mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 21.xml

<div2 id="Jer.xxii" n="xxii" next="Jer.xxiii" prev="Jer.xxi" progress="36.42%" title="Chapter XXI">
<h2 id="Jer.xxii-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.xxii-p0.2">CHAP. XXI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.xxii-p1" shownumber="no">It is plain that the prophecies of this book are
not placed here in the same order in which they were preached; for
there are chapters after this which concern Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim,
and Jeconiah, who all reigned before Zedekiah, in whose reign the
prophecy of this chapter bears date. Here is, I. The message which
Zedekiah sent to the prophet, to desire him to enquire of the Lord
for them, <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.1-Jer.21.2" parsed="|Jer|21|1|21|2" passage="Jer 21:1,2">ver. 1, 2</scripRef>. II.
The answer which Jeremiah, in God's name, sent to that message, in
which, 1. He foretels the certain and inevitable ruin of the city,
and the fruitlessness of their attempts for its preservation,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.3-Jer.21.7" parsed="|Jer|21|3|21|7" passage="Jer 21:3-7">ver. 3-7</scripRef>. 2. He advises
the people to make the best of bad, by going over to the king of
Babylon, <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.8-Jer.21.10" parsed="|Jer|21|8|21|10" passage="Jer 21:8-10">ver. 8-10</scripRef>. 3.
He advises the king and his family to repent and reform (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.11-Jer.21.12" parsed="|Jer|21|11|21|12" passage="Jer 21:11,12">ver. 11, 12</scripRef>), and not to trust to
the strength of their city and grow secure, <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.13-Jer.21.14" parsed="|Jer|21|13|21|14" passage="Jer 21:13,14">ver. 13, 14</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21" parsed="|Jer|21|0|0|0" passage="Jer 21" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.1-Jer.21.7" parsed="|Jer|21|1|21|7" passage="Jer 21:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxii-p1.8">
<h4 id="Jer.xxii-p1.9">Zedekiah's Message to
Jeremiah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p1.10">b. c.</span> 590.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxii-p2" shownumber="no">1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p2.1">Lord</span>, when king Zedekiah sent unto
him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah
the priest, saying,   2 Enquire, I pray thee, of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p2.2">Lord</span> for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p2.3">Lord</span> will deal with us according to all his
wondrous works, that he may go up from us.   3 Then said
Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:   4 Thus
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p2.4">Lord</span> God of Israel;
Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that <i>are</i> in your
hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and
<i>against</i> the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls,
and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.   5 And
I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with
a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
  6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man
and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.   7 And
afterward, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p2.5">Lord</span>, I will
deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people,
and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the
sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of
those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge
of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have
mercy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p3" shownumber="no">Here is, I. A very humble decent message
which king Zedekiah, when he was in distress, sent to Jeremiah the
prophet. It is indeed charged upon this Zedekiah that he <i>humbled
not himself before Jeremiah the prophet, speaking from the mouth of
the Lord</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.36.12" parsed="|2Chr|36|12|0|0" passage="2Ch 36:12">2 Chron. xxxvi.
12</scripRef>); he did not always humble himself as he did
sometimes; he never humbled himself till necessity forced him to
it; he humbled himself so far as to desire the prophet's
assistance, but not so far as to take his advice, or to be ruled by
him. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p4" shownumber="no">1. The distress which king Zedekiah was now
in: <i>Nebuchadrezzar made war upon him,</i> not only invaded the
land, but besieged the city, and had now actually invested it.
Note, Those that put the evil day far from them will be the more
terrified when it comes upon them; and those who before slighted
God's ministers may then perhaps be glad to court an acquaintance
with them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p5" shownumber="no">2. The messengers he sent—<i>Pashur and
Zephaniah,</i> one belonging to the fifth course of the priests,
the other to the twenty-fourth, <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:1Chr.24.9 Bible:1Chr.24.18" parsed="|1Chr|24|9|0|0;|1Chr|24|18|0|0" passage="1Ch 24:9,18">1
Chron. xxiv. 9, 18</scripRef>. It was well that he sent, and that
he sent persons of rank; but it would have been better if he had
desired a personal conference with the prophet, which no doubt he
might easily have had if he would so far have humbled himself.
