Exposition of the Whole Bible

y. 1. Then foid the Lord unto me, 8c.) In an-y faith the Lord, 8&cc.] Or, four families *, and thefe fwer to his expoftulations and intreaties, ch, xiv. 19—22: tho’ Mofes and Samuel ftood before me 5 to pray before me, as the Zi argum 5 tO make. interceffion for the people. Standing is a prayergefture. The ews fay there is no ‘ftanding but prayer, or that is meant, when it is mentioned; fee the note on Mett. vi. 5. Mo/es and Samuel were named, becaufe they were eminent for prayer, and had fuccefs in it, for the people of J/rael. Of Mo es, fee Exod. xxxii. 11, 31, 52. Numb. xiv. 17, 18, 19. and of Samuel, fee 1 Sam. vii. g. and of both, P/- xcix. 6. The Arabic verfion reads, Mo/es and Aaron, but wrongly. The Papijts make ufe of this text to prove the interceffion of faints in heaven for thofe on earth; but the words are only a fuppofition, and not a fact. The meaning is, that fuppofing that Mo/es and Samuel were alive, and made interceffion for the people, their prayers would not be regarded; and fuch a fuppofition, as it fuggefts that they were not alive, fo that they did not ftand before him, and make interceffion for Fudab; wherefore this is againft, and not for, the interceffion of faints in heaven: yet my mind could not be towards this people; God could have no. good will to them, no delight in them; could not be reconciled to them, or agree to it, that the favours afked for fhould be granted them, or that they fhould be continued in their own land; and therefore it was in vain for the prophet to folicit on their account; but, on the other hand, it is ordered as follows: cajt them out of my fight, or prefence; as perfons loathfome and abominable, not to be borne; I can’t look upon them, or have any thing to fay to them in a favourable way: aud let them go forth; from my prefence, from the temple, the city, and out of their own land; that is, declare that fo it fhall be.

y.2. And it foall come to pafs, if they Jay unto thee, &c.| As doubtlefs they will, when this meffage is brought to them: whither jhall we go forth? in a jeering fcornful manner, not believing that this would be their cafe: sen thou fhalt tell them, thus faith the Lord, fuch as are for death, to death, fuch as were appointed to death, or to die by the peftilence, which is often fignified by death; they fhall go forth unto it; or it fhall meet them, and _ feize upon them, and take them away: and fuch as are for the fword, to the fword, who are appointed to die by the fword of the enemy, into whofe hands they fhould fall by attempting to efcape out of the city, fhall perifh by it: and fuch as are for the famine, to the famine; {uch as are appointed to die by that, fhall die of it in the city; where they fhall be befieged, and not be able to get out to fetch in any provifions, and where none can be brought, becaufe of the enemy: and fuch as are for the captivity, to the captivity; fuch as are fpared from the peftilence, fword and famine, and are defigned to be carried captive into a ftrange land, fhall be taken and carried thither; nor will it be in their power, or in any other’s, to hinder any of the above things, to which they are appointed of God. According to the Fews, the latter of thefe is more grievous than the former; as the fword than death, and famine than the fword, fo captivity than them all ”.

