mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 25.xml

<div2 id="Jer.xxvi" n="xxvi" next="Jer.xxvii" prev="Jer.xxv" progress="37.94%" title="Chapter XXV">
<h2 id="Jer.xxvi-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.xxvi-p0.2">CHAP. XXV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.xxvi-p1" shownumber="no">The prophecy of this chapter bears date some time
before those prophecies in the chapters next foregoing, for they
are not placed in the exact order of time in which they were
delivered. This is dated in the first year of Nebuchadrezzar, that
remarkable year when the sword of the Lord began to be drawn and
furbished. Here is, I. A review of the prophecies that had been
delivered to Judah and Jerusalem for many years past, by Jeremiah
himself and other prophets, with the little regard given to them
and the little success of them, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.1-Jer.25.7" parsed="|Jer|25|1|25|7" passage="Jer 25:1-7">ver.
1-7</scripRef>. II. A very express threatening of the destruction
of Judah and Jerusalem, by the king of Babylon, for their contempt
of God, and their continuance in sin (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.8-Jer.25.11" parsed="|Jer|25|8|25|11" passage="Jer 25:8-11">ver. 8-11</scripRef>), to which is annexed a promise
of their deliverance out of their captivity in Babylon, after 70
years, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.12-Jer.25.14" parsed="|Jer|25|12|25|14" passage="Jer 25:12-14">ver. 12-14</scripRef>. III.
A prediction of the devastation of divers other nations about, by
Nebuchadrezzar, represented by a "cup of fury" put into their hands
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.15-Jer.25.28" parsed="|Jer|25|15|25|28" passage="Jer 25:15-28">ver. 15-28</scripRef>), by a
sword sent among them (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.29-Jer.25.33" parsed="|Jer|25|29|25|33" passage="Jer 25:29-33">ver.
29-33</scripRef>), and a desolation made among the shepherds and
their flocks and pastures (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.34-Jer.25.38" parsed="|Jer|25|34|25|38" passage="Jer 25:34-38">ver.
34-38</scripRef>); so that we have here judgment beginning at the
house of God, but not ending there.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxvi-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25" parsed="|Jer|25|0|0|0" passage="Jer 25" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxvi-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.1-Jer.25.7" parsed="|Jer|25|1|25|7" passage="Jer 25:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxvi-p1.9">
<h4 id="Jer.xxvi-p1.10">God's Remonstrances with the
People. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p1.11">b. c.</span> 607.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxvi-p2" shownumber="no">1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all
the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of
Josiah king of Judah, that <i>was</i> the first year of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;   2 The which Jeremiah the
prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,   3 From the thirteenth year
of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that
<i>is</i> the three and twentieth year, the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p2.1">Lord</span> hath come unto me, and I have spoken
unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.
  4 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p2.2">Lord</span> hath sent unto
you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending
<i>them;</i> but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to
hear.   5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil
way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p2.3">Lord</span> hath given unto you and to
your fathers for ever and ever:   6 And go not after other
gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to
anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
  7 Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p2.4">Lord</span>; that ye might provoke me to anger with the
works of your hands to your own hurt.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p3" shownumber="no">We have here a message from God concerning
all the people of Judah (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.1" parsed="|Jer|25|1|0|0" passage="Jer 25:1"><i>v.</i>
1</scripRef>), which Jeremiah delivered, in his name, unto all the
people of Judah, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.2" parsed="|Jer|25|2|0|0" passage="Jer 25:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>. Note, That which is of universal concern ought to be
of universal cognizance. It is fit that the word which concerns all
the people, as the word of God does, the word of the gospel
particularly, should be divulged to all in general, and, as far as
may be, addressed to each in particular. Jeremiah had been sent to
the <i>house of the king</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.1" parsed="|Jer|22|1|0|0" passage="Jer 22:1"><i>ch.</i> xxii. 1</scripRef>), and he took courage to
deliver his message to them, probably when they had all come up to
Jerusalem to worship at one of the solemn feasts; then he had them
together, and it was to be hoped then, if ever, they would be well
disposed to hear counsel and receive instruction.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p4" shownumber="no">This prophecy is dated in the fourth year
of Jehoiakim and the first of Nebuchadrezzar. It was in the latter
end of Jehoiakim's third year that Nebuchadrezzar began to reign by
himself alone (having reigned some time before in conjunction with
his father), as appears, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Dan.1.1" parsed="|Dan|1|1|0|0" passage="Da 1:1">Dan. i.
1</scripRef>. But Jehoiakim's fourth year was begun before
Nebuchadrezzar's first was completed. Now that that active, daring,
martial prince began to set up for the world's master, God, by his
prophet, gives notice that he is his servant, and intimates what
work he intends to employ him in, that his growing greatness, which
was so formidable to the nations, might not be construed as any
reflection upon the power and providence of God in the government
of the world. Nebuchadrezzar should not bid so fair for universal
monarchy (I should have said universal tyranny) but that God had
purposes of his own to serve by him, in the execution of which the
world shall see the meaning of God's permitting and ordering a
thing that seemed such a reflection on his sovereignty and
goodness.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p5" shownumber="no">Now in this message we may observe the
great pains that had been taken with the people to bring them to
repentance, which they are here put in mind of, as an aggravation
of their sin and a justification of God in his proceedings against
them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p6" shownumber="no">I. Jeremiah, for his part, had been a
constant preacher among them twenty-three years; he began in the
thirteenth year of Josiah, who reigned thirty-one years, so that he
prophesied about eighteen or nineteen years in his reign, then in
the reign of Jehoahaz, and now four years of Jehoiakim's reign.
