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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Jeremiah VI].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J E R E M I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. VI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter, as before, we have,
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I. A prophecy of the invading of the land of Judah and the besieging of
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Jerusalem by the Chaldean army
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>),
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with the spoils they should make of the country
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:9">ver. 9</A>)
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and the terror which all should be seized with on that occasion,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:22-26">ver. 22-26</A>.
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II. An account of those sins of Judah and Jerusalem which provoked God
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to bring this desolating judgment upon them. Their oppression
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:7">ver. 7</A>),
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their contempt of the word of God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:10-12">ver. 10-12</A>),
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their worldliness
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:13">ver. 13</A>),
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the treachery of their prophets
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:14">ver. 14</A>),
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their impudence in sin
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:15">ver. 15</A>),
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their obstinacy against reproofs
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:18,19">ver. 18, 19</A>),
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which made their sacrifices unacceptable to him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:20">ver. 20</A>),
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and for which he gave them up to ruin
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:21">ver. 21</A>),
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but tried them first
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:27">ver. 27</A>)
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and then rejected them as irreclaimable,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:28-30">
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ver. 28-30</A>.
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III. Good counsel given them in the midst of all this, but in vain,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:8,16,17">ver. 8, 16, 17</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jer6_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Judgments Threatened against Israel; The Doom of Israel.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 608.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of
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the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up
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a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem: for evil appeareth out of the
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north, and great destruction.
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2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate
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<I>woman.</I>
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3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they
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shall pitch <I>their</I> tents against her round about; they shall
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feed every one in his place.
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4 Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon.
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Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the
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evening are stretched out.
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5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her
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palaces.
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6 For thus hath the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and
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cast a mount against Jerusalem: this <I>is</I> the city to be visited;
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she <I>is</I> wholly oppression in the midst of her.
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7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her
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wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me
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continually <I>is</I> grief and wounds.
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8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from
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thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is
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I. Judgment threatened against Judah and Jerusalem. The city and the
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country were at this time secure and under no apprehension of danger;
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they saw no cloud gathering, but every thing looked safe and serene:
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but the prophet tells them that they shall shortly be invaded by a
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foreign power, an army shall be brought against them <I>from the
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north,</I> which shall lay all waste, and shall cause not only a
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general consternation, but a general desolation. It is here
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foretold,</P>
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<P>
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1. That the alarm of this should be loud and terrible. This is
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represented,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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The children of Benjamin, in which tribe part of Jerusalem lay, are
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here called to shift for their own safety in the country; for the city
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(to which it was first thought advisable for them to flee,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+4:5,6"><I>ch.</I> iv. 5, 6</A>)
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would soon be made too hot for them, and they would find it the wisest
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course to flee out of the midst of it. It is common, in public frights,
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for the people to think any place safer than that in which they are;
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and therefore those in the city are for shifting into the country, in
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hopes there to escape out of danger, and those in the country are for
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shifting into the city, in hopes there to make head against the danger;
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but it is all in vain when evil pursues sinners with commission. They
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are told to send the alarm into the country, and to do what they can
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for their own safety: <I>Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,</I> a city which
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lay twelve miles north from Jerusalem. Let them be stirred up to stand
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upon their guard: <I>Set up a sign of fire</I> (that is, kindle the
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beacons) <I>in Beth-haccerem,</I> the <I>house of the vineyard,</I>
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which lay on a hill between Jerusalem and Tekoa. Prepare to make a
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vigorous resistance, <I>for the evil appears out of the north.</I> This
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may be taken ironically: "Betake yourselves to the best methods you can
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think of for your own preservation, but all shall be in vain; for, when
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you have done your best, it will be a great destruction, for it is in
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vain to contend with God's judgments."</P>
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<P>
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2. That the attempt upon them should be bold and formidable and such as
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they should be a very unequal match for.
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(1.) See what <I>the daughter of Zion</I> is, on whom the assault is
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made. She is compared <I>to a comely and delicate woman</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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bred up in every thing that is nice and soft, that will not set so much
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as the sole <I>of her foot to the ground for tenderness and
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delicacy</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+28:56">Deut. xxviii. 56</A>),
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nor suffer the wind to blow upon her; and, not being accustomed to
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hardship, she will be the less able either to resist the enemy (for
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those that make war must <I>endure hardness</I>) or to bear the
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destruction with that patience which is necessary to make it tolerable.
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The more we indulge ourselves in the pleasures of this life the more we
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disfit ourselves for the troubles of this life.
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(2.) See what the daughter of Babylon is, by whom the assault is made.
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The generals and their armies are compared to <I>shepherds</I> and
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<I>their flocks</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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in such numbers and in such order did they come, the soldiers following
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their leaders as the sheep their shepherds. The daughter of <I>Zion
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dwelt at home</I> (so some read it), expecting to be courted with love,
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but was invaded with fury. This comparing of the enemies to shepherds
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inclines me to embrace another reading, which some give of
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>,
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<I>The daughter of Zion is like a comely pasture-ground and a delicate
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land,</I> which invite the shepherds to bring their flocks thither to
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graze; and as the shepherds easily make themselves masters of an open
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field, which (as was then usual in some parts) lies common, owned by
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none, <I>pitch their tents</I> in it, and their flocks quickly eat it
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bare, so shall the Chaldean army easily break in upon the land of
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Judah, force for themselves a free quarter where they please, and in a
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little time devour all. For the further illustration of this he shows,
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[1.] How God shall commission them to make this destruction even of the
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holy land and the holy city, which were his own possession. It is he
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that says
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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<I>Prepare you war against her;</I> for he is the <I>Lord of hosts,</I>
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that has all hosts at his command, and he has said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
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<I>Hew you down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem,</I> in order
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to the attacking of it. The Chaldeans have great power against Judah
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and Jerusalem, and yet they have no power but what is <I>given them
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from above.</I> God has marked out Jerusalem for destruction. He has
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said, "<I>This is the city to be visited,</I> visited in wrath, visited
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by the divine justice, and this is the time of her visitation." The day
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is coming when those that are careless and secure in sinful ways will
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certainly be visited.
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[2.] How they shall animate themselves and one another to execute that
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commission. God's counsels being against Jerusalem, which cannot be
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altered or disannulled, the councils of war which the enemies held are
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made to agree with his counsels. God having said, <I>Prepare war
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against her,</I> their determinations are made subservient to his; and,
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notwithstanding the distance of place and the many difficulties that
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lay in the way, it is soon resolved, <I>nemine
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contradicente--unanimously. Arise, and let us go.</I> Note, It is good
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to see how the counsel and decree of God are pursued and executed in
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the devices and designs of men, even theirs that know him not,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:6,7">Isa. x. 6, 7</A>.
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In this campaign, <I>First,</I> They resolve to be very expeditious.
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They have no sooner resolved upon it than they address themselves to
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it; it shall never be said that they left any thing to be done towards
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it to-morrow which they could do to-day: <I>Arise, let us go up at
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noon,</I> though it be in the heat of the day; nay,
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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<I>Arise, let us go up at night,</I> though it be in the dark. Nothing
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shall hinder them; they are resolved to <I>lose no time.</I> They are
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described as men in care to make despatch
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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"<I>Woe unto us, for the day goes away,</I> and we are not going on
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with our work; <I>the shadows of the evening are stretched out,</I> and
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we sit still, and let slip the opportunity." O that we were thus eager
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in our spiritual work and warfare, thus afraid of losing time, or any
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opportunity, in taking the <I>kingdom of heaven by violence!</I> It is
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folly to trifle when we have an eternal salvation to work out, and the
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enemies of that salvation to fight against. <I>Secondly,</I> They
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confidently expect to be very successful: "<I>Let us go up,</I> and let
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us destroy her palaces and make ourselves masters of the wealth that is
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in them." It was not that they might fulfill God's counsels, but that
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they might fill their own treasures, that they were thus eager; yet God
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thereby served his own purposes.</P>
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<P>
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II. The cause of this judgment assigned. It is all for their
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wickedness; they have brought it upon themselves; they must bear it,
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for they must bear the blame of it. They are thus oppressed because
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they have been oppressors; they have dealt hardly with one another,
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each in his turn, as they have had power and advantage, and now the
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enemy shall come and deal hardly with them all. This sin of oppression,
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and violence, and wrong-doing, is here charged upon them,
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1. As a national sin
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>Therefore</I> this city <I>is to be visited,</I> it is time to make
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inquisition, for <I>she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.</I>
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All orders and degrees of men, from the prince on the throne to the
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meanest master of a shop, were oppressive to those that were under
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them. Look which way you might, there were causes for complaints of
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this kind.
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2. As a sin that had become in a manner natural to them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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She <I>casts out wickedness,</I> in all the instances of malice and
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mischievousness, <I>as a fountain casts out her waters,</I> so
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plentifully and constantly, the streams bitter and poisonous, like the
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fountain. The waters out of the fountain will not be restrained, but
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will find or force their way, nor will they be checked by laws or
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conscience in their violent proceedings. This is fitly applied to the
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corrupt heart of man in his natural state; it <I>casts out
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wickedness,</I> one evil imagination or other, as a fountain <I>casts
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out her waters,</I> naturally and easily; it is always flowing, and yet
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always full.
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3. As that which had become a constant practice with them; <I>Violence
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and spoil are heard in her.</I> The cry of it had come up before God as
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that of Sodom: <I>Before me continually are grief and wounds</I>--the
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complaint of those that find themselves aggrieved, being unjustly
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wounded in their bodies or spirits, in their estates or reputation.
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Note, He that is the common Parent of mankind regards and resents, and
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sooner or later will revenge, the mischiefs and wrongs that men do to
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one another.</P>
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<P>
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III. The counsel given them how to prevent this judgment. Fair warning
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is given now upon the whole matter: "<I>Be thou instructed, O
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Jerusalem!</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Receive the instruction given thee both by the law of God and by the
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prophets; be wise at length for thyself." They knew very well what they
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had been instructed to do; nothing remained but to do it, for till then
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they could not be said to be instructed. The reason for this counsel is
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taken from the inevitable ruin they ran upon if they refused to comply
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with the instructions given them: <I>Lest my soul depart,</I> or <I>be
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disjoined, from thee.</I> This intimates what a tender affection and
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concern God had had for them; his very soul had been joined to them,
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and nothing but sin could disjoin it. Note,
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1. The God of mercy is loth to depart even from a provoking people,
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and is earnest with them by true repentance and reformation to prevent
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things coming to that extremity.
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2. Their case is very miserable from whom God's soul is disjoined; it
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intimates the loss not only of their outward blessings, but of those
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comforts and favours which are the more immediate and peculiar tokens
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of his love and presence. Compare this with that dreadful word
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+10:38">Heb. x. 38</A>),
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<I>If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.</I>
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3. Those whom God forsakes are certainly undone; when God's soul
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departs from Jerusalem she soon becomes desolate and uninhabited,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:38">Matt. xxiii. 38</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Jer6_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Universal Corruption of the Age.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 608.</TD></TR>
|
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>9 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the
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remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a
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grape-gatherer into the baskets.
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10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear?
|
|
behold, their ear <I>is</I> uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken:
|
|
behold, the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> is unto them a reproach; they have
|
|
no delight in it.
|
|
11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; I am weary with
|
|
holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon
|
|
the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the
|
|
wife shall be taken, the aged with <I>him that is</I> full of days.
|
|
12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, <I>with their</I>
|
|
fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon
|
|
the inhabitants of the land, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them
|
|
every one <I>is</I> given to covetousness; and from the prophet even
|
|
unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
|
|
14 They have healed also the hurt <I>of the daughter</I> of my
|
|
people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when <I>there is</I> no peace.
|
|
15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay,
|
|
they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore
|
|
they shall fall among them that fall: at the time <I>that</I> I visit
|
|
them they shall be cast down, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
16 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask
|
|
for the old paths, where <I>is</I> the good way, and walk therein, and
|
|
ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not
|
|
walk <I>therein.</I>
|
|
17 Also I set watchmen over you, <I>saying,</I> Hearken to the sound
|
|
of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The heads of this paragraph are the very same with those of the last;
|
|
for precept must be upon precept and line upon line.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The ruin of Judah and Jerusalem is here threatened. We had before
|
|
the haste which the Chaldea army made to the war
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:4,5"><I>v.</I> 4, 5</A>);
|
|
|
|
now here we have the havoc made by the war. How lamentable are the
|
|
desolations here described! The enemy shall so long quarter among them,
|
|
and be so insatiable in their thirst after blood and treasure, that
|
|
they shall seize all they can meet with, and what escapes them at one
|
|
time shall fall into their hands another
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine;</I> as
|
|
the <I>grape-gatherer,</I> who is resolved to leave none behind, still
|
|
<I>turns back his hand into the baskets,</I> to put more in, till he
|
|
has gathered all, so that they be picked up by the enemy, though
|
|
dispersed, though hid, and none of them shall escape their eye and
|
|
hand. Perhaps the people, being <I>given to covetousness</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
had not observed that law of God which forbade them to <I>glean all
|
|
their grapes</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+19:10">Lev. xix. 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
and now they themselves shall be in like manner <I>thoroughly
|
|
gleaned</I> and shall either fall by the sword or go into captivity.
|
|
This is explained
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>,
|
|
|
|
where God's <I>fury</I> and his <I>hand</I> are said to be <I>poured
|
|
out</I> and <I>stretched out,</I> in the fury and by the hand of the
|
|
Chaldeans; for even wicked men are often made use of as God's hand
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:14">Ps. xvii. 14</A>),
|
|
|
|
and in their anger we may see God angry. Now see on whom the fury is
|
|
poured out in full vials--<I>upon the children abroad,</I> or <I>in the
|
|
streets,</I> where they are playing
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+8:5">Zech. viii. 5</A>)
|
|
|
|
or whither they run out innocently to look about them: the sword of the
|
|
merciless Chaldeans shall not spare them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+9:21"><I>ch.</I> ix. 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
The children perish in the calamity which the fathers' sins have
|
|
procured. The execution shall likewise reach <I>the assembly of young
|
|
men,</I> their merry meetings, their clubs which they keep up to
|
|
strengthen one another's hands in wickedness; they shall be <I>cut off
|
|
together.</I> Nor shall those only fall into the enemies' hands who
|
|
meet for lewdness
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+5:7"><I>ch.</I> v. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
but <I>even the husband with the wife shall be taken,</I> these two in
|
|
bed together, and neither left, but both taken prisoners. And, as they
|
|
have no compassion for the weak but fair sex, so they have none for the
|
|
decrepit but venerable age: <I>The old with the full of days,</I> whose
|
|
deaths can contribute no more to their safety than their lives to their
|
|
service, who are not in a capacity to do them either good or harm,
|
|
shall be either cut off or carried off. <I>Their houses shall then be
|
|
turned to others</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>);
|
|
|
|
the conquerors shall dwell in their habitations, use their goods, and
|
|
live upon their stores; their <I>fields and vines</I> shall fall
|
|
<I>together</I> into their hands, as was threatened,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+28:30">Deut. xxviii. 30</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. For God <I>stretches out his hand upon the inhabitants of the
|
|
land,</I> and none can go out of the reach of it. Now as to this
|
|
denunciation of God's wrath,
|
|
|
|
1. The prophet justifies himself in preaching thus terribly, for herein
|
|
he dealt faithfully
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>I am full of the fury of the Lord,</I> full of the thoughts and
|
|
apprehensions of it, and am carried out with a powerful impulse, by the
|
|
spirit of prophecy, to speak of it thus vehemently." He took no delight
|
|
in threatening, nor was it any pleasure to him with such sermons as
|
|
these to make those about him uneasy; but he could not contain himself;
|
|
he was <I>weary with holding in;</I> he suppressed it as long as he
|
|
could, as long as he durst, but he was so <I>full of power by the
|
|
Spirit of the Lord of hosts</I> that he must speak, whether they will
|
|
hear or whether they will forbear. Note, When ministers preach the
|
|
terrors of the Lord according to the scripture we have no reason to be
|
|
displeased at them; for they are but messengers, and must deliver their
|
|
message, pleasing or unpleasing.
