w Here 15the root of all finners diſobedience, their reſo;ution to pleaſe and humour themſelves, not knowing how in any thing to deny themlelves ; hence it is that denying our ſelves is by Chriſt mag? the frit Law or Condition of his Diſciples. x By the Queen of Heaven ſome here urdecftand the Sun, which notion is tayoured from the words being of the Feminine Gender, which fignifieth the Sun in Heb+ others reading it not the Queen, but the frame of heaven ; by it underſtanding the Sun, Moon and Stars. y Drink: offerings were a Divine Homage which God had commanded to be paid to him, Lev. 23. 13. Numb. 6.17. + Their Arguments for it were, 1. Cuſtom and Antiquity, they and their Fathers had uſed to do it. 2. The Example of their Kings and Princes. # 3- The Plenty and Proſperity they had while they did ſo; as if their Idolatry had been the cauſe of it.
19 Bat ſince we left off to burn incenſe to the queen ot Heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been conſumed by the ſword and by the famine b.
19 * And when we burnt incenſe to the queen of Heaven, and poured out drink-offerings unto her, dit we make her cakes to worſhip her, and pour out crink-offerings unto her without our || Men ?
Os .
B< #7: 75* untothe ||* Queen of Heaven , and to pour out ; l am? of Arink-offerings unto her, as we have done y, we and ” hexven= Our Fathers, our Kings and our Princes, in the Cities | - * Chap. of Judah, and in the Streets of Jeruſalem z : for 7: _ then had we plenty of -Þ Victuals, and were well, i T Hed. "nd ſaw no evil a.
% bread.
* * Chap. » | 2 7» 18,
Or, H1s- bands.
SEREMIAH
leſs we by it mean what is moſt ancient ; as al
6 Their laſt Argument is drawn fron! the evils that Had befa!ler them fince they had lefe worſhipping the Sun, Moon and Stars - thus ſtrangely making their omitfion of that, the cauſe of the ſuf- ferings, their tormer doing of which was indeed the true cauſe. They had loft their Husbands in the Stege, and in Battels, and had luffered Famine and Hunger; and all becauſe they had burnt In- cenſe to other Gods, they interpret theſe Providences 25 a Paniſh- ment of them for not doing it as they had formerly v(eq 0 do. So bad Interpreters are thoſe of God's Providences, yho indulge their Luſts in oppoſition to God's Law. :
20 © Then Jeremiah faid unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him hat anſwer, ſaying,
21 The incenſe that ye burnt in the Cities of ſu- dah, and in the ſtreets of Jeruſalem, yeand your fa- thers, your kings and your princes; and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them. and came it zot into his mind ?
22 Sothat the LORD could no longer bear, be- cauſe of the evil of your doirigs, ad becauſe of the abominations which ye have committed ; therefors is your land a deſolation, and an aſtoniſhment, and 2 curſe without an inhabitant as at this day. *
2.3 Becauſe you have burnt incenſe, and becauſe ye have ſinned againſt the LORD, and have no: obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law. nor in his ſtatutes, nor 1n his teſtimonies, therefore this evil 1s happened unto you, as at this day c?
c There 1s in theſe Verſes nothing of difficulty, nor any new Phraſes to be opened. That which is obſervable is, that thoysn: the Prophet was but one againſt many, yer he fearerh no: the:r Faces : The ſubſtance of what he ſaith is this; That they inter- preted God's Voice in his Providences towacd their Country di- rely contrary tothe true ſence of it. They concluded that their omiſſion of late to burn Incenſe to the Sun, Moon and Stars was the cauſe why it was ſo ill with them ;as if theſe were animate Be- ings, and the ſupreme Being, whereas they were but Creatures. Or as if it were the Will of the ſupreme Being to be 2dored 2nd worſhipped in them, or before Statues and Images repreſented by them, whereas the Will of God was direly contrary, and as he in the ſecond Commandment had forbidden any tuck Worſkip,be+ cauſe he was a jealous God, fo he had for the breach of that Con;- mandment by their burning Incenle to theſe Creatures, burned up their Houſes and Temple, and brought their Nation into that mi- ſery into which they were come : From whence may be ob/erved how ill an Argument for any Religious Tory Antiquity is, un- Ir meat o, that Preſcrittion in that which is falſe in the worſhip of God, juſtifieth none. Nor is it a good concluſion that thoſe who lived neareſt to the primi- tive Inſtitution are molt likely to have done beſt, as having the beſt means to know what is truly primitive. Idolatry was 25 01d as Laban, and the worlt of Idolatry (offering Children to Molzcb) was older than the Levitica! Law, if not as 01d as Serug. In matters of Worſhip the Word ot God is a ſufficierit Rule ; we need not plead antiquity nor the pradice of our Fathers. Error is not capable of being juſtihed by Tradicion or Preſcription. i 24 Moreover, Jeremiah faid to all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, 3!l Judah that are 1a the land of Egyyr 4,
4 That is, all you Men and Women chat belong to Fudah, 2nd are now come to inhabit in the Land of Ezypr. :
25 Thus ſaith the LORD of Hoſts, the God of Ifrael, ſaying, * Ye and your wives have both ſ; poken * Ver. 2 5, with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, ſay- &c.. | ing, We will ſurely perform our vows e that we have vowed, to burn incenſe to the queen of Heaven, and to pour out drink-offeriags unto her ; ye will ſurely accompliſh your voivs, and ſurely perform your VOWS }.
e Thoſe words have [oken are in the Hebrew of the Feminine
Gender,which giveth good reaton to ſomeInterpreters to conclude che Women were firſt and principal in this Idolatry, and the Mens guilt lay in conniving at them, and ſuffering themſelves to be !ecla- ced by them. Ye, faith the Propher, have ſpoken it, and ye have been as bigs as your words, and for a Cover you pretent the Kelte gion of a Vow, as ifa Yow Cou:d be a bond of Iniguity, and 12 were poſlible by a Vow to oblige your elves to a toci2king ot the trua God, and a commirring of Idolatry. f The latter words ſeem Ironical, ſo as to have this ſence, Yo! are ri.i015% uno tf, and there is no moving you trom your reſolttic: , Gd ttt re- {olved too.