¥. 3. And I will appoint over them four kinds,

very devouring ones; that is, four forts of punifhment; and fo the Zargum, ** four evil punifh- ** ments;” which are after-mentioned. Thefe are reprefented as under God, and at his beck and command; fervants of his that go and come at his pleafure, and do his will; and as being over men, and having power and authority to kill and to deftroy by a divine commiffion: the fword to flay; the firft and chief of the four families or punifhments, which had a commiffion from the Lord to fheath itfelf in his people, the Fews; even the fword of the enemy, the Chaldeans, drawn againft them by a divine order and appointment: and the dogs to tear, the carcafes of thofe that are flain with the {word: or, to draw’; as the word fignifies; it being the ufual way of dogs to draw and drag the flefh about they are feeding on: this is another of the four families, and a very voracious one it is: and the fowls of the heaven, and the beafis of the earth to devour and deftray, or, to eat, and ¢o corrupt the bodies of thofe that are flain by the fword. The meaning is, that fuch fhould not have a burial, but fhould be the food of fowls and wild beafts: thefe are the other two deftroying families, which have their commiffion from the Lord for fuch fervice. ’ ¥.4. And I will caufe them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, &c,| Not only into Babylon, but into other countries; which has had its full accomplifhment in this their laft captivity by the Romans: or, I will give them for a commotion *; fhaking and trembling; they fhall be like Cain, fugitives and vagabonds, and be in fear and trembling every where, for what is, or is about to come upon them: or, for horror unto all kingdoms *; all that fee the calamities and judgments that come upon them will be ftruck with dread and horror, plainly feeing the hand of the Lord in them: decaufe of Manafeh the fon of Hezekiah king of Fudab x becaufe of the idolatry and murder committed by him; and which were the more aggravated, by having fo good a parent, and fo religious an education, and by his high office and dignity as king of Fudabh; and tho’ thefe fins were perfonally forgiven him, yet being imitated and continued in by the Yews, captivity is threatened them. The Targum is, ‘* becaufe they turned not (or were not “< converted) as Manaffeh;” and fo in the Talmud », becaufe Manaffeb repented, and they did not; but this fenfe the words will not bear, becaufe of what goes before, of which thefe are a reafon; and becaufe of what follows after, which are connected with them: for that which he did in Feru- Jalem, the innocent blood he fhed there, and the idolatrous worfhip he there fet up; even where the temple was, the place of God’s worfhip, and which was the metropolis of the nation, and fo fet an example, which muft influence the whole country. ¥. 5. For who fhall have pity upon thee, O Ferufalem? &c.] The inhabitants of it; their fins being fo many, and fo heinous, and fo aggravated, and fo deferving of punifhment, that none could pity their cafe, or put on bowels of compaffion towards them, or even fpare rep ing them: or who frall bemoan thee? fympathize and condole with thee, or fpeak a comfortable word to thee, or feek to alleviate thy grief and forrow: or who

Joall go afide to afk how thou dof? or, of thy peace‘; fhall not think it worth their while to go a ftep out of their way, or turn into a houfe, and enquire of thy welfare, or falute thee.

¥. 6. Thou haft forfaken me, faith the Lord, &c.] His worfhip, as the Yargum,; and had fet up idols, and idol-worfhip; and this was the caufe of the fword, peftilence, famine and captivity, and of all the evils that betel them: thou art gone backward; from the law of the Lord, and from his ‘ pure worfhip and fervice, from his ways, and from his ordinances; and therefore it was but juft they fhould go into captivity; hence it follows: therefore will I firetch out mine hand againft thee, and deftroy thee; his hand of power and vengeance, which, when ftretched out, and falls with weight, whether on particular perfons, or on a nation, brings inevitable ruin and deftruction with it: J am weary with repenting; not that the Lord ever changes his mind, or the counfel of his will; in this fenfe he is without repentance; but the conduct of his providence, and the difpenfations of it; not executing the threatnings denounced, but fparing them a little longer, fhewing mercy, and exercifing patience and long-fuffering; but now he was as one weary and tired out, and was determined to bear no longer with them, but ftir up all his wrath againft them, and deftroy them.

