Jeremiah 2 commentary

Those who begin well, but do not persevere, will justly be upbraided with their hopeful and promising beginnings. Those who desert religion, commonly oppose it more than those who never knew it. For this they could have no excuse. God's spiritual Israel must own their obligations to him for safe conduct through the wilderness of this world, so dangerous to the soul. Alas, that many, who once appeared devoted to the Lord, so live that their professions aggravate their crimes! Let us be careful that we do not lose in zeal and fervency, as we gain knowledge.

Before God punishes sinners, he pleads with them, to bring them to repentance. He pleads with us, what we should plead with ourselves. Be afraid to think of the wrath and curse which will be the portion of those who throw themselves out of God's grace and favour. Grace in Christ is compared to water from a fountain, it being cooling and refreshing, cleansing and making fruitful: to living water, because it quickens dead sinners, revives drooping saints, supports and maintains spiritual life, and issues in eternal life, and is ever-flowing. To forsake this Fountain is the first evil; this is done when the people of God neglect his word and ordinances. They hewed them out broken cisterns, that could hold no water. Such are the world, and the things in it; such are the inventions of men when followed and depended on. Let us, with purpose of heart, cleave to the Lord only; whither else shall we go? How prone are we to forego the consolations of the Holy Spirit, for the worthless joys of the enthusiast and hypocrite!

Is Israel a servant? No, they are the seed of Abraham. We may apply this spiritually: Is the soul of man a slave? No, it is not; but has sold its own liberty, and enslaved itself to divers lusts and passions. The Assyrian princes, like lions, prevailed against Israel. People from Egypt destroyed their glory and strength. They brought these calamities on themselves by departing from the Lord. The use and application of this is, Repent of thy sin, that thy correction may not be thy ruin. What has a Christian to do in the ways of forbidden pleasure or vain sinful mirth, or with the pursuits of covetousness and ambition?

Notwithstanding all their advantages, Israel had become like the wild vine that bears poisonous fruit. Men are often as much under the power of their unbridled desires and their sinful lusts, as the brute beasts. But the Lord here warns them not to weary themselves in pursuits which could only bring distress and misery. As we must not despair of the mercy of God, but believe that to be sufficient for the pardon of our sins, so neither must we despair of the grace of God, but believe that it is able to subdue our corruptions, though ever so strong.

The nation had not been wrought upon by the judgements of God, but sought to justify themselves. The world is, to those who make it their home and their portion, a wilderness and a land of darkness; but those who dwell in God, have the lines fallen to them in pleasant places. Here is the language of presumptuous sinners. The Jews had long thrown off serious thoughts of God. How many days of our lives pass without suitable remembrance of him! The Lord was displeased with their confidences, and would not prosper them therein. Men employ all their ingenuity, but cannot find happiness in the way of sin, or excuse for it. They may shift from one sin to another, but none ever hardened himself against God, or turned from him, and prospered.

God now mentions to his servant the commands which he was to convey to the king and priests, and to the whole people; for by the ears of Jerusalem he means all its inhabitants. God here intimates that the Jews were unworthy of being cared for by him any more; but that he is induced by another reason not to reject them wholly, until he had found out by experience their irreclaimable wickedness. So then he makes this preface, I remember thee for the kindness of thy youth, and the love of thy espousals In these words he shews that he regarded not what the Jews deserved, nor acknowledged any worthiness in them, as the reason why he was solicitous for their salvation, and endeavored to bring them to the right way by the labors of his Prophet, but that this is to be ascribed to his former benefits.

Some render the words, “I remember the piety or kindness of thy youth;” and לך lak, may be thus taken, as it is in other places. Others omit this word; while others consider a copulative to be understood, “I remember thee, and the kindness of thy youth.” But none, as I think, have attained to the meaning of the Prophet: there is yet no obscurity in the words, if a preposition be considered as being understood, so as to read thus, — that God remembered his people for the kindness which he had shewn to them, and for the love which he had manifested towards them from the beginning. Then the real meaning of the Prophet I think to be this, — that God here takes away every ground for pride and boasting from the Jews; as though he had said, that they were worthy, they had no reason to think; but that he was still their Father, and was therefore unwilling that the benefits he had formerly conferred upon them should be wholly lost. There is, in short, given here a reason why God sent Jeremiah after the other prophets; as though he had said, “It is a testimony to you of the paternal care which I shew to you, when I send my Prophet to give you a hope of pardon, if ye return to the right way and be reconciled to me. But how is it that I still shew a concern for you, as ye have forgotten me, and wholly disregarded my law? It is so, because I wish to continue my favors to you.” The kindness of thy youth he takes in a passive sense; for he does not mean that the Jews were kind or merciful, but that they had experienced the kindness of God.

But the metaphor here used must be noticed. God compares himself here to a young bridegroom, who marries a youthful bride, in the flower of her age, and in the prime of her beauty: and it is a manner of speaking commonly adopted by the prophets. I will not now detain you with a long explanation, as the subject will be treated more at large in another place.

As God, then, had espoused the people of Israel, when he redeemed and brought them out of Egypt, he says now, that he remembers the people on account of that kindness and love. He sets kindness or beneficence before love. The word חסר, chesad, properly means a gratuitous favor or kindness, which is shewn to the miserable, or beneficence. By the word love, God means in many other places the gratuitous election with which he had favored the whole people. The expression is indeed made clearer when kindness or gratuitous favor is placed first, and then love is added: though nothing new is added, yet the Prophet more fully shews that the people had been loved by God in no other way than through his kindness. Though most of modern commentators, Grotius, Gataker, Blayney, Scott, Adam Clarke, etc., give the same view of this verse with Calvin, yet the probability is, and something more than the probability, that the sense in which it was taken by the ancients is the correct one; which is the sense given in our version, and adopted by Henry. A literal rendering of the verse is sufficient to shew its meaning, —

2. Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, — I remember, with regard to thee, The kindness of thy youth, The love of thy espousals, Thy coming after me in the desert, Through a land not sown.

“Thy coming, or, walking after me,“ stands in the same relation to “remember” as the two preceding words: this is plainly the construction; and this construction determines the meaning of the foregoing lines. Our version is quite wrong in rendering לך, “thee;” it ought ever to be rendered as above, when the verb, as here, is followed by an accusative case. See Leviticus 26:45; Psalm 79:8; Psalm 106:45

What has led commentators, no doubt, to divert this passage from its right meaning was their impression that more is here ascribed to Israel than their history warrants. But this is not the only instance in which their former conduct is contrasted with their latter conduct. This is done in Malachi 2:5, as to the priests. The object here is to set forth the difference between the people when brought out of Egypt, and following God’s guidance in the wilderness, and their conduct at the time of Jeremiah. They were indeed very far from being what they ought to have been in the first instance, but their deportment in Jeremiah’s age was incomparably worse. — Ed.

Now this is a remarkable passage; for God shews that his covenant, though perfidiously violated by the Jews, was yet firm and immutable: for though not all who derive their descent according to the flesh from Abraham, are true and legitimate Israelites, yet God ever remains true, and his calling, as Paul says, is without repentance. (Romans 11:29.) We may therefore learn this from the Prophet’s words, — that God was not content with one Prophet, but continued his favor, inasmuch as he would not render void his covenant. The Jews indeed had impiously departed from the covenant, and a vast number had deservedly perished, having been wholly repudiated; yet God designed really to shew that his grace depends not on the inconstancy of men, as Paul says in another place, for it would then presently fail, (Romans 3:4) and that were all men false and perfidious, God would yet remain true and fixed in his purpose. This we learn from the Prophet’s words, when it is said, that God remembered the people on account of the kindness of their youth.

As to youth and espousals, we may hence learn that they had been anticipated by God’s kindness; for they became in no other way connected with God than by having been chosen by him: their espousal would not have been enjoyed by the people, had not God anticipated them. What was Abraham? and what were all his posterity? God then now shews, that the beginning of all blessings, and as it were the fountain, was this, — that it pleased him to choose the people for himself.

And the same thing is confirmed in other words: When, he says, thou didst follow me in the desert, in a land not sown The people, we know, did not obey God as they ought to have done, even when he had redeemed them. Hence God does not so much in this place commend the people for any merits of their own, but especially confirms what I have already stated, — that he could not cast aside every care for a people whom he had once adopted, and whom he had led through the desert, that they might be a people separated from the rest of the world. He however concedes to them, according to his great goodness, the praise of obedience, because they followed God through rough ways, as though a tender young woman refused not to undergo hard and irksome toils from love to her bridegroom. He afterwards adds —

Jeremiah 2:3

3. Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.

3. Sanctitas Israel Jehovae, primitiae frugum ejus; quicunque comederint contrahent noxam (alii vertunt, peccabunt; sed ego potius ad poenam refero,) malun veniet super eos (exegetice additur hoc membrum) dicit Jehova.

God here more clearly reprobates the ingratitude of the people: and first he enumerates his favors by which he had bound the people for ever to himself; and secondly, he shews how malignantly the people responded to the many blessings which they had received.

In saying, then, that Israel was holy, he intends it not by way of honor. It was indeed in itself an illustrious testimony to their praise, that God had consecrated that people to himself, that he designed them to be the first — fruits of his increase: but we must remember that there is here an implied contrast between this great and incomparable favor of God, and the wickedness of the people, who afterwards fell away from that God who had been so liberal and gracious to them. According to this view, then, does Jeremiah say, that Israel was holiness to God; that is, that they were separated from all other nations, so that the glory of God shone only among them.

He then adds, that they were the first-fruits of his produce For though whatever produce the earth may bring forth ought to be consecrated to God, by whose power it grows, yet we know that the first — fruits were gathered and set on the altar as a sacred food. As, then, God had commanded, under the law, the first-fruits to be offered to him, and then given to the priests, he says here, in accordance with that rite, that Israel were the first — fruits of his produce. For the nations, who then everywhere dwelt, were not removed from under God’s government (as he is the creator of all, and shews himself to all as the Father and supporter); but he passed by other nations, and chose the race of Abraham, and for this end, — that he might protect them by his power and aid. Since, then, God had so bound the nation to himself, how great and how strong was the obligation under which that people was to him? Hence the more base and the more detestable was their perfidy, when the people despised the singular favors which God had conferred on them. We now see why the Prophet says that Israel was holy to God, and the first — fruits of his increase.

He also intimates that the time would come, when God would gather to himself other nations; for in the first-fruits the people dedicated and offered to God the whole produce of the year is included. So then Israel was like the first-fruits, because God afterwards took to himself other nations, which for many ages were deemed profane. But yet his special object was to shew that the guilt of the people was extreme, as they did not acknowledge the great favors which God had bestowed on them.

He then adds, Whosoever will devour him shall be punished Of this meaning I approve, because the explanation immediately follows, evil shall come on them God then means not that they should be only guilty of a crime, who should devour the first-fruits, but refers rather to punishment; as though he had said, “The profane shall not be unpunished who shall devour the first-fruits which has been dedicated to me.” For if any had stolen the first- fruits, God would have executed a vengeance such as sacrilege deserved. If, however, any one prefers the other explanation, — that it would be a crime to injure Israel, or to do him any harm, because he was under God’s protection, I shall not oppose him: but the wording of the sentence leads me to the other view, that is, that those who would injure Israel would not only be guilty, but would not be able to escape God’s vengeance, — and why? because evil will come upon them, saith Jehovah Blayney considers this verse as referring to Israel in ancient times, and as spoken by God: hence he renders the last words, “said Jehovah.” The first part seems to declare what Israel was, and the other appears to be the language of God respecting them, —

Holy was Israel to Jehovah, The first-fruits of his produce: “All his devourers shall be deemed guilty, Evil shall come to them,” said Jehovah.

The verb אשם is rendered “πλημμελήσουσι — shall offend,” by the Septuagint, as in our version, and by Grotius; “trespass,” by Gataker; and, “guilty of a trespass,” by Blayney. The contradiction of guilt is what is meant, as the punishment is announced in the next words. See Psalm 105:14, 15. — Ed He afterwards explains more clearly the import of his doctrine —

Jeremiah 2:4-5

4. Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:

4. Audite sermonem Jehovae domus Jacob, et omnes cognationes (vel, familiae) domus Israel:

5. Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?

5. Sic dicit Jehova, Quid invenerunt patres vestri in me iniquitatis, quia alienati sunt a me, et ambulaverunt (vel, profecti sunt) post vanitatem, et facti sunt evanidi (vel, evanuerunt)?

Here God explains why he had referred to what we have noticed, — that he had consecrated Israel to himself as a peculiar people, and as the first — fruits. God often mentions his favors to us, in order to encourage our hope, that we may be fully persuaded that whatever may happen we are ever safe, because we are under his protection, since he has chosen us. But in this place, and in many other places, God recounts the obligations under which the Israelites were to him, that thence their ingratitude might become more apparent.

Hence he says, Hear ye the word of Jehovah By this preface he seeks to gain attention; for he intimates that he was going to address them on no common subject. Hear ye, then, O house of Jacob; hear all ye families of the house of Israel; as though Jeremiah had said, “Here I come forth boldly in the name of God, for I fear not that any defense can be brought forward by you to disprove the justice of God’s reproof; and I confidently wait for what ye may say, for I know you will be silent. I then loudly cry like a trumpet and with a clear voice, that I am come to condemn you; if there is anything which ye can answer, I give you full liberty to do so; but the truth will constrain you to be mute, for your guilt is extremely odious and capable of the fullest proof.” Hence it was that he exhorted them to hear attentively.

Then follows the charge: What, iniquity have your fathers found in me, that having forsaken me they should walk after vanity and become vain? Here Jeremiah charges the people with two crimes, — that they had departed from the true God, whom they had found to be a deliverer, — and that they had become vain in their devices; or, in other words, that they were become for no reason apostates: for their sin was enhanced, because there had been no occasion given them to forsake God, and to alienate themselves from him. As then God had kindly treated them, and they themselves had shaken off the yoke, and as there was no one whom they could compare with God, they could not have said, “We have been deceived,” — how so? “For ye have, he says, followed vanity; and vanity alone was the reason why ye have departed from me.” The literal rendering of this verse is as follows, —

5. Thus saith Jehovah, What have your fathers found in me? Oppression? For they have gone far from me, And have followed after vanity, And have become vain.

The word שול, oppression, injustice, or tyranny, is so placed in the sentence that it cannot be construed with “what.” The word “vanity” means often an idol, and it is so considered here by the Targum, by Piscator, Grotius, Gataker, and others. It is often found in the plural, “vanities,” as it is here in the Septuagint; see Deuteronomy 32:21; 1 Kings 16:26; Psalm 31:6: but it is here the poetical singular. They “became vain,” that is, foolish, sottish, having no more sense or reason than their idols, as idolaters are represented in Psalm 115:8. Their senselessness is set forth in the next verse. An idol is especially called “vanity,” because it can do no good and avails nothing: deluded imagination alone gives it all its efficacy and power. Samuel gives a true account of idols, 1 Samuel 12:21. But as long as the devil deceives and deludes the world, idols and images will be in repute, though they are in themselves wholly useless and worthless, while yet they prove ruinous to the souls of men. — Ed I wish I could proceed farther; but I have some business to which I was called even before the lecture.

PRAYER

Grant, Almighty God, that as thou continuest at this day, both morning and evening, to invite us to thyself, and assiduously exhortest us to repent, and testifiest that thou art ready to be reconciled to us, provided we flee to thy mercy, — O grant, that we may not close our ears and reject this thy great kindness, but that remembering thy gratuitous election, the chief of all the favors thou hast been pleased to shew us, we may strive so to devote ourselves to thee, that thy name may be glorified through our whole life: and should it be that we at any time turn aside from thee, may we quickly return to the right way, and become submissive to thy holy admonitions, that it may thus appear that we have been so chosen by thee and called as to desire to continue in the hope of that salvation, to which thou invitest us, and which is prepared for us in heaven, through Christ our Lord. — Amen.

Lecture Fifth

WE heard yesterday God’s complaint, and his expostulation with his people. He said in short, that if they came before any judge there were reasons sufficient to condemn their ingratitude, and that they were without excuse, because they had gone after vanity and were become vain; or, in other words, that they had without a cause forsaken him, and were carried away only by their own intentions. It now follows —

Jeremiah 2:6-7

6. Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?

6. Et non dixerunt, (hoc est, non cogitarunt apud se,) Ubi est Jehova, qui eduxit nos e terra Egypti, et proficisci fecit nos per desertum in terra solitaria (vel, vasta) et squalida, in terra horribili et umbrae mortis; in terra per quam vir non transtit, et in qua non habitavit homo?

7. And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.

7. Et introduxi vos in terram fertilem, ad comedendos fructus ejus (vel, ad comedendum fructum ejus, in singulari,) et ubertatem ejus (ad verbum est, ad bonum ejus;) et ingressi estis et polluistis terram meam, et haereditatem meam posuistis in abominationem.

The Prophet goes on with the same subject; for God adduces here no small crime against his people, as they had buried his favom’s in oblivion. Indeed, a redemption so wonderful was worthy of being celebrated in all ages, not only by one nation, but by all the nations of the earth. As then the Jews had thus buried the memory of a favor so remarkable and valuable, their base impiety appeared evident. Had they not experienced the power and kindness of God, or had they only witnessed them in an ordinary way, their guilt might have been extenuated; but as God had from heaven made an unusual display of his power, and as his majesty had been manifested before the eyes of the people, how great was their sottishness in afterwards forgetting their God, who had openly and with such proofs made himself known to them!

We now then understand what the Prophet means by saying, they have not said: for God here sharply reproves the stupidity of the Jews, — that they did not consider that they were under perpetual obligations to him for his great kindness in delivering them in a manner so wonderful from the land of Egypt. By saying that they did not say, Where is Jehovah, he intimates that he was present with them and nigh them, but that they were blind, and that hence they were without an excuse for their ignorance, as he was not to be sought as one at a distance, or by means tedious and difficult. If then this only had come to their mind, “Did not God once redeem us?” they could not have departed after their vanities. How then was it that their error, or rather their madness, was so great that they followed idols? Even because they did not choose to make any effort, or to apply their minds to seek or to inquire after God.

Here then the Prophet meets the objection of the hypocrites, who might have said, that they had been deceived, and had relapsed through ignorance; for they have ever some evasions ready at hand, when they are called to an account for their sins. But lest the Jews should make any pretense of this kind, the Prophet here shews that they had not been through a mistake deceived, but that they had followed after falsehood through a wicked disposition, for they had willfully despised God and refused to inquire respecting him, though he was sufficiently nigh them.

This passage deserves to be especially noticed; for there is nothing more common than for the ungodly, when they are proved guilty, to have recourse to this subterfuge, — that they acted with good intention, when they gave themselves up to their own superstitions. The Prophet then takes off this mask, and shews that where God is once known, his name and his glory cannot be obliterated, except through the depravity of men, as they knowingly and willfully depart from him. Hence all apostates are by this one clause condemned, that they may no more dare to make evasions, as though they have been through more simplicity deceived: for when the matter is examined, their malignity and ingratitude are discovered, because they deign not to inquire, Where is Jehovah?

And he afterwards adds what explains this sentence. I have said that other nations are not here condemned, but the Jews, who had known by clear experience that God was their father. As then God had, by many testimonies, made himself known to them, they had no pretext for their ignorance. Hence the Prophet says, that they did not consider where God was who brought them from the land of Egypt, and made them to pass through the desert He could not have stated this indiscriminately of all nations; but, as it has been said, the words are addressed particularly to the Jews, who had clearly witnessed the power of God; so that they could not have sinned except willfully, even by extinguishing, through their own malignity, the light presented to them, which shone before their eyes. And here, also, the Prophet amplifies their guilt by various circumstances: for he says, not simply that they had been brought out of Egypt, but intimates that God had been their constant guide for forty years; for this time is suggested by the word “desert.” The history was well known; hence a brief allusion was sufficient. He, at the same time, by mentioning the desert, greatly extols the glory of God.

But the first thing to be observed is, that the Jews were inexcusable, who had not considered that their fathers had been wonderfully and in an unusual manner preserved by God’s hand for forty years; for they had no bread to eat, nor water to drink. God drew water for them from a rock, and satisfied them with heavenly bread; and their garments did not wear out during the whole time. We then see that all those circumstances enhanced their guilt. Then follows what I have referred to: the Prophet calls the desert a dry or a waste land, a dreary land, a horrible land, a land of deadly gloom, as though he had said, that the people had been preserved in the midst of death, yea in the midst of many deaths: for man was not wont to pass through that land, nor did any one dwell in it Though the general import of this verse is given, yet the version is not very accurate. I offer the following-

And they have not said, “Where is Jehovah, Who brought us up from the land of Egypt, Who led us in the wilderness, Through a land of waste and of the pit, Through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, Through a land in which no man traveled, And no human being dwelt there?”

The word “pit” is used poetically, the singular for the plural, and correctly rendered “pits” in our version. It is probably an allusion to the practice of digging pits and covering them over, in order to catch wild beasts; and the word is used here only to express hidden dangers. “The shadow of death” means a barren dreariness. After “land,” in the last line but one, אשר is supplied by three MSS., and by the Septuagint, though by no means in character with the Greek language; but the idiom of the Hebrew requires it, and is no doubt the true reading. I have rendered אדם in the last line, after Blayney, “human being.” The five last lines are thus given by the Septuagint, —

Who conducted you in the wilderness, In a land unknown and inaccessible (ἀβάτῳ) In a land without water and barren (ἀκάρπῳ — fruitless) In a land through which no man passed, And no son of man inhabited there.

The word “barren” is rendered more literally by Theodotion, “σκιασ θανάτου — of the shadow of death.” — Ed “Whence then,” he says, “did salvation arise to you? from what condition? even from death itself: for what else was the desert but a horrible place, where you were surrounded, not only by one kind of death, but by a hundred? Since then God brought you out of Egypt by his incredible power, and fed you in a supernatural manner for forty years, what excuse can there be for so great a madness in now alienating yourselves from him?” Now this passage teaches us, that the more favors God confers on us, the more heinous the guilt if we forsake him, and less excusable will be our wickedness and ingratitude, especially when he has manifested his kindness to us for a long time and in various ways.

He afterwards adds, And I brought you in, etc. Here Jeremiah introduces God as the speaker; for God had, as with his hand stretched forth, brought in the children of Abraham into the possession of the promised land, which they did not get, as it is said in Psalm 44:3, by their own power and by their own sword; for though they had to fight with many enemies, yet it was God that made them victorious. He could then truly say, that they did not otherwise enter the land than under his guidance; inasmuch as he had opened a way and passage for them, and subdued and put to flight their enemies, that they might possess the heritage promised to them. I brought you in, he says, into the land, into Carmel Some consider this to be the name of a place; and no doubt there was the mount Carmel, so called on account of its great fertility. As then its name was given to it because it was so fertile, it is nothing strange that Jeremiah compares the land of Israel to Carmel. Some will have the preposition כ, caph, to be understood, “I have brought you into a land like Carmel.” But there is no need laboriously to turn in all directions the Prophet’s words. It is, as I think, a common noun, meaning fruitful, and used here to shew that the Israelites had been brought by God’s hand into a fertile land; for its fertility is everywhere celebrated, both in the Law and in the Prophets. That the word means a fruitful field or country is evident from Isaiah 10:18; Isaiah 16:10; Jeremiah 4:26, etc. there was also a city bearing this name, situated in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:55, and also a mountain belonging to the tribe of Manasseh, Joshua 19:26. — Ed.

That ye might eat its fruit and its abundance; that is, “I wished you to enjoy the large and rich produce of the land.” By these words God intimates that the Israelites ought to have been induced by such allurements cordially to serve him; for by such liberal treatment he kindly invited them to himself. The greater, then, the bounty of God towards the people, the greater was the indignity offered by their defection, when they despised the various and abounding blessings of God.

Hence he adds, And ye have polluted my land, “And ye came” is left out. The same verb in a causative sense is used at the beginning of the verse, rendered, “I brought.” It would be more striking to retain the same verb, and not to use “but when” in the latter instance, as in our version, —

And I caused you to come into a fruitful land, To eat its fruit and its rich produce; And ye came and polluted my land, And made mine heritage an abomination.

The whole runs thus much better, and has the conciseness of poetry: and the idea intended to be conveyed is more apparent — God caused them to come, and they came. — Ed. and mine heritage have ye made an abomination; as though he had said, “This is the reward by which my bounty towards you has been compensated. I indeed gave you this land, but on this condition, that ye serve me faithfully in it: but ye have polluted it.” He calls it his own land, as though he had said, that he had so given the land to the Israelites, that he remained still the lord of it as a proprietor, though he granted the occupation of it to them. He hence shews that they impiously abused his bounty, in polluting that land which was sacred to his name. For the same purpose he calls it his heritage, as if he said that they possessed the land by an hereditary right, and yet the heritage belonged to their Father. They ought, therefore, to have considered, that they had entered into the land, because it had been given to Abraham and to his children for an heritage, — by whom? By God, who was the fountain of this bounty. The more detestable, then, was their ingratitude, when they made the heritage of God an abomination It follows —

Jeremiah 2:8

8. The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

8. Sacerdotes non dixerunt, Ubi Jehova? et qui tenebant (vel, servabant) legem (ad verbum est, apprehendentes, vel, tenentes legem) non cognoverunt me: et pastores perfide egerunt mecum; et prophetae prophetarunt in Baal (hoc est, per Baal,) et post ea qua non prosunt ambulaverunt (vel, profecti sunt).

God assails here especially the teachers and those to whom was committed the power of ruling the people. It often happens that the common people fall away, while yet some integrity remains in the rulers. But God shews here that such was the falling away among the whole community, that priests as well as prophets and all the chief men had departed from the true worship of God, and from all uprightness.

Now, when Jeremiah thus rebukes the teachers and the priests and others, he does not excuse the common people, nor extenuate the crimes, which then prevailed everywhere, as we shall see from what follows. As many think that they set up a shield against God, when they pretend that they are not acquainted with so much learning as to distinguish between light and darkness, but that they are guided by their rulers, the Prophet, therefore, does not here cast the faults of the people upon their rulers, but, on the contrary, he amplifies the atrocity of their impiety, for they had, from the least to the greatest, rejected God and his Law. We now, then, understand the design of the Prophet. It appears that the Prophet has already condemned the people in the foregoing portion of this chapter. In Jeremiah 1:18, we find the different classes thus arranged — kings and princes, priests, the people of the land. At the beginning of this chapter, he addresses the people-the whole community, and here he names the priests, and the pastors, i.e., in the state, including kings and princes. Thus he reverses the order according to the common usage of Scripture: but to these are added here, prophets, because they were the spiritual pastors, as kings and princes were the civil. — Ed.

We may learn from this passage how unwise and foolish are they who think that they are in part excusable when they can say, that they have proceeded in their simplicity and have been drawn into error by the faults of others; for it appears evident that the whole community was in a hopeless state when God gave up the priests and rulers unto a reprobate mind; and there is no doubt but that the people had provoked God’s vengeance, when every order, civil as well as religious, was thus corrupt. God then visited the people with deserved punishment, when he blinded the priests, the prophets, and the rulers.

Hence Jeremiah now says, that the priests did not inquire where Jehovah was: and he adds, and they who keep the law, etc. The verb תפש taphesh, means to keep, to lay hold on, and sometimes to cover; so that there may be here a twofold meaning, — that the priests kept the law, — or, that they had it shut up as it were under their keeping. It would not, however, be in harmony with the passage to suppose that the law was suppressed by them; for God, by way of concession, speaks here honorably of them, thought he thereby shews that they were the more wicked, as they had no care for their office. He says, then, that they were the keepers of his law, not that they really kept the law, as though a genuine zeal for it prevailed among them, but because they professed this. They indeed wished to be thought the keepers of the law, who possessed the hidden treasure of celestial truth; for they wished to be consulted as though they were the organs of God’s Spirit. Since, then, they boasted that they kept and preserved the law, the Prophet now more sharply rebukes them, because they knew not God himself. And Paul seems to have taken from this place what he says in the second chapter of the Epistle to the Romans,

“Thou who hast the form of the law — thou who preachest against adultery, committest adultery, and thou who condemnest idols art thyself guilty of sacrilege; for thou keepest the law, restest in it, boastest in God, and with thee is understanding and knowledge.” (Romans 2:20-22.)

Paul in these words detects the wickedness of hypocrites; for the more detestable they were, as they were thus inflated with false glory; they profaned the name of God, while they pretended to be his heralds, and as it were his prophets. We now see that this second clause refers to the priests, and that they are called the keepers of the law, because they were so appointed, according to what we read in Malachi. Perhaps no better word can express the verb here used than that of our versions., “handle” —”they that handle the law,” that is explain and teach it. To “handle the harp,” is to play on it, Genesis 4:21; to “handle war,” is to carry it on, Numbers 31:27; to “handle the oar,” is to ply with it, Ezekiel 27:29; and to “handle the bow,” is either to use it, or to know how to use it, Amos 2:15. They who handled the law were evidently those who undertook to explain and teach it to others. To lay hold on, seems to be the primary meaning of the verb, and that either for a good or a bad purpose. “The Scribes,” observes Scott, “who undertook to expound the Scriptures, did not understand them.” — Ed.

He afterwards adds, The pastors have dealt treacherously with God We may apply this to the counselors of the king as well as to the governors of cities. The Prophet, I have no doubt, included all those who possessed authority to rule the people of God; for kings and their counselors, as well as prophets, are in common called pastors.

And he says, that the prophets prophesied by Baal The name of prophet is sacred; but Jeremiah in this place, as in other places, calls those prophets (contrary to the real fact) who were nothing but impostors; for God had taken from them all the light of divine truth. But as they were held still in esteem by the people, as though they were prophets, the Prophet concedes this title to them, derived from their office and vocation. We do the same in the present day; we call those bishops and prelates, and primates and fathers, who under the papacy boast that they possess the pastoral office, and yet we know that some of them are wolves, and some are dumb dogs. We concede to them these titles in which they take pride; and yet a twofold condemnation impends over their heads, as they thus impiously, and with sacrilegious audacity, claim for themselves sacred titles, and deprive God of the honor rightly due to him. So then Jeremiah, speaking of the prophets, does now point out those as impostors who at that time wickedly deceived the people.

He says that they prophesied by Baal: they ascribed more authority to idols than to the true God. The name of Baal, we know, was then commonly known. The prophets often call idols Baalim, in the plural number; but when Baal signifies a patron, when the prophets speak either of Baal in the singular number, or of Baalim in the plural, they mean the inferior gods, who had then been heaped together by the Jews, as though God was not content with his own power alone, but had need of associates and helpers, according to what is done at this day by those under the papacy, who confess that there is but one true God; and yet they ascribe nothing more to him than to their own idols which they invent for themselves at their pleasure. The same vice then prevailed among the Jews, and indeed among all heathen nations; for it was the plain and real confession of all, that there is but one supreme Being; and yet they had gods without number, and these all were called Baalim. When, therefore, the Prophet says here, that the teachers were ministers of Baal, he sets this name in opposition to the only true God, as though he had said that the truth was corrupted by them, because they passed over its limits, and did not acquiesce in the pure doctrine of the law, but mingled with it corruptions derived from all quarters, even from those many gods which heathen nations had invented for themselves.

Nor does the Prophet insist on a name; for it may have been that these false teachers pretended to profess the name of the eternal God, though falsely. But God is no sophist: there is then no reason for the Papists to think that they are at this day unlike these ancient impostors, because they profess the name of the only true God. It has always been so. Satan has not begun for the first time at this day to transform himself into an angel of light; but all his teachers in all ages have presented their poison, even all their errors and fallacies, in a golden cup. Though, then, these prophets boasted that they were sent from above, and confidently affirmed that they were the servants of the God of Abraham, it was yet all an empty profession; for they mingled with the truth those corruptions which they had derived from the ungodly errors of heathen nations.

It follows, And after those who do not profit have they gone Some say that idols are referred to; and others, as Calvin think that the false gods are intended: the meaning is the same; only the context seems more favorable to the latter idea. The Septuagint have a neuter adjective, “After what is profitless-ἀνωφελοῦσ — have they gone.” The verb for profit is plural; and if we take לא only as a negative, both the antecedent and relative are omitted: but לא here, and in Jeremiah 2:11, and in other places, is evidently a noun or a pronoun, signifying none or nothing: and like neb, none, in Welsh, it is either singular or plural, according to the verb in connection with it. It precedes here a verb in the plural number, and in Jeremiah 2:11, in the singular. The relative is often understood both in Hebrew and in Welsh before future verbs, and in both languages especially when the present time or act is intended. In the present instance, both languages may be considered to be literally the same. The Hebrew, word for word, may be thus rendered in Welsh:

Arol neb a lesant y rhodiasant.

After none (who) profit have they walked.

That is, After none who can do them good have they gone. — Ed. He again, by an implied comparison, exaggerates their sin, because they had despised him whom they had known, by so many evidences, to be their Father and the author of salvation, whose infinite power they had as it were felt by their own hands, and then they followed their own inventions, though there was nothing in all their idols which could have justly allured the people of Israel. Since, then, they followed vain and profitless deceptions, the more heinous and inexcusable was their sin. It afterwards follows —

Jeremiah 2:9

9. Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children’s children will I plead.

9. Propterea adhuc contendam (vel, disceptabo) vobiscum, dicit Jehovah; et cum filiis filiorum vestrorum disceptabo.

The particle עוד oud, yet, or still, is not without weight; for the Prophet intimates, that if God had already punished the perfidy and wickedness of the people, he still retained whole his right to do so, as though he had said, “Think not that you have suffered all your punishment, though I have already severely visited your fathers for their wickedness and obstinacy; for as ye proceed in the same course, and as there is no moderation nor limits to your sins, I will not desist from what I have a right to do, but will punish to the last both you and your children, and all succeeding generations.” We now then understand what the Prophet means.

It is indeed usual with hypocrites foolishly to cast off all fear, especially after having been once chastised by the Lord; for they think it enough that they have suffered punishment for their sins; and they do not consider that God moderately punishes the sins of men to invite others to repentance, and that he is in such a way sharp and severe as yet to restrain himself, in order that there may be room for hope, and that they who have sinned, while waiting for pardon, may thus more readily and willingly return to the right way. This is what hypocrites do not consider; but they think that God on the first occasion expends all his rigor, and so they promise themselves impunity as to the future. As for instance, — When God chastises a city, or a country, with war, pestilence, or famine, while the evils continue there is dread and anxiety: most of those whom God thus afflicts sigh and groan, and even howl; but as soon as some relaxation takes place, they shake off the yoke, and having no concern for their wickedness, they return again as dogs to their vomit. It is hence necessary to declare to hypocrites what we see to have been done here by Jeremiah, — that God so visits men for their sins, that in future he ceases not to pursue the same course, when he sees men so refractory as not to profit under his scourges.

Still, therefore, he says: this threat no doubt exasperated the minds of the nation: for as they dared to clamor against God, as we find in many places, and said that his ways were thorny, they spared not the prophets, and this we shall hereafter see: they indeed gave the prophets an odious character; and what? “These prophets,” they said, “chatter nothing else but burdens, burdens, as though God ever fulminated against us; it would be better to close our ears than to be continually frightened by their words.” It must then have been a severe thing to the Jews, when the Prophet said, Still God will contend with you But it was needful so to do.

Let us then learn from this passage, that whenever God reproves us, not only in words, but in reality, and reminds us of our sins, we do not so suffer for one fault as to be free for the future, but that until we from the heart repent, he ever sounds in our ears these words, Still God will contend with you: and a real contention is meant; for Jeremiah speaks not of naked doctrine, but intimates that the Jews were to be led before God’s tribunal, because they ceased not to provoke his wrath: Gataker thinks that it was verbal pleading: “It is as if he had said, ‘I have argued the case with your forefathers already, let me debate the matter a little further with you, and let your posterity also consider well what I now say,‘ (see Deuteronomy 31:19, 21.) And so is the same word afterwards used for debating the case or pleading, verse 29 (Jeremiah 2:29).” Henry, Adam Clarke, and Blayney, take the same view; but Scott seems to agree with Calvin The verb רוב, followed as it is here by את, ever means a verbal dispute or contention. See Numbers 20:13; Nehemiah 13:11, 17; Proverb 25:9; Isaiah 45:9. — Ed and he declares the same thing respecting their children and the third generation. It afterwards follows —

Jeremiah 2:10-11

10. For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.

10. Nempe (vel, nam) transite ad insulas Chittim (Graeciae, hoc est, ad omnes regiones transmarinas,) et videte, et in Kedar (hoc est, in oppositam partem, nempe versus Aratbiam) mittite, et considerate diligenter, et videte, an factum sit sicut hoc (id est, an factum sit aliquid simile:)

11. Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit,

11. An mutaverit gens deos, et ipsi non sunt dii? et populus meus mutavit gloriam suam in id quod non prodest.

Here, by a comparison, he amplifies the wickedness and ingratitude of his own nation, — that they had surpassed in levity all heathen nations; for he says that all nations so agreed in one religion, that each nation followed what it had received from its ancestors. How then was it that the God of Israel was repudiated and rejected by his own people? If there was such persistency in error, why did not truth secure credit among them who had been taught by the mouth of God himself, as though they had been even in heaven? This is the drift of the Prophet’s meaning, when he says, Go into the islands of Chittim, and send into Kedar

He mentions Greece on one side, and the East on the other, and states a part for the whole. The Hebrews, as we have seen in Daniel, called the Greeks Chittim, though they indeed thought that the term belonged properly to the Macedonians; but the Prophet no doubt included in that term not only the whole of Greece and the islands of the Mediterranean, but also the whole of Europe, so as to take in those parts, the whole of France and Spain. There is indeed some difference made in the use of the word; but when taken generally, it was understood by the Hebrews, as I have said, to include France, Spain, Germany, as well as Greece; and they called those countries islands, though distant from the sea, because they carried on no commerce with remote nations: hence they thought the countries beyond the sea to be islands; and the Prophet spoke according to what was customary. Parkhurst doubts whether the word איים, rendered islands, has ever strictly that meaning. He renders the singular, אי, a settlement, a habitation, and refers to Job 22:30; Isaiah 20:6; and says, that the plural, in Isaiah 42:15, ought to be rendered “habitable places,” and not “islands,” as in our version. It may be rendered here, “countries,” as by Blarney. — Ed

He then bids them to pass into the islands, southward as well as northward; and then he bids them, on the other hand, to send to explore the state of the East, Arabia as well as India, Persia, and other countries; for under the word Kedar he includes all the nations of the East; and as that people were more barbarous than others, he mentions them rather than the Persians or the Medes, or any other more celebrated nation, in order more fully to expose the disgraceful conduct of the Jews. Go then, or send, to all parts of the world, and see and diligently consider, see and see again; as though he said, that so great was the stupidity of the Jews, that they could not be awakened by a single word, or by one admonition. This then is the reason why he bids them carefully to inquire, though the thing itself was very plain and obvious. But this careful inquiry, as I have said, was enforced not on account of the obscurity of the subject, but for the purpose of reproving the sottishness of that perverse nation, which must have been conscious of its gross impiety, and yet indulged itself in its own vices.

Hence he says, Yea, pass over unto the islands; and then he adds, see whether there is a thing like this; that is, such a monstrous and execrable thing can nowhere be found. An explanation follows, No nation has changed its gods, and yet they are no gods; that is, religion among all nations continues the same, so that they do not now and then change their gods, but worship those who have been as it were handed down to them by their fathers. And yet, he says, they are no gods If it had been only said, that no nation has changed its gods, the impiety of Israel would not have been so grievously exposed; but the Prophet takes it for granted, that all the nations were deceived and led away after fictitious gods, and yet remained constant in their delusions. Now, God does not set this forth as a virtue; he does not mean that the constancy of the nations was worthy of praise in not departing from their own superstitions; but, compared with the conduct of the chosen people, this constancy might however appear as laudable. We hence see that the whole is to be thus read connectively, — “Though no nation worships the true God, yet religion remains unchangeable among them all; and yet ye have perfidiously forsaken me, and you have not forsaken a mere phantom, but your glory.”

He sets here the favor of God in opposition to the delusions of false gods, when he says, My people have changed their own glory For the people knew, not only through the teaching of the law, but also by sure evidences, that God was their glory; and yet they departed from him. It is then the same as though Jeremiah had said, that all the nations would condemn the Israelites at the last day, because their very persistency in error would prove the greater wickedness of the Jews, inasmuch as they were apostates from the true God, and from that God who had so clearly manifested to them his power.

Now, if one asks, whether religion has been changed by any of the nations? First, we know that this principle prevailed everywhere, — that there was to be no innovation in the substance of religion: and Xenophon highly commends this oracle of Apollo, — that those gods were rightly worshipped who have been received by tradition from ancestors. The devil had thus bewitched all nations, — “No novelty can please God; but be ye content with the usual custom which has descended to you from your forefathers.” This principle then was held by the Greeks and the Asiatics, and also by Europeans. It was therefore for the most part true what the Prophet says here: and we know that when a comparison is made, it is enough if the illustration is for the most part, επὶ τὸ πολὺ, as Aristotle says, confirmed by custom and constant practice. We hence see that the charge of levity against the Jews was not unsuitably brought by Jeremiah, when he said, that no nation had changed its gods, but that God had been forsaken by his people whose glory he was; that is, to whom he had given abundant reasons for glorying. “Their glory” are by some considered to be God himself, and not the glory, that is, the honor, dignity, and greatness which he bestowed on the people, as Calvin here intimates: but the latter is more consistent with what follows, which literally is, “for nothing that profits:” for the לא here, as in Jeremiah 2:8, is evidently a noun, or a pronoun. The comparison here is between what God gives and what false gods give; the comparison before was between God himself and the false gods. God gives glory, renders his people great and illustrious; but the false gods give nothing that profits, that really benefits, or does any good. — Ed

PRAYER

Grant, Almighty God, that since thou hast made thyself known to us in so plain a manner, not only by thy law and prophets, but also by thine only — begotten Son, that the knowledge of thy truth ought to have already struck deep roots in us, — O grant, that we may continue firm and constant in thy holy vocation, and make continual progress in it, and ever hasten forward to the goal: and do thou so humble us under thy mighty hand, that we may know that we are paternally chastised by thee, and profit under thy discipline, until being at length purified from all our vices we shall come to enjoy that immortal life, which has been made known to us by Christ, when we shall be able fully to rejoice in thee. — Amen.

Lecture Sixth.

Jeremiah 2:12

12. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.

12. Obstupescite coeli super hoc, et expavescite, desolamini (vel, arescite) valde, dicit Jehova.

When the Prophet saw that he had to do with besotted men, almost void of all reason, he turned to address the heavens: and it is a way of speaking, common in the Prophets, — that they address the heaven and the earth, which have no understanding, and leave men endued with reason and knowledge. This they were wont to do in hopeless cases, when they found no disposition to learn.