|
|
|
|
2. He condemns the false prophets who preached plausibly, for therein
|
|
they flattered people and dealt unfaithfully
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:13,14"><I>v.</I> 13, 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The priest and the prophet,</I> who should be their watchmen and
|
|
monitors, have <I>dealt falsely,</I> have not been true to their trust
|
|
not told the people their faults and the danger they were in; they
|
|
should have been their physicians, but they murdered their patients by
|
|
letting them have their will, by giving them every thing that had a
|
|
mind to, and flattering them into an opinion that they were in no
|
|
danger
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
They have <I>healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly,</I>
|
|
or <I>according to the cure of some slight hurt,</I> skinning over the
|
|
wound and never searching it to the bottom, applying lenitives only,
|
|
when there was need of corrosives, soothing people in their sins, and
|
|
giving them opiates to make them easy for the present, while the
|
|
disease was preying upon the vitals. They said, "<I>Peace
|
|
peace</I>--all shall be well." (if there were some thinking people
|
|
among them, who were awake, and apprehensive of danger, they soon
|
|
stopped their mouths with their priestly and prophetical authority,
|
|
boldly averring that neither church nor state was in any danger), when
|
|
<I>there is no peace,</I> because they went on in their idolatries and
|
|
daring impieties. Note, Those are to be reckoned our false friends
|
|
(that is, our worst and most dangerous enemies) who flatter us in a
|
|
sinful way.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The sin of Judah and Jerusalem, which provoked God to bring this
|
|
ruin upon them and justified him in it, is here declared.
|
|
|
|
1. They would by no means bear to be told of their faults, nor of the
|
|
danger they were in. God bids the prophet give them warning of the
|
|
judgment coming
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
"but," says he, "<I>to whom shall I speak and give warning?</I> I
|
|
cannot find out any that will so much as give me a patient hearing. I
|
|
may give warning long enough, but these is nobody that will take
|
|
warning. I cannot speak <I>that they may hear,</I> cannot speak to any
|
|
purpose, or with any hope of success; for <I>their ear is
|
|
uncircumcised,</I> it is carnal and fleshly, indisposed to receive the
|
|
voice of God, so that <I>they cannot hearken.</I> They have, as it
|
|
were, a thick skin grown over the organs of hearing, so that divine
|
|
things might to as much purpose be spoken to a stone as to them. Nay,
|
|
they are not only deaf to it, but prejudiced against it; therefore they
|
|
cannot hear, because they are resolved that they will not: The <I>word
|
|
of the Lord is unto them a reproach;</I> both the reproofs and the
|
|
threatenings of the word are so;" they reckoned themselves wronged and
|
|
affronted by both, and resented the prophet's plain-dealing with them
|
|
as they would the most causeless slander and calumny. This was
|
|
<I>kicking against the pricks</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+9:5">Acts ix. 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
as the lawyers against the word of Christ,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+11:45">Luke xi. 45</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>Thus saying, thou repoachest us also.</I> Note, Those reproofs that
|
|
are counted reproaches, and hated as such, will certainly be turned
|
|
into the heaviest woes. When it is here said, <I>They have no delight
|
|
in the word,</I> more is implied than is expressed; "they have an
|
|
antipathy to it; their hearts rise at it; it exasperates them, and
|
|
enrages their corruptions, and they are ready to fly in the face and
|
|
pull out the eyes of their reprovers." And how can those expect that
|
|
the word of the Lord should speak any comfort to them who have no
|
|
delight in it, but would rather be any where than within hearing of it?
