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BX 5037 .H3 1808 V.4 Hall, Joseph, 1574-1656 Works of the Right Reverend Father

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THE

WORKS

RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD,

JOSEPH HAL L, D.D.

SUCCESSIVELY BISHOP OF EXETER AND NORWICH. NOW FIRST COLLECTED.

WITH SOME

ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE AND SUFFERINGS,

WRITTEN BY HIMSELF.

ARRANGED AND REVISED,

WITH A GLOSSARY, INDEX, AND OCCASIONAL NOTES,

Br JO SI AH PRATT, B.D. F.A.S.

lECTOKBR OF THE UNITED PARISHES OF ST. MARY WOOLNOTH AVD ST. MARY WOOLCHURCH HAW,

AND LADY Camden's Wednesday evening lec i-urer at the church op

ST. LAWRENCE JEWRY, LONDON.

IN TEN VOLUMES. VOL. IV.

PARAPHRASE ON HARD TEXTS, FROM HOSEA TO REVELATION.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY C. WHITONGHAM, Dean Street;

FOR WILLIAMS AND SMITH, STATIONERS' COURT ; J. BURDITT; BYFIELD AND SON; T. CONDEK ; J. HATCHARD ; MATHEWS AND LEIGH ; J. NUNN ; f. C. AND J. RIVINGTON ; L, B. SEELEY ; VERNOB, HOOD, AND SHABPE ; J. WALKER; AND J. WHITE.

1808.

CONTENTS OF VOL. IV.

Paraphrase on the Hard TexI

Page

HOSEA 1

Joel 26

Amos 32

Obadiah 46

Jonah 49

MiCAH 51

Nahum 63

Habakkuk 67

Zephanxah 75

Haggai 79

Zechariah 83

Malachi 107

St. Matthew 113

St. Mark 171

St. Luke 178

St. John 201

Acts of the Apostles 246

Romans 262

1 Corinthians 309

2 Corinthians 351

i IN

Page

Galatians 375

Ephesians 391

Philippians : 400

colossians 407

1 Thessalonians 414

2 Thess alonians 419

1 Timothy. 422

2 Timothy 431

Titus 438

Philemon 440

Hebrews 441

James 467

1 Peter 475

2 Peter 482

1 John 486

2 John 494

3 John ib.

JuDE 495

Revelation..,; 497

P A R Jt P H R A"S E

ITON THE

HARD TEXTS

OF

THE WHOLE DIVINE SCRIPTURE.

HOSEA.

I. 2 The beginning of the word of the Lord by Ilosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of 'whoredoms : for the laiid hath committed great whoredom-, departiiigy>'o??i the Lord.

When God first revealed his will to Hosea, and gave to him his first charge, the Lord said unto him ; Thy very person and thine actions are prophetical, and thou therein shalt carry a type of the relation betwixt me and the Church of Israel : go, therefore ; and, for a resemblance of my respects to sinful Israel, take unto thee a wife, that hath heretofore been noted for unchastity, how- soever now reclaimed ; and beget children of that wife, which was once blemished with known fornication : for such is the state of Israel towards me ; the land hath been notorious for her spi- ritual whoredoms, departing from the Lord to abominable idols.

I. 3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim ; ■which conceived, and bare him a son.

So, in obedience to the command of God, and for a sign to Israel, the prophet went and took to wife Gomer, the daughter of Dib- laim, a woman formerly noted for incontinency ; Avhich con- ceived, and bare him a son.

I. 4 And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel , for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.

And the Lord said unto the prophet Hosea, Call his name Jezreel ; for, ere long, I will avenge upon the posterity of Jehu the blood, which he, in his cruelty and ambition, shed in Jezreel : which VOL. IV. B V

2 rARAPHRASE UPON THE HARD TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE.

slauo;hter, however, in my just judgment, it were deservedlv exe- cuted, yet, as it was the act of treachery and undue aftoctation of dominion in the chief agents therein, shall be accordingly punish- ed ; for Zacharias, the son of Jeroboam, the last of that line, shall, after six months' reign, lose both his life and his kingdom, by the hand of Sballum ; and with him, the posterity of Jehu shall be extinguished.

I. 5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I -will break the . bow »f Israel in the vallnj of Jezrecl.

And, from tliat day, I will cause the state of Israel to impair and sink more and more ; till, at the last, I shall cause the kingdom thereof to cease, by the hand of Shahnaneser, king of the Assy- rian^i, and shall utterly overthrow all the strength of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel.

