extraordinary Straits to ſhew their great Obedience tothe Devil, chey offered their Children. What Creature they worthipped under this Name 1s not certain, bur very probably it wasthe Sun, trom 2 Kings 23. s. or ſome ſuperiour Being, whici they own- ed as their ſupream Lord and King, which they, ſome of them, miſtook the Sun, Moon and Stars © be, they being glorious Beings removed out of Mens Knowledge, fo as they had nor ſuſhi ciznr means to underſtand their Natures, might, confider:ng their Morions, and vatt Influecce they had upon all other Creatures, miſtake them for animate and ſupream Beings, ro which as chey paid other Homapges, ( ſuch as ſwearing by them, Ze/v. 1.5. Durning Incenſe, offering Beaſts, praying to them ) ſo 1n 1mira- tion of the Hearhens, and in a pretence of high Devorton, and Hu- ma;.e in fome ſpecial Caſes and Straits, they offered their Chil- dren, Some think they only made them go through the fire, bur did nor burn them ; and indeed, fo moſt of che Scriptures exprels this abominable Idolatry ; but ſome Scriptures ſpeak 1t plain enough, that they aRually buror them : The Pſalmitt Pai. 106. 37. ſaith, They ſhed innocent blood, even the blood of thur ſons and daughters, whom they ſacrificed to the Idols of Canaan,
2 And eo forth unto the valley of the ſon of Hin- noin c, which 7s by the entry of the | eaſt-gate, and proclaim there the words that I ſhall tell thee 9.
4 We ſha | hereafter hear why God commanded Jeremah tro go,
and the land was polluted with blood, which it could not have been by their Children meerly pafling through the fire ; and.jr is Jad ro their Charge, Ezeþ 15. 20, 21. Thou haſt takin thy Sons , and thy Daughters, whom thou haſt born unto mt, and thoſe haſt
thicher rather than to another place, to break this earthen pr. | tou ſacrificed to them to be devoured. 21. That thou haſt lain This Valley was a place very near unto Hi?ruſalem, of which one | 7 Chularen, ans delivered them to cauſe them to paſs through
Hinnoj was Owner in Jo/Þ4's rime, Jof. 15.8. and 18. 16. The Valley is in Scripture ſometimes called Ge-)jinnom, from whence came the Greek Word Geh-nna, uſed by our Saviour for Hell, Matth, 5.22, cis F 14evvav Te mv73s, becauſe of the heiiiſh Tor: ments they there pur their Childrea to when they ſacrificed chem, and of the helliſh Cries they made, & In the Hebrew it 15 the S:1-gate, ſuppoſed to be ſo called, becauſe. the Sun riſerh 1n the Eaſt. This Valley is ſaid ro have lien very near to this Gate 3 thither ]ere#y is commanded to go, and there to proclaim the tollowipg Words, 2
3 And ſay, Hear ye the word of the LORD, © Kings of Judah, and Inhabitants of Jeruſalem, Thus ſairh rhe LORD of hoſts, the God of Iſrael, Behold | will bring evil upon this place, the which whoſoever heareth, his ears ſhall tingle e.
the fire for them, We read of the Idolatry of Feroboam, who worſhipped the true God, bur by Calves fer up at Das and Be- thel. Ahab exceeded this, bringing in the terminative Worſhip of the Creatures, worſhipping the Sun, Moon, and Stars, under the Name of Baa! : Bur the firſt in ZFudab, of whom we read, that he made his Son to paſs through the fire, was Ahax , the Father of Hezehiah, 2 Kings 10. 3- He was followed by his Grandchild Afanaſſeh, 2 Kings 21.6. Joſiah, the good Son of a bad Farther, 4efi/:4 rhe place where this abominable [dolatry was commitred, 2 Kings 23. 10. The place where they commitred this horrible Abomiration, was the Valley of the Son of Hinnomn, very near the City, and the particular place was called T1phit, There was an high place builr for the Ido!, and many think, thar che Name Tophet ariferh from their Uſe of a Drum or Tabret, with
which while the poor Children were burning, they made great noiſes
| to drown the ſound of the Childrens 7elings; tho' others think, the
2 That is, a very great Evil ; it isan Hebrew way of expreſ- Word Tophct originally ſignifies Hell, or the place of che Damned, fon, which we alſo find, 1 Sam. 3. 11. 2 Kings 21. 12. Asa ve- of which this place, both for the rorments and roarings in ir, was a
ry great glaring Lighc affe&s oor eyes, and blindeth chem, ſoa ve- ry great Sound atteterh rhe Ear, and makes 1t tingle, and for ſome time deaf: This God commandeth the Prophet to proclaim, as particularly dice&ed to all, both high and low, as well the hings of Juqai, as the Inhabitants of Jeruſalem.
4 Becauſe they have * forſaken me f, and have
unto other gods þ, whom neither they nor thetr ta- thers have known, nor the Kins of Judah, and have filed this place with the blood of innocents 7.
f The Laws, Sctarares, and Ordinances which God had- given them, to dire& them both 1n cheir religious Behaviour rowards him, and in cheir civil Converſations. g Either this City, or this Icmple, ( which ftood very nigh co this Valley ) or this particu- far Valley, which they had turned to an uſe quite contrary to rhe en1 for which God gave 1rthem; þ for init they had paid a religious Homage to Idols, ftrange Idols which their Fathers new nor, t and had filled that place with the blood of ſuch as bad nor deferved Dearth, either innocent Men, or Children, thar they had there ſacrificed ro Idols; of which he afterward ſpeaketh more particu}arly,
-lively Repreſentation. Now of this barbarous and horrible Idolatry God faith, | He commanded them not, neither came it into hy mind, It was ſo far from jr, thar God had moſt ſeverely forbid ir, Lev. 20, 2,3,4, 5. making ita capiral Crime for any to do it, and for any to conceal others that they knew did it : So that here is a AMeao/rs, leis ſpoken than was true in the caſe z but poſlibly God's expreſling a ching of this nature, being an Errour in his Worſhip, under theſe ſofr terms, I commanded them net, neither did it come into my mind, giveth no fmall ground to conſiderate Men to judge, that we muſt have a Command from God, though
nor for every individua! Act of our Worſhip, nor for every Cir- cumſtance of humane Attion which we do in his Worſhip, yer for every ſpecifical religious AR, and for any thing whereby we pay an Homage to God it being indeed the moſt reaſonable thing imaginavle, thar God ſhould have the ſame Priviledge which every Prince or great Man amongſt Men claimeth as his Right, to pre» (cr1he the As, Modes, and Methods, for his cwn Homage.