mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 51.xml

<div2 id="Jer.lii" n="lii" next="Jer.liii" prev="Jer.li" progress="46.53%" title="Chapter LI">
<h2 id="Jer.lii-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.lii-p0.2">CHAP. LI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.lii-p1" shownumber="no">The prophet, in this chapter, goes on with the
prediction of Babylon's fall, to which other prophets also bore
witness. He is very copious and lively in describing the foresight
God had given him of it, for the encouragement of the pious
captives, whose deliverance depended upon it and was to be the
result of it. Here is, I. The record of Babylon's doom, with the
particulars of it, intermixed with the grounds of God's controversy
with her, many aggravations of her fall, and great encouragements
given thence to the Israel of God, that suffered such hard things
by her, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.1-Jer.51.58" parsed="|Jer|51|1|51|58" passage="Jer 51:1-58">ver. 1-58</scripRef>. II.
The representation and ratification of this by the throwing of a
copy of this prophecy into the river Euphrates, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.59-Jer.51.64" parsed="|Jer|51|59|51|64" passage="Jer 51:59-64">ver. 59-64</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.lii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51" parsed="|Jer|51|0|0|0" passage="Jer 51" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.lii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.1-Jer.51.58" parsed="|Jer|51|1|51|58" passage="Jer 51:1-58" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.lii-p1.5">
<h4 id="Jer.lii-p1.6">The Judgment of Babylon. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p1.7">b. c.</span> 595.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.lii-p2" shownumber="no">1 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.1">Lord</span>; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon,
and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up
against me, a destroying wind;   2 And will send unto Babylon
fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the
day of trouble they shall be against her round about.   3
Against <i>him that</i> bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and
against <i>him that</i> lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and
spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.  
4 Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and
<i>they that are</i> thrust through in her streets.   5 For
Israel <i>hath</i> not <i>been</i> forsaken, nor Judah of his God,
of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.2">Lord</span> of hosts; though their
land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.   6
Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul:
be not cut off in her iniquity; for this <i>is</i> the time of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.3">Lord</span>'s vengeance; he will render
unto her a recompence.   7 Babylon <i>hath been</i> a golden
cup in the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.4">Lord</span>'s hand, that made
all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine;
therefore the nations are mad.   8 Babylon is suddenly fallen
and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she
may be healed.   9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is
not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own
country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up
<i>even</i> to the skies.   10 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.5">Lord</span> hath brought forth our righteousness: come,
and let us declare in Zion the work of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.6">Lord</span> our God.   11 Make bright the arrows;
gather the shields: the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.7">Lord</span> hath
raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device
<i>is</i> against Babylon, to destroy it; because it <i>is</i> the
vengeance of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.8">Lord</span>, the vengeance
of his temple.   12 Set up the standard upon the walls of
Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the
ambushes: for the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.9">Lord</span> hath both
devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of
Babylon.   13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant
in treasures, thine end is come, <i>and</i> the measure of thy
covetousness.   14 The <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.10">Lord</span> of
hosts hath sworn by himself, <i>saying,</i> Surely I will fill thee
with men, as with caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout
against thee.   15 He hath made the earth by his power, he
hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out
the heaven by his understanding.   16 When he uttereth
<i>his</i> voice, <i>there is</i> a multitude of waters in the
heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the
earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind
out of his treasures.   17 Every man is brutish by <i>his</i>
knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his
molten image <i>is</i> falsehood, and <i>there is</i> no breath in
them.   18 They <i>are</i> vanity, the work of errors: in the
time of their visitation they shall perish.   19 The portion
of Jacob <i>is</i> not like them; for he <i>is</i> the former of
all things: and <i>Israel is</i> the rod of his inheritance: the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.11">Lord</span> of hosts <i>is</i> his name.
  20 Thou <i>art</i> my battle axe <i>and</i> weapons of war:
for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee
will I destroy kingdoms;   21 And with thee will I break in
pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in
pieces the chariot and his rider;   22 With thee also will I
break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces
old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man
and the maid;   23 I will also break in pieces with thee the
shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the
husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in
pieces captains and rulers.   24 And I will render unto
Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that
they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.12">Lord</span>.   25 Behold, I <i>am</i> against
thee, O destroying mountain, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.13">Lord</span>, which destroyest all the earth: and I will
stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks,
and will make thee a burnt mountain.   26 And they shall not
take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but
thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.14">Lord</span>.   27 Set ye up a standard in the
land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations
against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat,
Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the
horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.   28 Prepare
against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains
thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his
dominion.   29 And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for
every purpose of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.15">Lord</span> shall be
performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation
without an inhabitant.   30 The mighty men of Babylon have
forborne to fight, they have remained in <i>their</i> holds: their
might hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her
dwelling-places; her bars are broken.   31 One post shall run
to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the
king of Babylon that his city is taken at <i>one</i> end,   32
And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned
with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.   33 For thus
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.16">Lord</span> of hosts, the God of
Israel; The daughter of Babylon <i>is</i> like a threshing-floor,
<i>it is</i> time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time
of her harvest shall come.   34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of
Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an
empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled
his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.   35 The
violence done to me and to my flesh <i>be</i> upon Babylon, shall
the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants of
Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.   36 Therefore thus saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.17">Lord</span>; Behold, I will plead thy
cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and
make her springs dry.   37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a
dwelling-place for dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing, without
an inhabitant.   38 They shall roar together like lions: they
shall yell as lions' whelps.   39 In their heat I will make
their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice,
and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.18">Lord</span>.   40 I will bring them down like
lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.   41 How is
Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised!
how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!   42
The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude
of the waves thereof.   43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry
land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither
doth <i>any</i> son of man pass thereby.   44 And I will
punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that
which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together
any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.   45
My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man
his soul from the fierce anger of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.19">Lord</span>.   46 And lest your heart faint, and
ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour
shall both come <i>one</i> year, and after that in <i>another</i>
year <i>shall come</i> a rumour, and violence in the land, ruler
against ruler.   47 Therefore, behold, the days come, that I
will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her whole
land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst
of her.   48 Then the heaven and the earth, and all that
<i>is</i> therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall
come unto her from the north, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.20">Lord</span>.   49 As Babylon <i>hath caused</i>
the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of
all the earth.   50 Ye that have escaped the sword, go away,
stand not still: remember the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.21">Lord</span>
afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.   51 We are
confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our
faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.22">Lord</span>'s house.   52 Wherefore, behold,
the days come, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.23">Lord</span>, that
I will do judgment upon her graven images: and through all her land
the wounded shall groan.   53 Though Babylon should mount up
to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her
strength, <i>yet</i> from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.24">Lord</span>.   54 A sound of a cry
<i>cometh</i> from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of
the Chaldeans:   55 Because the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.25">Lord</span> hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of
her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a
noise of their voice is uttered:   56 Because the spoiler is
come upon her, <i>even</i> upon Babylon, and her mighty men are
taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.26">Lord</span> God of recompences shall surely requite.
