Exposition of the Whole Bible

but fuffer a general calamity to come upon them, without fhowing the leaft mercy to them, fo great were their fins, and fuch the provocation.

y.15. Hear ye, and give ear, &c.] Both to what goes before, and what follows after. The words doubled, denote the clofeft and ftricteft attention: be not proud, haughty, fcornful, as above all inftruction, and needing no advice and counfel, felf-conceited, defpifing the word of God, and his meflages by his prophets; or, do not lift up yourfelves *; above others, and againft God: for the Lord hath fpoken; it is not I, but the Lord; and what he has faid fhall certainly come to pafs; fo the Targum, “* for in the word -of the Lord it is “< fo decreed;” it is in vain to oppofe him; his counfel fhall itand, and he’ll do all his pleafure; none ever hardened themfelves againft him and profpered.

y¥. 16. Give glory to the Lord your God, &c.|. By confeffing fin unto him; by humiliation for it before him; by believing what he fays, hearkening to his word, and obeying his commands, and living to his honour and glory; fee ofp. vii. 19. efpecially by believing in Chrift, the true God, and true Meffiah, embracing his gofpel, and his ordinances: before he caufe darknefs; before the Lord brings on the dark difpenfation threatened, the calamity before fpoken of; repent whilft {pace is given, before it is too late; fo the Targum, ‘* be- «¢ fore tribulation comes upon you, and ye be like. * to thofe that walk in darknefs.” The Babylonifh captivity may be meant, which was a dark day with the Fews, as is their prefent cafe, and which may be included; and it is applicable to any dark ftate of the church of God, fuch as may be now apprehended as near, thro’ the fpread of popery, the growth of errors and herefies, the perfecution of the faints, the flaying of.the witnefles, the ceffation of the gofpel-miniftry and ordinances for a while; which is that day of darknefs and gloominefs, that hour of temptation that fhall come upon all the earth, to try its inhabitants; happy thofe that give glory to God by their faith in him, and by keeping the word of his patience: and before your feet ftumble upon the dark mountains, or, of twilight, or, of the evening,; or rather, upon the mountains in the evening ¥; at even-tide; at which time it is troublefome and dangerous travelling on mountains. Thefe may defign either the mountains to which they would flee for fhelter, Matt. xxiv. 16. or thofe which lay in the way to Babylon, over which they fhould travel when carried captive; or rather the kingdoms of Babylon and Media, whither they fhould be carried, and where they fhould endure much affliction and hardfhip; it being ufual to fignify kingdoms by mountains; fo Babylon itfelf is, ‘Fer li25. Zech. iv. 7. perhaps there may be fome allufion, as Sanétius thinks, to Babylon itfelf, which being fituated in a marfhy place, might be generally covered with a cloud or mift, and together with the fmoke of the city, might look like a dark mountain; and efpecially the hanging gardens in it looked at a diftance like * mountains with forefts on them. It may be applied to the even-tide of the latter day, when many fhall ftumble aad fall thro” mountains of difficulties and difcotragements in the way of religion; of profeffing the pure gofpel and ordinances of it; thro’ thé prevailing darknefs of the age, and the perfecution of men; and to the evening of life, and the dark mountains of death and eternity, on which men may be faid to ftumble and fall when they die; and when-their everlafting ftate will appear to be fixed as immoveable as mountains; and there will be no more means of grace, of faith, repentance and converfion, but blacknefs of darknefs for ever— more, outer darknefs, weeping and gnafhing of teeth; wherefore, before this time comes, it behoves perfons to be concerned for the glory of God, and the everlafting welfare of their fouls: and while ye look for light; profperity and happinefs, as the falfe prophets gave out they fhould have; or for help and affiftance from the Egyptians, to whom they fent: he turn it into the foadow of death, and make it grofs darkne/s,; that is, the Lord, who would difappoint them, and inftead of having that relief and comfort they were promifed, would bring upon them fuch fhocking calamities, which would be as terrible as death itfelf, or at leaft as the fhadow of death, and be like grofs darknefs, even fuch as was in Egypt, which might be felt; fee J/- lix. 9.

¥.17. But if ye will not hear it, &c.|] The advice and exhortation now givén, to repent of fin, be humble before God, and glorify him: my foul joall weep in fecret places for your pride, he would no more act in a public character; but laying afide his office as a prophet and public inftructor, would retire to fome corner, where he might not be feen or heard, and there lament the fins of the people, particularly their pride, which had been the caufe of their ruin; or mourn on account of their glory and excellency, as the word may be rendered, which would depart from them; their city and temple would be burnt; and their king, princes and nobles, and the flower of the nation, carried into Babylon; fo the Fews + interpret it of the glory of J/rael, which fhould ceafe from them,.and be given to the nations of the world; fee the note on ¥. 9: mine eye foall weep fore; or, foedding tears it

Jball foed tears, in. great abundance, being as he wifhed his eyes might be, a fountain of tears to weep night and day, ch. ix. 1: and run down with tears; Or, mine eye let down tears*; wpon the cheek in great plenty. The phrafes are expreflive of the forrow of his heart, for the diftreffes of his people, and of the certainty, of them; the reafon of which follows: becaufe the Lord’s flock is carried away captive; that is, the Lord’s people, as the Targum; to whom he ftood in the relation of a fhepherd, and they to him under the character of a flock; and this was what fo fenfibly touched the heart of the prophet, that they were a people that the Lord had an intereft in, a regard unto, and among whom he had been formerly glorified; wherefore it was to the lofs of his honour and intereft that thefe fhould be given into the hands of their enemies, and be carried captive; and this troubled him, for nothing lies nearer the heart of a good man than the glory of God.

y¥. 18. Say unto the king, and to the queen, &c.] Feboiachim, and his mother Nebuj/bta, as it is generally interpreted by the ewi/> commentators, and others; who, with many princes and officers, were carried chrried captive into Babylon, 2 Kings xxiv. 12—15. or rather Zedekiab and his wife; fince the captivity after threatened is a perfect and complete one, which Feboiachim’s was not: bumble yourfelves, fit down, or, fit down humble’, come down from your thrones, and fit in the duft; humble yourfelves before the Lord for your own fins, and the fins of the people; in times of general corruption, and which threatens a nation with ruin, it becomes kings and princes to fet an example of repentance, humiliation and reformation; tho’ it may be this is rather a predi€tion of what would be, that they fhould defcend from their throne, and lofe their grandeur, and be in a low and abject condition, than an exhortation to what was their duty; fince it follows: for your principalities fhall come down, their royal {tate and greatnefs, and all the enfigns of it; and efpecially fuch as they had upon their heads, as the word ufed denotes, and as the following explanation fhews: even the crown of your glory; or glorious crown, which fhould fall from their heads, or be taken from them, when they fhould be no more ferved in ftate, or treated as crowned heads.

