that is, God did what was requisite on His part for her conversion, but she refused to comply with His call. To the same purpose He speaks to Jerusalem, Ezek. xxiv. 13. "I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged."

19.-1 smote upon my thigh:] "Smiting upon the thigh" was an indication of extreme astonishment and sorrow.

-because I did bare the reproach of my youth.] The burden of my former sius lay heavy upon my mind, and I became sensible, that all the calamities and reproaches which I have undergone were the due deserts of my offences.

The Prophet, representing the whole nation as a single person, speaks of their former sins, as if they were the extravagancies of their younger years.

21. Set thee up waymarks, &c.] These words are a call to Israel to prepare for their return, The "waymarks" and "high heaps," are stone pillars, &c. set up in the roads for the traveller's direction.

22. the Lord hath created a new thing &c.] That is, hath purposed to create a new thing; alluding to the miraculous birth of our Saviour, who was born of a pure virgin.

24. And there shall dwell in Judah-husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.] These words denote the state, of the people after their return, that they should live innocently and peaceably.

26. Upon this I awaked,-and my sleep was sweet unto me.] The foregoing vision or prophecy was so pleasing to the Prophet, that he says he was refreshed by it, as by sweet sleep.

27.-I will sow the house of Israel-with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.] The meaning is, that Judea shall be again replenished both with men and cattle.

29. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.] The Jews shall have no cause to complain of their being punished for the sins of their fathers.

30. But every one shall die for his own iniquity:] These national judgments ceasing, every one should suffer only for his own faults. Yet Jeremiah elsewhere complains, "Our fathers have sinned-; and we have borne their iniquities." To reconcile such places of Scripture, which seem to be at variance, let it be observed, that, where Scripture ascribes one man's punishment to another's sin, it points us to God's wisdom and providence; who for good and just ends sometimes makes choice of these occasions, rather than others, to inflict upon

en those punishments, which their own sins have otherwise abundantly deserved. On the contrary, where Scripture attributes all punishments to the personal sins of the sufferer, it points us to God's

justice: which looks still to the desert, and does not upon any occasion whatsoever inflict punishments but where there are personal sins to deserve them.

31.-I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, &c. This refers to the Gospel, which is called the " new covenant," as opposed to the oki covenant, or law given to the Jews on mount Sinai.

33.-I will put my law in their inward parts, &c.] Instead of the external rites of the Law, the Gospel requires inward purity and the sacrifice of

the heart.

34.-they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest &c.] This is to be understood of that greater degree of light which the Gospel would bring into the world; uot only a fuller discovery of Divine truth than the Geutiles were able to acquire; but a clearer knowledge of God and heavenly things, than the people of God had ever attained to under the law. Perhaps this prophecy has not yet been accomplished to its fullest extent.

36. If those ordinances depart from before me, &c.] As long as the world lasts, there shall be always preserved some of the seed of Israel..

38. &c.-the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. &c.] Jerusalem shall be fully built up again, from the one end to the other.

This prophecy might in some sense be fulfilled in the rebuilding of the city after the captivity: but the mystical sense of the words probably relates to a more perfect state of the Church, which is elsewhere called "the city of God," and the "new Jerusalem."

CHAP. XXXII.

Verse 8.-Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.] Namely, that this offer of redeeming the field was made me by God's special direction, thereby to give a sensible assurance, that the Jews should return from their captivity, and be restored to their ancient possessions.

11.-both that which was seated—and that which was open:] The open or unsealed writing was probably either a copy of the sealed deed, or else a certificate of the witnesses, in whose presence the deed of purchase was signed and sealed.

14.-put them in an earthen vessel, &c.] Lay up these evidences safe in an earthen vessel, where they may be kept from decay; as those, whereof I shall have most certain use hereafter; for this land shall be in due time repossessed.

24. Behold the mounts,] The ramparts raised against the walls for the siege of Jerusalem, in order to assault and take the city.

36. And now therefore thus saith the Lord,] In this and the following verses God gives an assurance to the Prophet, that the Jews should be restored to their own country, so that he need not scruple to redeem his inheritance. Or the words may be thus translated, "But now, notwithstanding (all this), thus saith the Lord."

44. Men shall buy fields for money, &c.] There shall be an ordinary course of bargains and purchases, and all those forms of legal transactions which are usual on such occasions.

CHAP. XXXIII.

This chapter contains a prophecy, which, though applicable in some parts to the restoration of the Jews from Babylon, cannot however be so understood on the whole; but relates to the times of the Messiah.