Hence now the Prophet bids the heavens to be astonished and to be terrified and to be reduced as it were unto desolation; as though he had said, “This is a wonder, which almost confounds the whole order of nature; it is the same as though we were to see heaven and earth mixed together.” We now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet: for by this representation he intended to shew, how detestable was the impiety of the people, since the heavens, though destitute of reason, ought justly to dread such a monstrous thing.

As to the words, some render them, “Be desolate, ye heavens,” and then repeat the same: but as שמם shemem, means to be astonished, the rendering I have given suits the present passage better, “Be astonished, ye heavens, for this,” and then, “be ye terrified and dried up;” for: חרב chareb, signifies to become dry, and sometimes, to be reduced to a solitude or a waste. Blarney, following the Septuagint, renders the verbs as in the third person plural. “The heavens are astonished,” etc.; but it is better to take them as being in the second person in the imperative mood, as both Aquila and Symmachus do. Similar passages are so construed, see Isaiah 1:2. There is alliteration in the two first words, as though we said in our language, “Heave, ye heavens:” and there is a gradation in the expressions — be astonished — be horrified — be wholly wasted, or consumed, or dried up, —

Astonished be ye, the heavens, for this, And be horrified, Be ye wholly wasted, saith Jehovah.

The alteration in the last verb, in accordance with the Syriac, חרדו, which means to “tremble,” instead of חרבו, though proposed by Secker and approved by Horsley, is by no means necessary, and countenanced by no MSS. Nor is the emendation of Blarney, in conformity with the Septuagint, to be at all approved. These alterations are not only unnecessary, but destroy the expressive and striking character of the passage. Learned men are sometimes led too much by an innovating spirit. — Ed It afterwards follows: —

Jeremiah 2:13

13. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

13. Certe (vel quia) duo mala fecit populus meus, Me dereliquerunt fontem aquarum viventium, ut foderent sibi puteos (vel, cisternas,) cisternas contritas (vel, confractas,) quae non continent aquas.

If a reason is given here why the Prophet had bidden the heavens to be astonished and terrified, then we must render the words thus, “For two evils have my people done:” but I rather think that the preceding verse is connected with the former verses. The Prophet had said, “Go to the farthest lands, and see whether any nation has changed its gods, while yet they are mere inventions.” I think then the subject is closed with the exclamation in the preceding verse, when the Prophet says, “Be astonished, ye heavens.” It then follows, “Surely, two evils have my people done,” even these, — “they have forsaken me,” — and then, “they sought for themselves false gods.” When any one forsakes an old friend and connects himself with a new one, it is an iniquitous and a base conduct: but when there is no compensation, there is in it united together, folly, levity, and madness. If I despise what I know to be profitable to me, and embrace what I understand will be to my hurt, does not such a choice prove madness? This then is what the Prophet now means, when he says, that the people had sinned not only by departing from the true God, but also by going over, without any compensation, unto idols, which could confer no good on them.

He says that they had done two evils: the first was, they had forsaken God; and the other, they had fallen away unto false and imaginary gods. But the more to amplify their sin, he makes use of a similitude, and says that God is a fountain of living waters; and he compares idols to perforated or broken cisterns, which hold no water Blarney innovated here, because he seemed not rightly to distinguish between the two words that are here used. Both are rendered “cisterns” in our version; but they are two distinct words, though they are similar, and mean similar or the same things. The first is בארות, pits, and the other is בארת in our received text, but ought evidently to be ברות, or, as in one MS., בורת, which means “wells” or pools. The first is a feminine noun, the last is a masculine noun; and hence we find that the adjective added here to the last word is masculine, as in other places, see Deuteronomy 6:11; 2 Chronicles 26:10; Nehemiah 9:25; while the first is accompanied with adjectives in the feminine gender. The verse may be thus rendered, —

For two evils have my people done, — Me have they forsaken, the fountain of living waters; In order to dig for themselves pits, Broken wells, which cannot hold water.

It is singular that Adam Clarke should say that these cisterns were “vessels in put together,” since they were pits dug in the ground to receive rain-water. — Ed. When one leaves a living fountain and seeks a cistern, it is a proof of great folly; for cisterns are dry except water comes elsewhere; but a fountain has its own spring; and further, where there is a vein perpetually flowing, and a perennial stream of waters, the water is more salubrious and much better. The waters which rain brings into cisterns are never so wholesome as those which flow from their own native vein: and when the very receptacles of water are full of chinks, what must they be but empty? Hence then God charges the people with madness, because he was forsaken, who was a fountain and a fountain of living waters; and further, because the people sought unprofitable things when they went after their idols. For what is to be found in idols? some likeness; for the superstitious think that they labor not in vain, when they worship false gods, and they hope to derive some benefit. There are then some resemblances to the true in false religions; and hence the Prophet compares false gods to wells, because they were made hollow, suitable to hold water; but there was not a drop of water in them, as they were broken cisterns.

We now perceive what the Prophet meant, — that we cannot possibly be free from guilt when we leave the only true God, as in him is found for us a fullness of all blessings, and from him we may draw what may fully satisfy us. When therefore we despise the bounty of God, which is sufficient to make us in every way happy, how great must be our ingratitude and wickedness? Yet God remains ever like himself: as then he has called himself the fountain of living waters, we shall at this day find him to be so, except he is prevented by our wickedness and neglect. But the Prophet adds another crime; for when we fall away from God, our own conceits deceive us; and whatever may appear to us at the first view to be wells or fountains, yet when thirst shall come, we shall not find a drop of water in all our devices, they being nothing else but dry cavities. It follows —

Jeremiah 2:14-17

14 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?

14. An servus Israel? An (vel, si) genitus domi? (hoc est, an verna? accipiunt enim puerum, domi natum pro verna:) quare factus est in praedam?

15. The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.

15. Super eum rugient (vel, rugiunt) leones (alii vertunt, catulos leonum, et soepe significat minores leones hoc nomen sed ubi adjungitur reliquis, ubi autem solum ponitur, ego semper interpretor generaliter pro leonibus,) miserunt vocem suam; posuerunt terram ejus in vastitatem; urbes ejus exustae sunt (vel, destructae, nam, צצץ tandem valet atque hoc loco) absque habitatore.

16. Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.

16. Etiam filii Noph (hoc est, Mempheos, vocant enim Hebroei Noph urbem quae fuit olim metropolis Egypti) et Thaphanes (vel, Thaphis, ut vertunt Grraeci) frangent tibi verticem.

17. Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?

17. An non hoc fuit tibi, deserere tuum, (hoc est, quod deserueris) Jehovam Deum tuum, quo tempore ducebat to per viam.

These verses are to be read together; for the Prophet first shews that Israel was not as to his original condition miserable, but that this happened through a new cause, and then he mentions the cause. He then first asks, whether Israel was a servant or a slave? God had adopted them as his people, and had promised to be so bountiful to them as to render them in every way happy; and what was more, as a proof of their happiness, he said, In thee shall all nations be blessed. (Genesis 12:3; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 26:4; Genesis 28:14.) We then see what was the original condition of Israel; they excelled all other nations, because they were God’s peculiar people, they were his heritage, they were a royal priesthood.

Hence the Prophet, as though astonished at something new and strange, asks this question, Is Israel a servant? He was free beyond all nations; for he was the first — born son of God: it was therefore necessary to inquire for the cause why he was so miserable; for he says afterwards, that lions roared against him, and sent forth their voice; he says, that their cities were burnt, or destroyed; he says, that their land was reduced to desolation; and at length he adds, Has not this done these things to thee? This again is put as a question, but it is doubly affirmative, for it takes away every doubt: “What do you say is the cause why you are so miserable? for all are hostile to you, and you are exposed to the wrongs of all: whence can you say has all this proceeded, except from your own wickedness?” We now see what the Prophet means.

But that what he says may be more clear, we must remember that he reminds the people, by way of reproach, of the benefits which God had conferred on them. As then the children of Abraham had been honored with so many singular favors that they had the preeminence over all the world, this dignity is now referred to, but only for the purpose of exposing their base conduct, as though he had said, “God did not deceive you, when he promised to be bountiful to you; his adoption is not deceptive nor in vain: hence you would have been happier than all other nations, had not your own wickedness rendered you miserable.” We now see for what end the Prophet asked, Is Israel a servant or a slave? They were indeed on an equality with other people, as they were by nature; but as they had been chosen by God, and as he had favored them with that peculiar privilege, the Prophet asks, whether they were servants, as though he had said, “What is it that prevents that blessedness to appear among you, which God has promised? for it was not God’s design to disappoint you: it then follows that you are miserable through your own fault.” The difficulty of understanding this passage has arisen from not considering the questions in a negative sense, as implying a strong denial-”Is Israel a servant (or, rather a slave)?” No, by no means. “Is he one begotten in the house,” that is, in a state of bondage? No, by no means. Then the following question comes naturally; since he is neither a purchased slave, nor a slave born in the house, “why has he become a prey?” That there were two sorts of slaves of this kind is evident from many parts of Scripture. See Genesis 17:12, Genesis 17:23, Genesis 17:27; Exodus 21:4; Leviticus 22: 11. This is the view taken evidently in our version, by Jun and Trem., Piscator, Gataker, Grotius, Henry, and Scott.

Blarney renders the two first lines thus, —

Is Israel a slave? or if a child of the household, Wherefore is he exposed to spoil?

He considers “the child of the household” to be the son and the heir, as Isaac was, and refers to Galatians 4:7. Horsley coincides with him. But the usus loquendi gives no countenance to this view, while it confirms the other. To refer to filiusfamilias in Latin is to no purpose. “The child of the house,” as the expression literally is, and similar phrases, ever mean in Scripture those who were born slaves in a family. — Ed.

And by saying, Why is he become a prey, he intimates that except Israel had been deprived of God’s protection, they would not have been thus exposed to the caprice of their enemies. They were not then become a prey except for this reason, because God had forsaken them, according to what is said in the song of Moses,

“How should one chase a thousand, and ten should put to flight as many thousands, except God had given us up as captives, except we had been shut up by his hand.” (Deuteronomy 32:30.)

For Moses in that passage does also in an indirect manner remind the people how often and how wonderfully God had given them victories over their enemies, and thus he leaves it to their posterity, when in distress, to consider how the change came that one should chase a thousand; that is, how could it be, that they, possessing great forces, should yet be put to flight by their enemies; for they were not wont to turn their backs, but to conquer their enemies: it then follows, that they were made captives by God, and not by the men who chased them. So also here the Prophet shews, that Israel would not have been made a prey, had they not been deprived of God’s assistance.

He afterwards adds, Over him roar the lions. The Prophet seems not simply to compare the enemies of Israel to lions on account of their cruelty, but also by way of contempt, as though he had said, that Israel found that not only men were incensed against them, but also wild beasts: and it is more degrading when God permits us to be torn by the beasts of the field. It is then the same, as though he had said, that Israel were so miserably treated, that they were not only slain by the hands of enemies, but were also exposed to the beasts of prey. And then he adds, they have sent forth their voice; which is the same as to say, that Israel, whom God was wont to protect by his powerful band, were become the food of wild beasts, and that lions, as it were in troops, were roaring against them.

He then adds, without a metaphor, that his land was laid waste, and his cities burnt without an inhabitant This language cannot be suitably applied to lions or to any other wild beasts; but what he had figuratively said before, he now explains in a plain manner, and says, that the land was desolate, that the cities were cut off or burnt up. Now this, as we have said, could not have been the case, had not Israel departed from God, and had been on this account deprived of his help. The verse literally is as follows,-

Over him shall young lions roar; They have uttered their voice, And have made his land a waste; His cities are grown over with grass, Without an inhabitant.

The verb in the first line is future, the other verbs are in the past tense; and Blarney thinks that they are so put to denote the certainty of what is said, as it is often done by the prophets: and this is rendered probable by what is contained in Jeremiah 4:7, where the same judgment is spoken of. The verb נצתה, in the received text, ought evidently to be נצתו, according to the Keri and twenty MSS.; and so we find it in Jeremiah 9:10. Our version and Calvin give it the idea of “burning;” but according to Leigh and Parkhurst, its meaning is, to shoot forth, to produce grass, or to grow over with grass, as the case is with ruined cities; and the words connected with it here and in other places seem to favor this meaning. It is rendered in our version, “laid waste,“ in Jeremiah 4:7, and “desolate” in Jeremiah 46:19. — Ed

By way of amplification he adds, Also the sons of Noph and of Tephanes shall for thee break the head, or, the crown of the head. We shall hereafter see that the Israelites were wont to seek help from the Egyptians. The particle גם, gam, may be thus explained, “Not only those who have been hitherto professed enemies to thee, but even thy friends, in whose help thou didst confide, shall turn their power against thee and break for thee thy head.” Some think that their degradation is here enhanced, because the Egyptians were an unwarlike people; and ancient historians say that men there followed the occupations of women; but as this is not mentioned in Scripture, and as the Egyptians are not thus spoken of in it, I prefer to follow the usual explanation, that the Egyptians, though confederate with Israel, would yet be adverse to them, and had been so already. By the head, some understand the chief men among the people of Israel: but we may render it thus, they will break for thee the head, as we say in our language, Ils to romperont la tete, or, Ils to frotteront la tete; and this, in my judgment, is the real meaning. There have been many expositions of this latter clause, which may be seen in the Assembly’s Annotations, which were written, as to Isaiah and Jeremiah, by the learned Gataker. He gives the preference to the idea, that the crown of the head means the best and the principal part of the land, and to break the crown means the plunder of this portion. See Isaiah 28:4. This seems to correspond in meaning with the previous verse. It was the opinion of Blarney that an allusion is prophetically made to the slaying of Josiah by the Egyptians. The words literally are, —

They shall break thee, the crown of the head.

“The crown of the head” seems to be explanatory of “thee;” it might then be rendered, —

They shall break thee, even the crown of thy head.

The Septuagint mistook one letter for another, and took the verb to be, ידעוך, “they knew thee,” instead of ירעוך “they shall break thee;” but what they made the last word to be, it is hard to know, for they rendered it, “and searched thee.” The Vulgate has followed the Septuagint; and the idea is a very indecent one: and there is nothing in the context to favor it. The Targum’s paraphrase is this, “They shall slay thy brave men, and plunder thy riches;” which countenances the idea evidently conveyed by the figurative terms of the Hebrew.

The next verse literally rendered is as follows, —

Is not this what thou wilt do for thyself, By thy forsaking of Jehovah thy God, At the time he was leading thee in the way?

The first verb is no doubt future, whether it be rendered in the second or third person. The sentence may be rendered in Welsh without “Is,” or the relative “what,” and word for word, —

Ai nid hyn a wnai i’th hun?

And the future is understood as the present. Blayney’s version is, —

Shall not this be done unto thee, Because thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, At the time that he led thee in the way?

— Ed.

Now follows the cause; the Prophet, after having shewn that Israel were forsaken by God, now mentions the reason why it so happened, Has not this done it for thee? Some read in the second person, “Hast thou not done this for thee?” but the meaning is still nearly the same. More probable, however, is the rendering which others have given, “Has not this happened to thee, because thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God?” Jeremiah, in short, teaches us that the cause of all the evils was the defection of the people, as though he had said, “Thou hast concocted for thyself all this evil; then must thou swallow it, and know that the blame cannot be cast on God; for he would have been faithful to thee, except thine impiety had prevented him. God has not, indeed, chosen thee in vain, nor has he in vain preferred thee to other nations; but thou hast rejected his kindness. Thy condition then would have never been as it is, hadst thou not procured thine own ruin.” How so? “Because thou hast departed from thy God.”

And he further exaggerates this sin by saying, At the time when he led thee in the way To lead in the way, is rightly to govern, so as to make people happy. The Prophet then shews, that the people’s perfidy and defection were without excuse in rejecting the worship of their God, for they were happy during the time they served him. Had they been in various ways tempted, or tried, they might have reigned some pretense. “We thought ourselves deceived in hoping in the true God, for he concealed his favor from us; we were therefore compelled by necessity. There ought at least some indulgence to be shewn to our levity; for we could have formed no other conjecture but that God had removed far from us.” The Prophet meets this objection, as he does in the fifth verse, “What iniquity have your fathers found in me?” and, as it is done in another place,

“My people, what have I done to thee, or in what have I been troublesome to thee?” (Micah 6:4)

for God in that passage shews that he was prepared to defend his own cause, and to clear himself from whatever the people might object to him. So also he does in this place, “I have led thee,” he says, “in the way;” that is, “Thou didst live happily under my government, and yet I could not retain thee by my goodness while I kindly treated thee; and thou knewest that nothing could be better for thee than to continue under my protection; but thou hast determined to go over into the service of idols. Now what excuse hast thou, or what pretense is left thee?” We hence see, that the sin of the people is greatly enhanced, for they were induced by no temptation or trial to forsake God, but through mere perfidy gave themselves up to idols: and a confirmation of this verse follows —

Jeremiah 2:18

18. And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?

18. Et nunc quid tibi ad viam Egypti, ut bibas aquas Nili? et quid tibi ad viam Assur, ut bibas aquam fluminis? (Nempe, Eeuphratis.)

As I have just stated, the Prophet confirms what I said, — that the people could not ascribe the cause of their evils to others; for they ought to have imputed to themselves whatever they suffered; and at the same time their sin was doubled, because they looked here and there for vain remedies, and thus accumulated for themselves new causes of misery; for they ought to have acknowledged no other remedy for their evils except reconciliation with God. If, for instance, any one being ill knew the cause of his disease, and instead of adopting the true remedy had recourse to some vain expedients injurious to his recovery, is he not deemed worthy to die for having willfully despised what might have healed him, and for indulging himself in what is deceptive and fallacious? The same thing does Jeremiah now reprove in the people of Israel. “If you carefully inquire,” saith God, “how it is that you are so miserable, you will find that this cannot be ascribed to me, but to your own sins. Now, then, what ought you to have done? what remedy ought you to have sought, except to reconcile yourselves to me, to seek pardon from me, and to strive to correct your wickedness? I would then have immediately healed you; and had you come to me, you would have found me the best physician. And why do you now act in a way quite contrary? for you run after vain helps; now you flee to Egypt, then you flee to Assyria; but you will gain nothing by these expedients.” We now understand the object of the Prophet. For after having proved the people to be guilty of impiety, and shewn that the evils which they suffered could be ascribed neither to God nor to chance, nor to any such causes, he now shews to them, that the one true remedy was to return into favor with God; but that it was an evidence of extreme madness to run now to Egypt, and then to Assyria.

Now this reproof is supported by history; for the people had at one time the Assyrians as their enemies, and at another the Egyptians; and the changes were many. God employed different scourges to awaken the sottishness of the people; at one time, he whistled for the Egyptians, as we shall presently see; at another, he blew the trumpet in Assyria: so that the Israelites might know that they could never be safe without being under the government of God. But all these things being overlooked, such was the blindness of the people, that when they were assailed by the Assyrians, they fled to Egypt and sought aid from the Egyptians, and entered into a treaty with them; afterwards, when a change occurred, they sought a treaty with the Assyrians, and also bought it at a high price.

This madness is what the Prophet now reprobates, when he says, What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt? that is, “What advantage dost thou gain? How great is thy folly, since thou knowest that God is angry with thee, and that thou art suffering many evils? God is adverse to thee, and yet thou thinkest nothing of reconciliation. Thy healing would be to flee to God and to be reconciled to him; but what dost thou now do? Thou fleest to the Assyrians and to the Egyptians. How wretched is thy condition, and how great is thy folly in thus wearying thyself without any advantage!”

Now we may learn from this passage, that whenever God chastises us for our sins, we ought to seek a remedy, and not to rest in those vain comforts which Satan often suggests; for such charms introduce drowsiness, and healable diseases are by such means rendered fatal. What then ought we to do? We ought, as soon as we feel the scourges of God, to seek to return into favor with him; and not in vain shall be our effort. But if we look around us in all directions for help, our evils shall not be lessened but increased. To drink the waters of the Nile, and to drink the waters of Euphrates, is nothing else but to seek aids here and there.

He indeed alludes to the legations which had been sent; for they who went to Egypt drank of the waters of the Nile, and others of Euphrates. He yet speaks metaphorically, as though he had said, “God was ready to help thee, hadst thou betaken thyself to his mercy as thine asylum; but having neglected him, thou thoughtest it more advantageous to have such aids as Egypt and Assyria could bring. Thou thus seekest drink in remote countries, while God could give thee waters.” And he seems to refer to the similitude which he had shortly before used: he had called God the fountain of living waters; as though he had said, “God is to thee a refreshing and perennial fountain, and there would be abundance of waters for thee wert thou satisfied with him; but thy desire is to drink the waters of the Nile, and the waters of the Euphrates.” No doubt this is the peculiar import of the passage, as though the Prophet had said, “What good to thee is to travel to Egypt to drink the waters of Sihor, a muddy river, (as the word imports;) and what good to thee is to travel to Assyria to drink the waters of the river, while thou hast at home a fountain of living, pure and perennial waters?” So Gataker considers the drift of the passage: — “To drink the water of Nilus in Egypt is put here for to seek help and relief there: but he delivereth it in these terms, as if he should say, that they could have nothing to do there, or no errand thither, unless it were to drink of the puddle water of that river, when they had, or might have had, as good, yea, far better than that, nearer at hand, at home. See Jeremiah 18:14; so 2 Kings 1:3.” Then the plainest version would be thus, —

And now, what hast thou to do with a journey to Egypt, That thou mightest drink the waters of Sihor? And what hast thou to do with a journey to Assyria, That thou mightest drink the waters of the river?

The comparison evidently is between the waters of Sihor and of the river Euphrates, and the living waters. As in other parts of Scripture the Euphrates is no doubt meant by the river, though here, as in Psalm 80:11, and Isaiah 7:20, the article ה is not prefixed to it. — Ed We now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet.

He, no doubt, speaks of the waters of the Nile and of the Euphrates, because both those nations abounded apparently in wealth and power and in military forces. As, then, the people of Israel trusted in such auxiliaries, the Prophet here reproves their ingratitude, because they were not content with God’s help, though that was not so visible and conspicuous. God, indeed, has help sufficient for us; and were we content with him alone, no doubt an abundance of good things would to a full satisfaction be given to us; and as he is not wearied in doing good, he would supply us with whatever is desirable: but as we cannot see his beneficence with carnal eyes, we are therefore carried away after the allurements of the world. We may hence learn that we are not to seek drink either from the Nile or from the Euphrates, that is, from the enticing things of the world, which make a great shew and display; but that we are, on the contrary, to drink from the hidden fountain which is concealed from us, in order that we may seek it by faith. It now follows —

Jeremiah 2:19

19. Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

19. Castigabit to malitia tua, et aversiones tuae, (vel, defectiones tuae) poenam de to exigent; et cognosces et scies, quod malum et amarum tuum derelinquere (ad verbum, hoc est, quod reliqueris) Jehovam Deum tuum, et quod timor meus super to non fuerit, dixit Dominus Jehova exeercitum.

Here again, the Prophet confirms what I have before stated, — that the people would at length find, willing or unwilling, what it was to deport from God; as though he had said, “As thou hast not hitherto learnt by so many evidences, that thy perfidy is the cause of all thy evils, God will heap evils on evils, that thou mayest at length know, even against thy will, that thou receivest, a reward due to thy wickedness.” This is the sum of the whole.

But he says first, chastise thee shall thy wickedness, as though he had said, that though God ascended not his tribunal, nor put forth his hand to punish the people, yet judgment would be evident in their very sins. And this is much more powerful, and has greater weight in it than if the Prophet had said only, that God would inflict on the people a just punishment; thy wickedness, he says, shall chastise thee; and a similar mode of speaking is adopted by Isaiah;

“Stand;” he says, “against thee shall thy wickedness,” (Isaiah 3:9; Isaiah 59:12)

as though God had said, “If I were even to be silent and not to take upon me the office of a judge, and if there were no other accuser, and no one to plead the cause, yet stand against thee will thy wickedness, and fill thee with shame.” To the same purpose is what is said here, thy wickedness Blarney renders it “adversity.” That the word sometimes means that, is true, but most commonly wickedness; and this is the sense required by the context: it must be that which corresponds in character with the word that follows — apostasy, or turning aside. “Wickedness” is the meaning sanctioned by all the early versions, as well as modern. — Ed. shall chastise thee

But we must consider the reason why the Prophet said this. There were then, we know, complaints in the mouths of many, — that God was too rigid and severe. Since then they thus continually clamored against God; the Prophet repels such calumnies, and says that their wickedness was sufficient to account for the vengeance executed upon them. He says the same of their turnings aside; The word is singular in all the early versions. It is rendered “apostasy — ἀποστασία,” by the Septuagint, and, “turning aside — aversio,” by the Vulgate Though there is no MS. in favor of the singular, yet the verb connected with it is in that number. The true reading no doubt is according to the versions, confirmed as it is by the number of the verb. — Ed but what he had said generally before, he now expresses more particularly, — that the people had withdrawn themselves from the worship of God and obedience to him. He therefore points out here the kind of wickedness of which they were guilty, as though he had said that there was no need of an accuser, of witnesses, or of a judge, but that the defections of the people alone would sufficiently avail to punish them.

He afterwards adds, Thou shalt know and see how wicked and bitter it is to forsake Jehovah thy God These are words hard in their construction; but we have already explained the meaning; “Thy forsaking,” or thy defection, means, “that thou hast forsaken thy God.” And my fear was not on, or, in thee Here, again, the Prophet points out as by the finger the sins of the people. He had before spoken of their turnings aside; but he now mentions their defection, — that the people had plainly and openly departed from the true God. They, indeed, ever continued some kind of worship in the Temple: but as the whole of religion was corrupted by many superstitions, and as there was no fidelity, no sincerity; and as they mingled the worship of idols with that of the true God, they had dearly departed from God, who is jealous of his honor, according to what is in the law, and allows of no rivals. (Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:14) We now then perceive the meaning of the Prophet.

He says, Thou shalt know that it is an evil and a bitter thing, etc. This must be applied to punishment; and he repeats what he had said before, — that the evils which the people then suffered did not happen by chance, and that as they were overwhelmed with many bitter sorrows, the cause was not to be sought afar off, for their bitterness, and whatever calamities they endured, flowed from their impiety. Thou shalt then know by the reward itself; even experience will convince thee what it is to depart from God; and he says, from Jehovah thy God, or, to forsake Jehovah thy God. For, if God had not made known his grace to the Israelites, their perverseness would not have been so detestable; but since they had found God to be a Father to them, and since he had so bountifully treated them, having been pleased to enter into a covenant with them, their wickedness was inexcusable.

And afterwards the person is changed, And my fear was not in thee Here at length the Prophet intimates, that they were destitute of every sense of religion; for by the fear of God is meant reverence for his name. Men often fall, we know, through mistake, and are deceived by the craft of Satan; and when made thus miserable they are to be pitied. But the Prophet shews here that the people were wholly undeserving of pardon. How so? Because there was no fear of God in them. “You cannot,” he says, “object and say, that you have been deceived, or make any pretense by which you may cover your wickedness: it is evident that you have acted shamelessly and basely in forsaking thy God, for there was no fear of God in you. The verse literally is as follows, —

19. Chastise thee shall thy wickedness, And thy apostasy, it shall correct thee; Know then and see, That evil and bitter shall be Thy forsaking of Jehovah thy God; And my fear is not in thee, Saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.

The future is spoken of. They were warned; they were to know and see, or consider, that the forsaking of God, “the apostasy,” would be afflictive and bitter: and then the cause of the “wickedness” first mentioned is stated, no “fear” of God. How “wickedness” was to chastise them, and “apostasy” to correct them, is signified, — they would turn out to be “evil” — afflictive — hurtful, and “bitter” — grievous — painfully distressing. Hence Grotfius’s exposition cannot be right —”Thy wickedness shall be a proof that thou art justly punished.” The reference is to the very evils and miseries to which their “wickedness” and “apostasy” would inevitably lead them. Their foreign alliances were eventually the means of their degradation and misery; and in seeking them, they forsook God as their protector; and by adopting idols, they forsook him as the object of their worship. — Ed. He subjoins at last, saith Jehovah of hosts: by which words the Prophet secures more authority to what he had announced; for what he had said must have been very bitter to the people: and many of them, no doubt, according to their usual manner, shook their heads; for we know how insolent were most of them. Hence the Prophet here openly declares, that he was not the author of what he had said, but only the proclaimer; that it proceeded from God, and that he had spoken nothing but what God himself had commanded.

PRAYER

Grant, Almighty God, that as thou hast hitherto shewn to us so many favors, since the time thou hast been pleased to adopt us as thy people, — O grant, that we may not forget so great a kindness, nor be led away by the allurements of Satan, nor seek for ourselves inventions, which may at length turn to our ruin; but that we may continue fixed in our obedience to thee, and daily call on thee, and drink of the fullness of thy bounty, and at the same time strive to serve thee from the heart, and to glorify thy name, and thus to prove that we are wholly devoted to thee, according to the great obligations under which thou hast laid us, when it had pleased thee to adopt us in thine only — begotten Son. — Amen.

Lecture Seventh

Jeremiah 2:20

20. For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.

20. Quia a seculo confregi, On the authority of the Septuagint and of the Vulgate, Blarney has rendered this verb and the following in the second person, “thou hast broken,“ etc. There is no MS. that has this reading except one, and that as to the first verb only. The Targum and the Syriac retain the first person; but the Arabic the second. There is no necessity of a change, as Blarney intimates, arising from the usus loquendi; see Jeremiah 28:2; Isaiah 9:4. Jerome followed the Septuagint; but all modern versions have adopted the Hebrew text. Horsley gives this version, —

20. Verily of old time I broke thy yoke, I burst thy bands asunder; Yet thou saidst, I will not obey: Verily, upon every high hill, And under every green tree, Thou layest thyself along, playing the strumpet.

Blarney having proposed to amend the last line, the Bishop justly says, “The text wants no correction.” The verb צעה found only here, and in Jeremiah 48:12, and in Isaiah 51:14; Isaiah 63:1, means, according to Buxtorff and Leigh, to wander, to ramble, to travel up and down, and in a transitive sense, to cause to travel, or to migrate; but, according to Parkhurst, to stretch out, to lie along, and transitively to cause to be stretched out, that is, to throw down. The first meaning is more suitable to the passages referred to above. It is here a participle, preceded by a pronoun, “thou,” the way in which a present act is commonly expressed in Hebrew. The line may then be thus rendered, —

Thou ramblest, playing the strumpet.

The Targum gives the meaning, though not the right tense, “Thou didst worship idols.” — Ed. jugum tuum, disrupi vincula tua; et dixisti, Non serviam (vel, non transgrediar, est enim duplex lectio;) quia super omnem collem excelsum, et super omnem arborem frondosam tu discurristi meretrix.

As there are two readings in Hebrew, two meanings are given; for some think the verb to be, עבד obed, and others, עבר ober, the two letters being very similar. If we read, “I will not pass over,” or, I will not transgress, the sense is, “When I broke thy yoke;” that is, “When I delivered thee from the tyranny of Egypt, then thou didst pledge thy faith to me.” The covenant then made between God and the Israelites was mutual; for as God received them under his protection, when he became, as it were, their patron, so they, on the other hand, promised to submit to his authority. If we take this reading, the passage is an expostulation; as though God condemned here the people, for their ingratitude and perfidy. But the Prophet seems to mean another thing; and therefore I prefer the other reading, “I will not serve:” and yet I reject what interpreters have alleged; for this passage, I have no doubt, has been perverted. The prevailing exposition has been this, “I will not serve idols;” and they who seemed endued with some judgment did not see that this sense is unsuitable, and strained, or too far — fetched: and it may have been, and it seems to me probable, that for this reason the letter has been changed; for all gave this explanation, “Thou hast said, I will not serve idols:” but it is wholly a strained comment.

Now, on the contrary, I think that God here complains that the liberty which he had given to his people was turned into licentiousness: and this view is exactly suitable, as it is evident from the context, — For from old time have I broken thy yoke and burst thy bonds: therefore thou hast said, (the ו here is an illative,) I will not serve; that is, “When thou oughtest to have devoted thyself to me, who had become thy Redeemer, thou thoughtest that liberty to do thine own will was granted thee.” And then the proof given of this is in every way appropriate, for on every high hill, and under every shady tree, didst thou run here and there like a harlot Then God shews that his redemption had been ill bestowed on the ungodly, who made a bad use of their privilege; for hence it was that they gave themselves up to all kinds of lasciviousness.

If any one prefers the other reading, I will not contend with him; and then the sense is, “I have long ago shaken off thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou hast said, (he speaks of the people as of a woman, for the feminine gender is used; and this is done, because God sustained the character of a husband towards that people; and whenever he accused them of defection, it was as though a husband charged an unchaste wife with the crime of adultery,) thou hast then said to me, that is, promised to me that thou wouldest not transgress;” or, in other words, “thou hast promised to be faithful to me, and pledged mutual chastity.” Then the particle, כי, ki, which is commonly a causative, is to be taken here, according to its meaning in some other parts of Scripture, as an adversative, Yet on every high hill and under every shady tree, thou didst run here and there like harlots, who are seeking lovers.

But as I have already said, it seems to me more probable that God is here expostulating with the people, because they availed themselves of the favor of liberty as an occasion for licentiousness and wantonness: and thus the whole passage reads well, and every clause is most suitable, consistent the one with the other.

What God says, that he had broken the yoke and burst the bands, is confined by some to their first redemption: but I approve of what others say, — that the Prophet speaks here of many deliverances. We indeed know that the people were brought out of Egypt but once; but when they were afterwards oppressed, he stretched forth his hand to deliver them: God then had from old time, but at various periods, shaken off the yoke of the people; for this is evident from the book of Judges. As, then, the people were not made free, except through God’s kindness, who redeemed them, ought they not to have devoted themselves to the service of their Redeemer? For on this condition, and for this end, they were redeemed by God, — that they might consecrate themselves wholly to him. God then now condemns the people for their ingratitude, because they thought that the yoke was shaken off, that they might be, as we shall hereafter find, like untamable wild beasts.

That what the Prophet means may be more evident to us, let us remember what Paul teaches us in the sixth chapter of his Epistle to the Romans (Romans 6), — that while we serve sin we are free from righteousness; for we go astray after our lusts, and are restrained by no bridle: but when God really sets us free from the miserable bondage of sin, we begin to be his servants, and the servants of righteousness; for being freed from sin we become the servants of righteousness: and this is the end of our redemption. But many turn the favor of God into an occasion for licentiousness, and thus abandon themselves, as though there was no law and no rule for a holy and upright life. God complains that this was the case with the people of Israel: Thou hast said, I will not serve “It is base ingratitude, that thou hast not in the first place regarded me as thy Redeemer; and that in the second place thou hast not considered that I dealt so kindly with thee for this very purpose — that thou mightest be mine: for he who has been redeemed by another’s kindness is no longer his own.” God had redeemed that people; and redemption brought with it an obligation, by which the people were bound willingly to submit to God as their Ruler and King. Thou hast then said, I will not serve Thus God complains that his favor had been ill bestowed on the people, because they had abused their liberty, and turned it into lasciviousness. The received Text has עבד, to serve, and the Keri, עבר, to transgress. In favor of the latter there are about 30 MSS., while the rest of those examined by Kennicott (in all 198, 71 examined throughout, and 127 on particular parts) retain the former verb, and also all the early versions, the Septuagint, the Syriac, the Arabic, and the Vulgate The Targum only has the latter. Piscator, Jun and Trem , Capellus, Blarney, and Horsley decide with Calvin in favor of the former; while Munster and Gataker side with our version and that of Geneva, in which the latter has been adopted. Clearly the former has the weight of authority: and the contrast, too, is striking, “I have broken thy bonds of slavery; but thou hast refused to serve or obey me.” The former part of this verse is of the same purport with Jeremiah 2:6, and the latter with Jeremiah 2:25. The verse begins with כי, rendered “for” in our version, by Calvin, and many others, but “surely” by Blarney, and “verily” by Horsley It is omitted in the Vulgate. Were it rendered “though,” the meaning would be more evident, —

Though from old time I had broken thy yoke, I had burst thy bands asunder; Yet thou hast said, “I will not obey:” For on every high hill and under every green tree Thou ramblest, playing the strumpet.

— Ed.

And the reason that is subjoined more fully explains the meaning, for thou didst run here and there as a harlot, on every high hill and under every shady tree For we know that the Israelites, whenever they departed from God, had some particular places, on hills and under trees, as though greater sanctity were there than anywhere else. And at this day the case is the same with the Papists; for the devotion, or rather the diabolical madness, by which they are carried away, is of a similar kind. “O! this place, they say, “is more favorable to devotion than another; there is in it more sanctity.” Of the same opinion were the Israelites: for they thought that they were nearer heaven when they went up to a mountain; they also thought that they had a more familiar intercourse with God when concealed under shady trees. And we see that the same folly has ever bewitched all heathen nations: for they imagined that God was nigher them on hills, and thought that there was some hidden divinity in fountains and under the shades of trees. As, then, this superstition had long prevailed among the Israelites, God here reproves them, because they ran here and there

But we must further notice the comparison: he says, that they were like harlots, who, having cast off all shame, run here and there, not only because they burn with insane lust, but are also carried away by their own avariciousness. Thou, harlot, he says, didst run here and there on all the high hills, and under all the shady trees; as though he had said, “This is what I have effected in delivering thee! thou thinkest that unbridled liberty has been granted thee! Hence, then, it is that thou art become so wanton as to follow thy base lusts.” It follows —

Jeremiah 2:21

21. Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?

21. Et ego plantavi to vineam electam (vineam nobilem, vel, exquisitam, hoc enim significat nomen, שורק,) totam fidele semen (hoc est, semen probum); et quomodo conversa es mihi degenerationes vitis alienae?

God here confirms what is said in the last verse; for he condemned the Israelites for having perversely run here and there after their superstitions, when yet they had been redeemed for this end, — that they might be ruled by the hand of God. Hence he says, I planted thee as a choice vine; that is, “When I redeemed thee from thine enemies, I did not give thee permission thus to prostitute thyself without any restraint, without any shame; for I planted thee as a choice vine.”

The metaphor is well known, and often occurs; for God frequently compares his Church to a vine. He calls it generally his heritage, or his land; but as vines excel other possessions, (for they are usually preferred to pasture lands, or to cultivated fields,) as then vines are the most valuable property, God hereby testifies how highly he values his Church; for he calls it his vine rather than his pasture or his field, when he speaks of it. So he does in this place, “I did not deliver thee from Egypt, that I might afterwards throw aside every care of thee; but my purpose was, that thou shouldest strike roots, and become an heritage precious to me, as an exquisite and a noble vine. I, therefore, planted thee a generous vine, שורק shurek, that thou mightest bring me forth fruit.”

Then he says, a wholly right seed; The word means not only the seed of vegetables, but whatever forms that from which anything grows. It is applied as a verb to the planting of shoots or cuttings in Isaiah 17:10. The proper rendering here would be, —

The whole of it a genuine plant (or shoot).

What is rendered “choice vine,” שורק is the yellow vine; the best was so called, because it produced wine of that color. — Ed that is, “I planted thee for this end, — that thou mightest produce fruit acceptable and pleasant to me.” God regards here his own grace, and not the character of the people; for that people, as it is well known, was never a true seed: but God here shews the purpose for which he had redeemed the people, which was, that they might be like a choice vine. How then? he adds. God speaks here of their corruptions with wonder, for the indignity was such as was enough to astonish all men: how then art thou turned to me into degenerations! So I render סורום surim, though the word is not in common use in Latin: but it is enough for me if we understand the meaning of the Prophet. The word is derived from סור sur, to turn aside, or back. We ought to say then correctly, “into turnings aside.” But as this would be obscure, when the vine is spoken of, I have not hesitated to fix on another word: How then art thou turned to me into the degenerations of a strange vine! Some give this version, “into useless branches of grapes:” but I know not whence they have taken the words. I wish to keep to what is more genuine, — that the vine, which ought to have been fruitful, had so degenerated that it produced nothing, as we shall find in another place, but wild grapes. Much difference exists as to the literal meaning of this clause, though the general meaning is quite evident. None of the early versions are the same. The word סורי is rendered, “into bitterness — εἰς πικρίαν,” by the Septuagint; “thou hast rebelled,” by the Syriac; “into what is corrupt — in pravurn,” by the Vulgate; “thou hast declined from my fear,” by the Targum Blarney takes it as a verb in the imperative mood, and renders the two lines thus, —

Yet how I find thee changed! Depart, O vine of spurious growth.

But there is a harshness and incongruity in this version that renders it inadmissible. Besides “vine of spurious growth” is not the meaning of the words used, for it is “a foreign vine,” that is, a heathen vine; which contains an allusion to the idolatry which had been imported from heathen nations.

It is most probable that סורי, or in full, סורים, means degenerate shoots or branches, as Parkhurst thinks. To turn aside, to decline, to degenerate, seems to be the most common meaning of the verb. There would in this case be a congruity in the whole verse, —

And I myself had planted thee a choice vine, The whole of it a genuine plant; How then art thou become to me The degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?

The plant was of the best kind, but the shoots or the branches had become degenerated, such as a foreign or heathen vine produced. — Ed. And he calls them the turnings aside of a strange vine, which ceases to be the choice vine, שורק, shurek, and is turned to a wild vine, which produces nothing but sour or bitter fruit: and in the last place, as it brought forth nothing useful, God justly calls it a strange vine. It follows —

Jeremiah 2:22

22. For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.

22. Etiam si lveris to nitro (ut vertunt,) et multiplicaveris tibi borith (alii exponunt, herbam fullonum; alii, saponem; quod ad rei summam spectat, nulla est ambiguitas, quoniam intelligit Deus nullo artificio, nullis herbis posse maculas populi purgari,) impressa est (vel, insculpta est, vel, signata, ut alii vertunt) iniquitas tua coram facie mea, dicit Dominus Jehova.

We have already seen, and the Prophet will often repeat the same thing, — that the people were become so refractory that they would not willingly give way to any reproofs; for they were almost all of such a hard front, and so obdurate in their wickedness, that they dared insolently to raise objections against the prophets; whenever they severely reproved them: “What! Are not we God’s holy people? Has he not chosen us? Are we not the holy seed of Abraham?” It was therefore necessary for the prophets to apply a hard wedge to a hard knot, as they commonly say. As, then, the Israelites were like a knotty wood, it was necessary to strike hard their obstinacy.

On this account Jeremiah now says, Even if thou wert to wash thyself with nitre, and multiply to thee borith, yet thine iniquity would be before me marked; that is, “Ye effect nothing when ye set forth various pretences for the sake of excusing your impiety: wash yourselves, but your iniquity remains marked before me.” The Prophet speaks in the person of God, that he might add more weight to the denunciation he pronounced on the Israelites, and by which he reduced to nothing their self — flatteries, according to what has been already stated.