  57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise
<i>men,</i> her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and
they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King,
whose name <i>is</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.27">Lord</span> of
hosts.   58 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p2.28">Lord</span>
of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and
her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall
labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be
weary.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p3" shownumber="no">The particulars of this copious prophecy
are dispersed and interwoven, and the same things left and returned
to so often that it could not well be divided into parts, but we
must endeavor to collect them under their proper heads. Let us then
observe here,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p4" shownumber="no">I. An acknowledgment of the great pomp and
power that Babylon had been in and the use that God in his
providence had made of it (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.7" parsed="|Jer|51|7|0|0" passage="Jer 51:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>): <i>Babylon hath been a golden cup,</i> a rich and
glorious empire, <i>a golden city</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.14.4" parsed="|Isa|14|4|0|0" passage="Isa 14:4">Isa. xiv. 4</scripRef>), <i>a head of gold</i>
(<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Dan.2.38" parsed="|Dan|2|38|0|0" passage="Da 2:38">Dan. ii. 38</scripRef>), filled with
all good things, as a cup with wine. Nay, she had been <i>a golden
cup in the Lord's hand;</i> he had in a particular manner filled
and favoured her with blessings; he had made the earth <i>drunk
with this cup;</i> some were intoxicated with her pleasures and
debauched by her, others intoxicated with her terrors and destroyed
by her. In both senses the New-Testament Babylon is said to have
made the kings of the earth drunk, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.17.2 Bible:Rev.18.3" parsed="|Rev|17|2|0|0;|Rev|18|3|0|0" passage="Re 17:2,18:3">Rev. xvii. 2; xviii. 3</scripRef>. Babylon had also
been God's <i>battle-axe;</i> it was so at this time, when Jeremiah
prophesied, and was likely to be yet more so, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.20" parsed="|Jer|51|20|0|0" passage="Jer 51:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. The forces of Babylon were
God's <i>weapons of war,</i> tools in his hand, with which he broke
in pieces, and knocked down, <i>nations and
kingdoms,</i>—<i>horses</i> and <i>chariots,</i> which are so much
the strength of kingdoms (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p4.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.21" parsed="|Jer|51|21|0|0" passage="Jer 51:21"><i>v.</i>
21</scripRef>),—<i>man and woman, young and old,</i> with which
kingdoms are replenished (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p4.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.22" parsed="|Jer|51|22|0|0" passage="Jer 51:22"><i>v.</i>
22</scripRef>),—<i>the shepherd and his flock, the husbandman and
his oxen,</i> with which kingdoms are maintained and supplied,
<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p4.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.23" parsed="|Jer|51|23|0|0" passage="Jer 51:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>. Such havoc
as this the Chaldeans had made when God employed them as
instruments of his wrath for the chastising of the nations; and yet
now Babylon itself must fall. Note, Those that have carried all
before them a great while will yet at length meet with their match,
and their day also will come to fall; the rod will itself be thrown
into the fire at last. Nor can any think it will exempt them from
God's judgments that they have been instrumental in executing his
judgments on others.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p5" shownumber="no">II. A just complaint made of Babylon, and a
charge drawn up against her by the Israel of God. 1. She is
complained of for her incorrigible wickedness (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.9" parsed="|Jer|51|9|0|0" passage="Jer 51:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): <i>We would have healed
Babylon, but she is not healed.</i> The people of God that were
captives among the Babylonians endeavoured, according to the
instructions given them (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.10.11" parsed="|Jer|10|11|0|0" passage="Jer 10:11">Jer. x.
11</scripRef>), to convince them of the folly of their idolatry,
but they could not do it; still they doted as much as ever upon
their graven images, and therefore the Israelites resolved to quit
them and go to their own country. Yet some understand this as
spoken by the forces they had hired for their assistance, declaring
that they had done their best to save her from ruin, but that it
was all to no purpose, and therefore they might as well go home to
their respective countries; "for <i>her judgment reaches unto
heaven,</i> and it is in vain to withstand it or think to avert
it." 2. She is complained of for her inveterate malice against
Israel. Other nations had been hardly used by the Chaldeans, but
Israel only complains to God of it, and with confidence appeals to
him (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.34-Jer.51.35" parsed="|Jer|51|34|51|35" passage="Jer 51:34,35"><i>v.</i> 34, 35</scripRef>):
"<i>The king of Babylon has devoured me, and crushed me,</i> and
never thought he could do enough ruin to me; <i>he has emptied
me</i> of all that was valuable, has <i>swallowed me up as a
dragon,</i> or whale, swallows up the little fish by shoals; <i>he
has filled his belly,</i> filled his treasures, <i>with my
delicates,</i> with all my pleasant things, <i>and has cast me
out,</i> cast me away as a <i>vessel in which there is no
pleasure;</i> and now let them be accountable for all this."
<i>Zion and Jerusalem shall say,</i> "Let <i>the violence done to
me and</i> my children, that are <i>my</i> own <i>flesh,</i> and
pieces of myself, and all the blood of my people, which they have
shed like water, <i>be upon</i> them; let the guilt of it lie upon
them, and let it be required at their hands." Note, Ruin is not far
off from those that lie under the guilt of wrong done to God's
people.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p6" shownumber="no">III. Judgment given upon this appeal by the
righteous Judge of heaven and earth, on behalf of Israel against
Babylon. He <i>sits in the throne judging right,</i> is ready to
receive complaints, and answers (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.36" parsed="|Jer|51|36|0|0" passage="Jer 51:36"><i>v.</i> 36</scripRef>): "<i>I will plead thy
cause.</i> Leave it with me; I will in due time plead it
effectually <i>and take vengeance for thee,</i> and every drop of
Jerusalem's blood shall be accounted for with interest." Israel and
Judah seemed to have been neglected and forgotten, but God had an
eye to them, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.5" parsed="|Jer|51|5|0|0" passage="Jer 51:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>.