Note, God keeps an account, whether we do or no, how long we have
enjoyed the means of grace; and the longer we have enjoyed them the
heavier will our account be if we have not improved them. <i>These
three years</i> (these three and twenty years) <i>have I come
seeking fruit on this fig-tree.</i> All this while, 1. God had been
constant in sending messages to them, as there was occasion for
them: "From that time <i>to this very day the word of the Lord has
come into me,</i> for your use." Though they had the substance of
the warning sent them already in the books of Moses, yet, because
those were not duly regarded and applied, God sent to enforce them
and make them more particular, that they might be without excuse.
Thus God's Spirit was striving with them, as with the old world,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.3" parsed="|Gen|6|3|0|0" passage="Ge 6:3">Gen. vi. 3</scripRef>. 2. Jeremiah had
been faithful and industrious in delivering those messages. He
could appeal to themselves, as well as to God and his own
conscience, concerning this: <i>I have spoken to you, rising early
and speaking.</i> He had declared to them <i>the whole counsel of
God;</i> he had taken a great deal of care and pains to discharge
his thrust in such a manner as might be most likely to win and work
upon them. What men are solicitous about and intent upon they rise
up early to prosecute. It intimates that his head was so full of
thoughts about it, and his heart so intent upon doing good, that it
broke his sleep, and made him get up betimes to project which way
he might take that would be most likely to do them good. He rose
early, both because he would lose no time and because he would lay
hold on and improve the best time to work upon them, when, if ever,
they were sober and sedate. Christ came <i>early in the morning</i>
to preach in the temple, and the people as early to hear him,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.21.38" parsed="|Luke|21|38|0|0" passage="Lu 21:38">Luke xxi. 38</scripRef>. Morning
lectures have their advantages. <i>My voice shalt thou hear in the
morning.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p7" shownumber="no">II. Besides him, God had sent them other
prophets, on the same errand, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.4" parsed="|Jer|25|4|0|0" passage="Jer 25:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. Of the writing prophets Micah,
Nahum, and Habakkuk, were a little before him, and Zephaniah
contemporary with him. But, besides those, there were many other of
God's <i>servants the prophets</i> who preached awakening sermons,
which were never published. And here God himself is said to <i>rise
early</i> and <i>send them,</i> intimating how much his heart also
was upon it, that this people should <i>turn and live,</i> and not
<i>go on and die,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.33.11" parsed="|Ezek|33|11|0|0" passage="Eze 33:11">Ezek. xxxiii.
11</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p8" shownumber="no">III. All the messages sent them were to the
purpose, and much to the same purport, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.5-Jer.25.6" parsed="|Jer|25|5|25|6" passage="Jer 25:5,6"><i>v.</i> 5, 6</scripRef>. 1. They all told them of
their faults, <i>their evil way,</i> and the <i>evil of their
doings.</i> Those were not of God's sending who flattered them as
if there were nothing amiss among them. 2. They all reproved them
particularly for their idolatry, as a sin that was in a special
manner provoking to God, their <i>going after other gods, to serve
them and to worship them,</i> gods that were <i>the work of their
own hands.</i> 3. They all called on them to repent of their sins
and to reform their lives. This was the burden of every song,
<i>Turn you now every one from his evil way.</i> Note, Personal and
particular reformation must be insisted on as necessary to a
national deliverance: <i>every one</i> must <i>turn from his</i>
own <i>evil way.</i> The street will not be clean unless every one
sweep before his own door. 4. They all assured them that, if they
did so, it would certainly be the <i>lengthening out of their
tranquillity.</i> The mercies they enjoyed should be continued to
them: "<i>You shall dwell in the land,</i> dwell at ease, dwell in
peace, in this good land, <i>which the Lord has given you and your
fathers.</i> Nothing but sin will turn you out of it, and that
shall not if you turn from it." The judgments they feared should be
prevented: <i>Provoke me not, and I will do you no hurt.</i> Note,
We should never receive from God the evil punishment if we did not
provoke him by the evil of sin. God deals fairly with us, never
corrects his children without cause, nor causes grief to us unless
we give offence to him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p9" shownumber="no">IV. Yet all was to no purpose. They were
not wrought upon to take the right and only method to turn away the
wrath of God. Jeremiah was a very lively affectionate preacher, yet
<i>they hearkened not</i> to him, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.3" parsed="|Jer|25|3|0|0" passage="Jer 25:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. The other prophets dealt
faithfully with them, but neither did they <i>hearken to them,</i>
nor <i>incline their ear,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.4" parsed="|Jer|25|4|0|0" passage="Jer 25:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. That very particular sin which
they were told, of all others, was most offensive to God, and made
them obnoxious to his justice, they wilfully persisted in: You
<i>provoke me with the works of your hands to your own hurt.</i>
Note, What is a provocation to God will prove, in the end, hurt to
ourselves, and we must bear the blame of it. <i>O Israel! thou hast
destroyed thyself.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxvi-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.8-Jer.25.14" parsed="|Jer|25|8|25|14" passage="Jer 25:8-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxvi-p9.4">
<h4 id="Jer.xxvi-p9.5">Desolation Predicted. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p9.6">b. c.</span> 607.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxvi-p10" shownumber="no">8 Therefore thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p10.1">Lord</span> of hosts; Because ye have not heard my
words,   9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of
the north, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p10.2">Lord</span>, and
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them
against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against
all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and
make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual
desolations.   10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of
mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and
the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light
of the candle.   11 And this whole land shall be a desolation,
<i>and</i> an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king
of Babylon seventy years.   12 And it shall come to pass, when
seventy years are accomplished, <i>that</i> I will punish the king
of Babylon, and that nation, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p10.3">Lord</span>, for their iniquity, and the land of the
Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.   13 And I
will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced
against it, <i>even</i> all that is written in this book, which
Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.   14 For
many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also:
and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according
to the works of their own hands.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p11" shownumber="no">Here is the sentence grounded upon the
foregoing charge: "<i>Because you have not heard my words,</i> I
must take another course with you," <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.8" parsed="|Jer|25|8|0|0" passage="Jer 25:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. Note, When men will not regard
the judgments of God's mouth they may expect to feel the judgments
of his hands, to hear the rod, since they would not hear the word;
for the sinner must either be parted from his sin or perish in it.