By nitre and borith they removed stains in cloth; and hence borith is often mentioned in connection with fullers. But there is no need of a laborious inquiry, whether it was an herb or dust, or something of that kind; for as to what is meant, it is generally agreed that the Prophet teaches us by this metaphor, — that hypocrites gain nothing by setting up their pretences, that they may escape, when God condemns them. Hence he says, that all their attempts would be vain and fruitless. How so? Because their iniquity remained unwashed; that is, because they could not remove by washing what is imprinted. Spots or stains can indeed be cleansed or washed away by soap or other things; but when the stain is inward, and imprinted within, washing will avail nothing, for the marks are so deep that some more efficacious remedy must be adopted. So now the Prophet says, that the stains were imprinted, and therefore could not be washed away or cleansed by soap or borith. What we call “nitre” is different from the “nitron” here mentioned. The verb, from which the noun is derived, means to loosen, to set free: and hence the article called nitron dissolves in water, and loosens and washes away spots and stains. Borith was an herb, which, being burnt, and its ashes dissolved in water, had a strong cleansing power. — Ed.

But the Prophet says, that the stains were marked, or stamped, before God; for it was a common thing with the Israelites to clear themselves from every blame; nay, so great was their audacity, that they openly opposed the prophets, as though some great wrong was done to them; and they called the prophets accusers and slanderers, Hence he says, Thine iniquity is stamped before me? The verb rendered “stamped” is only found here in Niphel, but, as a participial noun, it seems to mean gold stamped or marked to shew its genuineness. See Psalm 45:9; Proverbs 25:12. A stain or spot is not what it signifies, as given by the Septuagint and the Vulgate, nor “blot,” according to Blarney; but it refers to the stamp or mark imprinted on a hard metal, such as gold: and this idea alone corresponds with the other parts of the verse. A stain, a spot, or a blot, might be cleansed by abstergents, but not a mark stamped on a metal, —

But thou washest thyself with nitron, And multipliest for thyself fuller’s ashes: Stamped is thine iniquity before me, Saith the Lord Jehovah.

— Ed. that is, “However thou mayest by self — flatteries deceive thyself, and hidest thy sins before the world, yet thou gainest nothing; for in my sight thine iniquity ever remains stamped.” He afterwards adds —

Jeremiah 2:23

23. How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;

23. Quomodo dices (hoc est, quomodo dicis; nam futurum tempus saepe accipitur apud Hebraeos pro acu continuo, quomodo igitur dicis) non sum polluta, post Baalim non profecta sum? Vide vias tuas in valle, cognosce quid feceris dromedaria velox corripiens vias suas (vel, circumiens, nam deducitur vox ista a corrigia calceamenti).

Jeremiah goes on here with his reproof, and dissipates the clouds of hypocrites, under which they thought themselves to be sufficiently concealed: for hypocrites, when they allege their fallacious pretences, think themselves already hidden from the eyes of God and from the judgment of all men. Hence the Prophet here sharply condemns this supine self — security, and says, How darest thou to boast that thou art not polluted? How darest thou to say, that thou hast not walked after Baalim? that is, after strange gods. I have already said, that by this word were meant inferior gods: for though the Jews acknowledged one Supreme Being, yet they sought for themselves patrons; and hence arose, as it is usual, a great number of gods. The superstitious never lapsed into that degree of impiety and madness, but that they ever confessed that there is some supreme Deity; but they added some inferior gods. And thus they had their Baalim and patrons, like the Papists, who call their patrons saints, for they dare not in their delusions to call them gods. Such was the sophistry of the Jews.

How then, he says, canst thou excuse thyself, and say, that thou hast not walked after Baalim? See, he adds, thy ways, see what thou hast done in the valley, and know at length that thou hast been like a swift dromedary The Prophet could not have fully expressed the furious passions which then raged in the Jews without comparing them to dromedaries: and as he addresses the people in the feminine gender, the female dromedary is mentioned. I consider that she is called swift, not only on account of the celerity of her course, but on account of her impetuous lust, as we shall presently see.

Now this passage teaches us, that the people had become so hardened, that they insolently rejected all reproofs given them by the prophets. Their impiety was openly manifest, and yet they ever dared to allege excuses, for the purpose of shewing that the prophets unjustly condemned them. Nor are we to wonder that such contumacy prevailed in that ancient people, since at this day we find that the Papists, with no less perverseness, resist the clear light of truth. For however gross and shameful their idolatry appears, they yet think that they evade the charge by merely saying, that their statues and images are not idols, and that the people of Israel were, indeed, condemned for inventing statues for themselves, but that they did this, because they were prone to superstition. Hence they cry against us, and say, that the worship which prevails among them is unjustly calumniated. We see, and even children know, that under the Papacy every kind of superstition prevails; and yet they seek to appear innocent, and free from every blame. The same was the case formerly: and as the temple continued, and the people offered sacrifices there, and as some kind of religion remained, whenever the prophets reproved the impious corruptions, which were blended with and vitiated the pure worship of God, and which were called adulteries, as they everywhere declare, “What!” they said, “Do we not worship God?” This very perverseness is what the Prophet now condemns by saying, How darest thou to say, I am not polluted, I have not walked after Baalim? So the Papists say at this day, “Do we not believe in one God? Have we devised for ourselves various gods? Yet they rob God of all his power, and dishonor him in a thousand ways: and at the same time they assert against us, with a meretricious mouth and an iron front, that they worship the one true God. “The Jews, it seems,” says Loath, “had found out distinctions, whereby to reconcile the worship of the true God with those religious rites which they paid to the deities of the heathen, called here Baalim. These, they pretended, were only inferior demons or spirits, or the souls of men departed, and might be worshipped in subordination to the supreme God.” Scott adds to this quotation this just remark, “This, and nothing better, can the Papists urge in excuse of their manifest idolatry in worshipping saints and angels” — Ed. The case was exactly the same with the Jews: but the Prophet here proves their boasting to be vain and grossly false, See, he says, thy ways in the valley; see what thou, a swift dromedary, hast done As they could not be overcome by reasons, their willfulness being so great, the Prophet compares them to wild animals: “Ye are,” he says, “like lascivious dromedaries, which are so carried away by lust, that they forget everything while pursuing their own courses.” It follows —

Jeremiah 2:24

24. A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.

24. Onager (sed adhuc retinet foemineum genus, foemina igitur onagri) assueta deserto, in appetitu animae sum (hoc est, pro desiderio, vel, cupidine animae suae colligens ventura occasionis suae (vel, occursus sui) quis inde reducet eam? Quisquis persequitur earn non fatigabitur, in mense suo inveniet eam.

As Jeremiah had called the people a dromedary, so he now calls them a wild ass: “Thou,” he says, “art both a dromedary and a wild ass.” For when a wild ass has caught the wind according to her desire, that is, when she has pantingly sought it, and has caught the wind of her occasion, that is, such as may chance to be; for he meant to shew, by this expression, that there is no choice made by beasts, no judgment shewn, no moderation exercised; — when, therefore, she has caught the wind, wherever chance may take her, no one can restrain her from her impetuous course; and he who pursues her will in vain fatigue himself, until he finds her in her month

By these words the Prophet intimates the untamable madness of the people, that they could not by any means be restrained, being like a wild ass, which cannot be tamed nor divested of its wildness, especially when she has caught the wind. For were she shut in, bolts might do something, so as to prevent her headlong course: but when a wild ass is free, and allowed to ramble over hill and dale, when she catches the wind, and catches it according to her desire; that is, when she can wander here and there, and nothing prevents her from rambling in all directions, — when such a liberty is allowed to wild animals that they catch the wind, and the wind of occasion; that is, any wind that may chance to be, there is no reason, as the Prophet seems to intimate, in wild beasts, nor do they keep within any due bounds. When any one of us undertakes a journey, he inquires how far he can go in one day, he avoids weariness, and provides against it as far as he can, and after having fixed the extent of his journey, he thinks of a resting — place; and he also makes inquiries as to the right way, and the best road. The case is different with wild animals; for when they begin to run, they go not to Lyons or to Lausanne, but abandon themselves to a blind impulse: and then when they are fatigued, they cease not to proceed in their course, for lust hurries them on. We now perceive the design of the Prophet.

He then adds, Who can bring her back? As though he had said, that the people could not be stopped or brought back to anything like moderation, for a wildness, yea rather a complete madness, had taken an entire possession of them. The grammatical anomalies at the beginning of this verse are satisfactorily removed by Parkhurst, and what he has proposed is approved by Horsley. He considers פרה to be the female dromedary, he derives למד from מד, measure, or extent, with a ל prefixed, and regards נפשה as the true reading, being that of the Keri, and of the largest number of MSS. This verse and the preceding are to be thus connected, —

23. How canst thou say, “I have not been polluted, After Baalim have I not walked!” See thy way in the valley, Know what thou hast done, — Like a swift dromedary which winds about her courses, —

24. A female which, in the wide space of the wilderness, Through the desire of her natural instinct, Snuffs up the wind she meets with: Who can turn her back? All who seek her, Let them not weary themselves; In her month they shall find her.

By “winding about her courses,” or tracks, or ways, is meant running in this and in that direction, and not in a straight course. The word, as a noun, denotes the string or latchet by which the ancients fastened their sandals, and which they twined round the feet. “The wind she meets with,” is literally, “the wind of her meeting.” The Septuagint and the early versions have departed widely from the original; the Vulgate comes nearest to it; nor is the Targum far off — Ed.

It afterwards follows, There is no reason for any one to weary himself, he will at length find her in her month All interpreters agree that this month is to be taken for the time of foaling. When the wild asses are in foal, and the time of parturition draws nigh, they are then restrained by their burden, and may be easily caught, as they retain not their previous swiftness, for they carry a burden. The Prophet then says, that the people were like wild asses, for they could be restrained by no instruction, and nothing could bridle their excesses; but that the time of parturition must be waited for.

Let us now see how this similitude applies to the people. The verse contains two parts. The first shews, as I have already said, that the people could not be turned by any warnings, nor would they obey any counsels, but were carried away by their insane passions, as it were by the wind of occasion, or any wind that might blow. This is the first part. Now as the obstinacy of the people was so great, God here declares to hypocrites, that the time would come when he would put a restraint on them, and break down their impetuous infatuation. How? The time of parturition would come; that is, “when ye shall have done many iniquities, your burden will stop and restrain you.” And he intimates, that it would be the time of his judgment; as though he had said, “you must be dealt with not as sane men, endued with a sound mind; for ye are wild beasts which cannot be tamed.” What, then, remains to be done? As the wild ass is weighed down with her burden when the time of parturition approaches, so I will cause you at length to feel the burden of your iniquities, which will be by its weight intolerable; and though your perverseness is untamable, yet my hand will be sufficient to restrain you; for I shall break you down, as ye will not bend nor obey my instruction.” We now, then, understand the import of the similitude, and how applicable it was to the case of the people; the use of which ought to be learnt, also, by us in the present day. The rest tomorrow.

PRAYER

Grant, Almighty God, that, as it pleased thee, when thou didst deliver us from the tyranny of Satan, to lay on our necks thy yoke: — O grant, that we may be influenced by the spirit of docility, and of obedience, and of meekness, and willingly submit ourselves to thee through the whole course of our life, so that thou mayest gather from us the fruit of thy redemption: and may we so renounce sin that we may devote ourselves to thy service, and become the servants of righteousness, until having finished the course of our warfare, we shall be gathered into that blessed rest. which has been obtained for us by the blood of thine only — begotten Son. — Amen.

Lecture Eighth

Jeremiah 2:25

25. Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.

25. Prohibe pedem tuum a discalceare (hoc est, ne discalceeris) et guttur tuum a siti (quanquam alii existimant esse nomen substantivum יחף, et mihi placet; ita vertendum erit, Prohibe pedem tuum a discalceatione et guttur tuum a siti;) et dixisti, Acturm est; non, quia dilexi alienos, et post illos ambulabo.

The words of the Prophet, as they are concise, may appear at the first view obscure: but his meaning is simply this, — that the insane people could by no means be reformed, however much God might try to check that excess by which they were led away after idols and superstitions. In the first clause, God relates how he had dealt with the people. All the addresses of the prophets had this as their object — to make the people to rest contented under the protection of God. But he employs other words here, Keep thy foot, he says, from unshodding, and thy throat from thirst For whenever there was any danger they ran, now to Egypt, then to Assyria, as we have already seen. Hence God complains of their madness, because they obeyed not his wise and salutary counsels. Had God bidden them to run here and there, either to the east or to the west, they might have raised an objection, and say, that the journey would be irksome to them; but he only commanded them to remain still and quiet. How great, then, was their madness, that they would not with quietness wait for the help of God, but weary themselves, and that with no benefit? Isaiah says nearly the same thing, but in other words; for he expostulated with them, because they underwent every kind of weariness, when they might have been protected by God, and be in no way wearied.

We now, then, comprehend the design of the Prophet: for God first shews that the people had been admonished, and that in time; but that they were so taken up with their own perverse counsels, that they could not endure the words of the prophets. It was the highest ingratitude in them, that they refused to remain quiet at home, but preferred to undergo great and severe labors without any advantage, according to what is said by Isaiah in another place,

“This is your rest, but ye would not.” (Isaiah 30:15.)

There is no one who desires not rest and peace; nay, all confess that it is the chief good, which all naturally seek. The Prophet says now, that it was rejected by the people of Israel. It hence follows, that they were wholly insane, for they had lost a desire which is by nature implanted in all men. The Prophet, then, does not here simply teach, but reminds the Jews of what they had before heard from Isaiah, and also from Micah, and from all the other prophets. For God had often exhorted them to remain quiet; and the Prophet now upbraids them with ingratitude, because they gave way to their own mad folly, and rejected the singular benefit offered them by God.

Let us then know that the Prophet states here what others before him had taught, Keep back, he says, thy foot from unshodding. Some render the last word, “from nakedness,” because they wore out their shoes by long journeys; but this I think must be understood of what was commonly done, for they were wont to make journeys unshod: keep then thy foot from being unshod, That the word means to be barefooted, or without shoes, is clear from Isaiah 20:2-4, and also from 2 Samuel 15:30: and it is nowhere else found except here. It being here a noun, it signifies literally barefootedness. They are here exhorted not to travel for aid to foreign lands, so as to wear out their shoes and thus become barefooted. This was said in contempt, in order to pour ridicule on their folly in seeking foreign aid. — Ed. and thy throat from thirst We know that thirst is very grievous to men: hence the Prophet here reproves the madness of the people, — that they were so seized with the ardor of an impious passion, that they willfully exposed themselves to thirst even by long journeys. As then God required nothing from the people but to ask his counsel, their sin was doubled by their unwillingness to obey his salutary direction. A plausible excuse, as I have already said, might have been alleged, had God dealt in a hard and severe manner with the people; but as he was ready kindly and graciously to preserve them in a complete state of quietness, no kind of excuse remained for them.

It then follows, Thou hast said, There is not a hope, no The Prophet shews here, as to the people, how perverse they were; for they obstinately rejected the kind and friendly admonitions which had been given them. They say first, There is not a hope, or, it is all over; for יאש iash, in Niphal, means to despair, or, to be out of hope. It may be rendered, “It is weariness;” and this would not be unsuitable, if taken in this sense, “I have thoughtlessly tormented myself more than enough, so that weariness itself induces me to rest.” No. The Prophet speaks concisely in order to express more strikingly the refractory conduct of the people. By saying, “There is not a hope,” it is the same as though he had said, that they spurned all exhortations; and then he adds, No. There is no verb put here; but an elliptical expression, as I have said, is more forcible to set forth the ferocity of the people. It has been disputed whether the negative “no,” refers to the advice given at the beginning of the verse, or to the immediately preceding word. The latter is the most natural. The word נואש is a participle, as in Job 6:26. The verse may be thus rendered, —

25. Keep thy foot from being bare And thy throat from thirst; But thou hast said, “Hopeless! No; For I have loved strangers, And after them will I go.”

The first part implies that they were pursuing a useless course. The insolent answer was, “Is it hopeless? By no means.” The Septuagint omit the negative, and have only “ἀνδριοῦμαι — I will act manfully;” and this version has been followed by the Syriac and Arabic The Vulgate has, “desperavi, nequaquam faciam — I have despaired, I will by no means do so.” The most literal rendering is given above, and affords the best and the most suitable meaning.

To confess that it was a hopeless thing to attempt to reform them, is not so appropriate, as to deny it to be hopeless to have recourse to foreign alliances: which seems to be the import of the passage. This is the view which Gataker seemed most inclined to take; and he mentions this rendering, “Should I despair? No.” To the same purpose is the version of Jun. and Trem. But Grotius, Henry, and Adam Clarke, agree with the explanation of Calvin. — Ed.

Isaiah expostulated with them in another way, and blamed them, because they did not say, “There is not a hope.” (Isaiah 57:10.) Thus Isaiah and Jeremiah seem to be inconsistent; for our Prophet here reproves the people for saying, “There is not a hope;” and Isaiah, for not having said so. But when the Jews expressly answered, according to this passage, “There is not a hope,” they meant that the prophets spent their labor in vain, as they were determined to follow their own course to the last. Hence by this expression, “There is not a hope,” is set forth the extreme perverseness of the people; and he shews that no hope of repentance remained, since they said openly and without any evasion that it was all over. But Isaiah reproved the people for not saying, that there was not a hope, because they did not acknowledge after long experience that they were proved guilty of folly: for after having often run to Egypt and then to Assyria, and the Lord having really taught them how ill-advised they had been, they ought to have learnt from their very disappointments, that the Lord had frustrated their expectations in order to lead them to repentance. Justly then does Isaiah say, that the people were extremely besotted, because they ever went on in their blind obstinacy, and never perceived that God did set many obstacles in their way, in order to compel them to go back and to cast aside all their vain hopes, by which they deceived themselves. We hence see that there is a complete agreement between the two prophets, though their mode of speaking is different.

Jeremiah then introduces the people here as saying expressly, and thus avowing their own perverseness, There is not a hope; as though they said, “Ye prophets do not cease to stun our ears, but vain and useless is your labor; for we have once for all made up our minds, and we can never be brought to revoke our resolution.” But what does Isaiah say? He reproves the madness of the people, that having been so often deceived by the Egyptians as well as by the Assyrians, they did not understand that they ought by such trials and experiments to have been brought back to the right way, but continued obstinately to follow their own wicked counsels. As to the passage before, we perceive what the Prophet means, — that God had kindly exhorted the Jews to rest quiet and dependent on his aid; but that they were not only stiff-necked, but also insolently rejected the kindness offered to them.

It then follows, For I have loved strangers, and after them will I go Here he exaggerates the sin of the people, for they gave themselves up to strangers; and he retains the similitude which we have already observed. For as God had taken the people under his own protection, so the obligation was mutual: both parties were connected together as by a sacred bond, as the case is between a husband and his wife; as he pledges his faith to her, so she by the law of marriage is bound to him. Jeremiah here retains this similitude, and says that the people were like the basest strumpet, for they would not hear the voice of their husband, though he was willing and anxious to be reconciled to them. Now, a wife must be wholly irreclaimable when she spurns her own husband, who is ready to receive her into favor, and to forgive her all the wickedness she may have done. The Prophet then shews, that there was in the people so great and so hopeless an impiety, that they closed their ears against God who kindly exhorted them to repent; and worse still, they shamelessly boasted that they were resolved to worship idols and their own fictions, and to reject the only true God. It follows —

Jeremiah 2:26

26. As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,

26. Sicut pudor (vel, probrum) furi, cum deprehensus est, ita pudefacti sunt domus Israel, reges eorum, principes eorum, et sacerdotes eorum et prophetae eorum.

Some render the words in the future tense, “So ashamed shall be the house of Israel,” etc.; and they think that the Prophet is speaking here of the punishment which was impending over the people: but I explain the words as they are, — that the impiety of the people was so gross, that there was no need formally to prove it, as it was so very palpable. Hence the Prophet compares the Jews to open thieves, as though he had said, that hypocrites among that people gained nothing by their evasions and subterfuges, for their impiety was quite public: they were like a thief when caught, who cannot deny nor hide his crime. Hence he says that they were caught, as they say, in the very act; that is, their flagitious deeds were so conspicuous, that whatever objections they might raise, they could not clear themselves, but their baseness was known to all. We now then perceive what the Prophet means. We have before seen that the people had recourse to many excuses, but Jeremiah shews here, that they attained nothing by their evasions, except that they more fully discovered their own effrontery, for their dishonesty was evident to all; it was so manifest that they could not cover it by any cloaks and pretences. The verb rendered “is ashamed,” is in the past tense in Huphal, and means “made ashamed,” or, “confounded,” as rendered, by the Targum and the Vulgate. The Septuagint have converted it into the future tense, and so have the Syriac and the Arabic, which have been followed by most modern versions, and by commentators. If we rightly view the whole passage, we shall see reason to take this verb as we find it, in the past tense. The verse is an answer, as it were, to what is contained in the latter part of the previous verse, by a reference to what had already taken place as to the people of Judah; and the 30th verse (Jeremiah 2:30) countenances the past tense. This and the following verse may be thus rendered, —

26. As a thief is ashamed when he is found out, So made ashamed have been the house of Israel, They, their kings, their princes, Their priests and their prophets;

27. Who have said to the wood, “My father art thou,” And to the stone, “Thou hast begotten me.” Though they have turned to me the back and not the face; Yet in the time of their calamity, They say, “Arise and save us.”

The participles in Hebrew are regulated as to their tense by the verbs in the passage. Hence אמרים in Jeremiah 2:27, is to be in the same tense with the previous verb. The future in the last line is to be in the present, as it expresses what was commonly done. Then what was usually said to them is mentioned in the following verse, —

28. But where are thy gods, which thou hast made for thyself? Let them arise, if they can save thee In the time of thy calamity: For according to the number of thy cities Have been thy gods, O Judah.

Blayney has kept to the past tense as to the last line, and also as to the beginning of Jeremiah 2:26. — Ed.

Nor does he speak only of the common people; but he condemns kings, princes, priests, and prophets, as though he had said, that they were become so corrupt from the least to the greatest, that having cast off all shame, they openly shewed a manifest and gross contempt for God by following their own inventions and superstitions. And yet the Jews no doubt attempted by many excuses to defend themselves; but God here shakes off all those fallacious pretexts, by which they thought to cover their flagitious deeds, and says that they were notwithstanding manifestly thieves.

The Prophet had said before, that the Jews made a different declaration; and now he condemns their effrontery: but there is no inconsistency as to the meaning. The Jews denied that they were apostates and guilty of perfidy, or that they had forsaken the worship of God; they denied this in words; but the Prophet, in now proclaiming their shamelessness, does not refer to words; for they had ready at hand their false pretensions, as it has been already stated: but the Prophet now takes the fact itself as granted, and says that they wickedly and perversely resisted God, so that their wickedness and obstinacy were past all remedy. It now follows —

Jeremiah 2:27-28

27. Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.

27. Dicentes ligno, Pater meus tu (hoc est, tu es pater meus,) et lapidi, Tu genuisti me (si legamuss per י, si autem per ו, Tu genuisti nos;) quia verterunt mihi cervicem (dorsum, alii vertunt, vel, posteriora,) et non faciem: in tempore autem calamitatis suae dicent (hoc est, dicunt,) Surge et serva nos.

28. But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.

28. Et ubi sunt dii tui, quos fecisti tibi? Surgant, an servent to tempore mali tui (hoc est, afflictionis tuae, sicuti prius;) quia secundum numerum urbium tuarum fuerunt dii tui, Jehudah.

The Prophet here confirms what he had before said of the perverse wickedness of the people. He shews that he had not said without reason, that their sins were extremely gross, and could not be excused by any evasions: for they say, he adds, to the wood, Thou art my father, and to the stone, Thou hast begotten, me By these words the Prophet shews, that idolatry was so rampant among the people, that they openly ascribed to their statues, made of wood or stone, the honor due to the only true God.

But the Prophet points out here what is especially to be detested in idolatry, and that is, the transferring of the honor, due to God, to statues, not only as to the external act by bending the knee before them, but by seeking salvation from them.

And this is what we ought particularly to notice: for the Papists at this day, though they prostrate themselves before their pictures and statues, do not yet acknowledge themselves guilty of idolatry, when such a charge is brought against them. They say that they worship the statues, not with the honor due to God, but with such honor as a servant renders to his master. The words employed by Calvin are the technical terms, latria and dulia, the fictions of the Papists. The first means specifically worship, and the second, service, obedience. The verb δουλεύω in the New Testament is never used in the sense of worshipping or adoring, but of serving and obeying: but to bow to images or to kiss them, is an act of adoration, and not of service. — Ed They think that they thus exculpate themselves. But were we to grant what they allege, they yet cannot deny but that they address prayers and supplications to statues. As then they ask the very statues to save them, whatever sophistry they may adopt, it is altogether nugatory: for the prophets condemn not merely the outward gesture, the bowing down, and other ceremonious acts, as they are called, when they condemned idolaters. What then? They condemned them, because they said to statues, Thou art my Father; that is, because they ascribed the power, which belongs only to God, to statues made of wood or stone. It is indeed certain, that the Jews never sunk into so great a depth of sottishness as expressly to profess that gods of wood and stone were equal to the true God, and they never said any such thing. Yet the Prophet did not calumniate them, in ascribing what is here said to them: but as it is clearly evident from other places, the Prophet regarded their thoughts rather than their words: for the Jews professed the same thing as the Papists of the present day, when they prostrated themselves before their statues; they said that they worshipped the only true God and sought salvation from him; and yet they thought that the power of God was inherent in the statues themselves: hence they said, Thou art my father, Thou hast begotten me The case is the same with the Papists of the present day. When any one prostrates himself before the statue of Catherine or of Christopher, he says, “Our Father.” When he justifies himself in doing this, he says that it is done in honor to the one true God: and yet thou runnest blindly, now to one statue, and then to another, and muttcrest, “Our Father.” There is not the least doubt but that the superstition which now prevails under the Papacy, is even more gross than that which prevailed among the Jews. But to say nothing of the Papists, because they mutter, “Our Father,” before their statues, there is no doubt but that when they present their prayers to statues, they consider God’s power to be in them.

We must now, then, bear in mind, that the Jews were not only condemned, because they burnt incense and offered sacrifices to idols, but because they transferred the glory of God to their statues, when they asked salvation from them. And as this was not done in express words, the Prophet here brings to light their impious thoughts; for they did not raise up their minds and thoughts to God, but turned them to their statues.

It afterwards follows, They have turned to me the neck The “neck” here means evidently the hinder part, for it is in contrast with “face;” and the word generally means the hinder part. Hence it is properly rendered here “back” in our version and by Blayney, and so by the Targum and the early versions, except the Syriac, which retains the hinder part of the neck. We have no single word, except it be nape, which denotes the back part of the neck. There is one in Welsh, “gwegil,“ and so in Latin, “cervix,“ and in Greek, ἀυχὴν But the Septuagint have adopted here “νῶτα — backs.” — Ed and not the face In these words, God again confirms what he had before said, that the apostasy or defection of the people was more manifest than what could be disguised by any colorings. He then adds, Yet (the ו is to be taken here adversatively) in the time of their affliction, they will say, Arise, and save us God here complains that the Jews most strangely abused his kindness; for they came to him when any grievous calamity constrained them. “What have I to do with you?” he says, “Ye are wholly devoted to your idols, ye call them your fathers, and ascribe to them the glory of your salvation, when things go on peaceably with you; but when your idols in time of distress give you no aid, then ye return to me and say, Arise, and save us; but, since idols are your fathers, and ye expect salvation from them, I shall have nothing to do with you; be contented with your idols, and trouble me no more, for I have been forsaken by you.”

And hence he adds, Where are your gods? Here God laughs to scorn the false confidence by which the Jews deceived themselves: Where are your gods, which you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, let us see whether they will help you in the time of your distress. We now understand what the Prophet means: for he shews that the people acted in a most strange manner; for they worshipped idols when they were in safety, and afterwards would have God to be bound to them; and yet they denied the true God when they fell away unto idols. He then shews that they could expect no aid from God; for they robbed him of his own power when they devised idols for themselves. But we must ever remember what he said, that false gods were counted as fathers and authors of salvation by the people.

The same thing is, no doubt, done at this day under the Papacy; for the Papists have their patrons; and when they find that their foolish superstitions can do nothing for them, they would have God to help them, and yet they leave nothing to him: after having taken away all his glory, and divided it as a spoil among dead saints, they would then have God to be their helper. But we see what God’s answer to them is, “Where are your gods?” etc.

Now this truth is of use to us; and we hence learn, that we are not to wait until we are really, and in the last state of despair, compelled to acknowledge that our labors have been useless, while we hoped and prayed for help from idols; but that we ought to come directly to God himself for aid in our distress.

God proceeds farther with the sarcasm or the derision which he has employed, Where are thy gods? Let them now arise that they may help thee; that is, — let them try their utmost whether they can aid thee. According to the number of thy cities have been thy gods, O Judah As the people were not satisfied with one God, every city chose a patron for itself. “Since, then, innumerable gods are invoked by you, how comes it that they do not help you?” We hence see that the unbelief of the people is here sharply reproved; for they did not acquiesce in God alone, but sought to procure for themselves gods without number: there were many cities in the tribe of Judah, and there were as many patrons. The one true God would have been fully sufficient for them, and would have brought them complete deliverance whenever needed; but the one true God they despised, and every city devised a god for itself. “Since ye trust,” he says, “in such a multitude, let them now arise, that they may succor you; for I, who am one, am despised by you.” We now understand what the Prophet means also in this part. It afterwards follows —

Jeremiah 2:29

29. Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.

29. Cur litigatis mecum omnes impie agentes in me (vel, perfide)? dicit Jehova.

Jeremiah concludes here his previous subject: he says that the Jews gained nothing by alleging against God that they were innocent, and by thinking that they could by mere words escape his judgment, and not only by doing so, but also by hurrying on to such a degree of presumption as to challenge God himself, and to seek to prove him guilty. But God answers them in one word, and says, that they were perfidious. The meaning then is, that the Jews ill consulted their own interest in hardening themselves in their obduracy; for God would hold them fully convicted of impiety, so that they in vain alleged this or that as an excuse. The verb rendered “plead” in our version, is followed by אל, against or in opposition to. There are two other instances, Judges 21:22; Job 33:13. Our version in Job is, “Why dost thou strive against him?” The most suitable rendering of this passage is,

Why should ye contend against (or, with) me?

Then follows a fact sufficient to put an end to all contention, —

All of you have rebelled against me, Saith Jehovah.

The primary idea of פשע is, to go, to pass, to march on. See Isaiah 28:4. Its meaning depends on the preposition which follows it. Followed by על, over, it means to transgress, it being a going or passing over the limits set by the law, Hosea 8:1, — by מ, to go from, to revolt, to apostatize, 2 Kings 8:22,-and by ב, to go against, to rebel, as in this passage. Hence the noun has attained various meanings-transgression, apostasy, and rebellion. Its precise meaning in any case is to be determined by the context. Gataker and Blayhey render the verb here the same, —

All of you have rebelled against me, saith Jehovah.

The early versions vary. The Septuagint have “ἠσεβήσατε — ye have acted impiously,” the Syriac, “ye have denied me,” — the Arabic, “ye have sinned against me,”-and the Vulgate, “ye have forsaken me.” The general idea is the same, but the specific one is that of rebelling against God. — Ed

Now this passage deserves especial notice: for we know how prone we are by nature to hypocrisy; and when God summons us to his tribunal, hardly one in a hundred will acknowledge his guilt and humbly pray for forgiveness; but the greater part complains, nay almost all murmur against God, and still more, they gather boldness, and proudly dare to challenge and defy God. Since, then, hypocrisy thus prevails in us and is deeply fixed in the hearts of almost all, and since hypocrisy generates insolence and pride against God, let us remember what the Prophet says here, — that all who dispute against God gain nothing by their excuses, because he will at length detect their defection and perfidy. It then follows —

Jeremiah 2:30

30. In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

30. Frustra (vel, in vanum) castigavi filios tuos, correctionem non receperunt; voravit gladius vester prophetas vestros quasi leo vastator.

Some expound the beginning of this verse as though the meaning were, — that God chastised the Jews on account of their folly, because they habituated themselves to falsehoods: but the latter clause does not correspond. There is therefore no doubt but that God here expostulates with the Jews, because he had tried to bring them to the right way and found them wholly irreclaimable. A similar expostulation is found in Isaiah,

“In vain,” he says, “have I chastised you; for from the sole of the foot to the crown of the head there is no soundness.” (Isaiah 1:6)

There God shews that he had tried every remedy, but that the Jews, being wholly refractory in their spirit, were wholly incurable. Jeremiah speaks now on the same subject: and God thus exaggerates the wickedness of the people; for he testifies that he had tried whether they would be taught, not only by words, but also by scourges and chastisements, but that his labor in both instances had been in vain. He spoke before of teaching, “Keep thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst.” The Prophets, then, had exhorted the Jews by God’s command to rest quietly. This teaching had been useless and unfruitful. God now adds, that he had tried in another way to bring them back to a right mind; but this effort had been also useless and in vain: In vain have I chastised you; for ye have not received correction

But he speaks of children, in order to shew that the whole people were unteachable: for though lusts boil more in youth, yet their obduracy is not so great as in the old; as he who has through his whole life hardened himself in the contempt of God, can hardly be ever healed and be amended by correction; for old age is of itself morose and difficult to be pleased, and the old also think, that wrong is in a manner done them when they are reproved: but when the insolence and obduracy of the young are so great that they reject all correction, it is more strange and monstrous. The Prophet then shews that there was nothing sound or right in that people, since their very children refused correction. Blayney renders the word “instruction.” The Septuagint have “παιδείαν — discipline: “the Syriac, Vulgate, and the Targum are the same; but the Arabic has “instruction — eruditionem.” The strict meaning of the word מוסר, is restraint, check, discipline, correction. Not to receive restraint or correction, is not to be thereby improved or reformed, but to proceed in the same course, see Jeremiah 5:3. The word has also a secondary meaning, instruction, as the effect of correction, see Zephaniah 3:7. But here it clearly means correction. — Ed

We now perceive his object, — that, as God had sent his prophets, and as their labor availed nothing, he now shews, that not only the ears of the people had been deaf to wholesome teaching, but that they were hard — necked and untamable; for he had tried to correct them by scourges, but effected nothing. It follows, their sword has devoured the prophets But I cannot finish now.

PRAYER

Grant, Almighty God, that since thou, in thy paternal kindness, daily invitest us to thyself, we may not harden ourselves against thy holy and salutary admonitions: and whenever thou chastisest us with scourges, may we not become obdurate against thee, but learn humbly to submit to thy word, and receive thy chastisement, and so profit by both, that we may not be exposed to the extreme judgment which thou denouncest on the obstinate; but may we, on the contrary, open a way for thy paternal goodness, so that thou mayest kindly deal with us, until thou receivest us into that blessed rest which has been prepared for us in heaven, through Jesus Christ our Lord. — Amen.

Lecture Ninth

IN yesterday’s lecture, God complained that he had spent labor in vain in chastising the children of Israel; for they were of a nature utterly untamable and refractory, incapable of being improved. Hence he says, “I have in vain endeavored by punishments to bring you back to the right way.” But he now exaggerates their crime of obduracy, as they not only had rejected wholesome instruction, but had also shed innocent blood, and persecuted as their enemies the prophets who had been sent to them from above, in order to promote their wellbeing. God then condemns them here not only for perverseness, but also for cruelty; for he says, that he had not gained his object in leading them to repentance, and also, that they had not only been refractory and incorrigible, but that they had besides cruelly raged against the prophets: and Jerusalem, we know, had been a slaughter — house where many of the prophets had been killed.

Some explain the passage of false teachers, as though the Prophet had said, that it was to be ascribed to the wickedness of the people, that prophets, who were false and mendacious, suffered just punishment; and they lay hold on one word, even because they are called their prophets. Hence Jerome says, that they were said to be your, and not my prophets; as though God thus denied that he had given them any commission. But this view is forced and strained.

We must, then, understand the meaning to be what I have stated, — that when God used means to heal the vices of the people, the very prophets, the ministers of salvation, were cruelly slain by the people. And this exposition best suits the expressions which follow, as a devouring lion For God says, that the Jews raged against the prophets, as though they had entered a forest full of lions. It now follows —

Jeremiah 2:31

31. O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?

31. Generatio, vos vidite verbum Jehovae, an deserturn fui Israel? an terra caliginis? Quare dixerunt populus meus (hoc est, dixit, sed plurali utitur, quia est nomen collectivum) dominati sumus (alii, recessimus,) non veniemus amplius ad to.

The prophet assumes the character, no doubt, of one in astonishment, that he might render the sin of the people more detestable: for he speaks as one astonished, generation! The word, דור, dur; as it is well known, means an age. It is then the same as if he had said, “On what time are we fallen? or in what an age do we now live?” We now then perceive the import of the word. Then he adds, See ye the word of Jehovah The word, see, seems not to be suitable; for he ought to have said, “Attend to, “or “hear.” But he bids them to see, and most appropriate is the term; for he does not require the people to hear, but, on the contrary, to know, as though he had said, “See ye yourselves what this is which the Lord declares.” And he emphatically says, אתם atem, “ye yourselves.” For the Jews might have been deservedly condemned by all nations, were they brought into judgment. But the Prophet shews, that however blind they were, they might see with their own eyes what the Lord now says. He does not refer to instruction, but to a fact, as though he had said, “The Lord by me expostulates with you; and though there should not be present any witnesses or a judge or an umpire, ye yourselves are able to understand and know the whole matter.” We hence see how fitly the Prophet speaks, when he bids them to see the word of Jehovah The beginning of this verse literally is “The age, ye,” that is, “Ye of this age,” or generation. He was speaking before more especially of the preceding age. He now appeals to the people of that generation, —

Ye of this age, see, spoken hath Jehovah, — Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of darkness? Why have they said, even my people, “We have ruled, we will no more come to thee?”

The above rendering of the latter part of the first line is favored by the Septuagint, “Hear ye the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord.” The Arabic is the same. The Vulgate has, “See the word of the Lord,” — and the Syriac, “Hear the word of the Lord.” Blayney renders thus, “Behold ye the cause of Jehovah.” Gataker takes “see” in the sense of considering, “See,“ or seriously consider, “the word of the Lord.” The particle אם after ה, may be rendered “or,” as in the Syriac See Joshua 5:13. The word מאפליה is found in two MSS., מאפילה, which seems to be the true reading, countenanced by the Targum, and all the early versions, except the Vulgate, which has “serotina — lateward.” Darkness is a common metaphor for wretchedness and misery “We have ruled” is the literal rendering of רדנו, and there is no other reading. The Septuagint gives the same meaning, though the form is different, “We shall not be lorded over — οὐ κυριευθησόμεθα.” The Arabic is the same. It is the language of proud independence. The Targum, the Vulgate, and the Syriac have mistaken the verb for ירדנו, which means, to descend, to come down, to bring down. Blayney gives the correct idea, “We are our own masters, “which Horsley approves. The preterite in Hebrew often includes the present; so the full meaning is, “We have ruled and do rule.” — Ed

For he immediately adds, Have I been a desert to Israel? He makes the Jews themselves the umpires and judges of the cause, whether they had not experienced the bounty of God and had forsaken him, according to his former complaint, when he said that God was the fountain of living waters, and that they had dug for themselves broken cisterns. Hence he says, “How has it happened that ye have departed from me? Have I in vain promised to be bountiful and kind to you? Did I disappoint you or your expectation, while ye served me? Since then I had not been to you a dark and a gloomy land, a land without the light of the sun; but as abundance of blessings had ever been found in me, how has it been that you have departed from me?”

He afterwards mentions another crime, Why has my people said, We are lords The verb רדנו, redenu, is variously explained by interpreters. Some derive it from ידר, ired, to descend, and think that the י, iod, is supplied by a point. But these differ in their views: some refer to the calamities with which the Jews had been visited, and others to their apostasy. The first give this explanation, “We have descended;” that is, “We have been oppressed with calamities, what then can we gain by calling on God, since our affairs are in so hopeless a state?” The second draw forth another meaning, “We have gone back;” that is, “There is no reason for the prophets to stun our ears by their clamors, for we have once for all resolved never to return to God; we have wholly renounced him; away with him, let him begone together with his exhortations, for we will not attend to them.” Both these expounders think it to be the language of despair: but we perceive how they differ; the first apply “descend” to the calamities of the people, and the second to their perfidy, because they had bidden adieu, as it were, to God, and wished not to have any farther intercourse with him.

But there are others who take the word more grammatically: for רדה, rede, and רוד, rud, signifies to be lord, or to rule. I therefore prefer the view of those who render the word, We are lords Some take the verb in a passive sense, but I know not for what reason: and the comment of others is very diluted, “We have kings and counselors.” I consider it to be the language of pride and of vain boasting: for the Jews thought themselves to be kings, according to what Paul says of the Corinthians,

“Ye are rich, ye have reigned without us, and I would ye did reign.” (1 Corinthians 4:8.)

The Corinthians, being inflated with pride on account of the opulence of their city, despised the simplicity of the Gospel; they looked for refined things, and were much addicted to novelties. Hence Paul, seeing that they despised the grace of God, ironically reproved them, and said, that they wished to be rich and to be kings without him, to whom yet as an instrument they owed everything. The same vice is what Jeremiah now condemns in that people, We are lords, we will not come to thee; as though he had said, “Your happiness has hitherto proceeded from me; for whatever you have been, and whatever has been given you, ought to be ascribed to me and to my bounty: but now without me (for God himself speaks) ye are kings, but by what right and by what title? What have you as your own? Why then has my people said, We will come no more to thee?” We now understand the real meaning of the Prophet.

As to the subject itself, he in the first place, as I have already said, is in a manner astonished at the wickedness of the people, as at something monstrous. Hence he exclaims, O generation! as though he had said, that what he saw was incredible. Then he immediately adds, see ye yourselves the word of Jehovah, This was much more severe, than if he had summoned them before God’s tribunal; for he thus proved that their wickedness was extremely gross; for they had, without any cause, nay, without any pretext, and without shame, renounced God, who had been so bountiful towards them. He also in an indirect manner reproved them, because they refused to be instructed; for he commanded them to look on the fact itself, inasmuch as they were deaf, or having ears they closed them against all instruction; for, as we have said, he calls away their attention from the word to the fact itself, and this is what interpreters have not observed.

Then follows an upbraiding, — that God had not been a desert to them; but, as the Prophet had before shewed, abundance of all blessings had flowed to them so as fully to satisfy them. Since then God had enriched them through his blessing, their sin in departing from him was thereby more increased.

In the last part of the verse God expostulates with them on their ingratitude, because they thought themselves to be lords. They were indeed a royal priesthood, but it was through God’s favor. They did not reign through their own right, they did not reign because they had attained power through their own valor or efforts, or through their own merits or their own good fortune; how then? only through the favor of another. Though then they were kings only on the condition of being subject to the supreme King, yet they wished to reign alone, that is, according to their own pleasure; and thus trod under their feet the favor of God. It is with this wickedness then that the Prophet charges them. And the end of the verse is of the same import, we will come no more to thee; as though they stood in no need of God’s aid; for they thought that they could supply themselves with whatever was necessary to support them. As then they were inflated with much pride, they despised the favor of God, as though they stood in no need of the aid of another. It follows —

Jeremiah 2:32

32. Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.