y¥. 19. The cities of the fouth fhall be fhut up, and none fhall open them, &c:] Meaning the cities of Fudab, which lay in the fouthern part of the land of J/rae/, and to the fouth of Babylon, which might be faid to be fhut up, and not in the power of any to open, when befieged by the Chaldean army; or rather when deftroyed, that there were none to go in and out; tho’ fome think the cities of Egypt are intended, which lay fouth of Fudea, from whence the Yews fhould not have the relief they expected, and where they fhould find no refuge; but the former fente feems beft: Fudah shall be carried away captive all of it; it was in part carried away in Feboiachim’s time, and wholly in Zedekiah’s; which feems to be here refpected: i¢ frail be wholly carried away captive, or, in perjections *; moft perfectly and completely; the fame thing is meant as before, only in different words repeated, to exprefs the certainty of it.

¥.20. Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north, &c.| ‘There are a Keri and a Cetid of the words, “ft up, and behold; they are written in the fingular number, and may be confidered as directed to the king, as the words following are; and they are read in the plural number, the ftate and whole body of the people being called upon to obferve the Chaldean army, which came from the north; and is reprefented as on the march, juft at hand to invade, befiege, take, and carry them captive. The Septuagint verfion renders it, ft up thine eyes, O Ferufalem, and the Arabic verfion, O T/rael: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock? that is, the people, as the Targum interprets it, which were committed to the care and charge of the king, as fheep into the hands of a fhepherd; and were a fine body of people, chofen of God and precious, diftinguifhed above all others by wholefome and righteous laws and ftatutes, and fpecial privileges; a people who were a kingdom of priefts, an holy nation, and a peculiar people, the glory of the whole earth;

‘jaw own degite humiliter, Caftalio; abjetiffime confidite, Junius & Tremellius; loco humili con idite, Piicator- We mrmdu perfetionibus, Vatablus, Montanus. It is by Schmidt left untranflated, Schelomim, which he takes to be city of Ferufalem, fometimes called Sojyma; the inhabitants of which were carried captive when ‘Judah was; and fo Jui Ferufalem + which has the fignification of peace in its ns ¥ “IPH? °D quando vifitabit fuper te, Cocceius; quum vifitaverit fuper te, ae ae tranflate jt, civitas pacatorum, and underftand it of € = but now carried, or about to carried, captive It is no unufual thing to reprefent a king as fhepherd, and his people as a flock, guided, gc verned, and protected by him, and who is account- | able for his truft to the King of kings; fee Pf Ixxviii. 71, 72. es, bw ¥.21. What wilt thou fay when be fhall punifh thee? &c.] Or, vifit upon thee‘, that is, either, — when God fhall punifh thee for thy fins, thou canft bring no charge of injuftice againft him, or murmur and repine at the punifhment infli@ted on thee; fo Farchi; to which agrees the Targum,

‘*¢ when he fhall vifit on thee thy fin;” or elfe, to’ which the following words feem to incline, when — the enemy fhall vifit upon thee; fo Kimchi and — Abarbinel, when the Ghaldeans fhall come upon i thee, and pay thee a vifit, an unwelcome ones; yet who wilt thou have to blame but thyfelf? fo the Septuagint and Arabic verfions render it, when they fball vifit thee; thefe words are direéted, not to the king, nor to the gueen neither; but to the body of the people, the Fewih ftate, reprefented as a woman; who, upon confideration of things paft, would have a great deal of reafon to reflect upon themfelves for what they had done in former times, which had led on to their ruin and deftruction:- (for thou haft taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee), the Fews fhewed the Affyrians the way into their country, ufed them to come thither, and taught them how to conquer them, and be mafters over them: or, hat taught them againft thee ®; to thy hurt and detriment, to be captains or governors; for an head, to have the rule over them: this was done by 4baz, when he fent to Tilgath-pilefer king of Affyria to come and faye him out of the hands of the kings of Syria and

Tfrael, 2 Kings xvi. 7. and by Hezekiah; when he fhewed the meflengers of the king of Babylon all his treafures; thefe were invitations and: temptations to come and plunder them: fball not forrows take thee as a woman in travail? denoting the fuddennefs of their calamities; the fharpneis and feverity of them; and that they would be inevitable, and could not be prevented.; ¥. 22. And if thou fay in thine heart, 8c.) Not daring to exprefs it with the mouth; and which, notwithftanding, God, that knows the heart, was privy to, and could difcern all the feeret workings of it; putting fuch a queftion as this: wherefore come thefe things upon me? all thefe calamities, the invafion and fiege of the enemy, famine, fword, captivity, (Sc. the an{wer returned is, for the greatnes of thine iniquity; the enormous crimes the Fews were guilty of, fuch as idolatry, blafphemy, &c. which were attended with aggravated circumftances; or, for the multitude of thine imiquity®; their fins being fo many, as well as greats are thy friris difcovered, and thy heels made bare, being obliged to walk naked and barefoot, their buttocks u vered, and their legs and feet.naked, withe ings or fhoes, as captives ufed to be Jed, ec great fhame and difgrace; fee J. xx. 2,3, 4. Ti phrafes are.expreffive of captivity, and the: of it; the caufe of which was the greatnels multitude of their fins. The Targum is, ** bec

