mh_parser/vol_split/24 - Jeremiah/Chapter 26.xml

<div2 id="Jer.xxvii" n="xxvii" next="Jer.xxviii" prev="Jer.xxvi" progress="38.43%" title="Chapter XXVI">
<h2 id="Jer.xxvii-p0.1">J E R E M I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Jer.xxvii-p0.2">CHAP. XXVI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Jer.xxvii-p1" shownumber="no">As in the history of the Acts of the Apostles that
of their preaching and that of their suffering are interwoven, so
it is in the account we have of the prophet Jeremiah; witness this
chapter, where we are told, I. How faithfully he preached,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.1-Jer.26.6" parsed="|Jer|26|1|26|6" passage="Jer 26:1-6">ver. 1-6</scripRef>. II. How
spitefully he was persecuted for so doing by the priests and the
prophets, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.7-Jer.26.11" parsed="|Jer|26|7|26|11" passage="Jer 26:7-11">ver. 7-11</scripRef>.
III. How bravely he stood to his doctrine, in the face of his
persecutors, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.12-Jer.26.15" parsed="|Jer|26|12|26|15" passage="Jer 26:12-15">ver.
12-15</scripRef>. IV. How wonderfully he was protected and
delivered by the prudence of the princes and elders, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.16-Jer.26.19" parsed="|Jer|26|16|26|19" passage="Jer 26:16-19">ver. 16-19</scripRef>. Though Urijah,
another prophet, was about the same time put to death by Jehoiakim
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.20-Jer.26.23" parsed="|Jer|26|20|26|23" passage="Jer 26:20-23">ver. 20-23</scripRef>), yet
Jeremiah met with those that sheltered him, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.24" parsed="|Jer|26|24|0|0" passage="Jer 26:24">ver. 24</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxvii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26" parsed="|Jer|26|0|0|0" passage="Jer 26" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Jer.xxvii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.1-Jer.26.6" parsed="|Jer|26|1|26|6" passage="Jer 26:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxvii-p1.9">
<h4 id="Jer.xxvii-p1.10">Jeremiah's Solemn Address. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p1.11">b. c.</span> 608.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxvii-p2" shownumber="no">1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the
son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p2.1">Lord</span>, saying,   2 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p2.2">Lord</span>; Stand in the court of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p2.3">Lord</span>'s house, and speak unto all the
cities of Judah, which come to worship in the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p2.4">Lord</span>'s house, all the words that I command thee
to speak unto them; diminish not a word:   3 If so be they
will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may
repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of
the evil of their doings.   4 And thou shalt say unto them,
Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p2.5">Lord</span>; If ye will not
hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,
  5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom
I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending <i>them,</i> but
ye have not hearkened;   6 Then will I make this house like
Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the
earth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvii-p3" shownumber="no">We have here the sermon that Jeremiah
preached, which gave such offence that he was in danger of losing
his life for it. It is here left upon record, as it were, by way of
appeal to the judgment of impartial men in all ages, whether
Jeremiah was worthy to die for delivering such a message as this
from God, and whether his persecutors were not very wicked and
unreasonable men.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvii-p4" shownumber="no">I. God directed him where to preach this
sermon, and when, and to what auditory, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.2" parsed="|Jer|26|2|0|0" passage="Jer 26:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. Let not any censure Jeremiah as
indiscreet in the choice of place and time, nor say that he might
have delivered his message more privately, in a corner, among his
friends that he could confide in, and that he deserved to smart for
not acting more cautiously; for God gave him orders to preach <i>in
the court of the Lord's house,</i> which was within the peculiar
jurisdiction of his sworn enemies the priests, and who would
therefore take themselves to be in a particular manner affronted.
He must preach this, as it should seem, at the time of one of the
most solemn festivals, when persons had come from all the <i>cities
of Judah</i> to <i>worship in the Lord's house.</i> These
worshippers, we may suppose, had a great veneration for their
priests, would credit the character they gave of men, and be
exasperated against those whom they defamed, and would,
consequently, side with them and strengthen their hands against
Jeremiah. But none of these things must move him or daunt him; in
the face of all this danger he must preach this sermon, which, if
it were not convincing, would be very provoking. And because the
prophet might be in some temptation to palliate the matter, and
make it better to his hearers than God had made it to him, to
exchange an offensive expression for one more plausible, therefore
God charges him particularly <i>not to diminish a word,</i> but to
speak all the things, nay, <i>all the words,</i> that he had
commanded him. Note, God's ambassadors must keep closely to their
instructions, and not in the least vary from them, either to please
men or to save themselves from harm. They must neither <i>add</i>
nor <i>diminish,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Deut.4.2" parsed="|Deut|4|2|0|0" passage="De 4:2">Deut. iv.
2</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvii-p5" shownumber="no">II. God directed him what to preach, and it
is that which could not give offence to any but such as were
resolved to go on still in their trespasses. 1. He must assure them
that if they would <i>repent of their sins,</i> and turn from them,
though they were in imminent danger of ruin and desolating
judgments were just at the door, yet a stop should be put to them,
and God would proceed no further in his controversy with them,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.3" parsed="|Jer|26|3|0|0" passage="Jer 26:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. This was the
main thing God intended in sending him to them, to try if they
would return from their sins, that so God might turn from his anger
and turn away the judgments that threatened them, which he was not
only willing, but very desirous to do, as soon as he could do it
without prejudice to the honour of his justice and holiness. See
how God <i>waits to be gracious,</i> waits till we are duly
qualified, till we are fit for him to be gracious to, and in the
mean time tries a variety of methods to bring us to be so. 2. He
must, on the other hand, assure them that if they continued
obstinate to all the calls God gave them, and would persist in
their disobedience, it would certainly end in the ruin of their
city and temple, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.4-Jer.26.6" parsed="|Jer|26|4|26|6" passage="Jer 26:4-6"><i>v.</i>
4-6</scripRef>. (1.) That which God required of them was that they
should be observant of what he had said to them, both by the
written word and by his ministers, that they should <i>walk in all
his law which he set before them,</i> the law of Moses and the
ordinances and commandments of it, and that they should <i>hearken
to the words of his servants the prophets,</i> who pressed nothing
upon them but what was agreeable to the law of Moses, which was
<i>set before them</i> as a touchstone to try the spirits by; and
by this they were distinguished from the false prophets, who drew
them from the law, instead of drawing them to it. The law was what
God himself set before them. The prophets were his own servants,
and were immediately sent by him to them, and sent with a great
deal of care and concern, <i>rising early to send them,</i> lest
they should come too late, when their prejudices had got possession
and become invincible. They had hitherto been deaf both to the law
and to the prophets: <i>You have not hearkened.</i> All he expects
now is that at length they should heed what he said, and make his
word their rule—a reasonable demand. (2.) That which is threatened
in case of refusal is that this city, and the temple in it, shall
fare as their predecessors did, Shiloh and the tabernacle there,
for a like refusal to walk in God's law and hearken to his
prophets, then when the present dispensation of prophecy just began
in Samuel. Now could a sentence be expressed more unexceptionably?
Is it not a rule of justice <i>ut parium par sit ratio—that those
whose cases are the same be dealt with alike?</i> If Jerusalem be
like Shiloh in respect of sin, why should it not be like Shiloh in
respect of punishment? Can any other be expected? This was not the
first time he had given them warning to this effect; see <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.7.12-Jer.7.14" parsed="|Jer|7|12|7|14" passage="Jer 7:12-14"><i>ch.</i> vii. 12-14</scripRef>. When the
temple, which was the glory of Jerusalem, was destroyed, the city
was thereby <i>made a curse;</i> for the temple was that which made
it a blessing. <i>If the salt lose</i> that <i>savour, it is
thenceforth good for nothing.</i> It shall be <i>a curse,</i> that
is, it shall be the pattern of a curse; if a man would curse any
city, he would say, <i>God make it like Jerusalem!</i> Note, Those
that will not be subject to the commands of God make themselves
subject to the curse of God.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxvii-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.7-Jer.26.15" parsed="|Jer|26|7|26|15" passage="Jer 26:7-15" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxvii-p5.5">
<h4 id="Jer.xxvii-p5.6">Jeremiah Prosecuted for His Preaching;
Jeremiah's Defence. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p5.7">b. c.</span> 608.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxvii-p6" shownumber="no">7 So the priests and the prophets and all the
people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p6.1">Lord</span>.   8 Now it came to pass,
when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p6.2">Lord</span> had commanded <i>him</i> to speak unto all
the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people
took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.   9 Why hast thou
prophesied in the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p6.3">Lord</span>,
saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be
desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered
against Jeremiah in the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p6.4">Lord</span>.   10 When the princes of Judah heard
these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the
house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p6.5">Lord</span>, and sat down in
the entry of the new gate of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p6.6">Lord</span>'s <i>house.</i>   11 Then spake the
priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people,
saying, This man <i>is</i> worthy to die; for he hath prophesied
against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.   12 Then
spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying,
The <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p6.7">Lord</span> sent me to prophesy against
this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.
