mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 50.xml

<div2 id="Jer.li" n="li" next="Jer.lii" prev="Jer.l" progress="46.00%" title="Chapter L">
<h2 id="Jer.li-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.li-p0.2">CHAP. L.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.li-p1" shownumber="no">In this chapter, and that which follows, we have
the judgment of Babylon, which is put last of Jeremiah's prophecies
against the Gentiles because it was last accomplished; and when the
cup of God's fury went round ( <scripRef id="Jer.li-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.17" parsed="|Jer|25|17|0|0" passage="Jer 25:17"><i>ch.</i>25:17</scripRef>) the king of Sheshach,
Babylon, drank last. Babylon was employed as the rod in God's hand
for the chastising of all the other nations, and now at length that
rod shall be thrown into the fire. The destruction of Babylon by
Cyrus was foretold, long before it came to its height, by Isaiah,
and now again, when it has come to its height, by Jeremiah; for,
though at this time he saw that kingdom flourishing "like a green
bay-tree," yet at the same time he foresaw it withered and cut
down. And as Isaiah's prophecies of the destruction of Babylon and
the deliverance of Israel out of it seem designed to typify the
evangelical triumphs of all believers over the powers of darkness,
and the great salvation wrought out by our Lord Jesus Christ, so
Jeremiah's prophecies of the same events seem designed to point at
the apocalyptic triumphs of the gospel church in the latter days
over the New-Testament Babylon, many passages in the Revelation
being borrowed hence. The kingdom of Babylon being much larger and
stronger than any of the kingdoms here prophesied against, its fall
was the more considerable in itself; and, it having been more
oppressive to the people of God than any of the other, the prophet
is very copious upon this subject, for the comfort of the captives;
and what was foretold in general often before (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.12 Bible:Jer.27.7" parsed="|Jer|25|12|0|0;|Jer|27|7|0|0" passage="Jer 25:12,27:7"><i>ch.</i> xxv. 12 and xxvii. 7</scripRef>) is
here more particularly described, and with a great deal of
prophetic heat as well as light. The terrible judgments God had in
store for Babylon, and the glorious blessings he had in store for
his people that were captives there, are intermixed and
counterchanged in the prophecy of this chapter; for Babylon was
destroyed to make way for the turning again of the captivity of
God's people. Here is, I. The ruin of Babylon, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.1-Jer.50.3 Bible:Jer.50.9-Jer.50.16 Bible:Jer.50.21-Jer.50.32 Bible:Jer.50.35-Jer.50.46" parsed="|Jer|50|1|50|3;|Jer|50|9|50|16;|Jer|50|21|50|32;|Jer|50|35|50|46" passage="Jer 50:1-3,9-16,21-32,35-46">ver. 1-3, 9-16, 21-32, and
35-46</scripRef>. II. The redemption of God's people, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.4-Jer.50.8 Bible:Jer.50.17-Jer.50.20 Bible:Jer.50.33 Bible:Jer.50.34" parsed="|Jer|50|4|50|8;|Jer|50|17|50|20;|Jer|50|33|0|0;|Jer|50|34|0|0" passage="Jer 50:4-8,17-20,33,34">ver. 4-8, 17-20, and 33,
34</scripRef>. And these being set the one against the other, it is
easy to say which one would choose to take one's lot with, the
persecuting Babylonians, who, though now in pomp, are reserved for
so great a ruin, or the persecuted Israelites, who, though now in
thraldom, are reserved for so great a glory.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.li-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50" parsed="|Jer|50|0|0|0" passage="Jer 50" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.li-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.1-Jer.50.8" parsed="|Jer|50|1|50|8" passage="Jer 50:1-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.li-p1.7">
<h4 id="Jer.li-p1.8">The Judgment of Babylon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p1.9">b. c.</span> 595.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.li-p2" shownumber="no">1 The word that the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p2.1">Lord</span> spake against Babylon <i>and</i> against
the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.   2 Declare
ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish,
<i>and</i> conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded,
Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images
are broken in pieces.   3 For out of the north there cometh up
a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none
shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man
and beast.   4 In those days, and in that time, saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p2.2">Lord</span>, the children of Israel shall
come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping:
they shall go, and seek the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p2.3">Lord</span>
their God.   5 They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces
thitherward, <i>saying,</i> Come, and let us join ourselves to the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p2.4">Lord</span> in a perpetual covenant
<i>that</i> shall not be forgotten.   6 My people hath been
lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they
have turned them away <i>on</i> the mountains: they have gone from
mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.   7
All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said,
We offend not, because they have sinned against the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p2.5">Lord</span>, the habitation of justice, even the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p2.6">Lord</span>, the hope of their fathers.   8
Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of
the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p3" shownumber="no">I. Here is a word spoken against Babylon by
him whose works all agree with his word and none of whose words
fall to the ground. The king of Babylon had been very kind of
Jeremiah, and yet he must foretel the ruin of that kingdom; for
God's prophets must not be governed by favour or affection. Whoever
are our friends, if, notwithstanding, they are God's enemies, we
dare not speak peace to them. 1. The destruction of Babylon is here
spoken of as a thing done, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.2" parsed="|Jer|50|2|0|0" passage="Jer 50:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>. let it be published to the nations as a piece of
news, true news, and great news, and news they are all concerned
in; let them hang out the flag, as is usual on days of triumph, to
give notice of it; let all the world take notice of it: <i>Babylon
is taken.</i> Let God have the honour of it, let his people have
the comfort of it, and therefore do not conceal it. Take care that
it be known, that <i>the Lord may be known by those judgments which
he executes,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.9.16" parsed="|Ps|9|16|0|0" passage="Ps 9:16">Ps. ix. 16</scripRef>.
2. It is spoken of as a thing done thoroughly. For, (1.) The very
idols of Babylon, which the people would protect with all possible
care, and from which they expected protection, shall be destroyed.