32. An obliviscetur puella ornamenti sui? Sponsa ligaminum suorum (ad verbum; alii vertunt, murenulas; alii, torques; sed nomen hoc deducitur a קשר, quod est ligare; apud nos possemus vertere tressures proprie?) populus autem meus (nam vau debet resolvi in adversativam particulam) oblitus est mei diebus innumeris (quibus non est numerus, ad verbum )

God here confirms what is said in the last verse, and would make his people ashamed, because they valued him less than girls are wont to value their ornaments. The necklaces of young women are indeed nothing but mere trifles, and yet we see that girls are so taken with them through a foolish passion, that they value such trinkets more than their very life. “How then is it, “says God, “that my people have forgotten me? Is there to be found any such ornament? Can anything be found among the most valuable jewels and the most precious stones which can be compared with me?”

God shews by this comparison how perverted the minds of the Jews were, when they renounced and rejected a benefit so invaluable as to have God as their Father, and to be prosperous under his dominion; for nothing necessary for a blessed life had been wanting to them as long as they continued the recipients of that paternal favor, which God had manifested towards them, and wished to shew to them to the end. As then they had found God to have been so bountiful, must they not have been more than mad, when they willfully rejected his favor? while yet young women commonly set their thoughts and affections strongly and permanently on such trifles as are of no value. The second word, כלה, is rendered “sponsa — a bride,” in our version, by Calvin and Blayney, and so by the Vulgate, Syriac, and the Targum, but by the Septuagint, “παρθένος — a virgin:” and Parkhurst says that it never means a bride. The version then ought to be, —

Can a maid forget her ornaments, A virgin her bands?

That the word קשרים means bands of some kind is evident, as the verb signifies to bind, to join closely. Bands or bandage for the breast — στηθοδεσμίδα, is the version of the Septuagint; the Arabic and the Vulgate are the same. Parkhurst considers that “head-bands” are meant. The word is found also in Isaiah 3:20; where the Septuagint render it “δακτυλίοις-rings,” and the Targum, “murenulas — chains,” which were of gold, and worn around the neck. For any practical purpose it is only necessary to know that they were embellishments which young women delighted in: and women in every age are too fond of such things, and men too; but the case is introduced here only for the sake of illustration. — Ed But the Prophet designedly used this similitude, that he might introduce what is contained in the next verse: his object was to compare the Jews to adulterous women, who being led away by unbridled lust, follow wanton lovers. As then he intended to bring this charge against the Jews, he spoke expressly of the ornaments of young women; and hence it follows —

Jeremiah 2:33

33. Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.

33. Cur bonificas (id est, paras, concinnas) vias tuas ad quaerendum amorem? itaque etiam pravitates docuisti in viis tuis.

This verse is differently explained: but the Prophet simply means; that the Jews were like lascivious women, who not only despise their husbands at home, but ramble here and there in all directions, and also paint their faces and seek for themselves all the charms of wantonness. He says that the Jews had acted in this way; and hence he says that they made beautiful their ways The verb in Hebrew has a wide meaning: it means to prepare, to conciliate favor. But its import here is, as though the Prophet had said, “Why dost thou disguise and paint thyself like strumpets, who use many artifices to allure young men and to inflame their lusts? why then dost thou undertake so much labor to gain a meretricious hire?” We shall hereafter see why he says this; for he upbraids them for applying to the Assyrians and the Egyptians.

It was a common thing with the Prophets to compare the people to lovers; for the Jews, while they ought to have been firmly attached to God, (like a chaste woman, who does not turn her eyes here and there, nor gad about, but has respect to her husband alone,) thought to seek safety now from the Assyrians, then from the Egyptians. This sinful disposition is then what the Prophet here condemns; and hence he speaks of them metaphorically as of an adulterous woman, who despises her husband and rambles after any she can find, and seeks wanton and silly young men in all places, and subjects herself to the gratification of all. We now then understand what the Prophet means.

The words must be noticed: he says, Why makest thou fine thy ways? But he refers here to the care which a wanton woman takes to adorn her person, as though he had said, “Why dost thou thus prepare thyself? and why dost thou seek for thyself what is splendid and elegant, that thy appearance may deceive the eyes of the simple?” For the Jews might have remained safe and secure under God’s protection, and might have been so without any calamity. As a husband is content with the beauty of his wife, and seeks no adventitious and refined elegancies; so God required nothing from that people except fidelity, like a husband, who requires chastity in his wife. The meaning then is, — “As a wife, really attached to her husband, has no need to undergo much labor, for she knows that her own native beauty pleases him, nor does she labor much to gain the heart of her husband, for the best recommendation is her chastity; so ye might have lived without any trouble by only serving me and keeping my law: but now what is your chastity? ye are like wanton women, who labor to gain the hearts of adulterers; for as they burn with lust, so there is no end nor limits to their attempts to seek embellishments; and they torment themselves, only that they might attach adulterers to themselves. Such then are ye (says God;) for ye spend much care and labor in seeking for yourselves strange lovers.”

He afterwards adds, Therefore thou hast also taught lewdnesses He alludes to the words he had before used, Thou hast made fine (or fair) thy ways: and now he says, thou hast also taught wickednesses by thy ways He declares that the Jews were worse than the Assyrians and the Egyptians, as a lascivious woman is far worse than all the adulterers whom she captivates as her paramours. For when a young man is not deceived, and the devil does not apply the fagot, he may continue chaste and pure; but when an impudent and wanton woman entices him, it is all over with him. The Prophet then says, that the Assyrians and the Egyptians were innocent when compared with his own nation. How so? “Because they have been led away,” he says, “by your allurements, like young men, who are destroyed by the fallacious ornaments of strumpets; for it is the same as though they had fallen into snares: the evil then has proceeded from you, and the fault lies with you. The exposition of this verse is no doubt materially correct. The words have been variously rendered, On the first clause there is a general agreement, The verb “taught” in the second, is in the first person in the received text; and to this reading Blayney gives the preference, and thus renders the line, —

Therefore also have I taught calamities thy ways.

That is, “that God had directed calamities where to find them.” But this is rather a remote idea. In favor of the second person, “thou hast taught,“ are several MSS., all the early versions and the Targum; and it is what has been by most adopted. “The wicked ones” of our version is a rendering not countenanced by any of the ancient versions, nor by the Targum; all render it evil or evils or wickednesses. — Ed.

We now understand the Prophet’s meaning: for he condemns the Jews, because they afforded an occasion of evil both to the Assyrians and to the Egyptians, while they of their own accord sought their favor. It now follows —

Jeremiah 2:34

34. Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.

34. Etiam in alis tuis repertus est sanguis animarum pauperum innocentum; non in suffossione repertae erant, sed super omnibus his (alii vertunt quia in onmibus illis; et particula est causalis, sed tamen hic adversative debet resolvi, quemadmodum multis locis.)

The Prophet repeats, as I think, what he had before said, — that the wickedness of his nation was incorrigible; for they repented not when warned, but on the contrary raged like wild beasts against the Prophets and religious teachers. Those interpreters are mistaken who think that the savage cruelty of the Jews in general is here condemned; and all are of this opinion. But the Prophet no doubt enhances this evil, by saying, that the Jews were not only obstinate in their vices, but also raged furiously against the Prophets. Hence he shews again, that God had used all remedies to heal the Jews, but without effect, for what better medicine could have been offered than for the Prophets to reprove the people and to shew to them how wickedly they had departed from God? God then wished thus to correct the vices of his own people; but so far was he from effecting anything, that at Jerusalem and through the whole of Judea, the Prophets were slaughtered, and the whole land was filled with and polluted by their blood.

Hence he says, Even in thy wings has been found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents. He calls the borders of garments wings. He seems to say, that these slaughters were not hid, for the Jews were besprinkled with blood to the very extremities of their garment; as though he had said, “There is no cause for me to deal sharply with you in this instance; for your filthiness is most apparent: ye have not only been rebellious against my teaching, but ye have also cruelly murdered my prophets. If ye ask, Where these slaughters are to be found? Even in your wings, on the borders of your garments; so that your crimes are fully known.” We now perceive what the Prophet means.

We must also notice the import of the particle גם, gam, also, or even. Their cruelty was worse and more nefarious, because they thus rose up against their own physicians; for the prophets, as it has been said, were the ministers of their safety. As then they thus raged against God’s favor so as to murder his prophets, it became still more evident, that they were utterly irreclaimable.

He afterwards adds what serves for a confirmation. They have not been found in digging under Some give another explanation; but their opinion is right who think, that the Prophet alludes to what is said by Moses in Exodus 22:2, — that if a thief should be found in digging under, (or undermining,) he might be killed with impunity: for he who thus breaks through into the houses of others, is equal to a robber in audacity; and he ought to be counted not only a thief, but also as one guilty of manslaughter and felony. God then says, that the Prophets, who had been slain by the Jews, had not been found in digging up, that is, had not been found guilty of any crime, either of robbery or of murder: for he mentions a particular act, instead of the general crime. But it has been on account of all these things; that is, “because they boldly dared to reprove you, because they severely condemned your vices, because they discovered your baseness, because they were enemies to your perfidy and to your sins: as then the prophets had thus by the divine Spirit carried on war with your sins, they have on this account been murdered by you. Our version of this text seems on the whole the best. “Blood,” דם, is to be taken here in a collective sense, as the verb to which it belongs is plural. Instead of “poor innocents, “it ought rather to be “the innocent poor,“ as the noun in Hebrew generally precedes its adjective. “Found” is in the first person, and there is no different reading, and it is so in the Septuagint, and the Vulgate, though the Syriac and Arabic give the second person, and the Targum the third person plural, as Calvin does. The last word is rendered “these” in the Vulgate and the Targum; but “oak” in the Septuagint, the Syriac, and the Arabic, and adopted by Blayney, but disapproved by Houbigant and Horsley As to the word, rendered in our version, “secret search,” the early versions have pit, pits, or ditches, and so the Targum Blayney renders it “a digged hole,“ of which Horsley approves; and he refers, as an illustration, to Leviticus 17:13, and to Ezekiel 24:7. The word means digging, and seems to be used here metaphorically for searching; there is no need of adding “secret” to it, —

Also in thy skirts has been found The blood of the souls of the innocent poor: Not by searching have I found it, But upon all these (i.e., skirts.)

The reference is to what is said in Jeremiah 2:30, where the Jews are charged with the killing the prophets. As to “the blood, “we find a similar passage in Ezekiel 24:7, 8. — Ed.

We see how well the whole passage reads, provided it be applied to the prophets only. It was not indeed the object of Jeremiah to condemn murders generally among the Jews, but to shew that they were the enemies of the prophets, because they were opposed to every good and sound counsel, and were incapable of receiving instruction. The mistake of other expounders is hereby made evident: for in the last clause they touch neither heaven nor earth. It follows —

Jeremiah 2:35

35. Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.

35. Et dixisti (hoc est, dixisti tamen; nam copula hic accipitur pro tamen,) certe (nam כי causalis particula hic audaciam notat, vel illam jactantiam plenam impudentiae, ut auderent asserere Iudaei se esse innoxios, certe) ego sum munda (ego sum innocens;) tantum recedat furor ejus a me: Ecce ego judico to (vel, contendam tecum in judicio,) quia dixisti, non peccavi.

The Prophet here shews that the Jews were possessed of such a brazen front, that they could not be led by any admonitions to feel any shame. Though then they were like adulterous women, and though they gave meretricious hire to such as they ran to in all parts, and though also they had murdered the prophets and the pious ministers of God, yet they boasted, as persons conscious of no evil, that they were innocent.

Thou hast yet said; that is, “How darest thou to pretend to be innocent, since thou art proved to be guilty, not by allegations, but by manifest and glaring proofs?” In short, the Prophet shews that the condition of the people was past remedy, for they would not receive any admonition; nay, they dared, as it were with the front of brass, obstinately to boast that they were innocent: Thou hast said, (he still speaks of a woman, in the feminine gender,) Thou hast yet said, surely I am clean Thus hypocrites not only excuse themselves, and allege vain pretences, but dare to come forth publicly, and to fly as it were above the clouds, elated by their own self — confidence. “Who will dare to allege anything against me?” Thus hypocrites willfully and impertinently challenge all the servants of God and seek by their own presumption to close the mouth of all. The Prophet now condemns this petulancy in the Jews; for though they were manifestly proved guilty, yet they boastingly asserted that they were innocent. Only (אך, ak, I take here to mean only) depart, etc. The Prophet upbraids the Jews with another crime, — that they said, that wrong was done to them by God in seeking to bring them to a right mind by punishment and by reproofs. For God, as it is well known, had inflicted many punishments on the Jews, and had also added serious reproofs. He tried by these means to find out whether they were capable of being healed. What did they say? “I am innocent; and God is angry with me without a cause. Let him remove his anger from me;” that is, “only let not God deal severely with us, nor use his supreme authority, and we shall be able to prove our innocency.” Thus ungodly men, when urged with severe warnings, vomit forth their blasphemies against God, — “O what can I do? I know that I am not able to resist; God fights with a shadow when he afflicts me; his violence I must indeed bear though he may overwhelm me; yet he doeth me wrong: but were he to deal justly and fairly with me, I could prove that I do not deserve these evils.” Such then was the language of the Jews, — only depart let his fury from me, we could then shew that we are just, or at least excusable.

Now also in this part we perceive the design of the Prophet: it was to shew, that the Jews not only dared dishonestly and proudly to claim innocency for themselves, but hesitated not to contend with God, and to intimate that he with too much severity oppressed them, and did not treat them justly, but announced a cruel sentence for the purpose of overwhelming them.

Behold, he says, I will judge thee, because thou hast said, I have not sinned Some give this version, “I judge, or, condemn thee.” But there is here no doubt a contrast between the fury of God and his judgment. The people said, that God was too rigorous; this was his fury: God now mentions his judgment. “There is no reason,” he says, “for you to allege such a pretext as this, as it will vanish into nothing; for I will in judgment contend with you;” that is, “I will really prove that I am a just judge and not a tyrant, that I execute just punishments and according to the law, and that I am not like a man in anger, who takes vengeance on his enemies and does so precipitantly and rashly: I will shew,” he says, “that I am a just judge.”

We may hence gather a profitable instruction. Let it in the first place be observed, that nothing is so displeasing to God as this headstrong presumption, that is, when we seek to appear innocent, while our own conscience condemns us. Then in the second place observe, that all who thus perversely rebel and strive dishonestly and shamelessly to defend their own vices, contend at the same time with God: for false excuses have ever this tendency — to charge God with unjust severity. But we see what such men gain for themselves; for God shews that he will be at length their judge, and that he will openly discover the vices of those who thought that they could excuse themselves by evasions and by false charges against himself. They then who thus obstinately resist God, must at length, according to what the Prophet declares, come to this end, — that they will be constrained to acknowledge that God has not been too violently angry with them, but has only executed a just punishment. The literal rendering of this verse is as follows: —

35. And thou hast said, “Verily I have been innocent; Surely turned away has he his anger from me:“ Behold I will contend in judgment with thee, On account of thy saying, “I have not sinned.”

The Septuagint have rendered the second line, “Let his anger be turned away from me;” the Vulgate and the Arabic are the same. The Syriac is, “therefore he turns away his anger from me.” “Turned away is his anger,“ is the Targum, Piscator, Jun. and Trem. Blayney renders it, —

Surely his wrath shall turn from me.

There is no reason for construing the verb in the future tense, or in the imperative mood. It is in the past tense, and there is no other reading. The claim of innocency is made on the supposition that God had turned away his displeasure. Hence the declaration that follows — that God would contest the matter — would bring it as it were into trial, as the verb here when in Niphal means. — Ed.

PRAYER

Grant, Almighty God, that since we are loaded with so many vices, and provoke thee so often, yea, daily and in ways innumerable, — O grant, that we may not at last become hardened against thy godly admonitions, but be teachable and submissive and in time repent, lest our wantonness and hardness should constrain thee to put forth thy powerful hand against us; but as we have hitherto experienced thy patental kindness, so may we in future be made partakers of it, and thus become more and more accustomed to bear thy yoke, until having at length completed our warfare, we shall come to that blessed rest, which has been provided for us in heaven, through Christ our Lord. — Amen.

Lecture Tenth

Jeremiah 2:36

36. Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.

36. Quid discurris tantopere ad mutandum vias tuas? Etiam ab Egypto pudefies, sicuti pudefacta es ab Assur.

The Prophet goes on with the same subject. He had said before that the people were like an unfaithful wife, who having left her husband rambles here and there to gratify her lusts. For this view he now gives the reason; for he might have appeared to treat the people too severely, had not the fact been pointed out as it were by the finger; and this he does now. He says, that they ran here and there, not in a common manner, but in a way to render evident their shameful levity, such as is seen in strumpets, who without any shame seek either adulterers or fornicators.

But I have already briefly shewn what the Prophet means: When any danger was nigh, the Jews sought aid, now in Egypt, then in Assyria. Yet they knew that this was forbidden them; not that it was in itself an evil or a bad thing to seek help from neighbors; but because it was God’s will that the safety and security of that people should be dependent on him only; for he had taken them under his safeguard. As then the Jews were God’s dependents, they ought to have acquiesced in his protection. When they wandered here and there, it was an evidence of unbelief; and what they attributed to the Egyptians or to Assyrians, they took away from their own God, who had promised that their safety would be the object of his care. Hence he compares these movements to wanton levity; they were like those of strumpets, who ramble in all directions. Now a strumpet must be wholly shameless, when she thus seeks the gratification of her lust: for harlots often wait for the coming of lovers; but when they ramble everywhere, they are altogether abominable. This then is what the Prophet now means, that is, that the Jews ran here and there; and thus it was, that they changed their ways

There remains indeed often in harlots some natural love; but it is a proof of a brutish, shameless, and monstrous lust, when a woman seeks the company of any one she may see, or when a man lusts after any woman he may meet with. When there is such a shamelessness as this, it appears that no modesty remains, nor even what is natural; for as I have already said, it ought to be deemed monstrous, when a woman is inflamed with lust at the sight of any one. And yet this lewdness is what the Prophet reprobates in the Jews when he says, that they ran here and there to change their ways: so that their love never continued, but they lusted after any they met with; nay, they went here and there to allure them. This subject is spoken of oftener and more at large by Ezekiel; and we shall find this comparison used also in other parts of this book. But it is enough for me to mention briefly the design of the Prophet. The idea of gadding, or of running here and there, is not countenanced by any of the early versions. The notion of vileness or degradation is what the versions convey. The Vulgate is, —

Quinn vilis factus es nimis, iterans vias tuas! How extremely worthless art thou become, iterating thy ways!

The other versions are nearly of the same general import. Blayney’s version is, —

Why wilt thou make thyself exceedingly vile, In repeating over again thy ways?

Modern critics have considered the verb to be אזל, and not זל. It no doubt may be either. As shame is threatened at the end of the verse, the latter verb is the most suitable, —

Why shouldest thou become wholly degraded By repeating thy course? Even by Egypt shalt thou be put to shame, As thou hast been put to shame by Assyria.

“Course,” or way, means here a proceeding, and to repeat it is to pursue a course similar to what had been previously adopted. — Ed.

He then adds, Ashamed shalt thou also be of the Egyptians, as ashamed thou hast been of the Assyrians Before the time of Hezekiah, the Jews had made a treaty with the Assyrians against the Syrians and the Israelites, as it is well known; and then against the Egyptians; for soon after a war arose between them and the Egyptians, who had been their confederates, and changing their policy, they went for help to Assyria. They afterwards reconciled themselves to their ancient enemies; but this second treaty also turned out unhappily. Hence the Prophet says, that the end would be the same with what they had before experienced. God had indeed chastised their ungodly defection when they went to Assyria. He now says, that no better success would attend the help of the Egyptians than what attended the help of the Assyrians. The Jews, we know, were ever subjected to plunder, and suffered more loss from their associates than from their open enemies. It was the just reward of their impiety and defection. God then declares that he would be the avenger of this second defection, as he had been of the former. It follows —

Jeremiah 2:37

37. Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.

37. Et jam ab hoc (ab hac re, hoc est, propter hoc scelus) egredieris, et manus tuae super caput tuum, quia detestatur Jehova confidentias tuas, et in illis non prospere tibi succedet.

He expresses more clearly what he had said of the shameful character of his own nation, — that the Jews, who thought that their safety would be secured by the Egyptians, were seeking their own entire ruin. This seemed to them indeed incredible; for as the Egyptians were neighbors, and as the Jews then only feared the Assyrians and Chaldeans, who were afar off, they thought that they had the best prospect: “What! our enemies are distant from us twenty or thirty days’ journey; and those who are prepared to help us will be soon with us at the shortest warning.” Hence the Jews thought, as we have said, that they were quite safe. But the Prophet here declares, that they were greatly mistaken; for on account of this wickedness, that is, because they trusted in their unlawful and accursed treaty, and promised themselves peace from their enemies, or thought that they could easily overcome them; on this account, he says, thou shalt go forth: but nothing could have been less credible to the Jews than what the Prophet said; for as the Egyptians opposed themselves as a wall against the Chaldeans, and were deemed unassailable, who could have otherwise thought but that the Jews would be preserved quiet in their own country? But he says, Go forth shalt thou, and thine hands on thy head There are three other expositions of the words rendered by Calvin, “on this account.” One is that of our version, “from him;” the second is, “from hence,” i e , from Egypt, adopted by Piscator, Grotius, and Blayney; and the third is, “from here,” i e , from this place, their own land; which, as Gataker says, is probably “the genuine sense:” it is a threatening, that they were to be led into captivity. The rendering of the Septuagint is, “ἐντεῦθεν — from hence,” or from this place; of the Vulgate, “ab ista — from that,” meaning, evidently Egypt; of the Syriac and Targum, “ex hoc — from this;” and of Arabic, “illinc — from thence.” The particle זה is “this,” and not “that.” — Ed

By this gesture he means extreme despair; for women did either strike or extend their arms when any great calamity happened, as we see it done often in the present day; for when a woman, not able to keep within due bounds, either loses a husband, or expects some very great calamity, she beats her breast, or raises up her hands, according to what is said here. Jeremiah then mentions this gesture as an evidence of extreme despair; as though he had said, “The treaty which fills the Jews with so much confidence shall be so far from being advantageous to them, that it will, on the contrary, bring on them utter ruin and disgrace. “The gesture” mentioned here, a striking example of, we find in 2 Samuel 13:19. Many consider the ו here as having the meaning of “with,” and render the line as Blayney does, —

With thy hands upon thy head.

But more consistent with the genius of the language is to regard the auxiliary verb to be understood, —

And thy hands shall be on thy head.

There is a similar phrase in Isaiah 35:10, which ought to be rendered thus, —

And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads.

— Ed. But the reason which follows ought especially to be observed, because abhor does Jehovah thy confidences The Prophet here shews why he had spoken so severely. It might have appeared that he spoke hyperbolically when he said, that the people were like an abandoned harlot, who rambled here and there in all directions: but the reason here given ought to have been sufficient to take away all evasions, and that is, that they foolishly trusted in those fallacious helps which they knew were condemned by God. Had this been permitted by God, they would not have been so severely reprimanded; but as God had forbidden them to flee to the Egyptians, it was in the first place a disallowed confidence; and in the second place, they thus despised the aid of God, and cast aside, as it were, all his promises: for as their hearts were fixed on the Egyptians, and as they thought that their safety would be secured by them; so their prayer to God became not only cold, but almost wholly extinguished.

We hence see that the Prophet did not exceed due limits when he spoke against the Jews with so much displeasure, and condemned them in such reproachful terms; for they had transferred the glory due to God to the Egyptians, when they considered them to be the authors of their safety; and they had thus despised the promises of God, so that there was no attention given to prayer: Abhor, then, does Jehovah thy confidences The verb for “abhor” is מאם, which means to reject, that is, with disdain and contempt; and the same when followed by ב, though often rendered “despise” in our version. It is rendered “reject, “without the ב, in 1 Samuel 15:23; Jeremiah 7:29; and “despise” being followed by ב in Judges 9:38; Jeremiah 4:30. The early versions and the Targum mostly differ, and none of them give the specific meaning of the verb, except that the Septuagint give its meaning when not followed by ב, “ἀπώσατο — has rejected.” The whole verse may be thus rendered, —

37. Also from this place shalt thou go forth, And thy hands shall be on thy head: For rejected has Jehovah those in whom thou trustest, And thou shalt not prosper by them.

It is not correct to render מבטחיך, “thy confidences;” for the word means “thy confided ones,“ it being a Huphal participle. The Syriac renders it, “those who afford thee confidence — fiduciam tibi praebentibus.” Blayney’s version is, “the objects of thy trust;” and he translates the verb, “reprobated.” That this is its meaning when followed by ב is evident from Jeremiah 6:30. — Ed

He then adds, Thou shalt not prosper in them. It ought to be carefully observed, that whatever we resolve to do that is not approved by God, cannot possibly succeed; for God will subvert all our hopes. Let us then know that here is set before us the punishment of all unbelievers, who, being not content with God’s protection, wander after vain and false objects of trust, and prefer to have men propitious to them rather than God himself. Now follows —

CHAPTER 3

Jeremiah 3:1

1. They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.

l. Dicendo, si dimiserit vir uxorem suam, et profecta ab eo, fuepit viri alterius, (id est, transierit ad alium virum) an revertetur ad eam adhuc? Annon pollutione polluta est terra in hoc? et tu scortata es cum sociis multis; revertere tamen ad me, dicit Jehova.

CHAPTER 2

Jr 2:1-37. Expostulation with the Jews, Reminding Them of Their Former Devotedness, and God's Consequent Favor, and a Denunciation of God's Coming Judgments for Their Idolatry.

Probably in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah (Jr 1:2; compare Jr 3:6, "also ... in ... days of Josiah"). The warning not to rely as they did on Egypt (Jr 2:18), was in accordance with Josiah's policy, who took part with Assyria and Babylon against Egypt (2Ki 23:29). Jeremiah, doubtless, supported the reformation begun by Josiah, in the previous year (the twelfth of his reign), and fully carried out in the eighteenth.

2. cry--proclaim.

Jerusalem--the headquarters and center of their idolatry; therefore addressed first.

thee--rather, "I remember in regard to thee" [Henderson]; "for thee" [Maurer].

kindness of thy youth--not so much Israel's kindness towards God, as the kindness which Israel experienced from God in their early history (compare Eze 16:8, 22, 60; 23:3, 8, 19; Ho 2:15). For Israel from the first showed perversity rather than kindness towards God (compare Ex 14:11, 12; 15:24; 32:1-7, &c.). The greater were God's favors to them from the first, the fouler was their ingratitude in forsaking Him (Jr 2:3, 5, &c.).

espousals--the intervals between Israel's betrothal to God at the exodus from Egypt, and the formal execution of the marriage contract at Sinai. Ewald takes the "kindness" and "love" to be Israel's towards God at first (Ex 19:8; 24:3; 35:20-29; 36:5; Jos 24:16-17). But compare De 32:16, 17; Eze 16:5, 6, 15, 22 ("days of thy youth") implies that the love here meant was on God's side, not Israel's.

thou wentest after me in ... wilderness--the next act of God's love, His leading them in the desert without needing any strange god, such as they since worshipped, to help Him (De 2:7; 32:12). Jr 2:6 shows it is God's "leading" of them, not their following after God in the wilderness, which is implied.

3. holiness unto the Lord--that is, was consecrated to the service of Jehovah (Ex 19:5, 6). They thus answered to the motto on their high priest's breastplate, "Holiness to the Lord" (De 7:6; 14:2, 21).

first-fruits of his increase--that is, of Jehovah's produce. As the first-fruits of the whole produce of the land were devoted to God (Ex 23:19; Nu 18:12, 13), so Israel was devoted to Him as the first-fruit and representative nation among all nations. So the spiritual Israel (Jas 1:18; Re 14:4).

devour--carrying on the image of first-fruits which were eaten before the Lord by the priests as the Lord's representatives; all who ate (injured) Jehovah's first-fruits (Israel), contracted guilt: for example, Amalek, the Amorites, &c., were extirpated for their guilt towards Israel.

shall come--rather, "came."

4. Jacob ... Israel--the whole nation.

families--(See on Jr 1:15). Hear God's word not only collectively, but individually (Zec 12:12-14).

5. iniquity--wrong done to them (Is 5:4; Mi 6:3; compare De 32:4).

walked after vanity--contrasted with "walkest after me in the wilderness" (Jr 2:2): then I was their guide in the barren desert; now they take idols as their guides.

vanity ... vain--An idol is not only vain (impotent and empty), but vanity itself. Its worshippers acquire its character, becoming vain as it is (De 7:26; Psa 115:8). A people's character never rises above that of its gods, which are its "better nature" [Bacon] (2Ki 17:15; Jon 2:8).

6. Neither said they, Where, &c.--The very words which God uses (Is 63:9, 11, 13), when, as it were, reminding Himself of His former acts of love to Israel as a ground for interposing in their behalf again. When they would not say, Where is Jehovah, &c., God Himself at last said it for them (compare see on Jr 2:2).

deserts ... pits--The desert between Mount Sinai and Palestine abounds in chasms and pits, in which beasts of burden often sink down to the knees. "Shadow of death" refers to the darkness of the caverns amidst the rocky precipices (De 8:15; 32:10).

7. plentiful--literally, "a land of Carmel," or "well-cultivated land": a garden land, in contrast to the "land of deserts" (Jr 2:6).

defiled--by idolatries (Jud 2:10-17; Psa 78:58, 59; 106:38).

you ... ye--change to the second person from the third, "they" (Jr 2:6), in order to bring home the guilt to the living generation.

8. The three leading classes, whose very office under the theocracy was to lead the people to God, disowned Him in the same language as the nation at large, "Where is the Lord?" (See Jr 2:6).

priests--whose office it was to expound the law (Mal 2:6, 7).

handle--are occupied with the law as the subject of their profession.

pastors--civil, not religious: princes (Jr 3:15), whose duty it was to tend their people.

prophets--who should have reclaimed the people from their apostasy, encouraged them in it by pretended oracles from Baal, the Phoenician false god.

by Baal--in his name and by his authority (compare Jr 11:21).

walked after things ... not profit--answering to, "walked after vanity," that is, idols (Jr 2:5; compare Jr 2:11; Ha 2:18).

9. yet plead--namely, by inflicting still further judgments on you.

children's children--Three manuscripts and Jerome omit "children's"; they seem to have thought it unsuitable to read "children's children," when "children" had not preceded. But it is designedly so written, to intimate that the final judgment on the nation would be suspended for many generations [Horsley]. (Compare Eze 20:35, 36; Mi 6:2).

10. pass over the isles--rather, "cross over to the isles."

Chittim ... Kedar--that is, the heathen nations, west and east. Go where you will, you cannot find an instance of any heathen nation forsaking their own for other gods. Israel alone does this. Yet the heathen gods are false gods; whereas Israel, in forsaking Me for other gods, forsake their "glory" for unprofitable idols.

Chittim--Cyprus, colonized by Phoenicians, who built in it the city of Citium, the modern Chitti. Then the term came to be applied to all maritime coasts of the Mediterranean, especially Greece (Nu 24:24; Is 23:1; Da 11:30).

Kedar--descended from Ishmael; the Bedouins and Arabs, east of Palestine.

11. glory--Jehovah, the glory of Israel (Psa 106:20; Ro 1:23). The Shekinah, or cloud resting on the sanctuary, was the symbol of "the glory of the Lord" (1Ki 8:11; compare Ro 9:4). The golden calf was intended as an image of the true God (compare Ex 32:4, 5), yet it is called an "idol" (Ac 7:41). It (like Roman Catholic images) was a violation of the second commandment, as the heathen multiplying of gods is a violation of the first.

not profit--(Jr 2:8).

12. Impassioned personification (Is 1:2).

horribly afraid--rather, be horrified."

be ... very desolate--rather, "be exceedingly aghast" at the monstrous spectacle. Literally, "to be dried up," or "devastated," (places devastated have such an unsightly look) [Maurer].

13. two evils--not merely one evil, like the idolaters who know no better; besides simple idolatry, My people add the sin of forsaking the true God whom they have known; the heathen, though having the sin of idolatry, are free from the further sin of changing the true God for idols (Jr 2:11).

forsaken me--The Hebrew collocation brings out the only living God into more prominent contrast with idol nonentities. "Me they have forsaken, the Fountain," &c. (Jr 17:13; Psa 36:9; Joh 4:14).

broken cisterns--tanks for rain water, common in the East, where wells are scarce. The tanks not only cannot give forth an ever-flowing fresh supply as fountains can, but cannot even retain the water poured into them; the stonework within being broken, the earth drinks up the collected water. So, in general, all earthly, compared with heavenly, means of satisfying man's highest wants (Is 55:1, 2; compare Lu 12:33).

14. is he a homeborn slave--No. "Israel is Jehovah's son, even His first-born" (Ex 4:22). Jr 2:16, 18, 36, and the absence of any express contrast of the two parts of the nation are against Eichorn's view, that the prophet proposes to Judah, as yet spared, the case of Israel (the ten tribes) which had been carried away by Assyria as a warning of what they might expect if they should still put their trust in Egypt. "Were Israel's ten tribes of meaner birth than Judah? Certainly not. If, then, the former fell before Assyria, what can Judah hope from Egypt against Assyria? ... Israel" is rather here the whole of the remnant still left in their own land, that is, Judah. "How comes it to pass that the nation which once was under God's special protection (Jr 2:3) is now left at the mercy of the foe as a worthless slave?" The prophet sees this event as if present, though it was still future to Judah (Jr 2:19).

15. lions--the Babylonian princes (Jr 4:7; compare Am 3:4). The disaster from the Babylonians in the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign, and again three years later when, relying on Egypt, he revolted from Nebuchadnezzar, is here referred to (Jr 46:2; 2Ki 24:1, 2).

16. Noph ... Tahapanes--Memphis, capital of Lower Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile, near the pyramids of Gizeh, opposite the site of modern Cairo. Daphne, on the Tanitic branch of the Nile, near Pelusium, on the frontier of Egypt towards Palestine. Is 30:4 contracts it, Hanes. These two cities, one the capital, the other that with which the Jews came most in contact, stand for the whole of Egypt. Tahapanes takes its name from a goddess, Tphnet [Champollion]. Memphis is from Man-nofri, "the abode of good men"; written in Hebrew, Moph (Ho 9:6), or Noph. The reference is to the coming invasion of Judah by Pharaoh-necho of Egypt, on his return from the Euphrates, when he deposed Jehoahaz and levied a heavy tribute on the land (2Ki 23:33-35). Josiah's death in battle with the same Pharaoh is probably included (2Ki 23:29, 30).

have broken--rather, shall feed down the crown, &c., that is, affect with the greatest ignominy, such as baldness was regarded in the East (Jr 48:37; 2Ki 2:23). Instead of "also," translate, "even" the Egyptians, in whom thou dost trust, shall miserably disappoint thy expectation [Maurer]. Jehoiakim was twice leagued with them (2Ki 23:34, 35): when he received the crown from them, and when he revolted from Nebuchadnezzar (2Ki 24:1, 2, 7). The Chaldeans, having become masters of Asia, threatened Egypt. Judea, situated between the contending powers, was thus exposed to the inroads of the one or other of the hostile armies; and unfortunately, except in Josiah's reign, took side with Egypt, contrary to God's warnings.

17. Literally, "Has not thy forsaking the Lord ... procured this (calamity) to thee?" So the Septuagint: the Masoretic accents make "this" the subject of the verb, leaving the object to be understood. "Has not this procured (it, that is, the impending calamity) unto thee, that hast forsaken?" &c. (Jr 4:18).

led--(De 32:10).

the way--The article expresses the right way, the way of the Lord: namely, the moral training which they enjoyed in the Mosaic covenant.

18. now--used in a reasoning sense, not of time.

the way of Egypt--What hast thou to do with the way, that is, with going down to Egypt; or what ... with going to Assyria?

drink ... waters--that is, to seek reinvigorating aid from them; so Jr 2:13, 36; compare "waters," meaning numerous forces (Is 8:7).

Sihor--that is, the black river, in Greek, Melas ("black"), the Nile: so called from the black deposit or soil it leaves after the inundation (Is 23:3). The Septuagint identifies it with Gihon, one of the rivers of Paradise.

the river--Euphrates, called by pre-eminence, the river; figurative for the Assyrian power. In 625 B.C., the seventeenth year of Josiah, and the fourth of Jeremiah's office, the kingdom of Assyria fell before Babylon, therefore Assyria is here put for Babylon its successor: so in 2Ki 23:29; La 5:6. There was doubtless a league between Judea and Assyria (that is, Babylon), which caused Josiah to march against Pharaoh-necho of Egypt when that king went against Babylon: the evil consequences of this league are foretold in this verse and Jr 2:36.

19. correct ... reprove--rather, in the severer sense, "chastise ... punish" [Maurer].

backslidings--"apostasies"; plural, to express the number and variety of their defections. The very confederacies they entered into were the occasion of their overthrow (Pr 1:31; Is 3:9; Ho 5:5).

know ... see--imperative for futures: Thou shalt know and see to thy cost.

my fear--rather, "the fear of Me."

20. I--the Hebrew should be pointed as the second person feminine, a form common in Jeremiah: "Thou hast broken," &c. So the Septuagint, and the sense requires it.

thy yoke ... bands--the yoke and bands which I laid on thee, My laws (Jr 5:5).

transgress--so the Keri, and many manuscripts read. But the Septuagint and most authorities read, "I will not serve," that is, obey. The sense of English Version is, "I broke thy yoke (in Egypt)," &c., "and (at that time) thou saidst, I will not transgress; whereas thou hast (since then) wandered (from Me)" (Ex 19:8).

hill ... green tree--the scene of idolatries (De 12:2; Is 57:5, 7).

wanderest--rather, "thou hast bowed down thyself" (for the act of adultery: figurative of shameless idolatry, Ex 34:15, 16; compare Job 31:10).

21. The same image as in De 32:32; Psa 80:8, 9; Is 5:1, &c.

unto me--with respect to Me.

22. nitre--not what is now so called, namely, saltpeter; but the natron of Egypt, a mineral alkali, an incrustation at the bottom of the lakes, after the summer heat has evaporated the water: used for washing (compare Job 9:30; Pr 25:20).

soap--potash, the carbonate of which is obtained impure from burning different plants, especially the kali of Egypt and Arabia. Mixed with oil it was used for washing.

marked--deeply ingrained, indelibly marked; the Hebrew, catham, being equivalent to cathab. Others translate, "is treasured up," from the Arabic. Maurer from a Syriac root, "is polluted."

23. (Pr 30:12).

Baalim--plural, to express manifold excellency: compare Elohim.

see--consider.

the valley--namely, of Hinnom, or Tophet, south and east of Jerusalem: rendered infamous by the human sacrifices to Moloch in it (compare Jr 19:2, 6, 13, 14; 32:35; see on Is 30:33).

thou art--omit. The substantive that follows in this verse (and also that in Jr 2:24) is in apposition with the preceding "thou."

dromedary--rather, a "young she-camel."

traversing--literally, "enfolding"; making its ways complicated by wandering hither and thither, lusting after the male. Compare as to the Jews' spiritual lust, Ho 2:6, 7.

24. (Jr 14:6; Job 39:5). "A wild ass," agreeing with "thou" (Jr 2:23).

at her pleasure--rather, "in her ardor," namely, in pursuit of a male, sniffing the wind to ascertain where one is to be found [Maurer].

occasion--either from a Hebrew root, "to meet"; "her meeting (with the male for sexual intercourse), who can avert it?" Or better from an Arabic root: "her heat (sexual impulse), who can allay it?" [Maurer].

all they--whichever of the males desire her company [Horsley].

will not weary themselves--have no need to weary themselves in searching for her.

her month--in the season of the year when her sexual impulse is strongest, she puts herself in the way of the males, so that they have no difficulty in finding her.

25. Withhold, &c.--that is, abstain from incontinence; figuratively for idolatry [Houbigant].

unshod, &c.--do not run so violently in pursuing lovers, as to wear out thy shoes: do not "thirst" so incontinently after sexual intercourse. Hitzig thinks the reference is to penances performed barefoot to idols, and the thirst occasioned by loud and continued invocations to them.

no hope--(Jr 18:12; Is 57:10). "It is hopeless," that is, I am desperately resolved to go on in my own course.

strangers--that is, laying aside the metaphor, "strange gods" (Jr 3:13; De 32:16).

26. is ashamed--is put to shame.

thief--(Joh 10:1).

Israel--that is, Judah (Jr 2:28).

27. Thou art my father--(Contrast Jr 3:4; Is 64:8).

in ... trouble they will say--namely, to God (Psa 78:34; Is 26:16). Trouble often brings men to their senses (Lu 15:16-18).

28. But--God sends them to the gods for whom they forsook Him, to see if they can help them (De 32:37, 38; Jud 10:14).

according to the number of thy cities--Besides national deities, each city had its tutelary god (Jr 11:13).

29. plead with me--that is, contend with Me for afflicting you (Jr 2:23, 35).

30. (Jr 5:3; 6:29; Is 1:5; 9:13).

your children--that is, your people, you.

your ... sword ... devoured ... prophets--(2Ch 36:16; Ne 9:26; Mt 23:29, 31).

31. The Hebrew collocation is, "O, the generation, ye," that is, "O ye who now live." The generation needed only to be named, to call its degeneracy to view, so palpable was it.

wilderness--in which all the necessaries of life are wanting. On the contrary, Jehovah was a never-failing source of supply for all Israel's wants in the wilderness, and afterwards in Canaan.

darkness--literally, "darkness of Jehovah," the strongest Hebrew term for "darkness; the densest darkness"; compare "land of the shadow of death" (Jr 2:6).

We are lords--that is, We are our own masters. We will worship what gods we like (Psa 12:4; 82:6). But it is better to translate from a different Hebrew root: "We ramble at large," without restraint pursuing our idolatrous lusts.

32. Oriental women greatly pride themselves on their ornaments (compare Is 61:10).

attire--girdles for the breast.

forgotten me--(Jr 13:25; Ho 8:14).

33. Why trimmest--Maurer translates, "How skilfully thou dost prepare thy way," &c. But see 2Ki 9:30. "Trimmest" best suits the image of one decking herself as a harlot.

way--course of life.

therefore--accordingly. Or else, "nay, thou hast even," &c.

also ... wicked ones--even the wicked harlots, that is, (laying aside the metaphor) even the Gentiles who are wicked, thou teachest to be still more so [Grotius].

