call'd over his Priſoners, and amongſt them he f . her _— to his ExpeQarion. s ET ORG Taaphet 2 Andthe captain of the guard took Jeremi : l tah, and ſaid unto him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced | this evil upon this place. 3 Now the LORD hath brought iz, and done accor-
both the King and Princes and +46 16 to ſurrender it to them, and prevent the effuſion of Blood, and that he was impriſoned for this, and had been a great ſufferer that way, and that this made this Heas- | then Prince ſo kind to the Prophet, as to give this order. In the '
mean time the Hand cf God is to be taken notice of, who undoubt- |
edly put this into the Heart ef this Pagan Prince 3 and we may learn, that none ſhall loſe any thing at laſt by being fairhful to the Com» mands of God, though they may be for the preſent loſers. What we t anſlate, look well to him, is in the Hebrew, ſet thine eyes upon him ; and expounded by the following words, commanded kim to do himno harm, and togive or grant to him, whatever he deſired.
12 So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard ſent, and Nebuſhasban, Rab-ſaris and Nergal-ſharezer, Rab- mag, the king of Babylons princes, they ſent, and cook Jeremiah out of the court
n of Anikam, the ſon of Shaphan, that he ſhould
carry him home : So he dwelt among the people p.
> The King of Babylows Officers were very Religious to their Princes order, and rake the P:ophet out of Priſon ; for the. latter part of the 4th Verſe it ſeems by an anticipation of what we ſhall and particularly Chap. 45. orelſe ſo ought to be-rranſlared yer, as appearerh- from the tirſt Verſe of the next Chapter, from whence it 's plain that che P. opker was alfo bound in chains, amongſt them that were carried away captive - and not diſcharged until he came at Kamah, which probably might be in that hurry of
under Officersnort ſodiligently obſerving their ſpecial chargerelating to Jeremiah, the negle& of which th: Captain of the Guard obſerving when he came as far as Ramah, himſelt took care in it, as we ſhall find,ch.40.after which,upon his choice,he was committed to Geaal:ah the Son of 4hikam, whom the King of Bebylon made Governour over
the Countrey. IF Now the word of the LORD came unto
Jeremiah, while he was ſhut upin the court of the priſon, ſaying 9, |
9 Theſe words let us know that theſe four Verſes ( which con- tain moſtly a Promiſe to Ebedmelech for his kindneſs to Jeremiah while he was in the Dungeon of Mal.hiah of which' we read, Chap. 38.6, 7, 8,9, 10, t«. the things mentioned in the foregoing Verles.
16 Go and ſpeak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian 7, ſaying, Thus faith the LORD of hoſts, the God of Iſrael, Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil and not for good, and they ſhail - be accompliſhed in
that day before thee /. | r Ezedmelech is here again called the Ethi-pian to the reproach of the Jews, that a ſtranger ſhould ſhew more kindneſs to a Prophet of the Lord than any of that Nation ro whom he was ſpecially ſent ; which was a Typ: of the calling of the Gentiles, and rej-&tion of the Jews. [God affures Ebedmedech, the Ciry ſhould be takenand burnt, and the People carried into Captivity. 17 But I wiil deliver thee in that day, faith the
LORD, and thou ſhalt not be given into the hand of
the men of whom thou ar: afraid r.
+ But promiſerh Ebedmelech he ſhould be delivered in thatevilday, and, whether he fearzd the Chaldeans, that he ſhould loſe his Lite by them when they ſhould break up the City, or the Princes whom he had anger'd by complaining to the King oftheig hard uſage of the Prophet, he ſhould come into none of their Power.
18 For I will ſurely deliver thee, and thou ſhalt not.
fall by the ſword «4, but * thy life ſhall be for a prey unto thee w, becauſe thou haſt put thy truſt in me,
faith the LORD x.
« For God would deliver him, ſo as he ſhould not die by the Sword. w But how little eIſe ſoever he ſaved, he ſhould fave his Life. x Becauſe he had put hisrruft in God, not fearing the wrath of Men in the doing of what was his Duty. Weread no more in Holy Writ
only may be aſſured that he was nor ſlain by the Chaldeans. And from this we may obſerve, r. How kind God hath always declared himſclfro thoſe who have ſhewed the leaſt kindneſs, ro thoſe thar have been his true and faithful Miniſters. 2 Thar the root of ſuch. good Works as God rewardeth muſt be Faith, atruſting in the Lord: 3. That thoſe who do good Works out of a principle of Faith, ma yet be incumbred with {laviſh fears. | CHAP. ML Jeremiah. being ſet free by Nebuchadnezzar, go*th to Gedaliah, 1 6. To whom theremaining 7ews repair, 7 —=12. Johananrevealing lſhmaels
Conſpiracy, 1s not believed, 13 16.
of the piiſon, and committed him unto Gedaliah, the |.
mentions a matter that happened before |
ding as he hath ſaid, becauſe ye have finned againſt the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing 15 come upon you &. d This Pagan Commander could ſee that which the bj
would not underſtand ; they ſaid, wherefore us = ——_— - _ upon us ? Nebuzar-adan knew wherefore and gives God the glor af his Maſters Vi&ory,as alſo of his own fairhfulneſs,ſaying God 7 but done what he ſaid, brought the evil which he had pronounced againſt that City, he alſo acknowledgeth Gods Juſtice, that this evi1 was come upon them, becauſe of their fins. Thus, the Men of Tyre and Siam, and of Nineveh ( and according to our Saviours | words ) ſhall riſe up in Judgment, againſt the Jews that lived in our ; Saviours time ; and Nebuzar-adan another day ſhall riſe up -in Judgment againſt thoſe Fews that lived in Jeremiah: time and ſhall condemn them. 1 7
4 And now behold I looſe thee this day from the chains which || were upon thine hand : if it ſeemeth good unto thee, to coine with me into Babylon, come, and 7 I will look well unto thee : bur if it ſeem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear : behold, all the land is before thee : whither it ſeemeth good and con-
venient for thee to go, thicher go e. wo
e Nebuzar-adan, like a faichful Servant, remembers his Maſters
greater favour rhan to any others of his Priſoners ; he others by his righr of Conqueſt to what they ſhould do, Haw bs _ the Prophet a liberty ro chuſe whether he would go to Babylon, or ſtay at Jeruſalem in his own Councrey, he promiſed him that if he would goto Bebylon, he would take a particular care of him.
5 Now while he was not yet gone back f, he ſaid,