  13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey
the voice of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p6.8">Lord</span> your God; and
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p6.9">Lord</span> will repent him of the evil
that he hath pronounced against you.   14 As for me, behold, I
<i>am</i> in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto
you.   15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death,
ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this
city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p6.10">Lord</span> hath sent me unto you to speak all
these words in your ears.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvii-p7" shownumber="no">One would have hoped that such a sermon as
that in the <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.1-Jer.26.6" parsed="|Jer|26|1|26|6" passage="Jer 26:1-6">foregoing
verses</scripRef>, so plain and practical, so rational and
pathetic, and delivered in God's name, would work upon even this
people, especially meeting them now at their devotions, and would
prevail with them to repent and reform; but, instead of awakening
their convictions, it did but exasperate their corruptions, as
appears by this account of the effect of it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvii-p8" shownumber="no">I. Jeremiah is charged with it as a crime
that he had preached such a sermon, and is apprehended for it as a
criminal. The <i>priests,</i> and <i>false prophets,</i> and
<i>people, heard him speak these words,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.7" parsed="|Jer|26|7|0|0" passage="Jer 26:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. They had patience, it seems, to
hear him out, did not disturb him when he was preaching, nor give
him any interruption till he had <i>made an end of speaking all
that the Lord commanded him to speak,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.8" parsed="|Jer|26|8|0|0" passage="Jer 26:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. So far they dealt more fairly
with him than some of the persecutors of God's ministers have done;
they let him say all he had to say, and yet perhaps with a bad
design, in hopes to have something worse yet to lay to his charge;
but, having no worse, this shall suffice to ground an indictment
upon: He hath said, <i>This house shall be like Shiloh,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.9" parsed="|Jer|26|9|0|0" passage="Jer 26:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. See how unfair
they are in representing his words. He had said, in God's name,
<i>If you will not hearken to me, then will I make this house like
Shiloh;</i> but they leave out God's hand in the desolation (<i>I
will make</i> it so) and their own hand in it in not hearkening to
the voice of God, and charge it upon him that he <i>blasphemed this
holy place,</i> the crime charged both on our Lord Jesus and on
Stephen: He said, <i>This house shall be like Shiloh.</i> Well
might he complain, as David does (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.56.5" parsed="|Ps|56|5|0|0" passage="Ps 56:5">Ps.
lvi. 5</scripRef>), <i>Every day they wrest my words;</i> and we
must not think it strange if we, and what we say and do, be thus
misrepresented. When the accusation was so weakly grounded, no
marvel that the sentence passed upon it was unjust: <i>Thou shalt
surely die.</i> What he had said agreed with what God had said when
he took possession of the temple (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.9.6-1Kgs.9.8" parsed="|1Kgs|9|6|9|8" passage="1Ki 9:6-8">1
Kings ix. 6-8</scripRef>), <i>If you shall at all turn from
following after me, then this house shall be</i> abandoned; and yet
he is condemned to die for saying it. It is not out of any concern
for the honour of the temple that they appear thus warm, but
because they are resolved not to part with their sins, in which
they flatter themselves with a conceit that the <i>temple of the
Lord</i> will protect them; therefore, right or wrong, <i>Thou
shalt surely die.</i> This outcry of the priests and prophets
raised the mob, and <i>all the people were gathered together
against Jeremiah</i> in a popular tumult, ready to pull him to
pieces, were <i>gathered about him</i> (so some read it); they
flocked together, some crying one thing and some another. <i>The
people</i> that were at first present were hot against him
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.8" parsed="|Jer|26|8|0|0" passage="Jer 26:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>), but their
clamours drew more together, only to see what the matter was.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvii-p9" shownumber="no">II. He is arraigned and indicted for it
before the highest court of judicature they had. Here, 1. The
<i>princes of Judah</i> were his judges, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.10" parsed="|Jer|26|10|0|0" passage="Jer 26:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. Those that filled the thrones
of judgment, <i>the thrones of the house of David,</i> the elders
of Israel, they, hearing of this tumult in the temple, <i>came up
from the king's house,</i> where they usually sat near the court,
<i>to the house of the Lord,</i> to enquire into this matter, and
to see that nothing was done disorderly. They <i>sat down in the
entry of the new gate of the Lord's house,</i> and held a court, as
it were, by a special commission of <i>Oyer and Terminer.</i> 2.
The <i>priests and prophets</i> were his prosecutors and accusers,
and were violently set against him. They appealed to <i>the
princes,</i> and <i>to all the people,</i> to the court and the
jury, whether <i>this man</i> were not <i>worthy to die,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.11" parsed="|Jer|26|11|0|0" passage="Jer 26:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. The corrupt
priests and counterfeit prophets have always been the most bitter
enemies of the prophets of the Lord; they had ends of their own to
serve, which they thought such preaching as this would be an
obstruction to. When Jeremiah prophesied in the house of the king
concerning the fall of the royal family (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.22.1" parsed="|Jer|22|1|0|0" passage="Jer 22:1"><i>ch.</i> xxii. 1</scripRef>, &amp;c.), the court,
though very corrupt, bore it patiently, and we do not find that
they persecuted him for it; but when he comes into the <i>house of
the Lord,</i> and touches the copyhold of the priests, and
contradicts the lies and flatteries of the false prophets, then he
is adjudged <i>worthy to die.</i> For the prophets <i>prophesied
falsely,</i> and the <i>priests bore rule by their means,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.5.31" parsed="|Jer|5|31|0|0" passage="Jer 5:31"><i>ch.</i> v. 31</scripRef>. Observe,
When Jeremiah is indicted before the princes the stress of his
accusation is laid upon what he said concerning the city, because
they thought the princes would be most concerned about that. But
concerning the words spoken they appeal to the people, "<i>You have
heard</i> what he hath said; let it be given in evidence."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvii-p10" shownumber="no">III. Jeremiah makes his defence before the
princes and the people. He does not go about to deny the words, nor
to diminish aught from them; what he has said he will stand to,
though it cost him his life; he owns that he had prophesied against
<i>this house</i> and <i>this city,</i> but, 1. He asserts that he
did this by good authority, not maliciously nor seditiously, not
out of any ill-will to his country nor any disaffection to the
government in church or state, but, <i>The Lord sent me</i> to
prophesy thus: so he begins his apology (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.12" parsed="|Jer|26|12|0|0" passage="Jer 26:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), and so he concludes it, for
this is that which he resolves to abide by as sufficient to bear
him out (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.15" parsed="|Jer|26|15|0|0" passage="Jer 26:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>):
<i>Of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you, to speak all these
words.</i> As long as ministers keep closely to the instructions
they have from heaven they need not fear the opposition they may
meet with from hell or earth. He pleads that he is but a messenger,
and, if he faithfully deliver his message, he must bear no blame;
but he is a messenger from the Lord, to whom they were accountable
as well as he, and therefore might demand regard. If he speak but
what God appointed him to speak, he is under the divine protection,
and whatever affront they offer to the ambassador will be resented
by the Prince that sent him. 2. He shows them that he did it with a
good design, and that it was their fault if they did not make a
good use of it. It was said, not by way of fatal sentence, but of
fair warning; if they would take the warning, they might prevent
the execution of the sentence, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.13" parsed="|Jer|26|13|0|0" passage="Jer 26:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. Shall I take it ill of a man
that tells me of my danger, while I have an opportunity of avoiding
it, and not rather return him thanks for it, as the greatest
kindness he could do me? "<i>I have</i> indeed (says Jeremiah)
prophesied <i>against this city;</i> but, <i>if you will now amend
your ways and your doings,</i> the threatened ruin shall be
prevented, which was the thing I aimed at in giving you the
warning." Those are very unjust who complain of ministers for
preaching hell and damnation, when it is only to keep them from
that place of torment and to bring them to heaven and salvation. 3.
