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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. XXXIII.</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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The scope of this chapter is much the same with that of the foregoing
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chapter--to confirm the promise of the restoration of the Jews,
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notwithstanding the present desolations of their country and
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dispersions of their people. And these promises have, both in type and
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tendency, a reference as far forward as to the gospel church, to which
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this second edition of the Jewish church was at length to resign its
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dignities and privileges. It is here promised,
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I. That the city shall be rebuilt and re-established "in statu quo--in
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its former state,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
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II. That the captives, having their sins pardoned, shall be restored,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:7,8">ver. 7, 8</A>.
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III. That this shall redound very much to the glory of God,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:9">ver. 9</A>.
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IV. That the country shall have both joy and plenty,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:10-14">ver. 10-14</A>.
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V. That way shall be made for the coming of the Messiah,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:15,16">ver. 15, 16</A>.
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VI. That the house of David, the house of Levi, and the house of
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Israel, shall flourish again, and be established, and all three in the
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kingdom of Christ; a gospel ministry and the gospel church shall
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continue while the world stands,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:17-26">ver. 17-26</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jer33_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_9"> </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>Encouraging Prospects.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 589.</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 Moreover the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto Jeremiah the second
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time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison,
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saying,
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2 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> the maker thereof, the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> that formed
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it, to establish it; the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> his name;
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3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and
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mighty things, which thou knowest not.
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4 For thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the God of Israel, concerning the
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houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of
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Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword;
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5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but <I>it is</I> to fill
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them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger
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and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face
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from this city.
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6 Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure
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them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
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7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of
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Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.
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8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they
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have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities,
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whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed
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against me.
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9 And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a honour
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before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the
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good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all
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the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Observe here,
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I. The date of this comfortable prophecy which God entrusted Jeremiah
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with. It is not exact in the time, only that it was after that in the
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foregoing chapter, when things were still growing worse and worse; it
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was <I>the second time. God speaketh once, yea, twice,</I> for the
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encouragement of his people. We are not only so disobedient that we
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have need of <I>precept upon precept</I> to bring us to our duty, but
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so distrustful that we have need of promise upon promise to bring us to
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our comfort. This word, as the former, <I>came to Jeremiah</I> when
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<I>he was in prison.</I> Note, No confinement can deprive God's people
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of his presence; no locks nor bars can shut out his gracious visits;
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nay, oftentimes <I>as their afflictions abound their consolations much
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more abound,</I> and they have the most reviving communications of his
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favour when the world frowns upon them. Paul's sweetest epistles were
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those that bore date out of a prison.</P>
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<P>
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II. The prophecy itself. A great deal of comfort is wrapped up in it
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for the relief of the captives, to keep them from sinking into despair.
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Observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. Who it is that secures this comfort to them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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It is <I>the Lord, the maker thereof, the Lord that framed it,</I> He
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is the maker and former of heaven and earth, and therefore has all
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power in his hands; so it refers to Jeremiah's prayer,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:17"><I>ch.</I> xxxii. 17</A>.
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He is the maker and former of Jerusalem, of Zion, built them at first,
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and therefore can rebuild them--built them for his own praise, and
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therefore <I>will.</I> He <I>formed it, to establish it,</I> and
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therefore it shall be established till those things be introduced which
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cannot be shaken, but shall remain for ever. He is the maker and former
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of this promise; he has laid the scheme for Jerusalem's restoration,
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and he that has formed it will establish it, he that has made the
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promise will make it good; for Jehovah <I>is his name,</I> a God giving
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being to his promises by the performance of them, and when he does this
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he is known by that name
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+6:3">Exod. vi. 3</A>),
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a perfecting God. When the heavens and the earth were finished, then,
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and not till then, the creator is called <I>Jehovah,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+2:4">Gen. ii. 4</A>.</P>
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<P>
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2. How this comfort must be obtained and fetched in--by prayer
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Call upon me, and I will answer them.</I> The prophet, having
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received some intimations of this kind, must be humbly earnest with God
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for further discoveries of his kind intentions. He had prayed
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+32:16"><I>ch.</I> xxxii. 16</A>),
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but he must pray again. Note, Those that expect to receive comforts
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from God must continue instant in prayer. We must call upon him, and
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then he will answer us. Christ himself must <I>ask, and it shall be
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given him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:8">Ps. ii. 8</A>.
