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J
S
E
R
M
O
N
I.
IsAI
AH
lvii.
17. 13.
For
the iniquity of
his
covetousness
was
.I wroth, and
smote him
;
I hid me,
and
was
wroth,
and
he went
on
frowardly
ii
the
way
of
his
heart. I have
seen his
ways,
and
will
heal him
:
I
will
lead him
also,
and
restore comforts unto him,
and
to his mourners.
YOU
have here an
account
of
an
ancient,
beloved,
and
privileged people
of
God,
that
seemed to
offend
by
a
perpetual
backsliding.
Jer.
viii. 5.
There
was
iniquity
found amongst them in a
departure
from the
Lord
their
God.
They
turned
aside from the
Lord through
many
lusts,
and
amongst
the
rest
the love of money
is
named,
"
for the iniquity
of
his
covetousness
was
I wroth,'
&c.
This
prevailed
in
their hearts
;
this run through the whole
course
of
their
lives;
this
discovered
itself
in
their actions:
the
Lord
wäs
angry, and
he
chastened
them with tempo
-
ral
punishments,
"
for the iniquity of
his
covetousness
I
"
was
wroth and smote
him';"
but
this
availed little, this
was
not
sufficient to
reclaim
them, he
therefore'
inflicted
a
spiritual judgment upon
them,
I
was
wroth and
I
"
hid
my
face from
then.»
Yet
still they
"
went on
fro-
"
wardly
in
the
way
,of their
own hearts," turning
from
'the living
God, and
pursuing
their
own
pernicious
de-
vices.
Now mark
what course
God
takes
with them
:
Well, saith
he,
since
nothing
will do,
since
I
have
smitten,
-and
they
have
not
returned
to me
:
since
I
have
hid
my
-face from them,
and
they have
not
sought
after me;
since
neither
temporal nor spiritual judgments
have any
force
on
them,
I
will
take another
method,
I
will
overcome
them
with overflowing kindness
:
"I
have seen
his ways
"
and
I
will
heal
him."
But
he
will
be
ready to
wander'
again,
therefore
I
will
lead
him
:
there
have
been
many
of
this
people
that
have
begun
to
mourn under
my
chas-
tisements, and
perhaps their
friends have mourned and
grieved upon
their account
:
I
will
restore joy
unto them