I. 6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-riihamah : for I will no more have mercj/ upon the house of Israel ; but I •will utterly take them away. • :

Now Israel, thus wasted, shall be, as it were, changed to the con- dition of a weak and womanish remnant : fur the signification whereof, the prophet's once infamous wife conceived again, and bare a daughter ; and God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruha- niah, Not obtaining mercy ; for Israel, being thus given over by me, shall receive no further mercy from me, but I will utterly leave" them to spoil and dispersion, neither shall they be anymore a kingdom.

1. 7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, ayid will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horseynen. But, as for the house of Judah, I will have mercy upon them, and repair their kingdom ; not by anv force of arms, nor by the power of any warlike assistance, but by my own effectual incli- nation of the heart of Cyrus, the king of Persia, whose favour shall re-establish them in their country.

I. 8 Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.

Now, when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, and God had for some years expected the amendment of his people Israel, Gomer con- ceived, and bare a son.

I. 9 Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi : for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

Then said God, Call his name, Not iny people; for I had before cast off Israel from being a kingdom : now I will cast them off from being at all any people of mine ; I will not own them for mine any more.

I. lo' Fet the twmbcr of the children of Israel shall be as the sand ff the sea, xvhich cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them. Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God,

/

HOSEA. 3

Yet, for all this, know, that I will make good that promise, which I made to Abraham, concerning the number of his seed, no less innumerable than the sand of the sea ; for, to my Spiritual Israel, which are the true seed of the promise, shall this word be surely fulfdled : they shall be happily increased; and, of them, where- as there was no face of a Church, no appearance of a people of God, now it shall be clearly manifest, that they are a chosen ge- neration, and a peculiar people unto me.

I. 1 1 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land : for great shall be the day of Jezreel. Then shall my Church be gathered out of all coasts; and out of both Israel and Judah, out of Jews and Gentiles, shall mine elect be called, by the voice of the Gospel ; and shall submit them- selves to one head, Christ Jesus ; and shall be gathered into one Jerusalem, which is above, the mother of us all : oh, how great and glorious shall that day be, wherein, being delivered from the servitude and captivity of sin, they shall be adopted for the Sons of God, and heirs of glory !

II. 1 Sax) ye unto your brethren, Ammi^ and to your sisters, Ru- hamah.

Ye pi-ophets of God, say ye unto those few of Israel, which are as yet mine, and thos(5, to whom I have yet shewed mercv, in withholding them from the wickedness of their fellows; sav thus.

11. 2, 3 Plead with your mother, plead : for she is not vuj 'jcifcy neither am / her husband : let her therefore put away her whore- doms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts ; Lest I strip her naked, and set her as iji the day that she was boryi^ and make her as a wild^ness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

Lay before the face of this Church of Israel, your common mother, boldly and freely, her notorious sins ; and enforce them against her : let her know, that this demeanour of hers is not such, as is fit for my wife ; neither will I be to her, as a husband : charge ' and advise her, to repent of all her wickedness ; to put away all those her spiritual fornications, wherewith she hath defiled her- self; Lest I strip her naked of all those blessings, Avherewith I have endowed her, and leave her in that forlorn estate, wherein she was, ere I chose her for my Church ; lest I give her up to utter dssolatioji and barrenness, leaving her destitute of all hope and comfort.

II. 4 And I will not have mercy upon her children ; for they be the children of whoredoms.

As for those several persons, whicli appertain unto her, and are, as it were, the sons of her womb, I will not have mercy upon them in forbearing their ymnishment ; for they are bred and born in the practice of gross idolatry.

II. 5 For their mother hath played the harlot : she that conceived them hath done shamefully : for she said, I will go after my lover

4 PARAPHRASE UPON THE HARD TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE.

that give me viy bread and my •water, 7n_y -wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.

For their mother, the Church of Israel, hath given herself over to spiritual fornications; and hath said, I \vill follow the fashions of the Eg3-ptians and Assyrians, to whose league and friendship I have betaken myself, and from whose bountiful gods I have received my maintenance.

II. 6 Therefore, behold, I xvill hedge up thy -jcaxj xvith thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. I'herefore, behold, I will take a course to prevent thv gadding after these thy adulterous mates : I will set a hedge of thorns in thy way, restraining thee by mine afflicting hand ; yea, I will wall up her passage by the siege of an enemy.

II. 1 And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not over- take them ; and she shall seek them, but shall not fiyidx\\e.m: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband ; for then was it better with me than now.

1 will frustrate all her hopes and desu'es; so as, howsoever she be affected to her idols and her heathenish confederates, yet she shall not be able to make any use of them : then, when she is thorough- ly crossed and humbled by my afflictions, she shall begin to enter- tain penitent thoughts; and shall say within herself, I will return to my God, whom I have oflFended ; for it was better with me, while I kept me to his sincere and holy service, than it is now.

II. 8 For she did not know that I gave her corii, and wine, and oil, and multiplied hey silver and her gold, which they prepared for Baal.

For, w hilq she took these lewd courses, she had not the grace to consider, that it was I, her God, to whom she was beholden for all those blessings, which she enjoyed ; even for her wine and oil ; yea, for that very silver and gold, which she wickedly bestowed upon her idols.

II. 9 Therefore will I return, and take away my corn in the time thereof, and my wine in the season thereof, and will recover my wool a?id my flax given to cover her nakedness. And, because she would not acknowledge this, therefore I will bereave her of those my blessings ; and Avill take away from her my corn and my wine, wherewith she was wont to be fed and re- freshed, even, in that season, when she makes most account of en- joying it ; and will take back my wool and my flax, wherewith I clothed her ; that she may learn to know wlience she received these benefits.

II. 10 And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and iwne shall deliver her out of mine hand. And now, I will make her unthankfulness and vain confidence openly known to the Avorld ; and convince her of it, before her professed confederates ; and none of them shall be able to deliver her out of my afflicting hand.

II. 11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her 'imo moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solcmnfeasfs.

HOSEA. ' 5

I Will take from her all her solemn rejoicings, in abridging her of her feast days, and new moons, and sabbaths, wherein she was wont to make public professions of mirth.

n. 13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim^ xchcrein she burned incense to them, a?id she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, a/id she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord.

And I will then call her to account for those festivities of Baalim, wherein she did idolatrously burn incense to those her false Gods; and set out herself, in her best dresses, for the honour of her idols, and the pleasure of her heathenish confederates ; and forgat me, saith the Lord.

n. 14 Therefore, behold, Twill allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.

Therefore, behold, I will take all courses to reclaim her : I will earnestly solicit her, with all wholesome counsel ; and will bring her into captivity ; and will therein yet speak comfortably to her, sustaining her in the midst of her grievous adversity.

II. 15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the •valley of Achor for a door of hope : and she shall sing there, as iJi the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

And, in her return from thence, I will give her those vineyards, which she had deservedly lost ; and will re-admit her into that valley of Achor, which is on this side Jordan, as her entrance into that hoped and promised land of her inheritance ; and there she. shall rejoice, and sing, and live chearfully, as she did in her first possession of it, when she came out of the land of Egypt.

n. 16 And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi ; and shalt call vie no more Baali. And, in that day, thou shalt call me, Ishi, My Husband, and shalt no more call me, Baali, My Lord ; which name, howsoever I mis- like not in itself, yet, because it carries with it the sound and remembrance of your former idol, I will not abide to be put upon me.

II. 17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. For I do so hate and detest those your idols, as that I will not en- dure the very mention of their names, but damn them to perpetual forgetfulness.

II. 18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, ayid witli the creep- ing things of the ground : and I will break the bow and the sword ' and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.

And, in that day, Avill I ordain, and give charge to all creatures, that they shall be helpful unto ihem, and forbear any annoyance of them ; even to the beasts of the field, and fowls of the air, and to the creepiag things upon earth : and I will pacify all enemies ;

6 PARAPHRASE UPON THE HARD "texts OF SCRIPTURE.

and prevent all those Avars, that may be in danger to be raised against them, and will cause them to dwell safely and peaceably.

II. 19 Ami J will betroth thee wito me for ever ; yea, I will betroth thee unto[vie in righteousness, and in judgment , and in loving- kindness, and in mercies.

And I will renew my everlasting covenant with thee : I will be thy God; thou shalt be my people : I will be thy Husband and Sa- viour; thou shalt be my Church and Spouse,- inseparably united unto me ; to whom T will graciously communicate my perfect righteousness; and whom I will embrace in my just acceptation, in loving kindness and in mercies.