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<I>I will show thee great and mighty things</I> (give thee a clear and
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full prospect of them), <I>hidden things, which,</I> though in part
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discovered already, yet <I>thou knowest not,</I> thou canst not
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understand or give credit to. Or this may refer not only to the
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prediction of these things which Jeremiah, if he desire it, shall be
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favoured with, but to the performance of the things themselves which
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the people of God, encouraged by this prediction, must pray for. Note,
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Promises are given, not to supersede, but to quicken and encourage
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prayer. See
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+36:37">Ezek. xxxvi. 37</A>.</P>
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<P>
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3. How deplorable the condition of Jerusalem was which made it
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necessary that such comforts as these should be provided for it, and
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notwithstanding which its restoration should be brought about in due
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time
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:4,5"><I>v.</I> 4, 5</A>):
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<I>The houses of this city,</I> not excepting those <I>of the kings of
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Judah, are thrown down by the mounts,</I> or engines of battery, <I>and
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by the sword,</I> or axes, or hammers. It is the same word that is used
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+26:9">Ezek. xxvi. 9</A>,
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<I>With his axes he shall break down thy towers.</I> The strongest
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stateliest houses, and those that were best furnished, were levelled
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with the ground. The
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:5">fifth verse</A>
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comes in in a parenthesis, giving a further instance of the present
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calamitous state of Jerusalem. Those that <I>came to fight with the
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Chaldeans,</I> to beat them off from the siege, did more hurt than
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good, provoked the enemy to be more fierce and furious in their
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assaults, so that the houses in Jerusalem were filled <I>with the dead
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bodies of men,</I> who died of the wounds they received in sallying out
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upon the besiegers. God says that they were such as he had <I>slain in
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his anger,</I> for the enemies' sword was his sword and their anger his
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anger. But, it seems, the men that were slain were generally such as
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had distinguished themselves by their wickedness, for they were the
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very men <I>for whose wickedness</I> God did now <I>hide himself from
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this city,</I> so that he was just in all he brought upon them.</P>
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<P>
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4. What the blessings are which God has in store for Judah and
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Jerusalem, such as will redress all their grievances.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) Is their state diseased? Is it wounded? God will provide
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effectually for the healing of it, though the disease was thought
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mortal and incurable,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+7:22"><I>ch.</I> vii. 22</A>.
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"<I>The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:5">Isa. i. 5</A>);
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but
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>)
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<I>I will bring it health and cure;</I> I will prevent the death,
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remove the sickness, and set all to rights again,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+30:17"><I>ch.</I> xxx. 17</A>.
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Note, Be the case ever so desperate, if God undertake the cure, he will
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effect it. The sin of Jerusalem was the sickness of it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+1:6">Isa. i. 6</A>);
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its reformation therefore will be its recovery. And the following words
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tell us how that is wrought: "<I>I will reveal unto them the abundance
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of peace and truth;</I> I will give it to them in due time, and give
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them an encouraging prospect of it in the mean time." <I>Peace</I>
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stands here for all good; <I>peace and truth</I> are peace according to
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the promise and in pursuance of that: or <I>peace and truth</I> are
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peace and the true religion, peace and the true worship of God, in
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opposition to the many falsehoods and deceits by which they had been
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led away from God. We may apply it more generally, and observe,
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[1.] That peace and truth are the great subject-matter of divine
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revelation. These promises here lead us to the gospel of Christ, and
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in that God has revealed to us <I>peace and truth,</I> the method of
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true peace--truth to direct us, peace to make us easy. <I>Grace and
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truth,</I> and abundance of both, <I>come by Jesus Christ.</I> Peace
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and truth are the life of the soul, and Christ <I>came that we might
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have</I> that <I>life, and might have it more abundantly.</I> Christ
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rules by the power of truth
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+18:37">John xviii. 37</A>)
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and by it he gives <I>abundance of peace,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+72:7,85:10">Ps. lxxii. 7; lxxxv. 10</A>.
