Verse 9

VER. 9.

O Israel, you have sinned from the daies of Gibeah.

O ISRAEL, I am speaking this to you, it meerly concerns you, you have sinned from the daies of Gibeah, you think there is no great matter in your sin why there should be these dreadful threatnings, that you should come to this desperate condition. Why (say the men of Israel) what means the Prophet to be so terrible in his threatnings? Pray what's our sin? Yes, you have sinned, as in the daies of Gibeah. From the daies of Gibeah, so it is in your Books, or it may be read, Beyond the daies of Gibeah, or more than in them, as (Ezekiel 16:52). From the daies of Gibeah; from what time was that? You may read the story of Gibeah if you read the 19. and 20. of Judges, and their sin. I shall not need to spend much time now in opening what Gibeah was, or the sin of Gibeah was, because that in the 9. chapter of this prophecy, and the 9. verse, there I met with those words; that, they had corrupted themselves as in the daies of Gibeah. But it is not only the 19. and 20. chapters where we have the story of that horrible wickedness of the abusing of the Levite's concubine, but likewise that that we have in the 18. touching their idolatry that there was among the people, there was Micah's idol, so that the Prophet has reference to the 18, 19, & 20. chapters of the Book of Judges. Now you have sinned, as in the daies of Gibeah: that is, you take it from the daies of Gibeah that is of old: Oh your forefathers of old have committed idolatry and sin against me, and you are grown rooted in your sin, and have taken it from your forefathers, for it was very ancient, that sin of the Levite's concubine. It does seem to be before the time of the Judges, it seems to be committed between the time of Joshua and the time of the Judges. (For though things be set in Scripture so that one seems to be after another, yet it is not always so in the time.) But my reason why that sin of the Levite's concubine seems to have been then, is this: because you find in that story of the 19. of Judges, when the Levite was passing on, his servant would have had him gone into Jebus, but his master said to him, We will not turn aside here into the city of a stranger that is not of the children of Israel, we will pass over to Gibeah. So that it seems Jerusalem was not taken in by the children of Israel; but if you read the 1. of Judges you shall find that Jerusalem was taken, it was taken before you read of any particular judge, therefore this sin was very ancient that was in the daies of Gibeah. You have sinned of old (says he) and you have continued in the succession of sin of old; that's the first, if you take it, From the daies of Gibeah.

But it's rather I think to be taken pre than otherwise, that is, your sin is more than the daies of Gibeah, it's greater, whatever you think of your sin, you think you worship and serve God. Yet the truth is, was that sin horrible that a whole city should come together to force a Levite's concubine till she was dead at the door, was that a horrible sin? Yes, and was it horrible for them to stand to defend it? Your sin is greater.

Your sin is greater; why? for first, that was but one particular act, it was all done in one night; but you go on in a constant settled way.

And then secondly, that sin was a sin but of some few of the people; your sin is more general.

Thirdly, that sin they had not so much means against it, nor so much experience of the ways of God as you, and therefore your sin is greater, than the sins that were in the daies of Gibeah.

Yes further, your sin is greater, because that you continuing in your forefathers' sin you provoke God more, that God should make use of your forefathers to revenge such a sin as that was and yet you continue in the committing of as great sins as they did commit. That's the meaning: and for further opening of that sin I shall refer you to that that I delivered in the 9. chapter.

But that their sin was either from the daies of Gibeah, or more than the daies of Gibeah, from there the notes are.

First, that the same sins continued in from ancestors are greater than theirs were. We are ready to excuse our sin and say, Why, we do nothing but that our forefathers did. I, but it may be greater than the sins of your forefathers, because they had not such means. This would answer those that plead for old superstitious vanities: Why should we be wiser than our forefathers? But know, that if you continue in their sins, it's worse to you than to them.

But this is the special note from hence, that God takes it very ill that those men, or the posterity of those men whom he does use as instruments to punish sin in others, and to reform others, yet should be guilty of the same sin themselves, or greater. Oh! (says the Prophet) you may justly expect to have the mountains to fall upon you, and the hills to cover you, for you are more wicked than in the daies of Gibeah, though I did use your forefathers to punish that great sin, yet you continue to be viler and worse than they were that were punished by your forefathers. Oh my brethren, God cannot endure to see that wickedness continued in men, that they shall be made use of to punish in others: what shall we be used, or any in this generation be used for to execute the anger of God, the displeasure of God upon superstitious people, and shall we continue in the sin of superstition? Shall we be used to cast out men's inventions, and shall we bring in men's inventions? Yes, shall we be used to punish oppression and tyranny, and injustice, and shall we continue in oppression, tyranny, and injustice? Oh! this cries to Heaven when it shall be said, Well, God stirred up you to make you an instrument to cast out such oppressing courts, such tyranny, and such men that were so cruel to godly people, you were used to cast out them, and you come and succeed them in such oppressions and tyranny, and injustice, and you make my saints cry to Heaven for the burdens that you lay upon them. Oh! this would be very heavy. Take we heed that when God uses us, or our forefathers to reform any evil, take heed that it be never said, that those evils continue in their children after them.

There has been much ado in our Reformation, as there was much ado in the punishment of the sin of Gibeah; it cost much blood to punish that sin; and so it has cost much blood to punish oppressors, to bring in delinquents, to cast out those that have been burdens to the people of God. Therefore it was worse in their posterity to continue in that sin that had cost so much blood to have it punished. And so the more it costs to cast out our oppressing courts, &c. the more fearful will our sin be if we continue in oppression ourselves. You complain sometimes of ministers if they reprove sins, and be guilty of the same sins they reprove you of, you account that very evil, and so indeed it is. So it may be as well said of magistrates, for them to punish sins, and yet continue in them themselves.