Bel and Merodach were their two principal deities; they shall be
<i>confounded,</i> and the images of them <i>broken to pieces.</i>
(2.) The country shall be laid waste (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.3" parsed="|Jer|50|3|0|0" passage="Jer 50:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>) out <i>of the north,</i> from
Media, which lay north of Babylon, and from Assyria, through which
Cyrus made his descent upon Babylon; thence the nation shall come
that shall make <i>her land desolate.</i> Their land was north of
the countries that they destroyed, who were therefore threatened
with evil from the north (<i>Omne malum ab aquilone—Every evil
comes from the north</i>); but God will find out nations yet
further north to come upon them. The pomp and power of old Rome
were brought down by northern nations, the Goths and Vandals.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p4" shownumber="no">II. Here is a word spoken for the people of
God, and for their comfort, both <i>the children of Israel</i> and
<i>of Judah;</i> for many there were of the ten tribes that
associated with those of the two tribes in their return out of
Babylon. Now here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p5" shownumber="no">1. It is promised that they shall return to
their God first and then to their own land; and the promise of
their conversion and reformation is that which makes way for all
the other promises, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.4-Jer.50.5" parsed="|Jer|50|4|50|5" passage="Jer 50:4,5"><i>v.</i> 4,
5</scripRef>. (1.) They shall <i>lament after the Lord</i> (as the
whole house of Israel did in Samuel's time, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.7.2" parsed="|1Sam|7|2|0|0" passage="1Sa 7:2">1 Sam. vii. 2</scripRef>); they shall <i>go weeping.</i>
These tears flow not from the sorrow of the world as those when
they went into captivity, but from godly sorrow; they are tears of
repentance for sin, tears of joy for the goodness of God, in the
dawning of the day of their deliverance, which, for aught that
appears, does more towards the bringing of them to mourn for sin
than all the calamities of their captivity; that prevails to
<i>lead them to repentance</i> when the other did not prevail to
drive them to it. Note, It is a good sign that God is coming
towards a people in ways of mercy when they begin to be tenderly
affected under his hand. (2.) They shall <i>enquire after the
Lord;</i> they shall not sink under their sorrows, but bestir
themselves to find out comfort where it is to be had: <i>They shall
go weeping to seek the Lord their God.</i> Those that seek the Lord
must <i>seek him sorrowing,</i> as Christ's parents sought him,
<scripRef id="Jer.li-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.2.48" parsed="|Luke|2|48|0|0" passage="Lu 2:48">Luke ii. 48</scripRef>. And those that
sorrow must seek the Lord, and then their sorrow shall soon be
turned into joy, for he will be found of those that so seek him.
They shall <i>seek the Lord as their God,</i> and shall now have no
more to do with idols. When they shall hear that the idols of
Babylon are <i>confounded and broken</i> it will be seasonable for
them to enquire after their own God and to return to him who lives
for ever. <i>Therefore</i> men are deceived in false gods, that
they may depend on the true God only. (3.) They shall think of
returning to their own country again; they shall think of it not
only as a mercy, but as a duty, because there only is the <i>holy
hill of Zion,</i> on which once stood <i>the house of the Lord
their God</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.5" parsed="|Jer|50|5|0|0" passage="Jer 50:5"><i>v.</i>
5</scripRef>): <i>They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces
thitherward.</i> Zion was the city of their solemnities; they often
thought of it in the depth of their captivity (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.137.1" parsed="|Ps|137|1|0|0" passage="Ps 137:1">Ps. cxxxvii. 1</scripRef>); but, now that the ruin of
Babylon gave them some hopes of a release, they talk of nothing
else but of going back to Zion. Their hearts were upon it before,
and now they <i>set their faces thitherward.</i> They long to be
there; they set out for Zion, and resolve not to take up short of
it. The journey is long and they know not the road, but they will
<i>ask the way,</i> for they will press forward till they come to
Zion; and, as they are determined not to turn back, so they are in
care not to miss the way. This represents the return of poor souls
to God. Heaven is the Zion they aim at as their end; on this they
have set their hearts; towards this they have <i>set their
faces,</i> and therefore they <i>ask the way</i> thither. They do
not ask the way to heaven and set their faces towards the world;
nor set their faces towards heaven and go on at a venture without
asking the way. But in all true converts there are both a sincere
desire to attain the end and a constant care to keep in the way;
and a blessed sight it is to see people thus asking the way to
heaven with their faces thitherward. (4.) They shall renew their
covenant to walk with God more closely for the future: <i>Come, and
let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant.</i> They
had broken covenant with God, had in effect separated themselves
from him, but now they resolve to <i>join themselves</i> to him
again, by engaging themselves afresh to be his. Thus, when
backsliders return, they must <i>do their first works,</i> must
renew the covenant they first made; and it must be a <i>perpetual
covenant,</i> that must never be broken; and, in order to that,
must never be forgotten; for a due remembrance of it will be the
means of a due observance of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p6" shownumber="no">2. Their present case is lamented as very
sad, and as having been long so: "<i>My people</i>" (for he owns
them as his now that they are returning to him) "<i>have been lost
sheep</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.6" parsed="|Jer|50|6|0|0" passage="Jer 50:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>);
they have <i>gone from mountain to hill,</i> have been hurried from
place to place, and could find no pasture; <i>they have forgotten
their resting-place</i> in their own country and cannot find their
way to it." And that which aggravated their misery was, (1.) That
they were <i>led astray by their own shepherds,</i> their own
princes and priests; they turned them from their duty, and so
provoked God to turn them out of their own land. It is bad with a
people when their leaders cause them to err, when those that should
direct them, and when those that should secure and advance their
interests are the betrayers of them. (2.) That in their wanderings
they lay exposed to the beasts of prey, who thought they were
entitled to them, as waifs and strays that had no owner (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.7" parsed="|Jer|50|7|0|0" passage="Jer 50:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>); it is with them as with
wandering sheep, <i>all that found them have devoured them</i> and
made a prey of them; and when they did them the greatest injuries
they laughed at them, telling them it was what their own prophets
had many a time told them they deserved; that was far from
justifying those who did them wrong, yet they bantered them with
this excuse, <i>We offend not, because they have sinned against the
Lord;</i> but they could not pretend that they had sinned against
them. And see what notion they had of the Lord they had sinned
against, not as the only true and living God, but only as <i>the
habitation of justice and the hope of their fathers;</i> they had
put a contempt upon the temple and upon the tradition of their
ancestors, and therefore deserved to suffer these hard things. And
yet it was indeed an aggravation of their sin, and justified God,
though it did not justify their adversaries in what was done to
them, that they had <i>forsaken the habitation of justice</i> and
him that was <i>the hope of their fathers.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p7" shownumber="no">3. They are called upon to hasten away, as
soon as ever the door of liberty was opened to them (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.8" parsed="|Jer|50|8|0|0" passage="Jer 50:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): "<i>Remove,</i> not
only out of the borders, but <i>out of the midst of Babylon;</i>
though you be ever so well seated there, think not to settle there,
but hasten to Zion, and <i>be as the he-goats before the
flocks;</i> strive which shall be foremost, which shall lead in so
good a work:" a he-goat is <i>comely in going</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.30.31" parsed="|Prov|30|31|0|0" passage="Pr 30:31">Prov. xxx. 31</scripRef>) because he goes first.