34. Also--not only art thou polluted with idolatry, but also with the guilt of shedding innocent blood [Maurer]. Rosenmuller not so well translates, "even in thy skirts," &c.; that is, there is no part of thee (not even thy skirts) that is not stained with innocent blood (Jr 19:4; 2Ki 21:16; Psa 106:38). See as to innocent blood shed, not as here in honor of idols, but of prophets for having reproved them (Jr 2:30; Jr 26:20-23).

souls--that is, persons.

search--I did not need to "search deep" to find proof of thy guilt; for it was "upon all these" thy skirts. Not in deep caverns didst thou perpetrate these atrocities, but openly in the vale of Hinnom and within the precincts of the temple.

35. (Jr 2:23, 29).

36. gaddest--runnest to and fro, now seeking help from Assyria (2Ch 28:16-21), now from Egypt (Jr 37:7, 8; Is 30:3).

37. him--Egypt.

hands upon ... head--expressive of mourning (2Sa 13:19).

in them--in those stays in which thou trustest.

I remember thee - The youth here refers to their infant political state when they came out of Egypt; they just then began to be a people. Their espousals refer to their receiving the law at Mount Sinai, which they solemnly accepted, Exo 24:6-8, and which acceptance was compared to a betrothing or espousal. Previously to this they were no people, for they had no constitution nor form of government. When they received the law, and an establishment in the Promised Land, then they became a people and a nation.

Wentest after me - Receivedst my law, and wert obedient to it; confiding thyself wholly to my guidance, and being conscientiously attached to my worship. The kindness was that which God showed them by taking them to be his people, not their kindness to him.

Israel was holiness unto the Lord - Fully consecrated to his service.

The first fruits of his increase - They were as wholly the Lord's, as the first fruits were the property of the priests according to the law Num 18:13. These the priests alone had a right to devote to their own use.

All that devour him shall offend - As they were betrothed to the Lord, they were considered his especial property; they therefore who injured them were considered as laying violent hands on the property of God. They who persecute God's children have a grievous burden to bear, an awful account to give.

What iniquity have your fathers found in me - Have they ever discovered any thing cruel, unjust, oppressive in my laws? Any thing unkind or tyrannical in my government? Why then have they become idolaters?

Through the wilderness - Egypt was the house of their bondage: the desert through which they passed after they came out of Egypt, was a place where the means of life were not to be found; where no one family could subsist, much less a company of 600, 000 men. God mentions these things to show that it was by the bounty of an especial providence that they were fed and preserved alive. Previously to this, it was a land through which no man passed, and in which no man dwelt. And why? because it did not produce the means of life; it was the shadow of death in its appearance, and the grave to those who committed themselves to it.

And I brought you into a plentiful country - The land of Canaan.

My land - The particular property of God, which he gave to them as an inheritance, they being his peculiar people.

They that handle the law - ותפשי vethophe shey, they that draw out the law; they whose office it is to explain it, draw out its spiritual meanings, and show to what its testimonies refer.

The pastors also - Kings, political and civil rulers.

Prophesied by Baal - Became his prophets, and were inspired with the words of lying spirits.

I will yet plead with you - אריב arib, I will maintain my process, vindicate my own conduct, and prove the wickedness of yours.

The isles of Chittim - This is the island of Cyprus, according to Josephus. In 1 Maccabees 8:5, it is taken for Macedonia. Besides this, how they (the Romans) had discomfited in battle Philip and Perseus, king of the Chittims. Chittim was the grandson of Japhet; and Bochart has made it appear that the countries inhabited by the Chittim were Italy and the adjacent provinces of Europe, lying along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea; and probably this is the prophet's meaning.

Send unto Kedar - The name of an Arabian tribe. See if nations either near or remote, cultivated or stupid, have acted with such fickleness and ingratitude as you have done! They have retained their gods to whom they had no obligation; ye have abandoned your God, to whom ye owe your life, breath, and all things!

Be astonished, O ye heavens - Or, the heavens are astonished. The original will admit either sense. The conduct of this people was so altogether bad, that among all the iniquities of mankind, neither heaven nor earth had witnessed any thing so excessively sinful and profligate.

Two evils - First, they forsook God, the Fountain of life, light, prosperity, and happiness. Secondly, they hewed out broken cisterns; they joined themselves to idols, from whom they could receive neither temporal nor spiritual good! Their conduct was the excess of folly and blindness. What we call here broken cisterns, means more properly such vessels as were ill made, not staunch, ill put together, so that the water leaked through them.

Is Israel a servant? - Is he a slave purchased with money, or a servant born in the family? He is a son himself. If so, then, why is he spoiled? Not because God has not shown him love and kindness; but because he forsook God, turned to and is joined with idols.

The young lions roared upon him - The Assyrians, who have sacked and destroyed the kingdom of Israel, with a fierceness like that of pouncing upon their prey.

The children of Noph and Tahapanes - Noph and Tahapanes were two cities of Egypt, otherwise called Memphis and Daphni. It is well known that the good king was defeated by the Egyptians, and slain in battle. Thus was the crown of Judah's head broken.

What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt - Why dost thou make alliances with Egypt?

To drink the waters of Sihor? - This means the Nile. See on Isa 23:3 (note).

The way of Assyria - Why make alliances with the Assyrians? All such connections will only expedite thy ruin.

To drink the waters of the river? - The Euphrates, as נהר nahar or הנהר hannahar always means Euphrates, the country between the Tigris and Euphrates, is termed to this day Maher alnahar, "the country beyond the river," i.e., Mesopotamia.

Instead of cleaving to the Lord, they joined affinity and made alliances with those two nations, who were ever jealous of them, and sought their ruin. Egypt was to them a broken reed instead of a staff; Assyria was a leaky cistern, from which they could derive no help.

Of old time I have broken thy yoke - It is thought by able critics that the verbs should be read in the second person singular, Thou hast broken thy yoke, Thou hast burst thy bonds; and thus the Septuagint, συνετριψας τον ζυγον σου, "thou hast broken thy yoke." And the Vulgate, Confregisti jugum meum, rupisti, vincula mea; "Thou hast broken my yoke; thou hast burst my bonds;" and so the Arabic. But the Chaldee gives it a meaning which removes the difficulty: "I have broken the yoke of the people from thy neck; I have cut your bonds asunder." And when this was done, they did promise fair: for "thou saidst, I will not transgress;" but still they played the harlot - committed idolatrous acts in the high places, where the heathen had built their altars, pretending that elevation of this kind assisted their devotion.

I had planted thee a noble vine - I gave thee the fullest instruction, the purest ordinances, the highest privileges; and reason would that I should expect thee to live suitably to such advantages; but instead of this thou art become degenerate; the tree is deteriorated, and the fruit is bad. Instead of being true worshippers, and of a holy life and conversation, ye are become idolaters of the most corrupt and profligate kind. See Isa 5:1, etc., where the same image is used.

For though thou wash thee with nitre - It should be rendered natar or natron, a substance totally different from our nitre. It comes from the root נתר nathar, to dissolve, loosen, because a solution of it in water is abstersive, taking out spots, etc., from clothes. It is still used in the east for the purpose of washing. If vinegar be poured on it, Dr. Shaw says, a strong effervescence is the immediate consequence, which illustrates Pro 25:20 : "The singing of songs to a heavy heart is like vinegar upon natron;" that is, there is no affinity between them; opposition and strife are occasioned by any attempt to unite them.

Thine iniquity is marked before me - No washing will take out thy spots; the marks of thy idolatry and corruption are too deeply rooted to be extracted by any human means.

See thy way in the valley - The valley of Hinnom, where they offered their own children to Moloch, an idol of the Ammonites.

A swift dromedary traversing her ways - Dr. Blayney translates, "A fleet dromedary that hath taken to company with her." Dr. Dahler rather paraphrases, thus: -

Semblable a une dromedaire en chaleur,

Qui court d'une tote a l'autre. "Like to a dromedary in her desire for the male,

Which runs hither and thither."

This is an energetic comparison; and shows the unbridled attachment of those bad people to idolatry, and the abominable practices by which it was usually accompanied.

A wild ass used to the wilderness - Another comparison to express the same thing.

Snuffeth up the wind - In a high fever from the inward heat felt at such times, these animals open their mouths and nostrils as wide as possible, to take in large draughts of fresh air, in order to cool them.

In her mouth they shall find her - The meaning is, that although such animals are exceedingly fierce and dangerous when they are in this state; yet, as soon as they have found the male, the desire is satisfied, and they become quiet and governable as before. But it was not so with this idolatrous people: their desires were ever fierce and furious; they were never satiated, one indulgence always leading to an other. The brute beasts had only a short season in which this appetite prevailed; but they acted without restraint or limit.

Withhold thy foot from being unshod - When it was said to them, "Cease from discovering thy feet; prostitute thyself no more to thy idols."

And thy throat from thirst - Drink no more of their libations, nor use those potions which tend only to increase thy appetite for pollution. Thou didst say, There is no hope: it is useless to advise me thus; I am determined; I have loved these strange pods, and to them will I cleave.

As the thief is ashamed - As the pilferer is confounded when he is caught in the fact; so shalt thou, thy kings, princes, priests, and prophets, be confounded, when God shall arrest thee in thy idolatries, and deliver thee into the hands of thine enemies.

Thou art my father - By thee we have been produced, and by thee we are sustained. This was the property of the true God; for he is the Author and Supporter of being. How deeply fallen and brutishly ignorant must they be when they could attribute this to the stock of a tree!

According to the number of thy cities are thy gods - Among heathen nations every city had its tutelary deity. Judah, far sunk in idolatry, had adopted this custom. The Church of Rome has refined it a little: every city has its tutelary saint, and this saint has a procession and worship peculiar to himself. So here; not much of the old idolatry is lost.

Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? - Have I ever withheld from you any of the blessings necessary for your support?

A land of darkness - Have you, since you passed through the wilderness, and came out of the darkness of Egypt, ever been brought into similar circumstances? You have had food and all the necessaries of life for your bodies; and my ordinances and word to enlighten and cheer your souls. I have neither been a wilderness nor a land of darkness to you.

We are lords - We wish to be our own masters; we will neither brook religious nor civil restraint; we will regard no laws, human or Divine. It was this disposition that caused them to fall in so fully with the whole system of idolatry.

Can a maid forget her ornaments - This people has not so much attachment to me as young females have to their dress and ornaments. They never forget them and even when arrived at old age, look with pleasure on the dress and ornaments which they have worn in their youth.

Days without number - That is, for many years; during the whole reign of Manasses, which was fifty-five years, the land was deluged with idolatry, from which the reform by good King Josiah his grandson had not yet purified it.

Why trimmest thou thy way - Ye have used a multitude of artifices to gain alliances with the neighboring idolatrous nations.

Hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways - Ye have made even these idolaters worse than they were before. Dr. Blayney translates, "Therefore have I taught calamity thy ways." A prosopopoeia: "I have instructed calamity where to find thee." Thou shalt not escape punishment.

The blood of the souls of the poor innocents - We find from the sacred history that Manasseh had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; see 2Kgs 21:16, and Eze 34:10.

I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these - Such deeds of darkness and profligacy are found only in Israel. Dr. Blayney translates, "I have not found it in a digged hole, but upon every oak." Others cover the blood that it may not appear; but ye have shed it openly, and sprinkled it upon your consecrated oaks, and gloried in it.

Because I am innocent - They continued to assert their innocence, and therefore expected that God's judgments would be speedily removed!

I will plead with thee - I will maintain my process, follow it up to conviction, and inflict the deserved punishment.

Why gaddest thou about - When they had departed from the Lord, they sought foreign alliances for support.

1. The Assyrians 2Chr 28:13-21; but they injured instead of helping them.

2. The Egyptians: but in this they were utterly disappointed, and were ashamed of their confidence.

See Jer 37:7-8 (note), for the fulfillment of this prediction.

Thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head - Thou shalt find all thy confidence in vain, - thy hope disappointed; - and thy state reduced to desperation. The hand being placed on the head was the evidence of deep sorrow, occasioned by utter desolation. See the case of Tamar, when ruined and abandoned by her brother Amnon, 2Sam 13:19.

Thou shalt not prosper in them - They shall all turn to thy disadvantage; and this as we shall see in the history of this people, was literally fulfilled. O what a grievous and bitter thing it is to sin against the Lord, and have him for an enemy!

Go - From Anathoth to Jerusalem. Remember - I remind thee of the kindness that was between us. The love - When I entered into covenant with thee at the giving of the law. Wilderness - I took such care of thee, in the howling wilderness, a land that was not sown.

Thy wickedness - Thy own wickedness is the cause of thy correction. Know - Consider well, and thou canst not but be convinced.

Broken - The bondage and tyranny that thou wert under in old time in Egypt, as also divers times besides. Tree - Under these shades idolaters thought there lay some hidden deity. Wanderest - The word properly signifies, making hast from one tree to another, or from one idol to another. Playing - Committing idolatry, which is a spiritual harlotry, chap.3:1,2.

A right seed - A right seed of true believers.

Nitre - Though interpreters do greatly vary in describing what is particularly meant here by Nitre and Soap, and would be superfluous to mention here; yet all agree, they are some materials that artists make use of for cleansing away spots from the skin. The blot of this people is by no art to be taken out; nor expiated by sacrifices; it is beyond the power of all natural and artificial ways of cleansing. Marked - Thy filthiness is so foul that it leaves a brand behind which cannot be hid or washed out, but will abide, Jer 17:1.

Baalim - The word is plural, as comprehensive of all their idols. Thy way - The filthiness thou hast left behind thee, whereby thou mayst be traced. Valley - Whether of Hinnom where they burnt their children in sacrifice, or in any valleys where thou hast been frequent in thy idolatries. Traversing - A metaphor taken from creatures that are hunted, that keep no direct path.

A wild ass - Another similitude for the more lively description of the same thing. The wind - This creature, by the wind, smells afar off which way her male is. In her occasion - That is, when she has an occasion to run impetuously to her male, she bears down all opposition. In her month - Perhaps the sense is, though Jerusalem be now madly bent upon going after her idols, that there is no stopping her, yet the time may come, in their afflictions, that they may grow more tame, and willing to receive counsel.

Withhold - Take not those courses that will reduce thee to poverty, to go bare foot, and to want wherewith to quench thy thirst. No hope - We care not since there is no remedy. Strangers - Idols.

Found - Not ashamed of his sin of theft, but that he is at last found.

Brought me forth - Or begotten me; so is the word used, Gen 4:18. This denotes the sottish stupidity of this people, to take a lifeless stock or stone to be their maker, and to give the honour of God unto them, Isa 44:17. Turned - They turn their faces towards their idols.

For - Thou hast enough of them, imitating the Heathens, who had, according to Varro, above thirty thousand deities. Make trial if any, or all of them together, can help thee.

Children - Your inhabitants in every city, they being frequently called the children of such a city. Correction - Instruction: though they were corrected, yet they would not be instructed. Your sword - You have been so far from receiving instruction, that you have, by the sword, and other ways of destruction, murdered those that I have sent to reprove you.

O generation - O ye men of this generation. See - You shall see the thing with your eyes, because your ears are shut against it. A wilderness - Have I been like the wilderness of Arabia, have not I accommodated you with all necessaries? A land of darkness - As it were a land uninhabitable, because of the total want of light. Have I been a God of no use or comfort to them, that they thus leave me? Have they had nothing from me but misery and affliction? We - Words of pride and boasting.

A maid - How unlikely is it, that a maid should forget her ornaments? A bride - Those jewels which the bridegroom was wont to present his bride with. Forgotten - In the neglect of my worship; me, who was not only their defence, but their glory.

Trimmest - Or, deckest, Ezek 23:40, thinking thereby to entice others to thy help. Taught - Nations that have been vile enough of themselves, by thy example are become more vile.

Skirts - Of thy garments: the tokens of cruelty may be seen openly there. Innocents - In thee is found the murder expressed here by blood of innocent persons, murdering souls as well as bodies. Search - Heb. by digging; as if the earth had covered the blood, or as if they had committed their wickedness in some obscure places. These - Upon thy garments, exposed openly to publick view.

Behold - I will proceed in my judgment against thee. Because - Because thou justifiest thyself.

Why - Why dost thou seek auxiliaries anywhere, rather than cleave to me? Ashamed - Egypt shall stand thee in no more stead than Assyria hath done.

Yea - All the help thou canst procure shall not prevent thy captivity, but from hence thou shalt go. Thy hands - An usual posture of mourning.

1 MOreover, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Now God begins by Ieremy to deal with the Iews, and to put him upon his work, having fitted him for it; this seeming to be his first sermon it notes speed, and quick dispatch about his business.

2 Go , and cry in the ears of Jerusalem , saying, thus saith the LORD ; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth , the love of thine espousals , when thou wentest after me in the wilderness , in a land that was not sown p.

Viz. From A[illegible: 1 letter]ath[illegible: 1 letter]th to Ierusalem.

Proclaim it so, that they may hear it.

Declare Gods will to the inhabitants thereof a Metonymy of the subject.

The Prophets usual form of words in this book whereby he frequently intimates, that he came with God's message, not his own, and therefore directs his Sermon here, as in Gods name and Person to the whole body of the People.

I record, or I mind thee of the kindness, that was between us, though this [illegible: 1 letter]e sometimes taken in a way of favour, Neh. 13.31. yet not always so, as Neh. 13.29. Psal. 137.7.

Either those forward and early affections, of thine to me in thy youth. Or rather the kindness, that I shewed thee in thy youth, Isa. 46.3. for this relates to the time of Gods bringing them out of Egypt, which is sometimes called the birth of this People, Isa. 44.2. Hos. 2.3. and their youth, Isa. 54.6. Hos. 2.15. The story seems to favour most this latter sense, De[illegible: 1 letter]t. 9.6.24.

viz. When I entred into a Covenant relation with thee at the giving of the Law, Exod. 24.7, 8. Deut. 4.20, 23, 34. Ezek. 16.8. &c.

Either out of that love and affection that thou didst shew to me in following my conduct. Or rather, when thou wert led by me in the Wilderness, and I took such care of thee, both for protection, and Provision in that howling wilderness, though thou didst ill deserve it, where nothing necessary to thy subsistence could have been expected, and therefore it is expressed in the next words by a Periphrasis, a Land that was not sowen, and more enlarged upon ver. 6. for it plainly appears by the story, that they did not follow him with entire affection, but went a whoring from him, Amos 5.25, 26. and which we have a large account of Psal. 106.7. &c.

Marginal references: Or, for thy sake.

3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the first fruits of his increase : all that devour him shall offend ; evil shall come upon them , saith the LORD

Or Holy, the Abstract for the Concrete, i. e a People dedicated to God, thus the word is used, Lev. 21.7. and 27.14. set a part from other People for my self by peculiar Laws, and Rites.

This supplement and is better left out, it being not in the Text, and rendring the sense more obscure; therefore better read, either being the first fruits by Apposition. Or, as the first Fruits, i. e, as the first Fruits were Holy to God, so was Israel.

Or rather devoured; for it refers to the time past, not to the future, and so the following words, all that were injurious to him,

or did offend, were obnoxious, and liable to punishment as he that devoured that, which is Holy, Prov. 20.25.

Came upon them, some evil was inflicted on them from the Lord, that was alwayes wont to stand up for the vindication of his people, as upon the Egyptians, Amalekites, Sihon, Og, the Midianites, Canaanites and other, as the four last Books of Moses do abundantly testifie, and by these expressions is insinuated, that now they are like to find it otherwise, chap. 50.7. this minding of them what God had done for them making way for the closer setting home the following reproofs.

Marginal references: Exod. 19.5.6.; chap. 12.14.

4 Hear ye the word of the LORD , O house of Jacob , and all the families of the house of Israel.

He bespeaks their attention to what he is about to speak, as unto the word of the Lord, telling them, that he delivers Gods message, and vents not his own passions, the like, Isa. 1.10. and elsewhere frequently, both in the Old, and New Testament, as 1 Cor. 11.23. 1 Thess. 4.15.

i. e. His posterity, Iacob and Israel here being the same, as it is Isa. 43.1.

Viz. Tribes chap. 31.1.

5 ¶ Thus saith the LORD, what iniquity have your fathers found in me that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity , and are become vain ?

God having, as it were on his own behalf, shewn how kind he had been, calls upon them to speak now, if they knew any thing of injury, either in breach of Covenant, or severity, that they can charge him with, that they have thus Apostatized, see on Isa. 1.18▪ and 5.3. compare Mich. 6.2, 3, 4. by this manner of speech, his proceeding appears the more justifiable, he both makes their conviction the clearer, and the reproof the sharper.

Viz. Idols shewing their folly in going from God to such vain things, as Idols are Deut. 32.21. 1 Sam. 12.20, 21. and see on Isa. 41.29. the abstract for the concrete, Eccl. 1.2.

Viz. In following their imaginations, fools, Rom. 1.21, 22. as senseless as their stocks, and stones, that they made their Idols of, Psal. 115, 8. and herein they are said to go far from God, and chuse their delusions, Ion. 2.8.

6 Neither said they , where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of desarts , and of pits : through a land of drought , and of the shadow of death , through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt ?

i. e. With themselves, thought not.

The expression may have some respect to the scituation of the place, as lying lower then Canaan, but the design is to reprove their sloath, and stupidity, charging herein their Apostasie, not upon their ignorance, but wilfulness, their deliverance from Egypt, and therefore is it here-mentioned, being such a deliverance, as never greater was wrought for any People, wherein there was so much of his Power, and Love seen, they never regarded the operations of his hands, never concerned themselves about what God had done for them, ver. 8. which should have engaged them to a more close cleaving to him.

Desolate places, chap. 50.13. and then what follows is to amplifie the greatness of their dangers in the Wilderness, and therein the greatness of their deliverance.

Either those natural dangerous pits, that were there; or put for the grave, where Passengers are so often buryed quick in the heaps of sand suddenly blown up by the wind; or threatning in every respect nothing but death, which may be implied in that expression of the shadow of death in this verse, which may allude to several kinds, or fears of death in passing through a wilderness. See in the Synopsis.

Where they had no water but by miracle, the LXX render it a Land without water.

See in the word Pits; the LXX render it a Land without fruit bringing forth nothing, that might have a tendency to the support of Life, therefore nothing but death could be expected, and besides, it yeilding so many venemous Creatures, as Scorpions, and Serpents, &c. as also the many Enemies, that they went in continual danger of; all which could not but look formidable, and as the shadow of death.

As having in it no accommodation for Travel, much less for habitation: In these respects may it well be called, a wast howling Wilderness, Deut. 32.10.

Marginal references: Isa. 63.9, 11, 13. Hos. 13.4.

7 And I brought you into a plentiful country , to eat the fruit thereof, and the goodness thereof; but when ye entred, ye defiled my land , and made mine heritage an abomination.

Heb. Land of Carmel, Isa. 29.17. understand Canaan, Num. 13.27. see on Isa. 35.2.

To enjoy all the blessing of it.

i. e. Consecrated to my name, Lev. 22.23. and this you have defiled by going a whoring after your Idols, chap. 3.1. and many other abominations, Psal. 106.29, 35, 37, 38, 39.

In the same sense that it is said in the foregoing clause my Land, and which you received from me, as your heritage, the place that I chose for my Churches present habitation, and earnest of their future heavenly one.

Marginal references: P[illegible: 1 letter]al. 78.58.

8 The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that do not profit .

q d. They that should have taught others, knew as little as they, or regarded as little to know, Hos. 4.6. who are said here to handle or teach the Law, viz. The Priests and Levites, who were the ordinary Teachers of the Law, not that they did so, but that, either they ought to do so, or pretended to do so. This was their office, Deut. 33.10. and their practice, Neh. 8.8. the phrase is a Metaphor taken from Warriors, that are said tractare bellum, to handle their arms.

Either Teachers as Instructors, or Kings and Princes, as Conductors, See 1 King. 22.17.

They that should have taught the People the true Worship of God, were themselves Worshippers of Baal, 1 King. 18.22. Or, instead of fetching their Oracles from me, saying, Thus saith the Lord, they would say, Thus saith Baal, or they did make use of lesser Deities (for so doth Baal or Baalim signifie) in conjunction with God, perswading themselves, they could honour God together with them, as the Calves, 1 King. 12, 28.

Viz. Idols a Periphrasis, that were never able to do them any service as ver. 5.11. see on Isa. 44.10. sure the state must be very bad when Priests, Prophets and People were thus corrupt.

Marginal references: Rom. 2.19, 20, 21.

9 ¶ Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your childrens children will I plead.

This is to be understood, either really by his judgments, Psal. 74.22. and that with great severities; or verbally he will go on to deal with them, to convince them by his Prophets, as he did with their fathers, that they may be left without excuse, chap. 7.25, 26.

Either for the heinousness of their Fathers sins; for God doth often visit the iniquities of the Parents upon their Children, Exod. 20.5. Or because they do imitate their Parents.

Marginal references: Lev. 20.5.

10 For pass over the isles of Chittim , and see, and send unto Kedar , and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing .

A Synecdochical expression extending to all Isles in the Mediterranean Sea, or any other the neighbouring coasts, for the Hebrews call all People, that are separated from them by the Mediterranean Sea, Islanders, because they come to them by Shipping; see of Chittim, Isa. 23.1.

Understand Arabia, that lay East, South-East of Iudea as Chittim did more North or North-West, q. d. go from North to South, East to West, and make the experiment, look to Chittim the most Civilized, or Kedar the most Barbarous, yet neither have changed their gods.

Not that they were to pass over locally, or send Messengers thither actually, but cast your eyes thither, and make your observations, by what you have ever seen, or heard, did you ever hear of such a prodigious thing, if you should either go, or send, you will find it so.

Marginal references: Or, over t[illegible: 1 letter].

11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit .

q. d. No, they are unmoveable and fixed to their Idols, although they are false Gods, what they receive from their fathers, they tenaciously hold.

Viz. The true God, who was their glory, a Metonymy of the Adjunct, Psal. 106.20. and who always did them good, giving them cause to glory in him, and to make their boast of him.

For those which never did, or can do them good, that have no essence, or power; but of whom they must necessarily be ashamed, as ver. 26.

Marginal references: Mich. 4.5.; chap. 16.20▪

12 Be astonished, O ye heavens , at this, and be horribly afraid , be ye very desolate , saith the LORD.

Angels say some, but rather the visible heavenly bodies; a pathetical expression in a poetical Prosopopaeia, as Deut. 4.26. and 32.1. intimating that it is such a thing, that the very inanimate Creatures, could they be sensible of it, would be astonished.

The Heb. imports as much as let your hair be lifted up, such a fright, as we usually say, makes our hair stand an end, such a trembling property, as some dreadful Tempest doth sometimes cause in a man.

Lose your brightness, lustre, and shining, as the Sun that heavenly body seemed to do when Christ suffered, Matth. 27.45. or melting, the heinousness of such a thing, as it were, dissolving them.

Marginal references: Isa. 1.2.

13 For my people have committed two evils : they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters ; and hewed them out cisterns , broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Viz. Remarkable ones, and with a witness.

A Mitaphor taken from springs, called living here, and Gen. 26.19. and elsewhere, because they never cease, or intermit, such had Gods care, and kindness been over, and to them, see on Isa. 58.11. his spirit continually proceeding from the Father and the Son to refresh their Consciences. Compare Iohn 4.10. and 7.38, 39▪

It is doubled, to shew the multitude of their shifts, and broken is added, to shew the helplesness of them, as being able to hold no Water, but when he hath made many hard shifts to get water, he cannot keep it, but it dryes away, or, if it abide, proves unwholesome, by which understand either their Idols, which are empty vain things, that never answer expectation, or the Assyrians and Egyptians as ver. 18. which proved but broken Reeds, and as all other supports, or props, Friends, Traditions, Merits, &c. are, that are trusted to, besides God, they are but cisterns at the best whose water will putrifie, or broken, riven vessels through which they will soak, and leave nothing, but mud and dirt behind them.

Marginal references: Psal. 36.9. chap. 17.13. and 18.14.

14 ¶ Is Israel a servant? is he a home born slave ? why is he spoiled ?

Did I ever account him so, or did I not rather always reckon him my first-born, so some as verse 31. but it may better relate to his sad condition, and abuses from others as chap. 49.1. which God or the Prophet doth here enquire into; and Slave is here rightly added to home-born, (though not in the Text) to enhance the condition of his service, because the Master had Power to make these Slaves, who were born of Slaves in his house which argues his condition very low, whether he were thus born, or had been forced to sell himself to be a slave.

He Speaks, either of the thing to is that be, as if it were already done, because of the certainty of it, as of that devastation made by the Assyrians and Chaldeans who afflicted the remnant of the Iews, or of that havock, that was made of them formerly by Senacherib the Assyrians, and Egyptians why is he thus Tyrannized over Isa. 42.24. as if strangers had the same right over him, as owners over their Slaves; he removes here the false causes of Israels misery, that he may the more aggravate, and set home the true, as verse 17, 19. he was my son, if he now become a slave he may thank himself.

Marginal references: Heb. become a spoil.

15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled , and they made his land waste: his cities are burnt without inhabitant .

Understand the Assyrians, Babylonians and Egyptians, &c. called Lions from their fierceness, and young from their strength, see this chap. 4.7. and 50.17.

Noting the terrible voice, that the Lion puts forth either in the seizing the prey, some say in sport, Lam. 2.7. or the devouring it, Isa. 5.29. a Metaphor noting the cruelty of the Enemy, Psal. 74.4.

i. e. So consumed, and wasted, that they are uninhabitable, or shortly shall so consume, and wast them, see ver. 14.

Marginal references: Heb. gave out their voice.

16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.

They that take the Heb. word in the notion of breaking, understand this of destroying what ever is chief, or principal among them, either of persons, or things wounds in the head being most dangerous. Or, defiling the chief of the Land, either by their corporal Adulteries, and so take the word under the notion of knowing as Gen. 19.5. or spiritual, namely Idolatries, chap. 44.17. or their cruel Tyrannical oppressions, trampling upon all their glory expressed by riding over their heads, and that universally in a most insulting manner, but the word may be better taken in the notion of feeding, as the word is used, chap. 3.15. i. e. They have fed upon her most fruitful, and pleasant, the top and head of all her Pastures, that lay in the Southern Borders towards Egypt, see chap. 13.18, 19, 20. thus depriving them of all way of subsistance, chap. 12.10. In short they shall make havock of all, that is excellent in thee, Isa. 28.4. the sum is, thy league O Iudea with Egypt against the Chaldeans will be the cause of thy total ruin. For the Kings of Iudah had not rebelled against the Babylonians, but to gratifie the Egyptians in expectation of help from them.

Two of the King of Egypt's principal seats concerning Noph sometimes called Memphis, now Cayro, See on Isa. 19.13. Concerning Tahapanes, see Ezek. 30.18. probably talking its name from Tahpenes Queen of Egypt, 1 Kings 11.19. called also Hanes, see on Isa. 30.4. and the Inhabitants, and Natives of these Cities are called here their Children, Isa. 37.12.

Marginal references: Or, seed on thy crown. Deut. 33.12. Isa. 8.8.

17 Hast thou not procured this unto thy self , in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way ?

Here God by his Prophet shews, that they may thank themselves for all, that is hastening upon them, see Numb. 32.23.

Here he shews wherein, viz. in forsaking God▪ not that he left them, but they him, and that without any temptation, or provocation, and therefore the more inexcusable.

Viz. By the conduct of his Providence in the Wilderness, keeping thee in safety from all dangers, Exod. 30.21, 22. Isa. 63.12, 13. or in the way of his counsels, which the ways of their own carnal wisdom were so opposite unto.

18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt , to drink the waters of Sihor ? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river ?

What business hast thou there, or what dost thou expect from thence, or what need hast thou to go, or send Messengers thither, if thou wouldst but keep close to me.

Viz. Nilus, it signifies black, from whence called Melas by the Greeks, either from the blackness of the Land, it passed through, or of the soil it casteth up, see on Isa. 23.3.

Here and by the same words before is meant, to seek help from either place noting their strength, Isa. 8.6. A metaphorical Allegory wherein God minds them of two of their broken Cisterns, and shews them their folly to go so far when they might have been better supplied nearer home, as if God were notable to help them, compare ver. 36.

i. e. Euphrates often called so by way of eminency, the chief River of Assyria, Isa. 7.20.

19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see, that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God , and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

The meaning is, either 1. There needs no further evidence against thee then thine own evil courses, Hos. 5.5. or rather might correct thee, i. e. one would think should be sufficient to reclaim thee. See Hos. 2.7. Or, 2. Thy own wickedness is the cause of thy correction. Or, 3. Thy wickedness will be an evidence, that whatever thou sufferest is just.

The same with the former, but in other words, after the manner of the Hebrews, or a Metonymy of the Effect for the Cause, thou wilt not be perswaded, till thou come to suffer, thou wilt not be instructed, until corrected; or rather, as before, thy many backslidings might teach thee more wisdom, and convince thee of thy folly, so doth the word reprove signifie, Iob 6.25.

i. e. Call to mind thy experiences, and consider well with thy self, and thou canst not but be convinced of those things, what forsaking of God hath cost thee.

Viz. Of punishment principally, so Isa. 45.7. though it be true also of sin: therefore he calls it bitter, because the effect of it will be so, it will be unpleasing, and bitterness in the latter end.

i. e. M[illegible: 1 letter].

Or the fear of me, or thou hast not my fear in thee, this being the ground of all thy sin, and suffering, Psal. 36.1. Rom. 3.16, 18.

Marginal references: Isa. 3.9.

20 ¶ For of old time I have broken thy yoke , and burst thy bands and thou saidest, I will not transgress : when upon every high hill , and under every green tree thou wandrest , playing the harlot .

i. e. The Bondage and Tyranny, that thou wert under in old time in Egypt, as also diverse times besides, as appears through the Book of Iudges: the hebrew Olam, that signifies everlasting, is sometimes used for a long time to come, and also for a long time past, so here, and Gen. 6.4. Isa. 57.11.

A double allusion, either to the bands and fetters, with which Prisoners are wont to be bound, chap. 40.4. Or, those bands, wherewith the ends of the yoke of beasts were wont to be bound, see on Isa. 58.6.

When the deliverance was fresh, thou didst put on good resolutions, Heb. serve i. e. Serve or Worship Idols the word is of the foeminine Gender, because God speaks of his People, as of a Woman promising faithfulness, but breaking Covenant some understand thee, I will not serve thee, q. d. which thou madest appear, when upon every hill, &c. and thus he accuseth them of their ingratitude, who owed themselves to their Redeemer, but this doth not so well agree with their engagement, Exod. 19.8.

Or notwithstanding all thy promises.

Idolaters were wont to sacrifice upon the tops of high hills, because there they thought themselves nearer Heaven: nay some have esteemed high hills to be Gods, as the Indians of Peru at this day.

Under these shades Idolaters thought there lay some hidden Deity, with which they conversed.

Viz. Changing thy way to gad after Idols, as one that hast broken Covenant, see on Isa. 57.8. the word properly signifies to go from ones place, as Harlots use to do, instigated either by unbridled Lust, or Covetousness; i. e. Making great haste from one tree to another, or from one Idol to another see verse 23, 24. Others thou lyest down, or thou settest thy self.

Committing Idolatry, which is a spiritual Harlotry, chap. 3.1▪ 2. This is frequent. Some read the former part of the Text otherwise, making it the daring boast of the People thou hast said I have broken, &c. and saidst I will not serve. i. e. I will not obey, but this will not suit well with the rest of the Text.

Marginal references: Or serve.; chap. 3.6.

21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine wholly a right seed : how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me.

An usual metaphor for the Church, Psal. 80.8, 9. &c. see on Isa. 5.1. The Heb. is Sorek and may refer to the place, or to the plant; with reference to the place it may be taken, either for a proper name, as Carmel for any fruitful place, so here noting▪ either the place whence, viz. A Vine of the same kind with those, that come from Sorek, possibly that Country where Sampson saw Dalilah, Iudg. 16.4. Or, the place where Planted viz. in a fruitful Land, Exod. 15.17. See on Isa. 1.2. If it be referred to the plant, then it points at the excellency of its kind, and this the next clause seems to favour, and thus it notes both Gods care, he had as great a care of it as of the choicest Plant, see on Isa. 27.2, 3. and also his expectation, that it should prove so, Isa. 5.4 and the sense is, I Planted thee, that thou shouldst bring forth choice fruit to me.

Viz. The Ordinances of his Church, which are said to be the Plants, or Seed, that God furnisheth it with all, Matth. 13.24. and these are called right, Neh. 9.13. not false, or counterfeit, Thus it was Planted in the dayes of the Patriarchs Abra[illegible: 1 letter]am, Isaac, and Iacob, &c. a right Seed of true Believers.

Though there be only degenerate or declining in the Heb. Text, yet the supplement is necessary in regard of the Metaphor.

This must here be taken, in a bad sense as the word degenerate going before intimates, though it be sometimes for what is rare, and excellent; here it notes their Apostacy, and infidelity, and other wickednesses; where God speaks after the manner of man, both in a way of wonder, and reproof.

Marginal references: Exod. 15.17. Psal. 44.2. Matth. 21.33. Mark 12.1. Luk. 20.9.; Deut. 32.3[illegible: 1 letter].

22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much sope s, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.

The meaning seems to be either thy filthiness is so foul, that it leaves a brand behind it, that cannot be hid or washed out, but will abide; see Ier. 17.1. Or, according to another acceptation of the word, it is laid up with God, see the like Deut. 32.34. and Hos. 13.12. purge thee, wash thee, do what thou wilt, thou canst by no means conceal thy wickedness from me, Iob 9.20. they that would see greater variety of interpretations, let them consult the Synopsis.

Though interpreters do greatly vary in describing what is particularly meant here by Nitre and Sope, and would be superfluous to mention here, yet all agree they are some materials that Artists make use of for the cleansing away spots, from the skin, cloaths, or other things: and the sense is plain, that the blot of his People is by no art to be taken out, it cannot be covered by excuses, though thou wouldst dissemble thy Idolatries, thou canst not deceive me: nor explated by sacrifices, it is beyond the Power of all superstitious, or religious washings to cleanse away, which may be understood by these natural and artificial wayes of cleansing.

Marginal references: Job 9.30.; Job 14.17.

23 How canst thou say , I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim ? see thy way in the valley , know what thou hast done : thou art a swift dromedary , traversing her wayes.

With what face canst thou go about to excuse thy self, or deny what is so evident, and so truly charged upon thee, ver. 20.

The word is plural, as comprehensive of all their Idols, Hos. 11.2. and is a name usually given to several of them, as Baalzebub, 2 King. 1.16. and Baal-Peor, Numb. 25.3. and therefore their worshipping of many. Because they had the Temple, and Sacrifices, &c. they still perswaded themselves, that they worshipped the true God, though they joyned their Idolatries with it, as the Papists, though they make use of Idols in Worship, yet would not be accounted Idolaters.

The filthiness thou hast left behind thee, whereby thou mayst be traced, where thou leftest as it were thy footsteps, and monuments of thy frequent Idolatries.

Thy frequent courses in the Valleys, whether of Hinnom where they burnt their Childrens bones in Sacrifice, chap. 7.21, 31. Or, in any Vallies where thou hast been frequent in thy Idolatries; it seems to be thus largely taken.

Look on and consider thy ways, as ver. 19.

Or thou art as, &c. or O Dromedary, a Beast much used by Carriers in Arabia being rife there. See on Isa. 60.6.

A Metaphor taken from Creatures, that are hunted, that keep no direct path, alluding to the nature of the She Dromedary, which in gendring time runs capering this way, and crossing that way, making many vagaries to find out sometimes one Male, sometimes another without any rule, or order, setting forth hereby the disposition of this People, that were so mad upon their Idols, that they ran sometimes after this, and sometimes after that, called wandring, ver. 20. and that with great eagerness, fitly termed traversing much like the description of a Whore, Prov. 7.11, 12. the word being no where found, but here, and being derived from a word, that signifies a Shoo-latchet, if any be curious, let the learned consult Synop. Critic. and the English reader the Assemblies Annot. on the place.

Marginal references: Or, O swift dromedary.

24 A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure , in her occasion who can turn her away ? all they that seek her will not weary themselves ; in her month they shall find her.

Or, O wild Ass, another similitude for the more lively description of the same thing, neither need we be sollicitous about the variety, or extravagancies of conjectures about this Beast, or you may consult as before, it is said to be wild and untamed, as being used to the Wilderness doth also imply and as to satisfying its lust, much of the nature of the other.

This snuffing properly appertains to the sense of smelling, by which certain creatures, by a natural sagacity, find out what they miss, which Huntsmen express by a proper term of winding, or having in the wind, and thus it is understood here, for this Creature by the Wind smells afar off, which way her male is; for there is another sense of snuffing up the Wind, viz. for the service of health, as allaying inward heat and drought, &c. chap. 14.6.

As her desire, or lust serves, when it runs out after the Male, implying also, that no choice, or judgment, or measure is observed in these Beasts, when carried out after their lusts.

i. e. When she is set upon it and hath an occasion, and opportunity to run impetuously to her Male for the satisfying her pleasure, she bears down all opposition before her, there is none can stop, or put a bridle upon her raging lust.

i. e. Either they need not weary themselves; (speaking of Ierusalem, to which all the rest also is to be applied as in an Allegory) they, that have a mind to be filthy with her, may easily trace her, verse 23. she refuses none. Or, rather they will not bestow their labour in vain, when she is hot upon her lust, but let her take her course, until she be satisfied, and wait their time, and opportunity; and this agrees with the next words.

If this relate to the former sense of not wearying themselves, it notes her impudence, and unsatiableness, you may have her at any time, even in her months, or new Moons, a season wherein such acts are abhorrent even to nature it self, some understand this of the Idolatry they committed every New Moon: but it more properly points at the month of her breeding, or growing big, and weighty, month put collectively for months, such as Iob speaks of, Iob 39.1, 2. Or, in her last month, because they grow then unweildy, that this creature sleeps one month in the year, and that is the month she may be taken, is generally deemed but a fancy, the sense of the verse is, that though Ierusalem be now madly bent upon going after her Idols, and other unclean courses, that there is no stopping or controling of her, as in the next verse, and ver. 31. chap. 22.21. yet the time may come in their afflictions, that they may grow more tame, and willing to receive counsel, as ver. 27. and Hos. 5.15.

Marginal references: Or, O wild [illegible: 1 letter]ss; Heb. taught.; Heb. the desire of the heart.; Or, reverse it.

25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod , and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope . No, for I have loved strangers , and after them will I go .

Good counsel given them by the Prophet to tarry at home, either, that they do not go a gadding after their spiritual, or corporal Adulteries. Or seek forreign aids, thereby to wear out their shooes, a Metonymy of the Effect, Iosh. 9.13. Or that thou put not off thy shooes to go into the bed of lust, or uncover thy [illegible: 1 letter]eet, a modest Hebrew expression, as also of other Languages for exposing thy nakedness, Ezek. 16.25. Or take not those courses, that will reduce thee to poverty to go bare-foot, and bare-legged, and to want wherewith to quench thy thirst, as in the next clause, Prov. 6.26. Isa. 20.2, 4. See Isa. 5.13.

She seems to return a cross answer, the word pointing at somewhat that is desperate, Eccle. 2.20. it either expresseth the desperateness of their condition. q. d. we are as bad as we can be, and there is no hope, that God should receive us into favour, or else by way of interrogation; is there no hope? May we not hold on still, and prosper? Must we desist from our wayes? No we will not, but we will go after other Gods and they shall defend us, Isa. 57.10. and chap. 18.12. Or, the desperateness of their resolution upon it, q. d. We care not since there is no remedy, you lose your labour to go about to reclaim us, which agrees with the next clause.

Viz. Idols, or strange Gods.

Come what will of it.

Marginal references: Or, is the case desperate.

26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found : so is the house of Israel ashamed ; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets .

Not ashamed of his sin of Theft, but that he is found, that his shifts, and blinds would serve him no longer; especially if he have had the reputation of an honest man.

Or Families the Twelve Tribes a Metonymy of the Subject.

Or confounded in the Passive voice, viz. when they shall be taken by Nebuchadnezzar, then their Idols, which they went a whoring after, shall be discovered, and so put them to shame; in the Active voice their inability to help them, verse 28. Isa. 1.29. Hos. 4.19. and their shame will be the more, because they had the repute of being my People.

Rulers, and Teachers, such as should have given better examples, and better instruction.

27 Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone , Thou hast brought me forth : for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the [illegible: 1 letter]ime of their trouble they will say, Arise, and [illegible: 1 letter]ave us .

Idol, a Metonymy of the Matter, because Idols are made of these materials, Dan. 5.4.

Or begotten me, so is the word used, Gen. 4.18. This notes the sottish stupidity of this People, to take a lifeless stock or stone to be their maker, and to give the honour of God unto them, Isa. 44.1[illegible: 1 letter]. They that make them are like unto them, as senseless as they, Psal. 115.8.

They turn their faces wholy towards their Idols, it notes the openess of their Apostacy, chap. 7.24.

The usual Language of Gods Children in distress, Psal. 3.7. and often elsewhere, when they found the vanity of their Idols, and their own folly in relying on them, that cannot help, or save, and rejecting me, ver. 31. then they will come to me, Iudg. 10.10. Hos. 5.15. the same thing with finding her in her month, verse 24. herein abusing Gods gentleness, making him their necessity not their choice.

Marginal references: Or, begotten me.; Heb. the hinder part of the neck.; Isa. 26.16.

28 But where are thy Gods , that thou hast made thee? let them arise , if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.

Thy Idols, viz. Gods of thy own making, what do they do for thee? Isa. 31.3.

Either by way of challenge, let them produce their Idols now, to help them, if they can whom they call their Fathers, and their Makers. Or by way of scoff, as Elijah to Baals Priests, see Iudg. 10.14. besides, in this word arise there is an insinuation of their lifelessness, and deadness, Isa. 46.7. chap. 10.5. and further there may be a secret reply couched in it, q. d. in your trouble you will say to me, arise save us: now say so to them, and see, if they can arise, and save you.

q. d. Thou hast them near to thee, and enough of them, imitating the Heathens, who had, according to Varro, above 30000 Deities; no marvel, if I, who am but one, be slighted, when in every City at least one, 2 King. 17.29, 30, 31. and in Ierusalem one in every street, chap. 11.13. its a hard case if none, or all these thy tutelar Gods, cannot help thee, see Deut. 32.37, 38, 39. make tryal if any, or all of them together, can help thee.

Marginal references: Isa. 45.20.; Heb. evil.

29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.

i. e. Some of all sorts, there is not any one sort of you innocent.

q. d. You are all at my mercy, why will you contend, all this that I charge you with is clear, and evident, and all makes against you, ver. 23, 34. wherefore do you expostulate, and put me to my proofs▪ this they were good at, chap. 16.10. there is nothing that you can justly reply, ver. 19.

30 In vain have I smitten your children ; they received no correction : your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion .

Either your posterity, that you breed up like your selves, or rather, your inhabitants in every City, they being frequently called the Children of such a City, or such a Place, Children of S[illegible: 1 letter]ir, 2 Chron. 25.14. Children of the Province, Ezra 2.1. and Children of this People, Lev. 19.18. and abundance more the like, and thus it is comprehensive both of Parents and Children.

i. e. The fruit of correction, viz. instruction the same word is rendred correction, Pro. 23.13. which signifies instruction, Pro. 5.12. and other places, & so to be taken here, it notes their refractoryness, that tho they were corrected, yet they would not be instructed, thoughGod did smite them, yet the rod prevailed as little with them, as the word.

Either the sword, that I have sent to destroy you hath destroyed your False-Prophets together with you, Hos. 4.5. and so it is, both a Prophesie, and a threatning: or rather, you have been so far from receiving counsel, and instruction, that you have by the sword, and other wayes of destruction, which is to be understood by the Sword, murdered those, that I sent to reprove your follies in the dayes of Asa, Ioash, Manasseh, &c. Neh. 9.26. See Matth. 23.34, 35.

Or eaten up, a Metaphor, hence we read of the edge of the Sword, which both in Hebrew and Greek is called the mouth of the Sword, chap. 21.7. Luk. 21.24.

Without respect, or pity, with all manner of savage usage. See Psal. 7.2. laying aside all humanity.

Marginal references: Isa. 1.5. and 9.13. chap 5.3.; Matth. 23.29. &c.

31 ¶ O generation , see ye the word of the LORD : have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness ? Wherefore say my people, We are lords , we will come no more unto thee.

Or, Oh ye men of this Generation, a note of admiration, or rather, O Generation, a note of compellation, it is to you I speak,

i. e. Look well to it, consider it, as the rod is to teach, and therefore ought to be heard, Mic. 6.9. So the word is to be considered of, and therefore ought to be looked into chap. 2.19.

He speaketh here, not so much of the doctrine of the word, as of the thing it self, q. d. you shall see the thing with your eyes, because you give the Doctrine the hearing onely, as we use to say, i. e. your ears are shut against it.

Here God challengeth them again to tell him, what unkindness he had shewed them, as before ver. 5. have I been like the Wilderness of Arabia, have not I accommodated you with all necessaries at all times, Deut. 32.13, 14. Ezek. 34.13, 14, 15. nay in the Wilderness it self I was not a Wilderness unto you, an account whereof Nehemiah gives Neh. 9.15. to 23. and you have the story of it, Psal. 78.

Diverse interpreters derive this word from a different root, and accordingly render the sense variously. Some from a root that signifies to fade or sall, as a Land where fruits fall off before it be ripe bringing nothing to perfection, and so Tremelius, and Iunius translate it, Isa. 28.1, 4. q. d. have you found me to fail your expectations in any thing, that I have promised you, Iosh. 21.45. and 23.14. Others derive it from a word that signifies late, as a Land that brings forth its fruit late in the year, which either ripeneth not or ripeneth unkindly, q. d. have you found me backward in any thing to do you good? Have I not fed you to the full? Others from darkness, properly thick darkness, Exod. 10.22. Ioel 2.2. and it is the more significant because jah the name of God is added to it, q. d. the darkness of God as a sleep of God, for a deep sleep, 1 Sam. 26.12. flame of God for a ve[illegible: 1 letter]ement flame, Cant. 8.6. as if it were a Land uninhabitable, because of the total want of light, q. d. have I been a God of no use or comfort to them, that they thus leave me? Have they had nothing from me but misery and affliction? As this notion of darkness may import, Isa. 8.22. Lam. 3.2. Hence the LXX express it by a Land bringing forth thorns. Or this expression a Land of darkness may be put by apposition to the former.

i. e. In their heart.

Words of pride and boasting: God had endeavoured to make them sensible, that all their happiness they owed to him, and now q. d. you rule as Lords without us, see 1 Cor. 4.8. now you cast me off, or rather we are well enough established in our Government by forreign aides, and compacts with the Egyptians, and Assyrians, &c. and have rulers of our own; we have no such great need of thee, hence the LXX render it in the passive voice we will not be ruled, which agrees with the next words of the verse Deut. 32.15, 16. something of this appeared in Vzziah, 2 Chron. 26.15, 16. and Hezekiah, 2 Chron. 32.25. neither was David wholly clear, Psal. 30.6.

Marginal references: Heb. we have dominion.

32 Can a maid forget her ornaments , or a bride her attire ? yet my people have forgotten me dayes without number .

How seldom is it, and how unlikely, that a Maid should forget her Ornaments.

Whether it belongs to the Head, or the Breast, or Arms, whether Bracelets, or Jewels wherever worn, is not worth the disputing, but understand those rich Jewels, which the Bridegroom was wont to present his Bride with, partly for a general obligation, and partly of particular signification, and all of them ornamental, what ever may render her amiable in the Eyes of her Bridegroom; Virgins, and especially Brides, will not usually neglect any thing that may make them comely.

Viz. In the neglect of my Worship, me, who was not only their defence, but their glory, ver. 11. &c. that for which other Nations honoured them, Psal. 148.14. Ezek. 16.10, to 15.

i. e. For a long time past, time out of mind, or as the Hebrew dayes, of which there is no number.

33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love ? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy wayes .

Or deckest, Ezek. 23.40. thinking thereby to entice others to thy help, thus is the word used, chap. 4.30. or why dost thou use so much art and skill, and take so much pains to go, and send here and there to contract a Friendship with forreign People, and to bring them to thy embraces, Isa. 57.9, 10. or thinking to set a good face, or g oss upon the matter, and excuse thy self, as if thou couldst delude God, Psal. 78.36, 37. whereas all thou doest is to get acquaintance with other Idolaters.

i. e. to commit filthiness with thy Idols, a Synecdoche of the kind.

i. e. Thou art become so vile, that even strumpets themselves, may come to learn of thee, 2 Chron. 33.9. Or by thy example; Nations that have been vile enough of themselves, by thy example are become more vile.

i. e. Thy Actions, a Metaphor.

34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents : I have not found it by secret search , but upon all these .

Viz. Of thy garments, a Synecdoche of the Kind the tokens of thy cruelty may be seen openly there; or in thy hands as the LXX, or a metaphor from Birds of rapine whose wings are bloody with their prey, but not so well.

i. e. In thee is found the murders expressed here by blood of innocent persons, meant here by Souls, comprising both their Sacrificing of their little Children to their Idols, Psal. 106.37, 38. Ezek. 16.20, 21, 36. murdering Souls, as well as Bodies, and also all those cruelties, oppression, and murders, that they executed upon poor innocent persons, which were not a few, in what Manasseh did 2 Kin. 21.16. Ezek. 7.23. and 9.9. and in special the Prophets, verse 30. that came in Gods name to reclaim them, which notes their desperate malice, as well as cruelty to slay their Physitians.

Heb. by digging, as if the Earth had covered the Blood, or as if they had committed their wickedness in some obscure places.

Upon thy garments openly enough, as exposed to publique view, there need no such strict scrutiny to be made.

Marginal references: Heb. digging.

35 Yet thou [illegible: 1 letter]ayst , because I am innocent , furely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee , because thou sayest, I have not sinned .

Or interrogatively darest thou say? Hast thou the impudence to affirm it?

Clear of this whole charge.

Shall not break out against me, Isa. 5.25.

I will proceed in my judgment against thee, verse 9. chap. 25.31. Or it is a soft expression, wherein he shews that he will not act like a Tyrant, carryed on rashly, and furiously, but as a judge regularly, and righteously, Ezek. 20.35. and it shews, that he will convince her.

Because thou dost justifie thy self, as if I had no cause to be angry with thee. God is not angry with her so much because she hath sinned, as because she will not acknowledge her sin.

36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way ? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt , as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.

i. e. Thy actions a metaphor. See on verse 33. why dost thou shuffle thus with me, to seek auxiliaries any where rather, then to cleave to me verse 18. See on Isa. 57.9, 10. Or, like Strumpets, whose love is never fixed, but sometimes set on one, sometimes on another.

Thou hast run to Assyria, and then to Egypt, and they shall both make thee ashamed by their disappointments of thee: thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as others have been, Isa. 36.6. Or rather Egypt shall stand thee in no more stead, then Assyria hath done, Isa. 30.3, 5. and how Tilgath Pelneser served them. See 2 Chr. 28.20. before Hezekiah's time the Jews made a League with the Assyrians, against the Syrians, and the Israelites, and then against the Egyptians: neither prospered, he tells them they must expect no better success from Egypt.

Marginal references: chap. 31.22.

37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him , and thine hands upon thine head : for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences , and thou shalt not prosper in them .

Some apply it to the sad, and ineffectual return of the Embassadors, being disappointed in their expectation from the King of Egypt, but rather all the help thou canst procure from abroad shall not prevent thy Captivity, but from hence thou shalt go.

An usual posture of sadness, and mourning, 2 Sam. 13.19. suited here to her going into Captivity.

Refused to give success unto them, 2 Chron. 16.7. Or rejected thee for thy confidences, or he disapproves thy confidences. viz. all thy refuges, which thou seekest out of God.

Viz. In thy refuges, and dependencies.

I. General Admonitions and Reproofs Belonging to the Time of Josiah - Jeremiah 2-22

If we compare the six longer discourses in these chapters with the sayings and prophecies gathered together in the other portions of the book, we observe between them this distinction in form and matter, that the former are more general in their character than the latter. Considered as to their form, these last prophecies have, with few exceptions, headings in which we are told both the date of their composition and the circumstances under which they were uttered; while in the headings of these six discourses, if we except the somewhat indefinite notice, "in the days of Josiah" (Jer 3:6), we find nowhere mentioned either their date or the circumstances which led to their composition. Again, both the shorter sayings and the lengthier prophecies between Jer 21:1-14 and the end of the book are unmistakeably to be looked upon as prophetic addresses, separately rounded off; but the discourses of our first part give us throughout the impression that they are not discourses delivered before the people, but treatises compiled in writing from the oral addresses of the prophet. As to their matter, too, we cannot fail to notice the difference that, whereas from Jer 21:1-14 onwards the king of Babylon is named as the executor of judgment upon Judah and the nations, in the discourses of Jer 2-20 the enemies who are to execute judgment are nowhere defined, but are only generally described as a powerful and terrible nation coming from the north. And so, in rebuking the idolatry and the prevailing sins of the people, no reference is made to special contemporary events; but there are introduced to a great extent lengthy general animadversions on their moral degeneracy, and reflections on the vanity if idolatry and the nature of true wisdom. From these facts we infer the probable conclusion that these discourses are but comprehensive summaries of the prophet’s labours in the days of Josiah. The probability becomes certainty when we perceive that the matters treated in these discourses are arranged according to their subjects. The first discourse (Jer 2:1-3:5) gives, so to speak, the programme of the subjects of all the following discourses: that disloyal defection to idolatry, with which Israel has from of old requited the Lord for His love and faithfulness, brings with it sore chastening judgments. In the second discourse (Jer 3:6-6:30) faithless Judah is shown, in the fall of the ten tribes, what awaits itself in case of stiff-necked persistence in idolatry. In the third (Jer 7-10) is torn from it the support of a vain confidence in the possession of the temple and in the offering of the sacrifices commanded by the law. In the fourth (Jer 11-13) its sins are characterized as a breach of the covenant; and rejection by the Lord is declared to be its punishment. In the fifth (Jer 14-17) the hope is destroyed that the threatened chastisement can be turned aside by intercession. Finally, in the sixth (Jer 18-20) the judgment of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the kingdom of Judah is exhibited in symbolical acts. In this arrangement and distribution of what the prophet had to announce to the people in his endeavours to save them, if possible, from destruction, we can recognise a progression from general admonitions and threatenings to more and more definite announcement of coming judgments; and when, on the other hand, we see growing greater and bitterer the prophet’s complaints against the hatreds and persecutions he has to endure (cf. Jer 12:1-6; Jer 15:10-11, Jer 15:15-21; Jer 17:14-18; Jer 18:18-23, Jer 18:20), we can gather that the expectation of the people’s being saved from impending destruction was growing less and less, that their obduracy was increasing, and that judgment must inevitably come upon them. These complaints of the prophet cease with Jer 20, though later he had much fiercer hatred to endure.

None of these discourses contains any allusions to events that occurred after Josiah’s death, or stand in any relation to such events. Hence we believe we are safe in taking them for a digest of the quintessence of Jeremiah’s oral preaching in the days of Josiah, and this arranged with reference to the subject-matter. It was by this preaching that Jeremiah sought to give a firm footing to the king’s reformatory efforts to restore and inspire new life into the public worship, and to develope the external return to the legal temple worship into an inward conversion to the living God. And it was thus he sought, while the destruction of the kingdom was impending, to save all that would let themselves be saved; knowing as he did that God, in virtue of His unchangeable covenant faithfulness, would sharply chastise His faithless people for its obstinate apostasy from Him, but had not determined to make an utter end of it.

The Love and Faithfulness of the Lord, and Israel’s Disloyalty and Idolatry - Jeremiah 2:1-3:5

The Lord has loved Israel sincerely (Jer 2:2-3), but Israel has fallen from the Lord its God and followed after imaginary gods (Jer 2:4-8); therefore He will yet further punish it for this unparalleled sin (Jer 2:9-19). From of old Israel has been renegade, and has by its idolatry contracted fearful guilt, being led not even by afflictions to return to the Lord (Jer 2:20-30); therefore must the Lord chastise (Jer 2:31-37), because they will not repent (Jer 3:1-5). This discourse is of a quite general character; it only sketches the main thoughts which are extended in the following discourses and prophecies concerning Judah. So that by most critics it is held to be the discourse by which Jeremiah inaugurated his ministry; for, as Hitzig puts it, "in its finished completeness it gives the impression of a first-uttered outpouring of the heart, in which are set forth, without restraint, Jahveh’s list of grievances against Israel, which has long been running up." It unquestionably contains the chief of the thoughts uttered by the prophet at the beginning of his ministry.

Jer 2:1-3 "And then came to me the word of Jahveh, saying: Go and publish in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: I have remembered to thy account the love of thy youth, the lovingness of thy courtship time, thy going after me in the wilderness, in a land unsown. Holy was Israel to the Lord, his first-fruits of the produce: all who would have devoured him brought guilt upon themselves: evil came upon him, is the saying of Jahveh." The Jer 2:2 and Jer 2:3 are not "in a certain sense the text of the following reproof" (Graf), but contain "the main idea which shows the cause of the following rebuke" (Hitz.): The Lord has rewarded the people of Israel with blessings for its love to Him. זכר with ל pers. and accus. rei means: to remember to one’s account that it may stand him in good stead afterwards - cf. Neh 5:19; Neh 13:22, Neh 13:31; Psa 98:3; Psa 106:45, etc. - that it may be repaid with evil, Neh 6:14; Neh 13:29; Psa 79:8, etc. The perfect זכרתּי is to be noted, and not inverted into the present. It is a thing completed that is spoken of; what the Lord has done, not what He is going on with. He remembered to the people Israel the love of its youth. חסד, ordinarily, condescending love, graciousness and favour; here, the self-devoting, nestling love of Israel to its God. The youth of Israel is the time of the sojourn in Egypt and of the Exodus thence (Hos 2:17; Hos 11:1); here the latter, as is shown by the following: lovingness of the courtship. The courtship comprises the time from the Exodus out of Egypt till the concluding of the covenant at Sinai (Exo 19:8). When the Lord redeemed Israel with a strong hand out of the power of Egypt, He chose it to be His spouse, whom He bare on eagles’ wings and brought unto Himself, Exo 19:4. The love of the bride to her Lord and Husband, Israel proved by its following Him as He went before in the wilderness, the land where it is not sown, i.e., followed Him gladly into the parched, barren wilderness. "Thy going after me" is decisive for the question so much debated by commentators, whether חסד and אהבה stand for the love of Israel to its God, or God’s love to Israel. The latter view we find so early as Chrysostom, and still in Rosenm. and Graf; but it is entirely overthrown by the לכתּך  אחרי, which Chrysost. transforms into ποιῆσας ἐξακολουθῆσαι μου, while Graf takes no notice of it. The reasons, too, which Graf, after the example of Rosenm. and Dathe, brings in support of this and against the only feasible exposition, are altogether valueless. The assertion that the facts forbid us to understand the words of the love of Israel to the Lord, because history represents the Israelites, when vixdum Aegypto egressos, as refractarios et ad aliorum deorum cultum pronos, cannot be supported by a reference to Deu 9:6, Deu 9:24; Isa 48:8; Amo 5:25., Psa 106:7. History knows of no apostasy of Israel from its God and no idolatry of the people during the time from the Exodus out of Egypt till the arrival at Sinai, and of this time alone Jeremiah speaks. All the rebellions of Israel against its God fall within the time after the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai, and during the march from Sinai to Canaan. On the way from Egypt to Sinai the people murmured repeatedly, indeed, against Moses; at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh was pursuing with chariots and horsemen (Exo 14:11.); at Marah, where they were not able to drink the water for bitterness (15:24); in the wilderness of Sin, for lack of bread and meat (Jer 16:2.); and at Massah, for want of water (Jer 17:2.). But in all these cases the murmuring was no apostasy from the Lord, no rebellion against God, but an outburst of timorousness and want of proper trust in God, as is abundantly clear from the fact that in all these cases of distress and trouble God straightway brings help, with the view of strengthening the confidence of the timorous people in the omnipotence of His helping grace. Their backsliding from the Lord into heathenism begins with the worship of the golden calf, after the covenant had been entered into at Sinai (Ex 32), and is continued in the revolts on the way from Sinai to the borders of Canaan, at Taberah, at Kibroth-hattaavah (Num 11), in the desert of Paran at Kadesh (Num 13; 20); ); and each time it was severely punished by the Lord.

Neither are we to conclude, with J. D. Mich., that God interprets the journey through the desert in meliorem partem, and makes no mention of their offences and revolts; nor with Graf, that Jeremiah looks steadily away from all that history tells of the march of the Israelites through the desert, of their discontent and refractoriness, of the golden calf and of Baal Peor, and, idealizing the past as contrasted with the much darker present, keeps in view only the brighter side of the old times. Idealizing of this sort is found neither elsewhere in Jeremiah nor in any other prophet; nor is there anything of the kind in our verse, if we take up rightly the sense of it and the thread of the thought. It becomes necessary so to view it, only if we hold the whole forty years’ sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness to be the espousal time, and make the marriage union begin not with the covenanting at Sinai, but with the entrance of Israel into Canaan. Yet more entirely without foundation is the other assertion, that the words rightly given as the sense is, "stand in no connection with the following, since then the point in hand is the people’s forgetfulness of the divine benefits, its thanklessness and apostasy, not at all the deliverances wrought by Jahveh in consideration of its former devotedness." For in Jer 2:2 it is plainly enough told how God remembered to the people its love. Israel was so shielded by Him, as His sanctuary, that whoever touched it must pay the penalty. קדשׁ are all gifts consecrated to Jahveh. The Lord has made Israel a holy offering consecrated to Him in this, that He has separated it to Himself for a סגלּה, for a precious possession, and has chosen it to be a holy people: Exo 19:5.; Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2. We can explain from the Torah of offering the further designation of Israel: his first-fruits; the first of the produce of the soil or yield of the land belonged, as קדשׁ, to the Lord: Exo 23:19; Num 8:8, etc. Israel, as the chosen people of God, as such a consecrated firstling. Inasmuch as Jahveh is Creator and Lord of the whole world, all the peoples are His possession, the harvest of His creation. But amongst the peoples of the earth He has chosen Israel to Himself for a firstling-people (,ראשׁית  הגּוים Amo 6:1), and so pronounced it His sanctuary, not to be profaned by touch. Just as each laic who ate of a firstling consecrated to God incurred guilt, so all who meddled with Israel brought guilt upon their heads. The choice of the verb אכליו is also to be explained from the figure of firstling-offerings. The eating of firstling-fruit is appropriation of it to one’s own use. Accordingly, by the eating of the holy people of Jahveh, not merely the killing and destroying of it is to be understood, but all laying of violent hands on it, to make it a prey, and so all injury or oppression of Israel by the heathen nations. The practical meaning of יאשׁמוּ is given by the next clause: mischief came upon them. The verbs יאשׁמוּ and תּבא dna יא are not futures; for we have here to do not with the future, but with what did take place so long as Israel showed the love of the espousal time to Jahveh. Hence rightly Hitz.: "he that would devour it must pay the penalty." An historical proof of this is furnished by the attack of the Amalekites on Israel and its result, Exo 17:8-15.

But Israel did not remain true to its first love; it has forgotten the benefits and blessings of its God, and has fallen away from Him in rebellion.

Jer 2:4-5 "Hear the word of Jahveh, house of Jacob, and all families of the house of Israel. Jer 2:5. Thus saith Jahveh, What have your fathers found in me of wrongfulness, that they are gone far from me, and have gone after vanity, and are become vain? Jer 2:6. And they said not, Where is Jahveh that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us in the wilderness, in the land of steppes and of pits, in the land of drought and of the shadow of death, in a land that no one passes through and where no man dwells? Jer 2:7. And I brought you into a land of fruitful fields, to eat its fruit and its goodness: and ye came and defiled my land, and my heritage ye have made an abomination. Jer 2:8. The priests said not, Where is Jahveh? and they that handled the law knew me not: the shepherds fell away from me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and after them that profit not are they gone." The rebuke for ungrateful, faithless apostasy is directed against the whole people. The "house of Jacob" is the people of the twelve tribes, and the parallel member, "all families of the house of Israel," is an elucidative apposition. The "fathers" in Jer 2:5 are the ancestors of the now living race onwards from the days of the Judges, when the generation arising after the death of Joshua and his contemporaries forsook the Lord and served the Baals (Jdg 2:10.). עול, perversity, wrongfulness, used also of a single wicked deed in Psa 7:4, the opposite to acting in truth and good faith. Jahveh is a God of faithfulness (אמוּנה); in Him is no iniquity (אין  עול), Deu 32:4. The question, what have they found...? is answered in the negative by Jer 2:6. To remove far from me and follow after vanity, is tantamount to forsaking Jahveh and serving the false gods (Baals), Jdg 2:11. הבל, lit., breath, thence emptiness, vanity, is applied so early as the song of Moses, Deu 32:21, to the false gods, as being nonentities. Here, however, the word means not the gods, but the worship of them, as being groundless and vain; bringing no return to him who devotes himself to it, but making him foolish and useless in thought and deed. By the apostle in Rom 1:21 יהבּלוּ is expressed by ἐματαιώ́θησαν. Cf. 2Ki 17:15, where the second hemistich of our verse is applied to the ten tribes.

Jer 2:6

They said not, Where is Jahveh? i.e., they have no longer taken any thought of Jahveh; have not recalled His benefits, though they owed to Him all they had become and all they possessed. He has brought them out of Egypt, freed them from the house of bondage (Mic 6:4), and saved them from the oppression of the Pharaohs, meant to extirpate them (Exo 3:7.). He has led them through pathless and inhospitable deserts, miraculously furnished them with bread and water, and protected them from all dangers (Deu 8:15). To show the greatness of His benefits, the wilderness is described as parched unfruitful land, as a land of deadly terrors and dangers. ,ארץ  ערבה land of steppes or heaths, corresponds to the land unsown of Jer 2:2. "And of pits," i.e., full of dangerous pits and chasms into which one may stumble unawares. Land of drought, where one may have to pine through thirst. And of the shadow of death: so Sheol is named in Job 10:21 as being a place of deep darkness; here, the wilderness, as a land of the terrors of death, which surround the traveller with darkness as of death: Isa 8:22; Isa 9:1; Job 16:16. A land through which no one passes, etc., i.e., which offers the traveller neither path nor shelter. Through his frightful desert God has brought His people in safety.

Jer 2:7-8

And He has done yet more. He has brought them into a fruitful and well-cultivated land. כּרמל, fruitful fields, the opposite of wilderness, Jer 4:26; Isa 29:17. To eat up its fruit and its good; cf. the enumeration of the fruits and useful products of the land of Canaan, Deu 8:7-9. And this rich and splendid land the ungrateful people have defiled by their sins and vices (cf. Lev 18:24), and idolatry (cf. Eze 36:18); and the heritage of Jahveh they have thus made an abomination, an object of horror. The land of Canaan is called "my heritage," the especial domain of Jahveh, inasmuch as, being the Lord of the earth, He is the possessor of the land and has given it to the Israelites for a possession, yet dwells in the midst of it as its real lord, Num. 25:34. - In Jer 2:8 the complaint briefly given in Jer 2:6 is expanded by an account of the conduct of the higher classes, those who gave its tone to the spirit of the people. The priests, whom God had chosen to be the ministers of His sanctuary, asked not after Him, i.e., sought neither Him nor His sanctuary. They who occupy themselves with the law, who administer the law: these too are the priests as teachers of the law (Mic 3:11), who should instruct the people as to the Lord’s claims on them and commandments (Lev 10:11; Deu 33:10). They knew not Jahveh, i.e., they took no note of Him, did not seek to discover what His will and just claims were, so as to instruct the people therein, and press them to keep the law. The shepherds are the civil authorities, princes and kings (cf. Jer 23:1.): those who by their lives set the example to the people, fell away from the Lord; and the prophets, who should have preached God’s word, prophesied בּבּעל, by Baal, i.e., inspired by Baal. Baal is here a generic name for all false gods; cf. Jer 23:13. ,לא   those who profit not, are the Baals as unreal gods; cf. Isa 44:9; 1Sa 12:21. The utterances as to the various ranks form a climax, as Hitz. rightly remarks. The ministers of public worship manifested no desire towards me; those learned in the law took no knowledge of me, of my will, of the contents of the book of the law; the civil powers went the length of rising up against my law; and the prophets fairly fell away to false gods, took inspiration from Baal, the incarnation of the lying spirit.

Jer 2:9-13

Such backsliding from God is unexampled and appalling. Jer 2:9. "Therefore will I further contend with you, ad with your children’s children will I contend. Jer 2:10. For go over to the islands of the Chittim, and see; and send to Kedar, and observe well, and see if such things have been; Jer 2:11. whether a nation hath changed it gods, which indeed are no gods? but my people hath changed its glory for that which profits not. Jer 2:12 . Be horrified, ye heavens, at this, and shudder, and be sore dismayed, saith Jahveh. Jer 2:13. For double evil hath my people done; me have they forsaken, the fountain of living waters, to hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, the hold no water."

In the preceding verses the fathers were charged with the backsliding from the Lord; in Jer 2:9 punishment is threatened against the now-living people of Israel, and on their children’s children after them. For the people in its successive and even yet future generations constitutes a unity, and in this unity a moral personality. Since the sins of the fathers transmit themselves to the children and remoter descendants, sons and grandsons must pay the penalty of the fathers’ guilt, that is, so long as they share the disposition of their ancestors. The conception of this moral unity is at the foundation of the threatening. That the present race persists in the fathers’ backsliding from the Lord is clearly expressed in Jer 2:17. In "I will further chide or strive," is intimated implicite that God had chidden already up till now, or even earlier with the fathers. ריב, contend, when said of God, is actual striving or chastening with all kinds of punishment. This must God do as the righteous and holy one; for the sin of the people is an unheard of sin, seen in no other people. "The islands of the Chittim" are the isles and coast lands of the far west, as in Eze 27:6; כּתּים having originally been the name for Cyprus and the city of Cition, see in Gen 10:4. In contrast with these distant western lands, Kedar is mentioned as representative of the races of the east. The Kedarenes lived as a pastoral people in the eastern part of the desert between Arabia Petraea and Babylonia; see in Gen 25:13 and Eze 27:21. Peoples in the two opposite regions of the world are individualizingly mentioned instead of all peoples. התבּוננוּ, give good heed, serves to heighten the expression.  אם = הןintroduces the indirect question; cf. Ew. §324, c. The unheard of, that which has happened amongst no people, is put interrogatively for rhetorical effect. Has any heathen nation changed its gods, which indeed are not truly gods? No; no heathen nation has done this; but the people of Jahveh, Israel, has exchanged its glory, i.e., the God who made Himself known to it in His glory, for false gods that are of no profit. כּבוד is the glory in which the invisible God manifested His majesty in the world and amidst His people. Cf. the analogous title given to God,נּאון  ישׂראל Amo 8:7; Hos 5:5. The exact antithesis to כּבודו would be בּשׁת, cf. Jer 3:24; Jer 11:13; but Jeremiah chose  לאto represent the exchange as not advantageous. God showed His glory to the Israelites in the glorious deeds of His omnipotence and grace, like those mentioned in Jer 2:5 and Jer 2:6. The Baals, on the other hand, are not  אלהים, but, אלילים nothings, phantoms without a being, that bring no help or profit to their worshippers. Before the sin of Israel is more fully set forth, the prophet calls on heaven to be appalled at it. The heavens are addressed as that part of the creation where the glory of God is most brightly reflected. The rhetorical aim is seen in the piling up of words. חרב, lit., to be parched up, to be deprived of the life-marrow. Israel has committed two crimes: a. It has forsaken Jahveh, the fountain of living water.  ,מים חיּיםliving water, i.e., water that originates and nourishes life, is a significant figure for God, with whom is the fountain of life (Psa 36:10), i.e., from whose Spirit all life comes. Fountain of living water (here and Jer 17:13) is synonymous with well of life in Pro 10:11; Pro 13:14; Pro 14:27, Sir. 21:13. b. The other sin is this, that they hew or dig out wells, broken, rent, full of crevices, that hold no water. The delineation keeps to the same figure. The dead gods have no life and can dispense no life, just as wells with rents or fissures hold no water. The two sins, the forsaking of the living God and the seeking out of dead gods, cannot really be separated. Man, created by God and for God, cannot live without God. If he forsake the living God, he passes in spite of himself into the service of dead, unreal gods. Forsaking the living God is eo ipso exchanging Him for an imaginary god. The prophet sets the two moments of the apostasy from God side by side, so as to depict to the people with greater fulness of light the enormity of their crime. The fact in Jer 2:11 that no heathen nation changes its gods for others, has its foundation in this, that the gods of the heathen are the creations of men, and that the worship of them is moulded by the carnal-mindedness of sinful man; so that there is less inducement to change, the gods of the different nations being in nature alike. But the true God claims to be worshipped in spirit and in truth, and does not permit the nature and manner of His worship to depend on the fancies of His worshippers; He makes demands upon men that run counter to carnal nature, insisting upon the renunciation of sensual lusts and cravings and the crucifixion of the flesh, and against this corrupt carnal nature rebels. Upon this reason for the fact adduced, Jeremiah does not dwell, but lays stress on the fact itself. This he does with the view of bringing out the distinction, wide as heaven, between the true God and the false gods, to the shaming of the idolatrous people; and in order, at the same time, to scourge the folly of idolatry by giving prominence to the contrast between the glory of God and the nothingness of the idols.

Jer 2:14-19

By this double sin Israel has drawn on its own head all the evil that has befallen it. Nevertheless it will not cease its intriguing with the heathen nations. Jer 2:14. "Is Israel a servant? is he a home-born slave? why is he become a booty? Jer 2:15. Against him roared the young lions, let their voice be heard, and made his land a waste; his cities were burnt up void of inhabitants. Jer 2:16. Also the sons of Noph and Tahpanes feed on the crown of thy head. Jer 2:17. Does not this bring it upon thee, thy forsaking Jahveh thy God, at the time when He led thee on the way? Jer 2:18. And now what hast thou to do with the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Nile? and what with the way to Assur, to drink the waters of the river? Jer 2:19. Thy wickedness chastises thee, and thy backslidings punish thee; then know and see that it is evil and bitter to forsake Jahveh thy God, and to have no fear of me, saith the Lord Jahveh of hosts." The thought from Jer 2:14-16 is this: Israel was plundered and abused by the nations like a slave. To characterize such a fate as in direct contradiction to its destiny is the aim of the question: Is Israel a servant? i.e., a slave or a house-born serf. עבד is he who has in any way fallen into slavery,  יליד  בּיתa slave born in the house of his master. The distinction between these two classes of salves does not consist in the superior value of the servant born in the house by reason of his attachment to the house. This peculiarity is not here thought of, but only the circumstance that the son of a salve, born in the house, remained a slave without any prospect of being set free; while the man who has been forced into slavery by one of the vicissitudes of life might hope again to acquire his freedom by some favourable turn of circumstances. Another failure is the attempt of Hitz. to interpret עבד as servant of Jahveh, worshipper of the true God; for this interpretation, even if we take no account of all the other arguments that make against it, is rendered impossible by .יליד That expression never means the son of the house, but by unfailing usage the slave born in the house of his master. Now the people of Israel had not been born as serf in the land of Jahveh, but had become עבד, i.e., slave, in Egypt (Deu 5:15); but Jahveh has redeemed it from this bondage and made it His people. The questions suppose a state of affairs that did not exist. This is shown by the next question, one expressing wonder: Why then is he it become a prey? Slaves are treated as a prey, but Israel was no slave; why then has such treatment fallen to his lot? Propheta per admirationem quasi de re nova et absurda sciscitatur. An servus est Israel? atqui erat liber prae cunctis gentibus, erat enim filius primogenitus Dei; necesse est igitur quaerere aliam causam, cur adeo miser sit (Calv.). Cf. the similar turn of the thought in Jer 2:31. How Israel became a prey is shown in Jer 2:15 and Jer 2:16. These verses do not treat of future events, but of what has already happened, and, according to Jer 2:18 and Jer 2:19, will still continue. The imperff. ישׁאגוּ and ירעוּך alternate consequently with the perff. נתנוּ and נצּתה, and are governed by היה  לבז, so that they are utterances regarding events of the past, which have been and are still repeated. Lions are a figure that frequently stands for enemies thirsting for plunder, who burst in upon a people or land; cf. Mic 5:7; Isa 5:29, etc. Roared עליו, against him, not, over him: the lion roars when he is about to rush upon his prey, Amo 3:4, Amo 3:8; Psa 104:21; Jdg 14:5; when he has pounced upon it he growls or grumbles over it; cf. Isa 31:4. - In Jer 2:15 the figurative manner passes into plain statement. They made his land a waste; cf. Jer 4:7; Jer 18:16, etc., where instead of שׁית we have the more ordinary שׂוּם. The Cheth. נצּתה from יצת, not from the Ethiop. נצה (Graf, Hitz.), is to be retained; the Keri here, as in Jer 22:6, is an unnecessary correction; cf. Ew. §317, a. In this delineation Jeremiah has in his eye chiefly the land of the ten tribes, which had been ravaged and depopulated by the Assyrians, even although Judah had often suffered partial devastations by enemies; cf. 1Ki 14:25.

Jer 2:20-25

All along Israel has been refractory; it cannot and will not cease from idolatry. Jer 2:20. "For of old time thou hast broken thy yoke, torn off thy bands; and hast said: I will not serve; but upon every high hill, and under every green tree, thou stretchedst thyself as a harlot. Jer 2:21. And I have planted thee a noble vine, all of genuine stock: and how hast thou changed thyself to me into the bastards of a strange vine? Jer 2:22. Even though thou washedst thee with natron and tookest much soap, filthy remains thy guilt before me, saith the Lord Jahveh. Jer 2:23. How canst thou say, I have not defiled me, after the Baals have I not gone? See thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done-thou lightfooted camel filly, entangling her says. Jer 2:24. A wild she-ass used to the wilderness, that in her lust panteth for air; her heat, who shall restrain it? all that seek her run themselves weary; in her month they will find her. Jer 2:25. Keep thy foot from going barefoot, and thy throat from thirst; but thou sayest, It is useless; no; for I have loved strangers, and after them I go." Jer 2:20. מעולם, from eternity, i.e., from immemorial antiquity, has Israel broken the yoke of the divine law laid on it, and torn asunder the bands of decency and order which the commands of God, the ordinances of the Torah, put on, to nurture it to be a holy people of the Lord; torn them as an untamed bullock (Jer 31:18) or a stubborn cow, Hos 4:16. מוסרות, bands, are not the bands or cords of love with which God drew Israel, Hos 11:4 (Graf), but the commands of God whose part it was to keep life within the bounds of purity, and to hold the people back from running riot in idolatry. On this head see Jer 5:5; and for the expression, Psa 2:3. The Masoretes have taken שׁברתי and נתקתי for the 1st person, pointing accordingly, and for אעבוד, as unsuitable to this, they have substituted אעבור. Ewald has decided in favour of these readings; but he is thus compelled to tear the verse to pieces and to hold the text to be defective, since the words from ותּאמרי onwards are not in keeping with what precedes. Even if we translate: I offend transgress not, the thought does not adapt itself well to the preceding; I have of old time broken thy yoke, etc.; nor can we easily reconcile with it the grounding clause; for on every high hill,...thou layest a whoring, where Ew. is compelled to force on כּי the adversative sig. Most commentators, following the example of the lxx and Vulg., have taken the two verbs for 2nd person; and thus is maintained the simple and natural thought that Israel has broken the yoke laid on it by God, renounced allegiance to Him, and practised idolatry on every hand. The spelling ,נתּקתּי ,שׁברתּי i.e., the formation of the 2nd pers. perf. with y, is frequently found in Jer.; cf. Jer 2:33; Jer 3:4; Jer 4:19; Jer 13:21, etc. It is really the fuller original spelling tiy which has been preserved in Aramaic, though seldom found in Hebrew; in Jer. it must be accounted an Aramaism; cf. Ew. §190, c; Gesen. §44, 2, Rem. 4. With the last clause, on every high hill, etc., cf. Hos 4:13 and Eze 6:13 with the comm. on Deu 12:2. Stretchest thyself as a harlot or a whoring, is a vivid description of idolatry. צעה, bend oneself, lie down ad coitum, like κατακλίνεσθαι, inclinari.

Jer 2:26-28

And yet idolatry brings to the people only disgrace, giving no help in the time of need. Jer 2:26. "As a thief is shamed when he is taken, so is the house of Israel put to shame; they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets. Jer 2:27. Because they say to the wood, Thou art my father; and to the stone, Thou hast borne me: for they have turned to me the back and not the face; but in the time of their trouble they say, Arise, and help us. Jer 2:28. Where then are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can help thee in the time of thy trouble; for as many as are thy cities, so many are thy gods, Judah." The thought in Jer 2:26 and Jer 2:27 is this, Israel reaps from its idolatry but shame, as the thief from stealing when he is caught in the act. The comparison in Jer 2:26 contains a universal truth of force at all times. The perf. הובישׁוּ is the timeless expression of certainty (Hitz.), and refers to the past as well as to the future. Just as already in past time, so also in the future, idolatry brings but shame and confusion by the frustration of the hopes placed in the false gods. The "house of Israel" is all Israel collectively, and not merely the kingdom of the ten tribes. To give the greater emphasis to the reproaches, the leading ranks are mentioned one by one. אמרים, not: who say, but because (since) they say to the wood, etc., i.e., because they hold images of wood and stone for the gods to whom they owe life and being; whereas Jahveh alone is their Creator or Father and Genitor, Deu 32:6, Deu 32:18; Isa 64:7; Mal 2:10. אבן is fem., and thus is put for mother. The Keri ילדתּנוּ is suggested solely by the preceding אמרים, while the Chet. is correct, and is to be read ילדתּני, inasmuch as each one severally speaks thus. - With "for they have turned" follows the reason of the statement that Israel will reap only shame from its idolatry. To the living God who has power to help them they turn their back; but when distress comes upon them they cry to Him for help (קוּמה  והושׁיענוּ as in Psa 3:8). But then God will send the people to their gods (idols); then will it discover they will not help, for all so great as their number is. The last clause of Jer 2:28 runs literally: the number of thy cities are thy gods become, i.e., so great is the number of thy gods; cf. Jer 11:13. Judah is here directly addressed, so that the people of Judah may not take for granted that what has been said is of force for the ten tribes only. On the contrary, Judah will experience the same as Israel of the ten tribes did when disaster broke over it.