Wrath comes without remedy against those only that sin without
repentance. It is not so much men's turning aside that ruins them
as their not returning.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p12" shownumber="no">I. The ruin of the land of Judah by the
king of Babylon's armies is here decreed, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.9" parsed="|Jer|25|9|0|0" passage="Jer 25:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. God sent to them <i>his servants
the prophets,</i> and they were not heeded, and therefore God will
send for <i>his servant the king of Babylon,</i> whom they cannot
mock, and despise, and persecute, as they did his servants the
prophets. Note, The messengers of God's wrath will be sent against
those that would not receive the messengers of his mercy. One way
or other God will be heeded, and will make men know that <i>he is
the Lord.</i> Nebuchadrezzar, though a stranger to the true God,
the God of Israel, nay, an enemy to him and afterwards a rival with
him, was yet, in the descent he made upon his country. <i>God's
servant,</i> accomplished his purpose, was employed by him, and was
an instrument in his hand for the correction of his people. He was
really serving God's designs when he thought he was serving his own
ends. Justly therefore does God here call himself <i>The Lord of
hosts</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.8" parsed="|Jer|25|8|0|0" passage="Jer 25:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>),
for here is an instance of his sovereign dominion, not only over
the inhabitants, but over the armies of this earth, of which he
makes what use he pleases. He has them all at his command. The most
potent and absolute monarchs are his servants. Nebuchadrezzar, who
is an instrument of his wrath, is as truly his servant as Cyrus,
who is an instrument of his mercy. The land of Judah being to be
made desolate, God here musters his army that is to make it so,
gathers it together, takes <i>all the families of the north,</i> if
there be occasion for them, leads them on as their
commander-in-chief, <i>brings them against this land,</i> gives
them success, not only against Judah and Jerusalem, but against
<i>all the nations round about,</i> that there might be no
dependence upon them as allies or assistants against that
threatening force. The utter destruction of this and all the
neighbouring lands is here described, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.9-Jer.25.11" parsed="|Jer|25|9|25|11" passage="Jer 25:9-11"><i>v.</i> 9-11</scripRef>. It shall be total: <i>The
whole land shall be a desolation,</i> not only desolate, but a
desolation itself; both city and country shall be laid waste, and
all the wealth of both be made a prey of. It shall be lasting, even
<i>perpetual desolations;</i> they shall continue so long in ruins,
and after long waiting there shall appear so little prospect of
relief, that every one shall call it perpetual. This desolation
shall be the ruin of their credit among their neighbours; it shall
bury their honour in the dust, shall <i>make them an astonishment
and a hissing;</i> every one will be amazed at them, and hiss them
off the stage of action with just disgrace for deserting a God who
would have been their protection for impostors who would certainly
be their destruction. It will likewise be the ruin of all their
comfort among themselves; it shall be a final period of all their
joy: <i>I will take from them the voice of mirth,</i> hang their
harps on the willow-trees, and put them out of tune for songs. <i>I
will take from them the voice of mirth;</i> they shall neither have
cause for it nor hearts for it. They would not hear the voice of
God's word and therefore the voice of mirth shall no more be heard
among them. They shall be deprived of food: <i>The sound of the
mill-stones shall not be heard;</i> for, when the enemy has seized
their stores, the sound of the grinding must needs be low,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.12.4" parsed="|Eccl|12|4|0|0" passage="Ec 12:4">Eccl. xii. 4</scripRef>. An end shall
be put to all business; there shall not be seen <i>the light of a
candle,</i> for there shall be no work to be done worth
candle-light. And, <i>lastly,</i> they shall be deprived of their
liberty: <i>Those nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy
years.</i> The fixing of time during which the captivity should
last would be of great use, not only for the confirmation of the
prophecy, when the event (which in this particular could by no
human sagacity be foreseen) should exactly answer the prediction,
but for the comfort of the people of God in their calamity and the
encouragement of faith and prayer. Daniel, who was himself a
prophet, had an eye to it, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Dan.9.2" parsed="|Dan|9|2|0|0" passage="Da 9:2">Dan. ix.