It is true <i>their land was filled with sin against the Holy One
of Israel.</i> They were a provoking people and their sins were a
great offence to God, as a holy God, and as their God, their Holy
One; and therefore he justly delivered them up into the hands of
their enemies, and might justly have abandoned them and left them
to perish in their hands; but God deals better with them than they
deserve, and, notwithstanding their iniquities and his severities,
<i>Israel is not forsaken,</i> is not cast off, though he be cast
out, but is owned and looked after by his God, by the Lord of
hosts. God is his God still, and will act for him as the Lord of
hosts, a God of power. Note, Though God's people may have broken
his laws and fallen under his rebukes, yet it does not therefore
follow that they are thrown out of covenant; but God's care of them
and love to them will <i>flourish again,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.89.30-Ps.89.33" parsed="|Ps|89|30|89|33" passage="Ps 89:30-33">Ps. lxxxix. 30-33</scripRef>. The Chaldeans thought
they should never be called to an account for what they had done
against God's Israel; but there is <i>a time</i> fixed <i>for
vengeance,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.6" parsed="|Jer|51|6|0|0" passage="Jer 51:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>.
We cannot expect it should come sooner than the time fixed, but
then it will come; he <i>will render unto Babylon a recompence,</i>
for the avenging of Israel is <i>the vengeance of the Lord,</i> who
espouses their cause; it is <i>the vengeance of his temple,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.11" parsed="|Jer|51|11|0|0" passage="Jer 51:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>, as before,
<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.50.28" parsed="|Jer|50|28|0|0" passage="Jer 50:28"><i>ch.</i> l. 28</scripRef>. <i>The
Lord God of recompences,</i> the <i>God to whom vengeance belongs,
will surely requite</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p6.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.56" parsed="|Jer|51|56|0|0" passage="Jer 51:56"><i>v.</i>
56</scripRef>), will pay them home; he will <i>render unto Babylon
all the evil they have done in Zion</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p6.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.24" parsed="|Jer|51|24|0|0" passage="Jer 51:24"><i>v.</i> 24</scripRef>); he will return it <i>in the
sight</i> of his people. They shall have the satisfaction to see
their cause pleaded with jealousy. They shall not only live to see
those judgments brought upon Babylon, but they shall plainly see
them to be the punishment of the wrong they have done to Zion; any
man may see it, and say, <i>Verily there is a God that judges in
the earth;</i> for just as <i>Babylon has caused the slain of
Israel to fall,</i> has not only slain those that were found in
arms, but all without distinction, even <i>all the land</i> (almost
all were put to the sword), so <i>at Babylon shall fall</i> the
slain not only of the city, but of <i>all the country,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p6.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.49" parsed="|Jer|51|49|0|0" passage="Jer 51:49"><i>v.</i> 49</scripRef>. Cyrus shall
measure to the Chaldeans the same that they measured to the Jews,
so that every observer may discern that God is recompensing them
for what they did against his people; but Zion's children shall in
a particular manner triumph in it (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p6.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.10" parsed="|Jer|51|10|0|0" passage="Jer 51:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): <i>The Lord has brought forth
our righteousness;</i> he has appeared in our behalf against those
that dealt unjustly with us, and has given us redress; he has also
made it to appear that he is reconciled to us and that we are yet
in his eyes a <i>righteous nation.</i> Let it therefore be spoken
of to his praise: <i>Come and let us declare in Zion the work of
the Lord our God,</i> that others may be invited to join with us in
praising him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p7" shownumber="no">IV. A declaration of the greatness and
sovereignty of that God who espouses Zion's cause and undertakes to
reckon with this proud and potent enemy, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.14" parsed="|Jer|51|14|0|0" passage="Jer 51:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. It is <i>the Lord of hosts</i>
that has said it, that has <i>sworn it,</i> has <i>sworn it by
himself</i> (for he could swear by no greater), that he will fill
Babylon with vast and incredible numbers of the enemy's forces,
will <i>fill it with men as with caterpillars,</i> that shall
overpower it will multitudes, and need only to <i>lift up a
shout</i> against it, for that shall be so terrible as to dispirit
all the inhabitants and make them an easy prey to this numerous
army. But who, and where, is he that can break so powerful a
kingdom as Babylon? The prophet gives an account of him from the
description he had formerly given of him, and of his sovereignty
and victory over all pretenders (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.10.12-Jer.10.16" parsed="|Jer|10|12|10|16" passage="Jer 10:12-16">Jer. x. 12-16</scripRef>), which was there intended
for the conviction of the Babylonian idolaters and the confirmation
of God's Israel in the faith and worship of the God of Israel; and
it is here repeated to show that God will convince those by his
judgments who would not be convinced by his word that he is <i>God
over all.</i> Let not any doubt but that he who has determined to
destroy Babylon is able to make his words good, for, 1. He is the
God that made the world (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.15" parsed="|Jer|51|15|0|0" passage="Jer 51:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>), and therefore nothing is too hard for him to do; it
is in his name that our help stands, and on him our hope is built.
2. He has the command of all the creatures that he has made
(<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.16" parsed="|Jer|51|16|0|0" passage="Jer 51:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>); his
providence is a continued creation. He has <i>wind and rain</i> at
his disposal. If he speak the word, there is a <i>multitude of
waters in the heavens</i> (and it is a wonder how they hang there),
fed by <i>vapours out of the earth,</i> and it is a wonder how they
ascend thence. <i>Lightnings and rain</i> seem contraries, as fire
and water, and yet they are produced together; and the wind, which
seems arbitrary in its motions, and we <i>know not whence it
comes,</i> is yet, we are sure, brought <i>out of his
treasuries.</i> 3. The idols that oppose the accomplishment of his
word are a mere sham and their worshippers brutish people,
<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.17-Jer.51.18" parsed="|Jer|51|17|51|18" passage="Jer 51:17,18"><i>v.</i> 17, 18</scripRef>. The
idols are falsehood, they are vanity, they are <i>the work of
errors;</i> when they come to be visited (to be examined and
enquired into) <i>they perish,</i> that is, their reputation sinks
and they appear to be nothing; and those <i>that make them are like
unto them.</i> But between the God of Israel and these gods of the
heathen there is no comparison (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.19" parsed="|Jer|51|19|0|0" passage="Jer 51:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>): <i>The portion of Jacob is
not like them;</i> the God who speaks this and will do it is the
<i>former of all things</i> and <i>the Lord of all hosts,</i> and
therefore can do what he will; and there is a near relation between
him and his people, for he is <i>their portion</i> and they are
his; they put a confidence in him as their portion and he is
pleased to take a complacency in them and a particular care of them
as the <i>lot of his inheritance;</i> and therefore he will do what
is best for them. The repetition of these things here, which were
said before, intimates both the certainty and the importance of
them, and obliges us to take special notice of them; <i>God hath
spoken once; yea, twice have we heard this, that power belongs to
God,</i> power to destroy the most formidable enemies of his
church; and if God thus <i>speak once, yea, twice,</i> we are
inexcusable if we do not perceive it and attend to it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p8" shownumber="no">V. A description of the instruments that
are to be employed in this service. God has <i>raised up the spirit
of the kings of the Medes</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.11" parsed="|Jer|51|11|0|0" passage="Jer 51:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), Darius and Cyrus, who come
against Babylon by a divine instinct; for <i>God's device is
against Babylon to destroy it.</i> They do it, but God devised it,
he designed it; they are but accomplishing his purpose, and acting
as he directed. Note, God's counsel shall stand, and according to
it all hearts shall move. Those whom God employs against Babylon
are compared (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.1" parsed="|Jer|51|1|0|0" passage="Jer 51:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>)
to a <i>destroying wind,</i> which either by its coldness blasts
the fruits of the earth or by its fierceness blows down all before
it. This wind is <i>brought out of God's treasuries</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.16" parsed="|Jer|51|16|0|0" passage="Jer 51:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>), and it is here said
to be <i>raised up against those that dwell in the midst of the
Chaldeans,</i> those of other nations that inhabit among them and
are incorporated with them. The Chaldeans rise up against God by
falling down before idols, and against them God will raise up
destroyers, for he will be too hard for those that contend with
him. These enemies are compared to fanners (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.2" parsed="|Jer|51|2|0|0" passage="Jer 51:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), who shall <i>drive them away as
chaff</i> is driven away by the fan. The Chaldeans had been fanners
to winnow God's people (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.15.7" parsed="|Jer|15|7|0|0" passage="Jer 15:7"><i>ch.</i> xv.
