It follows in the third verse of this chapter. SERM. O my people, what have I done unto thee? And III. wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against me. God condescends by the Prophet, to expoftulate with the people of Ifrael. And he gives them leave to come, and make their complaints against him, if they had any : And shew their reasons, if they could affign any, why they had forsaken him, neglected his laws, and gone after strange gods. In Jeremiah are some appeals to the Jewish people very much resembling this. Thus Jer. ii. 5. faith the Lord: What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Again, Have I been a wilder- Ver. 31. neffe unto Ifrael, a land of darknesse ? Ver. 4. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of fervants, and I fent before thee Mofes, and Aaron, and Miriam. They had no injuries, or neglects, to complain of. And farther, God reminds them of the benefits he had bestowed upon them, particularly their remarkable deliverance from the bondage of Egypt: when they were brought out thence, and were form E2 SERM. formed into a distinct nation, and made a Ver. 5. Remember now, what Balak, King of Moab confulted, and what Bulaam, the fon of Beor answered him from Sittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteousnesse of the Lord. Remember also the consultations " and designs of Balak against you, and how "Balaam was constrained to bless, instead of "pronouncing a curse upon you: and that "though you were then brought into an " heinous tranfgreffion, you were not utterly " cut off and destroyed : but I bore with you, " and preserved you, until I had brought you " into the land of Canaan, and given you " rest there. Recollect these things, that you may be convinced of my righteouf"nesse and equity, my mercie and compaf"sion, my fidelity and veracity, in fulfilling "the promises I had made, and that I have not " failed to do you good. You will then per"ceive, that you have no just ground of com"plaint against me: And that if some defirable " blessings are withheld, it cannot be owing " to want of goodnesse in me, but it must be "rather owing to some failure of duty in "you: which is the cause of the evils you suffer, "suffer, and the ground of the controverfie SERM. "between us." III. xxiii. 4. 5. Since the deliverance from the designs of Balak is here so particularly mentioned, as a very remarkable, and eminent proof of the divine regard; it may be worth while to observe, that elsewhere it is also mentioned in a very special manner among other mercies vouchsafed this people in the wildernesse. They hired against thee Balaam the fon of Deut. Beor, of Pethor, in Mesopotamia, to curse thee. Neverthess the Lord thy God would not bearken unto Balaam : but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee. And in another place: Then Balak the fon of Zippor Josh xxiv King of Moab arose and warred against Ifrael: 9.10. and fent, and called Balaam the Son of Beor, o curse you. But I would not hearken unto Balaam. Therefore be blessed you still. So I delivered you out of his hand. Then, at the fixth verse of this chapter we have these words: Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow my-felf before the most high God. After the foregoing pathetic expoftulation with the Jewish people, and the reproof of their ingratitude, they are introduced by the E 3 Pro III. SERM. Prophet, as anxiously inquisitive, how they might appease the divine displeasure, avert his judgements, and obtain favour and acceptance. If it were requisite, they would bring the most numerous, and the most costly offerings. Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? " Will God accept now of the ordinarie sacrifices, such as we offer upon other occafions, and are " required in his law?" Ver. 7. Will the Lord be pleased with thouSands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oyle? " Or does he expect a more costly "offering, such as our Kings have fome" times made upon extraordinarie occasions? "We are ready, if that will be accepted, to " offer up thousands of rams, and to add in " proportion meat-offerings, prepared with "oyle, though it would amount to a very "great quantity." Shall I give my first-born for my tranfgreffion, the fruit of my body for the fin of my foul? "Or fhall we offer up our own children, as some do to appease their deities? We are " not averse even to this, though the first" born should be demanded." The answer is in the text: He has shewed SERM. thee, o man, what is good. And what doth III. the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercie, and to walk humbly with thy God? "This is the most acceptable service " to God. This is preferable to all the sacri"fices before-mentioned. Let but these "things be resolved upon and performed, "and the controverfie is removed: the dif"ference is reconciled, and made up: the " wrath of God is appeased, and he will "shew you favour, and bless and profper " you." 11. This matter is also farther illustrated in the remaining part of the chapter. Are there Ver. 10. yet the treasures of wickednesse in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and the bag of deceitful weights? " It is in vain to think, I should " be reconciled to those who continue to "practise fraud and injustice: or that I "should approve of and bless those, who " persist in their idolatrous worship." And thus the chapter concludes: For the Ver. 16 Statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab. And ye walk in their E 4 coun |