2</scripRef>. Nay, God himself had an eye to it (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.36.22" parsed="|2Chr|36|22|0|0" passage="2Ch 36:22">2 Chron. xxxvi. 22</scripRef>); for <i>therefore</i> he
<i>stirred up the spirit of Cyrus,</i> that the word spoken by the
mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished. <i>Known unto God are all
his works from the beginning of the world,</i> which appears by
this, that, when he has thought fit, some of them have been made
known to his servants the prophets and by them to his church.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p13" shownumber="no">II. The ruin of Babylon, at last, is here
likewise foretold, as it had been, long before, by Isaiah,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.12-Jer.25.14" parsed="|Jer|25|12|25|14" passage="Jer 25:12-14"><i>v.</i> 12-14</scripRef>. The
destroyers must themselves be destroyed, and the rod thrown into
the fire, when the correcting work is done with it. This shall be
done when <i>seventy years are accomplished;</i> for the
destruction of Babylon must make way for the deliverance of the
captives. It is a great doubt when these <i>seventy years</i>
commence; some date them from the captivity in the fourth year of
Jehoiakim and first of Nebuchadrezzar, others from the captivity of
Jehoiachin eight years after. I rather incline to the former,
because then these nations began <i>to serve the king of
Babylon,</i> and because usually God has taken the earliest time
from which to reckon the accomplishment of a promise of mercy, as
will appear in computing the 400 years' servitude in Egypt. And, if
so, eighteen or nineteen years of the seventy had run out before
Jerusalem and the temple were quite destroyed in the eleventh year
of Zedekiah. However that be, when the time, the set time, to
favour Zion, has come, the king of Babylon must be visited, and all
the instances of his tyranny reckoned for; then that nation shall
be punished <i>for their iniquity,</i> as the other nations have
been punished for theirs. That land must then be a <i>perpetual
desolation,</i> such as they had made other lands; for the <i>Judge
of all the earth</i> will both <i>do right</i> and <i>avenge
wrong,</i> as King of nations and King of saints. Let proud
conquerors and oppressors be moderate in the use of their power and
success, for it will come at last to their own turn to suffer;
their day will come to fall. In this destruction of Babylon, which
was to be brought about by the Medes and Persians, reference shall
be had, 1. To what God had said: <i>I will bring upon that land all
my words;</i> for all the wealth and honour of Babylon shall be
sacrificed to the truth of the divine predictions, and all its
power broken, rather than one iota or tittle of God's word shall
fall to the ground. The same Jeremiah that prophesied the
destruction of other nations by the Chaldeans foretold also the
destruction of the Chaldeans themselves; and this must be brought
upon them, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.13" parsed="|Jer|25|13|0|0" passage="Jer 25:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>.
It is with reference to this very event that God says, I will
<i>confirm the word of my servant,</i> and <i>perform the counsel
of my messengers,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.26" parsed="|Isa|44|26|0|0" passage="Isa 44:26">Isa. xliv.
26</scripRef>. 2. Two what they had done (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.14" parsed="|Jer|25|14|0|0" passage="Jer 25:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>): <i>I will recompense them
according to their deeds,</i> by which they transgressed the law of
God, even then when they were made to serve his purposes. They had
made many nations to serve them, and trampled upon them with the
greatest insolence imaginable; but not that the measure of their
iniquity is full <i>many nations and great kings,</i> that are in
alliance with and come in to the assistance of Cyrus king of
Persia, shall <i>serve themselves of them</i> also, shall make
themselves masters of their country, enrich themselves with their
spoils, and make them the footstool by which to mount the throne of
universal monarchy. They shall make use of them for servants and
soldiers. <i>He that leads into captivity shall go into
captivity.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxvi-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.15-Jer.25.29" parsed="|Jer|25|15|25|29" passage="Jer 25:15-29" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxvi-p13.6">
<h4 id="Jer.xxvi-p13.7">The Cup of Wrath; General
Desolation. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p13.8">b. c.</span> 607.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxvi-p14" shownumber="no">15 For thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p14.1">Lord</span> God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of
this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send
thee, to drink it.   16 And they shall drink, and be moved,
and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
  17 Then took I the cup at the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p14.2">Lord</span>'s hand, and made all the nations to drink,
unto whom the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p14.3">Lord</span> had sent me:
  18 <i>To wit,</i> Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and
the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a
desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse; as <i>it
is</i> this day;   19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants,
and his princes, and all his people;   20 And all the mingled
people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of
the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron,
and the remnant of Ashdod,   21 Edom, and Moab, and the
children of Ammon,   22 And all the kings of Tyrus, and all
the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles which <i>are</i>
beyond the sea,   23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all <i>that
are</i> in the utmost corners,   24 And all the kings of
Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the
desert,   25 And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of
Elam, and all the kings of the Medes,   26 And all the kings
of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms
of the world, which <i>are</i> upon the face of the earth: and the
king of Sheshach shall drink after them.   27 Therefore thou
shalt say unto them, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p14.4">Lord</span> of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and
be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the
sword which I will send among you.   28 And it shall be, if
they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou
say unto them, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p14.5">Lord</span>
of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.   29 For, lo, I begin to
bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be
utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for
a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p14.6">Lord</span> of hosts.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p15" shownumber="no">Under the similitude of a cup going round,
which all the company must drink of, is here represented the
universal desolation that was now coming upon that part of the
world which Nebuchadrezzar, who just now began to reign and act,
was to be the instrument of, and which should at length recoil upon
his own country. The cup in the vision is to be a sword in the
accomplishment of it: so it is explained, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.16" parsed="|Jer|25|16|0|0" passage="Jer 25:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>. It is <i>the sword that I will
send among them,</i> the sword of war, that should be irresistibly
strong and implacably cruel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p16" shownumber="no">I. As to the circumstances of this
judgment, observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p17" shownumber="no">1. Whence this destroying sword should
come—<i>from the hand of God.</i> It is the <i>sword of the
Lord</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.47.6" parsed="|Jer|47|6|0|0" passage="Jer 47:6"><i>ch.</i> xlvii.