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[2.] That the divine revelation of peace and truth brings health and
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cure to all those that by faith receive it: it heals the soul of the
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diseases it has contracted, as it is a means of sanctification,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+17:17">John xvii. 17</A>.
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<I>He sent his word and healed them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+107:20">Ps. cvii. 20</A>.
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And it puts the soul into good order, and keeps it in a good frame and
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fit for the employments and enjoyments of the spiritual and divine
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life.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) Are they scattered and enslaved, and is their nation laid in
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ruins? "<I>I will cause their captivity to return</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
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both that of Israel and that of Judah" (for though those who returned
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under Zerubbabel were chiefly of Judah, and Benjamin, and Levi, yet
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afterwards many of all the other tribes returned), "<I>and I will
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rebuild them, as</I> I built them <I>at first.</I>" When they by
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repentance do their first works God will by their restoration do his
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first works.</P>
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<P>
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(3.) Is sin the procuring cause of all their troubles? That shall be
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pardoned and subdued, and so the root of the judgments shall be killed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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[1.] By sin they have become filthy, and odious to God's holiness, but
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God will cleanse them, and purify <I>them from their iniquity.</I> As
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those that were ceremonially unclean, and were therefore shut out from
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the tabernacle, when they were sprinkled with the <I>water of
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purification</I> had liberty of access to it again, so had they to
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their own land, and the privileges of it, when God had <I>cleansed them
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from their iniquities.</I> In allusion to that sprinkling, David prays,
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<I>Purge me with hyssop.</I>
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[2.] By sin they have become guilty, and obnoxious to his justice; but
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he will <I>pardon all their iniquities,</I> will remove the punishment
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to which for sin they were bound over. All who by sanctifying grace are
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cleansed from the filth of sin, by pardoning mercy are freed from the
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guilt of it.</P>
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<P>
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(4.) Have both their sins and their sufferings turned to the dishonour
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of God? Their reformation and restoration shall redound as much to his
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praise,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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Jerusalem thus rebuilt, Judah thus repeopled, <I>shall be to me a name
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of joy,</I> as pleasing to God as ever they have been provoking, <I>and
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a praise and an honour before all the nations.</I> They, being thus
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restored, shall glorify God by their obedience to him, and he shall
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glorify himself by his favours to them. This renewed nation shall be as
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much a reputation to religion as formerly it has been a reproach to it.
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The nations <I>shall hear of all the good that</I> God has wrought in
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them by his grace and <I>of all the good</I> he has wrought for them by
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his providence. The wonders of their return out of Babylon shall make
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as great a noise in the world as ever the wonders of their deliverance
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out of Egypt did. And <I>they shall fear and tremble for all this
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goodness.</I>
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[1.] The people of God themselves shall fear and tremble; they shall be
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much surprised at it, shall be afraid of offending so good a God and of
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forfeiting his favour.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+3:5">Hos. iii. 5</A>,
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<I>They shall fear the Lord and his goodness.</I>
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[2.] The neighbouring nations shall fear because of the prosperity of
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Jerusalem, shall look upon the growing greatness of the Jewish nation
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as really formidable, and shall be afraid of making them their enemies.
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When the church is <I>fair as the moon,</I> and <I>clear as the
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sun,</I> she is <I>terrible as an army with banners.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Jer33_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer33_16"> </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>Encouraging Prospects.</I></FONT></TD>
|
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 589.</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>10 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; Again there shall be heard in this
|
|
place, which ye say <I>shall be</I> desolate without man and without
|
|
beast, <I>even</I> in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of
|
|
Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without
|
|
inhabitant, and without beast,
|
|
11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of
|
|
the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them
|
|
that shall say, Praise the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts: for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> good;
|
|
for his mercy <I>endureth</I> for ever: <I>and</I> of them that shall bring
|
|
the sacrifice of praise into the house of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>. For I will
|
|
cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith
|
|
the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
12 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts; Again in this place, which is
|
|
desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities
|
|
thereof, shall be a habitation of shepherds causing <I>their</I>
|
|
flocks to lie down.
|
|
13 In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale,
|
|
and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and
|
|
in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall
|
|
the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth <I>them,</I>
|
|
saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
|
|
14 Behold, the days come, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, that I will perform
|
|
that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel
|
|
and to the house of Judah.
