Verse 16

VER. 16.

Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit.

Ephraim is smitten.] God had threatned Ephraim long before, but now he is smitten; not threatned only, but smitten.

Observe this note, (the manner of the phrase is as if he were smitten from Heaven by a thunder-bolt, in a dreadful manner God himself smote him) observe this, God will not always forbear sinners, at last God smote; he threatens a long time, but he smote at last: God may be a long time bending his bow, and making his arrows ready, and preparing the instruments of death, but at length he smote; and when he smote he smote terribly. How sad is the condition of a wicked man who has had many warnings, and much patience of God has been showed towards him, and at length this is the news that one neighbor tells another, Oh! such a man is smitten of God, the wrath of God has pursued and has overtaken such a man, the fearful stroke of God is upon him, and this certainly will be the news of wicked impenitent sinners, secure sinners, this will be the news that will be told of you, such a one is smitten; Oh! and what sad reports are there at this day in all countries about us, even through the world, what's the news throughout the world almost but this (the Christian world) England is smitten, the Lord has smote them? The Lord has smote us with a dreadful stroke and still he continues smiting of us. That Scripture in Isaiah 5:25 is made good upon us this day, The anger of the Lord is kindled against his people, and he has stretched forth his hand against them, and has smitten them, (mark what follows) The hills did tremble (Oh that our hearts did) and their carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets: (and so it has been with us:) And for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still: And thus it is with us. And the principal cause that is there given of such woeful smiting, it is as you may observe in the 20th and 23rd verses, the crossness of men's spirits in turning things quite contrary and cross to that which God would have them. As thus, They call evil good, and good evil: they put darkness for light, and light for darkness; bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter: Justifying the wicked, and taking away the righteousness of the righteous. This is the cause of this smiting, and never was there such perverseness in the hearts of men to turn things quite cross, to cry out of truth for falsehood, to cry out of the ways of Christ as the ways of sedition, and the great troublers of the kingdom, to cry out of the saints that are for peace, as the great stirrers up of the kingdom, and to justify the wicked in many places; What favor has many malignants? And those that have most appeared in the cause of God, how are they discountenanced? This is the cause why God would smite them, and why their carcasses should be torn in the very streets. The Lord has smitten us this day as he did the people in 1 Kings 14:15, The Lord shall smite Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, (and then it follows after) he shall root them out of the good land. So it's here, Ephraim is smitten, and his root dried up. The Lord this day has smote us as a reed is shaken to and fro, that which men cried up at first, they cry down again presently after, and forward for a little while, and then quite the other way again, and wavering and inconstant in all their ways, and know not indeed what they would have; thus the Lord has smote us, yes the Lord has smitten us so as he has fetched blood, fetched blood, yes, the Lord has smitten us by those that should protect us, and that's a sore smiting, to smite us by the hand of such as should protect us. That threatening that is denounced in Zechariah 11:6, Oh how is it made good upon us this day, says the text there, I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land says the Lord; but lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor's hand, and into the hand of his King, and they shall smite the land; and out of their hand I will not deliver them. It's a very strange Scripture, I know not the like in all the book of God, God threatens to smite this people, and how? Oh! this is a sore smiting, I will deliver every one into his neighbor's hand, and they shall smite one another, and I will deliver every one into the hand of his King. Why is it so great an evil to be delivered into the hand of our neighbor, and into the hand of our King? Truly at this time it seems it was: Oh! the Lord smites us this day, he smites us sorely by giving us up to smite one another. We smite one another with the tongue, in Jeremiah 18:18, Come, let us smite with the tongue, say they. When was there ever such smiting with the tongue as there is now? Yes, even good men smite one another: there was a time when the Prophet desired to be smitten by the righteous, in Psalms 141:5, Let the righteous smite me (says the Prophet) it shall be as oil to my head; but now we may justly cry out to God, Lord, let not the righteous smite me; the very smiting of the righteous is a sorer smiting this day than the smiting of enemies, to smite with the tongue, yes and worse too, in Isaiah 58:4, In the day of their fast, they smite with the fist, and smite with the pen, that is a sorer smiting sometimes than smiting with the sword. And smite with the sword too, for brother is against brother, and father is against child, and child against father, and this is a forerunner of God's smiting the earth with a curse, in Malachi 4:5, 6, the very close of the Old Testament, there Elijah is prophesied to come, and to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest (says the text) the Lord come and smite the earth with a curse. Oh! that Elijah might come among us otherwise? What can be expected but the Lord's smiting the land with a most dreadful curse? When was fathers against children, and children against fathers as now, and that in matters of controversy? It was wont to be a proverbial speech among the Jews, when they had any knotty controversy that they could not untie, When Elijah shall come, then we shall come to know the meaning of this. We may say this day, well, because we see what controversies there are and what differences of this and the other way and judgment, the Lord Christ (whose forerunner Elijah was to be) he will come ere long, and he will open all things to us, the Messiah will come again and tell us all, and satisfy us in all our difficulties, and put an end to all our disputes. But for the present the Lord smites us, not only by the sword, but he smites us as he smote the men of Sodom, with blindness, and that curse threatened in Deuteronomy 28:28 is even upon us, The Lord (says the text there) shall smite you with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways, and you shall be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save you. Oh my brethren! how is this fulfilled at this day? With what blindness, and madness, and astonishment are the people of the land smote? If it were not the smiting of God to smite men with blindness, it's impossible but they should see what should be done in such a time as this is, and you are only oppressed: indeed now almost every man in the kingdom cries of being oppressed and spoiled evermore.

We thought that when spoylers and oppressors were among us that we were safe and well when it was over, Oh! but it is renewed again, and then come the spoilers the second time, and the third time, spoyling ever more, and this is the fruit of God's smiting men with blindness, and madness. And yet who is it that returns to him that smites him? But Lord, seeing you are a smiting, Oh! that you would smite once more, smite these rocks of ours, these hearts of ours, if you will but smite there, that might free us from other strokes, that there might gush out tears of repentance, smite there that we may every man smite upon his thigh; Oh! that we may smite upon our own hearts. But it follows: