* pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have” Cup. ſinned, and whereby they have tranſgreſſed againſt j,7.3# 18.
LORD of the hoſts, for the LORD #- good, for his * » Cfron- f Rs
mercy endureth for ever, andof them that ſhall bring 7: #
the ſacrifices of praiſe into the houſe of the LORD ; for I will cauſe to return the captivity of the Land, as at the firſt ſaith the LORD g.
9 The ſum of this Verſe is,that thoſe that ſhould be carried in-
to captivity ſhould return, and upon their return they ſhould be -
in their former States, both as to Civil TranſaRions, they ſhould. again Marry, and give in Marriage, and as to Holy and Spiritual Joy ; they ſhould publickly praiſe the Lord as they were wont to do in the words of David, Pſal. 106. 1. and 107. 1. and 1:8. 7. and 136. 1. (we havea Record in Holy Writ of the fulfilling of this Prophecy upon the laying the foundations of the ſecond Temple, Exr4 3.11.) and offer ſacrifices of Thankſgiving, See Nebem. 12. 27.
12 Thus faith the LORD of hoſts, Again, in this
place which 1s deſolate r without man, and without beaſt, and in all the cities thereof, ſhall be an habi-
tation of ſhepherds, cauſing their flocks to lie down.
r Thar 1s, a great part of which is, and the other part ſhall ſoon be deſolate. In all theſe places there ſhall be Elocks and Herds of Sheep, and Goats, which the Shepherd ſhall take care of as 1n former times.
13. * In thecities of the mountains, in the cities, of the valley,and in the cities of the ſouth, and inthe
17. 26.&
land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jeruſalem, zz, 44.
and 1n the cities of Judah, ſhall the flocks paſs again under the hands of / him that telleth chem, ſaith the LORD.
So as to keep tale of them; as it is ſaidthey were wont to do bvth Morning an1 Evening in thoſe Countries.
14 Behold, the days come, ſaith the LORD, that [ will perform that good thing which [ have promi- ſed unto the houſe of Iſrael, and tothe houſe of Ju- dah f. ;
e TheLord is not yea, and n4y, he cannot lie nor repent. I ſpeak not of the preſent time, but there ſhall be a time when God will juſtifie every good word of this nature which he hath ſpoken to his ancient People.
15 4 In thoſe days, and at that time will I cauſe the Branch of righteonſneſs to grow up to David «,
and he ſhall execute judgment and righteouſneſs in the land.
u Whatſoever the Fews and ſome others ſay, the Pranch of Righteouſneſs here ſpoken of, can be. meant of no other bur Chriſt, who is called a Branch out of the Stem of Feſſe, Iſa. 11. 1. The Branch of the Lord, Iſa. 4- 2. A Righteous Branch, Chap. 23+ 5. (See the notes on theſe places) Zerobabel though deſcended from David cannot be meant here, but the ſame who is thus cal- led in all thoſe parallel Texts, of whom yet Zorobabel (being a good Man, and deſcended from the Family of David) may be al- lowed to have - been a Type, But this Text tar more concerneth Chriſt,as he in whom all the Promiſes are founded,and in whom
they are all Tea, and Amen. The Kings they had hitherto had of the line of Davil, were moſt of them unrighteous Mer, but God pro-.
* Ge IG. ( Foe an 28%.4 3l, 3
$4 F Wh promiſeth that after che Captivity they ſhould have a Branch of |
1 that ſhould execute Judgment and Righteouſneſs in tho Land for che proteRion and government of thoſe that teared
him.
16 [n thoſe days, ſhall Judah be ſaved, and Jeru- ſalem ſhalldwell ſafely: w and this the name where- with he ſhall be called +, The LORD our righte-
els x. _ _ is the Opinion of ſome that a ſpiritual Salvation and ſe-
vic nromiled under theſe expreſſions; but the moſt and beſt ms an can rather underſtand ic of a temporal Salvation as pr1- marily intended, though typical of that Spiritual and Eternal Sal- vation which is often promiſed to the true Iſrael of God ; as their reſt in Canaan typitied that Reſt which remaineth for the People of God- x Our Traoflation of this Phraſe is ſomething ſtrange, words inthe Hebrew are 1JPT% mM 17 RIP) NUR NT Paenine Tranſlateth them, And he. who ſhall call it the Lord our Righteouſneſs, ſupplying the Verb ſubſtantive, #. He who ſhall call it is the Lord our Righteauſneſs, We tranſlate it, This & the name wherewith it ſhall be called, 8c. that which cauſeth the dit- ficulcy is, that the Pronoun IT}- which ſignifieth he,is applied both
to perſons and things, and tranſlated he or it,and the relative JWN
js of all caſes, ſo may de tranſlated who, or which, or with which, thoſe wores which our Tranſlators have ſupplied,zs the name,are
mW not in the Hebrew. This hath made a great doubt amongſt In- (8 rerpreters whether, The Lord our Righteouſneſs be the name of "08 Chriſt, or the name of the Ci:ty. I do incline to their opinſon, 2" who think that it is here mentioned as the name of Chriſt, In that BS ſence there is nothing to be underſtood but a Verb ſubſtantive, pb Z, which is ordinarily underſtood ; fo the words are thus. And "OR he who ſhall call it, is, the Lord our Righteouſneſs. The context 8 ſeemeth to favour this, Chriſt being that Ruler mentioned, v. 15,
1 . as hewho ſhall execute Fuſtice and Fudgment in the Land, be- WL Py: 414 ſides that there is no inch Name any where glven , either to the Fewiſh or Chriſtian, Church, as the Lord our Righteouſneſs, but
M1IA4H | Chap. XXXIV.
Seed of David, unleſs ic be r Kings rt. 39.-where it ſeems a!ſo to be underſtood only of the Princes that came from David,nor 1n- deed could they be fo called in any proper ſence 3 David being no common Head to the whole 7:wiſh Nation, as both Abraham, Iſaic and Facob were, but Chriſt is ofte: called the See4 of Dvid, Join 7. 42. Affts13. 23. Rom. r. 3. 2 Tim. 2.8. and Chriſt himſelf is called Divi, whole Seed and whoſe Levites are multi- plied in che mulciplying of Chriſtians and of faithful Miniſters under the Goſpel, which certainly are the things here promiled.
23 Moreover the word of the LORD came ro Je- remiah, ſaying,
24 Conlider thou not what this people have ſpo- ken, ſaying c, The two families which the LO&D hath choſen, he hath ever caſt them off a ?- thus they have deſpiſed my people, that they ſhould be no more a nation before them e.