|
|
15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of
|
|
righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute
|
|
judgment and righteousness in the land.
|
|
16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall
|
|
dwell safely: and this <I>is the name</I> wherewith she shall be
|
|
called, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our righteousness.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is a further prediction of the happy state of Judah and Jerusalem
|
|
after their glorious return out of captivity, issuing gloriously at
|
|
length in the kingdom of the Messiah.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. It is promised that the people who were long in sorrow shall again
|
|
be filled with joy. Every one concluded now that the country would lie
|
|
for ever desolate, that <I>no beasts</I> would be found in the land of
|
|
Judah, no inhabitant <I>in the streets of Jerusalem,</I> and
|
|
consequently there would be nothing but universal and perpetual
|
|
melancholy
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>);
|
|
|
|
but, though weeping may endure for a time, joy will return. It was
|
|
threatened
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+7:34,16:9"><I>ch.</I> vii. 34 and xvi. 9</A>)
|
|
|
|
that <I>the voice of joy and gladness should cease</I> there; but here
|
|
it is promised that they shall revive again, that <I>the voice of joy
|
|
and gladness shall be heard</I> there, because <I>the captivity shall
|
|
be returned;</I> for then was <I>their mouth filled with laughter,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+126:1,2">Ps. cxxvi. 1, 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. There shall be common joy there, <I>the voice of the bridegroom and
|
|
the voice of the bride;</I> marriages shall again be celebrated, as
|
|
formerly, with songs, which in Babylon they had laid aside, for their
|
|
harps were hung on the willow-trees.
|
|
|
|
2. There shall be religious joy there; temple-songs shall be revived,
|
|
<I>the Lord's songs,</I> which they could not <I>sing in a strange
|
|
land.</I> There shall be heard in their private houses, and in the
|
|
cities of Judah, as well as in the temple, <I>the voice of those that
|
|
shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts.</I> Note, Nothing is more the
|
|
praise and honour of a people than to have God the glory of it, the
|
|
glory both of the power and of the goodness by which it is effected;
|
|
they shall praise him both as <I>the Lord of hosts</I> and as the God
|
|
who <I>is good</I> and whose <I>mercy endures for ever.</I> This,
|
|
though a song of old, yet, being sung upon this fresh occasion, will be
|
|
a new song. We find this literally fulfilled at their return out of
|
|
Babylon,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ezr+3:11">Ezra iii. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
They sang together in praising the Lord, <I>because he is good, for his
|
|
mercy endures for ever.</I> The public worship of God shall be
|
|
diligently and constantly attended upon: <I>They shall bring the
|
|
sacrifice of praise to the house of the Lord.</I> All the sacrifices
|
|
were intended for the praise of God, but this seems to be meant of the
|
|
spiritual sacrifices of humble adorations and joyful thanksgivings,
|
|
<I>the calves of our lips</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+14:2">Hos. xiv. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
which <I>shall please the Lord better than an ox of bullock.</I> The
|
|
Jews say that in the days of the Messiah all sacrifices shall cease but
|
|
<I>the sacrifice of praise,</I> and to those days this promise has a
|
|
further reference.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. It is promised that the country, which had lain long depopulated,
|
|
shall be replenished and stocked again. It was now desolate, <I>without
|
|
man and without beast;</I> but, after their return, the pastures shall
|
|
again be <I>clothed with flocks,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+65:13">Ps. lxv. 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>In all the cities of Judah and Benjamin there shall be a habitation
|
|
of shepherds,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:12,13"><I>v.</I> 12, 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
This intimates,
|
|
|
|
1. The wealth of the country, after their return. It shall not be a
|
|
habitation of beggars, who have nothing, but of shepherds and
|
|
husbandmen, men of substance, with good stocks upon the ground they
|
|
have returned to.