¥. 7. I will fan them with a fan in the gates of

the land, &c.| Either of their own land, the land of Fudea; and fo the Septuagint verfion, in the gates of my people; alluding to the cuftom of winnowing corn in open places; and by fanning is meant the difperfion of the Hews, and their being carried captive out of their own land into other coun- _tries: or of the land of the enemy, into their cities, as the Targum paraphrafes it; gates being put for them frequently; whither they fhould be fcattered by the fan of the Lord; for what was done by the enemy, as an inftrument, is afcribed to him: I will bereave them of children; which fhall die of famine or peftilence, or by the fword, or in captivity: I will defirey my people; which muft be when children are cut off, by which families, towns, cities and kingdoms are continued and kept up; and this he was refolved to do, tho’ they were his people: fith they return not from their ways; their evil ways, which they had gone into, forfaking the ways of God, and his worfhip: or, yet they return not from their ways *; tho’ fanned with the fan of affliction, bereaved of their children, and threatened with deftruction: it exprefles their obftinate continuance in their evil ways, and the reafon of God’s dealing with them as above. y¥. 8. Their widows are increafed to me above the fand of the feas, &c.| Their hufbands being flain; not in the times of Abaz, when an hundred: and twenty thoufand men were flain in one: day in Fudab, by Pekah the fon of Remaliah, 2 Chron. xxviii. 6. as Kimchi thinks; but in the times of Zedekiab, at the fiege of Ferufalem, and the taking of it, and in the Babylonifh captivity before predicted. The children of J/rae] were to be as the fand'of the fea, and were very numerous; and here the widows are faid to be fo too, their hufbarids, who were numerous, being dead; and this, as it was of the Lord, fo it was in his fight, and according to his counfel and will. Mention is made of /eas; in the plural numiber, there being many in or near Fudea, as the Red fea, the fea of Galilee, and the Mediterranean fea: I have brought upon them againft the mother of the young men, a f{poiler at noon-day, that is, he would bring upon the Jews, againft the mother of the young men, or mothers of them; for the young men being deftroyed by the fpoiler, it was againft them; a calamity upon them, and a diftrefs unto them, who have generally a tender concern for them. The Targum is, ‘‘ againft the ** company of their young men;” the Fews; or again{t Ferufalem, the mother-city, the metropolis of the nation, full of young men fit for war: or, againft the mother, that is, Ferufalem, a young man °, meaning Nebuchadnezzar, who came againtt Ferufalem in the firft year of his reign; and, as fome fay, in the eighteenth year of his age, and who came not as a thief in the night, but as a fpoiler at noon-day; not in a fecret, infidious manner, but openly and with force of arms making his way thro’ the land to Ferufalem, in defiance of the ews, and in the face of them: and I have caufed him to fall upon it fuddenly; that is, upon the city of Ferufalem; for tho’ he came openly, his march was quick, and he was prefently at ferafalem, and laid fiege to it at once: and terrors upon the city; or, city and terrors’; the city was immediately filled with terrors at the appearance of Nebuchadnezzar and his army. R. Fofeph Kimchi interprets it, an army and terrors, from 1 Sam. xXvili. 16. the Babylonian monarch, at the head of his army, which fpread terrors where he came. Some render the word from Dan. iv. 13, 23. @ watcher and terrors ®; meaning the Chaldean army, called watchers, ch. iv. 16. The Targum is, “ 1 ‘* will bring an army upon them fuddenly, and “< deftroy their cities;” it fhould be rendered, alienation of mind and terrors; from the ufe of the word “yy in the Arabic language *. ¥. 9. She that hath born feven, languifbeth, &c.] Either the mother that has born many children, feven being put for a large number, now being able to bear no more, and being bereaved of what fhe had, and who were her ftaff and’ fupport, and from whom fhe had her expeétation, faints away, and dies thro’ grief and trouble; or Feru/alem, which formerly abounded with young men, is now in a forlorn and deftitute ftate; her children, the inhabitants of it, being flain with the fword, or dying of famine and the peftilence. In the Ta/- mud *, this is interpreted of feven wicked kings of Tirael, as Feroboam, Baafha, Ahab, Febu, Pekab, Menachem and Hofhea; and elfewhere of feven kings of Fudah, thus reckoned, Fehoram, Foafh, Abaz, Manafeh, Amon, Feboiakim and Zedekiah *: fhe hath given up the ghoft; or, blowed out her foul'; her breath departs; no life can be kept in her; fhe faints away at the calamities coming on her: her. funis gone down while it was yet day; the darknefs of affliction, and the evening of diftrefs and calamity c b bev Seu ad petendum de pace tua, Pagninus; ad interrogandum te de pace tua, Pifcator, fve profperitate tua,

lamity came upon her fooner than was expected, whilft in the midft of peace and profperity that was promifed, and hoped to be enjoyed for a long time to come; fee Amos viii. g: fhe hath been afoamed and confounded, of her vain hope, truft and confidence: and the refidue of them will I deliver to the fword before their enemies, faith the Lord; that is, fuch who died not of the famine and pettilence, but at the breaking up of the city endeavoured to make their efcape, thefe. fell into the hands of the enemy, and perifhed by the fword, as the Lord here predicts; for whatfoever he fays certainly comes to pafs.

