Kone godly in Judah, 1,
2 PnIY
} Li \
| *Icng: 3.
*Zep. 3-2,
CHAP.
They ſwear falſly, though God be @ God of Truth ; they are imcorrigible and ſenſeleſs, and know not the Law, or elſe wiltilly violate it, 2 6. Their 1dolotry, Adultery, 7 g. Contempt of Goa's Word and Prophets, which ſhould be ſadly verified, ro 18. ey forſake, forget, and fear not; God, whoſe Power is ſo great, 19 24. They are rich through Deccit and Fiolence 5 their Falje Prophets, 25———3I. | |
Re» ye « toand fro through the ſtrects ofJeruſalem,
and ſee now and know, and ſeek in tte b broad places thereof, -if ye can find-a c man, if there be any that executeth d judgment, that ſeekerh the e truth,and
I will pardon f it. as Whether this begins a new Sermon, or be part of the former,
3s neither certain nor material ; but here the Prophet is called upon
to go up and down, and ſearch here and there, in every part ofthe
Ciry, and to make a diligent Enquiry in every Street, and Places of
Concousſe ; a Phraſe frequently uſed for ſearching and enquiring
after a thing, Dan. 12. 4. Amos 8. 12, andit is ſpoken in the Plural
Number,not reſtrained to Jeremy in particular ; q d. Let who will
ſearch, they will find it even ſo: it implies the great Scarcity of
good Men, that muſt be thus ſearched for : God gives leave to all the Earth to look into the ſtate of Feruſalem,by which he vindicates himſelf in the face of the whole World from all ſeverity towards his People, whatever he brings upon them, and ſo ſtops the Mouths of the Jews. 6 Even there, where uſually is the greateſt Reſort for
Merchants and Merchandizes, where Men meet tromall Quarters.
c It ſcems worſe than Sodom and Gomorrah, for God condeicends to
pardon Jeruſalem, if there be bur one righteous Man found in it ;
there he came no lower than ten. But it will be O+jeFed, if it be underſtood thus individually, What muſt we think of Jeremiah himſelf, and Baruch, aud Ebeamelech, and other few,who were then, no doubt, in Jeruſalem ? Anſwer, Either he ſpeaks of the corrupt
ire MWTreal
Body of the People, Courtiers, Prieſts, Falſe Prophets, not one, | or {care one among them to be found, orif any, ſo few as not to ; be diicernsd : A Man might wa'k the Streets of Jer»ſsl-m long e- j
nough before he cculd meet with any one truly Religious ; which | ' are obſerved to be moſt ravenous, Hb. r. 8. Poſſibly, becauſe ly-
Univerſality of Corruption is thus expreſſed in divers Places,Pſalm 32. 1, 2 and 4@.3; 3. Zcet. 22. 10. A 7. 5, © underſtood Hyperbolically fora few. &@ i e. Among the Magiſtracy thac rightly adminiſter Juſtice. e 7. e. Among the Common- alty ti:at deal faithfully and uprightly, it ſignifies, That among th-m all, there are none given toit; ſo far from endeavouring and ſeeking it ſincerly with their whole Heart, that they are nor in- clined to it, but are given to Oppreſſions, Falſhoods, and deceits , they do not ſeek the Truth. f Or h/m, I will not deitroy it for the {ake of thoſe few : t::e iike he promiſeth with reference ro thoſe fiveCities, Gen. 18. 24, ©c
2 And though they ſay, the LORD & liveth, ſurely
they Twear þ falſely.
£ Though when they ſwear, they uſe the form of an ' Oath, and ſay,” the Lord liveth, Chap. 4. 2- or by the living God. By Swearing here we may underiiand all their Service of God, by a Synecdoche ; Swearing veing a part of God's Worſhip. 4 Yer, or therefore they ſwear falſly ; cit'-er they ſwear to that which is falſe ; qr, ifto that which is true, they are 1o perfidious to me, that they do it deceit- Fully, not in Sincerity, aid in Reverence to that Holy Name by which they {wear - poſſibly they may ofcen ſpeak of God, and not ſwear. by Falls Gods, Yeyſe 7, but it is all bur Hypocrifte and Deccit, 1a. 48- ». Chap. 12. 2. aud 42. 5, 20. 2Tim. 3. 5. It. 1s neither in Truth nor Righteouſneſs. two of the principal Qualifi- cations ofa lawful Oath : Thus they proſti:ure the Name of God, — themſe:ves guiity, not of Hypocrifie only, but Sacri- ege. | 2 OLORD, are not thine eyes upon the z truth ? thou haſt * ſtricken them, bur they have nor & grieved; thou haſt /conſumed them, but * they have refuſed to receive cortection : they have made their faces harder
than a »« rock, they have refuſed coo » return. ; The Prophet, obierving the Ob inacy of this People, abrupt- Iy turns himie!f ro God, yet emphatically inſinuates their Incor-
ing Truth from t alit.ood, as being impoſſible that any thing thould be hid from him, Pſalm
Micah 6. 9. but others, better, to Truth and Faithfulneſs, as that
which God hath a great R-ſpe&for, nd Delight in, Pjalm 51. 6.
and was not to be found among theſe People. Though nohe,of theſe Senſes be improper, this ſeems the moii genuine. & They have been under ſore Grievances that God hath laid them under, yet they ſeem unco'.cerned, Prov 23. 35. 1/2. 42+ 25. or it 1s pro- bable they were griev'd at their Sufferings, but they have not re- pented, thereby to turn away the Cauſes of his juſt Diſpleaſure See 2 Cor. 7. 9, 10. | God 1ad not on'y lightly chaſtifed them, byr waſted them by ſeveral Enemies, as the 4ſyrians, Iſa. 10. 5,6. and 36. 1. and Pharaoh Necho, 2 Kings 23. 33. and the Chaldees, Syrians, Mobites, and the Ammonites, 2 Kings 24. 2. and Nebuchaanezzar, 2 Kings 24. 13, &*c. All theſe he made uie of as the Rod of his In. dignation, yet they refuſed to receive Correttion. . See Chap. -2, 30, a Metonymy of the Efe# ; they have profited nothing by it, not at all reformed, 7/a. 1. 5, 16. Am9s 4.6, 8,9, to, 1'. m Noting their Ooſtinacy and Impudence laying aſidr al) ſenſe of Judgmeres, | as paſt feeling, Prov. 21 29. Zech. 7. 12. " Wilfully reje&ed
Counſel, and lighted CorreQion, reſolving to perſiſt in their Ob. | p
ſtinacy.- | 4 Therefore I ſaid o, ſurely theſe are p poor, they are fooliſh : for they know not the way ofthe LORD,
»or the judgment of .*. their GOD.
Or it may be.
--*
| bad Men generally breeds Fiithineſs : rifing up to play tne Wanron,
' 1, 2, Hof. 4. 12, 14, e It may be rezd in the Nominative Cale. the
rigibleneſs. This may refer cirhe. to izod's diſcerning and know- ; doldtry, Then 6 5s their making the
1. 4. or rather ( more agrecable to the | Phraſe ) to God's approving ; and this ſome again refer to Perſons, : as, Men of truth for true Men, ſo Man of Wiſdom for a wiſe Man, ! med of nothing. |