7</scripRef>) and to empty them, and now they shall themselves be
in like manner despoiled and dispersed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p9" shownumber="no">VI. An ample commission given them to
destroy and lay all waste. Let them <i>bend their bow</i> against
the archers of the Chaldeans (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.3" parsed="|Jer|51|3|0|0" passage="Jer 51:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>) and <i>not spare her young
men,</i> but <i>utterly destroy them,</i> for the Lord has <i>both
devised and done what he spoke against Babylon,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.12" parsed="|Jer|51|12|0|0" passage="Jer 51:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. This may animate the
instruments he employs, but assuring them of success. The methods
they take are such as God has devised and therefore they shall
surely prosper; what he has spoken shall be done, for he himself
will do it; and therefore let all necessary preparations be made.
This they are called to, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.27-Jer.51.28" parsed="|Jer|51|27|51|28" passage="Jer 51:27,28"><i>v.</i>
27, 28</scripRef>. Let <i>a standard be set up,</i> under which to
enlist soldiers for this expedition; <i>let a trumpet be blown</i>
to call men together to it and animate them in it; let the nations,
out of which Cyrus's army is to be raised, prepare their recruits;
let the kingdoms of <i>Ararat,</i> and <i>Minni, and Ashkenaz,</i>
of Armenia, both the higher and the lower, and of Ascania, about
Phrygia and Bithynia, send in their quota of men for his service;
let general officers be appointed and the cavalry advance; let the
horses come up in <i>great numbers,</i> as the <i>caterpillars,</i>
and come, like them, leaping and pawing in the valley; let them lay
the country waste, as <i>caterpillars</i> do (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Joel.1.4" parsed="|Joel|1|4|0|0" passage="Joe 1:4">Joel i. 4</scripRef>), especially rough caterpillars; let
the kings and captains prepare nations against Babylon, for the
service is great and there is occasion for many hands to be
employed it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p10" shownumber="no">VII. The weakness of the Chaldeans, and
their inability to make head against this threatening destroying
force. When God employed them against other nations they had spirit
and strength to act offensively, and went on with admirable
resolution, conquering and to conquer; but now that it comes to
their turn to be reckoned with all their might and courage are
gone, their hearts fail them, and none of all their men of might
and mettle have found their hands to act so much as defensively.
They are called upon here to prepare for action, but it is
ironically and in an upbraiding way (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.11" parsed="|Jer|51|11|0|0" passage="Jer 51:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>): <i>Make bright the
arrows,</i> which have grown rusty through disuse; <i>gather the
shields,</i> which in a long time of peace and security have been
scattered and thrown out of the way (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.12" parsed="|Jer|51|12|0|0" passage="Jer 51:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>); <i>set up the standard upon
the walls of Babylon,</i> upon the towers on those walls, to summon
all that owed suit and service to that mother-city, now to come in
to her assistance; let them make the watch as strong as they can,
and appoint the sentinels to their respective posts, and prepare
ambushes for the reception of the enemy. This intimates that they
would be found very secure and remiss, and would need to be thus
quickened (and they were so to such a degree that they were in the
midst of their revels when the city was taken), but that all their
preparations should come to no purpose. Whoever will may call them
to it, but they shall have no heart to come at the call, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.29" parsed="|Jer|51|29|0|0" passage="Jer 51:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>. <i>The</i> whole
<i>land shall tremble, and sorrow</i> (a universal consternation)
shall seize upon them; for they shall see both the irresistible arm
and the irreversible counsel and decree of God against them. They
shall see that God is making <i>Babylon a desolation,</i> and
therein is performing what he has purposed; and then <i>the mighty
men of Babylon have forborne to fight,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.30" parsed="|Jer|51|30|0|0" passage="Jer 51:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>. God having taken away their
strength and spirit, so that they have <i>remained in their
holds,</i> not daring so much as to peep forth, the might both of
their hearts and of their hands fails; they <i>become</i> as
timorous <i>as women,</i> so that the enemy has, without any
resistance, <i>burnt her dwelling-places</i> and <i>broken her
bars.</i> It is to the same purport with <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.56-Jer.51.58" parsed="|Jer|51|56|51|58" passage="Jer 51:56-58"><i>v.</i> 56-58</scripRef>. When the spoiler comes
upon Babylon her mighty men, who should make head against him, are
immediately taken, their weapons of war fail them, <i>every one of
their bows is broken</i> and stands them in no stead. Their
politics fail them; they call councils of war, but their princes
and captains, who sit in council to concert measures for the common
safety, are made drunk; they are as men intoxicated through
stupidity or despair; they can form no right notions of things;
they stagger and are unsteady in their counsels and resolves, and
dash one against another, and, like drunken men, fall out among
themselves. At length they <i>sleep a perpetual sleep,</i> and
never <i>awake</i> from their wine, the wine of God's wrath, for it
is to them an opiate that lays them into a fatal lethargy. The
<i>walls of their city</i> fail them, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.58" parsed="|Jer|51|58|0|0" passage="Jer 51:58"><i>v.</i> 58</scripRef>. When the enemy had found ways
to ford Euphrates, which was thought impassable, yet surely, think
they, the walls are impregnable, they are <i>the broad walls of
Babylon</i> or (as the margin reads it), <i>the walls of broad
Babylon.</i> The compass of the city, within the walls, was 385
furlongs, some say 480, that is, about sixty miles; the walls were
200 cubits high, and fifty cubits broad, so that two chariots might
easily pass by one another upon them. Some say that there was a
threefold wall about the inner city and the like about the outer,
and that the stones of the wall, being laid in pitch instead of
mortar (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p10.7" osisRef="Bible:Gen.11.3" parsed="|Gen|11|3|0|0" passage="Ge 11:3">Gen. xi. 3</scripRef>), were
scarcely separable; and yet these shall be <i>utterly broken,</i>
and <i>the high gates and towers shall be burnt,</i> and the people
that are employed in the defence of the city shall <i>labour in
vain in the fire;</i> they shall quite tire themselves, but shall
do no good.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p11" shownumber="no">VIII. The destruction that shall be made of
Babylon by these invaders. 1. It is a certain destruction; the doom
has passed and it cannot be reversed; a divine power is engaged
