miſuſe, and affli& your Jewiſh Wives whom alone you ſhould have loved and cheriſhed, but you make them Drudges and Slaves ro Ido- latrefſes, your new and illegal Wives: x Your deſpiſed and miſuſed Wives fly to the Temple, weep, and cry out unto God for redreſs of their Injuries. a This 1s added ro fhew the abundance of their Tears. b With Vchemercy crying to God againſt ſuch Husbands. c The Lord who ſeeth their Tears and heareth their Cries. d Valueth not ſuch Offeriags made to him by ſuch People and ſuch Prieſts. e Is not at all pleaſed with ſuch Offerings, whether expiatory or Peace- Offerings, none of them trom ſuch Peopte ſhall ever ayail them. 14 © Yet ye ſay, Wheretore e? Becauſe the LORD hath been witneſs f between thee and the wife of thy y youth g, againſt whom thou haſt . dealr rreacheroully þ : WH * Proy. 2. yet 25 the thy companion z, and the wife of * thy co- 17s venant &. e Though the Fault was ſo great in the Nature of ir, and fo noto-
rious in the Evidence of it, theſe impudenr Sinners will not fee, but
diſpute, what juſt cauſe God hath to reje& their Offerings. f The
Prophet ai:fwers them, God was Witneſs both of the Matrimoni«!
Conatra&, when you promiſcd_ other Deportiment and Affections ;
and he is Witneſs alſo of your violating this Contra, and hath ſeen
how falſe and perfidious you have been, what Inhumanity you ave
ſhewed againſt your Wives. g Whom in thy Youth thou marriedſt,
and haſt had the beſt of her Time and Strength, and 1n Ape ſhouldft
love and deal kindly with. þ See ver.10- ler. f. 7 Yet ſhe 1s, what
ſhe was by the facred Inſtitution of God, made thy Companion,
not thy Drudge or Slave 3 thou art moſt unjuſt to her,thus to change
thy AffeRion and Deportmept when there is no change in her State
|
F i PIY'Y, 0 : WHOSE
MALACHT.
words z : yer ye ſay, Wherein have we wearied him ? 24- X in the fight of the LORD d, and he delighteth in theny FA or, Where zs the God of judgment f 2 -.-.
faithful in your Covenant with. your Wives. y After the manner of Man this is ſpoken of God. x Your perverſe Reaſonings, or impious Quarrellings againſt God, among which, one moſt ungodly ane athe.
iſtical, does come to be remark'd on. Reaſoning is managed to the Overthrow (if 'twere poffible) of af)
theiſts. c That is a wicked Man, and doth wickedneſs, ( as you Pro-
and what they do is goed ; thus they call Evil Good
Chap. 1Il,
17 * Ye x have wearied y the LORD with your * tf. ,z,
When ye ſay a, Every one 6 that doth evil js good c*Ch.z.14
x Ye Prieſts and People, ſlight in your Religion toward God, un-
a When vour Diſcourſe and
Morality and Goodneſs. b Not one excepted by theſe illogical 4-
phets preach to us) is miſrepreſented by you, 1uch are good Men, 3 Wo then to chem! &dIn the Account and Judgment of God. e As appears ( fay theſe Atheiſts) by his proſpering of them, did he not delight in them would he ſo enrich and proſper them? f Or if they be evil, and
and Relation. þ Covenants ought to be very exaRtly kept.and tkole eſpecially which are of our own freeſt and moſt voluntary making, our Covenants; ſuch was this between the unnatural Husband and his deſpiſed Wife; all which,as they ſhould have been Arguments to his Duty, ſo they are Aggravations of lus negle of Duty aud Provccati- ons fo God and now judge ye diſpncing, quarrelling Hypocrites, whether Gcd har" +.ot juſtcſt Cauſe to 1eje& your Offerings. 15 And Gid nor he / make one 2 ? yet had he the "cs, I Tehidue of the tpirir 7 + and wherefore one o & thar + Heb, he might leck a + godly ſeed & therefore take heed ſeed of God. to your 1hirit g, and ler none deal \ treacheroully 7 a- m Bur one Man, and one Woman, 7» Yet
| Or, iw- gainft the wite of his youth.
faith jay. I God our Creator. he could havc made more Men and Women. and if it had been good 2rd well-pleafing to him, he could have made many Womea for one Man; but though by his Power he could, yet in his Wiſdom, Good- neſs and Holineſs, he would not make more; from the beginning Mar- riage was ordained to be between ene Nanand one Woman alone at once. So Chriſt argued, Aat. 19. 4, 5, 6- o One Couple, and no morc. þp Or a Seed of God, either an excellent Seed, as Hebr, ex- preſſes the Excellency of a thing by the Addition of the Name God to it; or rather a holy Secd born to God in chaſte Wedlock, and brought up under the InſtruQtions and vertuous Examples of Parents living in the Fearof God, and Love of each other, which in Polygamy cannor be expetted. q Keep your Heart from wandring after ftrange Wives, as you tcnder your Life and Souls. r Though many have
!! Or,
—"_ Arguments laid here cloſe rogether from the Odiouſneſs of the thing, + itely, to (he exhorts them to forbear ) it is odious to the Lord who changeth paz away, mor, reſents this evil Pratice as much as ever. God, Judge of wrongs,
and the wronged, hates ſuch wrong. God of Jſrael by Covenant,
a"d he now declares his Hatred of theſe things # Divorce, ſuch putting away of Wives as theſe petulant Jews uſed; fo make way for Zome acw Wives. u Rather, And covering Violence, (9c. which God
pg
thy God; and what can
kateth, ut to b wa {t thou expe from ſuch Courſes that Ged Kitetn, gut to becut of ?
dorero, let none now do it any more.
* Dour 16 For s* the LORD rhe God of Iſrael faith, || that _— of Chriſt, but it very wo ſureth - the Time between - and again "Dez To ; = : aptiſt's appearing to prepare the Way, and Chriſt's appearing 10 IS g. — hy 32 be hateth F 38 ga. away 7 : FOT. 010 % Covereth VIO- | the Way was prepared. g That Temple, which _— ths ſecon Wa HW p 8 oy 37+ lence with his garment, faith the LORD of hoſts : | Templeat Feruſatem,Jately built by Zerubbabel and Foſhua,into whic! af P ,t 7 ig if he theretore take heed to your ſpirit x, that ye deal not | the Meſſiah was to come, and ſo he didz there old Simeon wet ki, Ide the tate her, teacherouſly +. | there ene ns m_ the Doors, thither he weat to —_— ich the
EOS, GaGd . " Woh ers and Sellers, and this according to what of him, 14 7 Ei put her a s The Prophet enforceth his former Exhortation, ver. 1. with the 2. 7-aud all the religions Jews, Ao —_ = _ hs Deſo- ther _—_
and 1n peculiar Relation, and ſo much mere engaged to puniſh ir ;