y¥. 10. Wo is me, my mother, that thou-haft born me a man of ftrrife, &c.| Not that the prophet was a quarrelfome and contentious man, but others quarrelled and contended with him, and that for no other reafon than for his faithful difcharge of his office, under which he ought to have been eafy; but being a man of like paffions with others, wifhes he had never been born, than to meet with fo much trouble; and feems to blame _his. mother for bearing him; or however looked upon himfelf to be a miferable man thro’ his birth, and that he was deftined from thence to this forrow: aud.a man of contention to the whole earth; or land; the land of ‘fudea, the inhabitants of it, as the Targum, for with no other had Feremiab to do; and it were thefe only that contended with him, becaufe he brought a difagreeable meflage to them, concerning their captivity: I have neither lent on ufury, nor men have lent to me on ufury; which was not lawful with the Yews to do; and therefore fuch were curfed that did it: but this is not to be reftrained to this particular branch of traffic, which was not ufual; but has refpect to, all trade and commerce; and the meaning is, that.the prophet did not concern himfelf with fecular. affairs; but attended to the duties of his office; he carried, on no negotiations with men, -he was neither a creditor nor a debtor; had nothing to do with pecu- tentions, quarrels and law-fuits; and -yet notwith~ ftanding could not. be free from ftrife and debate: yet every one of them do curfe me; that is, every one of the inhabitants of the land. of Fudea,:.fo much known were Yeremiah and his prophecies;,thefe flighted and fet light by both him and. his predictions; and wifhed the vileft;imprecations, upon him for -his.meffages to. them. The word here ufed is compounded of two words, or derived, from two roots, as Kimchi obferves; the one fignifies to make light or vilify, in oppofition; to, honour and glory.; and the other to curfe, in oppofition, to blefling; and this is often the-cafe of the minifters of the word, not only.to.be flighted.and defpifed, but to be defamed and..curfed; fee, 1 Cor.iv. T2839: $n y. 11. The Lord faid, $&&c.}_ In anfwer, to. the prophet’s complaint: verily it hall be well with thy remnant; not with the remnant. of -his people, or thofe that fhould efcape the threatened calamities; ~ but the fenfe is, that it fhould be well with himein his latter end; the remainder of his days fhould be comfortable, or be fpent in peace and profperity; and fo the Targum, ‘‘ if thine end fhall not ** be for good.” The words are in the form of an oath, as Kimchi and Ben Melech obferve; and the meaning is, that if it is not well with thee in thy lait days, then fay I am unfaithful, and not fed faciam holtem occurrere tibi, pro te apud inimicum, Pifcator.

Calvin; annon intervenirem pro te apud inimicum? Junius & Tremellis fe nt ° IIT) Et fervire faciam..

true to:my word. According to Donz/b, cited by Jarchi, the word tranflated remnant, has the fignification of loofing; and he renders it, # J Joo é thee not for good™; which accordingly was done, Fer. xl, 4. and this fenfe is confirmed by the note of the Maj/orites: verily I will caufe the enemy to intreat thee well; or, if I do not, &c: for itis alfo in the form of an oath, as before, as Farcbi notes; and fo it was, Nebuchadnezzar gave chargeto Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard to look well to him, and do him no harm; who, when he’ loofed him, gave him his choice to go with him to Ba- ~ bylon, or continue in the land, ‘Yer. xx¥xix, IF, 12.

the enemy for thee *? and:make him gentle and humane, {o. that he fhall ufe thee kindly. Fareb? interprets this of Zedekiah and his:courtiers feek~ ing to Yeremiab, inthe time of their diftrefs, to pray for them, ch; xxxvii. 2. and to which fenfe the Targum inclines, ‘if they fhall not ¢ome and “* help thee,” ce: im the time of evil; and in the time. of affliction, when the city is taken, and the

people carrying captive. ee ¥. 42. Shall iron break the northern iron, and the

Jficel 2] Can iron break iron, efpecially that which comes from the north, which was harder than the comimon iron, or fteel the hardeft of ‘all? tho’ the jews were hard as iron, they could not prevail againft, and overcome Yeremiah, who was. made

}an iron pillar, and brazen walls againft them, ch- i, 18. and fo thefe words are fpoken for his com~ fort and encouragement: or they may relpeét the Jews and the Chaldeans; and the fenfe be, that the ews, as mighty and.as {trong as they fancied themfelves to be, and boafted that they were, they could not find themfelves a’ match for the’ Obaldean army, which came out of the north 5 and may be faid to be as hard as, the northern irony which eame from the Chalybes, a people in the? north; ‘near