Perhaps these priests were no better than the rest, and yet, when
they were commanded by the king, they must carry a respectful
message to the prophet, which was both a mortification to them and
an honour to Jeremiah. He had rashly said (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.20.18" parsed="|Jer|20|18|0|0" passage="Jer 20:18"><i>ch.</i> xx. 18</scripRef>), <i>My days are consumed
with shame;</i> and yet here we find that he lived to see better
days than those were when he made that complaint; now he appears in
reputation. Note, It is folly to say, when things are bad with us,
"They will always be so." It is possible that those who are
despised may come to be respected; and it is promised that those
who <i>honour God he will honour,</i> and that those who have
<i>afflicted his people shall bow to them,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.60.14" parsed="|Isa|60|14|0|0" passage="Isa 60:14">Isa. lx. 14</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p6" shownumber="no">3. The message itself: <i>Enquire, I pray
thee, of the Lord for us,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.2" parsed="|Jer|21|2|0|0" passage="Jer 21:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. Now that the Chaldean army had
got into their borders, into their bowels, they were at length
convinced that Jeremiah was a true prophet, though loth to own it
and brought too late to it. Under this conviction they desire him
to stand their friend with God, believing him to have that interest
in heaven which none of their other prophets had, who had flattered
them with hopes of peace. They now employ Jeremiah, (1.) To consult
the mind of God for them: "<i>Enquire of the Lord for us;</i> ask
him what course we shall take in our present strait, for the
measures we have hitherto taken are all broken." Note, Those that
will not take the direction of God's grace how to get clear of
their sins would yet be glad of the directions of his providence
how to get clear of their troubles. (2.) To seek the favour of God
for them (so some read it): "<i>Entreat the Lord for us;</i> be an
intercessor for us with God." Note, Those that slight the prayers
of God's people and ministers when they are in prosperity may
perhaps be glad of an interest in them when they come to be in
distress. <i>Give us of your oil.</i> The benefit they promise
themselves is, <i>It may be the Lord will deal with us</i> now
<i>according to the wondrous works he wrought for our fathers,</i>
that the enemy may raise the siege and <i>go up from us.</i>
Observe, [1.] All their care is to get rid of their trouble, not to
make their peace with God and be reconciled to him—"That our enemy
may <i>go up from us,</i>" not, "That our God may return to us."
Thus Pharaoh (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.10.17" parsed="|Exod|10|17|0|0" passage="Ex 10:17">Exod. x. 17</scripRef>):
<i>Entreat the Lord that he may take away this death.</i> [2.] All
their hope is that God had done wondrous works formerly in the
deliverance of Jerusalem when Sennacherib besieged it, at the
prayer of Isaiah (so we are told, <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.32.20-2Chr.32.21" parsed="|2Chr|32|20|32|21" passage="2Ch 32:20,21">2 Chron. xxxii. 20, 21</scripRef>), and who can tell
but he may destroy these besiegers (as he did those) at the prayer
of Jeremiah? But they did not consider how different the character
of Zedekiah and his people was from that of Hezekiah and his
people: those were days of general reformation and piety, these of
general corruption and apostasy. Jerusalem is now the reverse of
what it was then. Note, It is folly to think that God should do for
us while we hold fast our iniquity as he did for those that held
fast their integrity.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p7" shownumber="no">II. A very startling cutting reply which
God, by the prophet, sent to that message. If Jeremiah had been to
have answered the message of himself we have reason to think that
he would have returned a comfortable answer, in hope that their
sending such a message was an indication of some good purposes in
them, which he would be glad to make the best of, for he did not
desire the woeful day. But God knows their hearts better than
Jeremiah does, and sends them an answer which has scarcely one word
of comfort in it. He sends it to them in the name of <i>the Lord
God of Israel</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.3" parsed="|Jer|21|3|0|0" passage="Jer 21:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>), to intimate to them that though God allowed himself
to be called the <i>God of Israel,</i> and had done great things
for Israel formerly, and had still great things in store for
Israel, pursuant to his covenants with them, yet this should stand
the present generation in no stead, who were Israelites in name
only, and not in deed, any more than God's dealings with them
should cut off his relation to Israel as their God. It is here
foretold,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p8" shownumber="no">1. That God will render all their
endeavours for their own security fruitless and ineffectual
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.4" parsed="|Jer|21|4|0|0" passage="Jer 21:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): "I will be
so far from teaching your hands to war, and putting an edge upon
your swords, that I will <i>turn back the weapons of war that are
in your hand,</i> when you sally out upon the besiegers to beat
them off, so that they shall not give the stroke you design; nay,
they shall recoil into your own faces, and be turned upon
yourselves." Nothing can make for those who have God against
them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p9" shownumber="no">2. That the besiegers shall in a little
time make themselves masters of Jerusalem, and of all its wealth