|
|
|
|
2. The peace of the country. It shall not be a habitation of soldiers,
|
|
not shall there be tents and barracks set up to lodge them, but there
|
|
shall be shepherds; tents; for they shall hear no more the alarms of
|
|
war, nor shall there be any to make even the shepherds afraid. See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+144:13,14">Ps. cxliv. 13, 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. The industry of the country, and their return to their original
|
|
plainness and simplicity, from which, in the corrupt ages, they had
|
|
sadly degenerated. The seed of Jacob, in their beginning, gloried in
|
|
this, that they were shepherds
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+47:3">Gen. xlvii. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
and so they shall now be again, giving themselves wholly to that
|
|
innocent employment, <I>causing their flocks to lie down</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>)
|
|
|
|
and to <I>pass under the hands of him that telleth them</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>);
|
|
|
|
for, though their flocks are numerous, they are not numberless, nor
|
|
shall they omit to number them, that they may know if any be missing
|
|
and may seek after it. Note, It is the prudence of those who have ever
|
|
so much of the world to keep an account of what they have. Some think
|
|
that they <I>pass under the hand of him that telleth them</I> that they
|
|
may be tithed,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+27:32">Lev. xxvii. 32</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Then</I> we may take the comfort of what we have when God has had
|
|
his dues out of it. Now because it seemed incredible that a people,
|
|
reduced as now they were, should ever recover such a degree of peace
|
|
and plenty as this, here is subjoined a general ratification of these
|
|
promises
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>I will perform that good thing which I have promised.</I> Though the
|
|
promise may sometimes work slowly towards an accomplishment, it works
|
|
surely. <I>The days will come,</I> though they are long in coming.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. To crown all these blessings which God has in store for them, here
|
|
is a promise of the Messiah, and of that everlasting righteousness
|
|
which he should bring in
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:15,16"><I>v.</I> 15, 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
and probably this is <I>that good thing,</I> that great good thing,
|
|
which in the latter days, days that were yet to come, God would
|
|
perform, as he had promised to Judah and Israel, and to which their
|
|
return out of captivity and their settlement again in their own land
|
|
was preparatory. <I>From the captivity to Christ</I> is one of the
|
|
famous periods,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+1:17">Matt. i. 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
This promise of the Messiah we had before
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+23:5"><I>ch.</I> xxiii. 5, 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
and there it came in as a confirmation of the promise of the shepherds
|
|
whom God would set over them, which would make one think that the
|
|
promise here concerning the shepherds and their flocks, which
|
|
introduces it, is to be understood figuratively. Christ is here
|
|
prophesied of,
|
|
|
|
1. As a rightful King. He is a <I>branch of righteousness,</I> not a
|
|
usurper, for he <I>grows up unto David,</I> descends from his loins,
|
|
with whom the covenant of royalty was made, and is that seed with whom
|
|
that covenant should be established, so that his title is
|
|
unexceptionable.
|
|
|
|
2. As a righteous king, righteous in enacting laws, waging wars, and
|
|
giving judgment, righteous in vindicating those that suffer wrong and
|
|
punishing those that do wrong: <I>He shall execute judgment and
|
|
righteousness in the land.</I> This may point at Zerubbabel, in the
|
|
type, who governed with equity, not as Jehoiakim had done
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+22:17"><I>ch.</I> xxii. 17</A>);
|
|
|
|
but it has a further reference to him to whom all judgment is committed
|
|
and who shall <I>judge the world in righteousness.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. As a king that shall protect his subjects from all injury. By him
|
|
<I>Judah shall be saved</I> from wrath and the curse, and, being so
|
|
saved, <I>Jerusalem shall dwell safely,</I> quiet from the fear of
|
|
evil, and enjoying a holy security and serenity of mind, in a
|
|
dependence upon the conduct of this prince of peace, this prince of
|
|
their peace.