6</scripRef>), <i>bathed in heaven,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.34.5" parsed="|Isa|34|5|0|0" passage="Isa 34:5">Isa. xxxiv. 5</scripRef>. Wicked men are made use of as
his sword, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.17.13" parsed="|Ps|17|13|0|0" passage="Ps 17:13">Ps. xvii. 13</scripRef>. It
is <i>the wine-cup of his fury.</i> It is the just anger of God
that sends this judgment. The nations have provoked him by their
sins, and they must fall under the tokens of his wrath. These are
compared to some intoxicating liquor, which they shall be forced to
drink of, as, formerly, condemned malefactors were sometimes
executed by being compelled to drink poison. The wicked are said to
<i>drink the wrath of the Almighty,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.21.20 Bible:Rev.14.10" parsed="|Job|21|20|0|0;|Rev|14|10|0|0" passage="Job 21:20,Re 14:10">Job xxi. 20; Rev. xiv. 10</scripRef>. Their
share of troubles in his world is represented by the dregs of a cup
of red wine full of mixture, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p17.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.75.8" parsed="|Ps|75|8|0|0" passage="Ps 75:8">Ps. lxxv.
8</scripRef>. See <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p17.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.11.6" parsed="|Ps|11|6|0|0" passage="Ps 11:6">Ps. xi. 6</scripRef>.
The wrath of God in this world is but as a cup, in comparison of
the full streams of it in the other world.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p18" shownumber="no">2. By whose hand it should be sent to
them—by the hand of Jeremiah as the judge <i>set over the
nations</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.1.10" parsed="|Jer|1|10|0|0" passage="Jer 1:10"><i>ch.</i> i.
10</scripRef>), to pass his sentence upon them, and by the hand of
Nebuchadrezzar as the executioner. What a much greater figure then
does the poor prophet make than what the potent prince makes, if we
look upon their relation to God, though in the eye of the world it
was the reverse of it! Jeremiah must <i>take the cup at God's
hand,</i> and compel the nations <i>to drink it.</i> He foretels no
hurt to them but what God appoints him to foretel; and what is
foretold by a divine authority will certainly be fulfilled by a
divine power.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p19" shownumber="no">3. On whom it should be sent—on all the
nations within the verge of Israel's acquaintance and the lines of
their communication. Jeremiah took the cup, and <i>made all the
nations to drink of it,</i> that is, he prophesied concerning each
of the nations here mentioned that they should share in this great
desolation that was coming. <i>Jerusalem and the cities of
Judah</i> are put first (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.18" parsed="|Jer|25|18|0|0" passage="Jer 25:18"><i>v.</i>
18</scripRef>); for <i>judgment begins at the house of God</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.4.17" parsed="|1Pet|4|17|0|0" passage="1Pe 4:17">1 Pet. iv. 17</scripRef>), at the
sanctuary, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.9.6" parsed="|Ezek|9|6|0|0" passage="Eze 9:6">Ezek. ix. 6</scripRef>.
Whether Nebuchadrezzar had his eye principally upon Jerusalem and
Judah in this expedition or no does not appear; probably he had;
for it was as considerable as any of the nations here mentioned.
However God had his eye principally to them. And this part of the
prophecy was already begun to be accomplished; this is denoted by
that melancholy parenthesis (<i>as it is this day</i>), for in the
fourth year of Jehoiakim things had come into a very bad posture,
and all the foundations were out of course. <i>Pharaoh king of
Egypt</i> comes next, because the Jews trusted to that broken reed
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p19.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.19" parsed="|Jer|25|19|0|0" passage="Jer 25:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>); the
remains of them fled to Egypt, and there Jeremiah particularly
foretold the destruction of that country, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p19.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.43.10-Jer.43.11" parsed="|Jer|43|10|43|11" passage="Jer 43:10,11"><i>ch.</i> xliii. 10, 11</scripRef>. All the other
nations that bordered upon Canaan must pledge Jerusalem in this
bitter cup, this cup of trembling. The <i>mingled people,</i> the
Arabians (so some), some rovers of divers nations that lived by
rapine (so others); <i>the kings of the land of Uz,</i> joined to
the country of the Edomites. The Philistines had been vexatious to
Israel, but now their cities and their lords become a prey to this
mighty conqueror. Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Zidon, are places
well known to border upon Israel; the <i>Isles beyond,</i> or
<i>beside, the sea,</i> are supposed to be those parts of
Phœnicia and Syria that lay upon the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea. Dedan and the other countries mentioned
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p19.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.23-Jer.25.24" parsed="|Jer|25|23|25|24" passage="Jer 25:23,24"><i>v.</i> 23, 24</scripRef>) seem
to have lain upon the confines of Idumea and Arabia the desert.