He therefore warns them of their danger if they proceed against him
(<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.14" parsed="|Jer|26|14|0|0" passage="Jer 26:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>): "<i>As for
me,</i> the matter is not great what become of me; <i>behold, I am
in your hand;</i> you know I am; I neither have any power, nor can
make any interest, to oppose you, nor is it so much my concern to
save my own life: <i>do with me as seems meet unto you;</i> if I be
led to the slaughter, it shall be as a lamb." Note, It becomes
God's ministers, that are warm in preaching, to be calm in
suffering and to behave submissively to the powers that are over
them, though they be persecuting powers. But, for themselves, he
tells them that it is at their peril if they put him to death:
<i>You shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves,</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.15" parsed="|Jer|26|15|0|0" passage="Jer 26:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. They might
think that killing the prophet would help to defeat the prophecy,
but they would prove wretchedly deceived; it would but add to their
guilt and aggravate their ruin. Their own consciences could not but
tell them that, if Jeremiah was (as certainly he was) sent of God
to bring them this message, it was at their utmost peril if they
treated him for it as a malefactor. Those that persecute God's
ministers hurt not them so much as themselves.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Jer.xxvii-p10.6" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.16-Jer.26.24" parsed="|Jer|26|16|26|24" passage="Jer 26:16-24" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Jer.xxvii-p10.7">
<h4 id="Jer.xxvii-p10.8">Jeremiah's Acquittal; Jeremiah's
Deliverance. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p10.9">b. c.</span> 608.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Jer.xxvii-p11" shownumber="no">16 Then said the princes and all the people unto
the priests and to the prophets; This man <i>is</i> not worthy to
die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p11.1">Lord</span> our God.   17 Then rose up certain of
the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the
people, saying,   18 Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the
days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of
Judah, saying, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p11.2">Lord</span>
of hosts; Zion shall be plowed <i>like</i> a field, and Jerusalem
shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high
places of a forest.   19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all
Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p11.3">Lord</span>, and besought the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p11.4">Lord</span>, and the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p11.5">Lord</span> repented him of the evil which he had
pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against
our souls.   20 And there was also a man that prophesied in
the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Jer.xxvii-p11.6">Lord</span>, Urijah the son
of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and
against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:   21
And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the
princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but
when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;
  22 And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt,
<i>namely,</i> Elnathan the son of Achbor, and <i>certain</i> men
with him into Egypt.   23 And they fetched forth Urijah out of
Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with
the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common
people.   24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of
Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the
hand of the people to put him to death.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvii-p12" shownumber="no">Here is, I. The acquitting of Jeremiah from
the charge exhibited against him. He had indeed spoken the words as
they were laid in the indictment, but they are not looked upon to
be seditious or treasonable, ill-intended or of any bad tendency,
and therefore the court and country agree to find him not guilty.
The priests and prophets, notwithstanding his rational plea for
himself, continued to demand judgment against him; but the princes,
and all the people, are clear in it that <i>this man is not worthy
to die</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.16" parsed="|Jer|26|16|0|0" passage="Jer 26:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>);
for (say they) <i>he hath spoken to us,</i> not of himself, but
<i>in the name of the Lord our God.</i> And are they willing to own
that he did indeed speak to them <i>in the name of the Lord</i> and
that that Lord is their God? Why then did they not amend their ways
and doings, and take the method he prescribed to prevent the ruin
of their country? If they say, His prophecy is <i>from heaven,</i>
it may justly be asked, <i>Why did you not then believe him?</i>
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.21.25" parsed="|Matt|21|25|0|0" passage="Mt 21:25">Matt. xxi. 25</scripRef>. Note, It is
a pity that those who are so far convinced of the divine original
of gospel preaching as to protect it from the malice of others do
not submit to the power and influence of it themselves.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvii-p13" shownumber="no">II. A precedent quoted to justify them in
acquitting Jeremiah. Some of the <i>elders of the land,</i> either
the princes before mentioned or the more intelligent men of the
people, stood up, and put the assembly in mind of a former case, as
is usual with us in giving judgment; for the wisdom of our
predecessors is a direction to us. The case referred to is that of
Micah. We have extant the book of his prophecy among the minor
prophets. 1. Was it thought strange that Jeremiah prophesied
against this city and the temple? Micah did so before him, even in
the reign of Hezekiah, that reign of reformation, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.18" parsed="|Jer|26|18|0|0" passage="Jer 26:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>. Micah said it as
publicly as Jeremiah had now spoken to the same purport, <i>Zion
shall be ploughed like a field,</i> the building shall be all
destroyed, so that nothing shall hinder but it may be ploughed;
<i>Jerusalem shall become heaps</i> of ruins, and <i>the mountain
of the house</i> on which the temple is built shall be <i>as the
high places of the forest,</i> overrun with briers and thorns. That
prophet not only spoke this, but wrote it, and left it on record;
we find it, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Mic.3.12" parsed="|Mic|3|12|0|0" passage="Mic 3:12">Mic. iii. 12</scripRef>.
