k O Fudes thy puniſhment i paſt, but the puniſhment of Edem 's yet to come. The Fews were to abide many Years in Captivity, bur they were now tuffering their laſt puniſhment from the Chal- deans, they were only for tome Years to continue in that ſtate of Captives. / After thy term of Captivi:y ſhall be expired, thou ſhalc not for thy old fi2s ſuffer any more puniſhment ; noc that cheir preſeht Captivity ſhould be all their puniſhmenc4a cate they went on 11 fintul courſes, (as they did in rejecting Chriſt, and cau- ſing hint to be crucified) tor thoſe new wickedneſſes atter many Years they were de{troyed by the Romans. Bur the Prophet hints, that there ſhould at preſent, or tor their paſt fins no more wrath be poured out upon them, nor would God ever detain them 1a this Captivity. g But for the Edomites, their puniſhment was yer wholly tro come, God was yet beginning to puniſh them,and would do it, diſcovering their fins, As the pardon of fig is in Scripture ſer out under the notion of covering it, P/al. 32. 1. fo the puniſh+ ment of fin may be expreſſed by diſcovering it, Job 20, 27, but the Learned Author of the Engliſh Annotations, conceiveth the Hebrew may be better read, He will diſcover thee for thy ſins, be- cauſe of the Particle oy ler before thy ns (though our Tranſl1- tion taketh no notice of 1t ) MH will diſcover upon thy fins, ani to it an{wereth, Jer. 49. Io. ( as he coficeiveth ) I have made Eſa: bare, I have uncovered his ſecret places, and he ſhall not be able 19 "de himſelf,
CHAP. V.
An Humble Prayer, preſenting to the Lord their ereat Miſ-ry, I, 15. Conjeſſing their Sins, 16, — 18. Implorins Delzverance, 19, —— 22,
[ Emember, O LORD, what ts come upon us : conlider and behold our reproach 4.
4 It hath been betore obſerved, that ic is very frequent in Scrip- ture toexprels thole afts which are reaſonably contequent to tae exerciſe of our exterior or interior ſenſes, by terms which fienifie the exerciſe of thoſe lenſes. That which the Propher here prayeth tor, 1s God's freeing the Jews trom thoſe Calamities whicn o»- preſſed them, this he prayeth for under the notion of Goil's remem- bring them, and bzbolding their reproach.
2 Our inheritance1s turned to ſtrangers, our hou-
ſes to aliens b.
b What our Fathers inherited as given them by thee, 2nd we 1s left to us by them, is come 1nto the hands of the Chaldeans.
3 We are orphans and fatherleſfs, c our mothers
are as widows d;
c We are all of us without a King ( ho is the common Father of the Countrey) we are deprived of thy tathely care and pro- teaion, many young Children amonaſt us are Jefc wichour a1 earthly Parent. 4 Either our great Cicies are ike Widows want- ing Magiſtrates. Or, our Women that were Married are lefe Wi-
dows. | 4 We have drunken our water for money, our
; WAcT® it 15 proba let! and
VN 37 oat ew” ” p_ © _ :
; wood Þ is ſold tous ec. R_—_ e This ſcemeth to refer to the State of the J-ws in Babrlon, cometh ft 1Eir Adves faries made them buy boch Water £75ce-
Chap. V.
a nd Wood, which in the Land of Canazn they had plentifully and
= Heb. en
without any further chargeto them, than fetching the one, and cutting down and bringing hometo the other. 5 + Our necks are under perſecution, we Jabour
cur n:; 5 and have norelt f. we r-*perſe= f Asthe generality of Priſoners of War, are made Slaves and
cuted.
* Job 39. Pia L119, 83. | Or, v0rs Of forms.
T Has 47.6s
put to hard and inceſſant labour, fo in probability the moſt ot the Fews were at firſt at leaſt. :
6s We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Aſlyrians, to be ſatisfied with bread 9g.
g The ten Tribes were all carried Captives into Aſſ)ri4, many of the Kingdom of Fudab, as we have heard, fled into Ezypt after the taking of Jeruſalem. Giving tbe hand may either ſ1gnifie working with their hands, and labouring for them : Or, yielding 1p themſelves totheir power,or lifting up the hands as ſupplicants to thei, or {triking hands and making Covenants with them, or lending them their hands to help them, and all to get any thing to live upon.
= * Qur fathers have ſinned and are not, and we have born their iniquities h.
h We muſt nor underſtand this in the ſame ſenſe, as Ezek. 18.2. where God refleð upon them for uſing a Proverb to this ſenſe. It is the Prophet who here ſpeaketh, and in the Name of the Godly Jews who would not excuſe themſelves, as it they ſuffered meerly for their forefathers fins. But the Prophet confeſfeth and bewaileth that God had puniſhed their Iniquities and the Iniqut- ties of their forefathers together, and it was better with their forefathers who had ſinned, and were dead and gone, than with them upon whom the puniſhment of their iniquicy did abide,and was like ſo to do a long time.
3 Servants have ruled over us : : there z5 none that doth dcliver zz out of their hands k.
i Either thoſe who ſometimes were our ſervants, tributary to us, or the Poſterity zof Cham, condemned of 01d to be Servants
The Lamentations of F ER EM I A H.
y Our grave Men were wont to fit and execute judgment jn the Gates, but now there 1s no ſuch thing. Our young Men were wont to play on Muſick, and to have their merry Meetings, but they are alſo cealcd.
is The joy of our heart is ceaſed, our dance is
turned into MOUrnIng 2.
{ Eicher our rejoycing at our ſolemn Feſtivals, and Dancings there which were uſual as appeareth from many Scriptures. Or o | _ joy and Dancings as well as at other times as in our Solemn
EITLVAIS,
to us that we have ſinned b. Crown of
a Or, the crown of our head is fallen, by which is not only to © be underſtood the cetlatjon of their Kingdom, but all their Ho. ſlice, nour, Splendor and Dignity, (Crown being taken in a Metapho- rical Notion.) b We muſt thank our ſelves for all this, this wo is come upon us becauſe of our fins.
our eyes are dim c.
c Either for our fins theſe Miſerſes are befallen us: or for theſe Miſertes our Spirits fail us, and we are almoſt blinded with weeping.
to our forefather Sem. Gen 9. 26. Or the Servants of thoſe Ma- ſters whom we ſerve in Babylon. hk; And none will help us and give us more liberty.
o Wegat our bread with the peril of our lives, be- cauſe of the ſword of the wilderneſs /.
! The Enemies lay incamped in all the Plains, ſo as they could
| ſtir out no way but the Sword of the Chaldeans was upon them,
and what Victuals they gat they adyentured their Lives for du-
ring the time of the Siege. ; 10 Our * skin was black like an oven, becauſeof