Things, in a fecret and infenfible Way, fpoil and utterly undo a Nation, or a particular Soul. There may be much Poifon in little Drops ; fo the Wrath of God may be upon thee like a Moth, in Things that thou mindefl: not; for fmall and contemptible Things, as Lice and Flies, proved a great Plague unto the Egyptians. 2. Our own Filth and Corruption within us breeds our Trouble, and is the Caufe of our Undoing~ What is it that makes Way for the Moth and Rottennefs to feize on Wool or Garments I Is it not the Careleifnefs and Negligence of Perfons, in not look– ing after them, and not making ufe of fit Things to keep them clean,, and prevent the Danger that arifes from this Worm I The Moth (as Naturali!l:s tell us) breeds in the Cloth; take heed of inward Filth and Pollution : If you keep not your Hearts by fit Means clean, the Moth will come, and Rottennefs take hold on you. 3· God is Gow in Wrath, he puniJhes by degrees ; he exercifes much Patience, ere he defl:roys a People utterly ; before he breaks forth as a Lion or Bear upon them, he is as a Moth. 4· God hath fecret Judgments to execute upon a People, or particular Perfon: If t\lis was not fo, why Jhould he fpeak of his being as a Moth unto Ephraim? Let us take heed of fecret Sins, le!l: God confu me us by lecret Judgments. 5· What a mean and inconfiderable Creature is a Man, yea, a Kingdom, that fo fmall a Thing as a Moth is faid to de!l:roy and confume them I God in expreffing him– felf tlnis to be as a Moth and Rottennefs, fpeaks with a Kind of Contempt again!l: the Pride of Ephraim and judah: 'Ihey were haughty and proud; but God, to abafe and humble them, tells them, a Worm as it were Jhould fpoil their Beauty, and de!l:roy 3 Z them.
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