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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. XLII.</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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Johanan and the captains being strongly bent upon going into Egypt,
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either their affections or politics advising them to take that course,
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they had a great desire that God should direct them to do so too like
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Balaam, who, when he was determined to go and curse Israel, asked God
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leave. Here is,
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I. The fair bargain that was made between Jeremiah and them about
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consulting God in this matter,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:1-6">ver. 1-6</A>.
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II. The message at large which God sent them, in answer to their
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enquiry, in which,
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1. They are commanded and encouraged to continue in the land of Judah,
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and assured that if they did so it should be well with them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:7-12">ver. 7-12</A>.
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2. They are forbidden to go to Egypt, and are plainly told that if
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they did it would be their ruin,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:13-18">ver. 13-18</A>.
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3. They are charged with dissimulation in their asking what God's will
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was in this matter and disobedience when they were told what it was;
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and sentence is accordingly passed upon them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:19-22">ver. 19-22</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jer42_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_6"> </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>Jeremiah Agrees to Consult God.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</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 Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of
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Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from
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the least even unto the greatest, came near,
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2 And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our
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supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God, <I>even</I> for all this remnant; (for we are left <I>but</I>
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a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us:)
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3 That the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God may shew us the way wherein we may
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walk, and the thing that we may do.
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4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard <I>you;</I>
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behold, I will pray unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God according to your
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words; and it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> whatsoever thing the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall answer you, I will declare <I>it</I> unto you; I will keep
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nothing back from you.
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5 Then they said to Jeremiah, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> be a true and faithful
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witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for
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the which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God shall send thee to us.
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6 Whether <I>it be</I> good, or whether <I>it be</I> evil, we will obey
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the voice of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God, to whom we send thee; that it may
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be well with us, when we obey the voice of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have reason to wonder how Jeremiah the prophet escaped the sword of
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Ishmael; it seems he did escape, and it was not the first time that the
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Lord hid him. It is strange also that in these violent turns he was not
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consulted before now, and his advice asked and taken. But it should
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seem as if they knew not that a prophet was among them. Though this
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people were <I>as brands plucked out of the fire,</I> yet have they not
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<I>returned to the Lord.</I> This people has a <I>revolting and a
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rebellious heart;</I> and contempt of God and his providence, God and
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his prophets, is still <I>the sin that most easily besets</I> them. But
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now at length, to serve a turn, Jeremiah is sought out, and <I>all the
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captains, Johanan</I> himself not excepted, with <I>all the people from
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the least to the greatest,</I> make him a visit; they <I>came near</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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which intimates that hitherto they had kept at a distance from the
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prophet and had been shy of him. Now here,</P>
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<P>
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I. They desire him by prayer to ask direction from God what they should
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do in the present critical juncture,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
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They express themselves wonderfully well.
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1. With great respect to the prophet. Though he was poor and low, and
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under their command, yet they apply to him with humility and
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submissiveness, as petitioners for his assistance, which yet they
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intimate their own unworthiness of: <I>Let, we beseech thee, our
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supplication be accepted before thee.</I> They compliment him thus in
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hopes to persuade him to say as they would have him say.
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2. With a great opinion of his interest in heaven: "<I>Pray for us,</I>
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who know not how to pray for ourselves. <I>Pray to the Lord thy
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God,</I> for we are unworthy to call him ours, nor have we reason to
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expect any favour from him."
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3. With a great sense of their need of divine direction. They speak of
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themselves as objects of compassion: "<I>We are but a remnant, but a
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few of many;</I> how easily will such a remnant be swallowed up, and
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yet it is a pity that it should. <I>Thy eyes</I> see what distress we
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are in, what a plunge we are at; if thou canst do any thing, help us."
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4. With desire of divine direction: "Let <I>the Lord thy God</I> take
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this ruin into his thoughts and under his hand, and <I>show us the way
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wherein we may walk</I> and may expect to have his presence with us,
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<I>and the thing that we may do,</I> the course we may take for our own
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safety." Note, In every difficult doubtful case our eye must be up to
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God for direction. They then might expect to be directed by a <I>spirit
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of prophecy,</I> which has now ceased; but we may still in faith pray
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to be guided by a <I>spirit of wisdom</I> in our hearts and the hints
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of Providence.</P>
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<P>
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II. Jeremiah faithfully promises them to pray for direction for them,
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and, whatever message God should send to them by him, he would deliver
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it to them just as he received it without adding, altering, or
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diminishing,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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Ministers may hence learn,
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1. Conscientiously to pray for those who desire their prayers: <I>I
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will pray for you according to your words.</I> Though they had slighted
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him, yet, like Samuel when he was slighted, he will not <I>sin against
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the Lord in ceasing to pray for</I> them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+12:23">1 Sam. xii. 23</A>.
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2. Conscientiously to advise those who desire their advice as near as
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they can to the mind of God, not <I>keeping back any thing that is
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profitable for them,</I> whether it be pleasing or no, but to
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<I>declare to them the whole counsel of God,</I> that they may approve
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themselves true to their trust.</P>
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<P>
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III. They fairly promise that they will be governed by the will of God,
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as soon as they know what it is
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>),
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and they had the impudence to appeal to God concerning their sincerity
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herein, though at the same time they dissembled: "<I>The Lord be a true
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and faithful witness between us;</I> do thou in the fear of God tell us
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truly what his mind is and then we will in the fear of God comply with
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it, and for this the Lord the Judge be Judge between us." Note, Those
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that expect to have the benefit of good ministers' prayers must
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conscientiously hearken to their preaching and be governed by it, as
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far as it agrees with the mind of God. Nothing could be better than
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this was: <I>Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey
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the voice of the Lord our God, that it may be well with us.</I>
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1. They now call God <I>their</I> God, for Jeremiah had encouraged them
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to call him so
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>):
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<I>I will pray to the Lord your God.</I> He is ours, and therefore
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<I>we will obey his voice.</I> Our relation to God strongly obliges us
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to obedience.
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2. They promise to <I>obey his voice</I> because they sent the prophet
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to him to consult him. Note, We do not truly desire to know the mind of
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God if we do not fully resolve to comply with it when we do know it.
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3. It is an implicit universal obedience that they here promise. They
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will do what God appoints them to do, <I>whether it be good or whether
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it be evil:</I> "Though it may seem evil to us, yet we will believe
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that if God command it it is certainly good, and we must not dispute
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it, but do it. Whatever God commands, whether it be easy or difficult,
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agreeable to our inclinations or contrary to them, whether it be cheap
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or costly, fashionable or unfashionable, whether we get or lose by it
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in our worldly interests, if it be our duty, we will do it."
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4. It is upon a very good consideration that they promise this, a
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reasonable and powerful one, <I>that it may be well with us,</I> which
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intimates a conviction that they could not expect it should be well
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with them upon any other terms.</P>
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<A NAME="Jer42_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jer42_22"> </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>Jeremiah's Address to the People.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 588.</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>7 And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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came unto Jeremiah.
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8 Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the
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captains of the forces which <I>were</I> with him, and all the people
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from the least even to the greatest,
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9 And said unto them, Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, the God of Israel,
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unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him;
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10 If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you,
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and not pull <I>you</I> down, and I will plant you, and not pluck
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<I>you</I> up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you.
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11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid;
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be not afraid of him, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: for I <I>am</I> with you to save
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you, and to deliver you from his hand.
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12 And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy
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upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.
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13 But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey
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the voice of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God,
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14 Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we
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shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have
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hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:
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15 And now therefore hear the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, ye remnant of
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Judah; Thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye
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wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn
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there;
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16 Then it shall come to pass, <I>that</I> the sword, which ye
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feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the
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famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you
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there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.
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17 So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go
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into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the
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famine, and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or
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escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.
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18 For thus saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine
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anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of
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Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye
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shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an
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astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this
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place no more.
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19 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go
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ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this
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day.
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20 For ye dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God, saying, Pray for us unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God; and
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according unto all that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God shall say, so declare
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unto us, and we will do <I>it.</I>
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21 And <I>now</I> I have this day declared <I>it</I> to you; but ye have
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not obeyed the voice of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God, nor any <I>thing</I> for
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the which he hath sent me unto you.
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22 Now therefore know certainly that ye shall die by the sword,
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by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye
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desire to go <I>and</I> to sojourn.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here the answer which Jeremiah was sent to deliver to those who
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employed him to ask counsel of God.</P>
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<P>
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I. It did not come immediately, not till <I>ten days after,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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They were thus long held in suspense, perhaps, to punish them for their
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hypocrisy or to show that Jeremiah did not speak of himself, nor what
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he would, for he could not speak when he would, but must wait for
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instructions. However, it teaches us to continue waiting upon God for
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direction in our way. <I>The vision is for an appointed time, and at
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the end it shall speak.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. When it did come he delivered it publicly, both to the
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<I>captains</I> and to all the <I>people,</I> from the meanest to those
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in the highest station; he delivered it fully and faithfully as he
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received it, as he had promised that he would keep nothing back from
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them. If Jeremiah had been to direct them by his own prudence, perhaps
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he could not have told what to advise them to, the case was so
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difficult; but what he has to advise is what <I>the Lord the God of
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Israel saith,</I> to whom they had sent him, and therefore they were
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bound in honour and duty to observe it. And this he tells them,</P>
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<P>
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1. That it is the will of God that they should stay where they are, and
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his promise that, if they do so, it shall undoubtedly be <I>well with
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them</I> he would have them still to <I>abide in this land,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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Their brethren were forced out of it into captivity, and this was their
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affliction; let those therefore count it a mercy that they may stay in
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it and a duty to stay in it. Let those whose lot is in Canaan never
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quit it while they can keep it. It would have been enough to oblige
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them if God had only said, "I charge you upon your allegiance to
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<I>abide still in the land;</I>" but he rather persuades them to it as
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a friend than commands it as a prince.
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(1.) He expresses a very tender concern for them in their present
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calamitous condition: <I>It repenteth me of the evil that I have done
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unto you.</I> Though they had shown small sign of their repenting of
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their sins, yet God, as one <I>grieved for the misery of Israel</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+10:16">Judg. x. 16</A>),
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begins to repent of the judgments he had brought upon them for their
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sins. Not that he changed his mind, but he was very ready to change his
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way and to return in mercy to them. God's time to repent himself
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concerning his servants is when he sees that, as here, their strength
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is gone, and <I>there is none shut up or left,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:36">Deut. xxxii. 36</A>.
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(2.) He answers the argument they had against abiding in this land.
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<I>They feared the king of Babylon</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+41:18"><I>ch.</I> xli. 18</A>),
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lest he should come and avenge the death of Gedaliah upon them, though
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they were no way accessory to it, nay, had witnessed against it. The
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surmise was foreign and unreasonable; but, if there had been any ground
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for it, enough is here said to remove it
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
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"<I>Be not afraid of the king of Babylon,</I> though he is a man of
|
|
great might and little mercy, and a very arbitrary prince, whose will
|
|
is a law, and therefore you are afraid he will upon this pretence,
|
|
though without colour of reason, take advantage against you; <I>be not
|
|
afraid of him,</I> for that fear will bring a snare: fear not him, for
|
|
<I>I am with you;</I> and, if God be for you to save you, who can be
|
|
against you to hurt you?" Thus has God provided to obviate and silence
|
|
even the causeless fears of his people, which discourage them in the
|
|
way of their duty; there is enough in the promises to encourage them.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He assures them that if they will still abide in this land they
|
|
shall not only be safe from the king of Babylon, but be made happy by
|
|
the King of kings: "<I>I will build you and plant you;</I> you shall
|
|
take root again, and be the new foundation of another state, a
|
|
phoenix-kingdom, rising out of the ashes of the last." It is added
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>I will show mercies unto you.</I> Note, In all our comforts we may
|
|
read God's mercies. God will show them mercy in this, that not only the
|
|
king of Babylon shall not destroy them, but he shall <I>have mercy upon
|
|
them</I> and help to settle them. Note, Whatever kindness men do us we
|
|
must attribute it to God's kindness. He makes those whom he pities to
|
|
be pitied even by <I>those who carried them captives,</I>
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|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+16:46">Ps. xvi. 46</A>.
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|
|
|
"The king of Babylon, having now the disposal of the country, shall
|
|
<I>cause you to return it to your own land,</I> shall settle you again
|
|
in your own habitations and put you in possession of the lands that
|
|
formerly belonged to you." Note, God has made that our duty which is
|
|
really our privilege, and our obedience will be its own recompence.
|
|
"<I>Abide in this land,</I> and it shall be your own land again and you
|
|
shall continue in it. Do not quit it now that you stand so fair for the
|
|
enjoyment of it again. Be no so unwise as to <I>forsake your own
|
|
mercies</I> for <I>lying vanities.</I>"</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. That as they tender the favour of God and their own happiness they
|
|
must by no means think of going into Egypt, not thither of all places,
|
|
not to that land out of which God had delivered their fathers and which
|
|
he had so often warned them not to make alliance with nor to put
|
|
confidence in. Observe here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The sin they are supposed to be guilty of (and to him that knew
|
|
their hearts it was more than a supposition): "You begin to say, <I>We
|
|
will not dwell in this land</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>);
|
|
|
|
we will never think that we can be safe in it, no, not though God
|
|
himself undertake our protection. We will not continue in it, no, not
|
|
<I>in obedience to the voice of the Lord our God.</I> He may say what
|
|
he please, but we will do what we please. We will <I>go into the land
|
|
of Egypt,</I> and <I>there will we dwell,</I> whether God give us leave
|
|
and go along with us or no,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is supposed that their hearts were upon it: "<I>If you wholly set
|
|
your faces to enter into Egypt,</I> and are obstinately resolved that
|
|
you will go and <I>sojourn there,</I> though God oppose you in it both
|
|
by his word and by his providence, then take what follows." Now the
|
|
reason they go upon in this resolution is that "<I>in Egypt we shall
|
|
see no war, nor have hunger of bread,; as we have had for a long time
|
|
in this land,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, It is folly to quit our place, especially to quit the holy land,
|
|
because we meet with trouble in it; but greater folly to think by
|
|
changing our place to escape the judgments of God, and that evil which
|
|
pursues sinners in every way of disobedience, and which there is no
|
|
escaping but by returning to our allegiance.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The sentence passed upon them for this sin, if they will persist
|
|
in it. It is pronounced in God's name
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Hear the word of the Lord, you remnant of Judah,</I> who think that
|
|
because you are a remnant you must be spared of course
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>)
|
|
|
|
and indulged in your own humour."
