A Plea for the Righteousness of God

A Plea for the Righteousness of GOD.

Howbeit, thou art Just in all that is brought upon us: for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:

THAT there is a certain and most exact Providence of God, over all the Affairs of Man-kind in this World, from the highest unto the meanest and most minute, inconsiderable things, and all the circumstances of them; is a truth so great, so plain and obvious, that it is agreed upon both in Reason and Religion; as may be gathered from the Apostles quotation, Act. 17. 28. For in him we live and move and have our being—: It is true also that the Mysteries of Common, but especially of special Providence, are so great, so deep, so wonderful and sometimes so amazeing, that men are fain to stand still, and say as in Job 11. 8. It is as high as heaven, what canst thou do? deeper then hell, what canst thou know? And 'tis at no time more so than in the way of God's Judgments, and most of all when his own People are the Subjects of those Judgments; then oft times there is occasion to Repeat and Ruminate upon that Exclamation, Rom. 11. 33. How unsearchable are his Judgments and his Ways past finding out! But, be the Premises of this kind what they will, we must alway obstinately hold fast that sure Conclusion, Psal. 36. 6. Thy Righteousness is like the great mountains; thy Judgments are a great deep: or else we shall make Shipwrack of Faith and a good Conscience in these great deeps. And in this Chapter wherein our Text is; We may observe the method and pains which Nehemiah, and the Godly Jews with him, take for the clearing up, and establishing of this Conclusion, as 'tis laid down in our Text. This Nehemiah did unto that poor afflicted People answer his name; the Comfort or the Rest of the Lord: For in that critical p. 2and troublesome Juncture, much of their Comfort and Rest from the Lord, was conveyed unto them by his instrumentality: he was the Instrument of procuring for, and settling among them, the revival of their former precious and pleasant things in a great degree, after the Babylonish Captivity.

p. 2He was by birth a Jew; by quality a Courtier belonging to the Emperour of Pers◊◊, the ◊reatest Monarch in the World; by office the Governour of the Jews his Brethren; by Precession and Practice ◊n holy ◊◊d zealous▪ Servant of the true God; he was a man of most Excellent Spirit, retaining and maintaining▪ a firm and stedfast integrity, an inviolate, unstrain'd and exemplary fidelity to his God, his Religion and his Country; all temptations, entanglements, and enchantments of the Court, he had been so long Conversant in notwithstanding; and served and was accepted of his Prince in serving his God and his Country, setling and strengthening of them in Church and State, managing with a prudent, pious, gracious and successful Conduct, for more than fifty years. And herein join'd in a most sweet, happy and satisfactory unanimity with them, with the Rulers, with the Priests, with the Levites, and the Rest of his Brethren.

In Prosecution of which in this Nineth Chapter, he and they do solemnly and publickly take notice of the Scheme of Gods wayes unto that People, and their wayes unto him; and do Alternately touch upon some of the main points of both, from their beginning unto that time: Until at length in this 33. v. the words of our Text, they come unto and fix upon, a very▪ solemn Vindication of the Name of God; by asserting his Justice in all his Judicial proceedings against and dealings with them, together with a close Animadversion upon themselves.

The Words may be look't upon under a threefold Consideration.

1. Either as a brief, summary, but sad and sorrowful Recapitulation, and Representation of their own Lamentable Estate, and the ill terms they were in with the Lord their God,—In all that is brought upon us—God had brought many and dreadful things upon them, which they had now the fresh and lively sense of.

2. Or as an humble and penitential Confession of their own Sins, against the Lord their God; an holy, and just, and good, and gracious God; they do with shame of face and grief of heart confess; That tho' God had been very sharp and severe with them, yet they were themselves the only Culpable and procuring Causes of all.—For we have done Wickedly.

p. 23. Or as a testimonial Vindication given in, and to be left upon Record for God; to clear him and his Cause, in the whole Controversy between him and them.—Howbeit thou art Just.—There are then two Branches of the Text.

p. 31. A Justification of God, with respect unto his Judgments inflicted upon his own and only People, the People of Israel: And this argued from his Works, and in particular from his Works of Judgment, which they had been the Subjects of. Howbeit thou art Just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right: q. d. Be the Case how it will with us, and indeed it is bad enough, sad enough, and dreadful enough, as to things past and present, and dismal presages there are for the future; yet we must and do, freely and openly Justify the Lord our God, in and under all▪

2. A Condemnation of themselves; with respect unto their own Sins; their Condemnation is argued from their Works, and their Works of Iniquity.—But we have done wickedly; it is in plain, full, downright termes, without any extenuation, or mincing the matter. So that the Doctrine which results from hence is this.

Doct. That although the Judgments which God brings upon his own Sinning People, are very many, and exceeding great; yet He is most Just in all of them.

They do in our Text make a plump and full acknowledgment of this Truth: when the Case between God and themselves comes to be considered, they do before the whole World, Heaven and Earth, give in clear and full evidence to this Truth, however it does reflect upon themselves; that God is most Just in all his Judgments upon them; and by parity of reason, the like testimony must be given for him, with respect to his proceedings against any other such people of his own, whom he shall visit with his Judgments as he did them: And indeed this is a ruled and settled Case: The Prophet is express and ample in his attestation hereto. Dan. 9. 14.—For the Lord our God is Righteous, (or Just) in all his Works; i. e. in his works of Judgment upon his own People; for these are the works which the scope of the Text is directed unto. Also that is very pertinent and pregnant for the Confirmation of this Truth which is given in and recorded, Ezra 9. 18.—O Lord God of Israel thou art Righteous. Speaking of his Judgments which had overtaken, and taken hold of that Sinning People of the Lord. This Doctrine consists of four single Propositions.