Their Root is dried up

Their Root is dried up.

But though we be smitten we hope we may grow, we may lose our leaves and some of our boughs, but we hope that we shall spring again: perhaps these are the vain apprehensions of some men, but never look to making their peace with God, no says God, I'll not only smite to take off your leaves and branches, but I will smite the very root, that shall be dried up. There's difference between the pruning and lopping off a tree, and the drying up of the root of it, there may be help so long as the root remains alive. I will never trouble my self any further (says God) with them, I have already smote off their boughs, and that does no good, I will dry up the very root now. It's a great aggravation of God's smiting when he smites at the root, every smiting it is not a drying up of the root, it is the base unbelief of our hearts, the discontentedness, frowardness, fullenness of our vile spirits that makes us thus to conclude almost upon every stroke of God, that he intends our undoing, if he does but smite us so as a few leaves are but shaken off, or that our branches are but shak'd, we are presently ready to conclude that God intends to blast us, and to dry up the very root, and ruin us utterly. How often in our unbelief, when by temptations we have been shaken and the leaves of our comforts have been shaken off, (our enlargements) and the like, how often we conclude, Oh! the Lord is coming against me, and he will certainly blast all, all that I seem to have, the very root of all my hopes and comforts will presently be blasted. Oh! this (I say) is the evil of our hearts, it comes from our fullenness, frowardness, and unbelief ever so to conclude, it may be God intends only to prune you and to take away superfluities, that so the sap may go down more at the root, that you may have more humility, and self-denial, and faith, that you may have more exercise of the root-graces, humility, patience, faith, self-denial, and God perhaps smites only to make the sap go down more to the root-graces, though you conclude that he will dry up the root presently. In this smiting wherewithal the Lord has smote us we hope that he intends not to dry up the root, but we may say of it as in Isaiah 27: Has he smitten him as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him? The godly party may suffer much, but I make no question but the ungodly party has suffered as much, and by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin. And in the 4th verse God tells us, that fury is not in him, God is fain to make an apology to his people when he is a smiting, though I smite you, yet not so as those that smite you, but in the day of the east wind I stay the rough wind, and fury is not in me, but by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged: and this is all the fruit thereof to take away his sin.

But God has his time to dry up the roots of sinners, and the roots of nations. 1. God dries up the roots of many that have made fair profession in former times, they have had no other root but only parts, and common gifts, and morality raised, and this root is dried up. This day many fair and glorious professors, how are they this day blasted! sapless, dry spirits, and useless in the world in this time when there is so much service required of them? And by being dried up, what are they but prepared for the fire? Old withered, sapless professors (I say) whose root is dried up they are fitted for nothing but the fire, they are like those in Jude, corrupt trees, trees that are corrupt in the autumn. Thus it is with many professors at the time when God expects fruit, now they are sapless, now they are corrupt fruit, they are dried up by the root, and what are they fitted for but for the fire?

And then God has his time to dry up the root of nations, in Isaiah 5:24. Now we might seek to understand what the root of a nation is, but I think we need not in this place, because it is sufficient only for the metaphor, to show that God does not only afflict a nation, but intends the utter ruin and destruction.

Yet a word or two thus.

What was the root of Ephraim?

The Covenant that God made with him, that was his root in the first place. And when God intends to break his Covenant with them, (because they broke theirs) then he dries up the root; and therefore in the next chapter you shall find that God charges them with dealing falsely in making a Covenant.

And then, the godly among a people are as the root of that people, in Isaiah 6:13. "But yet it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a Teyle Tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof." So here, the holy seed shall be the substance of it. The holy seed in a kingdom is as the root and substance of it; and yet such is the wretchedness of men, that what do they do but in stirring against them, they would root out the very root of the nation.

And the vigor and power of the fundamental laws in a kingdom is as the root of it, from where flourishes all their outward peace and comfort.

And the blessing of God upon the wisdom and faithfulness of those that are put into place, that's as the root of the good of a nation, in these things especially consists the roots of a nation. We hope that God will not wholly dry up our root, only let us take heed of this; though there be indeed a difference between the Covenant of God with the nation of the Jews, and any covenant that God makes with any nation at this day, yet if we be false in the covenant that we make with God, this may root us out. Let us look to it that the vigor and power of the fundamental laws of the kingdom be maintained, and that the godly be maintained, let us not set our selves to root out them, for in so doing we do but seek to root out our selves, and let us pray that the blessing of God may abide upon those that are in place of power, and while these things continue we may hope that the Lord intends, though he may scatter and break us in pieces, yet that there may a root stay, and there is little question (I think we may make) that God will preserve our root however. And that there will be a root of the saints that shall flourish till Jesus Christ comes again, the root of the righteous shall not be moved; though the righteous may be lopt from all their outward comforts, yet their root must not be moved, that lies deeper than any creature-power is able to reach to. But there is a root, Oh! that God would dry up that, a root that the Scripture speaks of, a root of bitterness, that brings forth gall and wormwood, Oh! what bitter fruit does that root bring forth! Oh! that God would dry up that root. It follows.