II. 20 J will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.

I will even marry thee unto myself, in all faithful plighting of our mutual troth, one to another ; and thou shalt find that I am and Avill be a gracious Lord unto thee.

II. 21, 22 And it shall covie to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil ; and they shall hear Jczreel.

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that all crea- tures shall receive a command from me to contribute their several blessings to my people ; as if the heaven, and the earth, and the wine, and oil, and my people Israel, did join ail together, both to sue for and to confer those benefits unto my Church, which their several natures and condition can and do yield unto them.

II. 23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth ; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy ; and I will say to them which were noi^ my people. Thou art my people ; ai'^ they shall say, Thou art my God.

And I will so multiply my Church in the earth, as if I had sown it with men ; and I will so alter the estate of things, as that my mercy shall magnify itself upon that people, both of Jews and Gentiles, that had not obtained mercy ; and I will say to them, which were not mv people, I have chosen thee to be my people ; and they shall say agam, in a blessed rcstipulation, Thou art my God.

III. 1 Then said the Lord unto me. Go yet, love a woman be- loved of her frierid, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the \mkt> toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.

Then said the Lord, Go, and, by this act that I do now enjoin thee, shew to Israel their sin, and their shame and punishment : go then, and make profession of love to a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress ; and bring her home to thee ; and make it known, that thou dost it in a type of that love, which the Lord beareth towards the adulterous nation of Israel, who idolatrously looks after other gods, and gives herself to intemperate cpurses.

' HOSEA. 7

III. 2 ^i; / bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barlcx). So I went, according to the command of God, and, for no great price, I procured such a woman, beloved of her friend though otherwise infamous ; and proclaimed her a type of Israel.

III. 3 And I said unto her, Thou shall abide for mevianj/ days; thou, shalt not piety the harlot, and thou shall not be for another vian : so will / also be for thee.

And, for that purpose, I said unto her, Thou shalt continue as a widow in my house, mourning for many days ; and shalt not be permitted to play the harlot, neither will I suffer thee to have the liberty of conversing with any other man. Neither will I come to thee to converse with thee :

The following words are ']'hti 'JN'"DJi — et etiam ego ad tc ; the negative particle (n'Si) being here to be understood to be repeated ; so as the words seem to 77<7«, Neither, will I be to thee.

III. 4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim. For the children of Israel, who have been guilty of these spiritual fornications, shall, for a just punishment of their uncleanncss, be left desolate for many years; for, from the time of their deporta- tion into captivity, till the restoration of my Spiritual Kingdom by the Messiah, shall be six hundred and fourscore years : in which time, they shall be without a king, without a prince, with- out a sacrifice, and, in short, without any face, either of a church or common-wealth ; yea, even of so much as a church miserably depraved by those superstitions and corrupt services, which are now in use amongst them.

III. 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the hoKD their God, and David their king ; and shall fear the Lokv^ and his goodness in the latter days.

Afterward, when the Son of God shall be manifested in the flesh, the children of Israel, together Avith all my M'hole Churcii, shall return, and submit themselves to the worship of the true God, and of the Messiah, the true Son and Successor of David : and shall be holily and religiously aftected to God and his service, in the da3^s of the Gospel.

IV. 2 They break out, and blood toucheth blood.

They break out into horrible outrages ; and murders are so fre- quent, as that one overtakes another, without any distance or in- termission of bloodshed.

IV. 4 I'et let no man strive, nor reprove another : for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.

Yet let no man trouble himself, and lose his labour, in reproving those sins, which he sees committed ; for thy people are obstinately bent to continue in their wickedness : they are such as will be

8 PARAPHRASE UPON THE HARD TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE.

ready to brawl and quarrel with the messengers of God, that shall endeavour to reclaim them.

IV. 5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. Therefore will I bring swift judgment upon thee : thou shalt speedily fall, and thy prophets with thee ; for, if thou fallest in the day, thy prophets shall not be long after thee, they shall fall in the night j and I will destroy the very Church and kingdom, whereto thou appcrtainest.

IV. 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. My people are destroyed for lack of the true knowledge of me their God, and of my law.

IV. 8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their ^leart on their iniquity.

They make a gain of the sins of my people, and feed themselves fat with their sacrifices ; willingly giving way to their sins, for the benefit of their oblations ; and being well pleased with their gain- ful iniquities.