|
|
|
|
4. As a king that shall be praised by his subjects: "<I>This is the
|
|
name whereby they shall call him</I>" (so the Chaldee reads it, the
|
|
Syriac, and vulgar Latin); "this name of his they shall celebrate and
|
|
triumph in, and by this name they shall call upon him." It may be read,
|
|
more agreeably to the original, <I>This is he who shall call her, The
|
|
Lord our righteousness.</I> As Moses's altar is called
|
|
<I>Jehovah-nissi</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+17:15">Exod. xvii. 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
and Jerusalem <I>Jehovah-shammah</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+48:35">Ezek. xlviii. 35</A>),
|
|
|
|
intimating that they glory in Jehovah as present with them and <I>their
|
|
banner,</I> so here the city is called <I>The Lord our
|
|
righteousness,</I> because they glory in Jehovah as their
|
|
righteousness. That which was before said to be the name of Christ
|
|
(says Mr. Gataker) is here made the name of Jerusalem, the city of the
|
|
Messiah, the church of Christ. He it is that imparts righteousness to
|
|
her, for he is <I>made of God to us righteousness,</I> and she, by
|
|
bearing that name, professes to have her whole righteousness, not from
|
|
herself, but from him. <I>In the Lord have I righteousness and
|
|
strength,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:24">Isa. xlv. 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
And <I>we are made the righteousness of God in him.</I> The inhabitants
|
|
of Jerusalem shall have this name of the Messiah so much in their
|
|
mouths that they shall themselves be called by it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Jer33_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer33_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer33_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer33_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer33_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer33_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer33_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer33_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer33_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jer33_26"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Security of God's Covenants; The Covenant of Priesthood.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 589.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>17 For thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; David shall never want a man to sit
|
|
upon the throne of the house of Israel;
|
|
18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me
|
|
to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do
|
|
sacrifice continually.
|
|
19 And the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came unto Jeremiah, saying,
|
|
20 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; If ye can break my covenant of the day,
|
|
and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day
|
|
and night in their season;
|
|
21 <I>Then</I> may also my covenant be broken with David my servant,
|
|
that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with
|
|
the Levites the priests, my ministers.
|
|
22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand
|
|
of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my
|
|
servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
|
|
23 Moreover the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> came to Jeremiah, saying,
|
|
24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying,
|
|
The two families which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath chosen, he hath even cast
|
|
them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be
|
|
no more a nation before them.
|
|
25 Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>; If my covenant <I>be</I> not with day and
|
|
night, <I>and if</I> I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and
|
|
earth;
|
|
26 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my
|
|
servant, <I>so</I> that I will not take <I>any</I> of his seed <I>to be</I>
|
|
rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will
|
|
cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Three of God's covenants, that of royalty with David and his seed, that
|
|
of the priesthood with Aaron and his seed, and that of Peculiarity with
|
|
Abraham and his seed, seemed to be all broken and lost while the
|
|
captivity lasted; but it is here promised that, notwithstanding that
|
|
interruption and discontinuance for a time, they shall all three take
|
|
place again, and the true intents and meaning of them all shall be
|
|
abundantly answered in the New Testament blessings, typified by those
|
|
conferred on the Jews after their return out of captivity.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The covenant of royalty shall be secured and the promises of it
|
|
shall have their full accomplishment in the kingdom of Christ, the Son
|
|
of David,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
The throne of Israel was overturned in the captivity; the crown had
|
|
fallen from their head; there was not <I>a man to sit on the throne of
|
|
Israel;</I> Jeconiah was written childless. After their return the
|
|
house of David made a figure again; but it in the Messiah that this
|
|
promise is performed that <I>David shall never want a man to sit on the
|
|
throne of Israel,</I> and that David shall have <I>always a son to
|
|
reign upon his throne.</I> For as long as the man Christ Jesus sits on
|
|
the right hand of the throne of God, rules the world, and rules it for
|
|
the good of the church, to which he is a quickening head, and glorified
|
|
head over all things, as long as he is <I>King upon the holy hill of
|
|
Zion,</I> David does not want a successor, nor is the covenant with him
|
|
broken. When the first-begotten was brought into the world it was
|
|
declared concerning him, <I>The Lord God shall give him the throne of
|
|
his father David and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for
|
|
ever,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+1:32,33">Luke i. 32, 33</A>.
|
|
|
|
For the confirmation of this it is promised,
|
|
|
|
1. That the covenant with David shall be as firm as the ordinances of
|
|
heaven, to the stability of which that of God's promise is compared,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+31:35"><I>ch.</I> xxxi. 35, 36</A>.