Those of Elam are the Persians, with whom the Medes are joined, now
looked upon as inconsiderable and yet afterwards able to make
reprisals upon Babylon for themselves and all their neighbours. The
<i>kings of the north,</i> that lay nearer to Babylon, and others
that lay at some distance, will be sure to be seized on and made a
prey of by the victorious sword of Nebuchadrezzar. Nay, he shall
push on his victories with such incredible fury and success that
all the kingdoms of the world that were then and there known should
become sacrifices to his ambition. Thus Alexander is said to have
conquered <i>the world,</i> and the Roman empire is called <i>the
world,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p19.7" osisRef="Bible:Luke.2.1" parsed="|Luke|2|1|0|0" passage="Lu 2:1">Luke ii. 1</scripRef>. Or it
may be taken as reading the doom of <i>all the kingdoms</i> of the
earth; one time or other, they shall feel the dreadful effects of
war. The world has been, and will be, a great cockpit, while men's
lusts war as they do <i>in their members,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p19.8" osisRef="Bible:Jas.4.1" parsed="|Jas|4|1|0|0" passage="Jam 4:1">Jam. iv. 1</scripRef>. But, that the conquerors may see
their fate with the conquered, it concludes, <i>The king of
Sheshach shall drink after them,</i> that is, the king of Babylon
himself, who has given his neighbours all this trouble and
vexation, shall at length have it return upon his own head. That by
Sheshach is meant Babylon is plain from <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p19.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.41" parsed="|Jer|51|41|0|0" passage="Jer 51:41"><i>ch.</i> li. 41</scripRef>; but whether it was
another name of the same city or the name of another city of the
same kingdom is uncertain. Babylon's ruin was foretold, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p19.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.12-Jer.25.13" parsed="|Jer|25|12|25|13" passage="Jer 25:12,13"><i>v.</i> 12, 13</scripRef>. Upon this
prophecy of its being the author of the ruin of so many nations it
is very fitly repeated here again.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p20" shownumber="no">4. What should be the effect of it. The
desolations which the sword should make in all these kingdoms are
represented by the consequences of excessive drinking (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.16" parsed="|Jer|25|16|0|0" passage="Jer 25:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>): <i>They shall drink,
and be moved, and be mad. They shall be drunken, and spue, and fall
and rise no more,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.27" parsed="|Jer|25|27|0|0" passage="Jer 25:27"><i>v.</i>
27</scripRef>. Now this may serve, (1.) To make us loathe the sin
of drunkenness, that the consequences of it are made use of to set
forth a most woeful and miserable condition. Drunkenness deprives
men, for the present, of the use of their reason, makes them mad.
It takes from them likewise that which, next to reason, is the most
valuable blessing, and that is health; it makes them sick, and
endangers the bones and the life. Men in drink often <i>fall and
rise no more;</i> it is a sin that is its own punishment. How
wretchedly are those intoxicated and besotted that suffer
themselves at any time to be intoxicated, especially to be by the
frequent commission of the sin besotted with wine or strong drink!
(2.) To make us dread the judgments of war. When God sends the
sword upon a nation, with warrant to make it desolate, it soon
becomes like a drunken man, filled with confusion at the alarms of
war, put into a hurry; its counsellors <i>mad,</i> and at their
wits' end, staggering in all the measures they take, all the
motions they make, sick at heart with continual vexation,
<i>vomiting up the riches</i> they have greedily <i>swallowed
down</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.20.15" parsed="|Job|20|15|0|0" passage="Job 20:15">Job xx. 15</scripRef>),
<i>falling</i> down before the enemy, and as unable to get up
again, or do any thing to help themselves, as a man <i>dead drunk
is,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Hab.2.16" parsed="|Hab|2|16|0|0" passage="Hab 2:16">Hab. ii. 16</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p21" shownumber="no">5. The undoubted certainty of it, with the
reason given for it, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.28-Jer.25.29" parsed="|Jer|25|28|25|29" passage="Jer 25:28,29"><i>v.</i> 28,
29</scripRef>. They will <i>refuse to take the cup at thy hand;</i>
not only they will be loth that the judgment should come, but they
will be loth to believe that ever it will come; they will not give
credit to the prediction of so despicable a man as Jeremiah. But he
must tell them that it is <i>the word of the Lord of hosts,</i> he
hath said it; and it is in vain for them to struggle with
Omnipotence: <i>You shall certainly drink.</i> And he must give
them this reason, It is a time of visitation, it is a reckoning
day, and Jerusalem has been called to an account already: <i>I
begin to bring evil on the city that is called by my name;</i> its
relation to me will not exempt it from punishment, and <i>should
you be utterly unpunished?</i> No; <i>If this be done in the green
tree, what shall be done in the dry?</i> If those who have some
good in them smart so severely for the evil that is found in them,
can those expect to escape who have worse evils, and no good, found
among them? If Jerusalem be punished for learning idolatry of the
nations, shall not the nations be punished, of whom they learned
it? No doubt they shall: <i>I will call for a sword upon all the
inhabitants of the earth,</i> for they have helped to debauch the
inhabitants of Jerusalem.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p22" shownumber="no">II. Upon this whole matter we may observe,
1. That there is a God that judges in the earth, to whom all the
nations of the earth are accountable, and by whose judgment they
must abide. 2. That God can easily bring to ruin the greatest
nations, the most numerous and powerful, and such as have been most
secure. 3. That those who have been vexatious and mischievous to
the people of God will be reckoned with for it at last. Many of
these nations had in their turns given disturbance to Israel, but
now comes destruction on them. The year of the redeemer will come,
even the <i>year of recompenses</i> for the controversy of Zion. 4.
That the <i>burden of the word of the Lord</i> will at last become
the burden of his judgments. Isaiah had prophesied long since
against most of these nations (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.13.1-Jer.13.27" parsed="|Jer|13|1|13|27" passage="Jer 13:1-27"><i>ch.</i> xiii.</scripRef>, &amp;c.) and now at
length all his prophecies will have their complete fulfilling. 5.
That those who are ambitious of power and dominion commonly become
the troublers of the earth and the plagues of their generation.
Nebuchadrezzar was so proud of his might that he had no sense of
right. These are the men that turn the world upside down, and yet
expect to be admired and adored. Alexander thought himself a great
prince when others thought him no better than a great pirate. 6.
