g The Judges in this cafe with the afſent of the People acquic che Prophet, and vindicate him from the Charge of Sedition gi- ven againſt him by the corrupt Prieſts, and falſe Prophets, diſtin- guiſhing þ betwixt one who of his own Head ſpreadeth falſe News and threatneth evil to a p'ace, and one who coth it by Authority from God, or by Divine Revelation, which is here meant by, in the Name of our Lord God. Thus the Civil Magiſtrate taught the Prieſts and Prophets a point of Divinity, which they ought not to have been ignorant of. Some may enquire how the Princes knew ,that Feremy ſpake what he {pake in the Name of theLord > Te which it may be replyed, That Feremy had been a Prophet now about 20 Years, for he began in the 13th of Foftah, Chap. 1. T, 2. Foſiah reigned 31 Years, 2 Kings 22.1. then Shallum or Fe- hoahaz reigned three Months, this was in the beginning of Jehoia-
came from the king's Court, where the Nobles and great Officers 111 Nations ulually are, to the Temple- t And ſat downac the entry of the New Gate in the Lord's Houſe. Some thjnk it was called the New Gare becaule repaired by Fotham, 2 King. 15. 3s-
Some lay it was the E:jtern, others, that 1t was the +: jon Gate It was certathly the place where their + ;xhedrim, who were to judge of falle Prophets were wont to-
a + - Y ” A T ['G TG l. "+ 4
11 Then ſpake the prieſts, and the prophet -, unto the Princes, and to all the people w, ſaying,
/24inft this city, as ye have heard with your
ed at, CaTS Ft.
« In the corrupt ſlate of all Kingdoms and Cities, the Ecclefi- 27ical Officers always were the greateft Enemies to the Faithful Miniſters of God, as we ſhall find in the whole ſtory both of the G11 and New Teſtament. w They ſpeak to the Members of the 1617 Court who are called Princes, and alſo to the People who were in the ccurt charging Jeremy with Sedition, by prophelſying falfly, which was a capital Crime. x It was the-charge againſt S:ephen, 4s 6.13. that he ſpake blaſphemous words againft 1the holy place 3 to prove this they appeal to thoſe of the people that had heard hin. :
12 4 Then ſpake Jeremiah unto all the princes,
kim's Reign,in which time they had had a large Expeitence both of his Dofrzne and Converſation 3 and though the Prieſts and Prophets who had had the like experience, were filled with Malice and Pe- judice, yet the Princes,and a part of the People were more equal, and though the People were many of them led away with the Prieſts, yet hearing the Prophets defence, and the Princes judg- ment upon it, they concur with them to acquit the Propher.
17 Then roſe up certain of the elders of the land, and ſpake to all the aſſembly of the people, ſaying.
i; Probably theſe Elders were ſome of the Court, or elſe Ad- vocates, for they were wont to riſe up, either to plead or to judge, Iſa. 3. 13. Afs 5. 34. They rile upand apply themſelves to the People to juſtifie their ablolutory ſentence.
18 Micah the Moraſhite & propheſied in the days - of Hezekiah king of Judah, and ſpake to all the peo- ple of Judah, faying / Thus ſaith the LORD ot - hoſts : Zion ſhall be plowed /:ke a field, and Jeruſa- ſalem ſhall become heaps, and the mountain of the houſe, as the high places of the foreſt zz.
h This was that Aicth, whole Prophecies are part of ho]; Writ, as appeareth by Azicah 1, 3- and 3, 12, whereare the very words of the Prophecy here mentzgned, 7 The ſubſtance cf that -
and to all the people, ſaying y, The LORD feat me |
Prophecy was the fame with th14 of F:7emmiah, that 2797 ſhouid be Aw al p10 Ps
Chap. XXVI.
v Chap.
-
ke * Shiloh k, and doings 2, and obey the voice of the LORD yours* yer, 19.
Chap. XXVI
plowed up, and the place where the Temple ſtood, ſhould be- come 1o delolate that Trees ſhould grow there, asin a Wood or
Forreſt. 19 Did Hezckiah Ring of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death 2? did he not fear the LORD,
1 Heb faceand belought the || LORD 2? and the LORD re- of: e Lyrd pented him of the evil which he hath pronounced
+ Heb.
Son. of the
peofue,
againſt them 0? Thus might we procure great ev1! againſt our fouls p.
m The Interrogation here hath the force of a Negation ; tha: :5, Herckiab, and the Senkedrim in his time d1d not go about ro call him in queſtion tor his Life, nor put himto death. His Prophecy had a quite contrary effe&t on him. nIt begat in him an awe and diead of that God, in whoſe Name the Prophet {pake, and quick- ened him to apply himſelf ro God by earneſt Prayer, and the courie he took had a very gocd ifſue. oThe Lord did not do what he threatned to do, p Now, if we ſhould take a quite contrary courſe, and put this Man to death, we ſhould do contrary to what that good Prince did, (and that with good ſucceſs) do our ſelves no good, but procure great evil againſt our Souls ; that is, againſt our {elves both Bodies and Souls ſtrictly taken.
20 And there was alſo a Man that propheſted 1n the name of the LORD, Urijah the ſon of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophehtied againſt this city, and againſt this land, according to all the words of Jeremiah q. | |
q This isa piece of Story which we have recorded in no other part of Scripture. Some judge thele words were the words of the {ame that ſpoke before, bur this is not likely, for then they had brought one inſtance for acquitting him, another for the condem:.- ing of him. They are therefore rather to be interpreted as the words of ſome others, either of the Court who were Enemies to Jeremiah, or of his Acculer', or their Council, urging a later pre- {ident, in the time of Feh:;1kim the King tiat at this time reigned, who a'ſo pretended to {peak in the Name of the Lord, and whole Prophecy was the ſame in ſubſtance with this of Feremzah,
21 And when Jehoiakim the King, with all his mighty men, and all the princes heard his words, the King ſought to put him to death; but when Uri- jah heard it he was afraid and fled, and went into
Egypt 7. ;
y When Fehoiachim our preſent King, and all his great Men heard of it, (probably by the information of others) they judged it a capital crime, and u{ed means to apprehend him, in order © the putting him to death, upon which the Prophet being adverti- ſed of it, and fearing the iffue, fled into Egypz.
22 And Jehoiakim the King ſent men into Egypt /, namely Elnathan the ſon of Achbor tz, and certain men with him 1nto Egypt,