God reveals His gracious purpose of healing the wounds of Jerusalem, restoring the captivity of Judah, forgiving their sins, and distinguishing them with such blessings, as to strike the astonished nations with fear and trembling, ver. 1-9. He foretels that the land, whose desolation they deplored, should again flourish with multitudes, both of men and cattle, ver. 10-13. He confirms His former promise of establishing a kingdom of righte ousness in a branch of the house of David, and rendering it perpetual, together with the priesthood of the sons of Levi, ver. 14-18. He declares His covenant in this respect with David and the Levites to be as sure as the covenant of day and night, ver. 19-22. And, to remove the reproach of having cast off those families, whom He had once distinguished by His choice, He renews His protestations of infallibly restoring the seed of Jacob, and of appointing the seed of David to rule over them for ever, ver. 23 to the end.

Ver. 2.-the maker thereof,] Rather, "the doer of it, that is, of "the word," or of the thing which God says.

8. And I will cleans: them from all their ini. quity,] I will not impute their sins any longer to them. The whole verse implies that general promise of pardon ofsins, which is elsewhere spoken of as the peculiar blessing of the Gospel.

14.-1 will perform that good thing which I have promised] The coming of the Messiah was that good thing which God had promised. which is therefore called in a peculiar manner, "The promise made unto the fathers," Acts xiii. 32, as being the greatest of all the promises, and that in which all the rest were comprehended.

16.—and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, &c.] The simplest interpretation of the original words is, "He that shall call her," that is,

17.-David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;] So long as Israel remained a kingdom, those of the line of David ruled over it: when that failed, Christ came in the flesh, who ruleth, and shall rule, over the Israel of God for ever.

These promises can only respect the eternal priesthood of Jesus, exercised by Himself and His ministers in the Christian Church.

18.-to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, &c. It is not necessary to suppose that the same sacrifices shall continue to be offered in the Christian Church, which are prescribed by the law of Moses; but as that law is abrogated, we may fairly understand those sacrifices figuratively to denote the offices of a more spiritual wórship substituted in their stead.

CHAP. XXXIV.

Ver. 2.-1 will give this eity into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:] See the fulfilment of this prophecy related, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 19. and of what relates to the taking of Zedekiah, (ver. 3.) see 2 Kings xxv. 5-7.

5.-so shall they burn odours for thee;] It was customary among the Jews, at the funeral of their kings, to prepare "a bed of spices," 2. Chron. xvi. 14, of which they made a perfume by burning them, and therein to deposit the body of the deceased prince.

17.-1 proclaim a liberty for you,-to the sword, &c.] I give full liberty to the sword, and to the pestilence, and to the famine, to seize upon you.

18.-when they cut the calf in twain,] As denoting thereby that they wished themselves might be cut in sunder, if they broke the covenant they then made. See note on Gen. xv. 10.

As Zedekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, on finding themselves besieged, set at liberty their Hebrew servants, and pretended they would observe the law of God; but afterwards, imagining they had nothing to fear, changed their minds, and made slaves again of their brethren: thus sinners pretend to humble themselves, and seem disposed to repentance, while they are threatened and the danger is near; but as soon as their fears are over, they break their promises, and return to their sins. Jeremiah's reproaches and threatenings of the Jews for their impious and unjust proceedings shew, that a repentance and a reformation which is but of short duration, instead of pacifying God, only provokes Him the more; and that those, who violate His covenant and their own promises, shall not escape the punishments which their hypocrisy and infidelity deserve.

222

CHAP. XXXV.

From the example of the Rechabites in obeying the injunctions of their forefather, God takes occasion to denounce vengeanee upon the Jews for their disobedience to His commandments.

Verse 2. Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and give them wine to drink.] Here God trieth the Rechabites, as He also tried Abraham. Gen. xii. There appear to be two reasons why He made this trial of their obedience: the one was, 'for their own greater advantage and improvement; the other was, that their firm adherence to the injunction of their ancestor might be rendered more conspicuous, and might excite the Jews to emulate their virtue,

4.-a man of God,] A usual name for a Prophet. "The princes" mentioned in this verse, were the members of the Sanhedrim or great

council.

11.-so we dwell at Jerusalem.] Upon the Chaldean invasion we retired to Jerusalem, where, during the siege, we are forced to continue. In such a case they did not think themselves obliged to a atrict observance of the injunctions of Jonadab; because all human laws admit of an equitable construction, and may be superseded in cases of necessity, or when the observance of them is attended with such great inconveniences, as the lawgiver himself, if he could have foreseen, would probably have made ground of exception.

14.-rising early and speaking;] A figurative expression to denote extraordinary pains and diligence in speaking to them.

19.-Jonadab-shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.] When the main body of the Jewish nation are dispersed in their captivities, of the family of the Rechabites shall remain Some to attend upon My service, and enjoy the privileges of worshipping in My temple.

The expression "for ever" is not always to be taken in a strict sense; but often means only a Jong continuance, and is used comparatively with respect to a shorter duration.

CHAP. XXXVI.

Verse 2.-a roll of a book,]

The ancient manner of writing was upon long scrolls of parchment, which were afterwards rolled

sticks. upon 5.-I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the Lord:] I must keep close, upon the command of the Lord, and not stir forth.