Pontus, from whom fteel has its name in the Latin tongue; and this fenfe agrees with what follows. niary affairs;, which often.occafion ftrifes and. con-

¥.13- Thy fubjtance and thy treafures will T give ot the prophet’s tice 5, but the fubftance and treafure of the people - of the Fews, to. whom thefe words ‘ate’ direéted $ thefe the Lord threatened fhould be’ delivered’ into the hands of their: enemies, and become & fpoil and,, free booty to them, for whieh they fhould give nothing, and which fhould never be rédeemed again send: that for all thy fins; ‘even in-all thy borders;, this fpoiling of their fubftance thevld befal them becaufe of their fits, which'the¥ Kad'eom= mitted in all the borders of their Jand}* here they had ‘built their high places, ahd “had'fét *up idolatrous worfhip; or elie the meaning9s} that’ their fubftance|and treafure invall their’ bordets, int every part of the land, fhould be ‘the plunder of their enemies, becaufe of ‘their fins; 9° 7 a a aaa Ria ¥..14. 4nd I will make thee to pafs with thine out of their own land into theirs: — which thou knoweft not, the land of there is another reading: of the w gin, I will caufe thee to-ferve thine entmiés*, in a land.that thou knoweft not; which is followed by the Targum, Septuagint, Syriac and clectiB rerfions

Some render the words, J A ‘bing thine enemies from, or thro’ a land that thou knoweft not Ps the place from whence they came, and thofe thro’ which they came being at a great diftance: for 4 fire is kindled in’ mine aiiger, which fall burn upon you meaning the wrath of God, compared to; fire, which was kindled and excited by their fins, and which would continue upon them, until it had deftroyed them. ¥. 15. O Lord, thou knoweft, &c.} All perfons and things; he knew the prophet and his heart, and all that was init; his innocence and integrity 5 all his afflictions, dnd! what he met with from his enemies; and he knew them, and all their malicious defigns againft him: remember me, with the favour which he bore to his own people, his covenant with him, his promifes to. him, and the word on which he had caufed him to hope; becaufe of his trials and troubles he might feem to be forgotten by him: and vifit me,‘ in mercy for good; and fo the Tar. gum adds, ** that thou mayeft do “well unto me:” and revenge'me of my perfecutors; not fo much for his own fake; unlef§ this is to be attributed to his frailty and infirmity, to the warmth of his fpirit, being a man of like paffions with others; for private revenge ought not to be fought by good men, but for the fake of God and, his glory, In whofe caufe he was engaged, and on whofe account he was perfecuted: Sie me not away in -thy long-fuffering; whilft thou art bearing with others, don’t take me away by death; or faffer them, whom thou doft forbear, to take me away, of give them, an opportunity thereby fo to do; or when thy long-fuffering 1s at an end, don’t involve me in the fame calamity with them. The 7 argum is,‘ ‘do not give delay to “ my injury;” or, “ length to my affliction;” that is, do not delay to take vengeance on my per;

fecutors; arid to’ this ‘fenfe. Farchi, inter rets.. it, | “ do not take my catife, and leave it to thy long-

“-fuffering, but. Haften.and:dvenge me;” and, De Dien propotes' fuch a rendering of the words, fo thy long: -fuffering do not bring me; and which fenfe is favoured’ by the Septuagint verfion:, know,. that for thy, fake I have fuffered rebukes let it appear, and that even to mine enemies, that it is for. thy fake that'all this’ reproach, is, caft upon me;,.and all thefe afflictions are endured | by me, by thy. xeree: of their cartiage to me,, £16! Thy words were. found, and I did eat them, | ze age The ‘meffages he- ‘was called’ to gating unto others, appeared to him to be of. God, they | 1 were as welcome to him as food is to an err man; he chearfully received them, treafured them up in his memory, digefted them in his mind, and carefully retained them. So the doétrines of the. gofpel, which are the words of God, and not of men, when by fearching and clofe application they are found in the fcriptures, and under the miniftry of the word, they are food to fouls: fweet, favouty, F wholefome, nrg an ‘tet ee ait a5 mies tieard externally affnted mit tficially tafted of; Teter faten, 2 as” Bes iePs salt was by him; and which’ is done by’: faith, va, neta

