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fome meafure, where the rigour of justice would be destructive 7 to the debtor: [Is it] not to deal thy bread to the hungry, to fend food to the poor and indigent, and that thou bring the poor that are caft out, or out, or afflicted, to thy houfe? when thou feeft the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own 8 flesh, thy own kindred and countrymen? Then shall thy light, or happiness, break forth as the morning, dart itfelf out as the fun thro' the clouds, and thine health fhall fpring forth fpeedily; all thy wounds fhall be quickly healed: and thy righteoufnefs fhall go before thee; the glory of the LORD fhall be thy rereward; his providence 9 fball fecure thee from enemies before and behind. Then fhalt thou call, and the LORD fhall anfwer; thou shalt cry, and he shall fay, Here I [am,] ready to help thee. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, all inftruments of oppreffion, the putting forth of the finger 10 in contempt, and fpeaking vanity, or falsehood; And [if] thou draw out thy foul, thy affections and compassion, Jo that thy heart go along with thy gift, to the hungry, and fatisfy the afflicted foul; then shall thy light rise in obfcurity, and thy darkness [be] as the noon day: 11 And the LORD fhall guide thee continually, and fatisfy thy foul in drought, and make fat thy bones; fill thee with plenty, when others are in want: and thou fhalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not; which pours out its streams to all that 12 want and come to receive them. And [they that shall be] of thee, thy remnant or pofterity, fhall build the old wafte places; the temple and city, that the enemies had deftroyed: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The reftorer of paths to dwell in; thou shalt build new towns, enlarge old ones; thofe parts of the country that are defolate, and the paths overgrown, shall be 13 restored, and fortified places built up and repaired. If thou turn away thy foot from the fabbath, and [from] doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the fab

bath

This expreffion is taken from trampling under foot that which we difregard.

bath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and fhalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, or making it a day of diverfion, nor fpeaking [thine own] words, but the whole of thy 14 difcourfe be fuitable to the holiness of the day: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD, have true delight in the fabbath; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, thou shalt make foreign conquests," and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it]

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REFLECTION S.

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T is the duty of ministers to represent to their ple their fin and danger. This is always proper to be done, for, without it, communities will probably be injured, and fouls will certainly be loft: but it is especially fo in times of publick danger. Then God has particularly commanded it; and they may hope to be heard with particular attention. They are neither to fpare themselves nor their people; but to fhow them their tranfgreffion and fin with great plainnefs, that all may understand it; with great ferioufnefs and earneftnefs, and with tender compaffion, as proceeding from real love to their fouls. May all minifters have wisdom and courage to do fo; and all their people lend an obedient and attentive ear.

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2. We here fee how far hypocrites may go in external fervices. They may feek God daily, exprefs fome delight and fatisfaction in attending his fervice; they may afk the of duty, and take a pride in bringing their facrifices to his temple; yet indulge themselves in fenfual pleasures, lay heavy burdens upon others, have ftrife and deceit among themselves, and fmite with the fift of wickedness. All their pompous fervices are nothing but outward fhow, to make their voice to be heard on high, and can never be pleafing to that God who fearches the heart, and requires truth in the inward parts. To all fuch God will fay, Bring no more vain obla

tions:

This may fignify, Thou fhalt fee thy country delivered from thy enemies, and thou shalt go forth on horfes or chariots to fee the fortifications once poffelfed by them.

tions; your offerings and facrifices are an abomination to me. It is not ceremonial obfervances, nor hanging the head like a bulrush, nor walking in fackcloth and ashes, but justice and charity that make our services acceptable to God; to remove heavy burdens, let the oppreffed go free, break every yoke, deal bread to the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the fick and afflicted. Then shall we be happy in ourselves, acceptable to God, and he will furround us with his favour as with a Shield: then fhall our prayers be heard; and when we call, God fhall anfwer, Here am I; a prefent help in every time of need. Reformation and goodness is the way to comfort and happiness.

3. See the honour and happiness of God's faithful fervants. Their fouls are drawn out to God in devotion and love, and drawn out to the poor in compaffion and tender affection; and therefore God will pour down his choicest bleffings upon them. Light fhall rife upon them in darknefs; God will guide them continually, fatisfy their fouls, while others are in want, make them as a watered garden, flourishing and fruitful. They and their families fhall be bleffed thro' many generations, and repair the breaches that fin and death have been making in the church and world. Happy they who are in fuch a cafe! yea, thrice happy they whofe God is the Lord.