|
|
|
|
[1.] Did the sword and famine frighten them? Those very judgments shall
|
|
pursue them into Egypt, shall overtake them, and overcome them there
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:16,17"><I>v.</I> 16, 17</A>):
|
|
|
|
"You think, because war and famine have long been raging in this land,
|
|
that they are entailed upon it; whereas, if you trust in God, he can
|
|
make even this land a land of peace to you; you think they are confined
|
|
to it, and, if you can get clear of this land, you shall get out of the
|
|
reach of them, but God will send them after you wherever you go." Note,
|
|
the evils we think to escape by sin we certainly and inevitably run
|
|
ourselves upon. The men that go to Egypt in contradiction to God's
|
|
will, to escape <I>the sword and famine,</I> shall <I>die in Egypt by
|
|
sword and famine.</I> We may apply it to the common calamities of human
|
|
life; those that are impatient of them, and think to avoid them by
|
|
changing their place, will find that they are deceived and that they do
|
|
not at all better themselves. The grievances common to men will meet
|
|
them wherever they go. All our removes in this world are but from one
|
|
wilderness to another; still we are where we were.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Did the desolations of Jerusalem frighten them? Were they willing
|
|
to get as far as they could from them? They shall meet with the second
|
|
part of them too in Egypt
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>As my anger and fury have been poured out</I> here upon Jerusalem,
|
|
so they shall be <I>poured out upon you in Egypt.</I> Note, Those that
|
|
have by sin made God their enemy will find him a consuming fire
|
|
wherever they go. And then you shall be <I>an execration and an
|
|
astonishment.</I> The Hebrews were of old an abomination to the
|
|
Egyptians
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+43:32">Gen. xliii. 32</A>),
|
|
|
|
and now they shall be made more so than ever. When God's professing
|
|
people mingle with infidels, and make their court to them, they lose
|
|
their dignity and make themselves a reproach.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. That God knew their hypocrisy in their enquiries of him, and that
|
|
when they asked what he would have them to do they were resolved to
|
|
take their own way; and therefore the sentence which was before
|
|
pronounced conditionally is made absolute. Having set before them good
|
|
and evil, the blessing and the curse, in the close he makes application
|
|
of what he had said. And here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) He solemnly protests that he had faithfully delivered his message,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
The conclusion of the whole matter is, "<I>Go not down into Egypt;</I>
|
|
you disobey the command of God if you do, and what I have said to you
|
|
will be a witness against you; for <I>know certainly</I> that,
|
|
<I>whether you will hear or whether you will forbear,</I> I have
|
|
plainly <I>admonished you;</I> you cannot now plead ignorance of the
|
|
mind of God."
|
|
|
|
(2.) He charges them with base dissimulation in the application they
|
|
made to him for divine direction
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>You dissembled in your hearts;</I> you professed one thing and
|
|
intended another, promising what you never meant to perform." <I>You
|
|
have used deceit against your soul</I> (so the margin reads it); for
|
|
those that think to put a cheat upon God will prove in the end to have
|
|
put a damning cheat upon themselves.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He is already aware that they are determined to go contrary to the
|
|
command of God; probably they discovered it in their countenance and
|
|
secret mutterings already, before he had finished his discourse.
|
|
However, he spoke from him who knew their hearts: "<I>You have not
|
|
obeyed the voice of the Lord your God;</I> you have not a disposition
|
|
to obey it." Thus Moses, in the close of his farewell sermon, had told
|
|
them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+31:27,29">Deut. xxxi. 27, 29</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>I know thy rebellion and thy stiff neck,</I> and <I>that you will
|
|
corrupt yourselves.</I> Admire the patience of God, that he is pleased
|
|
to speak to those who, he knows, will not regard him, and deal with
|
|
those who, he knows, will <I>deal very treacherously,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+48:8">Isa. xlviii. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
(4.) He therefore reads them their doom, ratifying what he had said
|
|
before: <I>Know certainly that you shall die by the sword,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+42:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
God's threatenings may be vilified, but cannot be nullified, by the
|
|
unbelief of man. <I>Famine and pestilence</I> shall pursue these
|
|
sinners; for there is no place privileged from divine arrests, nor can
|
|
any malefactors go out of God's jurisdiction. <I>You shall die in the
|
|
place whither you desire to go.</I> Note, We know not what is good for
|
|
ourselves; and that often proves afflictive, and sometimes fatal, which
|
|
we are most fond of and have our hearts most set upon.</P>
|
|
|
|
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