It is a graceful thing to be forward in a good work and to set
others a good example.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.li-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.9-Jer.50.20" parsed="|Jer|50|9|50|20" passage="Jer 50:9-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.li-p7.4">
<h4 id="Jer.li-p7.5">The Judgment of Babylon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p7.6">b. c.</span> 595.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.li-p8" shownumber="no">9 For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up
against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north
country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from
thence she shall be taken: their arrows <i>shall be</i> as of a
mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.   10 And Chaldea
shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p8.1">Lord</span>.   11 Because ye were
glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage,
because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as
bulls;   12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that
bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations
<i>shall be</i> a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.   13
Because of the wrath of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p8.2">Lord</span> it
shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one
that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her
plagues.   14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round
about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows: for
she hath sinned against the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p8.3">Lord</span>.
  15 Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand:
her foundations are fallen, her walls are thrown down: for it
<i>is</i> the vengeance of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p8.4">Lord</span>:
take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her.   16
Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in
the time of harvest: for fear of the oppressing sword they shall
turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his
own land.   17 Israel <i>is</i> a scattered sheep; the lions
have driven <i>him</i> away: first the king of Assyria hath
devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath
broken his bones.   18 Therefore thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p8.5">Lord</span> of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will
punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the
king of Assyria.   19 And I will bring Israel again to his
habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul
shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.   20 In
those days, and in that time, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p8.6">Lord</span>, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought
for, and <i>there shall be</i> none; and the sins of Judah, and
they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p9" shownumber="no">God is here by his prophet, as afterwards
in his providence, proceeding in his controversy with Babylon.
Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p10" shownumber="no">I. The commission and charge given to the
instruments that were to be employed in destroying Babylon. The
army that is to do it is called <i>an assembly of great nations</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.li-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.9" parsed="|Jer|50|9|0|0" passage="Jer 50:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), the Medes
and Persians, and all their allies and auxiliaries; it is called
<i>an assembly,</i> because regularly formed by the divine will and
counsel to do this execution. God will <i>raise them up</i> to do
it, will incline them to and fit them for this service, and then he
will <i>cause them to come up,</i> for all their motions are under
his conduct and direction: he shall give the word of command, shall
order them to <i>put themselves in array against Babylon</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.li-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.14" parsed="|Jer|50|14|0|0" passage="Jer 50:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), and then
<i>they shall put themselves in array</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.9" parsed="|Jer|50|9|0|0" passage="Jer 50:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>), for what God appoints to be
done shall be done; and <i>thence she shall be</i> quickly
<i>taken;</i> from their first sitting down before it they shall be
still gaining ground against it till it be taken. God shall bid
them <i>shoot at her and spare no arrows</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.14" parsed="|Jer|50|14|0|0" passage="Jer 50:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), and then <i>their arrows
shall be as of a mighty expert man,</i> that has both skill and
strength, a good eye and a good hand (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.9" parsed="|Jer|50|9|0|0" passage="Jer 50:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>); <i>none shall return in
vain.</i> When God gives commission he will give success. Nay, they
are bidden not only to <i>shoot at her</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.14" parsed="|Jer|50|14|0|0" passage="Jer 50:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), but to <i>shout against
her</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p10.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.15" parsed="|Jer|50|15|0|0" passage="Jer 50:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>)
with a triumphant shout, as those that are already sure of victory.
Those whom God directs to shoot may do so with shouting, for they
are sure not to miss the mark.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p11" shownumber="no">II. The desolation and destruction itself
that shall be brought upon Babylon. This is here set forth in a
great variety of expressions. 1. The wealth of Babylon shall be a
rich and easy prey to the conquerors (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.10" parsed="|Jer|50|10|0|0" passage="Jer 50:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): <i>Chaldea shall be a
spoil</i> to all her destroyers, who shall enrich themselves by
plundering her, and, which is strange, <i>all that spoil her shall
be satisfied;</i> they shall have so much that even they themselves
shall say that they have enough. 2. The country of Babylon shall be
depopulated and lie uninhabited: <i>It shall be wholly desolate</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.li-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.13" parsed="|Jer|50|13|0|0" passage="Jer 50:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>) to such a
degree that <i>every one who goes by</i> shall triumph in her fall,
and, instead of condoling with them, shall <i>hiss at all her
plagues,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.13" parsed="|Jer|50|13|0|0" passage="Jer 50:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>.
3. Their ancestors shall be ashamed of their cowardice, in fleeing
from the first onset (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.12" parsed="|Jer|50|12|0|0" passage="Jer 50:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>), or, <i>Your mother,</i> Babylon itself, the
mother-city, <i>shall be confounded,</i> when she sees herself
deserted by those that should have been her guards. Thus the former
ages of Christians may justly be confounded and ashamed to see how
unlike them the latter ages are, and how wretchedly they have
degenerated; and no sin brings a surer and sorer ruin upon persons,
or people, than apostasy. 4. The great admirers of Babylon shall
see it rendered very despicable: the last of kingdoms, the very
tail of the nations, <i>shall it be, a wilderness, a dry land, a
desert,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.11" parsed="|Jer|50|11|0|0" passage="Jer 50:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>.