4. We have here another powerful motive to regard the fabbath. If we remember the fabbath day to keep it holy, lay afide our business and pleasure, call it a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable, and honour him, not finding our own pleasures, nor fpeaking our own words; then it is promifed, thou shalt delight thyself in the Lord; enjoy the highest pleasures in communion with him and a fenfe of his favour. God will bring fuch to his holy mountain, make them joyful in his houfe of prayer, and their facrifices fhall be accepted upon his altar. Let this engage us to a strict obfervance of the fabbath, as one of the best prefervatives of the power of religion in the foul, and as the most likely means to fecure the divine bleffing on ourselves, our families, and all our comforts. Hypocrites may keep folemn days of fafting; but none but fincere and pious fouls will conftantly keep the fabbath from polluting it.

CHAP.

CHA P. LIX.

The Ifraelites having queftioned God's power and goodness, because he had not regarded their faftings and prayers, the prophet proceeds further to show them the cause of it.

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EHOLD, the LORD's hand is not shortened,

that it cannot fave, his power is not weakened; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear your prayers, thofe in particular which you offer on your faft days: it is not from any inability or difinclination on his part that you 2 are not delivered; But the true reafon of your prefent calamities is, that your iniquities have feparated between you and your God, and your fins have hid [his] face, that is, his favourable regard, from you, that he will not 3 hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverfenefs; you are guilty 4 of murder, theft, and flander. None calleth for juftice, nor [any] pleadeth for truth: they truft in vanity, and fpeak lies; they conceive mifchief, and bring forth iniquity; there is none to efpoufe the cause of justice and 5 truth. They hatch cockatrice eggs, or, the eggs of the bafilifk, and weave the spider's web, (which is unprofitable) in order to deceive and entangle others: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, he that hath any dealing with them is fure to fuffer by it, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper; instead of a fine fowl there comes out a 6 ferpent, which he dares not touch. Their webs fhall not become garments, neither fhall they cover themselves with their works: their works [are] works of iniquity, and the act of violence [is in] their hands; their defigns 7 fhall not come to perfection, nor do them any good. Their feet run to evil, and they make hafte to fhed innocent blood their thoughts [are] thoughts of iniquity; wafting and deftruction [are] in their paths; they are eager and intent upon all their schemes of violence and mif8 chief. The way of peace they know not, have not regarded and [there is] no judgment, no respect to justice or right, in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whofoever

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95 whofoever goeth therein fhall not know peace. Therefore is judgment far from us; neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obfcurity; for brightness, [but] we walk in darknefs; we fuffer oppreffion from our enemies abroad, and from tyranny at home, and all 10 our expectations are difappointed. We grope for the wall" like the blind, and we grope, or wander, as if [we had] no eyes we stumble at noon day as in the night; [we are] in defolate places as dead [men;] all our Schemes are confounded, our councils infatuated, and we are quite funk into II despair. We roar all like bears, and mourn fore like doves; the forrow of fome is noify, and of others filent, or fecret: we look for judgment, but [there is] none; for 12 falvation, [but] it is far off from us. For our transgreffions are multiplied before thee, and our fins testify against us: for our tranfgreffions [are] with us; and [as for] our iniquities, we know them; our own con13 fciences give full evidence against us; In tranfgreffing and lying against the LORD, and departing away from our God, fpeaking oppreffion and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood; we have been guilty of falfe judgment and oppreffion against men, and 14 of revolting from God. And judgment is turned away backward, and juftice ftandeth afar off; as if afraid to enter among fuch a wicked crew, where he has met with Such oppofition: for truth is fallen in the street, and there is none to raife her up, and equity cannot enter into any 15% of our courts or publick places. Yea, truth faileth in our common converfation; and he [that] departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD faw [it,] and it displeased him that [there was] no judgment among his own people.

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And he faw that [there was] no man, and wondered that [there was] no interceffor; that there was none to attempt a reformation or even to intercede for the land: therefore his arm brought falvation unto him, to Ifrael; and his righteousness, it fuftained him; his faithfulness carried him thro' all oppofition; that is, God determined to fbow that it was his own goodness, in regard to his honour 17 and faithfulness, that led him to interpofe. For he put on VOL. V.

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