That the greatest pomp and power in this world are of very
uncertain continuance. Before Nebuchadrezzar's greater force kings
themselves must yield and become captives.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxvi-p22.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.30-Jer.25.38" parsed="|Jer|25|30|25|38" passage="Jer 25:30-38" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxvi-p22.3">
<h4 id="Jer.xxvi-p22.4">General Desolation; Jeremiah's Faithful
Preaching. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p22.5">b. c.</span> 607.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxvi-p23" shownumber="no">30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all
these words, and say unto them, The <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p23.1">Lord</span> shall roar from on high, and utter his
voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his
habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread <i>the
grapes,</i> against all the inhabitants of the earth.   31 A
noise shall come <i>even</i> to the ends of the earth; for the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p23.2">Lord</span> hath a controversy with the
nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them <i>that
are</i> wicked to the sword, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p23.3">Lord</span>.   32 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p23.4">Lord</span> of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from
nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the
coasts of the earth.   33 And the slain of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p23.5">Lord</span> shall be at that day from <i>one</i> end of
the earth even unto the <i>other</i> end of the earth: they shall
not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung
upon the ground.   34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow
yourselves <i>in the ashes,</i> ye principal of the flock: for the
days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished;
and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.   35 And the
shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock
to escape.   36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a
howling of the principal of the flock, <i>shall be heard:</i> for
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p23.6">Lord</span> hath spoiled their pasture.
  37 And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the
fierce anger of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvi-p23.7">Lord</span>.   38
He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is
desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of
his fierce anger.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p24" shownumber="no">We have, in these verses, a further
description of those terrible desolations which the king of Babylon
with his armies should make in all the countries and nations round
about Jerusalem. In Jerusalem God had erected his temple; there
were his oracles and ordinances, which the neighbouring nations
should have attended to and might have received benefit by; thither
they should have applied for the knowledge of God and their duty,
and then they might have had reason to bless God for their
neighbourhood to Jerusalem; but they, instead of that, taking all
opportunities either to debauch or to disturb that holy city, when
God came to reckon with Jerusalem because it learned so much of the
<i>way of the nations,</i> he reckoned with the nations because
they learned so little of the way of Jerusalem.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvi-p25" shownumber="no">They will soon be aware of Nebuchadrezzar's
making war upon them; but the prophet is here directed to tell them
that it is God himself that makes war upon them, a God with whom
there is no contending. 1. The war is here proclaimed (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.30" parsed="|Jer|25|30|0|0" passage="Jer 25:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>): <i>The Lord shall
roar from on high;</i> not <i>from Mount Zion and Jerusalem</i> (as
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Joel.3.16 Bible:Amos.1.2" parsed="|Joel|3|16|0|0;|Amos|1|2|0|0" passage="Joe 3:16,Am 1:2">Joel iii. 16, Amos i.
2</scripRef>), but from <i>heaven,</i> from <i>his holy
habitation</i> there; for now Jerusalem is one of the places
against which he roars. <i>He shall mightily roar upon his
habitation</i> on earth from that above. He has been long silent,
and seemed not to take notice of the wickedness of the nations; the
times of this ignorance God winked at; but now <i>he shall give a
shout,</i> as the assailants in battle do, <i>against all the
inhabitants of the earth,</i> to whom it shall be a shout of
terror, and yet a shout of joy in heaven, as theirs that <i>tread
the grapes;</i> for, when God is reckoning with the proud enemies
of his kingdom among men, there is a <i>great voice of much people
heard in heaven, saying, Hallelujah,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.19.1" parsed="|Rev|19|1|0|0" passage="Re 19:1">Rev. xix. 1</scripRef>. He <i>roars as a lion</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.4" osisRef="Bible:Amos.3.4 Bible:Amos.3.8" parsed="|Amos|3|4|0|0;|Amos|3|8|0|0" passage="Am 3:4,8">Amos iii. 4, 8</scripRef>), as a lion
that has <i>forsaken his covert</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.38" parsed="|Jer|25|38|0|0" passage="Jer 25:38"><i>v.</i> 38</scripRef>), and is going abroad to seek
his prey, upon which he roars, that he may the more easily seize
it. 2. The manifesto is here published, showing the causes and
reasons why God proclaims this war (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.31" parsed="|Jer|25|31|0|0" passage="Jer 25:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>): <i>The Lord has a controversy
with the nations;</i> he has just cause to contend with them, and
he will take this way of pleading with them. His quarrel with them
is, in one word, for their wickedness, their contempt of him, and
his authority over them and kindness to them. <i>He will give those
that are wicked to the sword.</i> They have provoked God to anger,
and thence comes all this destruction; it is <i>because of the
fierce anger of the Lord</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.37-Jer.25.38" parsed="|Jer|25|37|25|38" passage="Jer 25:37,38"><i>v.</i> 37 and again <i>v.</i> 38</scripRef>), the
<i>fierceness of the oppressor,</i> or (as it might better be read)
<i>the fierceness of the oppressing sword</i> (for the word is
feminine) is <i>because of his fierce anger;</i> and we are sure
that he is never angry without cause; but <i>who knows the power of
his anger?</i> 3. The alarm is here given and taken: <i>A noise
will come even to the ends of the earth,</i> so loud shall it roar,
so far shall it reach, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.31" parsed="|Jer|25|31|0|0" passage="Jer 25:31"><i>v.</i>
31</scripRef>. The alarm is not given by sound of trumpet, or beat
of drum, but by a <i>whirlwind, a great whirlwind, storm,</i> or
<i>tempest,</i> which shall be <i>raised up from the coasts,</i>
the remote coasts <i>of the earth,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.32" parsed="|Jer|25|32|0|0" passage="Jer 25:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>. The Chaldean army shall be
like a hurricane raised in the north, but thence carried on with
incredible fierceness and swiftness, bearing down all before it. It
is like the whirlwind out of which God answered Job, which was
exceedingly terrible, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.10" osisRef="Bible:Job.37.1 Bible:Job.38.1" parsed="|Job|37|1|0|0;|Job|38|1|0|0" passage="Job 37:1,38:1">Job xxxvii.