The country that was populous shall be dispeopled, that was
enriched with a fertile soil shall become barren. 5. The great
city, the head of it, shall be quite ruined. <i>Her foundations
have fallen,</i> and therefore <i>her walls are thrown down;</i>
for how can the walls stand when divine vengeance is at the door
and shakes the very foundations? It is the vengeance of the Lord,
which nothing can contend with either in law or battle. 6. There
shall not be left in Babylon so much as <i>the poor of the land,
for vine-dressers and husbandmen,</i> as there was in Israel
(<scripRef id="Jer.li-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.16" parsed="|Jer|50|16|0|0" passage="Jer 50:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): <i>The
sower shall be cut off from Babylon, and he that handles the
sickle;</i> the country shall be so emptied of people that there
shall be none to till the ground and gather in the fruits of it.
Harvest shall come, and there shall be no reapers; seed-time shall
come, but there shall be no sower; God will do his part, but there
shall be no men to do theirs. 7. All their auxiliary forces, which
they have hired into their service, shall desert them, as mercenary
men often do upon the approach of danger (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.16" parsed="|Jer|50|16|0|0" passage="Jer 50:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): <i>For fear of the oppressing
sword they shall turn every one to his people.</i> This was
threatened before concerning Egypt, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p11.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.46.16" parsed="|Jer|46|16|0|0" passage="Jer 46:16"><i>ch.</i> xlvi. 16</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p12" shownumber="no">III. The procuring provoking cause of this
destruction. It comes from God's displeasure; it is <i>because of
the wrath of the Lord</i> that Babylon <i>shall be wholly
desolate</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.13" parsed="|Jer|50|13|0|0" passage="Jer 50:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>), and his wrath is righteous, for (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.14" parsed="|Jer|50|14|0|0" passage="Jer 50:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>) <i>she hath sinned against the
Lord,</i> therefore <i>spare no arrows.</i> Note, It is sin that
makes men a mark for the arrows of God's judgments. An abundance of
idolatry and immorality was to be found in Babylon, yet those are
not mentioned as the reason of God's displeasure against them, but
the injuries they had done to the people of God, from a principle
of enmity to them as his people. They have been <i>the destroyers
of God's heritage</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.11" parsed="|Jer|50|11|0|0" passage="Jer 50:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>); herein indeed God made use of them for the
necessary correction of his people, and yet it is laid to their
charge as a heinous crime, because they designed nothing but their
utter destruction. 1. What they did against Jerusalem they did with
pleasure (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.11" parsed="|Jer|50|11|0|0" passage="Jer 50:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>):
<i>You were glad, you rejoice.</i> God does not afflict his people
willingly, and therefore takes it very ill if the instruments he
employs afflict them willingly. When Titus Vespasian destroyed
Jerusalem he wept over it, but these Chaldeans triumphed over it.
2. The spoils of Jerusalem they made use of to feed their own
luxury: "<i>You have grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow
as bulls;</i> your having conquered Jerusalem has made you very
wanton and proud, easy to yourselves and formidable to all about
you, and therefore you must <i>be a spoil.</i>" Those that have
thus swallowed down riches must vomit them up again. Therefore they
have <i>given their hand</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.15" parsed="|Jer|50|15|0|0" passage="Jer 50:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>); they have surrendered
themselves to the conqueror, have tamely yielded so that now you
may <i>take vengeance on her,</i> now you may make reprisals and
<i>do unto her as she hath done.</i> 3. They aimed at nothing less
than the utter ruin of God's Israel: <i>Israel is a scattered
sheep,</i> as before (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.6" parsed="|Jer|50|6|0|0" passage="Jer 50:6"><i>v.</i>
6</scripRef>), that is not only barked at and worried by dogs, but
even lions, the most potent adversaries, have roared upon him and
<i>driven him away,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p12.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.17" parsed="|Jer|50|17|0|0" passage="Jer 50:17"><i>v.</i>
17</scripRef>. One king of Assyria carried the ten tribes quite
away and devoured them; another invaded Judah, and plundered and
impoverished it, tore the fleece and flesh of this poor sheep; and
now at last this Nebuchadnezzar, that is the terror and plague of
all his neighbours, has taken advantage of the low condition to
which he is reduced, and he has fallen upon him and <i>broken his
bones,</i> has quite ruined him, and therefore the king of Babylon
must be punished as the king of Assyria was, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p12.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.18" parsed="|Jer|50|18|0|0" passage="Jer 50:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>. Note, Those who pursue and
prosecute the sins of their predecessors must expect to be pursued
and prosecuted by their plagues; if they do as they did, let them
fare as they fared.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p13" shownumber="no">IV. The mercy promised to the Israel of
God, which shall not only accompany, but accrue from, the
destruction of Babylon. 1. God will return their captivity; they
shall be released out of their bondage, and <i>brought again to
their own habitation</i> as sheep that were scattered to their own
fold <scripRef id="Jer.li-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.19" parsed="|Jer|50|19|0|0" passage="Jer 50:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. They
still retained a title to the land of Canaan; it is their
habitation still. The discontinuance of their possession was not
the destruction of their right. But now they shall recover the
enjoyment of it again. 2. He will restore their prosperity; they
shall not only live, but live comfortably, in their own land again;
they shall <i>feed upon Carmel and Bashan,</i> the richest and most
fruitful parts of the country. These sheep shall be gathered from
the deserts to which they were dispersed, and put again into good
pasture, which their soul shall be satisfied with though they shall
come hungry to it, having been so long stinted, and straitened, and
kept short, yet they shall find enough to satiate them and shall
have hearts to be satiated with it. They <i>enquired the way to
Zion</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.5" parsed="|Jer|50|5|0|0" passage="Jer 50:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>),
where God was to be served and worshipped. This was what they
chiefly aimed at in their return; but God will not only bring them
thither, but bring them also to Carmel and Bashan, where they shall
abundantly feed themselves. Note, Those that return to God and
their duty shall find true satisfaction of soul in so doing; and
those that <i>seek first the kingdom of God and the righteousness
thereof,</i> that aim to make their habitation in Zion, the holy
hill, shall have <i>other things added to them,</i> even all the
comforts of <i>Ephraim and Gilead,</i> the fruitful hills. 3. God
will pardon their iniquity; this is the root of all the rest
(<scripRef id="Jer.li-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.20" parsed="|Jer|50|20|0|0" passage="Jer 50:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>): <i>In
those days the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there
shall be none.</i> Not only the punishments of their iniquity shall
be taken off, but the offence which it gave to God shall be
forgotten, and he will be reconciled to them. Their sin shall be
before him as if it had never been; it shall be blotted out as a
cloud, crossed out as a debt, shall be cast behind his back; nay,
it shall be cast into the depth of the sea, shall be no longer
sealed up among God's treasures, nor in any danger of appearing
again or rising up against them. This denotes how fully God
forgives sin; he <i>remembers it no more.</i> Note, Deliverances
out of trouble are then comforts indeed when they are the fruits of
the forgiveness of sin, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.38.17" parsed="|Isa|38|17|0|0" passage="Isa 38:17">Isa. xxxviii.