‘feeds updh, and digefts the for unlefs itis’ Bates hy it ‘is pen tables and? thy word was; “Wato ihe: the joy and 'r joicing of Prine Beart 5 the! ‘meffages Ww ia fhe’ piel to nolest 6H) anitivons eslcosg Si) doqu bas ay lic? Et sta inimicos de terra quam iefcth V.L. & fo Cocceius. mp aire dilationem ite tux, Guffetias. ya VA, Ps Bo lus; hilafia agentium, Gataker.

phet was fent ‘with, even thofe which denounced grievous things againft his people in cafe of impenitence, were gladly received by him, and he readily delivered them, hoping that they would be.a means. of bringing them to a fenfe of, their fins, and to repentance for them, and fo of preferving them. from ruin; and efpecially thofe words or doétrines. he had in commiffion to deliver, which refpeéted, the Meffiah, his perfon, offices, kingdom, righte-, oufnefs and. grace; the calling of the Gentiles, and the enlargement of the intereft of Chrift; the glory of his.name, and the profperity of his peo-,. ple, in the latter day. The word of the gofpels; when received and eat by faith, whether by, mini- {ters or people, is productive of fpiritual, joy. and pleafure; the promifes of it being exceeding precious; and the doctrines of it, doétrines:of grace, falvation, peace, pardon and righteoufnefs by Chrift, who is the fum and fubftance of them: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hofts,, what. added to his joy was, that the name of the Lord, was called upon him, or that he was called a prophet of the Lord: this he looked upon.as an high honour done him; and what ftill more increafed his joy was, that he was a prophet, not of Baal, that could not beat nor help his prophets and.wer~ fhippers; but of the Lord God: of hofts, and. armies, who was able to uphold him, protect and. defend him, againft his enemies. |

W414. 1, fat. not in the affembly of the mosker’, nor | Tejoiced, &c. | With them; the mockers;. or, thofé that make merry"; as the word is rendered... in ch.'xxx, 19,.and xxxi.4. and,fo the 7: argui,.<<thofe <¢ that fing;? and dance and live jovially,; -with ‘thefe).the prophet. did not. affociate himfelf;.. fuch levity being unfuitable to his, character.as.a pro- | phet, and te thofe grievous meflages he was charged with;and tho’ he had joy; it.was of another kind; it was not carnal, but fpiritual; not outward, but inward;,.and what. arofe, from. the word.-of. the Lord, being found and eat by him..,Moreoyer, there, were fome, things which. he was obliged, by his office; to, deliver, that were very diftne him, \dnd made him very melancholy;;fo},that),he fhunned, all. company and diverfion, which might have been lawfully énjoyed:, for this, is not, tobe underftood, of the mee 8 or counel of oa wick:

tranfire faciam hoftes tuos per terram quam sigs De Dieu; duc _me,;-De. Dieu j, nec me,capias ad ontanus, Cocceius; Josantlaats ae ple againft him, becaufe of his prophecies; or with indignation againft them, becaufe of their fins; or with denunciations of wrath he was to deliver to them; and fo the Targum, ** for thou haft filled ‘¢ me with a prophecy of curfing.”

¥.18. Why is my pain perpetual? &c.) The pain of his mind; his uneafinefs for the good of his people, which was likely to laft, having no hope of a change for the better: or it may defign the pain which they gave him by their reproaches and perfecutions of him, which feemed as if they would have no end: and my wound incurable, which refufeth to be healed? the fame thing is meant as before. The allufion is to an old ulcer, or obftinate wound, which no medicine can affect, is defperate and deadly; and fuch the prophet reckoned his cafe to be, or however deprecates it, and expoftulates with God why it fhould be fo: wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? fuch God cannot be, nor did the prophet think he was; he knew that he was God that could not lie, and that he was faithful to his promifes, and would not difappoint the faith, hope and expectations of his people; but he feared he would be thought to be fo by others, by his enemies, who would triumph over him, and fay, where is thy God? did he not promife to make thee a defenced city, an iron pillar, and brazen walls? is he as good as his word? is he not like a dry brook, whofe waters fail? are not thy hope and expectation in vain, who haft been trufting to him, and depending on him? and it is as if the prophet fhould fay, Lord, let them have no occafion to fpeak after this manner; nor fuffer my faith in thy promifes to fail; fhew thyfelf to be as thou art, 2 covenant-keeping God, and whofe faithfulne{fs never fails: to which an anfwer is returned in the following verfes.