1; xxxviii. 1</scripRef>. And, when the wrath of God thus roars
like a lion from heaven, no marvel if it be echoed with shrieks
from earth; for who can choose but tremble when God thus speaks in
displeasure? See <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.11" osisRef="Bible:Hos.11.10" parsed="|Hos|11|10|0|0" passage="Ho 11:10">Hosea xi.
10</scripRef>. Now the shepherds shall <i>howl and cry,</i> the
kings, and princes, and the great ones of the earth, the
<i>principal of the flock.</i> They used to be the most courageous
and secure, but now their hearts shall fail them; <i>they shall
wallow themselves in the ashes,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.12" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.34" parsed="|Jer|25|34|0|0" passage="Jer 25:34"><i>v.</i> 34</scripRef>. Seeing themselves utterly
unable to make head against the enemy, and seeing their country,
which they have the charge of and a concern for, inevitably ruined,
they shall abandon themselves to sorrow. There shall be <i>a voice
of the cry of the shepherds,</i> and a <i>howling of the principal
of the flock shall be heard,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.13" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.36" parsed="|Jer|25|36|0|0" passage="Jer 25:36"><i>v.</i> 36</scripRef>. Those are great calamities
indeed that strike such a terror upon the great men, and put them
into this consternation. <i>The Lord hath spoiled their
pasture,</i> in which they fed their flock, and out of which they
fed themselves; the spoiling of that makes them cry-out thus.
Perhaps, carrying on the metaphor of a lion roaring, it alludes to
the great fright that shepherds are in when they hear a roaring
lion coming towards their flocks, and find they have <i>no way to
flee</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.14" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.35" parsed="|Jer|25|35|0|0" passage="Jer 25:35"><i>v.</i> 35</scripRef>)
for their own safety, neither can the <i>principal of their flock
escape.</i> The enemy will be so numerous, so furious, so sedulous,
and the extent of their armies so vast, that it will be impossible
to avoid falling into their hands. Note, As we cannot out-face, so
we cannot out-run, the judgments of God. This is that for which the
shepherds <i>howl and cry.</i> 4. The progress of this war is here
described (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.15" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.32" parsed="|Jer|25|32|0|0" passage="Jer 25:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>):
<i>Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation;</i> as the
cup goes round, every nation shall have its share and take warning
by the calamities of another to repent and reform. Nay, as if this
ere to be a little representation of the last and general judgment,
it shall reach <i>from one end of the earth even unto the other end
of the earth,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.16" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.33" parsed="|Jer|25|33|0|0" passage="Jer 25:33"><i>v.</i>
33</scripRef>. The day of vengeance is in his heart, and now <i>his
hand shall find out all his enemies,</i> wherever they are,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.17" osisRef="Bible:Ps.21.8" parsed="|Ps|21|8|0|0" passage="Ps 21:8">Ps. xxi. 8</scripRef>. Note, When our
neighbour's house is on fire it is time to be concerned for our
own. When one nation is a seat of war every neighbouring nation
should hear, and fear, and make its peace with God. 5. The dismal
consequences of this war are here foretold: <i>The days of
slaughter and dispersions are accomplished,</i> that is, they are
fully come (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.18" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.34" parsed="|Jer|25|34|0|0" passage="Jer 25:34"><i>v.</i> 34</scripRef>),
the time fixed in the divine counsel for the slaughter of some and
the dispersion of the rest, which will make the nations completely
desolate. Multitudes shall fall by the sword of the merciless
Chaldeans, so that <i>the slain of the Lord</i> shall be every
where found: they are slain by commission from him, and are
sacrificed to his justice. The slain for sin are the <i>slain of
the Lord.</i> To complete the misery of their slaughter, <i>they
shall not be lamented</i> in particular, so general shall the
matter of lamentation be. Nay, they shall not <i>be gathered</i>
up, nor <i>buried,</i> for they shall have no friends left to bury
them, and the enemies shall not have so much humanity in them as to
do it; and then they shall be <i>as dung upon the earth,</i> so
vile and noisome: and it is well if, as dung manures the earth and
makes it fruitful, so these horrid spectacles, which lie as
monuments of divine justice, might be a means to awaken the
inhabitants of the earth to <i>learn righteousness.</i> The effect
of this war will be the <i>desolation of the whole land</i> that is
the seat of it (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.19" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.38" parsed="|Jer|25|38|0|0" passage="Jer 25:38"><i>v.</i>
38</scripRef>), one land after another. But here are two
expressions more that seem to make the case in a particular manner
piteous. (1.) <i>You shall fall like a pleasant vessel,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvi-p25.20" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.34" parsed="|Jer|25|34|0|0" passage="Jer 25:34"><i>v.</i> 34</scripRef>. The most
desirable persons among them, who most valued themselves and were
most valued, who were looked upon as <i>vessels of honour,</i>
shall fall by the sword. You shall fall as a Venice glass or a
China dish, which is soon broken all to pieces. Even the tender and
delicate shall share in the common calamity; the sword devours one
as well as another. (2.) Even <i>the peaceable habitations are cut
down.</i> Those that used to be quiet, and not molested, the
habitations in which you have long dwelt in peace, shall now be no
longer such, but <i>cut down</i> by the war. Or, Those who used to
be quiet, and not molesting any of their neighbours, those who
lived in peace, easily, and gave no provocation to any, even those
shall not escape. This is one of the direful effects of war, that
even those who were most harmless and inoffensive suffer hard
things. Blessed be God, there is a <i>peaceable habitation</i>
above for all the sons of peace, which is out of the reach of fire
and sword.</p>
</div></div2>