|
|
|
|
There is a covenant of nature, by which the common course of providence
|
|
is settled and on which it is founded, here called <I>a covenant of the
|
|
day and the night</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:20,25"><I>v.</I> 20, 25</A>),
|
|
|
|
because this is one of the articles of it, That there shall be <I>day
|
|
and night in their season,</I> according to the distinction put between
|
|
them in the creation, when God divided between the light and the
|
|
darkness, and established their mutual succession, and a government to
|
|
each, that <I>the sun</I> should <I>rule by day</I> and <I>the moon and
|
|
stars by night</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+1:4,5,16">Gen. i. 4, 5, 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
which establishment was renewed after the flood
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+8:22">Gen. viii. 22</A>),
|
|
|
|
and has continued ever since,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+19:2">Ps. xix. 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
The <I>morning and</I> the <I>evening</I> have both of them their
|
|
regular <I>outgoings</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+65:8">Ps. lxv. 8</A>);
|
|
|
|
the <I>day-spring knows its place, knows its time,</I> and keeps both,
|
|
so do <I>the shadows of the evening;</I> and, while the world stands,
|
|
this course shall not be altered, this covenant shall not be broken.
|
|
<I>The ordinances of heaven and earth</I> (of this communication
|
|
between heaven and earth, the dominion of these ordinances of heaven
|
|
upon the earth), <I>which</I> God has <I>appointed</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:25,Job+38:33"><I>v.</I> 25;
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compare Job xxxviii. 33</A>),
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shall never be disappointed. Thus firm shall the covenant of redemption
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be with the Redeemer--God's servant, but David our King,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
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This intimates that Christ shall have a church on earth to the world's
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end; he shall see a seed in which he shall prolong his days till time
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and day shall be no more. Christ's <I>kingdom is an everlasting
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kingdom;</I> and when <I>the end cometh,</I> and not till then, it
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<I>shall be delivered up to God,</I> even <I>the Father.</I> But it
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|
intimates that the condition of it in this world shall be intermixed
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|
and counterchanged, prosperity and adversity succeeding each other, as
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|
light and darkness, day and night. But this is plainly taught us, that,
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as sure as we may be that, though the sun will set tonight, it will
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|
rise again tomorrow morning, whether we live to see it or no, so sure
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|
we may be that, though the kingdom of the Redeemer in the world may for
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a time be clouded and eclipsed by corruptions and persecutions, yet it
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will shine forth again, and recover its lustre, in the time appointed.
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2. That <I>the seed of David</I> shall be as numerous <I>as the host of
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heaven,</I> that is, the spiritual seed of the Messiah, that shall be
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|
born to him by the efficacy of his gospel and his Spirit working with
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|
it. <I>From the womb of the morning he shall have the dew of their
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|
youth,</I> to be his <I>willing people,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+110:3">Ps. cx. 3</A>.
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Christ's seed are not, as David's were, his successors, but his
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|
subjects; yet the day is coming when they also shall reign with him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>):
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<I>As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, so will I multiply the
|
|
seed of David,</I> so that there shall be no danger of the kingdom's
|
|
being extinct, or extirpated, for want of heirs. The children are
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|
numerous; <I>and, if children, then heirs.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. The covenant of priesthood shall be secured, and the promises of
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|
that also shall have their full accomplishment. This seemed likewise to
|
|
be forgotten during the captivity, when there was no altar, no temple
|
|
service, for the priests to attend upon; but this also shall revive. It
|
|
did so; immediately upon their coming back to Jerusalem there were
|
|
priests and Levites ready <I>to offer burnt-offerings</I> and to <I>do
|
|
sacrifice continually</I>
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|
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|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ezr+3:2,3">Ezra iii. 2, 3</A>),
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|
|
|
as is here promised,
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
But that priesthood soon grew corrupt; <I>the covenant of Levi</I> was
|
|
<I>profaned</I> (as appears
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+2:8">Mal. ii. 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
and in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans it came to a final
|
|
period. We must therefore look elsewhere for the performance of this
|
|
word, that the covenant with the Levites, the priests, God's ministers,
|
|
shall be as firm, and last as long, as the covenant <I>with the day and
|
|
the night.</I> And we find it abundantly performed,
|
|
|
|
1. In the priesthood of Christ, which supersedes that of Aaron, and is
|
|
the substance of that shadow. While that great <I>high priest of our
|
|
profession</I> is always appearing <I>in the presence of God for
|
|
us,</I> presenting the virtue of his blood by which he made atonement
|
|
in the incense of his intercession, it may truly be said that <I>the
|
|
Levites do not want a man before God to offer continually,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+7:3,17">Heb. vii. 3, 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
He is a priest for ever. The covenant of the priesthood is called <I>a
|
|
covenant of peace</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+25:12">Num. xxv. 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
of <I>life and peace,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+2:5">Mal. ii. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
Now we are sure that this covenant is not broken, nor in the least
|
|
weakened, while Jesus Christ is himself our life and our peace. This
|
|
covenant of priesthood is here again and again joined with that of
|
|
royalty, for Christ is a <I>priest upon his throne,</I> as Melchizedek.