Jer 2:29-32

Judah has refused to let itself be turned from idolatry either by judgments or by the warnings of the prophets; nevertheless it holds itself guiltless, and believes itself able to turn aside judgment by means of its intrigues with Egypt. Jer 2:29. "Wherefore contend ye against me? ye are all fallen away from me, saith Jahveh. Jer 2:30. In vain have I smitten your sons; correction have they not taken: your sword hath devoured your prophets, like a devouring lion. Jer 2:31. O race that ye are, mark the word of Jahveh. Was I a wilderness to Israel, or a land of dread darkness? Why saith my people, We wander about, come no more to thee? Jer 2:32. Does a maiden forget her ornaments, a bride her girdle? but my people hath forgotten me days without number. Jer 2:33. How finely thou trimmest thy ways to seek love! therefore to misdeeds thou accustomest thy ways. Jer 2:34. Even in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor ones; not at housebreaking hast thou caught them, but by reason of all this. Jer 2:35. And thou sayest, I am innocent, yea His wrath hath turned from me: behold, I will plead at law with thee for that thou hast said, I have not sinned. Jer 2:36. Why runnest thou so hard to change thy way? for Egypt too thou shalt come to shame, as thou wast put to shame for Asshur. Jer 2:37. From this also shalt thou come forth, beating thy hands upon thy head; for Jahveh rejecteth those in whom thou trustest, and thou shalt not prosper with them." The question in Jer 2:29, Wherefore contend ye against me? implies that the people contended with God as to His visitations, murmured at the divine chastisements they had met with; not as to the reproaches addressed to them on account of their idolatry (Hitz., Graf). ריב with אל, contend, dispute against, is used of the murmuring of men against divine visitations, Jer 12:1; Job 33:13. Judah has no ground for discontent with the Lord; for they have all fallen away from Him, and (Jer 2:31) let themselves be turned to repentance neither by afflictions, nor by warnings, nor by God’s goodness to them. לשּׁוא, to vanity, i.e., without effect, or in vain. Hitz. and Graf wish to refer "your sons" to the able-bodied youth who had at different times been slain by Jahveh in war. The lxx seem to have taken it thus, expression לקחוּ by ἐδέξασθε; for the third pers. of the verb will not agree with this acceptation of "your sons," since the reproach of not having taken correction could not apply to such as had fallen in war, but only to those who had escaped. This view is unquestionably incorrect, because, as Hitz. admits the subject, those addressed in לקחוּ, must be the people. Hence it follows of necessity that in בּניכם too the people is meant. The expression is similar to בּני עמּך, Lev 19:18, and is used for the members of the nation, those who constitute the people; or rather it is like בּני יהוּדה, Joe 3:6, where Judah is looked on by the prophet as a unity, where sons are the members of the people. הכּה, too, is not to be limited to those smitten or slain in war. It is used of all the judgments with which God visits His people, of sword, pestilence, famine, failure of crops, drought, and of all kinds of diseases; cf. Lev 26:24., Deu 28:22, Deu 28:27. מוּסר is instruction by word and by warning, as well as correction by chastisement. Most comm. take the not receiving of correction to refer to divine punitive visitations, and to mean refusal to amend after such warning; Ros., on the other hand, holds the reference to be to the warnings and reproofs of the prophets (מוּסר( stehpohic instructionem valet, ut Pro 5:12, Pro 5:23 cet.). But both these references are one-sided. If we refer "correction have they not taken" to divine chastisement by means of judgments, there will be no connection between this and the following clause: your sword devoured your prophets; and we are hindered from restraining the reference wholly to the admonitions and rebukes of the prophets by the close connection of the words with the first part of the verse, a connection indicated by the omission of all particles of transition. We must combine the two references, and understand מוּסר both of the rebukes or warnings of the prophets and of the chastisements of God, holding at the same time that it was the correction of the people by the prophets that Jer. here chiefly kept in view. In administering this correction the prophets not only applied to the hearts of the people as judgments from God all the ills that fell upon them, but declared to the stiff-necked sinners the punishments of God, and by their words showed those punishments to be impending: e.g., Elijah, 1 Kings 17 and 18, 2Ki 1:9.; Elisha, 2Ki 2:23; the prophet at Bethel, 1Ki 13:4. Thus this portion of the verse acquires a meaning for itself, which simplifies the transition from the first to the third clause, and we gain the following thought: I visited you with punishments, and made you to be instructed and reproved by prophets, but ye have slain the prophets who were sent to you. Nehemiah puts it so in Neh 9:26; but Jeremiah uses a much stronger expression, Your sword devoured your prophets like a lion which destroys, in order to set full before the sinners’ eyes the savage hatred of the idolatrous people against the prophets of God. Historical examples of this are furnished by 1Ki 18:4, 1Ki 18:13; 1Ki 19:10; 2Ch 24:21., 2Ki 21:16; Jer 26:23.

The prophet’s indignation grows hotter as he brings into view God’s treatment of the apostate race, and sets before it, to its shame, the divine long-suffering and love. הדּור, O generation ye! English: O generation that ye are! (cf. Ew. §327, a), is the cry of indignation; cf. Deu 32:5, where Moses calls the people a perverse foolish generation. ראוּ: see, observe, give heed to the word of the Lord. This verb is often used of perceptions by any sense, as expressive of that sense by which men apprehend most of the things belonging to the outward world. Have I been for Israel a wilderness, i.e., an unfruitful soil, offering neither means of support nor shelter? This question contains a litotes, and is as much as to say: have not I richly blessed Israel with earthly goods? Or a land of dread darkness? מאפּליה, lit., a darkness sent by Jahveh; cf. the analogous form שׁלהבתיה, Sol 8:6.Ewald, Gram. §270, c, proposes to read with the lxx מאפלּיּה, because (he says) it is nowhere possible, at least not in the language of the prophets, for the name Jah (God) to express merely greatness. But this is not to the point. Although a darkness sent by Jah be a great darkness, it by no means follows that the name Jah is used merely to express greatness. But by תּרדּמת  ; 1Sa 26:12, it is put beyond a doubt that darkness of Jah means a darkness sent or spread out by Jah.

The desert is so called not merely because it is pathless (Job 3:23), but as a land in which the traveller is on all sides surrounded by deadly dangers; cf. Jer 2:6 and Psa 55:5. Why then will His people insist on being quit of Him? We roam about unfettered (as to רוּד, see on Hos 12:1), i.e., we will no longer bear the yoke of His law; cf. Jer 2:20. By a comparison breathing love and longing sadness, the prophet seeks to bring home to the heart of the people a feeling of the unnaturalness of their behaviour towards the Lord their God. Does a bride, then, forget her ornaments? etc. קשׁרים, found besides in Isa 3:20, is the ornamental girdle with which the bride adorns herself on the wedding-day; cf. Isa 3:20 with Isa 49:18. God is His people’s best adornment; to Him it owes all the precious possessions it has. It should keep fast hold of Him as its most priceless treasure, should prize Him more highly than the virgin her jewels, than the bride her girdle. but instead of this it has forgotten its God, and that not for a brief time, but throughout countless days. ימים is accus. of duration of time. Jeremiah uses this figure besides, as Calv. observed, to pave the way for what comes next. Volebat enim Judaeos conferre mulieribus adulteris, quae dum feruntur effreni sua libidine, rapiuntur post suos vagos amores.

Jer 2:33-34

In Jer 2:33 the style of address is ironical. How good thou makest thy way! i.e., how well thou knowest to choose out and follow the right way to seek love. היטיב  דּרך sig. usually: strive after a good walk and conversation; cf. Jer 7:3, Jer 7:5; Jer 18:11, etc.; here, on the other hand, to take the right way for gaining the end in view. "Love" here is seen from the context to be love to the idols, intrigues with the heathen and their gods. Seek love = strive to gain the love of the false gods. To attain this end thou hast taught thy ways misdeeds, i.e., accustomed thy ways to misdeeds, forsaken the commandments of thy God which demand righteousness and the purifying of one’s life, and accommodated thyself to the immoral practices of the heathen. הרעות, with the article as in Jer 3:5, the evil deeds which are undisguisedly visible; not: the evils, the misfortunes which follow thee closely, as Hitz. interprets in the face of the context. For in Jer 2:34 we have indisputable evidence that the matter in hand is not evils and misfortunes, but evil deeds or misdemeanours; since there the cleaving of the blood of innocent souls to the hems of the garments is mentioned as one of the basest "evils," and as such is introduced by the גּם of gradation. The "blood of souls" is the blood of innocent murdered men, which clings to the skirts of the murderers’ clothes. כּנפים are the skirts of the flowing garment, Eze 5:3; 1Sa 15:27; Zec 8:23. The plural נמצאוּ before דּם is explained by the fact that נפשׁות is the principal idea. אביונים are not merely those who live in straitened circumstances, but pious oppressed ones as contrasted with powerful transgressors and oppressors; cf. Ps. 40:18; Psa 72:13., Psa 86:1-2, etc. By the next clause greater prominence is given to the fact that they were slain being innocent. The words: not בּמּחתּרת, at housebreaking, thou tookest them, contain an allusion to the law in Exo 22:1 and onwards; according to which the killing of a thief caught in the act of breaking in was not a cause of blood-guiltiness. The thought runs thus: The poor ones thou hast slain were no thieves or robbers whom thou hadst a right to slay, but guiltless pious men; and the killing of them is a crime worthy of death. Exo 21:12. The last words כּי  על  כּל־אלּה are obscure, and have been very variously interpreted. Changes upon the text are not to the purpose. For we get no help from the reading of the lxx, of the Syr. and Arab., which seem to have read אלּה as אלה, and which have translated δρυΐ́ oak or terebinth; since "upon every oak" gives no rational meaning. Nor from the connection of the words with the next verse (Venem., Schnur., Ros., and others): yet with all this, or in spite of all this, thou saidst; since neither does כּי mean yet, nor can the ו before תאמרי, in this connection, introduce the sequel thought. The words manifestly belong to what goes before, and contain a contrast: not in breaking in by night thou tookest them, but upon, or on account of all this. על in the sig. upon gives a suitable sense only if, with Abarb., Ew., Näg., we refer אלּה to בּכנפיך and take מצאתים as 1st pers.: I found it (the blood of the slain souls) not on the place where the murder took place, but upon all these, sc. lappets of the clothes, i.e., borne openly for display. But even without dwelling on the fact that מחתּרת does not mean the scene of a murder or breaking in, this explanation is wrecked on the unmistakeably manifest allusion to the law, אם  בּמּחתּרת  ימּצא  הגּנּב, Exo 21:1, which is ignored, or at least obscured, by that view. The allusion to this passage of the law shows that מצאתים is not 1st but 2nd pers., and that the suffix refers to the innocent poor who were slain. Therefore, with Hitz. and Graf, we take על  כּל־  אלּה in the sig. "on account of all this," and refer the "all this" to the idolatry before mentioned. Consequently the words bear this meaning: Not for a crime thou killedst the poor, but because of thine apostasy from God and thy fornication with the idols, their blood cleaves to thy raiment. the words seem, as Calv. surmised, to point to the persecution and slaying of the prophets spoken of in Jer 2:30, namely, to the innocent blood with which the godless king Manasseh filled Jerusalem, 2Ki 21:16; 2Ki 24:4; seeking as he did to crush out all opposition to the abominations of idolatry, and finding in his way the prophets and the godly of the land, who by their words and their lives lifted up their common testimony against the idolaters and their abandoned practices.

Jer 2:35

Yet withal the people holds itself to be guiltless, and deludes itself with the belief that God’s wrath has turned away from it, because it has for long enjoyed peace, and because the judgment of devastation of the land by enemies, threatened by the earlier prophets, had not immediately received its fulfilment. For this self-righteous confidence in its innocence, God will contend with His people (אותך for אתּך as in Jer 1:16).

Jer 2:36

Yet in spite of its proud security Judah seeks to assure itself against hostile attacks by the eager negotiation of alliances. This thought is the link between Jer 2:35 and the reproach of Jer 2:36. Why runnest thou to change thy way? תּזלּי for תּאזלי, from אזל, go, with מאד, go impetuously or with strength, i.e., go in haste, run; cf. 1Sa 20:19. To change, shift (שׁנּות) one’s way, is to take another way than that on which one has hitherto gone. The prophet’s meaning is clear from the second half of the verse: "for Egypt, too, wilt thou come to shame, as for Assyria thou hast come to shame." Changing they way, is ceasing to seek help from Assyria in order to form close relations with Egypt. The verbs תּבשׁי and בּשׁתּ show that the intrigues for the favour of Assyria belong to the past, for the favour of Egypt to the present. Judah was put to shame in regard to Assyria under Ahaz, 2Ch 28:21; and after the experience of Assyria it had had under Hezekiah and Manasseh, there could be little more thought of looking for help thence. But what could have made Judah under Josiah, in the earlier days of Jeremiah, to seek an alliance with Egypt, considering that Assyria was at that time already nearing its dissolution? Graf is therefore of opinion that the prophet is here keeping in view the political relations in the days of Jehoiakim, in which and for which time he wrote his book, rather than those of Josiah’s times, when the alliance with Asshur was still in force; and that he has thus in passing cast a stray glance into a time influenced by later events. But the opinion that in Josiah’s time the alliance with Asshur was still existing cannot be historically proved. Josiah’s invitation to the passover of all those who remained in what had been the kingdom of the ten tribes, does not prove that he exercised a kind of sovereignty over the provinces that had formerly belonged to the kingdom of Israel, a thing he could have done only as vassal of Assyria; see against this view the remarks on 2Ki 23:15. As little does his setting himself against the now mighty Pharaoh Necho at Mediggo show clearly that he remained faithful to the alliance with Asshur in spite of the disruption of the Assyrian empire; see against this the remarks on 2Ki 23:29. Historically only thus much is certain, that Jehoiakim was raised to the throne by Pharaoh Necho, and that he was a vassal of Egypt. During the period of this subjection the formation of alliances with Egypt was for Judah out of the question. Such a case could happen only when Jehoiakim had become subject to the Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar, and was cherishing the plan of throwing off the Chaldean yoke. But the reference of the words to this design is devoid of the faintest probability, Jer 2:35 and Jer 2:36; and the discourse throughout is far from giving the impression that Judah had already lost its political independence; they rather imply that the kingdom was under the sway neither of Assyrians nor Egyptians, but was still politically independent. We may very plausibly refer to Josiah’s time the resolution to give up all trust in the assistance of Assyria and to court the favour of Egypt. We need not seek for the outward inducement to this in the recognition of the beginning decline of the Assyrian power; it might equally well lie in the growth of the Egyptian state. that the power of Egypt had made considerable progress in the reign of Josiah, is made clear by Pharaoh Necho’s enterprise against Assyria in the last year of Josiah, from Necho’s march towards the Euphrates. Josiah’s setting himself in opposition to the advance of the Egyptians, which cost him his life at Megiddo, neither proves that Judah was then allied with Assyria nor excludes the possibility of intrigues for Egypt’s favour having already taken place. It is perfectly possible that the taking of Manasseh a captive to Babylon by Assyrian generals may have shaken the confidence in Assyria of the idolatrous people of Judah, and that, their thoughts turning to Egypt, steps may have been taken for paving the way towards an alliance with this great power, even although the godly king Josiah took no part in these proceedings. The prophets’ warning against confidence in Egypt and against courting its alliance, is given in terms so general that it is impossible to draw any certain conclusions either with regard to the principles of Josiah’s government or with regard to the circumstances of the time which Jeremiah was keeping in view.

Jer 2:37

Also from this, i.e., Egypt, shalt thou go away (come back), thy hands upon thy head, i.e., beating them on thy head in grief and dismay (cf. for this gesture 2Sa 13:19). זה refers to Egypt, thought of as a people as in Jer 46:8; Isa 19:16, Isa 19:25; and thus is removed Hitz.'s objection, that in that case we must have מבטחים .זאת, objects of confidence. The expression refers equally to Egypt and to Assyria. As God has broken the power of Assyria, so will He also overthrow Egypt’s might, thus making all trust in it a shame. להם, in reference to them.

Jeremiah's First Message; The Divine Goodness to Israel. (b. c. 629.)

1 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord ; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 3 Israel was holiness unto the Lord , and the first-fruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord . 4 Hear ye the word of the Lord , O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: 5 Thus saith the Lord , What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? 6 Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? 7 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. 8 The priests said not, Where is the Lord ? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

Here is, I. A command given to Jeremiah to go and carry a message from God to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He was charged in general (ch. i. 17) to go and speak to them; here he is particularly charged to go and speak this to them. Note, It is good for ministers by faith and prayer to take out a fresh commission when they address themselves solemnly to any part of their work. Let a minister carefully compare what he has to deliver with the word of God, and see that it agrees with it, that he may be able to say, not only, The Lord sent me, but, He sent me to speak this. He must go from Anathoth, where he lived in a pleasant retirement, spending his time (it is likely) among a few friends and in the study of the law, and must make his appearance at Jerusalem, that noisy tumultuous city, and cry in their ears, as a man in earnest and that would be heard: "Cry aloud, that all may hear, and none may plead ignorance. Go close to them, and cry in the ears of those that have stopped their ears."

II. The message he was commanded to deliver. He must upbraid them with their horrid ingratitude in forsaking a God who had been of old so kind to them, that this might either make them ashamed and bring them to repentance, or might justify God in turning his hand against them.

1. God here puts them in mind of the favours he had of old bestowed upon them, when they were first formed into a people (v. 2): "I remember for thy sake, and I would have thee to remember it, and improve the remembrance of it for thy good; I cannot forget the kindness of thy youth and the love of thy espousals."

(1.) This may be understood of the kindness they had for God; it was not such indeed as they had any reason to boast of, or to plead with God for favour to be shown them (for many of them were very unkind and provoking, and, when they did return and enquire early after God, they did but flatter him), yet God is pleased to mention it, and plead it with them; for, though it was but little love that they showed him, he took it kindly. When they believed the Lord and his servant Moses, when they sang God's praise at the Red Sea, when at the foot of Mount Sinai they promised, All that the Lord shall say unto us we will do and will be obedient, then was the kindness of their youth and the love of their espousals. When they seemed so forward for God he said, Surely they are my people, and will be faithful to me, children that will not lie. Note, Those that begin well and promise fair, but do not perform and persevere, will justly be upbraided with their hopeful and promising beginnings. God remembers the kindness of our youth and the love of our espousals, the zeal we then seemed to have for him and the affection wherewith we made our covenants with him, the buds and blossoms that never came to perfection; and it is good for us to remember them, that we may remember whence we have fallen, and return to our first love, Rev. ii. 4, 5; Gal. iv. 15. In two things appeared the kindness of their youth:—[1.] That they followed the direction of the pillar of cloud and fire in the wilderness; and though sometimes they spoke of returning into Egypt, or pushing forward into Canaan, yet they did neither, but for forty years together went after God in the wilderness, and trusted him to provide for them, though it was a land that was not sown. This God took kindly, and took notice of it to their praise long after, that, though much was amiss among them, yet they never forsook the guidance they were under. Thus, though Christ often chid his disciples, yet he commended them, at parting, for continuing with him, Luke xxii. 28. It must be the strong affection of the youth, and the espousals, that will carry us on to follow God in a wilderness, with an implicit faith and an entire resignation; and it is a pity that those who have so followed him should ever leave him. [2.] That they entertained divine institutions, set up the tabernacle among them, and attended the service of it. Israel was then holiness to the Lord; they joined themselves to him in covenant as a peculiar people. Thus they began in the spirit, and God puts them in mind of it, that they might be ashamed of ending in the flesh.

(2.) Or it may be understood of God's kindness to them; of that he afterwards speaks largely. When Israel was a child, then I loved him, Hos. xi. 1. He then espoused that people to himself with all the affection with which a young man marries a virgin (Isaiah lxii. 5), for the time was a time of love, Ezek. xvi. 8. [1.] God appropriated them to himself. Though they were a sinful people, yet, by virtue of the covenant made with them and the church set up among them, they were holiness to the Lord, dedicated to his honour and taken under his special tuition; they were the first fruits of his increase, the first constituted church he had in the world; they were the first-fruits, but the full harvest was to be gathered from among the Gentiles. The first-fruits of the increase were God's part of it, were offered to him, and he was honoured with them; so were the people of the Jews; what little tribute, rent, and homage, God had from the world, he had it chiefly from them; and it was their honour to be thus set apart for God. This honour have all the saints; they are the first-fruits of his creatures, Jam. i. 18. [2.] Having espoused them, he espoused their cause, and became an enemy to their enemies, Exod. xxiii. 22. Being the first-fruits of his increase, all that devoured him (so it should be read) did offend; they trespassed, they contracted guilt, and evil befel them, as those were reckoned offenders that devoured the first-fruits, or any thing else that was holy to the Lord, that embezzled them, or converted them to their own use, Lev. v. 15. Whoever offered any injury to the people of God did so at their peril; their God was ready to avenge their quarrel, and said to the proudest of kings, Touch not my anointed, Ps. cv. 14, 15; Exod. xvii. 14. He had in a special manner a controversy with those that attempted to debauch them and draw them off from being holiness to the Lord; witness his quarrel with the Midianites about the matter of Peor, Num. xxv. 17, 18. [3.] He brought them out of Egypt with a high hand and great terror (Deut. iv. 34), and yet with a kind hand and great tenderness led them through a vast howling wilderness (v. 6), a land of deserts and pits, or of graves, terram sepulchralem—a sepulchral land, where there was ground, not to feed them, but to bury them, where there was no good to be expected, for it was a land of drought, but all manner of evil to be feared, for it was the shadow of death. In that darksome valley they walked forty years; but God was with them; his rod, in Moses's hand, and his staff, comforted them, and even there God prepared a table for them (Ps. xxiii. 4, 5), gave them bread out of the clouds and drink out of the rocks. It was a land abandoned by all mankind, as yielding neither road nor rest. It was no thoroughfare, for no man passed through it—no settlement, for no man dwelt there. For God will teach his people to tread untrodden paths, to dwell alone, and to be singular. The difficulties of the journey are thus insisted on, to magnify the power and goodness of God in bringing them, through all, safely to their journey's end at last. All God's spiritual Israel must own their obligations to him for a safe conduct through the wilderness of this world, no less dangerous to the soul than that was to the body. [4.] At length he settled them in Canaan (v. 7): I brought you into a plentiful country, which would be the more acceptable after they had been for so many years in a land of drought. They did eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof, and were allowed so to do. I brought you into a land of Carmel (so the word is); Carmel was a place of extraordinary fruitfulness, and Canaan was as one great fruitful field, Deut. viii. 7. [5.] God gave them the means of knowledge and grace, and communion with him; this is implied, v. 8. They had priests that handled the law, read it, and expounded it to them; that was part of their business, Deut. xxxiii. 8. They had pastors, to guide them and take care of their affairs, magistrates and judges; they had prophets to consult God for them and to make known his mind to them.

2. He upbraids them with their horrid ingratitude, and the ill returns they had made him for these favours; let them all come and answer to this charge (v. 4); it is exhibited in the name of God against all the families of the house of Israel, for they can none of them plead, Not guilty. (1.) He challenges them to produce any instance of his being unjust and unkind to them. Though he had conferred favours upon them in some things, yet, if in other things he had dealt hardly with them, they would not have been altogether without excuse. He therefore puts it fairly to them to show cause for their deserting him (v. 5): "What iniquity have your fathers found in me, or you either? Have you, upon trial, found God a hard master? Have his commands put any hardship upon you or obliged you to any thing unfit, unfair, or unbecoming you? Have his promises put any cheats upon you, or raised your expectations of things which you were afterwards disappointed of? You that have renounced your covenant with God, can you say that it was a hard bargain and that which you could not live upon? You that have forsaken the ordinances of God, can you say that it was because they were a wearisome service, or work that there was nothing to be got by? No; the disappointments you have met with were owing to yourselves, not to God. The yoke of his commandments is easy, and in the keeping of them there is great reward." Note, Those that forsake God cannot say that he has ever given them any provocation to do so: for this we may safely appeal to the consciences of sinners; the slothful servant that offered such a plea as this had it overruled out of his own mouth, Luke xix. 22. Though he afflicts us, we cannot say that there is iniquity in him; he does us no wrong. The ways of the Lord are undoubtedly equal; all the iniquity is in our ways. (2.) He charges them with being very unjust and unkind to him notwithstanding. [1.] They had quitted his service: "They have gone from me, nay, they have gone far from me." They studied how to estrange themselves from God and their duty, and got as far as they could out of the reach of his commandments and their own convictions. Those that have deserted religion commonly set themselves at a greater distance from it, and in a greater opposition to it, than those that never knew it. [2.] They had quitted it for the service of idols, which was so much the greater reproach to God and his service; they went from him, not to better themselves, but to cheat themselves: They have walked after vanity, that is, idolatry; for an idol is a vain thing; it is nothing in the world, 1 Cor. viii. 4; Deut. xxxii. 21; Jer. xiv. 22. Idolatrous worships are vanities, Acts xiv. 15. Idolaters are vain, for those that make idols are like unto them (Ps. cxv. 8), as much stocks and stones as the images they worship, and good for as little. [3.] They had with idolatry introduced all manner of wickedness. When they entered into the good land which God gave them they defiled it (v. 7), by defiling themselves and disfitting themselves for the service of God. It was God's land; they were but tenants to him, sojourners in it, Lev. xxv. 23. It was his heritage, for it was a holy land, Immanuel's land; but they made it an abomination, even to God himself, who was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel. [4.] Having forsaken God, though they soon found that they had changed for the worse, yet they had no thoughts of returning to him again, nor took any steps towards it. Neither the people nor the priests made any enquiry after him, took any thought about their duty to him, nor expressed any desire to recover his favour. First, The people said not, Where is the Lord? v. 6. Though they were trained up in an observance of him as their God, and had been often told that he brought them out of the land of Egypt, to be a people peculiar to himself, yet they never asked after him nor desired the knowledge of his ways. Secondly, The priests said not, Where is the Lord? v. 8. Those whose office it was to attend immediately upon him were in no concern to acquaint themselves with him, or approve themselves to him. Those who should have instructed the people in the knowledge of God took no care to get the knowledge of him themselves. The scribes, who handled the law, did not know God nor his will, could not expound the scriptures at all, or not aright. The pastors, who should have kept the flock from transgressing, were themselves ringleaders in transgression: They have transgressed against me. The pretenders to prophecy prophesied by Baal, in his name, to his honour, being backed and supported by the wicked kings to confront the Lord's prophets. Baal's prophets joined with Baal's priests, and walked after the things which do not profit, that is, after the idols which can be no way helpful to their worshippers. See how the best characters are usurped, and the best offices liable to corruption; and wonder not at the sin and ruin of a people when the blind are leaders of the blind.

Expostulations with Israel. (b. c. 629.)

9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord , and with your children's children will I plead. 10 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. 11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. 12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord . 13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

The prophet, having shown their base ingratitude in forsaking God, here shows their unparalleled fickleness and folly (v. 9): I will yet plead with you. Note, Before God punishes sinners he pleads with them, to bring them to repentance. Note, further, When much has been said of the evil of sin, still there is more to be said; when one article of the charge is made good, there is another to be urged; when we have said a great deal, still we have yet to speak on God's behalf, Job xxxvi. 2. Those that deal with sinners, for their conviction, must urge a variety of arguments and follow their blow. God had before pleaded with their fathers, and asked why they walked after vanity and became vain, v. 5. Now he pleads with those who persisted in that vain conversation received by tradition from their fathers, and with their children's children, that is, with all that in every age tread in their steps. Let those that forsake God know that he is willing to argue the case fairly with them, that he may be justified when he speaks. He pleads that with us which we should plead with ourselves.

I. He shows that they acted contrary to the usage of all nations. Their neighbours were more firm and faithful to their false gods than they were to the true God. They were ambitious of being like the nations, and yet in this they were unlike them. He challenges them to produce an instance of any nation that had changed their gods (v. 10, 11) or were apt to change them. Let them survey either the old records or the present state of the isles of Chittim, Greece, and the European islands, the countries that were more polite and learned, and of Kedar, that lay south-east (as the other north-west from them), which were more rude and barbarous; and they should not find an instance of a nation that had changed their gods, though they had never done them any kindness, nor could do, for they were no gods. Such a veneration had they for their gods, so good an opinion of them, and such a respect for the choice their fathers had made, that though they were gods of wood and stone they would not change them for gods of silver and gold, no, not for the living and true God. Shall we praise them for this? We praise them not. But it may well be urged, to the reproach of Israel, that they, who were the only people that had no cause to change their God, were yet the only people that had changed him. Note, Men are with difficulty brought off from that religion which they have been brought up in, though ever so absurd and grossly false. The zeal and constancy of idolaters should shame Christians out of their coldness and inconstancy.

II. He shows that they acted contrary to the dictates of common sense, in that they not only changed (it may sometimes be our duty and wisdom to do so), but that they changed for the worse, and made a bad bargain for themselves. 1. They parted from a God who was their glory, who made them truly glorious and every way put honour upon them, one whom they might with a humble confidence glory in as theirs, who is himself a glorious God and the glory of those whose God he is; he was particularly the glory of his people Israel, for his glory had often appeared on their tabernacle. 2. They closed with gods that could do them no good, gods that do not profit their worshippers. Idolaters change God's glory into shame (Rom. i. 23) and so they do their own; in dishonouring him, they disgrace and disparage themselves, and are enemies to their own interest. Note, Whatever those turn to who forsake God, it will never do them any good; it will flatter them and please them, but it cannot profit them. Heaven itself is here called upon to stand amazed at the sin and folly of these apostates from God (v. 12, 13): Be astonished, O you heavens! at this. The earth is so universally corrupt that it will take no notice of it; but let the heavens and heavenly bodies be astonished at it. Let the sun blush to see such ingratitude and be afraid to shine upon such ungrateful wretches. Those that forsook God worshipped the host of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars; but these, instead of being pleased with the adorations that were paid to them, were astonished and horribly afraid; and would rather have been very desolate, utterly exhausted (as the word is) and deprived of their light, than that it should have given occasion to any to worship them. Some refer it to the angels of heaven; if they rejoice at the return of souls to God, we may suppose that they are astonished and horribly afraid at the revolt of souls from him. The meaning is that the conduct of this people towards God was, (1.) Such as we may well be astonished and wonder at, that ever men, who pretend to reason, should do a thing so very absurd. (2.) Such as we ought to have a holy indignation at as impious, and a high affront to our Maker, whose honour every good man is jealous for. (3.) Such as we may tremble to think of the consequences of. What will be in the end hereof? Be horribly afraid to think of the wrath and curse which will be the portion of those who thus throw themselves out of God's grace and favour. Now what is it that is to be thought of with all this horror? It is this: "My people, whom I have taught and should have ruled, have committed two great evils, ingratitude and folly; they have acted contrary both to their duty and to their interest." [1.] They have affronted their God, by turning their back upon him, as if he were not worthy their notice: "They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, in whom they have an abundant and constant supply of all the comfort and relief they stand in need of, and have it freely." God is their fountain of life, Ps. xxxvi. 9. There is in him an all-sufficiency of grace and strength; all our springs are in him and our streams from him; to forsake him is, in effect, to deny this. He has been to us a bountiful benefactor, a fountain of living waters, over-flowing, ever-flowing, in the gifts of his favour; to forsake him is to refuse to acknowledge his kindness and to withhold that tribute of love and praise which his kindness calls for. [2.] They have cheated themselves, they forsook their own mercies, but it was for lying vanities. They took a great deal of pains to hew themselves out cisterns, to dig pits or pools in the earth or rock which they would carry water to, or which should receive the rain; but they proved broken cisterns, false at the bottom, so that they could hold no water. When they came to quench their thirst there they found nothing but mud and mire, and the filthy sediments of a standing lake. Such idols were to their worshippers, and such a change did those experience who turned from God to them. If we make an idol of any creature-wealth, or pleasure, or honour,—if we place our happiness in it, and promise ourselves the comfort and satisfaction in it which are to be had in God only,—if we make it our joy and love, our hope and confidence, we shall find it a cistern, which we take a great deal of pains to hew out and fill, and at the best it will hold but a little water, and that dead and flat, and soon corrupting and becoming nauseous. Nay, it is a broken cistern, that cracks and cleaves in hot weather, so that the water is lost when we have most need of it, Job vi. 15. Let us therefore with purpose of heart cleave to the Lord only, for whither else shall we go? He has the words of eternal life.

Expostulations with Israel. (b. c. 629.)

14 Is Israel a servant? is he a home-born slave? why is he spoiled? 15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. 16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head. 17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way? 18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? 19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.

The prophet, further to evince the folly of their forsaking God, shows them what mischiefs they had already brought upon themselves by so doing; it had already cost them dear, for to this were owing all the calamities their country was now groaning under, which were but an earnest of more and greater if they repented not. See how they smarted for their folly.

I. Their neighbours, who were their professed enemies, prevailed against them, and this was owing to their sin. 1. They were enslaved and lost their liberty (v. 14): Is Israel a servant? No; Israel is my son, my first-born, Exod. iv. 22. They are children; they are heirs. Nay, their extraction is noble; they are the seed of Abraham, God's friend, and of Jacob his chosen. Is he a home-born slave? No; he is not the son of the bond-woman, but of the free. They were designed for dominion, not for servitude. Every thing in their constitution carried about it the marks of freedom and honour. Why then is he spoiled of his liberty? Why is he used as a servant, as a home-born slave? Why does he make himself a slave to his lusts, to his idols, to that which does not profit? v. 11. What a thing is this, that such a birthright should be sold for a mess of pottage, such a crown profaned and laid in the dust! Why is he made a slave to the oppressor? God provided that a Hebrew servant should be free the seventh year, and that their slaves should be of the heathen, not of their brethren, Lev. xxv. 44, 46. But, notwithstanding this, the princes made slaves of their subjects, and masters made slaves of their servants (ch. xxxiv. 11), and so made their country mean and miserable, which God had made happy and honourable. The neighbouring princes and powers broke in upon them, and made some of them slaves even in their own country, and perhaps sold others for slaves into foreign countries. And how came they thus to lose their liberties? For their iniquities they sold themselves, Isa. l. 1. We may apply this spiritually. Is the soul of man a servant? Is it a home-born slave? No, it is not. Why then is it spoiled? It is because it has sold its own liberty and enslaved itself to divers lusts and passions, which is a lamentation, and should be for a lamentation. 2. They were impoverished and had lost their wealth. God brought them into a plentiful country (v. 7), but all their neighbours made a prey of it (v. 15): Young lions roar aloud over him and yell; they are a continual terror to him. Sometimes one potent enemy, and sometimes another, and sometimes many in confederacy, fall upon him, and triumph over him. They carry off the fruits of his land, and make that waste, and burn his cities, when first they have plundered them, so that they remain without inhabitant, either because there are no houses to dwell in or because those that should dwell in them are carried into captivity. 3. They were abused, and insulted over, and beaten by every body (v. 16): "Even the children of Noph and Tahapanes, despicable people, not famed for military courage nor strength, have broken the crown of thy head, or fed upon it. In all their struggles with thee they have been too hard for thee, and thou hast always come off with a broken head. The principal part of thy country, that which lay next Jerusalem, has been and is a prey to them." How calamitous the condition of Judah had been of late in the reign of Manasseh we find, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11, and perhaps it had not now much recovered itself. 4. All this was owing to their sin (v. 17): Hast thou not procured this unto thyself? By their sinful confederacies with the nations, and especially their conformity to them in their idolatrous customs and usages, they had made themselves very mean and contemptible, as all those do that have made a profession of religion and afterwards throw it off. Nothing now appeared of that which, by their constitution, made them both honourable and formidable, and therefore nobody either respected them or feared them. But this was not all; they had provoked God to give them up into the hands of their enemies, and to make them a scourge to them and give them success against them; and "thus thou hast procured it to thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, revolted from thy allegiance to him and so thrown thyself out of his protection; for protection and allegiance go together." Whatever trouble we are in at any time we may thank ourselves for it; for we bring it upon our own head by our forsaking God: "Thou hast forsaken thy God at the time that he was leading thee by the way" (so it should be read); "Then when he was leading thee on to a happy peace and settlement, and thou wast within a step of it, then thou forsookest him, and so didst put a bar in thy own door."

II. Their neighbours, that were their pretended friends, deceived them, distressed them, and helped them not, and this also was owing to their sin. 1. They did in vain seek to Egypt and Assyria for help (v. 18): "What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt? When thou art under apprehensions of danger thou art running to Egypt for help, Isa. xxx. 1, 2; xxxi. 1. Thou art for drinking the waters of Sihor," that is, Nilus. "Thou reliest upon their multitude, and refreshest thy self with the fair promises they make thee. At other times thou art in the way of Assyria, sending or going with all speed to fetch recruits thence, and thinkest to satisfy thyself with the waters of the river Euphrates; what hast thou to do there? What wilt thou get by applying to them? They shall help in vain, shall be broken reeds to thee, and what thou thoughtest would be to thee as a river will be but a broken cistern." 2. This also was because of their sin. The judgment shall unavoidably come upon them which their sin has deserved; and then to what purpose is it to call in help against it? v. 19. "Thy own wickedness shall correct thee, and then it is impossible for them to save thee; know and see therefore, upon the whole matter, that it is an evil thing that thou hast forsaken God, for it is that which makes thy enemies enemies indeed, and thy friends friends in vain." Observe here, (1.) The nature of sin; it is forsaking the Lord as our God; it is the soul's alienation from him and aversion to him. Cleaving to sin is leaving God. (2.) The cause of sin; it is because his fear is not in us. It is for want of a good principle in us, particularly for want of the fear of God; this is at the bottom of our apostasy from him; men forsake their duty to God because they stand in no awe of him nor have any dread of his displeasure. (3.) The malignity of sin; it is an evil thing and a bitter. Sin is an evil thing, only evil, an evil that has no good in it, an evil that is the root and cause of all other evil; it is evil indeed, for it is not only the greatest contrariety to the divine nature, but the greatest corruption of the human nature. It is bitter; a state of sin is the gall of bitterness, and every sinful way will be bitterness in the latter end; the wages of it is death, and death is bitter. (4.) The fatal consequences of sin; as it is in itself evil and bitter, so it has a direct tendency to make us miserable: "Thy own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee, not only destroy and ruin thee hereafter, but correct and reprove thee now; they will certainly bring trouble upon thee; and punishment will so inevitably follow the sin that the sin shall itself be said to punish thee. Nay, the punishment, in its kind and circumstances, shall so directly answer to the sin, that thou mayest read the sin in the punishment; and the justice of the punishment shall be so plain that thou shalt not have a word to say for thyself; thy own wickedness shall convince thee and stop thy mouth for ever and thou shalt be forced to own that the Lord is righteous." (5.) The use and application of all this: "Know therefore, and see it, and repent of thy sin, that so the iniquity which is thy correction may not be thy ruin."

Expostulations with Israel. (b. c. 629.)

20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. 21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? 22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God . 23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; 24 A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her. 25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go. 26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, 27 Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us. 28 But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.

In these verses the prophet goes on with his charge against this backsliding people. Observe here,

I. The sin itself that he charges them with—idolatry, that great provocation which they were so notoriously guilty of. 1. They frequented the places of idol-worship (v. 20): "Upon every high hill and under every green tree, in the high places and the groves, such as the heathen had a foolish fondness and veneration for, thou wanderest, first to one and then to another, like one unsettled, and still uneasy and unsatisfied; but in all playing the harlot," worshipping false gods, which is spiritual whoredom, and was commonly accompanied with corporal whoredom too. Note, Those that leave God wander endlessly, and a vagrant lust is insatiable. 2. They made images for themselves, and gave divine honour to them (v. 26, 27); not only the common people, but even the kings and princes, who should have restrained the people from doing ill, and the priests and prophets, who should have taught them to do well, were themselves so wretchedly sottish and stupid, and under the power of such a strong delusion, as to say to a stock, "Thou art my father (that is, Thou art my god, the author of my being, to whom I owe duty and on whom I have a dependence)," and to a stone, to an idol made of stone, "Thou hast begotten me, or brought me forth; therefore protect me, provide for me, and bring me up." What greater affront could men put upon God, who is our Father that has made us? It was a downright disowning of their obligations to him. What greater affront could men put upon themselves and their own reason than to acknowledge that which is in itself absurd and impossible, and, by making stocks and stones their parents, to make themselves no better than stocks and stones? When these were first made the objects of worship they were supposed to be animated by some celestial power or spirit; but by degrees the thought of this was lost, and so vain did idolaters become in their imagination, even the princes and priests themselves, that the very idol, though made of wood and stone, was supposed to be their father, and adored accordingly. 3. They multiplied these dunghill deities endlessly (v. 28): According to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah! When they had forsaken that God who is one, and all-sufficient for all, (1.) They were not satisfied with any gods they had, but still desired more, that idolatry being in this respect of the same nature with covetousness, which is spiritual idolatry (for the more men have the more they would have), which is a plain evidence that what men make an idol of they find to be insufficient and unsatisfying, and that it cannot make the comers thereunto perfect. (2.) They could not agree in the same god. Having left the centre of unity, they fell into endless discord; one city fancied one deity and another another, and each was anxious to have one of its own to be near them and to take special care of them. Thus did they in vain seek that in many gods which is to be found in one God only.