By this it appears that a man may be, as Micah was, a true prophet
of the Lord, and yet may prophesy the destruction of Zion and
Jerusalem. When we threaten secure sinners with the taking away of
the Spirit of God and the kingdom of God from them, and declining
churches with the removal of the candlestick, we say no more than
what has been said many a time, and what we have warrant from the
word of God to say. 2. Was it thought fit by the princes to justify
Jeremiah in what he had done? It was what Hezekiah did before them
in a like case. Did Hezekiah, and the people of Judah (that is, the
representatives of the people, the commons in parliament), did they
complain of Micah the prophet? Did they impeach him, or make an act
to silence him and put him to death? No; on the contrary, they took
the warning he gave them. Hezekiah, that renowned prince, of
blessed memory, set a good example before his successors, for he
<i>feared the Lord</i> (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.19" parsed="|Jer|26|19|0|0" passage="Jer 26:19"><i>v.</i>
19</scripRef>), as Noah, who, being <i>warned of God of things not
seen as yet,</i> was <i>moved with fear.</i> Micah's preaching
drove him to his knees; he <i>besought the Lord</i> to turn away
the judgment threatened and to be reconciled to them, and he found
it was not in vain to do so, for <i>the Lord repented him of the
evil</i> and returned in mercy to them; he sent an angel, who
routed the army of the Assyrians, that threatened to plough <i>Zion
like a field.</i> Hezekiah got good by the preaching, and then you
may be sure he would do no harm to the preacher. These elders
conclude that it would be of dangerous consequence to the state if
they should gratify the importunity of the priests and prophets in
putting Jeremiah to death: <i>Thus might we procure great evil
against our souls.</i> Note, It is good to deter ourselves from sin
with the consideration of the mischief we shall certainly do to
ourselves by it and the irreparable damage it will be to our own
souls.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvii-p14" shownumber="no">III. Here is an instance of another prophet
that was put to death by Jehoiakim for prophesying as Jeremiah had
done, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.20" parsed="|Jer|26|20|0|0" passage="Jer 26:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>,
&amp;c. Some make this to be urged by the prosecutors, as a case
that favoured the prosecution, a modern case, in which speaking
such words as Jeremiah had spoken was adjudged treason. Others
think that the elders, who were advocates for Jeremiah, alleged
this to show that thus they might <i>procure great evil against
their souls,</i> for it would be adding sin to sin. Jehoiakim, the
present king, had slain one prophet already; let them not fill up
the measure by slaying another. Hezekiah, who protected Micah,
prospered; but did Jehoiakim prosper who slew Urijah? No; they all
saw the contrary. As good examples, and the good consequences of
them, should encourage us in that which is good, so the examples of
bad men, and the bad consequences of them, should deter us from
that which is evil. But some good interpreters take this narrative
from the historian that penned the book, Jeremiah himself, or
Baruch, who, to make Jeremiah's deliverance by means of the princes
the more wonderful, takes notice of this that happened about the
same time; for both were in the reign of Jehoiakim, and this <i>in
the beginning of his reign,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.1" parsed="|Jer|26|1|0|0" passage="Jer 26:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. Observe, 1. Urijah's prophecy.
It was <i>against this city, and this land, according to all the
words of Jeremiah.</i> The prophets of the Lord agreed in their
testimony, and one would have thought that out of the mouth of so
many witnesses the word would be regarded. 2. The prosecution of
him for it, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.21" parsed="|Jer|26|21|0|0" passage="Jer 26:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>.
