of evil doers /. | The Prophet here riſeth higher, from prayer to praiſe; it is not certain whether this was arejoycing of Faith or of Senſe; a Thankſgiving to God, upon his Deliverance out of the hand of Paſhur, or ſome other Enemies, or a rejoycing in the ſure beliefthar God would deliver his life out of the hands of theſe wicked men, If we take it in the latter ſenſe, it teacherh us our Duty, to give God the honour of all our Deliverances from the hands. of wicked Men. If in the former ſenſe it ſheweth us the power of Faith, which being the ſub#ance of things not ſeen, and evidence of rhings but hoped for, theweth us things to come, as if already preſent, and teacheth. us to rejoyce in the hope ot thoſe things of which we have no preſent poſleſſhon. | b- x ; 14 Y * Curſed bethe day wherein I was born : let not + Char the day wherein my mother bare me be bleſſed m. I5 _ » This ſudden change of the Prophet's ſtile, maketh both Mr, © Calvin, and ſome other good Interpreters, think that theſe words Proceeded from Jeremiah rather as a repetition of a former paſſion, into which the Abuſes of his Enemies had put him, than as the im< mediate produtt of his Spirit at this time. Whenever they were ſpoken, they ſpeak a very extravagant Paſſions to ſhew us, th:r though Feremiah was a great Man, yet he was but a Man, encom- paſſed with Infirmities, and ſubje& to like Paſſions with other Men. We find Job in the like Paſſion, Chap. 3. 3. Theſe great failures of God's people ſtand in Scripture, as. Rocks in the Sea appear, ta mind Mariners to keep off them, not to run upen them. i5 Curſed be rhe- man who brought tidings to my
father, ſaying, A man-child is born unto thee, making
him very glad ». ; n Parents are uſually rejoyced when a Son 1s Born to them.
16 And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew and repented. not, let him hear the cry in the morning, and the {bouring at noon-tide o,
o By the Cities he means thoſe Cities mentioned, Gen. 19 a5. Sodom and Gommorrah 3 by the cry in the morning and ſhouting at Noon, he means the thouts, and noiſes that Enemies make when they break in upon aplace, in an hoſtile manner.
17 Becauſe he ſlew me not from the womb: or that
my mother might have been my grave, and her womb
to be always great with me p. by
Theſe various expreſſions do only let us ſee to what a tide paſſion Coell:d in this good Mans heart, and teach us how much need we have to pray to be delivered from our own paſſions; Feremiah $ leay' 3s theſe things recorded by bimſelf, is one inſtance of what is brought as a rational argument to prove that only Men wrote the Scriptures by inſpiration from God, they would never elſe have Te- cord their own groſs failings, Men commenly writipg for their own honour, not to their own defamacion,
13 * Wherefore came I forthout of the womb to * Job. 5
Ads Go Cn <tc eo Soo coo.
\ G I 2 ice .o,
hap. XXF. | Tee labour and ſorrow, that my days ſbould be conſu- - med wich (hame ? 7 : | q Theſe words ler us know the Prophet's Po -4 theſe _ travagant eruptions of paſſion, it was the reproach and Ihame, an afMiftion nr+5. he indured for the faithful diſcharge of his Miniſtry, which b>th lets us ſee the goodneſs of God rowards thoſe whom he ſpareth as to theſe Trials and what need we have under them to keep a watch upon our own hearts. Theſe Records alſo of Holy Writ are-uſeful to us, if at any time we beovertaken with ſuch er- rors, to comfort us, in that they are nor {uch ſpots, bur have been found-in the Faces of Gods faireſt ones : and to make us charitable towards ſuch as we may ſee ſometimes overborn with the like
T zONs. emprations CHAP. XXI
King Zedekiah in the Siege ſendeth 30 Jeremiah ro enquire of the Event, 1z.2. He fortelleth a hard Siege and miſerable Captivity, 3, ; He counſelleth 'the People to full to the Chaldeans, 8, 10, and upbratdeth -the King s Houſe, 11, —— 14. He word which came unto Jeremiah from the. AE" LORD a, when king Zedekiah ſent unto him Paſhur the ſon of Melchiah, and Zephaniah che ſon of Maaſeiah-the prieſt, ſaying 5, 3: F - 2s God in ſindry times,- and 1n divers manners, ſpake in times paſſh-ro-rhe Fathers by the Prophets, Heb. 3. 1, The cwo principa] were” vifar and dreams, Numb. 12. 6. How. the following word cante'td Jeremiah is not expreſty it is enough that he knew it came from:/the Lord. 6 It is apparent, ſome Prophecies in this Book are nor put inthe right order; as they were delivered, Chap. 25. we weſt en}
ERIE AM 14 B.
| exceeding terrible. The ſum of it is, That as they bad not deajr with God according to the Woi ks of 1ſrael, an: the fermer Generas tion that deſcended from him, or thoie at jeafi who were the true [ſrael of God, ſo they muſt not expeQ that God ſhould Geal with them according ro his former wondrous Works, but thar as he with the pure bad ſhewed himielf upright, ſo with the froward he ſhould thew himſelf froward. For God. had determined t9 turn into their own Bowels, and againft themſelves, the Weipons they ©:d in their hands taken up againſt the King of Babylon and the Chald. ans that were now beſieging them, ( bv which we may l:a:n, that this Meftsge was ſent during the time cf the Siege, probably abour the beginning of ir, for it laſted 18 Months ) es God threarneth tc bring the Chalaeans into the midſt of the Holy Ct:y, that tier Ciry ſhoud be broken up, their Arms taken from thew, and they kiII:d with their own ſwords. Their 1s a great Emphaſs in tle prouwn I, Iris not an Enemy that 1sto be feared, but Ged's being our En: my.
5 And I my felf will fight againſt you b4 with an out-ſtretched hand, and with a ttrong arm, cven in
anger and in fury, and in great wrath 3.