*¢ thy fins are multiplied, thy confufion is ‘revealed, «¢ thy fhame is feen.” yy. 23. Can the Ethiopian change his fkin?. &c.] Or, the Cufbite; either, as the Arabic verfion, the Ainfine, the inhabitant of the eaftern Erhiopia properly an Ethiopian, as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin verfions render it; or, the Chufean Aradian, the inhabitant of Arabia Chufea, which was nearer Fudea than the other Ethiopia, and better known, and which were of a dark complexion. The Targum renders it, the Indian; and fo’ does the Syriac verfion. In the Mi/na* mention is made of Indian garments, with which the high-prieft was clothed.on the day of atonement; upon which the Glofs * is, that they were of linen of the country of India; and which is the land of Cua (or Ethiopia) as Jonathan Ben Uxziel interprets, Fer. xiii. 23. “¢ can the Cu/dite, the Indian, change his “ {kin;” and it is highly probable, that in the time of Yeremiah, no other India was known by the Fews but Ethiopia, or Arabia Chufea, and no other black people but the inhabitants thereof, or any other than the Arabians; and as Braunius' obierves, it need not be wondered at, that with the Yews in thofe times, Ethiopia and India thould be reckoned the fame country; when, with the ancients, whatever was beyond the Mediterranean fea, as Arabia, Ethiopia, and even Fudea itfelf, was called India; fo. Foppa, a city of Phenicia, from whence Andromeda was fetched by Perfeus, is by Ovid ™ faid to be in India; fo Bochart * interprets the words of the Saracens or Arabians, who are of a fwarthy colour, and fome black; and indeed have their name from the fame word the raven has, which is black and particularly the inhabitants of Kedar were black, one part of Arabia, to which - the allufion is in Cant. i. 5. ‘Farchi interprets the word here by ¢he moor, the black-a-moor, whofe fkin is naturally black, and cannot be changed by himfelf or others; hence to wafh the black-a-moor white is a proverbial expreffion for labour in vain, or attempting to do that which is not to be done: or the leopard his fpots? a creature full -of fpots, and whofe fpots are natural to it; and therefore can’t be removed by any means. Some think a creatute called thé ounce, or cut-a-mountain is meant, whofe fpots are many, and of a blackith colour; but the defcription well agrees with the leopard, which is-a creature full of fpots, and has its name in the Zaffern languages, particularly the Chaldee and Arabic, from a word ° which fignifies /potted, variegated, as this creature is; fo the female is called varia by Pliny”, becaufe of its various fpots; and thefe fpots are black, as the Arabic writers in Bochart*, he word here ufed fignifies fuch marks as are made in a body beat and bruifed, which we call black and blue; hence fome render it livid, or black and blue fpots *;. and thefe marks are in the {kin and hair of this creature, and are natural to it, and can’t be changed; and it is ufual with other writers * to call them fpots, as well as the fcripture: then may ye alfo do good, that are accuftomed to do evil, fignifying that they were naturally finners, as blacknefs is natural to the Ethiopian, and {pots to the leopard; and were from their birth and infancy fuch, “and had been fo long habituated to fin, by cuftom founded upon nature, that there was no hope of. ‘them they were obftinate in fin, bent upon it, and incorrigible in it; and this is another reafon given why the above calamities came upon them. The metaphors ufed in this text fitly exprefs the ftate and condition of men by nature; they are like the Evhiopian or black-a-moor; very black, both with original and, actual fin; very guilty, and very uncomely; and their blacknefS is natural to them; they have it from their parents, and by birth; it is with them from their infancy, and youth upwards; and very hard and difficult to be removed: it can’t be wafhed off by ceremonial ablutions, moral duties, evangelical ordinances, or outwatd humiliations; yea,

| it is impoffible to be removed bur by the grace of

God and blood of Chrift. Their fins are aptly compared to the leopard’s ‘fpots, which are many and natural, and dificult to get clear off. "What is figuratively exprefled in the above metaphors, is more plainly. fignified by being accuftomed, or taught to do evil‘; which denotes a feries and courfé of finning; a fettled habit and cuftorn in it, found-

|ed on nature, and arifing from it; which a man learns and acquires naturally, and of himfelf, whereby he becomes void of fear and fhame; and there is a good deal of difficulty, and indeed a moral impoffibility, that fuch perfons fhould do good: nothing fhort of the powerful and efficacious grace of God can put a man into a ftate and capacity of doing good aright, from right principles to right ends, and of continuing in it; for there is no good in fuch men; nor have they any true notion of doing good, nor inclination to it, nor any ability to perform it: in order to it, it is abfolutely neceffary that they fhould firft be made good men by the grace of God; that they- fhould be regenerated and quickened by the Spirit of God; that they fhould be created in Chrift Jefus unto good works, and have faith in him; all which is by the grace of God, and not of themfelves.

¥.24. Therefore will I fcatter them as the ftubble, that paffeth away, 8cc.| Becaufe of their many fins, amd continuance in thém, their habits and cuftom of finning, they are threatened with being carried captive into other nations, where they fhould be difperfed and feparated one from another, which would make their ftate and condition very uncomfortable; and this would be as eafily and as fwiftly done, as the light ftubble which is blown away by every puff of wind; nor would they be able any more to refift the enemy, and help themfelves, than the ftubble is to ftand before the wind; as follows: by the wind of the wilderne/s; which blows freely and ftrongly; fo the Chaldean army is compared to a dry wind of the high places in the wildernefs; even a full wind that fhould fcatter and deftroy, ch. iv. 11,12; or, 4 the wind of the wildernefs*, and fo may denote the wildernefs of the people, or the land of Babylon, whither they fhould be carried captive, and from whence the wind fhould come that fhould bring them thither. Kim-

chi and Béa Melech make mention of a wildernefs between Ferufalem and Babylon, as what may be intended.;

¥.25. This is thy lot, &c.] Meaning not the king’s, or the queen’s only, but the lot of the whole Fewi/h ftate: the portion of thy meafures from me, faith the Lord, which were divided, and diftributed, and meafured out to them by the Lord, who appointed thefe calamities to befal them, and brought them upon them, and that in righteous judgment, The Targum is, ‘* and the portion of <¢ thine inheritance;”” who, inftead of having the land of Canaan for their inheritance, to which the allufion is, and of which they boafted, the land of Babylon was affigned them, not to be pofieffors of it, but captives in it; and inftead of having God to be their portion and inheritance, they were banifhed from him, and this was but righteous meafure; they had meafure for meafure: decaufe thou haft forgotten me; their maker and benefactor; the goodnefs he had fhown them, the mercies and benefits he had beftowed upon them; or, my law, as the Arabic verfion; or, my worfbip, as the Targum; therefore he forgot them, took no notice of them, hid his face from them, and gave them up into the hands of their enemies: and trufted in falfbood; either in the Egyptians and Affyrians, who deceived them; or in their idols, which were falfhood and lying vanities, and could not help them.

¥. 26. Therefore will I difcover thy fhirts upon thy face, &c.]| Turn them up, or throw them over the head or face; that is, expofe to public fhame and difgrace; which was done when their city and temple were burnt, and they were carried captive; hence it follows: that thy jhame may appear; that their fins might appear to themfelves and others, of which they had reafon to be afhamed. The allufion is to the treatment which captive women fometimes meet with, or adulterous women, to which the Fews are here compared. The Zar-

gum is, * and I alfo will reveal the conf on’ of

“* thy fin upon thy face, and thy fhame fhall be Saferk’?

¥.27. I have feen thine adulteries, 8c.] Not liter+ ally fuch, tho” they were greatly guilty of that fin; but figuratively, their idolatries: +hy neighings; ex= prefiive of their {trong defires after other gods, like that of adulterers and adulterefles after one another;

‘and both which are like the neighing of horfes.

