They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the daies of Gibeah

They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the daies of Gibeah.

This must cost us a little further time for the opening of it fully: Rooted in their evil waies as in the daies of Gibeah. What has this reference to? The Scripture does note the City Gibeah for two notable things; one, that it was the City of Saul, and so then upon that some carry it thus: That as heretofore they cast off my Government when they chose Saul to be their King over them, so now they cast me off as then formerly they did.

But I think that's not the scope, but rather, As in the daies of Gibeah; This has reference to that notable story that you have in the 19. and 20. chapters of Judges, there you shall find what was done in the daies of Gibeah. You shall find the story of a Levite that had his Concubine gone from him and playing the whore, he went to fetch her again, and as he was returning home (the substance of the story is this) as he was coming home he would not go by no means (as his servant would have had him) to Jebus, because those that lived there were not of the Children of Israel, but he would be sure to lodg in a City that did belong to the Children of Israel, and when he comes to Gibeah, there expecting to have protection from that City, being they were of the Children of Israel, yet he found it quite otherwise, the people of the City were notorious abominable wicked people and they came by violence in the night to break open the doors where he lodged that they might commit sodomy and filthiness with him, but they obtaining him not, get his Concubine and abuse her all night together one after another, till with a long abuse of her they kill'd her, and she lay dead at the door, upon which horrid thing, this being committed in a City that did belong to the People of God, this Levite takes a knife and cuts his Concubine (being dead) into twelve pieces, and sends them all abroad throughout the coasts of Israel, and bad them think upon it and consider what should be done. And upon the sight of that, and hearing the occasion of it, the people were amazed and said, Never was such a thing done, or seen since the people of Israel came out of the Land of Egypt. Therefore all the People even from Dan to Beersheba they all assembled to consult what should be done, in the 20. chap. they resolved to go against the City of Gibeah; in the 11. verse the text says, All the people were gathered together against the City, as one man: and in the 13. verse they required those Delinquents to be delivered up to them. Now those Children of Belial they stood it out and would not deliver them up; yes, and they got the Benjamites to joyn with them, twenty six thousand Armed men to joyn with them to stand in defence of these notorious Delinquents, they got up an Army which one would not have thought that among the People God there should have been gotten up an Army to have defended such notorious villains as those were, yet they did, but the people of Israel joyned all together and were resolved that they would have such notorious wickedness to be punished (there was four hundred thousand joyned together). Now in the 18. verse, they asked counsel of God what they should do, and God gave them leave to go, and bid that Judah should go up first, so they went to require these Delinquents and went up against them, but the Benjamites the first day got the victory and slew two and twenty thousand men. Upon that the Children of Israel went up to God again and wept before the Lord, and God gave them leave to go again, and they went, and the Benjamites came out again and slew eighteen thousand more of them: These wicked Malignants got the Victory two daies and slew fourty thousand of the Children of Israel that went not only by Gods leave, but by his sending, and yet for two daies together they fel before those wicked and vile wretches; but yet afterwards they went and wept and fasted, they knew that their cause could not but be good, and they were resolved they would go to God again and humble their souls before God, and fast, and pray, and then they overthrew those wicked Benjamites, and these of Gibeah; and whereas there were twenty six thousand came out against them, there was twenty and five thousand and an hundred men slain by the sword, and the City of Gibeah was burnt with fire; so God executed wrath upon them at length. This is the story that the Prophet has reference to.

Now these men are wicked, as in the daies of Gibeah; look how it was in the daies of Gibeah, so now it is; there's many remarkable things to be observed from that story, in reference to this which the Prophet does quote it for, the story in general was thus, That they stood out to defend wicked ones so as they did; it does concern us fully in our times, and our wars are almost the very same now as then they were, for what is the main cause of our War but to fetch Delinquents to the execution of Justice? And who would have thought that such Delinquents whose burdens we groaned under in former times, and we accounted the great evil of the times, that these should find an Army to defend them? Yet perhaps sometimes we may be overcome by them, and they may for a while prevail, but let us fast before God and humble our selves more throughly, and certainly God will own his Cause in time as there he did. But particularly from the story first observe,

That when we make use of men as a shelter and to seek protection from them, if they shall deal vilely with us and accuse us, and make a prey upon us, this is a most abominable and cursed wickedness in the eyes of God; This Levite came from Jebus and would not lodg with them, but to Gibeah, thinking to have had protection there, and yet these deal vily: Does any man put himself under any of you for protection, and do you deal falsely? Oh! this is an abominable thing in the eyes of God.

Secondly, that sometimes we may meet with worse usage from such who profess religion and more strictness in their ways, than from those who outwardly are further off from profession. It may be if they had gone to Jebus they would not have met with such ill usage, as they did when they came to Gibeah: sometimes it is so that they that make profession of religion they are guilty of more ill usage to the servants of God than others that are profane and ungodly, or of another religion.