|
|
|
|
2. They were inordinately set upon the world, and wholly carried away
|
|
by the love of it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>From the least of them even to the greatest,</I> old and young,
|
|
rich and poor, high and low, those of all ranks, professions, and
|
|
employments, <I>every one is given to covetousness,</I> greedy of
|
|
filthy lucre, all for what they can get, <I>per fas per nefas--right or
|
|
wrong;</I>" and this made them oppressive and violent
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
for of those evils, as well as others, the love of money is the bitter
|
|
root. Nay, and this hardened their hearts against the word of God and
|
|
his prophets. It was the covetous Pharisees that derided Christ,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:14">Luke xvi. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. They had become impudent in sin and were past shame. After such a
|
|
high charge of flagrant crimes proved upon them, it was very proper to
|
|
ask
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Were they ashamed when they had committed</I> all these
|
|
<I>abominations,</I> which are such a reproach to their reason and
|
|
religion? Did they blush at the conviction, and acknowledge that
|
|
confusion of face belonged to them? If so, there is some hope of them
|
|
yet. But, alas! there did not appear so much as this colour of virtue
|
|
among them; their hearts were so hardened that <I>they were not at all
|
|
ashamed, neither could they blush,</I> they had so brazened their
|
|
faces. They even gloried in their wickedness, and openly confronted
|
|
the convictions which should have humbled them and brought them to
|
|
repentance. They resolved to face it out against God himself and not to
|
|
own their guilt. Some refer this to the priests and prophets, who had
|
|
healed the people slightly and told them that they should have peace,
|
|
and yet were not ashamed of their treachery and falsehood, no, not when
|
|
the event disproved them and gave them the lie. Those that are
|
|
shameless are graceless and their case is hopeless. But those that will
|
|
not submit to a penitential shame, nor take that to themselves as their
|
|
due, shall not escape an utter ruin; for so it follows: <I>Therefore
|
|
they shall fall among</I> those <I>that fall;</I> they shall have their
|
|
portion with those that are quite undone; and, when God visits the
|
|
nation in wrath, they shall be sure to be cast down and be made to
|
|
tremble, because they would not blush. Note, Those that sin and cannot
|
|
blush for it are in an evil case now, and it will be worse with them
|
|
shortly. At first they hardened themselves and would not blush,
|
|
afterwards they were so hardened that they could not. <I>Quod unum
|
|
habebant in malis bonum perdunt, peccandi verecundiam--they have lost
|
|
the only good property which once blended itself with many bad ones,
|
|
that is, shame for having done amiss.</I>--Senec. De Vit. Beat.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. They are put in mind of the good counsel which had been often
|
|
given them, but in vain. They had a great deal said to them to little
|
|
purpose,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. By way of advice concerning their duty,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
God had been used to say to them, <I>Stand in the ways and see.</I>
|
|
That is,
|
|
|
|
(1.) He would have them to consider, not to proceed rashly, but to do
|
|
as travellers in the road, who are in care to find the right way which
|
|
will bring them to their journey's end, and therefore pause and enquire
|
|
for it. If they have any reason to think that they have missed their
|
|
way, they are not easy till they have obtained satisfaction. O that men
|
|
would be thus <I>wise for their souls,</I> and would ponder the path of
|
|
their feet, as those that believe lawful and unlawful are of no less
|
|
consequence to us than the right way and the wrong are to a traveller!
|
|
|
|
(2.) He would have them to consult antiquity, the observations and
|
|
experiences of those that went before them: "<I>Ask for the old paths,
|
|
enquire of the former age</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+8:8">Job viii. 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>ask thy father, thy elders</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:7">Deut. xxxii. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
and thou wilt find that the way of godliness and righteousness has
|
|
always been the way which God has owned and blessed and in which men
|
|
have prospered. Ask for the <I>old paths,</I> the paths prescribed by
|
|
the law of God, the written word, that true standard of antiquity. Ask
|
|
for the paths that the patriarchs travelled in before you, Abraham, and
|
|
Isaac, and Jacob; and, as you hope to inherit the promises made to
|
|
them, tread in their steps. <I>Ask for the old paths, Where is the
|
|
good way?</I>" We must not be guided merely by antiquity, as if the
|
|
plea of prescription and long usage were alone sufficient to justify
|
|
our path. No; there is an <I>old way which wicked men have
|
|
trodden,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+22:15">Job xxii. 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
But, when we ask for the old paths, it is only in order to find out the
|
|
<I>good way,</I> the highway of the upright. Note, The way of religion
|
|
and godliness is a good old way, the way that all the saints in all
|
|
ages have walked in.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He would have them to resolve to act according to the result of
|
|
these enquiries: "When you have found out which is the good way,
|
|
<I>walk therein,</I> practise accordingly, keep closely to that way,
|
|
proceed, and persevere in it." Some make this counsel to be given them
|
|
with reference to the struggles that were between the true and false
|
|
prophets, between those that said they should have peace and those that
|
|
told them trouble was at the door; they pretended they knew not which
|
|
to believe: "<I>Stand in the way,</I>" says God, "and see, and enquire,
|
|
which of these two agrees with the written word and the usual methods
|
|
of God's providence, which of these directs you to the good way, and do
|
|
accordingly."
|
|
|
|
(4.) He assures them that, if they do thus, it will secure the welfare
|
|
and satisfaction of their own souls: "<I>Walk in the good old way</I>
|
|
and you will find your walking in that way will be easy and pleasant;
|
|
you will enjoy both your God and yourselves, and the way will lead you
|
|
to true rest. Though it cost you some pains to walk in that way, you
|
|
will find an abundant recompence at your journey's end."
|
|
|
|
(5.) He laments that this good counsel, which was so rational in itself
|
|
and so proper for them, could not find acceptance: "<I>But they said,
|
|
We will not walk therein,</I> not only we will not be at the pains to
|
|
enquire <I>which is the good way,</I> the <I>good old way;</I> but when
|
|
it is told us, and we have nothing to say to the contrary but that it
|
|
is the right way, yet we will not deny ourselves and our humours so far
|
|
as to <I>walk in it.</I>" Thus multitudes are ruined for ever by
|
|
downright wilfulness.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. By way of admonition concerning their danger. Because they would not
|
|
be ruled by fair reasoning, God takes another method with them; by less
|
|
judgments he threatens greater, and sends his prophets to give them
|
|
this explication of them, and to frighten them with an apprehension of
|
|
the danger they were in
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>);
|
|
|
|
<I>Also I set watchmen over you.</I> God's ministers are watchmen, and
|
|
it is a great mercy to have them set over us in the Lord. Now observe
|
|
here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The fair warning given by these watchmen. This was the burden of
|
|
their song; they cried again and again, <I>Hearken to the sound of the
|
|
trumpet.</I> God, in his providence, sounds the trumpet
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+9:14">Zech. ix. 14</A>);
|
|
|
|
the watchmen hear it themselves and are affected with it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+4:19">Jer. iv. 19</A>),
|
|
|
|
and they are to call upon others to hearken to it too, to hear the
|
|
Lord's controversy, to observe the voice of Providence, to improve it,
|
|
and answer the intentions of it.