Kimchi thinks this defigns their rejoicing in their evil works: the lewdne/s of thy whoredom, their fintul thoughts, and wicked defires, which were continually after their idols and idolatrous praétices: and thine abominations on the hills in the fields; their idols, which were abominable to God, and ought to have been fo to them; and which the placed on high hills, and there worfhipped them; all which were feen and known by the Lord, nor could it be denied by them; and this was the reafon of their being carried captive, and therefore could not complain they had been hardly dealt with; yea, notwithftanding all this, the Lord exprefiés a tender and compaffionate concern for them: wo unto thee, O Ferufalem; fad will be thy cafe, dreadful are the calamities coming upon thee, unlefs thou repenteft: wilt thou not be made clean? wilt thou fhew no concern, and make ufe of no means to be cleanfed, nor feek for it, where it is. to be had? neither repent of fin, nor reform from it, nor feek to God for his grace, fignified by clean water; or to the blood of Chrift, the fountain opened, which cleanfes from it: when fhall it once be? fome inftances there were of it in the times of Chrift and his apoftles; but it will not be completely done, until they feek the Lord, and his Chrift, and fear him, and his goodnefs, in the latter day; when they fhall turn unto him, and all Tfrael fhall be faved; or, thou wilt not be cleanfed after a long time™; this the Lord forefaw, and therefore pronounces her cafe fad and miferable.

4 Bees IS chapter contains a prophecy of a drought, which produced a famine, y.1. and is defcribed by the difmal effects of it; and general diftrefs in the inhabitants of Judah and Ferufalem, v.2. even the nobles were affected with it, whofe fervants returned without water afhamed, when fent for it, ¥. 3. the plowmen could not ufe their plough, their ground was fo hard, ¥. 4. and the very beafts of the field fuffered much, becaufe there was no grafs, ¥. 5, 6. upon this follows a prayer of the prophet to the Lord, that he would give rain for his name-fake; he confefies the fins of the people that they were many, and againft the Lord; and teftified againft them, that they deferved to be ufed as they were; and he addreffes the Lord as the hope and Saviour of his people in time paft, when it was a time of trouble with them; and expoftulates with him, why he fhould be as a ftranger and traveller, and like a mighty man aftonifhed, that either had no regard to their land any more than a foreigner and a traveller; or no heart to help them, or exert his power than a man at his wits end, tho’ he was among them, and they were called by his name; and therefore he begs he would not leave

¥ SY MD NN TDA NS non mundaberis daberis pofthac aliquamdiu; fo fome in Vatabhus.

quoufque adhuc, ve/ poft quantum adhyg tempus, Schmidt; non man~ them, ¥. 7, 8,9. but he is told that it was for the » fins of the people that all-this was, which the Lord was determined to remember and vifit; and therefore he is bid not to pray for them; if he did, it would not be regarded, nor the peoples fafting and prayers alfo; for they fhould be confumed by the fword, famine and peftilence, ¥. 10, 11, 12. and tho’ the prophet pleads in excufe of the people, that the falfe prophets had deceived’ them; yet not only the vanity and falfhood of their prophecies are expofed, and they are threatened with deftruction, but the people alfo, for hearkening unto them, ¥. 13, 14, 15, 16. wherefore the prophet, inftead of putting up a prayer for them, has a lamentation dictated to him by the Lord, which he is ordered to exprefs, ¥. 17, 18. and yet, notwithftanding this, he goes on to pray for them in a very pathetic manner; he apo th God, and pleads for help and healing; ec the iniquities of the people; intreats the Lord for the fake of his name, glory and covenant, that he would not reje€t them and his petition; and obferves, that the thing afked for, rain, was what — none of the gods of the heathens could give, or _ even y.t. The word of the Lord that came to Feremiah concerning the dearth.) Or, concerning the words of refraints *; that is, concerning the bufineffes of a drought, as the Targum; concerning the Lord’s reftraining rain from the earth, and forbidding the heavens dropping it down; the confequence of which is a drought, or drinefs of the earth; and the effect of that a famine; when this was it is not any where faid; it could not be the famine at the fiege of Ferufalem by Nebuchadnezzar, becaufe that only affected the city; this all Fudea.. Some think it was in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, long before the fiege; and others, ‘that it was in the reign of Feboiakim, fince we read of a faft in his time, ch. xxxvi.g. which might be on this occafion; and it appears that there was one at this time, tho’ not acceptable to God; fee -y. r2.

¥.2. Fudah mourneth, &c.|- That is, the inhabitants of Fudab; thofe of the houfe of Fudah, as the Targum, thefe mourned becaufe of the drought and famine that were upon the land: and the gates thereof languifo; the cities of Judah, as the Targum; the inhabitants of them, which ufed to be fupplied from the field, and out of the country, gates may be mentioned, becaufe thro’ the gates the provifions were brought into the city; but now none; and therefore are faid to languifh; or elfe thofe that fat in the gates are meant, the elders of the people, the fenators, the judges, and civil maiftrates; thefe fhared in the common calamity: they are black unto the ground; that is, the inhabitants of the cities, and thofe that fit in the gates, their faces are black thro’ famine; fee Lam. iv. 8. and v. ro. fo the Targum, ‘* their faces are co- «* vered with blacknefs, they are black as a pot;” and which they turned to the ground, and looked downwards, not being able to lift them up thro’ the forrow and diftrefs they were in, and thro’ faintnefs of fpirit for want of food: and the cry of Ferufalem is gone up, meaning the cry and lamentation of the inhabitants of Yerufalem becaufe of the famine, for that city was not exempted from it, it having its fupply from the country; or the prayer of them, and of the people from all parts got together there, which went up to heaven for rain: it being ufual, in times of common diftrefs,- for the people in the country to come up to Ferufalem to the temple to pray to God, and particularly for rain, when there was a want of it. ¥. 3. And their nobles have fent their little ones to the waters, &c.] ‘To places where water ufed to be; to the pools, the upper and the lower, particularly to the fountain of Shiloah, which Ferom fays, was the only one the city of Feru/falem ufed. The meaning either is, that the nobles in Ferufalem fent their own children to get water for them, they having no fervants to attend them, thefe being put away becaufe they could not fupport them, the famine being fo fore; or rather, that they fent their menial fervants, their fubjects, as the Targum renders it, to fetch them a little water to refrefh themfelves with: they came to the pits, and: found no water; their fervants came according to order to the pools and cifterns, or to the deep wells, and to fuch places where there ufed to be 4 great confluence of water, and plenty of it, but now they could find none: they returned with their veffels empty, juft as they came: they were afbamed and confounded, either the fervants that were fent; or rather their mafters that fent them, when they faw them come with their empty veffels; having been looking out and longing for their return, expecting they would havé brought water with them for their refrefhment; but to ‘their great difappointment and confufion’ brought none: and covered their beads, as perfons afhamed, or as mourners ufed'to do, being full of anguifh and diftrefs becaufe of the drought. ©