and strength: <i>I will assemble</i> those <i>in the midst of this
city</i> who are now surrounding it. Note, If that place which
should have been a centre of devotion be made a centre of
wickedness, it is not strange if God make it a rendezvous of
destroyers.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p10" shownumber="no">3. That God himself will be their enemy;
and then I know not who can befriend them, no, not Jeremiah himself
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.5" parsed="|Jer|21|5|0|0" passage="Jer 21:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): "I will be
so far from protecting you, as I have done formerly in a like case,
that <i>I myself will fight against you.</i>" Note, Those who rebel
against God may justly expect that he will make war upon them, and
that, (1.) With the power of a God who is irresistibly victorious:
<i>I will fight against you with an outstretched hand,</i> which
will reach far, and <i>with a strong arm,</i> which will strike
home and wound deeply. (2.) With the displeasure of a God who is
indisputably righteous. It is not a correction in love, but an
execution <i>in anger, in fury, and in great wrath;</i> it is upon
a sentence sworn in wrath, against which there will lie no
exception, and it will soon be found what a fearful thing it is to
fall into the hands of the living God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p11" shownumber="no">4. That those who, for their own safety,
decline sallying out upon the besiegers, and so avoid their sword,
shall yet not escape the sword of God's justice (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.6" parsed="|Jer|21|6|0|0" passage="Jer 21:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): <i>I will smite those that
abide in the city</i> (so it may be read), <i>both man and
beast,</i> both the beasts that are for food and those that are for
service in war, foot and horse; <i>they shall, die of a great
pestilence,</i> which shall rage within the walls, while the
enemies are encamped about them. Though Jerusalem's gates and walls
may for a time keep out the Chaldeans, they cannot keep out God's
judgments. His arrows of pestilence can reach those that think
themselves safe from other arrows.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p12" shownumber="no">5. That the king himself, and people that
escape the <i>sword, famine,</i> and <i>pestilence,</i> shall fall
<i>into the hands</i> of the Chaldeans, who shall cut them off in
cold blood (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.7" parsed="|Jer|21|7|0|0" passage="Jer 21:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>):
They <i>shall not spare them,</i> nor <i>have pity</i> on them. Let
not those expect to find mercy with men who have forfeited God's
compassions, and shut themselves out from his mercy. Thus had the
decree gone forth; and then to what purpose was it for Jeremiah to
<i>enquire of the Lord for them?</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.8-Jer.21.14" parsed="|Jer|21|8|21|14" passage="Jer 21:8-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxii-p12.3">
<h4 id="Jer.xxii-p12.4">Answer to Zedekiah's Message; Advice to the
King and the People. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p12.5">b. c.</span> 590.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxii-p13" shownumber="no">8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p13.1">Lord</span>; Behold, I set before
you the way of life, and the way of death.   9 He that abideth
in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the
pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans
that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for
a prey.   10 For I have set my face against this city for
evil, and not for good, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p13.2">Lord</span>: it shall be given into the hand of the
king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.   11 And
touching the house of the king of Judah, <i>say,</i> Hear ye the
word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p13.3">Lord</span>;   12 O house
of David, thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p13.4">Lord</span>;
Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver <i>him that is</i>
spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like
fire, and burn that none can quench <i>it,</i> because of the evil
of your doings.   13 Behold, I <i>am</i> against thee, O
inhabitant of the valley, <i>and</i> rock of the plain, saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p13.5">Lord</span>; which say, Who shall come down
against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?   14 But
I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxii-p13.6">Lord</span>: and I will kindle a fire in
the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about
it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p14" shownumber="no">By the civil message which the king sent to
Jeremiah it appeared that both he and the people began to have a
respect for him, which it would have been Jeremiah's policy to make
some advantage of for himself; but the reply which God obliges him
to make is enough to crush the little respect they begin to have
for him, and to exasperate them against him more than ever. Not
only the predictions in the <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.1-Jer.21.7" parsed="|Jer|21|1|21|7" passage="Jer 21:1-7">foregoing verses</scripRef>, but the prescriptions in
these, were provoking; for here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p15" shownumber="no">I. He advises the people to surrender and
desert to the Chaldeans, as the only means left them to save their
lives, <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.8-Jer.21.10" parsed="|Jer|21|8|21|10" passage="Jer 21:8-10"><i>v.</i> 8-10</scripRef>.