|
|
|
|
(2.) This fair warning slighted: "<I>But they said, We will not
|
|
hearken;</I> we will not hear, we will not heed, we will not believe;
|
|
the prophets may as well save themselves and us the trouble." The
|
|
reason why sinners perish is because they <I>do not hearken to the
|
|
sound of the trumpet;</I> and the reason why they do not is because
|
|
they will not; and they have no reason to give why they will not but
|
|
because they will not, that is, they are herein most unreasonable. One
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|
may more easily deal with ten men's reasons than one man's will.</P>
|
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|
<A NAME="Jer6_18"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jer6_19"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jer6_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_21"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jer6_22"> </A>
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|
<A NAME="Jer6_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_28"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_29"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer6_30"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Equity of Divine Judgments; Punishment Predicted.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 608.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what
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<I>is</I> among them.
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19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people,
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<I>even</I> the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not
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hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
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20 To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and
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the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings <I>are</I> not
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acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.
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21 Therefore thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Behold, I will lay
|
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stumbling-blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons
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together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall
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|
perish.
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22 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, Behold, a people cometh from the north
|
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country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the
|
|
earth.
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23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they <I>are</I> cruel, and
|
|
have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride
|
|
upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter
|
|
of Zion.
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24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble:
|
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anguish hath taken hold of us, <I>and</I> pain, as of a woman in
|
|
travail.
|
|
25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the
|
|
sword of the enemy <I>and</I> fear <I>is</I> on every side.
|
|
26 O daughter of my people, gird <I>thee</I> with sackcloth, and
|
|
wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, <I>as for</I> an only
|
|
son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come
|
|
upon us.
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|
27 I have set thee <I>for</I> a tower <I>and</I> a fortress among my
|
|
people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
|
|
28 They <I>are</I> all grievous revolters, walking with slanders:
|
|
<I>they are</I> brass and iron; they <I>are</I> all corrupters.
|
|
29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire;
|
|
the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
|
|
30 Reprobate silver shall <I>men</I> call them, because the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
|
|
hath rejected them.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
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<P>
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|
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|
Here,
|
|
|
|
I. God appeals to all the neighbours, nay, to the whole world,
|
|
concerning the equity of his proceedings against Judah and Jerusalem
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:18,19"><I>v.</I> 18, 19</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Hear, you nations, and know</I> particularly, <I>O congregation</I>
|
|
of the mighty, the great men of the nations, that take cognizance of
|
|
the affairs of states about you and make remarks upon them. Observe now
|
|
what is doing among those of Judah and Jerusalem; you hear of the
|
|
desolations brought upon them, the earth rings of it, trembles under
|
|
it; you all wonder that <I>I</I> should <I>bring evil upon this
|
|
people,</I> that are in covenant with me, that profess relation to me,
|
|
that have worshipped me, and been highly favoured by me; you are ready
|
|
to ask, <I>Wherefore has the Lord done thus to this land?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+29:24">Deut. xxix. 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
Know then,"
|
|
|
|
1. "That it is the natural product of their devices. The evil brought
|
|
upon them is <I>the fruit of their thought.</I> They thought to
|
|
strengthen themselves by their alliance with foreigners, and by that
|
|
very thing they weakened and diminished themselves, they betrayed and
|
|
exposed themselves."
|
|
|
|
2. "That it is the just punishment of their disobedience and rebellion.
|
|
God does but execute upon them the curse of the law for their violation
|
|
of its commands. It is because <I>they have not hearkened to my words
|
|
nor to my law,</I> nor regarded a word I have said to them, but
|
|
rejected it all. They would never have been ruined thus by the
|
|
judgments of God's hand if they had not refused to be ruled by the
|
|
judgments of his mouth: therefore you cannot say that they have any
|
|
wrong done them."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. God rejects their plea, by which they insisted upon their external
|
|
services as sufficient to atone for all their sins. Alas! it is a
|
|
frivolous plea
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>To what purpose come there to me incense and sweet cane,</I> to be
|
|
burnt for a perfume on the golden altar, though it was the best of the
|
|
kind, and far-fetched? What care I for <I>your burnt-offerings</I> and
|
|
<I>your sacrifices?</I>" They not only cannot profit God (no sacrifice
|
|
does,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+50:9">Ps. l. 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
but they do not please him, for none does this but the sacrifice of the
|
|
upright; that of the wicked is an <I>abomination to him.</I> Sacrifice
|
|
and incense were appointed to excite their repentance, and to direct
|
|
them to a Mediator, and assist their faith in him. Where this good use
|
|
was made of them they were acceptable, God had respect to them and to
|
|
those that offered them. But when they were offered with an opinion
|
|
that thereby they made God their debtor, and purchased a license to go
|
|
on in sin, they were so far from being pleasing to God that they were a
|
|
provocation to him.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. He foretels the desolation that was now coming upon them.
