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Here was read Leviticus 26.
This purpose, that is expressed in this place of Scripture, is so plainly and so fully set down, that these who are of the meanest gifts and smallest judgment may conceive it, at least in a great part thereof, what is the meaning of it. I will only give you a word or two concerning this, to prepare you for a further humiliation.
First, ye see that all things that befal any of us in this life, whether it be good or ill, whether it be comforts or miseries, whether it be of that which concerns our worldly condition in our natural life, or our bodies their comfort and misery, or if it be these that concerns our souls and our spiritual life, their comfort and misery, all these things come to pass by the particular providence of God. And therefore these things that comes upon us, they must have another name than they have from relation to us, to be called forts or miseries, good or ill, for so they are unregarded by us; but we must count them to be blessings and judgments. Any comfort that we get we must acknowledge, This is a blessing of God which he has bestowed upon me; and the miseries that comes upon us, we must say, This is the plague and judgment of God that he has sent to me. And certainly these miseries that the Lord sends, albeit we be his own people on whom he sends them, yet they are a cross, if they are not a curse. This is a point that we would look very well to, and labour against this atheism that is so fast rooted in the hearts of all men, in some measure; and ofttimes it breaks out in the lives of politicians in the world. For the Spirit of God, by his servant, he insists very much upon this point; he says ofter nor once or twice, “But if ye will yet walk contrair to the Lord, for all this, then he shall yet plague you seven times more.” The word signifies also to walk at adventure—to walk by chance or fortune; that is, If ye take all things that comes to pass amongst you, either in your natural, or civil, or spiritual estate, to come by adventure, by chance and fortune, and look not to a divine providence ruling all things, then the Lord will still be more and more provoked against you. It may well beseem the Philistines to speak of chance and fortune, as they did when they were pursuing the ark of the Lord, but it becomes not the people of God to do so. Certainly there be many things which the word of God ascribes to be God’s work only, that naturalists and politicians in the world can find out other causes for the doing of it. When the Lord sends famine, pestilence, or the sword into a land, there may be indeed external causes seen for it, but God forbid that any of these should draw our eye off God, from looking to him as the first and principal cause! There is a chain at all these things, and the laighest link is here; but we should know that the Lord has the highest link into his hand;1 and when we make a distinction, and calls them mediate when the Lord employs any to work for him, and calls them immediate where there are none employed, yet this is not to derogate God any way, for the mediate means can do nothing without the immediate assistance. Sometimes the Lord works immediately by himself, and sometimes he takes the use of means, and yet still it is the Lord who does all. Atheism is a thing that is natural to all, and a thing that in these days rings (reigns) in the hearts and lives of many. Strive for a remedy against this atheism which ye are given unto, and acknowledge whatever befals the kirk ye live into, or the country, or any congregation, or a family, or yourselves in particular, that it is only done by the providence of God—all is done by his determination. This is a principle of religion that must be believed, otherwise we can have no religion at all. And if so be that we will give ourselves to atheism in our conversation, and walk as though there were not a God to punish our sins, then we will come to it in our affections: we will wish then that there were not a God to punish our sins. And then it is just with God, that he should punish these who are thus, with atheism in their judgment, and give them over to this, to say, “There is not a God.” Therefore I would have you to strive to have this seated into your hearts, that every good thing ye get, it is from the blessing of God, and every ill thing that comes upon you is from his curse; or if ye be his people, if it be not a curse, yet it is a cross sent of God.
Secondly, ye may perceive that there is not one of these ills, that are set down here, but they are sent upon the people of God. Wherefore was this! Not without just cause; even for their sins. But alas! this is comfortless for us, if so be that we be aye in danger of the wrath of God, when we sin against him. It is true, if the Lord should deal in justice with us, the least sin that we commit might be punished by all these plagues; but these who were thus plagued of God, they despised the statutes, they abhorred the commandments of God; they delighted in sin, and they walked stubbornly against God. Therefore, albeit there be great ignorance, manifold errours and unbelief, and great infirmities in us, yet if it be our will to serve the Lord, if we choose his statutes for our counsellors, and abhor not his commandments, walk not stubbornly against him, delight not in sin, and are daily drawing near to Christ, to find righteousness and holiness in him, then all the rest shall be pardoned to us. Therefore consider whether or not ye be guilty of this great guiltiness, which is so odious before God. I cannot clear a great part of you of it, for ye have knew the will of God, and it has been told to you, and yet ye have departed from it, not for any strong inducements, but for base unworthy things, not worthy to be mentioned; and ye have committed these sins against God, whereto ye had neither pleasure nor profit to induce you. And if so be that ye continue in this, ye may be sure that the wrath of God is not at an end yet, but shall seize upon you. And although that the Lord spare a nation or a congregation for some secret ones who cry to him, yet these who are stubborn, and will not obey, shall not miss a plague and a judgment of God.
Thirdly. Look and ye may see that there are many uncow (uncouth) and strange judgments here, that any may think, What! they will never come to pass; these has only been to boast (menace) God’s people. Would God, seeing he had but only that nation whom he did choose for himself in all the world, make that land desolate again, and lead the people thereof captives to a strange land? would he plague them with famine, pestilence, and sword? and would he plague them with such a height of these, that they should be constrained to eat their sons and their daughters? No question, when the people of God heard this, albeit the sound of it, (for it was delivered with a terrible sound upon mount Sinai), made their hearts to quake and to tremble, then yet they could not think that ever the Lord would come in such anger against them. But consider afterwards throughout the books of the Bible, and ye will find that there is not one point of them but they are punctually execute, and that very terribly and exemplarily:—they were constrained to eat their sons and their daughters, etc. And therefore do not think that the threatenings of God’s word are like shots of paper; as the Lord is true in accomplishing of his promises, so is he also just in executing of his threatenings: there is not one word of them all but they shall be found true by us, and execute against us, if so be we despise his statutes, abhor his commandments, and delight in sin. There is no hard judgment and threatening, that ever was pronounced by any honest minister in this land, but it shall seize upon us, if so be we keep not the covenant we have made with God.
And therefore, since ye see the will of God, and hear his threatenings and curses, and there is no remeid for you to escape these curses, nor no way to get these blessings, but only by keeping covenant with God; and it is not the day, nor yesterday, that this covenant was made, but it is an old covenant, entered into long since; therefore let us remember how we have broken it, and repent for that, and labour to amend it. Aye, by and attoure (over and above) this covenant, which was so publickly made, we were oblished by that covenant, which we made at our baptism, to walk otherwise nor we have done. There are many perjuries into this land through breach of covenant with God; the guiltiness of any sin, it is great, but the guiltiness of perjury, it is exceeding great. Therefore humble yourselves now before God, and run the backtred2 of your life, and see what ye have been doing since ye came first into the world, and especially since ye came to years of discretion, and see how ye have failed. And let me once have but this much of you, that ye begin to say, What have I done? and coming to this, then ye will be forced to acknowledge, What ill is there which I have not done? That so ye, confessing your sins before the Lord, and sorrowing for them, and promising to amend, and resolving to do it, the Lord may yet be merciful to you, and continue his presence among you; and may bring his blessings upon you, and hold off his curses.