16. We will surely tell the king of all these words.] To see probably what effect they will have on him.

19.-Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah:] For fear the king should be so incensed against them

at hearing the prophecies, that he should order them to be apprehended and put to death.

22.-in the winterhouse] This might perhaps be no more than an apartment in the palace, which was more particularly designed to be made use of in winter. "The ninth month" answered to the end of November and the beginning of December. 23.-he cut it] "He," that is, the king. 26.but the Lord hid them.] By the direction of Providence they were concealed so as not to be discovered.

CHAP. XXXVII.

Verse 5. Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt:] They came for the relief of Jerusalem, at least as they gave out; upon which the Chaldeans that were besieging Jerusalem, raised the siege, and went to attack the Egyptians.

12.-to separate himself thence &c.] He withdrew from Jerusalem, and went into his own country, in order to avoid the inconveniences of the siege which he foreknew would soon be renewed, and probably to avoid also the ill usage which he expected to meet with from the people in Jerusa

lem.

13.-in the gate of Benjamin,] The gate leading out of Jerusalem towards the country of Benjamin.

CHAP. XXXVIII.

Verse 5.-for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.] The king evidently speaks this in disgust with the princes for endeavouring to frustrate his clemency. He had once rescued Jeremiah out of their hands, and taken him under his royal protection. But his prerogative, he tells them, was likely to avail but little, when opposed by their obstinate and repeated importunities. The power was in reality theirs, and not

his.

15.-wilt thou not hearken unto me?] Rather, "thou wilt not hearken to me." The Prophet might well conclude so from his former behaviour.

17.-then thy soul shall live, &c.] The advice of Jeremiah clearly proves, that the destruction of Zedekiah was not so determined, but that he might have prevented it. The Divine threatenings and predictions, and God's knowledge of futurity, do not deprive men of their liberty, since the evils, with which they are threatened, are brought on them by their own fault.

22. And, behold, all the women-shall say, &c.] Thou, that art afraid of the insultings of men that are thy subjects, shalt fall under the insultings and taunts of the women.

-Thy friends have set thee on, and have preailed against thee:] They have urged thee to stand out against the Chaldeans, and prevailed on thee to do so to thy own ruin.

CHAP. XXXIX.

Verse 2.-the city was broken up.] Such breaches were made in the walls, that the army of the Chaldeans entered.

5.-where he gave judgment upon him.] Zedekiah had sworn allegiance to the king of Babylon, and was therefore liable to be tried and condemned as a rebel and traitor.

12.-look well to him, and do him no harm ;] The king of Babylon had probably been informed that Jeremiah had exhorted both king and people to submit to his authority.

It is to be observed, that Jeremiah was saved at the taking of Jerusalem; and that Ebed-melech, who had saved the life of Jeremiah, was also himself spared, as God had promised, because he had put his trust in Him. These two are instances of the protection, which God vouchsafes to good men in times of calamity.

CHAP. XL.

The five following chapters contain a particular account of what passed in the land of Judah, from the taking of Jerusalem to the retreat of the people into Egypt and the prophecies of Jeremiah concerning them there.

Verse 1. The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord,] This relates to the prophecy set down chap. xlii. 7; which was occasioned by the narrative that here follows concerning Ishmael's conspiracy against Gedaliah.

7.-the captains of the forces which were in the fields,] That is, of the Jewish forces that had retired from Jerusalem to the fields for safety.

10. but ye, gather ye wine,—and oil, &c.] Gather ye grapes and olives to make wine and oil, not doubting but ye shall live quietly to make use of them, under the protection of the king of Babylon.

6.-weeping all along as he went:] Counterfeiting a mutual sorrow with them, and expressing it very passionately all the way.

8.-Slay us not; for we have treasures in the field,] Intimating, that they would make him master of what they possessed, if he would spare their lives.

18. Because of the Chaldeans: They were afraid lest the Chaldeans should impute this insurrection to the whole body of the Jews, that were left in the land, as if they were desirous of restoring the government to the royal family, to which Ishmael belonged, ver. 1.

CHAP. XLII.

Verse 6. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, Whether it be pleasing to us, or whether it be grievous and displeasing, we will do it.

19. The Lord hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into Egypt:] God commanded the Jews by Moses not to have any commerce with Egypt; that they might not practise the idolatrous customs of that country; with whose idolatries they had been defiled during their sojourning there. Afterwards He often reproved them by His Prophets, for making alliances with Egypt. There were particular reasons at this time for so severe a prohibition; namely, because the Jews either learned several of their idolatrous practices from the Egyptians, or at least were confirmed in those evil customs by their example. Besides, Egypt was the rival kingdom that contended for empire with the Babylonians. So the Jews going into Egypt for protection was in effect refusing to submit themselves to the king of Babylon, to whom God had decreed the government of Judea, and all the neighbouring countries.