This counsel was very displeasing to those who were flattered by
their false prophets into a desperate resolution to hold out to the
last extremity, trusting to the strength of their walls and the
courage of their soldiery to keep out the enemy, or to their
foreign aids to raise the siege. The prophet assures them, "<i>The
city shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon,</i> and
he shall not only plunder it, but <i>burn it with fire,</i> for God
himself hath <i>set his face against this city for evil and not for
good,</i> to lay it waste and not to protect it, <i>for evil</i>
which shall have no good mixed with it, no mitigation or merciful
allay; and therefore, if you would make the best of bad, you must
beg quarter of the Chaldeans, and surrender prisoners of war." In
vain did Rabshakeh persuade the Jews to do this while they had God
for them (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.36.16" parsed="|Isa|36|16|0|0" passage="Isa 36:16">Isa. xxxvi. 16</scripRef>),
but it was the best course they could take now that God was against
them. Both the law and the prophets had often set before them life
and death in another sense—life if they obey the voice of God,
death if they persist in disobedience, <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Deut.30.19" parsed="|Deut|30|19|0|0" passage="De 30:19">Deut. xxx. 19</scripRef>. But they had slighted that
life which would have made them truly happy, to upbraid them with
which the prophet here uses the same expression (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.8" parsed="|Jer|21|8|0|0" passage="Jer 21:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): <i>Behold, I set before you the
way of life and the way of death,</i> which denotes not, as that, a
fair proposal, but a melancholy dilemma, advising them of two evils
to choose the less; and that less evil, a shameful and wretched
captivity, is all the life now left for them to propose to
themselves. <i>He that abides in the city,</i> and trusts to that
to secure him, shall certainly die either by <i>the sword</i>
without the walls or <i>famine</i> or <i>pestilence</i> within. But
he that can so far bring down his spirit, and quit his vain hopes,
as to go out, and fall <i>to the Chaldeans, his life shall be given
him for a prey;</i> he shall save his life, but with much
difficulty and hazard, as a prey is taken from the mighty. It is an
expression like that, <i>He shall be saved, yet so as by fire.</i>
He shall escape but very narrowly, or he shall have such surprising
joy and satisfaction in escaping with his life from such a
universal destruction as shall equal theirs that divide the spoil.