against it, which cannot be resisted (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.8" parsed="|Jer|51|8|0|0" passage="Jer 51:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>): <i>Babylon is fallen and
destroyed,</i> is as sure to fall, to fall into destruction, as if
it were fallen and destroyed already; though when Jeremiah
prophesied this, and many a year after, it was in the height of its
power and greatness. God declares, God appears against Babylon
(<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.25" parsed="|Jer|51|25|0|0" passage="Jer 51:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>): <i>Behold,
I am against thee;</i> and those cannot stand long whom God is
against. He will <i>stretch out his hand upon it,</i> a hand which
no creature can bear the weight of nor withstand the force of. It
is his purpose, which shall be performed, that <i>Babylon</i> must
be a <i>desolation,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.29" parsed="|Jer|51|29|0|0" passage="Jer 51:29"><i>v.</i>
29</scripRef>. 2. It is a righteous destruction. Babylon has made
herself meet for it, and therefore cannot fail to meet with it. For
(<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.25" parsed="|Jer|51|25|0|0" passage="Jer 51:25"><i>v.</i> 25</scripRef>)
<i>Babylon</i> has been <i>a destroying mountain,</i> very lofty
and bulky as a mountain, and <i>destroying all the earth,</i> as
the stones that are tumbled from high mountains spoil the grounds
about them; but now it shall itself be <i>rolled down from its
rocks,</i> which were as the foundations on which it stood. It
shall be levelled, its pomp and power broken. It is now a burning
mountain, like Ætna and the other volcanoes, that throw out fire,
to the terror of all about them. But it shall be a burnt mountain;
it shall at length have consumed itself, and shall remain a heap of
ashes. So will this world be at the end of time. Again (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.33" parsed="|Jer|51|33|0|0" passage="Jer 51:33"><i>v.</i> 33</scripRef>), "<i>Babylon is like a
threshing-floor,</i> in which the people of God have been long
threshed, as sheaves in the floor; but now the time has come that
she shall herself be threshed and her sheaves in her; her princes
and great men, and all her inhabitants, shall be beaten in their
own land, as in the threshing-floor. The threshing-floor is
prepared. Babylon is by sin made meet to be a seat of war, and her
people, like corn in harvest, are ripe for destruction," <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Rev.14.15 Bible:Mic.4.12" parsed="|Rev|14|15|0|0;|Mic|4|12|0|0" passage="Re 14:15,Mic 4:12">Rev. xiv. 15; Mic. iv. 12</scripRef>.
3. It is an unavoidable destruction. Babylon seems to be
well-fenced and fortified against it: <i>She dwells upon many
waters</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.13" parsed="|Jer|51|13|0|0" passage="Jer 51:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>);
the situation of her country is such that it seems inaccessible, it
is so surrounded, and the march of an enemy into it so embarrassed,
by rivers. In allusion to this, the New-Testament Babylon is said
to <i>sit upon many waters,</i> that is, to rule over many nations,
as the other Babylon did, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.8" osisRef="Bible:Rev.17.15" parsed="|Rev|17|15|0|0" passage="Re 17:15">Rev. xvii.
15</scripRef>. <i>Babylon is abundant in treasures;</i> and yet
"<i>thy end has come,</i> and neither they waters nor thy wealth
shall secure thee." This end that comes shall be <i>the measure of
thy covetousness;</i> it shall be the stint of thy gettings, it
shall set bounds to thy ambition and avarice, which otherwise would
have ben boundless. God, by the destruction of Babylon, said to its
proud waves, <i>Hitherto shall you come, and no further.</i> Note,
if men will not set a measure to their covetousness by wisdom and
grace, God will set a measure to it by his judgments. Babylon,
thinking herself very safe and very great, was very proud; but she
will be deceived (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.53" parsed="|Jer|51|53|0|0" passage="Jer 51:53"><i>v.</i>
53</scripRef>): <i>Though Babylon should mount</i> her walls and
palaces <i>up to heaven,</i> and though (because what is high is
apt to totter) she should take care to <i>fortify the height of her
strength,</i> yet all will not do; God will send spoilers against
her, that shall break through her strength and bring down her
height. 4. It is a gradual destruction, which, if they had pleased,
they might have foreseen and had warning of; for (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.46" parsed="|Jer|51|46|0|0" passage="Jer 51:46"><i>v.</i> 46</scripRef>) "<i>A rumor will come
one year</i> that Cyrus is making vast preparations for war, <i>and
after that, in another year, shall come a rumour</i> that his
design is upon Babylon, and he is steering his course that way;" so
that when he was a great way off they might have sent and desired
conditions of peace; but they were too proud, too secure, to do
that, and their hearts were hardened to their destruction. 5. Yet,
when it comes, it is a surprising destruction: <i>Babylon has
suddenly fallen</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.11" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.8" parsed="|Jer|51|8|0|0" passage="Jer 51:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>); the destruction came upon them when they did not
think of it and was perfected in a little time, as that of the
New-Testament <i>Babylon—in one hour,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.12" osisRef="Bible:Rev.18.17" parsed="|Rev|18|17|0|0" passage="Re 18:17">Rev. xviii. 17</scripRef>. The king of Babylon, who
should have been observing the approaches of the enemy, was himself
at such a distance from the place where the attack was made that it
was a great while ere he had notice that the city was taken; so
that those who were posted near the place sent one messenger, one
courier, after another, with advice of it, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.13" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.31" parsed="|Jer|51|31|0|0" passage="Jer 51:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>. The foot-posts shall meet at
the court from several quarters with this intelligence to the king
of Babylon that his <i>city is taken at one end,</i> and there is
nothing to obstruct the progress of the conquerors, but they will
be at the other end quickly. They are to tell him that the enemy
has <i>seized the passes</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.14" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.32" parsed="|Jer|51|32|0|0" passage="Jer 51:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>), the forts or blockades upon
the river, and that, having got over the river, he has set fire to
the reeds on the river side, to alarm and terrify the city, so that
all the men of war are affrighted and have thrown down their arms
and surrendered at discretion. The messengers come, like Job's, one
upon the heels of another, with these tidings, which are
immediately confirmed with a witness by the enemies' being in the
palace and slaying the king himself, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.15" osisRef="Bible:Dan.5.30" parsed="|Dan|5|30|0|0" passage="Da 5:30">Dan. v. 30</scripRef>. That profane feast which they were