|
|
|
|
1. God designs their ruin because they hate to be reformed
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people,</I> occasions of
|
|
falling not into sin, but into trouble. Those whom God has marked for
|
|
destruction he perplexes and embarrasses in their counsels, and
|
|
obstructs and retards all the methods they take for their own safety.
|
|
The parties of the enemy, which they met with wherever they went, were
|
|
stumbling-blocks to them; in ever corner they stumbled upon them and
|
|
were dashed to pieces by them: <I>The fathers and the sons together
|
|
shall fall upon them;</I> neither the fathers with their wisdom, nor
|
|
the sons with their strength and courage, shall escape them, or get
|
|
over them. The sons that sinned with their fathers fall with them.
|
|
Even the <I>neighbour and his friend shall perish</I> and not be able
|
|
to help either themselves or one another.
|
|
|
|
2. He will make use of the Chaldeans as instruments of it; for whatever
|
|
work God has to do he will find out proper instruments for the doing of
|
|
it. This is a people fetched <I>from the north, from the sides of the
|
|
earth.</I> Babylon itself lay a great way off northward; and some of
|
|
the countries that were subject to the king of Babylon, out of which
|
|
his army was levied, lay much further. These must be employed in this
|
|
service,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:22,23"><I>v.</I> 22, 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
For,
|
|
|
|
(1.) It is a people very numerous, <I>a great nation,</I> which
|
|
will make their invasion the more formidable.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It is a warlike people. <I>They lay hold on bow and spear,</I> and
|
|
at this time know how to use them, for they are used to them. <I>They
|
|
ride upon horses,</I> and therefore they march the more swiftly, and in
|
|
battle press the harder. No nation had yet brought into the field a
|
|
better cavalry that the Chaldeans.
|
|
|
|
(3.) It is a barbarous people. They <I>are cruel and have no mercy,</I>
|
|
being greedy of prey and flushed with victory. They take a pride in
|
|
frightening all about them; their voice <I>roars like the sea.</I> And,
|
|
|
|
(4.) They have a particular design upon Judah and Jerusalem, in hopes
|
|
greatly to enrich themselves with the spoil of that famous country.
|
|
They are <I>set in array against thee, O daughter of Zion!</I> The sins
|
|
of God's professing people make them an easy prey to those that are
|
|
God's enemies as well as theirs.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. He describes the very great consternation which Judah and Jerusalem
|
|
should be in upon the approach of this formidable enemy,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:24-26"><I>v.</I> 24-26</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. They own themselves in a fright, upon the first intelligence
|
|
brought them of the approach of the enemy: "When <I>we have but heard
|
|
the fame thereof our hands wax feeble,</I> and we have no heart to make
|
|
any resistance; <I>anguish has taken hold of us,</I> and we are
|
|
immediately in an extremity of pain, like that of <I>a woman in
|
|
travail.</I>" Note, Sense of guilt quite dispirits men, upon the
|
|
approach of any threatening trouble. What can those hope to do for
|
|
themselves who have made God their enemy?
|
|
|
|
2. They confine themselves by consent to their houses, not daring to
|
|
show their heads abroad; for, though they could not but expect that the
|
|
sword of the enemy would at last find them out there, yet they would
|
|
rather die tamely and meanly there than run any venture, either by
|
|
fight or flight, to help themselves. Thus they say one to another,
|
|
"<I>Go not forth into the field,</I> no not to fetch in your provision
|
|
thence, <I>nor walk by the way;</I> dare not to go to church or market,
|
|
it is at your peril if you do, for the <I>sword of the enemy,</I> and
|
|
the fear of it, are <I>on every side;</I> the <I>highways are
|
|
unoccupied,</I> as in Jael's time,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+5:6">Judg. v. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let this remind us, when we travel the roads in safety and there is
|
|
none to make us afraid, to bless God for our share in the public
|
|
tranquillity.
