The argument and reafon is, there is a ftorm coming; fray not without doors, left the ftorm be upon you; why, "Behold the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth alfo fhall difclofe her blood, and fhall no more cover her flain." Where alfo you may obferve four things.

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(1.) The certainty of the thing, it is with a Behold; Behold, he cometh :" it fhall certainly be; and you fhall fee God executing vengeance. It is certain,

therefore behold it.

(2.) The folemnity of the thing; "The Lord cometh out of his place, to punish." It is fpoken after the manner of man, like one rifing in fury out of his place, to reach a ftroke to his enemy; as it is faid, Ifa. xxviii. 12." The Lord fhall rife up as in mount Perafim, he fhall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his ftrange work; and bring to pass his act, his ftrange act." It is with a fpecial folemnity he threatens - to punish; "Behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish."

(3.) The juftice of it: God comes to afflict and plague them that are the inhabitants of the earth, but it fhall be in righteous and juft punilhment of their ini quity; the cry of their fins brings God out of his place, to punish them. Befides the everlafting punishment which the wicked fhall undergo hereafter, there are inftances of remarkable punishments of finful nations and churches, when their fin has come to a height.

(4.) The neceflity of it: "The earth fhall difclofe her blood, and no more cover her flain:" that is, the very earth cries for vengeance on the finners that live upon the earth; the earth fhall vomit up the blood that hath been unjustly fled, as the voice of Abel's blood cried from the earth, Gen. iv. 10, 11. See Job xx. 27. "The heaven fhall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shail rise. up against him." Thefe bloody fins that feemed to have been buried in oblivion, will be called to mind; and the earth itself that feemed to cover and hide them, will discover and reveal them, and witnefs against the finner. Omitting many doctrines take this one.

Obferv.

Obferv. "That in fhaking times, when wrath is threat"ened upon a finful people, fuch is the care that "God hath for the fafety and fecurity of his own, "that he wills them to come into their chambers, "and not ftay without doors, to be expofed to the "violence of the ftorm that is a-coming."

For proof and illuftration of this doctrine, we shall confirm both the branches of it.

1. That God hath a care of his own, their fafety and fecurity, is plain here from his direction given to them, what they are to do, before he bring on a ftorm. And you may notice the respect he hath to their fecurity, verfe 1. of this chapter; " In that day fhall this fong be fung in the land of Judah, We have a strong city, falvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.” See, to this purpose, Mal. iii. 16, 17. in evil times he will make up his jewels, and fpare them as a man fpareth his fon that ferveth him. Read alfo, Amos ix. 8, 9. "Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the finful kingdom, and I will deftroy it from off the face of the earth; faving that I will not atterly deftroy the house of Jacob, faith the Lord. For lo, I will command, and I will fift the house of Ifrael among all nations, like as corn is fifted in a fieve, yet fhall not the least grain fall upon the earth." It is faid, Matth. xxiv. 24. that " Falfe Chrifts and falfe prophets fhall arise, and fhall deceive, if it were poffible, the very elect:" but it is not poffible they can be either deceived or destroyed.

2. That God wills them to come into their chambers before the storm of wrath come on, as here and elsewhere.

See Zeph. i. I, 2, 3. "Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not defired, before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, feek righteoufnefs, feek meeknefs; it may be ye fhall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger." To this purpose you my read, Joel ii. 12, 13, 14. "Therefore alfo now, faith the Lord, Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fafting,

and

and with weeping, and with mourning. And rent your heart and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God; for he is gracious and merciful, flow to anger and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a bleffing behind him, even a meat-offering, and a drinkoffering unto the Lord your God?" See fome promises alfo to this purpofe; "For in the time of trouble he fhall hide me in his pavilion; in the fecret of his tabernacle fhall he hide me; he fhall fet me up upon a rock, Pfal. xxvii. 5. Thou fhalt hide me in the fecret of thy prefence from the pride of man: thou fhalt keep them fecretly in a pavilion from the ftrife of tongues," Pfal. xxx. 20. See his name; "The Lord alfo will be a refuge for the oppreffed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their truft in thee: for thou, Lord, haft not forfaken them that feek thee," Pfalm ix. 9, 10. and alfo his peoples' practice; "I flee to thee to hide me," Pfalm cxliii. 9.

The method we would obferve, for the farther profecution of this fubject, through divine afliftance, fhall be the following.

I. Enquire when may the time be faid to be a threatening time, fo as a storm is evidently approaching? II. Why the Lord will take care of his peoples' fafety and fecurity in such times?