¥. 4. Becaufe the ground is chapt, &c.] Thro” the violent heat of the fun, and want of rain; or, is broken»; and crumbles into duft.' Fhe Targum is, “ becaufe of fins, the inhabitants of the earth ** are broken:” for there was no rain in the earth; this was the reafon of the dearth, and of the famine, and why there was no water in the-pits, and the ground was chapt. It is to: be underftood of the land of ‘Fudea only, not of the whole earth: the plowmen were afpamed, becaufe they could not enter the earth with their plough; were obliged to fit {till, could do no work, or go on with their hufbandry; nothing could be done “for want of rain: they covered their heads; as before; fee the note on y. 3.

W.5. Yea, the hind alfo calved in the field, 8&c.] Or brought forth her young in the field; of which fee Fob. xxxix. 1, 2, 3,4. and which they fometimes did thro’ fear, particularly when affrighted with thunder and lightening; and which are common in a time of heat and drought, which is the cafe here; fee Pf. xxix. g. of thefe fort of creatures there were great plenty in F#dea, and the parts adjacent. Aélianus * fays, the harts in Syria are bred on the higheft mountains, manus, Lebanon and Carmel; which were mountains on the borders of the land of Canaan; and the flefh of thefe was much ufed for food by the ews; fee Deut. xii. 15, 22. and xiv. 4, 5. and xv. 22: and forfook it; which, as it is a loving creature to its mate, fo very careful of its young, and provident for it, and nourifhes it, as Pliny * obferves. The reafon of fuch uncommon ufage follows: becaufe there was no grafs; for the hind to feed upon, and fo had no milk to fuckle its young with; and therefore left it to feek for grafs elfewhere, that it might have food for itfelf, and milk for its young.

¥. 6. And the wild affes did ftand in the bigh places, &c.] To fee where any grafs was to be had, or where the wind blows more freely and cooly to draw it in; as follows. The Targum renders it, by the brooks; and fo Yarchi interprets it, brooks of water; whither they came as ufual to drink, and found them now dried up; and where they ftood diftreffed and Janguifhing, not knowing where to go for any: they fnuffed up the wind like dragons; which, being of a hot nature, open their mouths, and draw in the wind and air to cool them. Aélianus ® reports of the dragons in Phrygia, that they open their mouths, and not only draw in the air, but even birds flying. The word ufed for dragons fignifies large fifhes, great whales; and fome underftand it of crocodiles, who will lift up their heads above water to refrefh themfelves with the air: their eyes did fail; in looking about for grafs 3,or for wan; and famifhed: decaue there was no gra/s; for their food. and. nourifhment. With great propriety: is the herb or grafs. mentioned, this being the proper food of affes, as Ariffotle * obferves;, and. with which agrees the fcripture; which reprefents them as content, when they have it; and as ranging about the mountains for it, when they have none;, being creatures very impatient of hunger and thirft; fee Fob vi. 5. and xxxix. 8. wherefore the Greek writers firname this animal, dry and thirfty; and hence the lying ftory of Tacitus “, concerning Mées.and the children of J/rael;, who, he fays, being»ready to perifh for want of water, Mo/es obferved.a flock of wild afles going from. their. pafture to a rock covered with trees, and followed them, taking it for herbage, and found large fountains of water..And very pertinently are their eyes faid to fail for want of food, and the fight. of them grow dim, which is more or.lefs the cafe of all creatures im fuch circumftances; but the rather is this obferved of the wild.afs, becaufe, as an Arabic writer * fuggetts, it is naturally very fharp and clear fighted. ¥. 7. O Lord, iho’ our iniquities teftify againft us, &c.] That we deferve fuch judgments to be inflied onus; and that God is righteous in bringing them; and we are altogether undeferving of the favour now about to be afked. Thefe are the words of the prophet interceding for -his people, and confefing their fins and his own: do thou it for thy name's fake, that,is, give rain; which was the thing wanted, and which none but God. could give, ¥.22. tho’ we are not worthy to have it done for our fakes, do it for thine own fake; for the honour and glory of thy name, of thy goodnefs, power and faithfulnefs: for our backflidings are many-and fo had many witnefles again{t them; and which fhows how. unworthy they were, and ‘that they had no reafon to expect the mercy on their own account; and efpecially as it follows: we have finned againft ibee; as all fin is againft God, contrary to his nature and will, and a tranfgreffion of his law; and what aggravates it is, thatit is. againft him as a God of goodnefs, grace and mercy. ¥. 8. O the hope of Ifrael, &c.] The author, object, ground and foundation of hope of all good things, both here and hereafter; in whom J/rae/ had been ufed to hope in times paft, and had great encouragement fo to do, P/. cxxx. 7. or, the expetiation of Jfrael‘; whom they looked for to come: the Saviour thereof in time of trouble; the Saviour of all men in a way of providence, but efpecially of the true J/rael of God, of them that believe; who, tho’ they have their times of trouble and affliction, by reafon of fin, fatan, and wicked men, and other things, yet the Lord faves and delivers them out of them all in due time: why foouldft thou be as a ftranger in the land; or, a /yjourner * 5 who abides but for a while; and it not being his native place, is not fo folicitous for the welfare of it. ‘erom interprets this of Chrift when here on earth, who was as a ftranger, and unknown by men; fee Pf lxix. 9. Matt, viii. 20. and xxv. 43. and the other characters, of the Aope of Ijrael, and the Saviour, well agree with him, 1 Tim.i. 1, Col.i. 27. Aéfs xiii. 23: and as a wayfaring man, or traveller": that turneft afide to tarry t of food, being quite ftaived for aright? that turns-into-an inn to ide ae fora night, and that only; and fo is uncon what, becomes. of it, orsthe.people in it; he is” only there for a night, and is gone in the morning, Thus the prophet reprefents the Lord by thefe metaphors, as if he was, or at leaft feeméd carelef§ _ of his. people; and _ therefore expoftulates with him upon it, as the difciples with our Lord, A iV.138.249 o) 2S AR ¥. 9. Why foouldft thou be as a man aftonied, Bec.] Aftonifhed, and fo furprifed as not to know to fay or do; or afleep, as the Septuagint 5 taking no notice of us, and being altogether unconcerned what becomes of us; or, asone dumb‘; that will give no anfwer to our prayers: as @ mighty man that cannet fave? who, tho?he is able to fave, yet; — thro’ want ofa heart or will, does not exert his — power): yet. thou, O Lord, art in the midft of us, haying -his-refidence and dwelling in ‘the: temple at Ferufalem; and therefore was not a ftranger and foreigner among them; and this carries in it an intreaty, and an argument that he would not in Kis providence conduct towards them in fuch manner as tho’ he was: and we are called by thy name; the people of God, the J/rael of God, and the like: leave us mot in our diftrefs’and trouble, but deliver us out of it, —~ Pra ib