17</scripRef>. Judah and Israel were so fully forgiven when they
were brought back out of Babylon that they are said to have
<i>received of the Lord's hand double for all their sins,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.li-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.40.1" parsed="|Isa|40|1|0|0" passage="Isa 40:1">Isa. xl. 1</scripRef>. This may
include also a thorough reformation of their hearts and lives, as
well as a full remission of their sins. If any seek for idols or
any idolatrous customs among them, after their return, <i>there
shall be none,</i> they <i>shall not find them;</i> their dross
shall be purely purged away, and by that it shall appear that their
guilt is so; <i>for I will pardon those whom I reserve; I will be
propitious to them</i> (so the word is) and that must be through
him who is the great propitiation. Note, Those whose sins God
pardons he reserves for something very great; for <i>whom he
justifies them he</i> glorifies.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.li-p13.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.21-Jer.50.32" parsed="|Jer|50|21|50|32" passage="Jer 50:21-32" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.li-p13.7">
<h4 id="Jer.li-p13.8">The Judgment of Babylon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p13.9">b. c.</span> 595.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.li-p14" shownumber="no">21 Go up against the land of Merathaim,
<i>even</i> against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod: waste
and utterly destroy after them, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p14.1">Lord</span>, and do according to all that I have
commanded thee.   22 A sound of battle <i>is</i> in the land,
and of great destruction.   23 How is the hammer of the whole
earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation
among the nations!   24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou
art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found,
and also caught, because thou hast striven against the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p14.2">Lord</span>.   25 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p14.3">Lord</span> hath opened his armoury, and hath brought
forth the weapons of his indignation: for this <i>is</i> the work
of the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p14.4">God</span> of hosts in the land
of the Chaldeans.   26 Come against her from the utmost
border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her
utterly: let nothing of her be left.   27 Slay all her
bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for
their day is come, the time of their visitation.   28 The
voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to
declare in Zion the vengeance of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p14.5">Lord</span> our God, the vengeance of his temple.
  29 Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that
bend the bow, camp against it round about; let none thereof escape:
recompense her according to her work; according to all that she
hath done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p14.6">Lord</span>, against the Holy One of Israel.
  30 Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and
all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p14.7">Lord</span>.   31 Behold, I <i>am</i>
against thee, <i>O thou</i> most proud, saith the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p14.8">God</span> of hosts: for thy day is come, the time
<i>that</i> I will visit thee.   32 And the most proud shall
stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a
fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p15" shownumber="no">Here, 1. The forces are mustered and
commissioned to destroy Babylon, and every thing is got ready for a
descent upon that potent kingdom: <i>Go up against</i> that
<i>land</i> by <i>Merathaim,</i> the country of the Mardi, that lay
part in Assyria and part in Armenia; and go among <i>the
inhabitants of Pekod,</i> another country (mentioned <scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.23.23" parsed="|Ezek|23|23|0|0" passage="Eze 23:23">Ezek. xxiii. 23</scripRef>) which Cyrus took in
his way to Babylon. The forces of Cyrus are called to go up against
Babylon (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.21" parsed="|Jer|50|21|0|0" passage="Jer 50:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>), to
<i>come against her from the utmost border.</i> Let all come
together, for there will be both work and pay enough for them all,
<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.26" parsed="|Jer|50|26|0|0" passage="Jer 50:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>. Distance of
place must not be their hindrance from engaging in this work.
<i>The archers</i> particularly must be <i>called together against
Babylon,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.29" parsed="|Jer|50|29|0|0" passage="Jer 50:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>.
Thus <i>the Lord hath opened his armoury</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.25" parsed="|Jer|50|25|0|0" passage="Jer 50:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>), <i>his treasury</i> (so the
word is), <i>and hath brought forth the weapons of his
indignation,</i> as great princes fetch out of their magazines and
stores all necessary provisions for their armies when they
undertake any great expedition. Media and Persia are now God's
armoury; thence he fetches the weapons of his wrath, Cyrus and his
great officers and armies, whom he will make use of for the
destruction of Babylon. Note, Great men are but instruments which
the great God makes use of to serve his own purposes. He has
variety of instruments, has them at command, has armouries ready to
be opened according as the occasion is. <i>This is the work of the
Lord God of hosts.</i> Note, When God has work to do he will make
it appear that he is <i>God of hosts,</i> and will not want
instruments to do it with. 2. Instructions are given them what to
do. In general, <i>Do according to all that I have commanded
thee,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.21" parsed="|Jer|50|21|0|0" passage="Jer 50:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. It
was said of Cyrus (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.28" parsed="|Isa|44|28|0|0" passage="Isa 44:28">Isa. xliv.
28</scripRef>), <i>He shall perform all my pleasure,</i> in his
expedition against Babylon. They must <i>waste and utterly destroy
after them;</i> when they have destroyed once they must go over
them again, or destroy their posterity that should come after them.
