look through the anger of his chastisements unto the beauty of his commands; and to the sweetness of his loving countenance, as by a rainbow we see the beautiful image of the sun's light in the midst of dark and waterish clouds; when by how much the flesh is the fuller of pain, by so much prayers are fuller of spirit; by how much the heavier are our earthly sufferings, by so much the stronger are our heavenly desires. when God threateneth punishments, and we pray for grace, this is a sanctified use of God's judgments. And this we should all be exhorted unto in the times of distraction, to make it the principal argument of our prayers, and study of our lives, to obtain spiritual good things; and the less comfort we find in the world, to be the more importunate for the comforts of God, that by them we may encourage ourselves, as David did in his calamity at Ziklag, 1 Sam. xxx. 6. When the city Shechem was beaten down to the ground, then the men and women fled to the strong tower, and shut that upon them, Judg. ix. 51. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous fly to it, and are safe," Prov. xviii. 10.

Herein we shall more honour God when we set him up in our hearts as our fear and treasure, and mourn more towards him, than for the miseries we feel, and pant more after him, than all the outward contentment which we want.

Herein we shall more exercise repentance, for it is worldly sorrow which droopeth under the pain of the flesh, but godly sorrow is most of all affected with the anger of God.

Herein we shall more prevail with God; the more heavenly the matters of your prayers are, the more prevalent they must needs be with a heavenly Father; we have five spiritual petitions unto one for

bread; the more suitable our prayers are to God's will, the more easy access they will have to his ear. The covenant of grace turns precepts into promises, and the Spirit of grace turns precepts and promises It is not God's will that we should

into prayers. live without afflictions, but our sanctification is God's will, 1 Thess. iv. 3. The more prayers proceed from love, the more acceptable to the God of love: now prayer against judgments proceeds from fear; but prayer for grace and favour proceeds from love.

Lastly: hereby we shall more benefit ourselves; God's grace is much better than our own ease; it gives us meekness to submit; it gives us strength to bear; it gives us wisdom to benefit by our afflictions.

God's favour is much better than our own ease, and is a recompense for sufferings beyond all their evils. A man would be contented to be loaded with gold, so he might have it for the bearing; though it be heavy, yet it is precious; and God's favour turns affliction into gold. "If he gives quietness, nothing can give trouble," Job xxxiv. 29. and if he keep back his grace and favour, nothing can give peace; neither wealth nor honours, nor pleasures, nor crowns, nor all the world, with the fulness, or rather the emptiness thereof, can do us any good at all. Any thing which will consist with the reign of lust, with the guilt of sin, with the curse of the law, with the wrath of God, with horrors of conscience, and with the damnation of hell, is too base to be called the good of man. "To do judgment, to love mercy, and walk humbly with God, this is the good of man, Micah vi. 8. to fear God, to keep his commandments, this is the whole end and happiness of man, Eccl. xii. 13.

O then get remission and removal of sin, get this good of man, the oil of grace in your lamps,

peace of God in your hearts, the streams of the rivers of God in your consciences; and then, though the earth be moved, and the mountains shake, and the waters roar, whatever distractions, whatever desolations happen, while ruin overtakes the careless, thou shalt find a chamber in God's providence, a refuge in his promises, a pavilion in the secret of his presence to protect and to comfort thee above them all.

SERMON II.

80 WILL WE RENDER THE CALVES OF OUR LIPS. ASSHUR SHALL NOT SAVE US; WE WILL NOT RIDE UPON HORSES: NEITHER WILL WE SAY ANY MORE TO THE WORK OF OUR HANDS, YE ARE OUR GODS, &c.--HOSEA XIV. 2, 3.

In the whole context, we have before observed two general parts: Israel's prayer, and Israel's promise. The prayer we have considered, and now proceed unto the promise, wherein are two things to be considered. The covenant itself; and then the ground upon which they make it, God's mercy to the fatherless. The covenant, wherein they promise two things.

First. Thanksgiving for God's hearing and answer ing their prayers.

Second. A special care for amendment of their lives. "We will render the calves of our lips." The apostle out of the septuagint reads it, "the fruit of our lips," Heb. xiii. 15. It is the use of the scripture to describe spiritual duties by expressions drawn from ceremonies and usages under the law, as repentance is called washing, Isa. i. 16. and prayer, incense, Psa. cxli. 2. Rev. v. 8. and the righteousness of saints, fine linen, (being an allusion to the garments of the priests,) Rev. xix. 8. and Christ an altar, whereby both our persons and services are sanctified and accepted, Heb. xiii. 10. Rom. xii. 1. 1 Pet. ii. 5. Isa. lvi. 7. Thus here, the spiritual sacrifices of praise are called calves, to show the end of all

sacrifices, which were ordained for the stirring up of spiritual affections, and praises unto God, and also to intimate the vanity of ceremonial without real services. The beast on the altar was but a carnal, but the faith of the heart and the confession of the mouth was a reasonable sacrifice. No point more insisted on in the prophets than this, Isa. i. xv. Mich. vi. 6—8. Amos iv. 4. v. 5. Psa. 1. 13. 15. lxix. 30, 31. &c. They had idolatrously dishonoured God with their calves of Dan and Bethel, and they had carnally and superstitiously placed all worship and holiness in the calves of the altar: but now they resolve to worship God neither politically, after human inventions, nor carelessly, with mere outward ceremonies, but spiritually, and from inward affections: for the lips are moved by the heart.

Now thanksgiving is further called the calves, or sacrifices of the lips, to intimate, that after all God's rich mercies upon us in pardoning our sins, and in multiplying his grace and spiritual comforts upon us, we, like beggars, have nothing to return but the bare acknowledgments and praises of our lips; words for wonders, and those words too his own gifts; we cannot render them to him, before we have received them from him, Psa. cxvi. 12, 13. Mat. xii. 34. 1 Chron. xxix. 16.

"Asshur shall not save us." Unto the general confession of sin intimated in those words, "Take away all iniquity," here is added a particular detestation of their special sins, with a covenant to forsake them; lest waxing wanton with pardon and grace, they should relapse into them again. The sum is to confess the vanity of carnal confidence, betaking itself to the aid of men, to the strength of horses, to the superstition of idols for safety and deliverance. All which they