promiting nothing as to his hearing and obeying his Counſel : As to the former he gives him the ſecurity of his Oath,that he wou!d neither himleltflay him, by giving any immediate command from himſelf, nor ſurrender h1M up into the hands of thoſe malicious Princes, who he perceived ſought his Life. The form of his Oath 15 What was uſual, as the Lord liveth, with an addition, the Lord that gave me my Life, if I put thee to death, and if T deliver thee, which form carrieth with 1t a concealed imprecation, Let the Lord do (o to me, and more alſo, Or letthe Lord that gave methis Sou] take it from me, if 1 do either of theſe things. Thus he fe. cures Feremidh, as to any hard meaſure for his telling him the
2ruth, though it ſhould be what might be 1nterpreted a capital
crime to publiſh, ; : j- Then aid Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus ſaith
TFEREMI AS
brought upon them, would be no ſmall Azrravation of his Af. fliction. TY ;
24 Þ Then ſaid Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no Man know of theſe words, and thon ſhalt not dic 4.
d Theſe words !{vthciently let us know that Z- 11-549 Rood in awe of h!s Courtiei <,4nd we might probably think chatihad it no: been tor them, he would have done better. This is the righreous Judgment of God, thole that will not ſinCtifie the Lord ot Hoſts, and make him thei: tear, ſhall tear Men whom to tear is much more bale and jgnoble,
25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and ſay unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou haſt ſaid unto the King, hide it not from ns, and we will not put thee
to death ; alſo what the King ſaid unto thee e. e It could hardly be imagined that Zedekith ſhould have this
the LORD, the God of Hoſts, the God of Ifracl, if| private Diſcourſe with Jeremiah, but ſome or other of his Cour-
thou wilt aſſuredly go forth unto the king of Babylons Princes, then thy ſoul ſhall liver, and this city ſhall not be burat with fire, and thou ſhalt live, and thine houſe . ; ;
t That is, thou ſhalt live. u And thow ſhalt ſave the City from being burned with fire, and thy Wives and Children from Death. God did certainly know that Z-d:ki2h would not do tis, though it was in his power todo it, yet he doth not judge it vain for him ro exhort him todo it, and roannex ſuch a promiſe; for thereby he was left inexcaſable, in his not laving tae City, and his Re- lations lives.
13 But if thou wilt not go forth ro the king of Ba-
bylon's princes, then ſhall this City be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they ſhall burn it with
fre, and thou ſhalt noteſcape ont of their hand w.
w As he before had uſed Exhortations and Promiſes, fo here he uſeth Threatnings to periwade him to that which indeed was in his power to do, but God infallibly knew that he would not do. The end of God in which could be no other than to leave him without excuſe, in not obzying what God commanded.
19 And Zedekiah the king ſaid-unto Jeremiah, 1 am afraid of the Jews, that are fallen to the Chalde- ans, leſt they deliver me into their hand, and
mock me x.
x But if Z:dehiah went out according to the Prophet's advice, and delivered himſeit, what need2d he to fear his Subjects, ( that had delerted the City ) delivering of him ? It ſeems rather there- fore to be the lence, leſt the Chaldemns when I have yielded my ſelf to them, ſhould deliver me into the hands of thoſe F-ws which have fallen to them, and tney ſhould mock mz, ſo as he ſeems to be more concerned for his Honour than for his own Life, and his Families, and the whole City ; thus often great Perſons are more patient of Death, than of Reproach and Dithonour.
20 But Jeremiah ſaid, They ſhall not deliver thee y : Obey, I beſeech rhee, the voice of the LORD, which I ſpeak unto thee: ſo it ſhall be well unto thee, and thy ſoul ſhall live. :
» The Chaldeans ſhall not do [o baſe an a, but deal with thee 2s with a Prince. 7 Let not this therefore bea Temptation to thee, to diſobey the Command of God, which if thou doeſt thou ſhalt live, though not in that ſplendor in which thou now liveſt, yer in 2 much more comfortable ſtate, than thou wile do if they take
tiels would takenotice of it, but yet it argues chat this poor Prince was 1n a miſerable ſubjeCtion to tiem, that he could diſcourſe with no body, but they muſt come and enquire what he ſaid.
26 Then thou ſhalc ſay unto them, I preſented my ſupplication before the King, that he would not cauſe me to reiurn to Jonathan's houſe to dye there /.
f The Ring inſtructs the Prophet in cafe the Priaces ſhon!d be inquiſitive to know what ditcourſe paſſed berwixt the King and him,to tell them, that he petitioned him chat he might be ſent no more to the Priſon in the Houſe of Jonarhas, of which ke complained, and petitioned the King to be freed from it, Char- 37. 20, | 27 Then came all the princes to Jeremiah 7, 22d aSked him h, and he told them according to all theſe words that the Ring hid commanded z : So they left Þ off ſpeaking with him, for the matter was uot per- ceived &,
at Court came and inquired of Jeremiah what was the Subſtance of his Diſcourle. i Fer:mizh aniwered them according as the King had direfted. A Man's not bound 14 all cafesto ſpeak the who!e cruch, much leſs to thoſe who have nothing to do to inquire of us which theſe Princes had not. k By this means the Princes never knew the matter of this Diſcourſe.
28 So Jeremiah abode in the Court of the Priſon, until the day that Jeruſalem was taken, and he was there When Jeruſalem was taken /-
| Thus God hath ſeveral ways to hide his People inanevil day; he hid Fofah trom it in the Grave, he hid Noth in an Ark, Lot in Zr, Feremp 1n a Priton, which in probability was a later place tor him, than the Land of B:njzmin, whither he would have gone, had not Irijih ſtop: him, Chap. 37. 12, 13. Conquerours have commonly the greateſt kindnels, for thote whom they find under the frowns ofthe conquered, eipecially when that which hath made them fo hath been ſomething ſpoken, or doce in the fayour of che Conquerors.
CHAP. XXXKIX.
Jeruſalem zs taken : Zedekiah's Sons are ſlain: His Ey2s put 0:2 He is [ent to Babylon : All che -N)bles of Judah are /l4in : The
the City by ſtorming. 21 But if thon refuſe to go forth, this zs the word
that the LORD hath ſhewed me : 22 And bchold all the women that are left in the.