¥. 10. Thus faith the Lord unto this people, 8cc.} Inftead of anfwering the prophet direétly and’ immediately, he firft fpeaks to.the people; and ob=- feryes their fin is the caufe of his conduét; and whom, he does not vouchfafe to call his people; they having broken covenant with him, and fo notorioufly backfliden from him.; but this people, this wicked and worthlefs. people: thus have they loved to wander, trom the Lord, and out*of the way of their duty, to Egypt and Afpria for help; and after ftrange gods, and the worfhip of them; and this they chofe and delighted in; it arofe from corrupt affections, and a depraved heart: they have not refrained their feet; from going into other lands, or into the temples of idols; wherefore it ought not to be wondered at, that the Lord’ was as a ftranger in their land, and as a way-faring man that tarried for a night; and hence it was that they — fhould have enough of wandering to and fro, fince they loved. it; in feeking for water in their own land, and by their being carried captive into others 5 fo the Zargum, “* as they loved, fo -will I take ** vengeance on them, to caufe them to be carried — ‘* captive from the land of the houfe of my majefty 5 _ ‘* and as they have delighted themfelves in the ** worfhip of idols, and from the houfe of my ‘* fanctuary have not refrained their feet, therefore — ‘¢ before the Lord there is no delight in them:” — therefore the Lord doth not accept them; has no fa+ - vour for them, no pleafure in them 5 does not ac= - cept either their perions or their fervices: be will now remember their iniquity; their idolatry; their truft in others, and diftruft of him; which mig feem to be forgotten, becaufe he had taken no notice of them, in a providential way, to col. them; but now he would let them know tl were had in remembrance, by caufing | ments to come upon them for them: th oppofed to the forgivenefs of fin; rod gives fin, he remembers it no more; but when hedoes not, but punifhes for it, then he is faid to remember it: and vifit their fins; or them for their fins, that is, punifh them.

y. 11. Then faid the Lord unto me, &c.| To the prophet; now the Lord gives a more direct anfwer to him, and to his prayers and intercefiion for the people; which he forbids, faying, pray not for this people for their good; or for good things, as the Septuagint;- for rain, that the famine might ceafe; and for deliverance from their enemies, that they might not go into captivity; for thefe things were determined upon by the Lord: he does not forbid him praying at all for them, or for their repentance and reformation; or for {piritual good things for them, for eternal Jife and falvation for the remnant of his own people among them; but not for external good things for the bulk of them.

y¥. 12. When they faft I will not hear their ery, &c,] Or, though they faft*, very probably on account of the want of rain, and the dearth or famine, a faft was proclaimed; fee ch. xxxvi. 9. when they prayed and cried aloud, and made a great noife; but their prayers being hypocritical, and not arifing from a pure heart, or offered up in faith and love, were not heard and accepted by the Lord: aud when they offer burnt-offering and an oblation; or a meat or bread-offering, which went along with the burnt-offering; thinking by thofe outward things to atone for their fins, without true repentance for them, or faith in the atoning facrifice of Chrift: J wil] not accept them; neither their offerings, nor their perfons: but J will confume them by the fword, and by the famine, and by the peftilence; the Lord not only determines the continuance of the famine, notwithftanding the prayers of the prophet,; but adds two other judgments, the fword and peftilence, by which he was refolved to confume them; and therefore it was to no purpofe to pray to him on their behalf, he was inexorable.

y. 13. Then faid I, ab Lord God, &c.] Being grieved at heart for the people, becaufe he was forbid to pray for them, and becaufe the Lord had refolved on the ruin of them, and the rather he pitied them, becaufe they were deceived by the falfe prophets, and therefore he tries to excufe them, and lay the blame upon them, as follows: behold, the prophets fay unto them; that is, the falfe prophets, as the Targum, Feremiah does not call them fo, being willing to make the beft of it: ye foall not fee the fword, the fword of the enemy drawn in your country, or fall by it: sxeither shall ye have famine, by which it appears, that it was not yet come, only foretold; the contrary to which is here affirmed: but I will give you affured peace in this place; fo they fpoke as from the Lord, and in his name, with all the confidence imaginable; affuring the people that they fhould have peace and profperity, and be in the utmoft fafety in Ferufalem; and that neither famine nor {word would come to them, nor in the leaft hurt them. In the Hebrew text it is, peace of truth',; that is, true peace, firm and lafting. The Septuagint render it, peace and truth; fee If. xxxix. 8.

y¥. 14. Then the Lord faid unto me, &c.} In reply to the above excufe, in favour of the people: the prophets prophefy lies in my name; it is a wicked thing to tell lies; it is more fo to foretel them, and that in the name of the Lord, pretending they have his authority, and are under the influence and guidance of his Spirit; and it was finful in the people to give credit to them, and the more fo, in that they were fore-warned of thefe prophets and their lies, and had the reverfe told them by a true prophet of the Lord, and therefore were inexcufable. I fent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither [poke unto them; all which are requifite to a prophet, or to a man’s prophefying in the name of the Lord; he ought to have his miffion from him, and his commiffion from him; his orders and credentials from him, and the things themfelves which he delivers; neither of which thofe prophets had; nor were they able to make out thofe things to the people, of which they fhould have had fatisfaction before they believed them, and therefore were highly to blame in giving heed unto them. They prophefy unto you a falfe vifion; or, @ vifion of falfhood™; pretending they had a vifion from the Lord, when they had none: and divination; foothfaying or aftrology, as fome interpret it, as Kimchi obferves; foretelling things by the ftars: and a thing of nought; which is good for nothing, and comes to nothing: and the deceit of their hearts; which flows from their deceitful hearts and vain imaginations, and by no means to be depended upon.