celebrating at the very time when the city was taken, which was
both an evidence of their strange security and a great advantage to
the enemy, seems here to be referred to (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.16" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.38-Jer.51.39" parsed="|Jer|51|38|51|39" passage="Jer 51:38,39"><i>v.</i> 38, 39</scripRef>): <i>They shall roar
together like lions,</i> as men in their revels do, when the wine
has got into their heads. They call it <i>singing;</i> but in
scripture-language, and in the language of sober men, it is called
<i>yelling like lions' whelps.</i> It is probable that they were
drinking confusion to Cyrus and his army with loud huzzas. Well,
says God, in their heat, when they are inflamed (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.17" osisRef="Bible:Isa.5.11" parsed="|Isa|5|11|0|0" passage="Isa 5:11">Isa. v. 11</scripRef>) and their heads are hot with hard
drinking, I will <i>make their feasts,</i> I will <i>give them
their portion.</i> They have passed their cup round; now <i>the cup
of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto them</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.18" osisRef="Bible:Hab.2.15-Hab.2.16" parsed="|Hab|2|15|2|16" passage="Hab 2:15,16">Hab. ii. 15, 16</scripRef>), a cup of fury,
which shall <i>make them drunk that they may rejoice</i> (or rather
<i>that they may revel it</i>) and <i>sleep a perpetual sleep;</i>
let them be as merry as they can with that bitter cup, but it shall
lay them to sleep never to wake more (as <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.19" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.57" parsed="|Jer|51|57|0|0" passage="Jer 51:57"><i>v.</i> 57</scripRef>); for <i>on that night,</i> in
the midst of the jollity, was <i>Belshazzar slain.</i> 6. It is to
be a universal destruction. God will make thorough work of it; for,
as he will perform what he has purposed, so he will perfect what he
has begun. <i>The slain shall fall</i> in great abundance
throughout <i>the land of the Chaldeans;</i> multitudes shall be
<i>thrust through in her streets,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.20" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.4" parsed="|Jer|51|4|0|0" passage="Jer 51:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. They are <i>brought down like
lambs to the slaughter</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.21" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.40" parsed="|Jer|51|40|0|0" passage="Jer 51:40"><i>v.</i>
40</scripRef>), in such great numbers, so easily, and the enemies
make no more of killing them than the butcher does of killing
lambs. The strength of the enemy, and their invading them, are here
compared to an irruption and inundation of waters (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.22" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.42" parsed="|Jer|51|42|0|0" passage="Jer 51:42"><i>v.</i> 42</scripRef>): <i>The sea has come
up upon Babylon,</i> which, when it has once broken through its
bounds, there is no fence against, so that she is <i>covered with
the multitude of its waves,</i> overpowered by a numerous army;
<i>her cities</i> then become <i>a desolation,</i> an uninhabited
uncultivated desert, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.23" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.43" parsed="|Jer|51|43|0|0" passage="Jer 51:43"><i>v.</i>
43</scripRef>. 7. It is a destruction that shall reach the gods of
Babylon, the idols and images, and fall with a particular weight
upon them. "In token that <i>the whole land shall be confounded</i>
and all <i>her slain shall fall</i> and that throughout all the
country <i>the wounded shall groan, I will do judgment upon her
graven images,</i>" <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.24" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.47" parsed="|Jer|51|47|0|0" passage="Jer 51:47"><i>v.</i>
47</scripRef> and again <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.25" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.52" parsed="|Jer|51|52|0|0" passage="Jer 51:52"><i>v.</i>
52</scripRef>. All must needs perish if their gods perish, from
whom they expect protection. Though the invaders are themselves
idolaters, yet they shall destroy the images and temples of the
gods of Babylon, as an earnest of the abolishing of all counterfeit
deities. Bel was the principal idol that the Babylonians
worshipped, and therefore that is by name here marked for
destruction (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.26" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.44" parsed="|Jer|51|44|0|0" passage="Jer 51:44"><i>v.</i>
44</scripRef>): <i>I will punish Bel,</i> that great devourer, that
image to which such abundance of sacrifices are offered and such
rich spoils dedicated, and to whose temple there is such a vast
resort. He shall disgorge what he has so greedily regaled himself
with. God will bring forth out of his temple all the wealth laid up
there, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.27" osisRef="Bible:Job.20.15" parsed="|Job|20|15|0|0" passage="Job 20:15">Job xx. 15</scripRef>. His
altars shall be forsaken, none shall regard him any more, and so
that idol which was thought to be a wall to Babylon shall fall and
fail them. 8. It shall be a final destruction. You may <i>take balm
for her pain,</i> but in vain; she that <i>would not be healed</i>
by the word of God <i>shall not be healed</i> by his providence,
<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.28" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.8-Jer.51.9" parsed="|Jer|51|8|51|9" passage="Jer 51:8,9"><i>v.</i> 8, 9</scripRef>.
<i>Babylon</i> shall <i>become heaps</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.29" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.37" parsed="|Jer|51|37|0|0" passage="Jer 51:37"><i>v.</i> 37</scripRef>), and, to complete its infamy,
no use shall be made even of the ruins of Babylon, so execrable
shall they be, and attended with such ill omens (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p11.30" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.26" parsed="|Jer|51|26|0|0" passage="Jer 51:26"><i>v.</i> 26</scripRef>): <i>They shall not take of
thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations.</i> People
shall not care for having any thing to do with Babylon, or whatever
belonged to it. Or it denotes that there shall be nothing left in
Babylon on which to ground any hopes or attempts of raising it into
a kingdom again; for, as it follows here, <i>it shall be desolate
for ever.</i> St. Jerome says that in his time, though the ruins of
Babylon's walls were to be seen, yet the ground enclosed by them
was a forest of wild beasts.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p12" shownumber="no">IX. Here is a call to God's people to go
out of Babylon. It is their wisdom, when the ruin is approaching,
to quit the city and retire into the country (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.6" parsed="|Jer|51|6|0|0" passage="Jer 51:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): "<i>Flee out of the midst of
Babylon,</i> and get into some remote corner, that you may save
your lives, and may not be cut off in her iniquity." When God's
judgments are abroad it is good to get as far as we can from those
against whom they are levelled, as Israel from the tents of Korah.