IV. 9 And there shall be like people, like priests : and I will punish them for their ways. Sic.

So as they shall be all too like to each other ; wicked people, and wicked priests; the people's sins deserved to be punished with such priests, and such priests have helped to make the people thus wicked, &c.

IV. 10 For they shall eat, and not have enough : they shall com- mit whoredom, and shall not increase : because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.

They shall eat ; and yet not find the benefit of their sustenance, in an increase of strength, or satisfaction of appetite : they shall spend their bodies in the acts of their lust, and shall have no in- crease of issue ; for that they cast off all care of God's service, and their obedience to him.

IV. 1 1 Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. They are so besotted with their whoredoms and drunkenness, that they have lost all the sense of whatsoever grace and goodness ; and are utterly bereft of all care of God or themselves.

IV, 1 2 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff de- clareth unto them : for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, a7ul they have gone a whoring from under their God. My people are so sottish, as to go unto their wooden images, for either counsel, or prediction of future events : a piece of a stick is their god, and their oracle ; for this gross idolatrous disposition, whereto they have long inclined, hath drawn them into these foul enormities, and hath drawn them a whoring from under their only true God.

IV. 14 / will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredoms, nor your spouses when they conmiit adultery : for them- selves are separated xvith whores, and they sacrifice with harlots : therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.

HOSEA, 9

1 will not so far favour you, .as to punish your daughters, or your Avives, when they play the harlot: while I respected you, and took keep of you, I was ready to correct you for your misdeeds ; but now, I have given up the care of you, and will not chastise that in your children and wives, which ye, that are the parents and husbands, are willingly guilty of ; for ye yourselves go aside with your harlots, and spend the good cheer of your sacrifices upon whores ; therefore, as I before denounced the sentence, the people, both one and other, that do not understand, nor seek after God, shall perish,

IV, 15 Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judak offend ; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beih-uven, nor swear, The Lord liveth.

But though Israel, or the Ten Tribes, be thus miscarried with idolatry, yet let not the infectious example of their sin so far pre- vail, as that Judah and Benjamin should be tainted therewith : go not ye, O men of Judah, so far as Gilgal, the utmost bounds of your region on this side Jordan, upon any idolatrous pilgrimage ; neither go ye up to the golden calf of Beth-el, yea, of Beth-aven rather, the house of vanity ; neither do ye, in your solemn oaths, apply niv name to your idols, as to say of them, The Lord liveth.

IV, 16 For Israel slideth back, as a backsliding heijer : nozio the Lord 'jcill feed them as a lamb in a large place. For Israel is slidden back from her profession ; as some wild and stubborn heifer draws back, to pull his neck out of the yoke: and now, the Lord will lay them open to judgment, as if some silly lamb, in a large pasture, should be exposed to the violence of some devouring beast.

IV. 17 Ephraim h joined to idols : let him alone. Ephraim, or the Ten Tribes of Israel, have given tliemselvcs over to idolatry : meddle not thou with them, O Judah: if Israel will needs offend, let him sin without thee.

IV. 18 Their drink is sour : they have coftnmitted-whoredom con- tinually : her rulers w \th shame do love. Give ye. Their intemperance is odious: they have committed whoredom contiiiually : her rulers are all for bribes, and are not ashamed to say. Give.

IV. 19 The xvind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.

But they shall be miserably dispersed : the Avind of God's judg- ments is ready to carry them away, upon the wings thereof, into fearful desolation ; and they shall rue the time, that they yielded themselves over to those their idolatrous sacrifices.

V. 1 And give ye ear, 0 house of the king ; for judgment is to- ward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.

And give ye ear, O house of the liing of Israel; for judgment is toward you ; because, when as my people were, according to my command, to go up to sacrifice at Jerusalem, ye procured wait to

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he laid for them, both at Mizpah and at mount Tabor, as a fow l^>r would lay nets and snares for birds, to intercept them in their Avay and to draw them back to your own idolatrous altars.

V. 2 And the rcvoltevs are profound io make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.

And the revolted Israelites are profomid and subtle in their plots, to draw t!ie slaughter of the sacrifices to the place of their own choosing ; though I have not forborne my vehement rebukes of them all.

V. 3 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me. I know Ephraim, the chief of those Ten Tribes; and tlie rest, which make up the kingdom of Israel, are not hid from me.

