g The true Prophet Jeremiah, ſpeaks to this falſe Prophet with as much bo'dneſs as he had ſpoke to him in impudence, and in the ſame preſence of tle Prieſts, and of the People, but with a przface of great Chariry and Modeſty, Amen ( ſaith he ) which Farticle 3s uled in Holy Wrir, either as # Particle of 4 rtion, as it is moſt ordinarily uſed both in this ſingle form, and doubled by our Savi- our in the Goſpel. Or, as a Particle of wiſhing and praying, upon which account it 1s uled in the Lord's Prayer, though t:ere it ſignifierh more than here, w:z. a Faith or Belief, that God will grant the Petitions, as well as a deſire that he would grant rhemy here it ſignifieth no more rai. the larter, and is expounded by the next words ; Nor indeed dorh it, or can it here fignifie ſo much as an ablolute hear y defire, for Feremiah could not heartily pray for that which God had told him he wou'd not do. Jeremy therefore muſt be nnderftood here, either to j:a'e fpoken only as a Man, reſtify Ing the kindne!s he had for tis Courrry, then the ſence is; If itbe the Will of God or may it be the Will of God ; I wiſh what thou haſt ſa:d m.ghrt come to pats 5 or eiſe in ſenſu conpoſtio, 9. ad, The Lerd give u:.t6 this Peop'e an heart ro refurm and amend their ways, that che n ords \v#i11ch rhov hait ſpoken may come to paſs.,
7 Nevertnecets, heai thou now this word that I ſpeak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people h.
h Tne «or which I am now about to ſpeak concerneth thee, and nor thee only, bur all the People, therefore do thou mark ir well and I1-t th:m mark 1t alſo. |
8 The Prophers that have been before me, and be-
' Fore thee of oid, prophetied both againſt many coun- tries, and againſt great kingdoms, of war, and of evil,
and of p<ſtuence z |
5 Trat is, rhou and I are notthe firſtProphets that have foretz1d to Countries anu Natons the great Judgments of God coming ups or: them, Way, Evil, PeFilence, by evil, ſome think is to be under» Nood Famine, but it !s 1 t muca material.
9 Tae prophet which propheſieth of peace &, when the word of the propnet ſhall come to paſs, ther (hall the Prophet be known that tne LORD hath truly ſent him /.
k By Peace is here meant Proſperity, all good, being by the He- brews uſually underſtood under the notion of Peace The Prophers eirher prpheſied evil or good, according as God revealed his Will unto them; what way was for them to ditcover whether the Pro-
hers were truly ſent of God, yea, or no? / It was known by the | ne this was the Rule God ſer, Deut. 18. 22. When a Prophet ſpeak- eth in the name of the Lord, if the thing fo'low not, nor come to paſs, that Ts the thing which the Lord hath no: ſpoken. But this was not true on the contrary part, for a Prophet might ſpeak athing, which thing might come to pals, and yet he be none of che Lord's Prophets, nor
| fo be hearkn<d to, as appeareth from Deut. 13. 1, 2. Some have
thought, that Prophecies concerning good things always were brought to paſs, if the Prophet were a true Prophet, but it appeir- eth otherwiſe from Chap. 18. 9, 10. Prophecies both concerning good and evil, might not come to paſs, and yet the Prophet be a erue Proph:t, in caſe the Manvers of the People altered ; for in all Pri miſ-s or Thiearnings of temporal good or evil, there 1s a Con- dition to be un-ler{tood 3 God neither by his Promiſes bindeth tim- ſ-If ro do good to wicked Ven, nor by his Threarnings tiethup His own hands from ſhewing mercy to ſuch as rurn good ; »u? ſome obſerve y-t this d:ffcr-nce, that good things are in Scripture never abſotwely promiſcd, but rvey come certainly to paſs, and are fulfi!ied, bir God for cerrour often threatzneth evil things, without expi-fling any condition, when notwithſtanding a Cond:s tion i+ urd-ritod, vpon the tulfilling of which, the threatning cometh nor top>ſs, as it was in the caſe of Niniveh, upon te Pro- phecy of of Jou#h. Bur the greater difficulty is ro determine by whit Rule tiey could judge onea true or falſe Propher, if t:cy might not a'ways judge by the event, the coming, or not coming to pa's of what h- p:oph-ſied. I anſwer, they were to judge from the Word of God, as well as from the Event, 1/s. 8. 20. there- fore Deut. 13 1, 2. the P:ople were commanded not to hearke:: to that Prophet, which ſhou-d confirm what he ſaid by a Sign oc Wonder, if his ſcope were by it to p:rſwade Peopie ro Idlatry. So that if a Prophet propheſied good, «nd proiperity to any People the People were ro conlider what his ſcop: was, and wheth-r what he propheſicd was according t9 the Law of God, which ſpeaketh no geoi fo a wicked impenitent Peope; and tho what he ſaid came t2 piſs, yet he was to be determ.ned no true Prepher,if what he ſaid were contrar» roGod's revealed Will,or his ſcope in ſpeak- Ing of it was & ha: den People in ſinful courſes, or roſ duce them from ch- right ways of God. Jeremiah here, as to the tryal of the rruth of his and Hananiah's contrary Prophecies appea eth to the Even”, telling him, that he as a Man, heartily withed that his words might prove true.
10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the * yoke from off the Propnet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it m.
m The Proph:t Jeremy's coming into the Temple, with a Yoke upon his Neci, as a Type of the Yoks of tac King ot Babylon, un-
(
E M 1 3 der which the Jews were to come, gave occaſion to the aff ont given him by the falſe Prepher; in a further degree of impudence, being thus ccnfronted. by 7:remiah, be pulls the Yoke off Feremeh s Neck, and breaketh it in an high and impudent contempt of God, and his Will revealed by this Prophet, ar d confirmed by this YokE as a Sign, adding alſo the following words. 3, : 11 And Hantniah ſpake in the preſence of all the people, ſaying, Thus faith the LORD, even fo will I break the yoke" of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon