6 Offering Incenſe before the Idols. c Either the Sanhedrim or Council of 70, who ſhould have preſerved Religion pure and untain. ted, ty which their Office bound them : or, elſe 70 of the more aged Heads of theTribes, or Familes, who ſhould have been Examples by their Pureand Conſtant Affe&ion to true Religion, bur theſe are Ring- leaders in this Idolatry. d By Age or Office, or both. e Either ac- companying them in their Idolatry : or, rather as Chief of the Council or Sanhearim in the Chair, the Seat of the Chief Prefect, or Principal, next to the High Prieſt. f mentioned 2 Kings 22. $. as molt likely, a Perſon that ſeems forward in Reforming under Joſiah, and his Sun as forward now in corrupting the Worſhip of God. g All were Attors in this Idolatry, and either Prieſts to theſe Idols,or very Bigots in the Service. þ Or abundance'of a Cloud, or Rich (as the word among Rabbinical Senſes) Cloud; or, ſince the word whence this comes ſignifies to pray or ſupplicate, a Cloud of Incenſe offered with the Prayers of theſe, deluded Idolaters, who were uſed to put both together. i Whether ſimple and uncompounded, or compound, it was alway of Sweets, and very coſtly too : indeed Idolatry, as Adul tery will be laviſh.
12 Then ſaid he unto me, Son of man, haſt thou 7 ſeen
what the & antients of the houſe of Ifarel do in the / dark, m every man .in the » chambers of his imagery ? for they
o ſay, The *þ LORD 9 ſeth us not, the LORD'G Or;
hath 7 forſaken the earth.
z; Obſerved and throughly conſidered. & See ver. 11. Whether aſhamed to at openly what was moſt abſurd, or whether out of Blind. neſs, doting in ſecret on what Heathens ſecretly derided, though for Intereſt they a&ed it openly, owning that Religion which awed the People among them, and deriding it at home ; bur Idolatrous Jews bluſh in publick, and retire into Corners to be Idolaters, as thou ſeeft in this Chamber. » Every one of thofe Anrtients, for ſtil] God had his remnant that kept cloſe to God. »n Secrer, Cloſer, or Bed-chamber, o Moſt ſhameleſs! would give a Reaſon for their unreaſonable PraGti. ces. þ Jehwoah the Everlaſting and Almighty God. 9 Either they deny his Providence, and a& what they durſt not if they thought rhe Lord knew and noted it, as if they accounted Jehovah no better than idols that have Eyes, but ſee not. Or elſe they deny God's Care of them and their Afffairs, traduce him as if he minded them nor, and therefore they muſt chooſe ſome other God for Patron, who would better help than he had done.” » This ſeems to explain the Meaning of that, he ſeeth us not ; and ſo with Atheiſm more than ordinary, they would caſt the blame of chooſing other Gods on God himſelf.
13 J He faid allo unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou ſhall « ſee # greater abominations that they
# do.
5 Repreſented to him in this Viſion. * Either becauſe added to all the reſt : or, becauſe ſome Circumſtances in theſe make them more abominable than what before was repreſented; or, it may be taken for very great, as when the word is applyed to Cities, Deur. 1. 28. and 6 10. and g. 1. To ſtones, Joſh. 10. 11, 27. 1 Kings 7. 10. David's Wars, 1 Chron. 22. 8, Kingdoms, Fer. 28. 8. And to the marvelous Works of God, Job 5. 9. and g. 10 Pſal. 136. 4. And generally our Verſion keeps to the poſitive degree, though here they render it by the comparative; and in the 6:h Verſe of this Chapter the very felf-ſame Expreflion is rendered great (not greater ) Abominations : We need not then perplex our Reader with a long Diſcourſe, to ſhew wherein theſe latter Sins are greater than the former meutioned ; they are all very great. u Now they ate doing theſe things, inſtead of worſhip- ping the true God on the Sabbath, as he required all his People : the Leaders of the People are on the Sabbath of the Lord offering Incenſs to their deteftable Idols.
14 Then he » brought me to the door of the » gate
of the LOR D's houſe, which was towards the || north, and behold, there fat z women @ weeping for 6 Tam-
mUuz.
x Not by real and corporal Change of Place, bur in Vifion and by Repreſentation. y Of the outer Court, or Court of the Women: 10 called becauſe they were allowed to come into it, as were all the Laity of the Jews; but 'tis more likely, the Gate of the Inner Courr, th* Court of the Prieſts, next to the Houſe of God, whirher none ſave Prieſts might come but in this very great Corruption of the State, others were admitted into it, which makes this Sin the greater. {| He enters at firſt by the North-Gate, and ſo pafſeth on to what Places ve!® next to the Temple on that ſide. z Contrary to the Law were the) come thither, led by their blindneſs, becauſe the vileſt and moſt imp! dent Superſtition, and waiting (expreſs'd by ſtring) ready to comm moſt lewd Wickedneſles as part of their obſcene and beafſtly gore
s Ti
Chap. VII
Fe, vga
WS * 4 oo <4 4N
£ «WF Y + '* , +*
OT
—* FE OS ge. Oe TIE BN : Tee Ee ett, A:
| oa [ K. | 2 [ + - 8 b : p
hap. IX. E Z E
of a Boar, ſay ſome;
| A Magician, fay ſome: a handſom young Man, but noto. che bale SN omen, yy others: an Adulterer (fy _—_ _ *- B-other King of Egypt, and mangled in pieces: his torn Mem. RO Ro os a River, but gathered up by the fond Adul- rereſſes, and Rites of Worſhip fitted to ſolewd an Idol; whoſe Adul- teries, laſcivious Prattices, and imnmiodeſt Geſtures theſe ſhe-Prieſts Red over before the Idol with Men of like Lewdneſs, of whom whar they received, as Rewards of their proſtiruting themſelves, was offer- ed to Vines : By this Means God's Temple was turned into a lewd Stews.
rious for Love of
15 © Then ſaid he unto me, Haſt thou ſeen th, O ſon of man? turn thee yet again, and thou ſhalt ſee greater
aborinations c than thele. . 7
- Brides theſe thou haſt ſeen, thou ſhalt again ſee great Abomina- tions: or, if the Expreſſion be ſtritly comparative, then theſe latter Wickedneſſes may be accounted greater, becauſe ated ina moreſacred
Place.
16 And he brought me into the 4 inner court of the
> TORD' houſe, and behold, at the -e door of the tem-
ple of the LORD, between the f porch and the g altar,
1 *Ch.i1. 1. vere about þ * five and twenty men, with their & backs
” 2
: toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward
Kings the eaſt, and chey worſhipped the 7 * ſun toward the *'" caſt.
| d The inmoſt, that which was next to the Temple, called herethe
Lord's Houſe. e Before he ſaw Abominations in the Gates of the