V. 5 Judah also shall fall with them. Judah also, since he would not be warned to avoid the sins of Israel, shall partake of their judgments, as well as of their iniquity.

V. 6 They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek; the Lord; but they shall not find him ; is'c.

They shall go with whole flocks and herds of their sacrifices, to seek the Lord, to appease his wrath, and recover his favour ; but thev shall not find giace and acceptation at his hands.

V. 7 They hare dealt treacherously against the Lord : for they have begotten stmnge children : now shall a month devour them with their portions.

They have dealt trcacherouslv against the Lord ; for they have trained up their children in heathenish idolatry : now therefore, in a very short space, shall they and their land be devoured by the enemy.

V. 8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Raviah : cry aloud at Beth-aven, after Ihee, O Benjaynin. Make speed v preparation therefore for the war: Blow the cornet in Gibeah, tlic utn)Ost border of Judah ; and blow the trumpet in Ramah, the utmost border of Israel: cry aloud at Bclh-aven, that is betwixt both ; and do thou, O Beniamin, consider what thou hast to do, wiien the enemv is at thy back.

V. 9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke : among ihi tribes of Israel hate I ynade known that which shall surely be. Even that leadmg tribe of Ephraim sliall be desolate, in the day of mv vengeance : I have sionified unto the tribes of Israel, what thev shall surelv find, how incredulous soever thev may be for the present.

V. 10 The princes of Judah were like them that remote the bound : therefore / will pour out my wrath upon them like water. The princes of Judah were lawless in their carriage ; as men, that resolved not to regard those bounds and limits, which my law- hath set unto them in their callings ; therefore, I will abundantly pour out my Avrath upon them.

Y . 1 1 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willin^ily walked after the commandmettt.

Ephraiin is ojipressed by the Assyrian, and gone to wreck ; be-

HOSE A. U

cause he willingly walked after the comman(ln:ient of their wicked and idolatrous governors.

V. 12 Therefore will / be unto Ephraim as a moth, aixd to the house of Judah as rottenness.

Therefore will I consume Fphraitn, as a moth eateth a garment ; and will consume Judah, as a worm (or rottenness) consumeth wood: so will I decay them, by an insensible, yet certain judgment.

V. 13 When Ephraim saxv his sickness, and Judah saw his 7i-ound, then 'i'ent Epllraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Ja- reh : yet could he not ht ai you, nor cure you oj your xvouyid. When Israel saw the danger, wherein he was, he mad-j means to the Assyrian for help ; and when Ahaz, the king of Judah, was in distress, he sends to Tiglath Pileser, that should stand out for him ; but all in vain : neither shall any aid of mortal man be able to cure you of those wounds, which the hand of niy justice shall in- flict upon rou.

V. 15 I will go and return to my place till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face : in their ajfliction they will seek vie early.

I will gi), saith the Lord, and will withdraw myself from them ; not giving them any testimony of my grace or presence, till they shall be humbled in the sense of their sins, and seek to recover mv favour in their affliction : and if any means can possibly prevail v.ith them, it must be this ; in their affliction they will seek me instantly,

VI. 1 Come, and let zis return unto the Lord.

And-, in their seeking after me, they shall exhort and excite one another to repentance ; Come, and Jet us return, &c.

VI. 2 After two days will he revive us. After a very short space of our afflictions, he will be gracious unto us ; and so cheer and restore us, as if he had given us a new life.

VI. 3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord : his going forth is prepared as the vwrning ; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. Then shall we attain to the perfect knowledge of the Lord, if we do carefully and constantly persist in using those good means that he hath appointed : he shall then so reveal himself to us, as the sun shews himself to the world, in his morning-rising, by degrees ascending to his full height ; and he shall come to us, not at once, but as the rain, that falls down hydrops, even as the rain of the autumn and spring, that descends sweetly in soft and gentle showers.

VI. 4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee'? 0 Judah, what shall I do unto thee ? for your goodness is as a rnornijig cloud, and as the early dew it ^oeih awaiy.

O Israel and Judah, what course should I take with you ? I have neglected no means of your good ; yet there is no hold to be taken

12 PARAPHRASE UPON THE HARD TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE.

of you : some profession you make, but it is altogether fickk and inconstant : your appearing goodness vanishes away, like as a morning cloud, or an early dew in summer.