They must <i>open her store-houses</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.26" parsed="|Jer|50|26|0|0" passage="Jer 50:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>), rifle her treasures, and turn
her artillery against herself. They must <i>cast her up as
heaps;</i> let all the wealth and pomp of Babylon be shovelled up
in a heap of ruins and rubbish. <i>Tread her down as heaps</i> (so
the margin reads it) <i>and destroy her utterly.</i> See how little
account the great God makes of those things which men so much value
and value themselves so much upon. Their princes and great men, who
are fat and bulky, shall fall by the sword, not as men of war in
the field of battle, which we call a bed of honour, but as beasts
by the butcher's hand (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.27" parsed="|Jer|50|27|0|0" passage="Jer 50:27"><i>v.</i>
27</scripRef>): <i>Slay all her bullocks,</i> all her mighty men;
<i>let them go down</i> sottishly and insensibly, as an ox <i>to
the slaughter. Woe unto them!</i> their case is the more sad for
the little sense they have of it. <i>Their day has come</i> to
fall, <i>the time</i> when they must be reckoned with, and they are
not aware of it. 3. Assurances are given them of success. Let them
do what God commands, and they shall accomplish what he threatens.
A <i>great destruction</i> shall be made, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.21" parsed="|Jer|50|21|0|0" passage="Jer 50:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>. <i>Babylon</i> shall <i>become
a desolation</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.11" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.23" parsed="|Jer|50|23|0|0" passage="Jer 50:23"><i>v.</i>
23</scripRef>); <i>her young men and all her men of war shall be
cut off in that day</i> which should have been her defence,
<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.12" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.30" parsed="|Jer|50|30|0|0" passage="Jer 50:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>. God is
<i>against</i> her (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.13" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.31" parsed="|Jer|50|31|0|0" passage="Jer 50:31"><i>v.</i>
31</scripRef>); he has <i>laid a snare for</i> her (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.14" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.24" parsed="|Jer|50|24|0|0" passage="Jer 50:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>); he has formed this
enterprise against her, that she should be surprised as a bird
taken in a snare. Cyrus shall no doubt prevail, for he fights under
God. God <i>will kindle a fire</i> in the cities of Babylon
(<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.15" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.32" parsed="|Jer|50|32|0|0" passage="Jer 50:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>); and who
can stand before him when he is angry, or quench the fire that he
has kindled? 4. Reasons are given for these severe dealings with
Babylon. Those that are employed in this war may, if they please,
know the grounds of it, and be satisfied in the justice of it,
which it is fit all should be that are called to such work. (1.)
Babylon has been very troublesome, vexatious, and injurious, to all
its neighbours; it has been <i>the hammer of the whole earth</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.16" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.23" parsed="|Jer|50|23|0|0" passage="Jer 50:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>), beating,
beating down, and beating to pieces, all the nations far and near.
It has done so long enough; it is time now that it be <i>cut
asunder and broken.</i> Note, He that is the god of nations will
sooner or later assert the injured rights of nations against those
that unjustly and violently invade them. The God of the whole earth
will break <i>the hammer of the whole earth.</i> (2.) Babylon has
bidden defiance to God himself: <i>Thou has striven against the
Lord</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.17" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.24" parsed="|Jer|50|24|0|0" passage="Jer 50:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>),
<i>hast joined issue with him</i> (so the word signifies) as in law
or battle, hast openly opposed him, set up rivals with him, raised
rebellion against him; therefore <i>thou art</i> now <i>found, and
caught,</i> as in a snare. Note, Those that strive against the Lord
will soon find themselves over-matched. (3.) Babylon ruined
Jerusalem, the holy city, and the holy house there, and must now be
called to an account for that. This is the manifesto published in
Zion, in the day of Babylon's visitation; it is <i>the vengeance of
the Lord our God, the vengeance of his temple,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.18" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.28" parsed="|Jer|50|28|0|0" passage="Jer 50:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>. The burning of the
temple, and the carrying away of its vessels, were articles in the
charge against Babylon on which greater stress was laid than upon
its being <i>the hammer of the whole earth;</i> for Zion was <i>the
joy</i> and glory <i>of the whole earth.</i> Note, Whatever wrong
is done to God's church (his temple in the world) it will certainly
be reckoned for; and no vengeance will be sorer nor heavier than
<i>the vengeance of the temple.</i> (4.) Babylon has been very
haughty and insolent, and therefore must have a fall; for it is the
glory of God to <i>look upon those that are proud and to abase
them,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.19" osisRef="Bible:Job.40.11" parsed="|Job|40|11|0|0" passage="Job 40:11">Job xl. 11</scripRef>. <i>I
am against thee, O thou most proud!</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.20" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.31" parsed="|Jer|50|31|0|0" passage="Jer 50:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef> and again <scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.21" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.31" parsed="|Jer|50|31|0|0" passage="Jer 50:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>. <i>Thou pride</i> (so the word
is), as proud as pride itself. Note, the pride of men's hearts sets
God against them and ripens them apace for ruin; for God <i>resists
the proud</i> and will bring them down. <i>The most proud shall
stumble and fall;</i> they shall fall not so much by others'
thrusting them down as by their own stumbling; for they hold their
heads so high that they never look under their feet, to choose
their way and avoid stumbling-blocks, but walk at all adventures.
Babylon's pride must unavoidably be her ruin; for <i>she has been
proud against the Lord, against the Holy One of Israel</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.22" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.29" parsed="|Jer|50|29|0|0" passage="Jer 50:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>), has
insulted him in insulting over his people; she has made him her
enemy, and therefore, when she has <i>fallen, none shall raise her
up,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p15.23" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.31" parsed="|Jer|50|31|0|0" passage="Jer 50:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>. Who
can help those up whom God will throw down?</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.li-p15.24" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.33-Jer.50.46" parsed="|Jer|50|33|50|46" passage="Jer 50:33-46" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.li-p15.25">
<h4 id="Jer.li-p15.26">The Judgment of Babylon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p15.27">b. c.</span> 595.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.li-p16" shownumber="no">33 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p16.1">Lord</span> of hosts; The children of Israel and the
children of Judah <i>were</i> oppressed together: and all that took
them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.  
34 Their Redeemer <i>is</i> strong; the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p16.2">Lord</span> of hosts <i>is</i> his name: he shall
thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land,
and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.   35 A sword
<i>is</i> upon the Chaldeans, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p16.3">Lord</span>, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and
upon her princes, and upon her wise <i>men.</i>   36 A sword
<i>is</i> upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword <i>is</i>
upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed.   37 A sword
<i>is</i> upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all
the mingled people that <i>are</i> in the midst of her; and they
shall become as women: a sword <i>is</i> upon her treasures; and
they shall be robbed.   38 A drought <i>is</i> upon her
waters; and they shall be dried up: for it <i>is</i> the land of
graven images, and they are mad upon <i>their</i> idols.   39
Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the
islands shall dwell <i>there,</i> and the owls shall dwell therein:
and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be
dwelt in from generation to generation.   40 As God overthrew
Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour <i>cities</i> thereof, saith
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p16.4">Lord</span>; <i>so</i> shall no man
abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.   41
Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and
many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.  