¥. 19. Therefore thus faith the Lord, if thou return, &c.] From thine unbelief, difidence and impenitence, and repent of them; expreffed in the preceding verfes: then will I bring thee again; or, reftore thee*; pardon his fin, and return him to his poft and place, to his office and miniftry in it, and confirm and eftablifh him therein: and thou foalt fiand before me; not only as a petitioner for the people; fee ¥. 1. but as a fervant of the Lord, attending to his word, and waiting his orders, and ready to execute them. It denotes his ftability in his office: and if thou wilt take forth the precious from the vile, take precious truths, comparable to gold, filver and precious ftones; truths more va- Juable and defirable than thoufands of gold and filver, from thofe dotrines which are worthlefs and contemptible, comparable to wood, hay and ftubble, and every thing that is mean and vile; thefe, faithful minifters fhould feparate one from the other, and not mix and blend them together: or precious fouls, truly gracious ones, who are precious in the fight of God, are redeemed by Chrift, by his precious blood, and are adorned with the graces of the Spirit; thefe are to be diftinguifhed from the vile, from finners impenitent and unbelieving, that live in fin, in defiance of the law, and in contempt of the gofpel; a difference is to be made between them; delivering out comfortable words to the one, and denouncing fevere threatnings to the other; doing the reverfe of the falfe prophets, Ezek. xiii. 22: thou fhalt be as my mouth, to the people; fpeak what I command thee, and whatfoever thou fayeft fhall be as if I had fpoken it myfelf: Jet them return unto thee, but return not thou unto them, this is faid of the people of the Fews, to whom the prophet was fent; and the fenfe is, that he fhould not at all comply with them, or conform to their humours, or flatter and footh them in their fins, as the falfe prophets did; but if they returned to him, attended on his miniftry, received his words and meffages, and agreed and conformed to him, and followed his directions and example, it would be very well; but otherwife, he was not in the leaft- to give way to them, or go into any finful compliance with them, either with refpe€t to doctrine or practice.

¥.20. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brazen wall, &c.] As he had promifed him, when he firft called him to his office, ch. i. 18. and fo would not be as a liar to him: and they fhall fight againft thee; by words and blows, by menaces and imprifonment: but they fhall not prevail againft thee; fo as to caufe him to call in his words, and contradiét his prophecies; or {0 as to take away his life: for I am with thee, to fave thee, and deliver thee, faith the Lord; the prefence of God with his minifters is fufficient to fave and deliver them out of all their troubles, and to protect and defend them againft all their enemies; fee Matt. xxviii. 20.

¥.21. And I will deliver thee out of the band of the wicked, &c.] ‘The wicked ews, Zedekiab and his courtiers, who imprifoned him: aud I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible; as kings and great men of the earth feem to be; or, the violent, or frrong*, and mighty; that were ftronger than he, that would ufe him with violence, and inject terror into him.

N this chapter the ruin and deftruétion of the ews is fet forth, and confirmed by the prophet’s being forbid to be merry, or to go into the houfe. of feafting or mourning, with the reafons thereof; alfo the fins of the people, the caufe of it, are pointed at; and afterwards a promife of their reftoration is made; and the chapter is concluded with a prayer of the prophet, expreffing. his faith in the divine protection, and A che calling of the Gentiles. After the preface or introduction, ¥. 1, the prophet is forbid to take a wife, or have s “ Be JAVLN reftiuam te, Tign sa pi Schmidt; fortium, Vulg. i tine verfion any children, with the reafon of it; becaufe that parents and children would die of grievous deaths unlamented, and not.be buried, y. 2, 3,4. and he is alfo forbid to go into the houfe of mourning, becaufe peace, loving-kindnefs and paeey were taken from the people, and both great {mall would die, and no lamentation be made for them, nor have any burial alfo, ¥. 5, 6, 7. nor might he go into the houfe of feafting, becaufe the voice of joy and gladnefs would ceafe out of the land, ¥. 8, g. and upon the peoples enquiring the reafon S