Jehoiakim and his courtiers were exasperated against him, and
<i>sought to put him to death;</i> in this wicked design the king
himself was principally concerned. 3. His absconding thereupon:
<i>When he heard</i> that the king had become his enemy, and sought
his life, <i>he was afraid, and fled, and went in to Egypt.</i>
This was certainly his fault, and an effect of the weakness of his
faith, and it sped accordingly. He distrusted God, and his power to
protect him and bear him out; he was too much under the power of
that <i>fear of man</i> which <i>brings a snare.</i> It looked as
if he durst not stand to what he had said or was ashamed of his
Master. It was especially unbecoming him to flee <i>into Egypt,</i>
and so in effect to abandon the land of Israel and to throw himself
quite out of the way of being useful. Note, There are many that
have much grace, but they have little courage, that are very
honest, but withal very timorous. 4. His execution notwithstanding.
Jehoiakim's malice, one would think, might have contented itself
with his banishment, and it might suffice to have driven him out of
the country; but those are <i>bloodthirsty</i> that <i>hate the
upright,</i> <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.29.10" parsed="|Prov|29|10|0|0" passage="Pr 29:10">Prov. xxix.
10</scripRef>. It was the life, that precious life, that he hunted
after, and nothing else would satisfy him. So implacable is his
revenge that he sends a party of soldiers into Egypt, some hundreds
of miles, and they bring him back by force of arms. It would not
sufficiently gratify him to have him slain in Egypt, but he must
feed his eyes with the bloody spectacle. They <i>brought him to
Jehoiakim,</i> and he <i>slew him with the sword,</i> for aught I
know with his own hands. Yet neither did this satisfy his
insatiable malice, but he loads the dead body of the good man with
infamy, would not allow it the decent respects usually and justly
paid to the remains of men of distinction, but cast it into <i>the
graves of the common people,</i> as if he had not been a prophet of
the Lord; thus was the <i>shield of Saul vilely cast away, as
though he had not been anointed with oil.</i> Thus Jehoiakim hoped
both to ruin his reputation with the people, that no heed might be
given to his predictions, and to deter others from prophesying in
like manner; but in vain; Jeremiah says the same. There is no
contending with the word of God. Herod thought he had gained his
point when he had cut off John Baptist's head, but found himself
deceived when, soon after, he heard of Jesus Christ, and said, in a
fright, <i>This is John the Baptist.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Jer.xxvii-p15" shownumber="no">IV. Here is Jeremiah's deliverance. Though
Urijah was lately put to death, and persecutors, when they have
tasted the blood of saints, are apt to thirst after more (as Herod,
<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Acts.12.2-Acts.12.3" parsed="|Acts|12|2|12|3" passage="Ac 12:2,3">Acts xii. 2, 3</scripRef>), yet God
wonderfully preserved Jeremiah, though he did not flee, as Urijah
did, but stood his ground. Ordinary ministers may use ordinary
means, provided they be lawful ones, for their own preservation;
but those that had an extraordinary protection. God raised up a
friend for Jeremiah, whose hand was with him; he took him by the
hand in a friendly way, encouraged him, assisted him, appeared for
him. It was <i>Ahikam the son of Shaphan,</i> one that was a
minister of state in Josiah's time; we read of him, <scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.22.12" parsed="|2Kgs|22|12|0|0" passage="2Ki 22:12">2 Kings xxii. 12</scripRef>. Some think
Gedaliah was the son of this Ahikam. He had a great interest, it
should seem, among the princes, and he used it in favour of
Jeremiah, to prevent the further designs of the priests and
prophets against him, who would have had him turned over <i>into
the hand of the people,</i> not those people (<scripRef id="Jer.xxvii-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:Jer.26.16" parsed="|Jer|26|16|0|0" passage="Jer 26:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>) that had adjudged him
innocent, but the rude and insolent mob, whom they could persuade
by their cursed insinuations not only to cry, <i>Crucify him,
crucify him,</i> but to <i>stone him to death</i> in a popular
tumult; for perhaps Jehoiakim had been so reproached by his own
conscience for slaying Urijah that they despaired of making him the
tool of their malice. Note, God can, when he pleases, raise up
great men to patronize good men; and it is an encouragement to us
to trust him in the way of duty that he has all men's hearts in his
hands.</p>
</div></div2>