|
|
|
|
3. The prophet calls upon them sadly to lament the desolations that
|
|
were coming upon them. He was himself the lamenting prophet, and called
|
|
upon his people to join with him in his lamentations: "<I>O daughter of
|
|
my people,</I> hear they God calling thee to weeping and mourning, and
|
|
answer his call: do not only put on sackcloth for a day, but gird it on
|
|
for thy constant wear; do not only put ashes on thy head, but <I>wallow
|
|
thyself in ashes;</I> put thyself into close mourning, and use all the
|
|
tokens of bitter lamentation, not forced and for show only, but with
|
|
the greatest sincerity, as parents <I>mourn for an only son,</I> and
|
|
think themselves comfortless because they are childless. Thus do thou
|
|
lament for <I>the spoiler that suddenly comes upon us.</I> Though he
|
|
has not come yet, he is <I>coming,</I> the decree has <I>gone
|
|
forth:</I> let us therefore meet the execution of it with a suitable
|
|
sadness." As saints may rejoice in hope of God's mercies, though they
|
|
see them only in the promise, so sinners must mourn for fear of God's
|
|
judgments, though they see them only in the threatenings.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
V. He constitutes the prophet a judge over this people that now stand
|
|
upon their trial: as
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+1:10"><I>ch.</I> i. 10</A>,
|
|
|
|
<I>I have set thee over the nations;</I> so here, <I>I have set thee
|
|
for a tower,</I> or as a sentinel, or a watchman, upon a tower,
|
|
<I>among my people,</I> as an inspector of their actions, <I>that thou
|
|
mayest know, and try their way,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
Not that God needed any to inform him concerning them; on the contrary,
|
|
the prophet knew little of them in comparison but by the spirit of
|
|
prophecy. But thus God appeals to the prophet himself, and his own
|
|
observation concerning their character, that he might be fully
|
|
satisfied in the equity of God's proceedings against them and with the
|
|
more assurance give them warning of the judgments coming. God set him
|
|
for a tower, conspicuous to all and attacked by many, but made him a
|
|
<I>fortress,</I> a <I>strong tower,</I> gave him courage to stem the
|
|
tide and bear the shock of their displeasure. Those that will be
|
|
faithful reprovers have need to be firm as fortresses. Now in trying
|
|
their way he will find two things:--
|
|
|
|
1. That they are wretchedly debauched
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They are all grievous revolters, revolters of revolters</I> (so the
|
|
word is), the worst of revolters, as a <I>servant of servants</I> is
|
|
the meanest servant. They have a revolting heart, have deeply
|
|
revolted, and revolt more and more. They seemed to start fair, but they
|
|
revolt and start back. They <I>walk with slanders;</I> they make
|
|
nothing of belying and backbiting one another, nay, they make a perfect
|
|
trade of it; it is their constant course, and they govern themselves by
|
|
the slanders they hear, hating those that they hear ill-spoken of,
|
|
though ever so unjustly. They are <I>brass and iron,</I> base metals,
|
|
and there is nothing in them that is valuable. They were as silver and
|
|
gold, but they have degenerated. Nay, as <I>they are all revolters,</I>
|
|
so <I>they are all corrupters,</I> not only debauched themselves, but
|
|
industrious to debauch others, to corrupt them as they themselves are
|
|
corrupt; nay, to make them seven times more the children of hell than
|
|
themselves. It is often so; sinners soon become tempters.
|
|
|
|
2. That they would never be reclaimed and reformed; it was in vain to
|
|
think of reforming them, for various methods had been tried with them,
|
|
and all to no purpose,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:29,30"><I>v.</I> 29, 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
He compares them to ore that was supposed to have some good metal in
|
|
it, and was therefore put into the furnace by the refiner, who used all
|
|
his art, and took abundance of pains, about it, but it proved all
|
|
dross, nothing of any value could be extracted out of it. God by his
|
|
prophets and by his providences had used the most proper means to
|
|
refine this people and to purify them from their wickedness; but it was
|
|
all in vain. By the continual preaching of the word, and in a series of
|
|
afflictions, they had been kept in a constant fire, but all to no
|
|
purpose. <I>The bellows</I> have been still kept so near the fire, to
|
|
blow it, that they <I>are burnt</I> with the heat of it, or they are
|
|
quite worn out with long use and thrown into the fire as good for
|
|
nothing. The prophets have preached their throats sore with crying
|
|
aloud against the sins of Israel, and yet they are not convinced and
|
|
humbled. The <I>lead,</I> which was then used in refining silver, as
|
|
quicksilver is now, <I>is consumed of the fire,</I> and has not done
|
|
its work. <I>The founder melts in vain;</I> his labour is lost, <I>for
|
|
the wicked are not plucked away,</I> no care is taken to separate
|
|
between the precious and the vile, to purge out the old leaven, to cast
|
|
out of communion those who, being corrupt themselves, are in danger of
|
|
infecting others. Or, <I>Their wickednesses are not removed</I> (so
|
|
some read it); they are still as bad as ever, and nothing will prevail
|
|
to part between them and their sins. They will not be brought off from
|
|
their idolatries and immoralities by all they have heard, and all they
|
|
have felt, of the wrath of God against them; and therefore that doom is
|
|
passed upon them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+6:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Reprobate silver shall they be called,</I> useless and worthless;
|
|
they glitter as if they had some silver in them, but there is nothing
|
|
of real virtue or goodness to be found among them; and for this reason
|
|
<I>the Lord has rejected them.</I> He will no more own them as his
|
|
people, nor look for any good from them; he will <I>take them away like
|
|
dross</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+119:119">Ps. cxix. 119</A>),
|
|
|
|
and prepare a consuming fire for those that would not be purified by a
|
|
refining fire. By this it appears,
|
|
|
|
(1.) That God has <I>no pleasure in the death</I> and ruin of sinners,
|
|
for he tries all ways and methods with them to prevent their
|
|
destruction and qualify them for salvation. Both his ordinances and his
|
|
providences have a tendency this way, to part between them and their
|
|
sins; and yet with many it is all lost labour. <I>We have piped unto
|
|
you, and you have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and you have
|
|
not wept.</I> Therefore,
|
|
|
|
(2.) God will be justified in the death of sinners and all the blame
|
|
will lie upon themselves. He did not reject them till he had used all
|
|
proper means to reform them; did not cast them off so long as there was
|
|
any hope of them, nor abandon them as dross till it appeared that they
|
|
were <I>reprobate silver.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
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