42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they <i>are</i> cruel,
and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and
they shall ride upon horses, <i>every one</i> put in array, like a
man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.   43
The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands
waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, <i>and</i> pangs as of a
woman in travail.   44 Behold, he shall come up like a lion
from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but
I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who <i>is</i> a
chosen <i>man, that</i> I may appoint over her? for who <i>is</i>
like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who <i>is</i> that
shepherd that will stand before me?   45 Therefore hear ye the
counsel of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.li-p16.5">Lord</span>, that he hath
taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed
against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock
shall draw them out: surely he shall make <i>their</i> habitation
desolate with them.   46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon
the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p17" shownumber="no">We have in these verses,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p18" shownumber="no">I. Israel's sufferings, and their
deliverance out of those sufferings. God takes notice of the
bondage of his people in Babylon, as he did of their bondage in
Egypt; he has <i>surely seen</i> it, and has <i>heard their cry.
Israel and Judah were oppressed together,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.33" parsed="|Jer|50|33|0|0" passage="Jer 50:33"><i>v.</i> 33</scripRef>. Those that remained of the
captives of the ten tribes, upon the uniting of the kingdoms of
Assyria and Chaldea, seem to have come and mingled with those of
the two tribes, and to have mingled tears with them, so that they
were <i>oppressed together.</i> They were humble suppliants for
their liberty, and that was all; they could not attempt any thing
towards it, for <i>all that took them captives held them fast,</i>
and were much too hard for them. But this is their comfort in
distress, that, though they are weak, <i>their Redeemer is
strong</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.34" parsed="|Jer|50|34|0|0" passage="Jer 50:34"><i>v.</i> 34</scripRef>),
<i>their Avenger</i> (so the word signifies), he that has a right
to them, and will claim his right and make good his claim. He is
stronger than their enemies that hold them fast; he can overpower
all the force that is against them, and put strength into his own
people though they are very weak. <i>The Lord of hosts is his
name,</i> and he will answer to his name, and make it to appear
that he is what his people call him, and will be that to them for
which they depend upon him. Note, It is the unspeakable comfort of
the people of God that, though they have hosts against them, they
have <i>the Lord of hosts</i> for them and <i>he shall thoroughly
plead their cause,</i> pleading he shall plead it, plead it with
jealousy, plead it effectually, plead it and carry it, <i>that he
may give rest to the land,</i> and to his people's land, rest from
all their enemies round about. This is applicable to all believers,
who complain of the dominion of sin and corruption, and of their
own weakness and manifold infirmities. Let them know that <i>their
Redeemer is strong;</i> he is able to keep what they commit to him,
and he will plead their cause. Sin shall not have dominion over
them; he will <i>make them free,</i> and they shall be <i>free
indeed;</i> he will give them <i>rest,</i> that <i>rest which
remains for the people of God.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p19" shownumber="no">II. Babylon's sin, and their punishment for
that sin.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p20" shownumber="no">1. The sins they are here charged with are
idolatry and persecution. (1.) They oppressed the people of God;
they <i>held them fast,</i> and would not <i>let them go.</i> They
<i>opened not the house of his prisoners,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.14.17" parsed="|Isa|14|17|0|0" passage="Isa 14:17">Isa. xiv. 17</scripRef>. This was God's quarrel with
them, as of old with Pharaoh; it cost him dear, and yet they would
not take warning. <i>The inhabitants of Babylon</i> must be
<i>disquieted</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.34" parsed="|Jer|50|34|0|0" passage="Jer 50:34"><i>v.</i>
34</scripRef>) because they have disquieted God's people, whose
honour and comfort he is jealous for, and therefore will
<i>recompense tribulation to those that trouble them,</i> as well
as <i>rest to those that are troubled,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:2Thess.1.6-2Thess.1.7" parsed="|2Thess|1|6|1|7" passage="2Th 1:6,7">2 Thess. i. 6, 7</scripRef>. (2.) They wronged God
himself, and robbed him, giving that glory to others which is due
to him alone; for (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.38" parsed="|Jer|50|38|0|0" passage="Jer 50:38"><i>v.</i>
38</scripRef>) <i>it is the land of graven images.</i> All parts of
the country abounded with idols, and they were mad upon them, were
in love with them and doted on them, cared not what cost and pains
they were at in the worship of them, were unwearied in paying their
respects to them; and in all this they were wretchedly infatuated
and acted like men out of their wits; they were carried on in their
idolatry without reason or discretion, like men in a perfect fury.
The word here used for idols properly signifies
<i>terrors—Enim,</i> the name given to giants that were
formidable, because they made the images of their gods to look
frightful, to strike a terror upon fools and children. Their idols
were scarecrows, yet they doted on them. Babylon was <i>the mother
of harlots</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.17.5" parsed="|Rev|17|5|0|0" passage="Re 17:5">Rev. xvii.
5</scripRef>), the source of idolatry. Note, It is the maddest
thing in the world to make a god of any creature; and those who are
proud against the Lord, the true God, are justly given up to strong
delusions, to be mad upon idols that cannot profit. But this
madness is wickedness, for which sinners will be certainly and
severely reckoned with.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p21" shownumber="no">2. The judgments of God upon them for these
sins are such as will quite lay them waste and ruin them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p22" shownumber="no">(1.) All that should be their defence and
support shall be cut off by the sword. The Chaldeans had long been
God's sword, wherewith he had done execution upon the sinful
nations round about: but now, they being as bad as any of them, or
worse, <i>a sword</i> is brought upon them, even <i>upon the
inhabitants of Babylon</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.35" parsed="|Jer|50|35|0|0" passage="Jer 50:35"><i>v.</i>
35</scripRef>), a sword of war; and, as it is in God's hand, sent
and directed by him, it is a sword of justice. It shall be, [1.]