Oh! let men take heed of this, how they behave themselves towards their brethren, that they may not have cause to say, Lord, were we among the Indians or among some moderate Papists, or under some of the Prelates again we should not find such hard usage as we do from some of our brethren who profess your name and seek Reformation; this were a sad thing (I say) if ever there should be cause for the servants of God to make their moans to Heaven and cry to God. God forbid.

Thirdly, whereas Israel thought themselves holy and devout for God in the multitude of their sacrifices, and their devotion, and their services that they tendered up to God, yet God looks upon them as filthy and wicked, as the men of Gibeah were that committed sodomy and such kind of filthiness, says God, You have corrupted your selves as in the days of Gibeah; whatever your fair shows are, and your sacrifices be that you offer, yet you are looked upon as thus vile and abominable before God.

From where therefore the note may be, that men may have very fair shows in the worship of God, and do that which may seem to be much for the honor of God, and yet God looking with other eyes than men do, God may behold them as filthy, abominable, and loathsome in his sight. God will not be put off with words of Reformation and the service of God, for men may have such base ends in it, and may mix so much of themselves to corrupt the right way of God, and to keep out the right service of God with shows of serving him, that this may make them and their services to be as odious to God as the most filthy thing in the world; that's the clear and plain note from there. We do not read of such abominable filthiness of body as was in the days of Gibeah, but because of the corruptions of God's worship that they carried fairly, yet the Lord looked upon it as filthy, as that was in the days of Gibeah.

Fourthly, for men after wickedness is committed, to stand impudently, and boldly in the defence of it, and to be so far from the acknowledgment of their sin, as they will rather venture desperately the undoing of themselves than they will come in to acknowledge or let Justice have its course: this is an abominable wickedness in the eyes of God. Thus they did in the days of Gibeah. And thus you are ready to do, not only to commit horrible wickedness and sins, but to stand in the defence of it; there is this desperate stoutness of spirit, and hardness of heart in many men, that when they are once got into the way of sin, rather than they would yield and submit, they will venture the undoing of themselves: the men of Gibeah did so, and they were undone accordingly.

Yes, further, not only to stand out ourselves in evil, but to join with others to defend them, though it be the venturing of our own undoing and others, this is further wickedness; yet how many have we of the gentry and nobility of the kingdom, that do not only seek to defend themselves, but join with the greatest malignants of the kingdom, with those that are the greatest cause of evil, and were like to be the utter undoing of us all? To defend them from Justice will venture the ruin of their own families; whereas were it that the malignants were given up, they might have saved their estates, families, and all. Oh! that ever God should leave men in such horrible wickedness as this is! This is just as it was in the days of Gibeah.

Sixthly, those who do so stoutly stand to defend wickedness and other men who are wicked, yet they may for a while prosper; even the men of Gibeah and the Benjamites may prosper.

But yet in the next place, at last, these men shall perish; twenty five thousand and an hundred of these twenty six thousand perished, and all the men of Gibeah, and the city was burnt. So, let men stand out as stubbornly and stoutly as they will, and say, What care we? they will lose their lives and estates rather than they will submit and yield, well, they may lose all at length; you have yet (it may be) a day (some victory) and prevailed at some time, yes, but let not men's hearts be hardened by that, nor let none of the other side be discouraged, for certainly those that stand desperately out in defending of wickedness they shall perish at last; so did the Gibeonites.

Yes, but what is this to us (might the prophet's auditors say?)

Yes certainly it's much to you, for this aggravates your sins, the sins of forefathers (that's the note that the prophet makes use of) what was done in days of Gibeah.

From where is this note,

That the sins of forefathers is an aggravation of children's sins, when they commit the same and others like to them. And yet such is the delusion of many poor people that they excuse the present sins by the sins of former times: as thus; suppose Ministers or others should complain of the sinfulness of the times, and declaim against the sinfulness of the times, you shall have some can say, Why do they keep such a stir of the wickedness of the times, were they not as bad as they are now heretofore? Oh delusion! This is the great aggravation when that you live in those sins your forefathers did, you are it seems the child of a wicked parent, and how just had it been with God to have cut you off presently for the sins of your parents? And do you say, that your wickedness is no other than the wickedness of your forefathers? Certainly if the times be as ill as they were heretofore, they are worse than they were heretofore, for the evil of our forefathers is an aggravation of our present evils, if we continue in them: as the treachery of a parent would be no excuse for the treachery of a child, for him to say, my father was a traitor: for me to excuse the sins of the present times with the sins of the former times, and say, that they were as ill formerly as now; it is just for all the world such kind of reasoning. But this is not the reasoning of the Spirit of God, he aggravates the sins of Israel in Hosea's time with the sins that were in the days of Gibeah. God may let men alone in their wickedness for a long time, until they grow to the height of their wickedness, and then God comes upon them. When the sins of the Amorites were full, now, he will remember their iniquities, he will visit their sins. But for this phrase of God's remembering, and visiting, that we have had before, therefore we pass it over, and come to the tenth verse.