This agrees with the advice Christ gave his disciples, with
reference to the destruction of Jerusalem. <i>Let those who shall
be in Judea flee to the mountains,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.24.16" parsed="|Matt|24|16|0|0" passage="Mt 24:16">Matt. xxiv. 16</scripRef>. It is their wisdom to <i>get
out of the midst of Babylon,</i> lest they be involved, if not in
her ruins, yet in her fears (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.45-Jer.51.46" parsed="|Jer|51|45|51|46" passage="Jer 51:45,46"><i>v.</i> 45, 46</scripRef>): <i>Lest your heart
faint, and you fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the
land.</i> Though God had told them that Cyrus should be their
deliverer, and Babylon's destruction their deliverance, yet they
had been told also that <i>in the peace there of they should have
peace,</i> and therefore the alarms given to Babylon would put them
into a fright, and perhaps they might not have faith and
consideration enough to suppress those fears, for which reason they
are here advised to get out of the hearing of the alarms. Note,
Those who have not grace enough to keep their temper in temptation
should have wisdom enough to keep out of the way of temptation. But
this is not all; it is not only their wisdom to quit the city when
the ruin is approaching, but it is their duty to quit the country
too when the ruin is accomplished, and they are set at liberty by
the pulling down of the prison over their heads. This they are
told, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.50-Jer.51.51" parsed="|Jer|51|50|51|51" passage="Jer 51:50,51"><i>v.</i> 50, 51</scripRef>:
"<i>You</i> Israelites, <i>who have escaped the sword of the
Chaldeans</i> your oppressors, and of the Persians their
destroyers, now that the year of release has come, <i>go away,
stand not still;</i> hasten to your own country again, however you
may be comfortably seated in Babylon, for this is not your rest,
but Canaan is." 1. He puts them in mind of the inducements they had
to return: "<i>Remember the Lord afar off,</i> his presence with
you now, though you are here afar off from your native soil; his
presence with your fathers formerly in the temple, though you are
now afar off from the ruins of it." Note, Wherever we are, in the
greatest depths, at the greatest distances, we may and must
remember the Lord our God; and in the time of the greatest fears
and hopes it is seasonable to <i>remember the Lord.</i> "And let
Jerusalem come into your mind. Though it be now in ruins, yet
<i>favour its dust</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.102.14" parsed="|Ps|102|14|0|0" passage="Ps 102:14">Ps. cii.
14</scripRef>); though few of you ever saw it, yet believe the
report you have had concerning it from those that <i>wept when they
remembered Zion;</i> and think of Jerusalem until you come up to a
resolution to make the best of your way thither." Note, When the
city of our solemnities is out of sight, yet it must not be out of
mind; and it will be of great use to us, in our journey through
this world, to let the heavenly Jerusalem come often into our mind.
2. He takes notice of the discouragement which the returning
captives labour under (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.51" parsed="|Jer|51|51|0|0" passage="Jer 51:51"><i>v.</i>
51</scripRef>); being reminded of Jerusalem, they cry out, "<i>We
are confounded;</i> we cannot bear the thought of it; <i>shame
covers our faces</i> at the mention of it, for <i>we have heard of
the reproach of the sanctuary,</i> that is profaned and ruined by
strangers; how can we think of it with any pleasure?" To this he
answers (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p12.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.52" parsed="|Jer|51|52|0|0" passage="Jer 51:52"><i>v.</i> 52</scripRef>)
that the God of Israel will now triumph over the gods of Babylon,
and so that reproach will be for ever rolled away. Note, The
believing prospect of Jerusalem's recovery will keep us from being
ashamed of Jerusalem's ruins.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p13" shownumber="no">X. Here is the diversified feeling excited
by Babylon's fall, and it is the same that we have with respect to
the <i>New-Testament Babylon,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.18.9 Bible:Rev.18.19" parsed="|Rev|18|9|0|0;|Rev|18|19|0|0" passage="Re 18:9,19">Rev. xviii. 9, 19</scripRef>. 1. Some shall lament the
destruction of Babylon. There is <i>the sound of a cry,</i> a great
outcry coming from Babylon (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.54" parsed="|Jer|51|54|0|0" passage="Jer 51:54"><i>v.</i>
54</scripRef>), lamenting this great destruction, the voice of
mourning, because the Lord has <i>destroyed the voice</i> of the
multitude, that great voice of mirth which used to be heard in
Babylon, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.55" parsed="|Jer|51|55|0|0" passage="Jer 51:55"><i>v.</i> 55</scripRef>. We
are told what they shall say in their lamentations (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.41" parsed="|Jer|51|41|0|0" passage="Jer 51:41"><i>v.</i> 41</scripRef>): "<i>How is Sheshach
taken,</i> and how are we mistaken concerning her! How is that city
surprised and become an <i>astonishment among the nations</i> that
was the praise, and glory, and admiration of the whole earth!" See
how that may fall into a general contempt which has been
universally cried up. 2. Yet some shall rejoice in Babylon's fall,
not as it is the misery of their fellow-creatures, but as it is the
manifestation of the righteous judgment of God and as it opens the
way for the release of God's captives; upon these accounts <i>the
heaven and the earth, and all that is in both, shall sing for
Babylon</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.48" parsed="|Jer|51|48|0|0" passage="Jer 51:48"><i>v.</i>
48</scripRef>); the church in heaven and the church on earth shall
give to God the glory of his righteousness, and take notice of it
with thankfulness to his praise. Babylon's ruin is Zion's
praise.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.lii-p13.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.59-Jer.51.64" parsed="|Jer|51|59|51|64" passage="Jer 51:59-64" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.lii-p13.7">
<h4 id="Jer.lii-p13.8">The Prophecy Sent to the
People. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p13.9">b. c.</span> 595.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.lii-p14" shownumber="no">59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded
Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with
Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his
reign. And <i>this</i> Seraiah <i>was</i> a quiet prince.   60
So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon
Babylon, <i>even</i> all these words that are written against
Babylon.   61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest
to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;  
62 Then shalt thou say, <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.lii-p14.1">O Lord</span>, thou
hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall
remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate
for ever.   63 And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of
reading this book, <i>that</i> thou shalt bind a stone to it, and
cast it into the midst of Euphrates:   64 And thou shalt say,
Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I
will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far <i>are</i>
the words of Jeremiah.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.lii-p15" shownumber="no">We have been long attending the judgment of
Babylon in this and the foregoing chapter; now here we have the
conclusion of that whole matter. 1. A copy is taken of this
prophecy, it should seem by Jeremiah himself, for Baruch his scribe
is not mentioned here (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.60" parsed="|Jer|51|60|0|0" passage="Jer 51:60"><i>v.</i>
60</scripRef>): <i>Jeremiah wrote in a book all these words that
are here written against Babylon.</i> He received this notice that
he might give it to all whom it might concern. It is of great
advantage both to the propagating and to the perpetuating of the
word of God to have it written, and to have copies taken of the
law, prophets, and epistles. 2. It is sent to Babylon, to the
captives there, by the hand of Seraiah, who went there attendant on
or ambassador for king Zedekiah, <i>in the fourth year of his
reign,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.59" parsed="|Jer|51|59|0|0" passage="Jer 51:59"><i>v.</i> 59</scripRef>.
