to appear before the Lord
thy God thrice in the year:" and this is the true sense, read it as you
will; for the promise is limited to the time of casting out the nations,
and enlarging their borders (which came not to pass till the days of
Solomon). It is certain that, from the time of making that promise, the
people had not ever liberty and protection for keeping the three solemn
feasts in the place of the sanctuary; as might be proved from divers
foreign invasions and spoilings of that land for some years together;
whereof we read in the book of the Judges. But I go on.

In the second place, let God have the glory of his just and righteous
dealings. Let us say with Job, "I will leave my complaint upon myself,"
[and say unto God,] "Show me wherefore thou contendest with me," Job x. 1,
2. But, by all means, take heed you conceive not an ill opinion of the
covenant and cause of God, or the reformation of religion, because of the
tribulation which followeth thereupon. Say not it was a good old world
when we burnt incense to the queen of heaven, "for then we were well and
saw no evil." "But (said the people to Jeremiah) since we left off to burn
incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her,
we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the
famine," Jer. xliv. 18. To such I answer, in the words of Solomon, "Say
not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these?
for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this," Eccl. vii. 10. Was the
people's coming out of Egypt the cause why their carcasses did fall in the
wilderness? Or was it their murmuring and rebelling against the Lord which
brought that wrath upon them? If thou wilt inquire wisely concerning this
thing, read Zephaniah, chap. i. In the days of Isaiah, even in the days of
Judah's best reformation, the Lord sent this message by the Prophet: "I
will utterly consume all things from off the land," Zeph. i. 2; "And I
will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because
they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as
dust, and their flesh as the dung," ver. 17. What was the reason of it? It
is plainly told them (and let us take it all home to ourselves), because,
notwithstanding of that public reformation, there was a remnant of Baal in
the land, and the Chemarims, and those who halt between two opinions; who
swear by the Lord (or to the Lord, which is expo