¥. 15. Therefore thus faith the Lord concerning the prophets, &c.] The falfe prophets, as the following defcription fhows: that prophefy in my name, and I fent them not, made ufe of his name, pretending his authority, tho’ they were not fent by him: yet they fay, fword and famine foal not be in the land tho’ the Lord by his true prophet had faid there fhould be both; which proves that they were not fent by the Lord, fince what they faid was in direct oppofition to the word of the Lord; wherefore their doom in righteous judgment follows: by fword and famine fhall thefe prophets be. confumed; they fhould be fome of the firft, if not the firft that fhould perifh by thefe calamities; which would abundantly prove the falfhood of their predictions, and fhow that their lies could neither fecure themfelves nor others from the judements which the Lord had faid fhould come upon

¥. 16. And the people to whom they prophefy, &c.] That is, fuch of them as gave credit to their prophecies: shail be caft out in the fireets of Ferufalenr, becaufe of the famine and the fword, they dying of the tamine and of the fword, their carcafes fhould be caft out of their houfes into the open ftreets, and there lie unburied, as a punifhment for difbelieving the words of the Lord, and giving heed to the lies of the falfe prophets: and they fhall have none to bury them; either thro’ want of ability of body or fubftance, or thro’ want of affection; or rather thro’ want of perfons to do it for them, all their relations being cut off with them, as follows: them, their wives, nor their fons, nor their daughters; or rather, they", their wives, and their fons, and their daughters, thefe fhall die by the famine and the fword, and fhall be caft out in the fireets of Ferufalem; fo that they and their relatives all dying, there would be none to bury one another; and that all fhould fuffer by thefe calamities were but juft and righteous, fince all were guilty both of idolatry, and of defpifing the prophets, and liftening to the falfe ones; fee ch. vii. 18: for I will pour their wickedne/s upon them;

or, their evil upon thém®, not the evil of fin, but the evil of punifhment; the meaning is, that he would abundantly punifh them for their fins, and as they deferved, tho’ not exceeding the bounds of juflice: the phrafe denotes, that their wickednefs was great; and that in proportion to it, the vials of his wrath would be poured out upon

¥. 17. Therefore thou fhalt fay this word-unto them, &c.] Inftead of. praying for the people, the prophet has a doleful lamentation put into his mouth, to pronounce in their hearing, in order to affure them of the calamities that were coming upon them, and to affect them with them. Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not ceafe; or, be filent?, fignifying that there would be quickly juft reafon and occafion for inceflant grief and forrow in them; and if they were fo hardened as not to be affected with their cafe, he could not refrain fhedding tears night and day in great abundance; which would have a voice in them, to call upon them to weeping and lamentation alfo. Some take thefe words to be a direction and inftruction to the people; fo the Septuagint, ‘* bring down upon your eyes tears night “* and day, and let them not ceafe;” and the 4rabic verfion, “© pour out of your eyes. tears night ‘* and day continually;” and the Syriac verfion is, “* let our eyes drop tears night and day inceffant- “ly.” For the virgin-daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow; cities are fometimes called virgins, which were never taken; and fo Ferufalem here, it having never been taken fince it was in the hands of the people of Fudab, nor were its inhabitants as yet carried captive, but now would be; which, together with the famine and the fword, by which many fhould perifh, is the great breach and grievous blow fpoken of; and which is given as a reafon, and was a fufficient one, for forrow and mourning. |

¥. 18. If I go forth into the field, 8ec.] Without the city, where was the camp of the enemy befieging it: then behold the flain with the fword, the {word of the enemy; who by fallying out of the city upon them, or by endeavouring to make their efcape into the country, fell into their hands, and were flain by them. And if I enter into the city; the city of Ferufalem: then bebold them that are fick. with the famine, yuft ready to die, being ftarved for want of provifions; and multitudes dead, and their carcafes lying in the ftreets unburied: the prophet does not make mention of the dead indeed, only of the fick with famine; the reafon of which, Kimchi fays, is, becaufe the fick were more than the dead. Yea, both the prophet and the prieft go about into a land that they know not, into the land of Chaldea, a ftrange and foreign country, whither they were carried captive, both in the times of Feboiakim and of Zedekiah, and whither they might go in ways far about: and this feems to be underftood of falfe prophets and wicked priefts, that had led the people about, and had caufed them to wander from the ways of God and his worthip; and therefore, in righteous retaliation, they are led in round-about-ways to a land unknown to them: tho’ fome think that the true prophets and priefts of the Lord may be meant, as Ezekiel and Daniel, contra terram, Junius & Tremellius, Pifcator; mercaturam exerc circuire terram negotiandi caufa, Grotius.

who were carried captive inte Babylon’: others _ interpret them of fuch going about in the land of Fudea feeking for bread and water, or food, in the the time of the famine; but they know nota, as the laft claufe may be literally rendered, that is, men know them not, take no notice of them, fhow no regard to them, and give them no relief; the famine being fo fore, that every one was for himfelf, and could afford no fuccour to rs, even to the prophets and priefts. Some render the words, yea, the prieft and the prophet make merchandife againft the land; or, thro’ the land", by deceiving the people with their falfe prophecies: or rather, go about the land making merchandife +; of the fouls of men; fee 2 Pet. ii. 3. making a gain of their vifions and prophecies: aud they know not; the people are not aware of their deception and falfhood. The Targum is, ** for even the {cribe ‘* and the prieft are turned to their own negotia- “* tions or merchandifes, to that which is in the ‘“¢ Jand, neither do they enquire;” they minded their own affairs, and enquired not for, nor fought after the peoples good. was ¥. 19. Haft thou utterly rejecied Fudab? 8cc.} The prophet, tho’ forbid, proceeds to prayers and expoftulations on account of this people, the people of the two tribes of Fudab and Benjamin: or, in rejecting haft thou rejected Fudab*? from being a nation, from being under thy care and protection? haft thou caft them away, and wilt thou fuffer them to go into captivity as the ten tribes? what 7udeb, whom the Lord had chofen, and where was his dwelling-place? what Fadab, from whom the chief ruler, the Meffiah, was to come? what Judah, from whom the fcepter was not to depart, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, till Sdz/ob came? and what wilt thou reject, and utterly reject this tribe, upon which fo many favours have been beftowed, and from which fo much is expected? Hath thy foul loathed Zion? whom thou haft formerly fo much loved and delighted in, and chofen for thine habitation; Zion, the joy of the whole earth, and a perfection of beauty. Why haft thou {mitten us, and there is no healing for us? brought upon them his judgments; or, however, was about to bring them upon them, famine, fword, and captivity; and there was no deliverance from them, no way to efcape them, no relief, no remedy, or no healing, as in 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16. We looked for peace; as the falfe pro— phets foretold; or thro’ alliance with neighbouring. nations, even all fafety and profperity; and had no. notion of defolation and war: and there is no good; as was promifed and expected, but all the reverfe: and for the time of healing, national and civil diforders, from which might have been hoped for a train of bleffings: and bebold trouble; fears, frights, perplexities and diftreffes; trouble from without, and from within. The Targum is, “* a time “‘ of pardon of fins, and behold punifhment of “cc fins.”: Ab: ® y¥, 20. We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedné/s, and the iniquity of our fathers, &c.] This is faid by the prophet, in the name of the few faithful that were among this people, who pi of their own fins, the fins of their ant » and which they ingenuoufly confefs; their fathers had finned, and they had imitated them, and conti- P ==9399"}9| filednt, Schmidt; taceant, Pagninus, uerunt per terram, Cocceius.