|
|
|
|
2. In a settled gospel ministry. While there are faithful ministers to
|
|
preside in religious assemblies, and to offer up the spiritual
|
|
sacrifices of prayer and praise, <I>the priests, the Levites,</I> do
|
|
not want successors, and such as <I>have obtained a more excellent
|
|
ministry.</I> The apostle makes those that preach the gospel to come in
|
|
the room of those that served at the altar,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+9:13,14">1 Cor. ix. 13, 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
3. In all true believers, who are <I>a holy priesthood, a royal
|
|
priesthood</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+2:5,9">1 Peter ii. 5, 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
who are <I>made to our God kings and priests</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:6">Rev. i. 6</A>);
|
|
|
|
they <I>offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God,</I> and
|
|
themselves, in the first place, <I>living sacrifices.</I> Of these
|
|
Levites this promise must be understood
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
|
|
|
|
that they shall be as numerous <I>as the sand of the sea,</I> the same
|
|
that is promised concerning Israel in general
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+22:17">Gen. xxii. 17</A>);
|
|
|
|
for all God's spiritual Israel are spiritual priests,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+5:9,10,7:9,15">Rev. v. 9, 10; vii. 9, 15</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The covenant of peculiarity likewise shall be secured and the
|
|
promises of that covenant shall have their full accomplishment in the
|
|
gospel Israel. Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. How this covenant was looked upon as broken during the captivity,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+33:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
God asks the prophet, "Hast though not heard, and dost <I>thou not
|
|
consider, what this people have spoken?</I>" either the enemies of
|
|
Israel, who triumphed in the extirpation of a people that had made such
|
|
a noise in the world, or the unbelieving Israelites themselves,
|
|
"<I>this people</I> among whom thou dwellest;" they have broken
|
|
covenant with God, and then quarrel with him as if he had not dealt
|
|
faithfully with them. <I>The two families which the Lord hath
|
|
chosen,</I> Israel and Judah, whereas they were but one when he chose
|
|
them, <I>he hath even cast them off. "Thus have they despised my
|
|
people,</I> that is, despised the privilege of being my people as if it
|
|
were a privilege of no value at all." The neighbouring nations despised
|
|
them as now <I>no more a nation,</I> but the ruins of a nation, and
|
|
looked upon all their honour as laid in the dust; but,
|
|
|
|
2. See how firm the covenant stands notwithstanding, as firm as that
|
|
with day and night; sooner will God suffer day and night to cease then
|
|
he will <I>cast away the seed of Jacob.</I> This cannot refer to the
|
|
seed of Jacob according to the flesh, for they are cast away, but to
|
|
the Christian church, in which all these promises were to be lodged, as
|
|
appears by the apostle's discourse,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+11:1">Rom. xi. 1</A>,
|
|
|
|
&c. Christ is that seed of David that is to be perpetual dictator to
|
|
the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and, as this people shall never
|
|
want such a king, so this king shall never want such a people.
|
|
Christianity shall continue in the dominion of Christ, and the
|
|
subjection of Christians to him, till day and night come to an end.
|
|
And, as a pledge of this, that promise is again repeated, <I>I will
|
|
cause their captivity to return;</I> and, having brought them back,
|
|
<I>I will have mercy on them.</I> To whom this promise refers appears
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ga+6:16">Gal. vi. 16</A>,
|
|
|
|
where all that <I>walk according to the gospel rule</I> are made to be
|
|
the <I>Israel of God,</I> on whom <I>peace and mercy</I> shall be.</P>
|
|
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