30. J the || terrible famine .
m The want of bread cauſed leanneſs, and palenels, and 111 co-
J > - T:y. ours 1n their Faces .
11 They raviſhed the women in Zion, ard the
maids in the eities of Judah 7.
» Uſual Outrages of barbarous Soldiers. The Heb. 1s, They humbled, a modeſt term to expreſs thole actions by.
12 Princes are hanged up by their hand w - * the
faces of elders were not honoured.
w Moſt probably by the Enemies hands, though ſome would have it by their hands intimating a more ſharp and lingring Death. Hanging was an ancient way 11 the Eaſtern Countries of putting Maletactors to death, Gen. 40.19.
13 They took the young men to grind, and the children tell under the wood x.
x Their baſe ſervile condition is exprefled by the labour they were put to, which was either grinding in the Mill Gan ordinary employment of Slaves in thoſe Countries) or carrying M1ll- ſtones, and the younger Children, in carrying great Burdens of Wood under which they fell, as being not able to ſtand under the E:rdens aid upon them. EE
14 The elders have ceaſed from the gate, the Y0u02 men from their Mulick y.
18 Becauſe of the mountain of Zion which is dc-
ſolate, the foxes walk upon it 4.
_ 4 Foxes and other wild Beaſts, which fly from places inha- bited for fear of Men inhabiting, and are much in deſolate places. The Mountain of Zjon, where the Temple once ſtood, and People met to worſhip God, was now a deſolate unfrequented place, fo as wild Beaſts ran up and down there.
19 Thou, O LORD, * remaineſt for ever, thy * p#z!,;. throne from generation to generation e. and 10.16
e Thatis, Lord though for our fins thou ſuffereſt theſe things and 29.16 to be done unto us, and our Throne be throngh thy righteous and 102,
power is not diminiſhed, nor thy goodneſs abated. Thou ruleſt 145: 13. the World, and ſhalc rule it for ever and for ever.
20 Wherefore doſt thou forget us for ever, and
forſake us + ſo long time f.
f Wherefore doſt thou in the Diſpenſations of thy Providence carry thy ſelf as if thou hadſt forgotten us, and forſaken us, and that fora long time.
21 * Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we *pg..
ſhall be turned g : renew our days as of old h. 3, 72 12 g See the like expreſſion Fer. 31. 18. Turn thou us unto thee
by giving us Repentance, and then our condition will be altered,
or receive us into thy favour, and then it ſhall be well with us.
h Reſtore us to our former eſtate, that it way be with us as it
hath formerly been.
tength «|
days.
very wroth againſt us z.
words ſeem to expreſs ſome diffidence in the Prophet of God's Jed % Mercy 1n reſtoring the People to their former flate, ſome exprel- ftons of which nature we find talling from the moſt eminent Ser- vants of God in an hour of great Temptation : But where ſuch s ſenſe is not neceſſary, it is hard to put it upon a Text. Some there- fore expound DR 'Y in this place by Buz if. Others tranſlate them, Although thou haſt, &c. Mr. Calvin preferreth the Tranſla- tion of them by Nifi, unleſs thou haſt utterly rejefed us, and thinks that by this expreſſion the Prophet confirmeth kimlelf againſt Temptations of diffidence, becauſe it was impoſſible God ſhould utterly caſt off his People,Rom.1 1. 2, Others read it Interrogative- ly, Haſt thou utterly rejefed us > Which doth not ſuppoſe that the Prophet believed he had, though his preſent Providence ſhewed
him very angry with them.
ANNOT A-
Chap. V|
16 + The crown is fallen from our head a: wo un- + Heb, 1,
our head ?
17 For this our heart is, faint, for * theſe things * Plal. 9,
Providence thrown down ; yet thou art ſtill the fame God, thy 12427. al
F Heb. {
22 || But thou haſt utterly rejeted us ; thou art j| Or, Fs | wilt thu
7 Qur Tranſlators have here ſo rendred the Particle that the uterly 7+ |
=P,
FER SO Þ H ; BTR - 4 A T5 d ou £, [1, WEIS hb dr Fink Ps
eight!
. were date thirti: Other
= thorit «© fifth = miſtak 8 Ty, bu | reſchug unto 7 119hte to Taz
| * this Ac
the th the Je pher; tainme e Heb. lineal found X tvity 2 firg.” "Pp They ag Dar Tetirin : ruſaley > 5Sabbar 1eqQuire
ANNOTATIONS
ON
EZ EKIETL
The ARGUMEN T,
VEOP
it Zekiel was by Deſcent a Pricſ#, and by Commiſſion a Prophet 3 and received it from Heaven, as will appear from the fir, ſecond, and third Chapters. He was, and had been a Captive in Babylon five years when firſt called to this Office, and
2 rhere he met with many things that were occaſions of grief to himſelf, and occaſion of this Prophecy. For in Babylon there were 2% many that did repine at ther ſtate, repented they had rendered themſelves, call'd into queſtion the Truth and Integrity of Jeremiah, * and binſelf, and were ready to do wiolence to him z and not only this, but they continued ſo to ſin, that the Name of God yas
blaſphemed becauſe of them : And theſe things both grieved and weakned the heaws of the beſt, and hardned the worſt. To re-
that they might A, their duties,
dreſs theſe is Ezekiel both extraordinarily Called, Commiſſioned, Qualified and Aſſiſted in the Prophetick Office, in diſcharge «j which be doth reprove and calm the diſcontented, that they might return to 6 right frams of Patience and Hope. He calls the pro- phane and wicked 10 acknowledge Gods juſt and equal, and their own unequal ways, He direfteth the honeſt-hearted who enquire He encourages that handful of Godly ones among them, with many comfortable Promiſes ef p*2d in their own Land, and of more Grace from Heaven, and confirmeth what Jeremiah had preached, adviſed, and foretol4 irs Jerulalem, exactly harmonizing with him, though the one at Babylon, and the other at Jeruſalem, deſtitute of all means of conferring with each other, 11 all theſe particulars, he w ſometimes very plain, ſometimes ſpeaks in Riddles, in which Rind h+ & more frequent than any other of the Prophets, in them all deep and myſterious : to the quarrelling and froward theſe are dark, but to the Liumble and teachable, more ſignificant and claar. In his three firſt Chapters he opens his Commiſſion. In .the next ene and twenty Chapters he doth ſharply preach againſt the Sins of the Fews, which they diſlike and grow weary of, and wvislent
2 againſt the Preacher, who for ſome time is ordered to forbear,, and leavethem to that ſevere Sermon which the King of Babylen's "=, Army ſhould preach to them in the deſtruction of Country, City and Temple, which ſhould opets the Eyes of ſome, -avd wound the