So let us consider what those provocations were that hastened the wrath of God on His own Israel, a people that were near and dear to Him, a people on whom He spent as much of the riches of His patience as on any people in the world so that we may reckon where we are this day and what is likely to be the lot of this sinful and provoking generation. We will find, by the consent of all the prophets, that these sins were the immediate forerunners and proper causes of their overthrow.