II. The proof of this. No witnesses need be called; it is proved by the notorious evidence of the facts. 1. They went about to deny it, and were ready to plead, Not guilty. They pretended that they would acquit themselves from this guilt, they washed themselves with nitre, and took much soap, offered many things in excuse and extenuation of it, v. 22. They pretended that they did not worship these as gods, but as demons, and mediators between the immortal God and mortal men, or that it was not divine honour that they gave them, but civil respect; thus they sought to evade the convictions of God's word and to screen themselves from the dread of his wrath. Nay, some of them had the impudence to deny the thing itself; they said, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim, v. 23. Because it was done secretly, and industriously concealed (Ezek. viii. 12), they thought it could never be proved upon them, and they had impudence enough to deny it. In this, as in other things, their way was like that of the adulterous woman, that says, I have done no wickedness, Prov. xxx. 20. 2. Notwithstanding all their evasions, they are convicted of it and found guilty: "How canst thou deny the fact, and say, I have not gone after Baalim? How canst thou deny the fault, and say, I am not polluted?" The prophet speaks with wonder at their impudence: "How canst thou put on a face to say so, when it is certain?" (1.) "God's omniscience is a witness against thee: Thy iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God; it is laid up and hidden, to be produced against thee in the day of judgment, sealed up among his treasures," Deut. xxxii. 34; Job xxi. 19; Hos. xiii. 12. "It is imprinted deeply and stained before me;" so some read it. "Though thou endeavour to wash it out, as murderers to get the stain of the blood of the person slain out of their clothes, yet it will never be got out." God's eye is upon it, and we are sure that his judgment is according to truth. (2.) "Thy own conscience is a witness against thee. See thy way in the valley" (they had worshipped idols, not only on the high hills, but in the valleys, Isa. lvii. 5, 6), in the valley over-against Beth-peor (so some), where they worshipped Baal-peor (Deut. xxxiv. 6, Num. xxv. 3), as if the prophet looked as far back as the iniquity of Peor; but, if it mean any particular valley, surely it is the valley of the son of Hinnom, for that was the place where they sacrificed their children to Moloch and which therefore witnessed against them more than any other: "look into that valley, and thou canst not but know what thou hast done."

III. The aggravations of this sin with which they are charged, which made it exceedingly sinful.

1. God had done great things for them, and yet they revolted from him and rebelled against him (v. 20): Of old time I have broken thy yoke and burst thy bonds; this refers to the bringing of them out of the land of Egypt and the house of bondage, which they would not remember (v. 6), but God did; for, when he told them that they should have no other gods before him, he prefixed this as a reason: I am the Lord thy God that brought thee out of the land of Egypt! These bonds of theirs which God had loosed should have bound them for ever to him; but they had ungratefully broken the bonds of duty to that God who had broken the bonds of their slavery.

2. They had promised fair, but had not made good their promise: "Thou saidst, I will not transgress; then, when the mercy of thy deliverance was fresh, thou wast so sensible of it that thou wast willing to lay thyself under the most sacred ties to continue faithful to thy God and never to forsake him." Then they said, Nay, but we will serve the Lord, Josh. xxiv. 21. How often have we said that we would not transgress, we would not offend any more, and yet we have started aside, like a deceitful bow, and repeated and multiplied our transgressions!

3. They had wretchedly degenerated from what they were when God first formed them into a people (v. 21). I had planted thee a noble vine. The constitution of their government both in church and state was excellent, their laws were righteous, and all the ordinances instructive and very significant; and a generation of good men there was among them when they first settled in Canaan. Israel served the Lord, and kept close to him all the days of Joshua, and the elders that out-lived Joshua, Josh. xxiv. 31. They were then wholly a right seed, likely to replenish the vineyard they were planted in with choice vines. But it proved otherwise; they very next generation knew not the Lord, nor the works which he had done (Judg. ii. 10), and so they were worse and worse till they became the degenerate plants of a strange vine. They were now the reverse of what they were at first. Their constitution was quite broken, and there was nothing in them of that good which one might have expected from a people so happily formed, nothing of the purity and piety of their ancestors. Their vine is as the vine of Sodom, Deut. xxxii. 32. This may fitly be applied to the nature of man; it was planted by its great author a noble vine, a right seed (God made man upright); but it is so universally corrupt that it has become the degenerate plant of a strange vine, that bears gall and wormwood, and it is so to God, it is highly distasteful and offensive to him.

4. They were violent and eager in the pursuit of their idolatries, doted on their idols, and were fond of new ones, and they would not be restrained from them either by the word of God or by his providence, so strong was the impetus with which they were carried out after this sin. They are here compared to a swift dromedary traversing her ways, a female of that species of creatures hunting about for a male (v. 23), and, to the same purport, a wild ass used to the wilderness (v. 24), not tamed by labour, and therefore very wanton, snuffing up the wind at her pleasure when she comes near the he-ass, and on such an occasion who can turn her away? Who can hinder her from that which she lusts after? Those that seek her then will not weary themselves for her, for they know it is to no purpose; but will have a little patience till she is big with young, till that month comes which is the last of the months that she fulfils (Job xxxix. 2), when she is heavy and unwieldy, and then they shall find her, and she cannot out-run them. Note, (1.) Eager lust is a brutish thing, and those that will not be turned away from the gratifying and indulging of it by reason, and conscience, and honour, are to be reckoned as brute-beasts and no better, such as were born, and still are, like the wild ass's colt; let them not be looked upon as rational creatures. (2.) Idolatry is strangely intoxicating, and those that are addicted to it will with great difficulty be cured of it. That lust is as headstrong as any. (3.) There are some so violently set upon the prosecution of their lusts that it is to no purpose to attempt to give check to them: those that do so weary themselves in vain. Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone. (4.) The time will come when the most fierce will be tamed and the most wanton will be manageable; when distress and anguish come upon them, then their ears will be open to discipline, that is the month in which you may find them, Ps. cxli. 5, 6.

5. They were obstinate in their sin, and, as they could not be restrained, so they would not be reformed, v. 25. Here is, (1.) Fair warning given them of the ruin that this wicked course of life would certainly bring them to at last, with a caution therefore not to persist in it, but to break off from it. He would certainly bring them into a miserable captivity, when their feet should be unshod, and they should be forced to travel barefoot, and when they would be denied fair water by their oppressors, so that their throat should be dried with thirst; this will be in the end hereof. Those that affect strange gods, and strange ways of worship, will justly be made prisoners to a strange king in a strange land. "Take up in time therefore; thy running after thy idols will run the shoes off thy feet, and thy panting after them will bring thy throat to thirst; withhold therefore thy foot from these violent pursuits, and thy throat from these violent desires." One would think that it should effectually check us in the career of sin to consider what it will bring us to at last. (2.) Their rejecting this fair warning. They said to those that would have persuaded them to repent and reform, "There is no hope; no, never expect to work upon us, or prevail with us to cast away our idols, for we have loved strangers, and after them we will go; we are resolved we will, and therefore trouble not yourselves nor us any more with your admonitions; it is to no purpose. There is no hope that we should ever break the corrupt habit and disposition we have got, and therefore we may as well yield to it as go about to get the mastery of it." Note, Their case is very miserable who have brought themselves to such a pass that their corruptions triumph over their convictions; they know they should reform, but own they cannot, and therefore resolve they will not. But, as we must not despair of the mercy of God, but believe that sufficient for the pardon of our sins, though ever so heinous, if we repent and sue for that mercy, so neither must we despair of the grace of God, but believe that able to subdue our corruptions, though ever so strong, if we pray for and improve that grace. A man must never say There is no hope, as long as he is on this side hell.

6. They had shamed themselves by their sin, in putting confidence in that which would certainly deceive them in the day of their distress, and putting him away that would have helped them, v. 26-28. As the thief is ashamed when, notwithstanding all his arts and tricks to conceal his theft, he is found, and brought to punishment, so are the house of Israel ashamed, not with a penitent shame for the sin they had been guilty of, but with a penal shame for the disappointment they met with in that sin. They will be ashamed when they find, (1.) That they are forced to cry to the God whom they had put contempt upon. In their prosperity they had turned the back to God and not the face; they had slighted him, acted as if they had forgotten him, or did what they could to forget him, would not look towards him, but looked another way; they went from him as fast and as far as they could; but in the time of their trouble they will find no satisfaction but in applying to him; then they will say, Arise, and save us. Their fathers had many a time taken this shame to themselves (Judg. iii. 9, iv. 3, x. 10), yet they would not be persuaded to cleave to God, that they might come to him in their trouble with the more confidence. (2.) That they have no relief from the gods they have made their court to. They will be ashamed when they perceive that the gods they have made cannot serve them, and that the God who made them will not serve them. To bring them to this shame, if so be they might hereby be brought to repentance, they are here sent to the gods whom they served, Judg. x. 14. They cried to God, Arise, and save us. God says of the idols, "Let them arise, and save thee, for thou hast no reason to expect that I should Let them arise, if they can, from the places where they are fixed; let them try whether they can save thee: but thou wilt be ashamed when thou findest that they can do thee no good, for, though thou hadst a god for every city, yet thy cities are burnt without inhabitant," v. 15. Thus it is the folly of sinners to please themselves with that which will certainly be their grief, and pride themselves in that which will certainly be their shame.

Expostulations with Israel. (b. c. 629.)

29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord . 30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. 31 O generation, see ye the word of the Lord . Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee? 32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number. 33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways. 34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. 35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned. 36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. 37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.

The prophet here goes on in the same strain, aiming to bring a sinful people to repentance, that their destruction might be prevented.

I. He avers the truth of the charge. It was evident beyond contradiction; it was the greatest absurdity imaginable in them to think of denying it (v. 29): "Wherefore will you plead with me, and put me upon the proof of it, or wherefore will you go about to plead any thing in excuse of the crime or to obtain a mitigation of the sentence? Your plea will certainly be overruled, and judgment given against you: you know you have all transgressed, one as well as another; why then to you quarrel with me for contending with you?"

II. He heightens it from the consideration both of their incorrigibleness and of their ingratitude. 1. They had not been wrought upon by the judgments of God which they had been under (v. 30): In vain have I smitten your children, that is, the children or people of Judah. They had been under divine rebukes of many kinds. God therein designed to bring them to repentance; but it was in vain. They did not answer God's end in afflicting them; their consciences were not awakened, nor their hearts softened and humbled, nor were they driven to seek unto God; they received no instruction by the correction, were not made the better by it; and it is a great loss thus to lose an affliction. They did not receive, they did not submit to, or comply with, the correction, but their hearts fretted against the Lord, and so they were smitten in vain. Even the children, the young people, among them (so it may be taken), were smitten in vain; they were so soon prejudiced against repentance that they were as untractable as the old ones that had been long accustomed to do evil. 2. They had not been wrought upon by the word of God which he had sent them in the mouth of his servants the prophets; nay, they had killed the messengers for the sake of the message: "Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion; you have put them to death for their faithfulness with as much rage and fury, and with as much greediness and pleasure, as a lion devours his prey." Their prophets, who were their greatest blessings, were treated by them as if they had been the plagues of their generation, and this was their measure-filling sin, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16. They killed their own prophets, 1 Thess. ii. 15. 3. They had not been wrought upon by the favours God had bestowed upon them (v. 31): "O generation!" (he does not call them, as he might, O faithless and perverse generation! O generation of vipers! but speaks gently, O you men of this generation!) "see the word of the Lord, do not only hear it, but consider it diligently, apply your minds closely to it." As we are bidden to hear the rod (Micah vi. 9), for that has its voice, so we are bidden to see the word, for that has its visions, its views. It intimates that what is here said is plain and undeniable; you may see it to be very evident; it is written as with a sun-beam, so that he that runs may read it: Have I been a wilderness to Israel, a land of darkness. Note, None of those who have had any dealings with God ever had reason to complain of him as a wilderness or a land of darkness. He has blessed us with the fruits of the earth, and therefore we cannot say that he has been a wilderness to us, a dry and barren land, that (as Mr. Gataker expresses it) he has held us to hard meat, as cattle fed upon the common. No; his sheep have been led into green pastures. He has also blessed us with the lights of heaven, and has not withheld them, so that we cannot say, He has been to us a land of darkness. He has caused his sun to shine, as well as his rain to fall, upon the evil and unthankful. Or the meaning is, in general, that the service of God has not been to any either an unpleasant or an unprofitable service. God sometimes has led his people through a wilderness and a land of darkness, but he himself was then to them all that which they needed; he so fed them with manna, and led them by a pillar of fire, that it was to them a fruitful field and a land of light. The world is, to those who make it their home and their portion, a wilderness and a land of darkness, vanity and vexation of spirit; but those that dwell in God have the lines fallen to them in pleasant places. 4. Instead of being wrought upon by these, they had grown intolerably insolent and imperious. They say, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee. Now that they had become a potent kingdom, or thought themselves such, they set up for themselves, and shook off their dependence upon God. This is the language of presumptuous sinners, and it is not only very impious and profane, but very unreasonable and foolish. (1.) It is absurd for us who are subjects to say, We are lords (that is, rulers) and we will come no more to God to receive commands form him; for, as he is King of old, so he is King for ever, and we can never pretend to be from under his authority. (2.) It is absurd for us who are beggars to say, We are lords, that is, We are rich, and we will come no more to God, to receive favours from him, as if we could live without him and need not be beholden to him. God justly takes it ill when those to whom he has been a bountiful benefactor care not either for hearing from him or speaking to him.

III. He lays the blame of all their wickedness upon their forgetting God (v. 32): They have forgotten me; they have industriously banished the thoughts of God out of their minds, jostled those thoughts out with thoughts of their idols, and avoided all those things that would put them in mind of God. 1. Though they were his own people, in covenant with him and professing relation to him, and had the tokens of his presence in the midst of them and of his favour to them, yet they forgot him. 2. They had long neglected him, days without number, time out of mind, as we say. They had not for a great while entertained any serious thoughts of him; so that they seem quite to have forgotten him, and resolved never to remember him again. How many days of our lives have passed without suitable remembrance of God! Who can number those empty days? 3. They had not had such a regard and affection to him as young ladies generally have to their fine clothes: Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? No; their hearts are upon them; they value them so much, and themselves upon them, that they are ever and anon thinking and speaking of them. When they are to appear in public they do not forget any of their ornaments, but put every one in its place, as they are described, Isa. iii. 18, &c. And yet my people have forgotten me. It is sad that any should be more in love with their fine clothes than with their God, and should rather leave their religion behind them, or part with that, than leave any of their ornaments behind them, or part with them. Is not God our ornament? Is he not a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to his people? Did we look upon him to be so, and upon our religion as an ornament of grace to our head and chains about our neck (Prov. i. 9), we should be as mindful of them as ever any maid was of her ornaments, or a bride of her attire, we should be as careful to preserve them and as fond to appear in them.

IV. He shows them what a bad influence their sins had had upon others. The sins of God's professing people harden and encourage those about them in their evil ways, especially when they appear forward and ringleaders in sin (v. 33): Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? There is an allusion here to the practice of lewd women who strive to recommend themselves by their ogling looks and gay dress, as Jezebel, who painted her face and tired her head. Thus had they courted their neighbours into sinful confederacies with them and communion in their idolatries, and had taught the wicked ones their ways, their ways of mixing God's institutions with their idolatrous customs and usages, which was a great profanation of that which was sacred and made the ways of their idolatry worse than that of others. Those have a great deal to answer for who, by their fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, make wicked ones more wicked than otherwise they would be.

V. He charges them with the guilt of murder added to the guilt of their idolatry (v. 34): Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls, the life-blood of the poor innocents, which cried to heaven, and for which God was now making inquisition. The reference is to the children that were offered in sacrifice to Moloch; or it may be taken more generally for all the innocent blood which Manasseh shed, and with which he had filled Jerusalem (2 Kings xxi. 16), the righteous blood, especially the blood of the prophets and others that witnessed against their impieties. This blood was found not by secret search, not by diggings (so the word is), but upon all these; it was above ground. This intimates that the guilt of this kind which they had contracted was certain and evident, not doubtful or which would bear a dispute; and that it was avowed and barefaced, and which they had not so much sense either of shame or fear as to endeavour to conceal, which was a great aggravation of it.

VI. He overrules their plea of, Not guilty. Though this matter be so plain, yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me; and again, Thou sayest, I have not sinned (v. 35); therefore I will plead with thee, and will convince thee of thy mistake. Because they deny the charge, and stand upon their own justification, therefore God will join issue with them and plead with them, both by his word and by his rod. Those shall be made to know how much they deceive themselves, 1. Who say that they have not offended God, that they are innocent, though they have been guilty of the grossest enormities. 2. Who expect that God will be reconciled to them though they do not repent and reform. They own that they had been under the tokens of God's anger, but they think that it was causeless, and that they by pleading innocency had proved it to be so, and therefore they conclude that God will immediately let fall his action and his anger shall be turned from them. This is very provoking, and God will plead with them, and convince them that his anger is just, for they have sinned, and he will never cease his controversy till they, instead of justifying themselves thus, humble, and judge, and condemn themselves.

VII. He upbraids them with the shameful disappointments they met with, in making creatures their confidence, while they made God their enemy, v. 36, 37. It was a piece of spiritual idolatry they were often guilty of that they trusted in an arm of flesh and their hearts therein departed from the Lord. Now here he shows them the folly of it. 1. They were restless, and unsatisfied in the choice of their confidences: "Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? Doubtless it is because thou meetest not with that in those thou didst confide in which thou promisedst thyself." Those that make God their hope, and walk in a continual dependence upon him, need not gad about to change their way; for their souls may return to him, and repose in him, as their rest: but those that trust in creatures will be perpetually uneasy, like Noah's dove, that found no rest for the sole of her foot. Every thing they trust to fails them, and then they think to change for the better, but they will be still disappointed. They first trusted to Assyria, and, when that proved a broken reed, they depended upon Egypt, and that proved no better. Creatures being vanity, they will be vexation of spirit to all those that put their confidence in them; they gad about, seeking rest and finding none. 2. They were quite disappointed in the confidences they made choice of; so the prophet tells them they should be: Thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt, which thou now trustest in, as formerly thou wast of Assyria, who distressed them and helped them not, 2 Chron. xxviii. 20. The Jews were a peculiar people in their profession of religion, and for that reason none of the neighbouring nations cared for them, nor could heartily love them; and yet the Jews were still courting them, and confiding in them, and were well enough served when deceived by them. See what will come of it (v. 37): Thou shalt go forth from him, thy ambassadors or envoys shall return from Egypt re infectâ—disappointed, and therefore with their hands upon their heads, lamenting the desperate condition of their people. Or, Thou shalt go forth hence, that is, into captivity in a strange land, with thy hands upon thy head, holding it because it aches (ubi dolor ibi digitus—where the pain is the finger will be applied), or as people ashamed, for Tamar, in the height of her confusion, laid her hand on her head, 2 Sam. xiii. 19. "And Egypt, that thou reliest on, shall not be able to prevent it nor to rescue thee out of captivity." Those that will not lay their hand on their heart in godly sorrow, which works life, shall be made to lay their hand on their head in the sorrow of the world, which works death. And no wonder that Egypt cannot help them, when God will not, If the Lord do not help thee, whence should I? The Egyptians are broken reeds, for the Lord has rejected thy confidences; he will not make use of them for thy relief, will neither so far honour them, nor so far give countenance to thy confidence in them, as to appoint them to be the instruments of any good to thee, and therefore thou shalt not prosper in them; they shall not stand thee in any stead nor give thee any satisfaction. As there is no counsel or wisdom that can prevail against the Lord, so there is none that can prevail without him. Some read it, The Lord has rejected thee for thy confidences; because thou hast dealt so unfaithfully with him as to trust in his creatures, nay, in his enemies when thou shouldst have trusted in him only, he has abandoned thee to that destruction from which thou thoughtest thus to shelter thyself; and then thou canst not prosper, for none ever either hardened himself against God or estranged himself from God and prospered.

CHAP. II.

Ver. 1. MOreover the word of the Lord came to me, ſaying] The Prophet being thus called and confirmed, as chap. 1. ſets forthwith upon the work, Eſt autem hoc caput plenum querelae, & quaſi continuum pathos. In this chapter the Lord heavily complaineth of Jeruſalems unworthy uſage of him, convincing them thereof by ſixteen ſeveral arguments (as Alapide hath obſerved) and all little enough: for they put him to his proofs, as is to be ſeen, ver. 35.

Ver. 2. Go thou and cry] For if I my ſelf ſhould do it immediately from heaven, my ſtilleſt Rhetorike would be too loud for them, Deut. 5.27, 28.

I remember thee] Who haſt forgot thy firſt love and loyalty to me. Or, I remember, that is, I put thee in mind of the kindneſs that hath been betwixt us. Auguſtus might have ſome ſuch meaning in thoſe laſt words of his to his wife when he lay a dying, O Livia, remember our marriage, and adeiu. 'Tis thought ſhe had a finger in ſetting him going: and that ſhe was over-familiar with Eudemus the Phyſician, qui specie artis frequent ſecretis, ſaith Tacitus. Peccatum eſt Deicidium.

The kindneſſe of thy youth] When thou cameſt out of Egypt after me, and waſt eſpouſed unto me at the giving of the Law. We uſe highly to prize nettle-buds, when they firſt put forth: ſo doth God our young ſervices. Others render it thus, I record the mercy ſhewed to thee in thy youth, and the love of thine eſpouſals, ſc. when as I loved thee becauſe I loved thee, and for no other reaſon, Deut. 7.7, 8.

When thou wenteſt after me in the wilderneſſe] God takes it kindly when men will chuſe him, and his wayes in affliction: as did Moſes, Heb. 11.25. Cant. 8.5. Who is this that cometh from the wilderneſs (from troubles and afflictions) leaning on her beloved.

Ver. 3. Iſrael was holineſſe unto the Lord] A people conſecrated and ſet apart for his peculiar, Exod. 19.5. Pſal. 114.2. holy with a federal holineſs at leaſt.

And the firſt-fruits of his increaſe] Yea his firſt-born, and therefore higher than the Kings of the earth, Pſalm 89.27. All Gods people are ſo, Heb. 12.23. James 1.18.

All that devour them ſhall offend] Rather thus, all that devoured them treſpaſſed, evil befell them: witneſs the four latter books of Moſes.

Ver. 4. Hear ye the word of the Lord] This is often inculcated in both Teſtaments, to procure attention, 1 Cor. 11.23. I received of the Lord that which alſo I delivered unto you, 1 Theſ. 4.15. This we ſay unto you by the Word of the Lord. Thus to preach, is to preach cum privilegio.

Ver. 5. What iniquity have your Fathers found in me?] How unreaſonable was their Apoſtacy? and how ſenſeleſs is your pleading of their example? nothing is more irrational then irreligion.

That they are gone far from me] Are ye weary of receiving ſo many benefits by one man? ſaid Themiſtocles to his ungrateful Country-men.

And have walked after vanity] An Idol is nothing at all, but only in the vain opinion of the Idolater.

And are become vain] ſc. In their imaginations, Rom. 1.21. as vain as their very Idols, Pſal. 115.8.

Ver. 6. Neither ſaid they] In their minds, or with their mouths.Cicero. That ſignal deliverance was obliterated, and even loſt upon them. Plerique omnes ſumus ingrati.

Through a land of deſerts and of pits] Per terram campeſtrem & ſepulchralem, where we talked of making our graves; neither was it any otherwiſe likely, but that God gave us pluviam eſcatilem & petram aquatilem, all manner of neceſſaries.Tertul.

Ver. 7. And I brought you into a plentiful Countrey] You lived in my good land, but not by my good Laws: you had aequiſſimajura, ſed iniqu[illegible: 1 letter]ſſima ingenia, as was ſaid of the Athenians: as if I had hired you to be wicked, ſo have you abuſed my mercies to my greateſt diſhonour.

Ver. 8. The Prieſts ſaid not, Where is the Lord] Ignorant they were and idle:Dixerunt, Ʋbi victimae, ubi nummi? triobotarium Deum faciunt ſub que haſtam mittunt. Oecol. they would not be at the paines of a ſerious inquiſition after God and his will: though he be a rewarder of all that diligently ſeek him, Heb. 11.6.

And they that handled the Law] That expounded and applyed it. A Metaphor from ſuch as are trained in the war, who are ſaid tractare bellum, to handle their armes.

The Paſtours alſo tranſgreſſed against me.] What marvel therefore that the people did ſo too? For, as in a fiſh, the corruption of it beginneth at the head: ſo here.

And the Prophets propheſied by Baal] And taught others to worſhip Idols. We ſee then 'tis nothing new that ſtars fall from heaven, that Church-chieftaines ſhould fall from God, and draw others after them. It went for a Proverb a little afore Luther ſtirred, Qui Theologum ſcholaſticum videt, videt ſeptem peccata mortalia, he that ſeeth a Divine, ſeeth the ſeven deadly ſins.

Ver. 9. I will yet plead with you] i. e. Debate the caſe with you, and ſet you down by ſound reaſon. So he did to our firſt Parents when they had ſinned; but doomed the ſerpent without any more ado.

Ver. 10. For paſſe over the iſles of Chittim] The Weſtern parts of the World, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, &c.

And ſend unto Kedar] The Eaſtern parts, where dwell Kedarens, Arabians, Saracens, &c.

Ver. 11. Hath a Nation changed their Gods?] No: they are too pertinacious in their ſuperſtitions. Xenophon ſaith it was an oracle of Apollo, that thoſe Gods are rightly worſhipped which were delivered them by their anceſtours: and this he greatly applaudeth. Cicero alſo ſaith, that no reaſon ſhall ever prevaile with him to relinquiſh the religion of his fore-fathers.Heyl. Coſm. That Monarch of Morocco told an Engliſh Embaſſadour, that he had lately read St. Paul, and that he diſliked nothing in him but this, that he had changed his religion.

Which yet are no gods] Sed hominum figmenta & ludibria daemonum: when Hercules came into a Temple, and found the Image or ſtatue of Adonis in it, he pull'd it down with this expreſſion, Certe nil ſacri es, Sure thou art no god: the like may be ſaid of all Idols.

But my people have changed their glory] i. e. Their God of whom they might glory, ſaying, as Deut. 32.31. their Rock is not as our Rock, our enemies themſelves being Judges.

Ver. 12. Be aſtoniſhed O heavens] A poetical and pathetical expreſſion! Confer Deut. 32.1. Iſa. 1.2.

Be horribly afraid] Horripilamini portento malitiae, quod jam dicturus ſum, be agaſt at ſuch a prodigious wickedneſſe.

Be very deſolate] As the Sun ſeemed to be, when at the death of Chriſt, he hid his head in a mantle of black, which made (they ſay) the Heathen Aſtrologer break out into theſe words Either the God of nature ſuffereth, Dionyſ. or elſe the world is at an end.

Ver. 13. For my people have committed two evils] Contrary to thoſe two good things that I have commanded them, viz. Depart from evil, and do good, Pſal. 34.14. Luſt doth firſt [non-Latin text not transcribed] draw a man from God, and then it doth [non-Latin text not transcribed] deceive him with a bait of the creature, Jam. 1.14.

They have forſaken me the fountain of living water] The all-ſufficient, ever-flowing, Dialog. 7. over-flowing well-ſpring of all welfare, Jam. 1.17. Triſmegiſt a Heathen could ſay Reſpicite O mortales, & reſipiſcite, & ad fontem vitae ricurrite. Look back O mortals and repent, and run back again to the fountain of life. Seneca alſo ſaith, that Sin is ſo foul a thing, that he would not commit it, though he could hide it from men, and get pardon of it of God: for that were to turn his back upon God the chife good, Comment. in Rom. 1.19. So little reaſon was there that Alex. Hales ſhould be called firſt Fons vitae, & then Doctor irrefragabilis. &c. How well might Bullinger ſay, that Seneca alone had left to poſterity more ſincere Divinity, then all the books of almoſt all the School men!

And hewed them out ciſterns, broken ciſterns] Such and no better are all Idols, humane helps, creature-comforts, friends, means, merits, &c. what are they all but ciſterns, that hold but muddy rain-water at beſt: but then, being broken ciſterns, riven veſſels, what hold they elſe but limum & lapides, mud and gravel? Such ciſternes therefore to hew out, what is it better then induſtrious folly, laborious loſſe of time? to ſay no worſe of it. Now Turpe est difficiles habere nugas: Et ſtultus labor est ineptiarum.

Servus emptitius.Ver. 14. Is Iſrael a ſervant] ſc. Bought with mony?

Is he a home-born ſlave] Verna, a ſlave by birth q. d. If he be either of the two, he may thank himſelf. He was my ſon, nay my Spouſe, if he could have kept him ſo: but he hath ſold himſelf to commit wickedneſſe, and I have therefore ſold him into the hands of the Caldeans. Loe this is the product of his forſaking me the fountain of living waters, &c.

Ver. 15. The young Lions roared upon him and yelled] i. e. The King of Babylon and his forces, more fierce and fell then young Lions. Would any take the Churches picture?Loc. com. tit. de perſecut. ver. Eccleſ. ſaith Luther; then let him paint a ſilly poor maid ſitting in a wood or wilderneſſe, compaſſed about with hungry Lions, Wolves, Boars, and Bears: for this is her condition in the world.

And they made his land waſte] i. e. They ſhall ſhortly ſo make it.

Ver. 16. Alſo the children of Noph and Tahapanes] Two chief Cities of Egypt, the Inhabitants whereof were ſaid to be moſt effeminate and ſervile fellows: even theſe ſhall overtop thee,Hero dot. l. 2. knock thee down as an Ox by a blow on the brain-pan, and make havock of thoſe things, that thou holdeſt the chiefeſt and moſt deſirable.

Gen. 42.22.Ver. 17. Haſt thou not procured this to thy ſelf?] The ſame may the Lord ſay to every ſufferer: and further add, Did not I warn you ſaying, Sin not againſt the childe? Oh do not this abominable thing! your iniquities will undoubtedly be your ruine, &c.

When he led thee by the way] The way that is called holy, the high-way to heaven: fitly here oppoſed to thoſe by-waies of carnal wiſdom, mentioned in the following verſes.

Ver. 18. And now what haſt thou to do in the way of Egypt?] Why truſteſt thou to carnal combinations, which thou haſt formerly found to be ſo ſucceſsleſſe? wilt thou never be warned of theſe broken ciſterns? or haſt thou a mind to be ground to powder betwixt thoſe two mil-ſtones, of Egypt and Aſſyria, after whom thou hankereſt? Pſal. 146.3. David having entered a Caveat againſt creature confidence, perſwades people to truſt in God alone: See alſo Pſal. 62.8. 9, 10.

To drink the waters of Sihor] i. e. Of Nilus called Sihor, of its blackneſſe,Limoſus eſt Nilus & oblimat Aegypt. or muddineſſe; and in Greek [non-Latin text not transcribed] Black: to drink the waters of it here, is to draw the Egyptian forces to thine aſſiſtance, and (as ſome think) to partake with them in their ſuperſtitions.

To drink of the water of the river] i. e. Of Euphrates, that river by an eminency.

Ver. 19. Thine own wickedneſſe ſhall correct thee] E[illegible: 1 letter]udiat te malitia tua, Let thine own wickedneſſe with the ſad conſequents thereof, teach thee better things: as chap. 6.8. Let it for ſhame, let it, [non-Latin text not transcribed], let ſmart make wit, Iſa. 28.19. Prov. 29.15.

Know therefore and ſee] Learn at leaſt by ſad experience; for thou haſt paid for thy learning. Piſcator ictus ſapiet.

That it is an evil thing and bitter] So all ſin will prove in the iſſue, and when the bottom of the bag is turned upward. There will be bitterneſſe in the end, as Abner ſaid to Joab, 2 Sam. 3.15. Laban will ſhew himſelf at parting howſoever. Tamar will be more hated then ever ſhee was loved: Amor, amaror; pius aloes quam mellis habet.

Laeta venire Venus, triſtis abire ſolet.

Drunkenneſſe is ſweet, but wormwood is bitter. Theſe Inhabitants of Jeruſalem were made drunk, but with wormwood, Lam. 3.15. they found that ſin was a Dulcacidum, a bitter-ſweet: ſweet in the mouth, but bitter in the maw, [non-Latin text not transcribed] Philo. as that book in the Revelation: like Adam's apple, or Eſau's pottage, or Jonathan's hony, or Judas his thirty pieces, whereof he would fain have been rid but could not: they burnt like a ſpark of hell-fire in his hand, but eſpecially in his conſcience. The Devil with the Panther, hideth his deformed head, till the ſweet ſent have drawn other beaſts into his danger, and then he devoureth them. Did we but conſider what ſin will coſt us at laſt, we durſt not but be innocent.

Ver. 20. For of old time I have broken thy yoke] Or, For when of old I broke thy yoke &c. ſc. in Egypt, Pſal. 81.5, 6, 10. whilſt the deliverance was freſh, thou hadſt very good reſolutions.

And thou ſaidſt I will not tranſgreſs] Or, I will not ſerve, ſc. other Gods. Good words, hadſt thou been as good as thy word. But what followeth?

When upon every high hill and every green tree, &c.] No ſooner did her old heart and her old temptations meet, but they preſently fell into mutual embraces. When men have made good vows, let them be as careful to make good their vows unto the Lord, Pſal. 76.11.

Thou wandereſt playing the harlot] Thou runneſt a madding and a gadding after Idols, [non-Latin text not transcribed].

Ver. 21. Yet I had planted thee a noble vine] Heb. a Sorek, or with ſlips of Sorek. Judg. 16.4. See Eſa. 5.3. (a parallel text) Exod. 15.17. Pſal. 44.3. and 80.9.

Wholly a right ſeed] That ſhould have yielded a right crop: but it proveth otherwiſe; nec votis reſpondet avari Agricolae.

How then art thou turned into the degenerate plant] How is that ſlips of Sorek prove ſlips of Sodom? Deut. 32.32. See on Iſa. 5.4, 7.

Ver. 22. For though thou waſh thee with nitre] Much uſed of old by Fullers and neat Landreſſes, ſay Iſidore and Athanaſius; now not known in theſe parts:Lib. 16. Etym. Lib. de Virg. Nitrum ſordes erodit & expurgat. Plin. Apothecaries uſe Salt-peter inſtead of it. Sin leaveth behind it a deep ſtain, ſo ingrained that it will hardly ever be gotten out: not at all by blanching, extenuating, excuſing, &c. or by any legal purifications, hypocritical lotions. All which notwithſtanding,

Thine iniquitie is marked before me] Nitet iniquitas tua, ſplendet inſtar auri, Piſcat. it gliſters like gold before me, whoſe eyes thou canſt not blind or bleer with any of thy colourable pretexts and pretences.

Ver. 23. How canſt thou ſay I am not polluted?] q. d. With what face? but that ſin hath oaded an impudence in thy face.

I have not gone after Baalius] The whole crew of Heathen-dieties (Lords or Maſters the word ſignifieth) which Cicero ſaith were but men,De not. deor. their Temples were their ſepulchers, and their religion ſuperſtition. He further wiſheth, that he could as eaſily diſcern the true religion, as diſcover the falſe.

See thy way in the vally] Of Ben-Hinnom, Where thou haſt ſacrificed thy children to Moloch thy chief Baal: Sol & homo generant hominem. that is, ſay ſome, to the Sun, as to the univerſal cauſe ſtrongly concurring to the generation of their children ſo ſacrificed.

Thou art a ſwift Dromedary] That runneth a madding after her mate: ſo doſt thou after Idols: Confer 1 Cor. 12.2.

Ver. 24. A wild Aſſe uſed to the wilderneſſe] Untamable, and untractable, Job 39.8. eſpecially when proud, and in the heat of luſt, as theſe were after their Idols.

That ſnuffeth up the wind] When ſhe windeth the male: ſo this people when acted by a ſpirit of fornications.

In her moneth they ſhall finde her] i. e. In her laſt moneth, when ſhe is ſo big with young, that ſhe cannot weild her ſelf. So ſinners be they never ſo ſtubborn, ſo ſtiff and high in the inſtep, that there's no dealing with them, yet when they are in ſtraits and diſtreſſes, it will be otherwiſe. God, ſaid Mr. Marbury, is fain to deal with wicked men, as men do with frisking jades in a paſture, that cannot be taken up till gotten to a gate: ſo till he ſeize upon them by ſome judgement or ſummons to dye, &c.

Ver. 25. Withold thy foot from being unſhod, &c.] Ceaſe thy vain vagaries to the wearing out of thy ſhooes, and expoſing thy ſelf to extream thirſt: Or rather take a timely courſe to prevent captivity and the miſeries that attend it, Iſa. 20.2, 4. and 47.2.

But thou ſaidſt There is no hope] viz. Of reclayming us, we are reſolved on our courſe, and will take our ſwing in ſin whatſoever come of it, Iſa. 28.14, 15. & 57.10. Some grow deſperately ſinful (ſaith a Reverend modern Writer) like thoſe Italian Senatours,Mr. Sheph. Sincere Convert. 222. that deſparing of their lives (when upon ſubmiſſion they had been promiſed their lives, yet) being conſcious of their villany, made a curious banquet, and at the end thereof every man drank up his glaſſe of poyſon and killed himſelf: ſo men feeling ſuch horrible hard hearts, and privy to ſuch notorious ſins, they caſt away ſouls and all for luſt, and ſo periſh wofully, becauſe they lived deſperately, and ſo ſecurely.

Ver. 26. As the thief is aſhamed when he is found] As uſually he is at length, notwithſtanding all his ſlights and wiles. That was a cunning thief indeed of whom Dio writeth in the life of Severus: Bulas he calleth him, an Italian, who having gotten together ſix hundered ſuch as himſelf, robbed many in Italy under the Emperours noſe for two years together: and although he was diligently ſought for by the Emperour and his Armies, yet he could not be caught: Viſus enim non videbatur, non inveniebatur inventus, deprehenſus non capiebatur, ſaith the Hiſtorian: he was too hard for them all.

So is the houſe of Iſrael aſhamed] They are, or ought to be ſo: but —Nihil eſt audacius illis Deprenſis: vires animoſque à crimine ſumunt.

Ver. 27. Saying to a ſtock, Thou art my Father] i. e. My God. Iſa. 44.17. We are not the children of fornication, ſaid thoſe boaſting Jews, Joh. 8.41. that is, we are not Idolaters who ſay, as here, to a ſtock, Thou art my Father. The Samaritans, they called baſtards.

But in the time of their trouble they will ſay. Ariſe and ſave us] Thus in their moneth they will be found, ver. 24. When they had run themſelves barefoot in following their lovers, (ver. 25.) who anſwered their expectation with nothing but fear, and ſent them away with ſhame inſtead of glory, then God was thought upon and ſought unto. Let us make God our choiſe, and not our neceſſity: and labour to maintain ſuch conſtant couſe with him, that he may know our ſouls in adverſity, and not turn us off, as he doth theſe with

Ver. 28. But where are thy Gods that thou haſt made thee?] Thou haſt ſure no need of my help: Quiſi tu hujus indigeas patris. See the like, Judg. 10.14. with the Note there.

For according to the number of thy Cities are thy gods] Enough of them thou haſt, and near enough. The Papiſts alſo have their Tutelar-Saints, to whom they ſeek more then to God himſelf. And when the Ave-Mary-bell rings, (which is at Sun-riſing, Noon, and Sun ſetting) all men in what place ſoever, houſe, field,Spec. Europ. ſtreet or market, doe preſently kneel down and ſend up their united devotions to heaven, by an Ave-Maria.

Ver. 29. Wherefore will ye plead with me?] Putting me to my proofs? Is not the caſe clear enough? will ye not yield to reaſon? See on ver. 19.

Ye all have tranſgreſſed againſt me] And yet ye have the face to ask, as chap. 16.10. What is our iniquity, or what is our ſin that we have committed againſt the Lord? and to ſay as Hoſ. 12.8. In all my labours they ſhall find none iniquity in me: that were ſin. See there.

Ver. 30. In vain have I ſmitten your children] My hammers have but beaten cold Iron: ye are incorrigible, irreformable. See Iſa. 1.5. with the Note.

Your own ſword hath devoured your Prophets] As it did in the dayes of Ahaz, Joaſh, Manaſſeh, of whom Joſephus ſaith, Lib. 10 cap. 4. that he ſlew ſome Prophet of God every day.

Like a deſtroying Lion] Cum ſaevitia ſumma, exutâ omni humanitate: ye have puulled them limmeale, and cauſed them to dye piecemeale.

Ver. 31. O generation, ſee ye the word of the Lord] q. d. O generation rather leonine then humane! as ver. 30. See ye the word; I ſay not to you Hear, no more then I would to a ſavage beaſt; for ye have no ears to hear reaſon: but ſee with your eyes; for ſo even beaſts can do. See now, and ſay ſooth.

Have I been a wilderneſſe unto Iſrael?] Such as is deſcribed before, ver. 6. Or have I not rather been a Paradiſe unto you, and a ſtore-houſe of all accommodations and comforts? It well appeareth that they have wanted nothing but thankful hearts, by this, that fulneſſe hath bred forgetfulneſſe: for ſo ſtout they are grown by reaſon of their great wealth, that they will not come at me, nor acknowledge my ſoveraignty over them: but will needs be petty Gods within themſelves: We are Lords, ſay they, and will not now take it as we have done. The ancient Greek rendreth it, We will not be ruled.

Ver. 32. Can a maid forget her ornaments?] Not lightly or eaſily, as minding them many times more then is meet, and then their ornaments are but the neſt of pride: and whilſt they think to gain more credit by their garments then by their graces, they are much miſtaken.

Yet my people have forgotten me dayes without number] i. e. Time out of mind: when as God ſhould be remembred at every breath we draw, ſith from him we have [non-Latin text not transcribed], life and breath, as the Apoſtle ſaith elegaintly, Acts 17.25. But into ſuch a dead Lethargy hath ſin caſt moſt people, that God is forgotten by them, add his Service neglected.

Ver. 33. Why trimmest thou thy way to ſeek love?] Cur bonificas? So Calvin rendereth it, why doſt thou make good thy way? that is, ſet a good gloſſe upon it, even the beſt ſide outwards. The ſame word is uſed of Jeſabels dreſſing her head, 2 King. 9.30. What need this whoriſh tricking and trimming, if all were right with thee?

Jactas vaenales, quas vis oberudere, merces.

Therefore alſo haſt thou taught the wicked ones thy way] Heb. the wicked women (for the word is feminine) thoſe ſhe-ſinners may learn immodeſty of thee, who are meretriciſſimae. And for this it is that thou art pointed at with the finger as it were, verſ. 34, 35.

Ver. 34. Alſo in thy skirts] In the skirts of thy garments. Heb. in thy wings: an alluſion ſay ſome, to birds of prey, which ſtain their wings with the blood of leſſer fouls.

Is the blood of the ſouls] The life-blood of innocent poor ones, of Prophets eſpecially, ver. 30.

I have not found it by ſecret ſearch] Non in ſuffeſſione, as Calvin rendreth it, as an alluſion to Exod. 22.2.

But upon all theſe] that is, in propatulo, in publike view. Or, ſuper haec omnia, becauſe they told thee of all thy faults.

Ver. 35. Yet thou ſayeſt, Becauſe I am innocent] Antiquum obtines, thou ſtandeſt ſtill upon thy juſtification: this doubleth thy fault. Homo agnoſcit, Deus ignoſcit. The beſt way,Cur cu[illegible: 1 letter]ftas? is, to plead guilty: confeſſe and go free.

Ver. 36. why gaddeſt thou about ſo much to change thy way] Or, changing thy way, as hoping ſome way to mend thy ſelf. Keep home, and truſt God: go further and fare worſe. Creatures were never true to thoſe that truſted them.

Ver. 37. Yea thou ſhalt go from him] Or, from hence, into captivity.

With thine hands] Lamenting as did Tamar, 2 Sam. 13.19.

For the Lord hath rejected thy confidence] Where the beginning is carnal confidence, the end is ſhame of any buſineſs, even of this life.