<i>Upon their princes;</i> they shall fall by it, and their
dignity, wealth, and power, shall not secure them. [2.] <i>Upon
their wise men,</i> their philosophers, their statesmen, and
privy-counsellors; their learning and policy shall neither secure
them nor stand the public in any stead. [3.] <i>Upon</i> their
soothsayers and astrologers, here called <i>the liars</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.li-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.36" parsed="|Jer|50|36|0|0" passage="Jer 50:36"><i>v.</i> 36</scripRef>), for they
cheated with their prognostications of peace and prosperity; the
sword upon them shall make them dote, so that they shall talk like
fools, and be as men that have lost all their wits. Note, God has a
sword that can reach the soul and affect the mind, and bring men
under spiritual plagues. [4.] <i>Upon their mighty men.</i> A sword
shall be upon their spirits; if they are not slain, yet <i>they
shall be dismayed,</i> and shall be no longer <i>mighty men;</i>
for what stead will their hands stand them in when their hearts
fail them? [5.] Upon their militia (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p22.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.37" parsed="|Jer|50|37|0|0" passage="Jer 50:37"><i>v.</i> 37</scripRef>): <i>The sword shall be upon
their horses and chariots;</i> the invaders shall make themselves
masters of all their warlike stores, shall seize their horses and
chariots for themselves, or destroy them. The troops of other
nations that were in their service shall be quite disheartened:
<i>The mingled people shall become as</i> weak and timorous as
<i>women.</i> [6.] Upon their exchequer: The <i>sword</i> shall be
<i>upon her treasures,</i> which are the sinews of war, <i>and they
shall be robbed,</i> and made use of by the enemy against them. See
what universal destruction the sword makes when it comes with
commission.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p23" shownumber="no">(2.) The country shall be made desolate
(<scripRef id="Jer.li-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.38" parsed="|Jer|50|38|0|0" passage="Jer 50:38"><i>v.</i> 38</scripRef>): <i>The
waters shall be dried up,</i> the water that secures the city.
Cyrus drew the river Euphrates into so many channels as made it
passable for his army, so that they got with ease to the walls of
Babylon, which, if was thought, that river had rendered
inaccessible. "The water likewise that made the country fruitful
shall <i>be dried up,</i> so that it shall be turned into
barrenness, and shall be no more inhabited by the children of men,
but by <i>the wild beasts of the desert,</i>" <scripRef id="Jer.li-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.39" parsed="|Jer|50|39|0|0" passage="Jer 50:39"><i>v.</i> 39</scripRef>. This was foretold concerning
Babylon, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.13.19-Isa.13.21" parsed="|Isa|13|19|13|21" passage="Isa 13:19-21">Isa. xiii.
19-21</scripRef>. It shall become like <i>Sodom and Gomorrah,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.li-p23.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.40" parsed="|Jer|50|40|0|0" passage="Jer 50:40"><i>v.</i> 40</scripRef>. The same was
foretold concerning Edom, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p23.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.18" parsed="|Jer|49|18|0|0" passage="Jer 49:18"><i>ch.</i>
xlix. 18</scripRef>. As the Chaldeans had laid Edom waste, so they
shall themselves be laid waste.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p24" shownumber="no">(3.) The king and kingdom shall be put into
the utmost confusion and consternation by the enemies' invading
them, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.41-Jer.50.43" parsed="|Jer|50|41|50|43" passage="Jer 50:41-43"><i>v.</i> 41-43</scripRef>.
All the expressions here used to denote the formidable power of the
invaders, the terrors wherewith they should array themselves, and
the great fright which both court and country should be put into
thereby, we met with before (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.6.22-Jer.6.24" parsed="|Jer|6|22|6|24" passage="Jer 6:22-24"><i>ch.</i> vi. 22-24</scripRef>) concerning the
Chaldeans' invading the land of Judah. The battle which is there
said to be <i>against thee, O daughter of Zion!</i> is here said to
be <i>against thee, O daughter of Babylon!</i> to intimate that
they should be paid in their own coin. God can find out such as
shall be for terror and destruction to those that are for terror
and destruction to others; and those who have dealt cruelly, and
have shown no mercy, may expect to be cruelly dealt with, and to
find no mercy. Only there is one difference between these passages;
there it is said, <i>We have heard the fame thereof and our hands
wax feeble;</i> here it is said, <i>The king of Babylon has heard
the report and his hands waxed feeble,</i> which intimates that
that proud and daring prince shall, in the day of his distress, be
as weak and dispirited as the meanest Israelites were in the day of
their distress.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.li-p25" shownumber="no">(4.) That they shall be as much hurt as
frightened, for the invader shall <i>come up like a lion</i> to
tear and destroy (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.44" parsed="|Jer|50|44|0|0" passage="Jer 50:44"><i>v.</i>
44</scripRef>) and shall make them and their <i>habitation
desolate</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.45" parsed="|Jer|50|45|0|0" passage="Jer 50:45"><i>v.</i>
45</scripRef>), and the desolation shall be so astonishing that all
the nations about shall be terrified by it, <scripRef id="Jer.li-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.46" parsed="|Jer|50|46|0|0" passage="Jer 50:46"><i>v.</i> 46</scripRef>. These three verses we had
before (<scripRef id="Jer.li-p25.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.49.19-Jer.49.21" parsed="|Jer|49|19|49|21" passage="Jer 49:19-21"><i>ch.</i> xlix.
19-21</scripRef>) in the prophecy of the destruction of Edom, which
was accomplished by the Chaldeans, and they are here repeated,
<i>mutatis mutandis—with a few necessary alterations,</i> in the
prophecy of the destruction of Babylon, which was to be
accomplished upon the Chaldeans, to show that though the
distributions of Providence may appear unequal for a time its
retributions will be equal at last; when thou shalt make <i>an end
to spoil thou shalt be spoiled,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.li-p25.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.33.1 Bible:Rev.13.10" parsed="|Isa|33|1|0|0;|Rev|13|10|0|0" passage="Isa 33:1,Re 13:10">Isa. xxxiii. 1; Rev. xiii. 10</scripRef>.</p>
</div></div2>