III. What chambers he wills them to come into, in order to their fafety?

IV. Make Application of the whole fubject.

I. When is it evident that a ftorm of wrath is coming upon a land, and that the Lord is about to come out of his place to punifh the inhabitants of the earth? To this we reply in the following particulars.

1. When all manner of fins abound, and thefe become national; fuch as thefe mentioned, Hofea iv. 1, 2, 3. "There is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land by fwearing, and lying, and killing, and ftealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and

blood

blood toucheth blood. Therefore fhall the land mourn, and every one therein fhall languifh," &c. Together with backfliding from God's covenant, hypocrify, and lukewarmnefs, Ifa. x. 5, 6. lviii. 1,-8. xxix. 13, 14. When people are lukewarm, God will ipue them out of his mouth, Rev.iii. 16. Incorrigiblenefs, Deut. xxviii. 20. When they perfecute the fervants of God, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16. When univerfal fecurity prevails, as it did over the old world, Jer. v. 11, 12. Falling from their firft love, Rev..ii. 4, 5. Obftinacy in fin, Numb. xiv. 41-44. Oppreffion of the poor. and fatherlefs, Exod. xxi. 22, 23, 24. Covenant-breaking, Deut. xxix. 24, 25. Lothing of the heavenly manna, and defpifing the gofpel, the word of God, Jer. xxvi. 4, 5, 6. Scoffing at religion and good men, Pfalm xxxvii. 13, 14. Jer. xviii. 20, 21. When error abounds, 2 Thef. ii. 11, 12. Unbelief, the mother fin, Pfal. Ixxviii. 20, 21, 22,—33. cvi. 24. Pride, 2 Chron. xxxii. 25, 26. Corrupting the worship of God, 1 Kings xi. 5,-9. Difobedience to the call of God, upon whatever pretence, and following falfe light, 1 Kings xiii. 17,-26.

2. It is evident that a ftorm of wrath is coming upɔn a land, when peoples' fins are aggravated. When they are the fins of Jerufalem, of a profeffing people, then fix angels were fent to deftroy them, while only two were fent to Sodom; as you fee, Ezek. ix. 2. "And behold, fix men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a flaughtering weapon in his hand."-When fins are committed against much light, against many checks of confcience, many beams of light, many means of grace, many calls of providence, many inftances of mercy and divine goodnefs; and againft the patience and forbearance of God, as you fee, Rom. ii. 4, 5.

3. When the patience of God is not only abused, but laughed at, and ridiculed by a profane age, that begin to fay, as it is faid, 2 Pet. iii. 4. "Where is the promife of his coming?" Where is the threatening of his coming to judgment? Then is the Lord angry, and will let men know that he is not flack concerning his promife, as fome men count flackness, though he is long-fuffering

to

to us-ward; and that he is not flack concerning his threatening, but will render vengeance to his enemies, Deut. xxxii. 41.

4. It is an evidence that the Lord is about to punish the inhabitants of the earth, when there are few or none to ftand in the gap, and keep out the wrath that is coming in; "And I fought for a man among them, that fhould make up the hedge, and ftand in the gap before me for the land, that I fhould not deftroy it; but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them, I have confumed them with the fire of my wrath their own way have I recompenfed upon their heads, faith the Lord God," Ezek. xxii. 30, 31. Then it is the time for the birds to fly into their nefts; the ftorm is approaching.-When good men are taken away, and there is great fcarcity of them; The righteous perifheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none confidering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come." Ifa. lviii. 1.— It is on this account the prophet Micah cries out, "Wo is me, for the good man is perifhed out of the earth, and there is none upright among men," Micah vii. 1; 2.— In a word fometimes the afpect of providence prophefies this to all that have eyes in their head.

II. We come now to fpeak a little of the refpect the Lord hath to the fafety and fecurity of his own people when a florm is coming. And here we may confider, 1. The reafons why: 2. The manner how he fecures

them.

1ft, He will do fo, as appears from these reasons following, among others.

1. Because he loves them with a peculiar love. Hence the Pfalmift, Pfalm cvi. 5. prays, that the Lord would let him fee the good of his chofen, "That (fays he) I may rejoice in the gladnefs ofthy nation, and that I may rejoice with thine inheritance." The love of God is above all love; and it is a tender and a compaffionate love. He loves his people, and therefore can protect them in timę of danger; "As a father pitieth his children, fo the Lord pitieth them that love and fear him," Pfalm ciii. 13. Though