nued in the fame, and therefore might juftly expect the difpleafure of the Lord, and his controverfy with them: for we have finned againft thee, fee ‘the note on ¥. 7.; - y¥. 21. Do not abbor us, for thy name fake, &c.] Which was called upon them, and which they called upon; they deferved to be abhorred, they had done thofe things which might juftly render them abominable, being what was abhorrent to him; and they deprecate this, not for their own fake, who were unworthy of any favour, but for his own fake, for the fake of his honour and glory, which as it is dear to the Lord, fo to his people. Do not difgrace the throne of thy glory, either Ferufalem, as Kimchi, which was the city of the great _ King, where he had his throne and palace, and which is called the throne of the Lord, ch. iii. 17.

‘or the houfe of the fanétuary, the temple, as Farchi; fee ch. xvii. 12. refpeét feems to be had to the mercy-feat upon the ark, over which were the cherubim of glory, between which the Lord dwelt; and they pray, that tho” they were worthy of difgrace themielves, and to be taken and carried captive into a ftrange land, yet they intreat that the Lord would not difgrace his own glorious habitation, by fuffering the city and the temple, and the atk in it, to be deftroyed: remember thy people, Zion, as before; or the promifes made to them, the covenant, as follows: break not thy covenant with us; God never breaks his covenant, tho’ man does; it may fometimes feem to be broken, when his church and people are in diftrefs and affliction; but he’ll never break the covenant he has made, or fuffer his faithfulnefS to fail; yet though he does not, it is proper and neceflary oftentimes to pray in this manner to God, for the encouragement of faith in him, and expectation of good things from him.

¥. 22. Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can caufe rain? &c.| ‘The bleffing wanted; none of the idols of the Gentiles, called vanities, becaufe it was a vain thing to apply to them, or hope for any ‘thing from them, none of thefe could give a fhower of rain; tho’ the name of one of their idols was Jupiter Imbrius*, or Pluvius, the god of rain, yet he could not make nor give a fingle drop; as Baal, in the times of Abad, when there was a drought, could not. Or can the heavens give Juowers? trom whence they defcend, and which are the fecond caufes of rain; even thefe could not of themfelves, and much lefs heathen deities. Art not thou be, O Lord our God? the everlafting and unchangeable he, or I AM, our covenant-God and Father, thou, and thou only, canft give rain; this is the peculiar of the great God himfelf; fee 4s xiv. 17. Therefore we will wait upon thee; for rain, by prayer and fupplication, and hope for it, and wait the Lotd’s own time to give it: for thou haft made all thefe things; the rain and its fhowers, who have no other father than the Lord, Yod xxxviii. 28. alfo the heavens from whence it defcends, and the earth on which it falls, are made by him, who reftrains and gives it at pleafure. |

HIS chapter contains the Lord’s anfwer to the prophet’s prayers, in which he declares himfelf inexorable, and had refolved on the ruin of the Yewi/h nation for their fins; the prophet’s complaint of the hardfhips he endured, notwithftanding his fincerity and integrity; and the Lord’s promife of protection and deliverance, in cafe of his continuance in the faithful difcharge of his office. The Lord denies the requeft of the prophet, by obferving, that if even Mo/es and Samuel had been the interceffors for the people, he would not have regarded them, being determined upon cafting them out, and fending them away captive, y. 1, their punifhment is declared, which was refolved on; fome for death, or the peftilence; others for the fword; others for famine; and others for captivity; and others to be devoured by dogs, and fowls, and wild beafts, y. 2, 3. the caufe of which were their fins, particularly their idolatry in the times of Manaffeb, y. 4. wherefore they fhould have no pity from men, nor would the Lord any more repent of the evil threatened, of which he was weary, becaufe of their many backflidings, ¥. 5, 6. which deftruction being determined, is illuftrated by a defcription of the inftrument of it; by the multitude of widows, and the diftrefs of mothers bereaved of their children, ¥. 7, 8, 9. on which the prophet takes up a complaint of his being born for ftrife and contention, and of his being curfed by the people, though no ufurer, ¥. 10. when he is comforted with a promife of being ufed well by the enemy, both he and his remnant, y. r1. but as for the people of the Fews in general, they would never be able to withftand the northern forces, the army of the Chaldeans; their riches and fubftance would be delivered into their hands, and their perfons alfo be carried captive into a ftrange land, and the prophet along with them, becaufe of their fins, and the wrath of God for them, ¥. 12, 13, 14. upon * which the prophet prays to the Lord who knew him, that he would remember and vifit him, and avenge him of his perfecutors, and not take him away in his long fuffering; he urges, that he had fuffered rebuke and reproach for his fake; that he was called by him to his office, which he had chearfully entered on; he had his miffion, commiffion, and meffage from him, which he received _ with the greateft pleafure, fignified by eating his words with joy; and that he had not affociated himfelf with mockers and {coffers at religion, and the word of God; and therefore expoftulates why he fhould be put to fo much pain, and be ufed as he was, ¥. 15, 16, 17, 18. wherefore the Lord” promifes, that upon condition of doing his work faithfully, he fhould be preferved, protected, and delivered, ¥. 19, 20, 21.

® Paufanias makes mention of an image of Jupiter Pluvius, and of altars ere€ted to him in various places; Attica, five 1. 1.. 60. Corinthiaca, five 1. 2. p. 119. Beeotica, five 1. 9. p. 602. and in India, as Apollonius Tyanzus relates, in vit. Philoitrat. P 3. ¢. 2. in fine, was a tub, which in time of drought they opened; from whence, as they pretended, clouds came forth, and watered all the country. Near Rome was a ftone called Lapis analis, which being brought into the city, was faid to caufe rain.

A like fable is told of water being in the forehead of Jupiter Lyceus, which being fhook by an oaken branch in the hand of a prieft, gathered clouds, and produced plentiful fhowers of rain when wanted; but thefe, with others, are all fables and lies. Seg