They thought to make a prey of the camp of the Chaldeans, as their
ancestors did that of the Assyrians (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p15.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.33.23" parsed="|Isa|33|23|0|0" passage="Isa 33:23">Isa. xxxiii. 23</scripRef>), but they will be sadly
disappointed; if by yielding at discretion they can but save their
lives, that is all the prey they must promise themselves. Now one
would think this advice from a prophet, in God's name, should have
gained some credit with them and been universally followed; but,
for aught that appears, there were few or none that took it; so
wretchedly were their hearts hardened, to their destruction.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p16" shownumber="no">II. He advises the king and princes to
reform, and make conscience of the duty of their place. Because it
was the king that sent the message to him, in the reply there shall
be a particular word for <i>the house of the king,</i> not to
compliment or court them (that was no part of the prophet's
business, no, not when they did him the honour to send to him), but
to give them wholesome counsel (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.11-Jer.21.12" parsed="|Jer|21|11|21|12" passage="Jer 21:11,12"><i>v.</i> 11, 12</scripRef>): "<i>Execute judgment
in the morning;</i> do it carefully and diligently. Those
magistrates that would fill up their place with duty had need rise
betimes. Do it quickly, and do not delay to do justice upon appeals
made to you, and tire out poor petitioners as you have done. Do not
lie in your beds in a morning to sleep away the debauch of the
night before, nor spend the morning in pampering the body (as those
princes, <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.10.16" parsed="|Eccl|10|16|0|0" passage="Ec 10:16">Eccl. x. 16</scripRef>), but
spend it in the despatch of business. You would be delivered out of
the hand of those that distress you, and expect that therein God
should do you justice; see then that you do justice to those that
apply to you, and <i>deliver them out of the hand of their
oppressors, lest my fury go out like fire</i> against you in a
particular manner, and you fare worst who think to escape best,
<i>because of the evil of your doings.</i>" Now, 1. This intimates
that it was their neglect to do their duty that brought all this
desolation upon the people. It was the <i>evil of their doings</i>
that kindled the fire of God's wrath. Thus plainly does he deal
even with the <i>house of the king;</i> for those that would have
the benefit of a prophet's prayers must thankfully take a prophet's
reproofs. 2. This directs them to take the right method for a
national reformation. The princes must begin, and set a good
example, and then the people will be invited to reform. They must
use their power for the punishment of wrong, and then the people
will be obliged to reform. He reminds them that they are <i>the
house of David,</i> and therefore should tread in his steps, who
executed judgment and justice to his people. 3. This gives them
some encouragement to hope that there may yet be a lengthening of
their tranquillity, <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.4.27" parsed="|Dan|4|27|0|0" passage="Da 4:27">Dan. iv.
27</scripRef>. If any thing will recover their state from the brink
of ruin, this will.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxii-p17" shownumber="no">III. He shows them the vanity of all their
hopes so long as they continued unreformed, <scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.13-Jer.21.14" parsed="|Jer|21|13|21|14" passage="Jer 21:13,14"><i>v.</i> 13, 14</scripRef>. Jerusalem is an
<i>inhabitant of the valley,</i> guarded with mountains on all
sides, which were their natural fortifications, making it difficult
for an army to approach them. It is a <i>rock of the plain,</i>
which made it difficult for an enemy to undermine them. These
advantages of their situation they trusted to more than to the
power and promise of God; and, thinking their city by these means
to be impregnable, they set the judgments of God at defiance,
saying, "<i>Who shall come down against us?</i> None of our
neighbours dare make a descent upon us, or, if they do, <i>who
shall enter into our habitations?</i>" They had some colour for
this confidence; for it appears to have been the sense of all their
neighbours that no enemy could force his way into Jerusalem,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Lam.4.12" parsed="|Lam|4|12|0|0" passage="La 4:12">Lam. iv. 12</scripRef>. But those are
least safe that are most secure. God soon shows the vanity of that
challenge, <i>Who shall come down against us?</i> when he says
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.13" parsed="|Jer|21|13|0|0" passage="Jer 21:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>), <i>Behold,
I am against thee.</i> They had indeed by the wickedness driven God
out of their city when he would have tarried with them as a friend;
but they could not by their bulwarks keep them out of their city
when he came against them as an enemy. If God be for us, who can be
against us? But, if he be against us, who can be for us, to stand
us in any stead? Nay, he comes against them not as an enemy that
may lawfully and with some hope of success be resisted, but as a
judge that cannot be resisted; for he says (<scripRef id="Jer.xxii-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.21.14" parsed="|Jer|21|14|0|0" passage="Jer 21:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), <i>I will punish you,</i> by
due course of law, <i>according to the fruit of your doings,</i>
that is, according to the merit of them and the direct tendency of
them. That shall be brought upon you which is the natural product
of sin. Nay, he will not only come with the anger of an enemy and
the justice of a judge, but with the force of a consuming fire,
which has no compassion, as a judge sometimes has, nor spares any
thing combustible that comes in its way. Jerusalem has become a
forest, in which God will <i>kindle a fire</i> that shall consume
all before it; for our God is himself <i>a consuming fire;</i> and
<i>who is able to stand in his sight</i> when once he is angry?</p>
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