He <i>went with Zedekiah,</i> or (as the margin reads it) <i>on the
behalf of Zedekiah, into Babylon.</i> The character given of him is
observable, that this <i>Seraiah was a quiet prince,</i> a prince
of rest. He was in honour and power, but not, as most of the princes
then were, hot and heady, making parties, and heading factions, and
driving things furiously. He was of a calm temper, studied the
things that made for peace, endeavoured to preserve a good
understanding between the king his master and the king of Babylon,
and to keep his master from rebelling. He was no persecutor of
God's prophets, but a moderate man. Zedekiah was happy in the
choice of such a man to be his envoy to the king of Babylon, and
Jeremiah might safely entrust such a man with his errand too. Note,
it is the real honour of great men to be quiet men, and it is the
wisdom of princes to put such into places of trust. 3. Seraiah is
desired to read it to his countrymen that had already gone into
captivity: "<i>When thou shalt come to Babylon, and shalt see</i>
what a magnificent place it is, how large a city, how strong, how
rich, and how well fortified, and shalt therefore be tempted to
think, Surely, it will stand forever" (as the disciples, when they
observed the buildings of the temple, concluded that nothing would
<i>throw them down</i> but the end of the world, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Matt.24.3" parsed="|Matt|24|3|0|0" passage="Mt 24:3">Matt. xxiv. 3</scripRef>), "<i>then thou shalt read all
these words</i> to thyself and thy particular friends, for their
encouragement in their captivity: let them with an eye of faith see
to the end of these threatening powers, and comfort themselves and
one another herewith." 4. He is directed to make a solemn
protestation of the divine authority and unquestionable certainty
of that which he had read (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.62" parsed="|Jer|51|62|0|0" passage="Jer 51:62"><i>v.</i>
62</scripRef>): <i>Then thou shalt</i> look up to God, and say,
<i>O Lord! it is thou that hast spoken against this place, to cut
it off.</i> This is like the angel's protestation concerning the
destruction of the New-Testament Babylon. <i>These are the true
sayings of God,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p15.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.19.9" parsed="|Rev|19|9|0|0" passage="Re 19:9">Rev. xix.
9</scripRef>. <i>These words are true and faithful,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p15.6" osisRef="Bible:Rev.21.5" parsed="|Rev|21|5|0|0" passage="Re 21:5">Rev. xxi. 5</scripRef>. Though Seraiah sees
Babylon flourishing, having read this prophecy he must foresee
Babylon falling, and by virtue of it must curse its habitation,
though it be <i>taking root</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p15.7" osisRef="Bible:Job.5.3" parsed="|Job|5|3|0|0" passage="Job 5:3">Job v.
3</scripRef>): "<i>O Lord! thou hast spoken against this place,</i>
and I believe what thou hast spoken, that, as thou knowest every
thing, so thou canst do every thing. Thou hast passed sentence upon
Babylon, and it shall be executed. <i>Thou hast spoken against this
place, to cut it off,</i> and therefore we will neither envy its
pomp nor fear its power." When we see what this world is, how
glittering its shows are and how flattering its proposals, let us
read in the book of the Lord that its <i>fashion passes away,</i>
and it shall shortly be <i>cut off</i> and be <i>desolate for
ever,</i> and we shall learn to look upon it with a holy contempt.
Observe here, When we have been reading the word of God it becomes
us to direct to him whose word it is a humble believing
acknowledgment of the truth, equity, and goodness, of what we have
read. 5. He must then tie a stone to the book and throw it into the
midst of the river Euphrates, as a confirming sign of the things
contained in it, saying, "<i>Thus shall Babylon sink, and not
rise;</i> for they <i>shall be weary,</i> they shall perfectly
succumb, as men tired with a burden, under the load of <i>the evil
that I will bring upon them,</i> which they shall never shake off,
nor get from under," <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p15.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.53 Bible:Jer.51.64" parsed="|Jer|51|53|0|0;|Jer|51|64|0|0" passage="Jer 51:53,64"><i>v.</i> 53,
64</scripRef>. In the sign it was the stone that sunk the book,
which otherwise would have swum. But in <i>the thing signified</i>
it was rather the book that sunk the stone; it was the divine
sentence passed upon Babylon in this prophecy that sunk that city,
which seemed <i>as firm as a stone.</i> The fall of the
New-Testament Babylon was represented by something like this, but
much more magnificent, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p15.9" osisRef="Bible:Rev.18.21" parsed="|Rev|18|21|0|0" passage="Re 18:21">Rev. xviii.
21</scripRef>. <i>A mighty angel cast a great millstone into the
sea, saying, Thus shall Babylon fall.</i> Those that sink under the
weight of God's wrath and curse sink irrecoverably. The last words
of the chapter seal up the vision and prophecy of this book:
<i>Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.</i> Not that this prophecy
against Babylon was the last of his prophecies; for it was dated in
the <i>fourth</i> year of Zedekiah (<scripRef id="Jer.lii-p15.10" osisRef="Bible:Jer.51.59" parsed="|Jer|51|59|0|0" passage="Jer 51:59"><i>v.</i> 59</scripRef>), long before he finished his
testimony; but this is recorded last of his prophecies because it
was to be last accomplished of all his prophecies against the
Gentiles, <scripRef id="Jer.lii-p15.11" osisRef="Bible:Jer.46.1" parsed="|Jer|46|1|0|0" passage="Jer 46:1"><i>ch.</i> xlvi.
1</scripRef>. And the chapter which remains is purely historical,
and, as some think, was added by some other hand.</p>
</div></div2>