CHAP. XLIII.

Verse 2.-the Lord our God hath not sent thee &c.] Such is the constant method of hypocrites and infidels, who pretend they are not satisfied of the truth of Divine revelation, when the true cause of their unbelief is, that God's commands contradict their own lusts and appetites.

9.-in the brickkiln, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house] The word here translated "brickkiln" probably means an area paved with brick or tile.

12. he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, &c.] He shall load himself with the spoils of it, and go off as quietly as a shepherd wraps his garment about him, and goes about his busi

ness.

CHAP. XLIV.

Verse 14. So that none of the remnant of Judah,

-shall escape &c.] It is evident from ver. 28, that some Jews were to escape the general destruction in Egypt, and to return to their own country, although but a few; and the same thing is implied in the latter sentence of this verse. But the former part of this verse excludes out of the number of those who escaped every individual of those that were called properly" the remnant of Judah," those that had set their faces to enter Egypt, to sojourn there, in opposition to the express command of God, upon a presumption that they knew better than God how to consult their own restoration. The few then who were destined to escape, and to return back to the land of Judah, were to be such as had come into the land of Egypt in a less offensive manner, and chanced to be there when the storm burst upon them.

17.-the queen of heaven,] Or," the host of heaven," meaning the moon and other heavenly bodies.

19.-without our men?] Meaning that they did not commit these idolatries without the consent of their husbands and fathers.

26.—my name shall no more be named &c.] These Jews seem to have joined the worship of the true God with that of idols. Thereupon God declares, He will not receive any such polluted worship at their hands; nor suffer His name any longer to be profaned by such hypocrites, but will consume them by a sudden and general destruction; or will deliver them up to impenitence and utter apostacy.

CHAP. XLV.

This chapter, though placed at a considerable distance from chap. xxxvi. is simply an appendage to it. Baruch had been employed by Jeremiah to write for him a collection of all those dreadful threatenings, which God had denounced by his mouth. This seems to have alarmed his fears to such a degree, that God thought proper to reassure him by letting him know, that, though amidst the general calamities of his country, he ought not to look for any great prosperity for himself, yet in consideration of his services his own life should be preserved to him by an especial providence in all places, whither it might be his lot to go.

CHAP. XLVI.

Verse 1. The word of the Lord &c.] This verse is a general title to the collection of prophecies, contained in this and the five following chapters.

3. Order ye the buckler &c.] In this and the following verse, the mighty preparations of the Egyptians for war are described; which occasions the Prophet, who forsees the defeat, to express his astonishment at an event so contrary

to what might have been expected; but he accounts for it by ascribing it to the disposition of the Almighty; who had spread terror all around, and had decreed that neither swiftness nor strength should avail the owners, so as to save them from the impending overthrow, ver. 5, 6. In the verses that follow next, the king of Egypt is represented as beginning his march with all the ostentation and insolence of presumed success, He is com. pared to a mighty river, when it swells above its banks, and threatens to overwhelm the country with ruin and desolation, ver. 7, 8. He is heard calling aloud to the nations of which his army is composed, giving them the signal for action, and rousing them to deeds of desperate valour, ver. 9. But all in vain; the time is come for God to avenge Himself of His ancient foes; they are doomed to slaughter, to fall a bloody sacrifice on the plains of the north, ver. 10. The whole concludes with an apostrophe to the daughter of Egypt, whose wound is pronounced incurable, and her disgrace universally known; forasmuch as the number of her warriors have served only to augment the general disorder, and more effectually to destroy each other.

4.-the brigandines.] Coats of mail.

13. The word that the Lord spake &c.] Here begins a distinct prophecy concerning the destruction of Egypt.

16.-and they said, Arise, and let us go again &c.] These are the words of the allies of the Egyptians. 18.-so shall he come.] "He," meaning Nebuchadnezzar.

20. Egypt is like a very fair heifer,] Egypt is bere compared to a beautiful heifer, probably in allusion to the Egyptian idol Apis, which was worshipped under the figure of a cow or bull,

22. The voice thereof shall go like a serpent;] The Egyptians shall not shout like conquerors, but make a feeble noise like the hissing of a serpent. They shall speak to the Babylonians in a very submissive tone.

for they shall march with an army,] They, that is, the Chaldeans, to whom the Lord gave the command to go against Egypt, and cut down her forest. By "her forest" may be understood, either her people, or her cities.

23.-though it cannot be searched;] Though the people or the cities be so many that they are past numbering.

26.-afterward it shall be inhabited,] At the end of forty years Egypt was to begin to recover itself, as Ezekiel foretels, chap. xxix. 13.

CHAP. XLVII.

Ver. 2.-Behold, waters rise up out of the north Behold the Chaldeans arise out of the north like