VI. 5 Therefore have I hcxotd them hy the prophets ; / have slain thcni^ the zcords of my mouth : and thy judgmctits are as the light that goeth forth.

Therefore, I have wrought upon them by my prophets, denounc- ing judgment against them : I have, as it were, smitten them dead by the terrible threats of my punishments ; and I have given them s\ich means of information, as have been no less clear than the light itself, that goeth forth upon the world.

VI. 6 For J desired mercy, and not sacrifice j and the knowledge of God, viore than burnt offerings.

For it was true inward goodness and mercy, that I required of them, and not the outward formalities of sacrifice ; and the true knowledge of God, was that Avhich I called for, more than their burnt offerings.

VI. 7 But they like men have transgressed the covenant. But they, like the right sons of Adam, have transgressed the co- venant, that I made Avith them.

VI. 8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted xaith blood.

Even Gilead itself, a city of the priests, is a society of notoriously wicked men ; and is full of murders.

VI. 11 Also, O Jiidah, he hath set an harvest for thee, ivhen I returned the captivity of my people.

Also, O Judah, corrupted Israel hath prepared a harvest of re- venge for thee, in sowing the seeds of idolatry in thee; upon oc- casion of that captivity, whereinto thy brethren of Israel led thee, under Pekah, the son of Remaliah, from which I procured and wrought thy deliverance.

VII. 1 When 1 would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria : for they com m it falsehood.

When I would have healed those Ten Tribes of Israel, by the me- dicines applied by my prophets, then did the iniquity of Ephraim, which was the chief of them, and the wickedness of Samaria, the chief city of Israel, break out most outrageously, &c.

VII. 3 They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.

They are readilv obsequious to their governors, in all their wicked commands ; and do gladly sooth them up, Avith their lies and flatteries.

VII. 4 Thc}/ are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ccaseih from arising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

They are all adulterers, burning with filthy lust, as hot as an oven heated bv the baker : who forbears meddling any further with that

' Cm/

flOSEA. 3 3

flame, while the dough, lliat he hath kneaded, be sufficiently lea- vened ; in which space, the lieat of tlie oven grows to the height.

VII. 5 In the day of our king the princes hate made him sick ■unth bottles of wine ; he stretched out his hand rrith scorners. In tlie day of the solemnity of our king, tlicre hath beej^ excess of surfeit and drunkenness, whereinto the |)rinces have not stuck to draw in their sovereign himself ; so as he hath been miscarried to consort with them, in their wicked debauchedness.

VII. 6 For thexj have made readi) their heart like an oven, 'while they lie in wait : their baker sleepeth all the night ; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.

They have given up their heart to beastly concupiscences, where- with they have burned like an oven, while they lie in wait for an opportunity of fullilling those wicked lusts ; even like an oven, which the baker hatli over-night filled with kindled wood, and, awaking in the morning, finds flaming with a strong fire.

VII. 7 They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges ; all their kings are fallen : there is none among them iJiat • allcth unto me.

They have burned with unclean and with malicious desires and af- fections, and have made away with many of their governors : all their late kings have come to an untimely end ; and, indeed, there was none of them, that had any piety or goodness, or that cared to call upon me.

VII. 8 Epkraim, he hath viixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

For Ephraim, he hath mixed himself with heathens, and is a pro- fessed associate with them : Ephraim is grown irresolute in his re- ligion ; like a cake, that is half dough, and half baked ; so is he, half Israelite, half Pagan.

VII. 9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it 7iot : yea, grey hairs arc here and there upon him, yet he know- eth not.

God hath sent foreign enemies to spoil and waste his country, and to carry away his substance, yet he is not sensible of this Divine >Iand ; yea, that part of his cake, which is not turned, is grouti musty and hoary, and worthy to be cast out, yet he percciveth it not.

VII. 1 1 Ephraiyn also is like a silly dove without heart : they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

Ephraim is like a silly dove; going on, without wit, without heed, into that net which is spread for him : they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria for help ; whereas, these will be their bane.

VII. 1 2 When they shall go, J will spread my net upon them. ; I Will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven ; / will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.

I wdl be as a fowler to this silly dove of Ephr.iim : I will spread my net upon them, and catch them in their own devices : I will fetch them into the compass of my judgments, as the fowls of hea- ven are caught in a snare: I will chastise them, in the same naan- ner that my prophets have forewarned them.